Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Winter Meter Trick

Articles - Diabetes Articles
Thursday, 30 December 2010 07:00
So most of us learn the hard way that these pesky glucose meters are really finicky.  They get temperamentally insane in cold weather.  I wrote about it awhile ago when my meter crapped out on me during a run that I didn't deem to be "too cold". 

Normally if it is too cold for the meter to work it often shows with a little thermometer icon on the screen.  I've been noticing this season that's not all that gets moody and irritable.  The strips also have minds of their own when they decide to crap out and at which temperature.

Typically my meter starts giving me trouble at about -5 to -10 degrees Celsius.  When I spend time outside in the winter NOT running I keep my meter in my coat pocket next to my body so the whole kit and caboodle can comfortably steal my warmth.  When I AM cold weather running I began by putting the bits and pieces separate from the case in my Tummitote.  But that's when I discovered the strips get PMS also.  The strips have a much lower tolerance and will act up at any temperature near or below +5C.

Trial and error led me to carry my meter and a strip or two in my mitten but that gets really annoying really fast.  Since it's winter, I am wearing a jacket with a big pocket in the back.  I haven't got anywhere else to put the meter so that it stays warm because I just don't have pockets anywhere else.  Thanks to the big pocket, the meter can come case 'n all.  At which point it (with the aid of a friend's comments) led me to this:


Hand warmers.  They are relatively inexpensive and work for hours.  I take it out of the package 20 minutes before my intended cold weather workout and slip them in the useless pocket in the meter case.  So far, it has worked like a charm and I don't feel like I have to baby this stupid gadget cradling it against my chest. 

If you aren't sure how to solve a problem, sometimes non-diabetics have better ideas than even I do.  Thanks!

 
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