Driving and blood glucose testing

Also if you are leaving it n your car, be careful on hot days. It doesn't take a particularly warm day for the interior of a car to heat up, and most meters and strips can give false readings or stop working once the mercury hits 30 degrees Celcius.

I think that here in Australia (Victoria) and New Zealand, we have to test once an hour. It's a bit of a pain, but I just keep an eye on the clock. It helps that I don't actually own a car, so it's only when I am on holiday or needing to hire a rental that I actually need to test for driving.

Warwick is right. Meters do go awry in high temperature too. I've had strips go AWOL in France before, when on holiday. The local Pharmacist there was very helpful though.
Regards
Garry

I always carry my bag around with me, it used to be because I always carried my laptop with me for work however it now is purely to keep my diabetes supplies with me.

I always carry:

- 1 Daytime Insulin Pen
- 1 BG Insulin Pen
- Handful of needles
- 1 of those tubes of glucose gel things, never had one though.
- 2 Capri Suns (20g carb per)

@HelenP - I know when I queried this the response I was given by the DVLA regarding 'hypo's was/is:

"A hypoglycaemic event that required the assistance others to resolve".

Essentially the 'mild' hypo's most of us tend to go through where a quick corrective CP here and there isn't an issue, if you however are having regular hypo's requiring the use of hypo-stop gel, glucagon or where you need help from others to treat it as you're not fully in control of your own faculties are their primary concern. They'll also check with your diabetes care teams if they feel it's necessary to see if you've reported any loss in hypo-sensation, and if you are testing regularly, and if they believe you'd be a risk on the roads.

It still beggars belief for me that the rule is '5 to drive' , I become aware of being low at pretty much 3.6 dead on, and wouldn't drive at that point, but at anything above that I feel no different than I do at 5.0 or above...I know it's to account for any small drops in BG as you're driving but recently, because I've been having low BG's in the AM, I'm having to get up 1 hour early to test my bloods and then correct with 1 or 2cp's just to make sure I've been 5.0 or above for more than 30/40 mins before driving...it's ridiculous! There are plenty of other medications/conditions out there that affect peoples ability to drive and put other drivers/pedestrians at more risk that aren't monitored by the DVLA, as much as I agree that that our licences require extra considerations before being issued, some of the archaic expectations the DVLA set really need to be reviewed, or at least the playing field needs to be levelled to include all medications/conditions to be subject to similar limitations/restrictions IMO.

I think it is because we have a "number" and it is easy to quantify a number. Other conditions are less able to specify an exact "number".

I am happy with "the 5 to drive' although sometimes it means I catch the bus to school with the g'kids as we will be late if I wait for the BG to come up to five, I like real food rather than the gels etc so it takes about 10 mins. I am fortunate in that I get silent migraines at about 4.2 in the awake hours. For me it is very reliable as a warning. On a pump and get <3% readings below 4 and most are in the middle of the night. I wake at about 3.7. Never had the need for any help...god bless silent migraines!

Went to the theatre the other day, after the show realised I was heading low (silent migraine) tested and it was 4.5 so I HAD to have a gourmet vanilla bean ice-cream ..it was delicious and took about 10 mins to savour. BG 5.1 and able to drive.... Bonus!

Helen