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Permalink Reply by Natalie ._c- on November 14, 2011 at 10:55pm

I hoard, but I found out the hard way that my meter will not take strips that are expired, so I had to throw a lot of boxes away. What a pain! Especially since the strips would probably have worked just fine if the meter wasn't programmed to reject them. On the other hand, I have found that Medtronic CGM sensors work equally well or poorly whether expired or not. It's just that Medt. won't replace expired sensors that are off. Insulin, I don't have a problem with, because my doc prescribed up to 40u a day, whereas I'm averaging about 28-29u a day, so it's not hard to keep insulin on hand. I'm not so worried about refrigeration, because a bottle is good at room temperature for 28 days, and even if there were a disaster, I think we'd have power before 28 days (but maybe I'm an optimist). Glucose tabs are nice to have, but in a pinch, regular old sugar works, as does fruit juice, honey, milk, or other supplies you can get in a store. I have enough lancets to last a lifetime, and I make sure to have lots of batteries around. I also have lots of syringes, because if I ran out of pump sets, I can always go back to injections.

But when all is said and done, I think the evidence is clear -- we all have to be hoarders, because there really isn't any other choice, is there?

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Permalink Reply by Kelly WPA on November 15, 2011 at 3:03am

Natalie, someone told me that she was able to trick the outdated strips by setting her meter back a year so the meter didn't think they were expired.

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Permalink Reply by Natalie ._c- on November 15, 2011 at 9:49am

Gee, I wish I had known that before I threw away all those strips!!!! But I will remember if it happens again, so thanks! :-)

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Permalink Reply by Kelly WPA on November 15, 2011 at 9:57am

You need to ask the right people! My mother took me to an appointment this AM and said when we got back, she wanted me to email my brother. He was trying to find a cheese place up in Vermont. My mother had my sister looking and she couldn't find it. Then my mother called a friend of my cousin's to see if she remembered - the friend had sent a platter of it when my aunt died and that is how we found it. I haven't order any for awhile because it is expensive, but I have one of the labels. If anyone had bothered to ask, it would have taken me 2 minutes to get to the label and tell them what it was.

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Permalink Reply by tigger on November 15, 2011 at 6:00pm

Such good advice! I wish I had known that too!!!

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Permalink Reply by Kelly WPA on November 16, 2011 at 5:12am

You will know next time Tigger!

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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on November 15, 2011 at 5:18am

I admit, I keep a stockpile of supplies. I think I protect myself this way. Sure, perhaps there will be a disaster or a loss of employment, but the real problem? Doctors and insurance. Yes, that is right. They conspire to deny me the medical supplies that I believe I need. Test strips are a prime example. Look at how many of us are told by insurance companies that we only need to test a couple times a day when we use insulin. So I admit it, I "play" the system and keep a bit more than a three month rotating supply. I also keep additional insulin as a backup, primarily extra vials of NPH and R, just sitting in my fridge. They last forever, if anything goes wrong with my normal regime, I have extra.

Now this is markedly different than "Compulsive Hoarding." Everything is specifically kept to be used. I think when we use the term hoarding, we get pictures in our mind of houses stuffed to the gills with old newspapers. I don't do that, my intent is to actively use everythine. What I do is make sure that I obtain prescriptions that exceed my needs rather than fall short of my needs. I also order my supplies earlier than absolutely required by my needs. Since I can get most of my supplies with a three month prescription, this means that I can warp the system to maintain a six month stockpile if I desire.

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