I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to four new additions to my diabetes arsenal of supplies. It’s not too often that I add to it, so I figured they deserved an introduction.

1. Dexcom G4 Platinum!!! This one is a pretty big deal. I upgraded from the Dexcom Seven Plus about a month ago and I must say I’m pretty pleased. The new CGM is much sleeker, lighter, smaller and honestly prettier (it’s pink!) than the old one. I love that it has a color screen that has three different colors for when you are high, in range, and low. It also has new tones, although I keep mine set to vibrate. The vibrate mode is also much stronger, so I can definitely feel it go off in my purse or on my night stand, which is overall a good thing, but also occasionally keeps me up at night. I don’t like that the actual sensor is much bulkier, but I’m finding that the insertion is generally less painful since it is a smaller needle. Also, it has a 20 foot range instead of the 5 feet of the Seven Plus. I’m often surprised to see it still graphing even when it is on a different floor of my house than I am!

2. Gatorade G2- While obviously not a “medical supply”, this is how I’m viewing it since if it wasn’t for my diabetes, I would not be drinking it. With my current workout regimen, I have been dropping low during or after every workout. While I hate to be drinking sugar water, I decided that having the extra 12 grams of carbs during my workout might help prevent me from experiencing these drastic lows. Since its low calorie (45 per bottle) and only 12 carbs, I don’t feel that guilty, but I still prefer water. So far it’s worked for the most part, although I may still need to do some temp basal adjustments.

3. Level Life Glucose Gel– I’ll have more to say about these in a future post, but I have begun to use these gel packets for night time lows and really drastic lows. I was sent some free samples of the product and decided to give it a try since I usually just use my fruit snacks. What I like about the gel is that it is so fast and easy to eat. You just rip the packet open and squeeze it in your mouth. Since it’s a gel, there’s really no chewing involved and it works very fast to raise blood sugars. I’ve found them to be perfect for lows in the middle of the night, since I don’t have to sit there and chew my fruit snacks (and have some stay on my teeth overnight) and wait for my blood sugar to rise.

4. Bayer’s Contour next link meter- I’ve accumulated a lot of meters over the years, but I really like this one because first of all, look how small it is! Second, it has a back-lit color screen!! One of my biggest frustrations with my old meters is that you couldn’t see to test in the dark so this is a huge improvement! It also shows some trends since with every test you say if it’s before or after a meal, or no mark. Oh and it links with my pump.

Lots of additions the past few months. As long as it helps to make my life easier and keep me healthy, I’ll keep adding to my arsenal.
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