6/1 Jupiter AMPS/247 +4/238 +8/201 question about strips

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Jamie & Jupiter

Jamie & Jupiter

Member Since 2013
Link to yesterdays condo: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=96535&p=1033119#p1033119

The test strips say to keep them between 39 - 86 degrees. Its 85 degrees in our house right now... I am worried about the strips going bad... is there anything I can do?

Todays Numbers:
AMPS-247
+2-221
+4-238
+8-201
+10-206
PMPS-259
+2-343
+4-251
+6-258

Recap of yesterday:
AMPS-252
+1-250
+2-250
+4.75-250
+6.5-270
PMPS-255
+2-261
+4-251
+7.5-253
 
Hi Jamie,
You could get a Frio cooling wallet. These are designed to keep insulin cool at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. They require only cold water to activate. I think you could easily use one for strips. Here's a link to the US distributor (the Frio is made in England). The representative's name is Patti, and she is a very knowledgeable woman who can answer your questions with regard to whether or not it would work for strips and what size wallet to get.
http://coolerconcept.com/

I have a Frio for emergency situations, but if you read the "testimonials" on the Cooler Concept website you will see the many ways people have used these wallets. I believe that you can also get them on Amazon, but you would not get Patti's personal service, which is invaluable. There isn't much difference in price.

Best of luck,

Ella & Rusty

p.s. Jupiter is doing fine.

p.p.s. I am aware that we in LL store our insulin at temperatures colder than 60 degrees, but these wallets are designed for people to carry their insulin with them as they go about their day (or take vacations). Most people do not refrigerate the pen or vial they are using. Anyway, talk to Patti about the suitability of the Frio for strips.
 
Thank you Ella. I cant afford that right now...but I appreciate the information.. maybe in the future I could get something like that... I was hoping there might be something I could do that wouldnt cost much right now... I have a small cooler here ...insulated lunchbox... just not sure if any of these things would work??
 
I would say test your cooler.
put a thermometer (refrigerator ) or what every you are using in the cooler on the opposite side.... see what temperature it stays at....

since your goal is to be cooler than your house... you may just be able to cycle thru with blue ice or something you rig up....
experiment....

I loan you my acme hat..... :-D
 
I took a small insulated lunch box, put a couple of those refreezable cold packs in there along the sides. I put the boxes of test strips in the middle of the small cooler. I also put a small thermometer along with my meter test kit in there.

Temp seems to be fine, between 40-52 for the last several hours.

It's pretty warm here in New England too. Got up to 86 degrees in the house. No a/c, so I saw your post about the test strips and decided to be safe, and try to keep the test strips cooler.

Now I have never done this before, but I think you need to give the test strip vial some time to come back up to temperature before you use the strips. I would think 30 minutes or so would be enough. Also, the meter needs to come back up to room temp. I only put my test kit in there because I only need to pull it out once a week. I wanted to be cautious and keep the vial of test strips that are in my meter test kit cool also.
 
the bathroom is cooler then the rest of the house for some reason... so we put them in there for now... its about 78 degrees in there... and the rest of the house is currently 86 degrees.

i will maybe try the cooler/lunchbox idea tomorrow... we have some reusable icepacks


thank you all for the ideas and suggestions!!!
 
You may be interested in reading this article about the accuracy of meters and test strips under various adverse conditions. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2769960/ Factors Affecting Blood Glucose Monitoring

I found it enlightening to read that you need to wash your hands after eating Chips Ahoy cookies or peeling and eating a banana. :shock: The sugar on your hands could make the BG number be as much as 300 points higher.


How many of us forget to wash our hands before we test?


To check the accuracy of your test strips, you could always get some control solution for your meter, and test the strips with the control solution.
 
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