Type 1
If you’re a Type 1 diabetic or a Type 2 taking insulin, there are a lot of products on the market designed to help you take control of your glucose. These range from the things that we think everyone should have, to more specialist or luxury goods. It’s great that there is such a choice, but if you’ve recently been diagnosed, or even if you’ve been diabetic for years, how do you know which would actually help you?
At Joe’s Diabetes, we’ve curated the products to suit you:
Type 1 - Essentials
Travelling
Joe’s Small-in-one
Joe's Small-in-one takes all a diabetic needs for one whole day of treatment: from injections and glucose testing to treating a hypo; this carry-case takes everything.
There is nothing else available on the market that will carry as much equipment, of such variety, in such a small size, at this low price.
Measures 7 x 5 x 0.75" (165 x 115 x 20mm).
Dan Josephs:
“Love the Small-in-one and I’m half-way through the book. The Small-in-one has been great for school and for running training. Just great to have everything in one place.
£21 inc P&P (UK)
BUY HERE
Frio Large Wallet
Frio Wallets are ideal for keeping your insulin cool when you’re going somewhere hot. They’re easy to use (literally just add water) and will maintain your insulin within 18-26°C (64.4-78.8°F) for at least 45 hours, even in a constant environmental temperature of 37.8°C (100°F). In short, they’re pretty brilliant.
Re-usable and light weight, the Frio Large Wallet can carry
- 5 standard sized insulin injection pens either pre-filled disposable or refillable; or
- 1 standard sized insulin injection pen plus 10 x 3 ml cartridges; or
- 1 standard sized insulin pen plus 15 x 1.5 ml cartridges; or
- 2 standard sized insulin injection pens plus 6 x 3 ml cartridges; or
- 5 x 10 ml vials (bottles).
Measures (Inner wallet): 7.5 x 5.25", (195 x 130mm)
Measures (Outer cover): 0.25 x 0.75" (100-150mm) taller and wider than the inner wallet.
£15.50 + P&P
BUY HERE
Yellow Cross translation cards
I don’t know about you, but my foreign language skills are often not up to the task. These fantastic cards mean that you won’t be left searching for the right word if you’re in an emergency abroad.
The phrase “I have insulin-dependent diabetes” and a ‘Call to Help’ card are translated into seven different languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Greek and French), making getting assistance in an emergency that much easier.
Each set is made up of four laminated credit card sized cards: two identical “I have…” cards, and two identical ‘Call to Help’ cards.
Measures: 2.13 x 3.39” (54 x 86mm)
£10.00 + P&P
BUY HERE
Hypos
Lucozade Sport gel
Glucose gels are really great at sorting out hypos, probably better than anything else. These Lucozade gels contain 30g of carbohydrate, enough to bring you up out of all but the lowest of lows. They’ve got a fairly robust, metallic packaging so they won’t burst in your pocket, and they’re cheaper than gels supposedly designed to treat hypos. Also, one gel packet fits snugly into a Small-in-one.
Ideal for an emergency dose of carbohydrates when you’re going for a run or swimming. Great for marathons…( if you’re going to do that to yourself)…
£24.99 (pack of 24) + P&P
BUY HERE
Glucotabs - all flavours.
These little beauties can really get you out of a tight spot if you’re feeling low. Each tablet contains 4g of sugar, so you can easily work out how many it has taken to treat a hypo. They come in a tough tube, don’t melt (so good for travelling), and are available in four fruity flavours (Blueberry Burst, Zesty Lemon & Lime, Tangy Orange, and Juicy Raspberry). Really handy to have in a coat pocket or glove compartment for those hypos that come out of nowhere.
£0.89 (1x 10 tablet tube) + P&P
BUY HERE
Bassett’s Jelly Babies
If you’re anything like me, you probably like the odd sweet and having a familiar treat to deal with your hypos can be a good way of getting used to some of the ‘downs’ of diabetes. Jelly babies are great because they don’t melt, they can be squashed, they sort you out quickly, they each contain 5g of carbohydrate (so are measurable), and are pretty tasty too! Handy emergency food to have around, especially if you’re going on holiday to a hot country.
At Joe’s Diabetes, we recognise that you may need a few packs, just in case, so we’ve brought you this great deal.
12x190g £17.99 (per 12 x 190g packs) + P&P
BUY HERE
Medical ID
MedicAlert Classic bracelet
It’s a good idea to have some form of ID on you to let people know in an emergency that you’re diabetic. We have chosen the MedicAlert Classic bracelet for our essential range because it’s durable, simple, safe, and smart – all you need an ID to be.
MedicAlert also offer a service for members that securely stores your detailed medical records. These are made accessible in an emergency, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from anywhere in the world (they can speak in over 100 different languages), via their own emergency telephone number. For details on membership please click here.
Bracelet Size
Bracelet Size 11cm 11.5cm 12cm 12.5cm 13cm 13.5cm 14cm 14.5cm 15cm 15.5cm 16cm 16.5cm 17cm 17.5cm 18cm 18.5cm 19cm 19.5cm 20cm 20.5cm 21cm 21.5cm 22cm 22.5cm 23cm 23.5cm 24cm 24.5cm 25cm 25.5cm 26cm 26.5cm 27cm 27.5cm 28cm 28.5cm 29cm 29.5cm 30cm Measuring your wrist
Disc Size
Disc Size Standard Large Choosing the right disc size
Enamel Colour
Enamel Colour Plain Red Black
Clasp Style
Clasp Style T Bar and Toggle Lobster clasp
£19.95 + P&P
BUY HERE
Kids
Re-useable ID wristbands
Kids can be a handful, and kids with diabetes are perhaps even trickier. OK, you might have known that already… But these great little wrist bands could help you. They have a range of nine fun designs so they’re kid-friendly, and can be written on with a marker so that if your little one gets lost people can know quickly that they’re diabetic and help them appropriately.
Also, they come with a patented plastic safety catch that can only be opened with two hands so your tyke will struggle to get the band off without help…
Dimensions: 7.64 x 0.79” (194 x 20mm)
Material: PVC and latex-free plastic
Design
Aeroplanes Infoband - Blue Angry Sharks Infoband - Blue Fish Infoband -Green Cars Infoband - Knights Infoband - Pink Daisies Flowers Infoband - Pink Fairies Infoband -Pink Owls Infoband - Pink Princess Crowns Infoband
£3.99 (per wristband) + P&P
BUY HERE
Keeping in control
Timesulin caps
Believe it or not it’s surprisingly easy to forget if you’ve taken an injection, particularly if you’re really tired or have been going through time-zones. When this uncertainty strikes, it can be tricky to know what to do (particularly if you’re not sure whether you’ve already had a long-acting insulin injection).
Timesulin takes away all those worries. It’s a pen cap that has a timer built-in to it, so you know when you’ve had your last injection. A simple, smart solution to a tricky problem. Not bad, eh?
There are three different types depending on the insulin pen you use, please select from below:
Novo Nordisk FlexPen. Works for the following – Novorapid, Novolog, Levemir, Novolog Mix 70/30, Victoza, Protaphane
Sanofi SOLOStar. Works for the following – Apidra, Lantus, Insuman
Lilly KwikPen. Works for the following – Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog Mix 50/50
£25.00 (per Timesulin cap) + P&P
BUY HERE
Information & Advice
Carbs & Cals - Book and app
So you want to learn how to carb count, and look at the back of packet to see nutritional breakdown per 100g. But what does that look like in real life, and how many carbs are there in my plate of pasta? This fantastic book (also available as app) lets you see just that! A range of meals and portion sizes are photographed with their nutritional values noted down by them. So you can say pretty accurately what you’re eating and take the right amount insulin to cover the carb load.
Carbs and Cals is nothing short of a diabetic institution and, with the right application, can really help you get a handle on your glucose levels.
£3.99 (app)
BUY HERE
Joe’s Rough Guide to Diabetes
Tells you all you need to know about living with diabetes. The book explains the science of the disease clearly, and gives you practical advice on how to manage different situations – daily living, exercise, socialising, and travelling. Finally, it brings all this together so that you can learn how much insulin to take at any given time.
“It ought to be available to every young diabetic and be essential reading to anybody involved in helping young people to grow up with diabetes.”
Dr Bill Lamb, MD FRCP FRCPCH
£4.00 (eBook)
BUY HERE
£8.00 + P&P
BUY HERE
Type 1 - Extras
Medical ID
MyID Sleek Bracelet
A hi-tech approach to declaring medical conditions, the MyID Sleek bracelet
Black/BlackBlack/Black/GreenBlue/Green/GrayBright Green/BlueGray/BlueLight Gray/PinkLight Gray/TurquoisePink/Midnight BlueWhite/Midnight Blue
The Sleek comes in eight unique colours which will surely attract attention. This aesthetically pleasing band maintains the integrity and quality we have come to expect of all our Medical Identification Bands.
Updatable, cloud-based medical profile so your information is always current and secure.
Rapid QR Code Access to an Online Medical Profile.
Or look it up using the unique ID and PIN from any web enabled device.
Or call our live 24/7 Emergency call centre to access your profile.
Travel-friendly online medical profile detects the location of where your MyID is scanned and translates your profile to that language.
Lightweight, all silicone design makes this extremely comfortable for athletes of any sport.
256 Bit SHA-2 Secure Hash Algorithms to keep your data safe.
Fully Waterproof.
Lifetime Warranty.
£25.17 ($39.95) + P&P
BUY HERE
Pump accessories
GirlyGoGarter
Using an insulin pump can be fantastic for your blood sugar control, but it can be restrictive to what you wear. I can imagine that having somewhere to attach the pump would be pretty handy!
The GirlyGoGarter gives you a pocket where before you had none. And not only is it very practical, but with its lacey design and range of colours (Black, Nude, Wedding Blue, Hot Pink, and Red) it transforms a functional product into something fun and sexy.
£25.19 ($39.99) + P&P
BUY HERE
Diabetic SPIbelt
The Small Personal Item Belt (SPIbelt) can be a great accessory for your pump. If you’re somewhat active you’ll know how the pump can swing about when you’re jogging. The SPIbelt does not bounce when you run and the compartment is small enough not to get in the way.
Compartment dimensions: flat when empty, expands to 6 x 3 x 2" (153 x 76 x 51mm)
Belt dimensions: fits waist size of 25 - 50" (63.5 – 127cm)
£13.96 ($21.99) + P&P
BUY HERE
Hypos
LevelFoods- Vanilla Gel
If there’s one charge that can be levelled at glucose gels, it’s that not all of them taste amazing. At Joe’s Diabetes, we don’t think that’s the case with Lucozade gels, but you may disagree. So we’ve found these Vanilla glucose gels from LevelFoods – who doesn’t like vanilla?
Each gel pack comes in tough, metallic packaging so it won’t burst in your pocket (or Small-in-one) contains 15g of carbohydrates (so you can easily know how much you’ve taken to treat a hypo), and works twice as fast as fruit juice to raise your glucose levels.
£3.80 ($5.99) per carton of 3 gels+ P&P
BUY HERE
£36.12 ($56.88) per box of 12 cartons (36 gels total) + P&P
BUY HERE
Honey Doses DiaBee
For an organic alternative to glucose gels, sweets, or tablets why not try honey? DiaBee from Honey Doses, is a hermetically-sealed plastic straw filled with honey. Not only are these natural and nutritious, but they don’t melt and are also precisely measured to give you 5g of carbohydrate per straw. They also come in three different flavours - Original, Mandarin Spice, and Blackberry Blossom - and there is a tough Carry Tube available that stores up to nine doses at a time.
£1.00 (per empty Carry Tube) + P&P
BUY HERE
£5.89 (per box of 24 doses, any flavour) + P&P
BUY HERE
£10.90 (per two boxes of 24 doses, any flavour) + P&P
BUY HERE
£15.50 (per three boxes of 24 doses, any flavour, and free Carry Tube) + P&P
BUY HERE
Travelling
Medactiv Easy Bag Classic
As a larger alternative offering to a Frio wallet, the Easy Bag Classic uses patented technology to keep your insulin at between 15-24°C (59 – 75.2°F) for up to seven days. Like the Frio, all you need to do is add fresh water to the inner lining and, thanks to a chemical reaction, the cooling process takes effect.
It’s designed to take up to five pre-filled insulin pens so the Easy Bag Classic is ideal if you’re going away to a hot country where fridges might be scarce. For more information, please click on the links below:
**** Add links to user manual and more info: http://www.medactiv.co.uk/media/products/0804764001335894560.pdf, http://www.medactiv.co.uk/media/products/0927952001335894396.pdf. ****
Dimensions: 8.27 x 6.30 x 1.38” (210 x 160 x 35mm)
£35.85 (€45.15) + P&P
BUY HERE
Frio Pump Wallet
Pumps are great but the insulin inside them is just as susceptible to the heat as that in pens. The Frio Pump Wallet means you no longer have to worry about the insulin in your reservoir becoming useless. Like the larger wallet, it will maintain your insulin within 18-26°C (64.4-78.8°F) for at least 45 hours, even in a constant environmental temperature of 37.8°C (100°F).
It’s also practical: designed to accommodate all pumps (except the Omnipod), it comes with a belt loop that can fit belt widths of up to 2” (50mm), and includes a waterproof liner to make sure moisture isn’t transmitted to the pump.
Inner wallet dimensions: 5 x 3.25” (125 x 82.5mm)
Outer wallet dimensions: 6.5 x 3.75" (165 x 95mm)
£14.50 + P&P
BUY HERE
Keeping in control
Needlebay 2
This great invention makes handling needles safer and also lets you easily see how many injections you’ve had in a day. The Needlebay 2 fits four needles – enough for a day’s use, and has patented ClickLok technology to securely and safely hold all popular types of injection pen needles. In combination with a Timesulin cap, if you use a Needlebay you’ll never forget if you’ve injected again.
£10.79 + P&P
BUY HERE
Kids
SPIbelt
While you may be happy with a small, discreet, practical pump belt it’s quite possible your kid won’t be! Ideal for active kids, these belts have the benefits of the adult version, but come in a range of five fun prints.
Compartment dimensions: flat when empty, expands to 6 x 3 x 2" (153 x 76 x 51mm)
Belt dimensions: fits waist size of 18 - 26" (45.7 – 66 cm)
£12.06 ($18.99) + P&P
BUY HERE
Buzzy Mini Armband
Nobody likes having injections, but whether you’re using syringes, insulin pens, or have a pump, stabbing yourself with a sharp metal tube is a fact of life for diabetics. Buzzy Mini uses high intensity vibrations and cold to desensitize pain nerves, making injections that much easier. It can also be used to take away the pain from finger-pricking and comes in a simple black, fun bee or cute ladybird design.
£25.17 ($39.95) + P&P
BUY HERE
Jerry the Bear
Being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes can be very hard to deal with. Kids are tough, but everyone needs help getting through diagnosis, and that’s where Jerry the Bear comes in. He’s an interactive teddy bear with Type 1 Diabetes! Jerry can easily explain his condition to all the aunts, uncles, cousins and other Type Zeros out there, as well as giving your child the chance to learn how to manage diabetes by treating Jerry’s for him. Finally, Jerry the Bear provides the support that is lacking for so many kids with Type 1: with him there, your child is not alone with the condition.
£190.16 ($299.00) + P&P
BUY HERE