Bernard Farrell on Flickr

Diabetes has always entailed a lot of paraphernalia. Back in the day, meters were three times the size they are now. Bottles of strips weighed a ton. And syringes came with much longer needles. Plus there were juice boxes, snack packs, and rolls of candy. But even now, with all the advances in this modern day and age, diabetes comes with baggage (and I'm not talking the emotional kind).

With the pump, there's also a pager-sized device hooked to my pants with a mile of tubing looping around my body (and inevitably getting tangled). It's there...in the way when I need to squeeze past someone's chair, catching on my backpack, or just throwing a cute outfit off with its bulk. Then there is the meter, the lancet, the bottle of strips, a syringe, and a bottle of Humalog.

But off the pump, there seems to be even more devices now that I'm having to carry around (well, deciding to carry considering no one is forcing me). I have my usual meter (which reads the numbers automatically to my pump), my pump (because if I have an odd number pop up it's easy to use the bolus wizard to figure out my insulin needs and I can still use the online system to track my trends), and now I have my old UltraSmart meter. The UltraSmart allows me to log my insulin dosages quickly (with just a few presses of a button) so I can keep track of how much I'm taking and stop ending up low because I'm overbolusing on highs.

On top of the technology, I'm carrying around two bottles of insulin and two syringes at any given time. I carry both always because I'm an overly prepared kind of girl. I don't like to head out of my house without the safety of knowing that I don't have to be back by 9 or 10pm to take a shot of Lantus. I can "wing" my life because I have my lifelines in my purse.

No matter if I'm on the pump or MDI's, I always have way too many low treatments in my bag as well. For my school bag (which is the bag I carry mostly everywhere, always), I carry a juice box, two rolls of Lifesavers, a tube of glucose tabs, and a few solo Lifesavers that just float around in there. I also carry at least five dollars worth of dollar bills and quarters with me at all times (my mother actually gives me rolls of quarters as Christmas stocking stuffers).

Then there are the days that I travel (on vacations or just on weekend trips home). I carry a 5x8x3 inch bag that has a glucagon kit, a tube of icing, AAA batteries (for the pump), infusion sets and reservoirs, at least one bottle of insulin (on top of the one that I already carry), alcohol pads, antibacterial wipes, glucose tabs, and extra bottles of strips. It's the emergency kit that gives me piece of mind that I have everything I could possibly need on my trip. All in one spot. It's the bag that my mother and my friends locate anytime I'm spending the night somewhere...the one that gives them piece of mind that a seizure can be handled with the glucagon kit.

I really do hate carrying around all this extra baggage. It weighs me down both physically and emotionally. It's frustrating to accommodate for makeup, a cell phone, car keys, money, and all the diabetes gadgets in a tiny purse (or even a nice, roomy purse). It annoys me that I can't walk out of my house without wondering if I'm going to need those diabetes things by the time it takes me to run to the store and back.

But unfortunately, diabetics don't get a say as to what we carry or when we might need it. I can't leave it at home and say, I won't need you today (and it be true). Because I do need insulin. I need to know what my blood sugar is. And for better management, I need to be able to log those pieces of information easily. Plus I need the piece of mind that I can handle any diabetes emergency just by getting the diabetes bag.

I am happy that I'm a girl with diabetes, although sometimes I'd say otherwise. Because it means that I don't have to be a guy worrying about what people might say if I'm always carrying around a "purse." Meters are small, but with car keys and cell phones, it isn't like pockets will hold much more. I'll never judge a guy that's accused of carrying a "man purse" because what if...just what if...he needs whatever is in there (the meter, the candy, the insulin).

My only question is: do diabetics and parents of diabetics have more back strain from all the stuff that we carry around?