![\"\"](\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe first one is Lifesavers. I always have Lifesavers with me when I leave the house. And I don\u2019t mean any old Lifesavers. I\u2019m talking about a roll of Lifesavers. It doesn\u2019t matter the flavor (unless it\u2019s mint, which I can\u2019t really eat quickly in case of low blood sugar) but I am partial to five flavors. Lifesavers are convenient, small, and fit easily in my pocket. Other roll candy, such as Mentos, are too long or are not wrapped sturdy enough. Sometimes they break and spill into my clothes.<\/p>\n
Lifesavers, which have been around since 1935, never let me down when my blood sugar does. That\u2019s because when I have the first inklings of hypoglycemia I want something more than just something that can bring my blood sugar back up quickly. I want something that, if I eat it in pubic, is unobtrusive so I don\u2019t get everyone around me freaked out. Plus, I want something that tastes good because sometimes hypoglycemia makes for a nice excuse to have a treat. And lastly, when it comes to fighting low blood sugar, you can\u2019t beat a name like Lifesavers.<\/p>\n
I also use rubber bands for my insulin. I hit upon this recently. When I leave the house for the day, or for work, or to go out overnight, I don\u2019t take my Lantus and my Novolog in their bottles with me. What if they break? What if they become exposed to high temperatures? (I live in Arizona.) So, I withdraw measured amounts out of my two bottles of insulin and inject them into empty bottles, leaving my main supply in the refrigerator. Then, I put a rubber band around the glass bottles with the travel doses. That allows me to knock them around in my pocket or bag without worrying about them breaking. The rubber bands also let me differentiate which bottles are which when I have to grab one and go in a hurry.<\/p>\n
The last little trick I use, although rarely, is how to figure out if your blood sugar is high without a machine. I learned this when I was researching a book about clinical trials. In 1776 a physician tasted the urine of a diabetic and noted it tasted sweet. That, of course, is from the excess sugar the kidneys are trying to flush out of the body.<\/p>\n
The last time I had to resort to this rather unpleasant trick was when I travelled to Uganda. The Ugandan guards in Brussels for flight check in to Entebbe didn\u2019t like my blood testing machine. So they took it. Who was I to argue with a guy with an AK-47?<\/p>\n
For the next three weeks in Africa the only method I had to at least get a sense of where my blood sugar was\u2014a very general sense of not high, high or very high\u2014was by running a finger through a stream of my urine and tasting it.<\/p>\n
This trick works when all other resources are unavailable. And, while it\u2019s not as gross as one might imagine, all things considered, I prefer the taste of Lifesavers. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":53098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[1294,1347],"yoast_head":"\n
DBlogWeek #5: Life Hacks: Lifesavers and Rubber Bands<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lifesavers, which have been around since 1935, never let me down when my blood sugar does. That\u2019s because when I have the first inklings of hypoglycemia I want something more than just something that can bring my blood sugar back up quickly.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alex O\u2019Meara\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072\",\"name\":\"DBlogWeek #5: Life Hacks: Lifesavers and Rubber Bands\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-05-16T23:47:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-27T20:41:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/39a63c7215ee072a94bbc4a681de116d\"},\"description\":\"Lifesavers, which have been around since 1935, never let me down when my blood sugar does. That\u2019s because when I have the first inklings of hypoglycemia I want something more than just something that can bring my blood sugar back up quickly.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":1280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"DBlogWeek #5: Life Hacks: Lifesavers and Rubber Bands\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/39a63c7215ee072a94bbc4a681de116d\",\"name\":\"Alex O\u2019Meara\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d46cda412d65fd79447ff39275a4856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d46cda412d65fd79447ff39275a4856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Alex O\u2019Meara\"},\"description\":\"Alex was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 36 years ago. Since then he has run six marathons \u2013 the first when we was 15 \u2013 and the latest a few years ago. In 2006 Alex underwent islet cell transplant and was, for some time, insulin independent. He now lives in Southeastern Arizona where he is working on a novel, teaching college English, pursuing a Master\u2019s degree, and training to run his first 50 mile race.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=4\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"DBlogWeek #5: Life Hacks: Lifesavers and Rubber Bands","description":"Lifesavers, which have been around since 1935, never let me down when my blood sugar does. That\u2019s because when I have the first inklings of hypoglycemia I want something more than just something that can bring my blood sugar back up quickly.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alex O\u2019Meara","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072","name":"DBlogWeek #5: Life Hacks: Lifesavers and Rubber Bands","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","datePublished":"2014-05-16T23:47:12+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-27T20:41:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/39a63c7215ee072a94bbc4a681de116d"},"description":"Lifesavers, which have been around since 1935, never let me down when my blood sugar does. That\u2019s because when I have the first inklings of hypoglycemia I want something more than just something that can bring my blood sugar back up quickly.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","width":1280,"height":1280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36072#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"DBlogWeek #5: Life Hacks: Lifesavers and Rubber Bands"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/39a63c7215ee072a94bbc4a681de116d","name":"Alex O\u2019Meara","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d46cda412d65fd79447ff39275a4856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d46cda412d65fd79447ff39275a4856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Alex O\u2019Meara"},"description":"Alex was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 36 years ago. Since then he has run six marathons \u2013 the first when we was 15 \u2013 and the latest a few years ago. In 2006 Alex underwent islet cell transplant and was, for some time, insulin independent. He now lives in Southeastern Arizona where he is working on a novel, teaching college English, pursuing a Master\u2019s degree, and training to run his first 50 mile race.","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=4"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36072"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Lifesavers1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n