Scott Benner 1/19/26 Scott Benner 1/19/26

#1741 Body Grief - Part 1

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This series explores body grief, the sense of loss and mourning associated with an ever-changing body, including diabetes and other physical changes.

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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.

Scott Benner (0:00) Hello, friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Juice Box podcast. (0:12) Body grief is the sense of loss and mourning that comes with living in an ever changing body. (0:17) And in this new series with myself and Erica Forsyth, we're gonna talk all about it. (0:23) Nothing you hear on the Juice Box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. (0:27) Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan.

Scott Benner (0:33) My grand rounds series was designed by listeners to tell doctors what they need, and it also helps you to understand what to ask for. (0:41) There's a mental wellness series that addresses the emotional side of diabetes and practical ways to stay balanced. (0:47) And when we talk about GLP medications, well, we'll break down what they are, how they may help you, and if they fit into your diabetes management plan. (0:54) What do these three things have in common? (0:56) They're all available at juiceboxpodcast.com up in the menu.

Scott Benner (1:00) I know it can be hard to find these things in a podcast app, so we've collected them all for you at juiceboxpodcast.com. (1:07) If you've ever heard a diabetes term and thought, okay. (1:10) But what does that actually mean? (1:12) You need the defining diabetes series from the juice box podcast. (1:15) Defining diabetes takes all those phrases and terms that you don't understand and makes them clear.

Scott Benner (1:21) Check it out now in your audio player or go to juiceboxpodcast.com and go up into the menu. (1:30) This episode of the juice box podcast is sponsored by Medtronic diabetes and their MiniMed seven eighty g system designed to help ease the burden of diabetes management. (1:40) Imagine fewer worries about missed boluses or miscalculated carbs. (1:44) Thanks to meal detection technology and automatic correction doses. (1:48) Learn more and get started today at medtronicdiabetes.com/juicebox.

Scott Benner (1:54) This episode of the juice box podcast is sponsored by the Kontoor Next Gen blood glucose meter. (2:01) Learn more and get started today at kontoornext.com/juicebox. (2:07) Erica is back with us today. (2:09) We're gonna start a conversation about body grief. (2:12) This is something that Erica's been talking about in some of her public speaking, with me privately probably for the last I don't know.

Scott Benner (2:19) You think you're a couple years into thinking about this at this point, or how long has it been?

Erika Forsyth (2:24) We've we've certainly talked about grief in general and disenfranchised grief in various episodes. (2:31) But this specific term, body grief, I was introduced to through this book that we're gonna be referencing, about six months ago. (2:40) Oh, So we've been talking about it, yes, in this past few months.

Scott Benner (2:43) And you gave a talk recently about this. (2:45) Is that right?

Erika Forsyth (2:46) I did. (2:47) Yes. (2:47) At the Touched by Type one conference in Orlando.

Scott Benner (2:51) You felt like that went over well? (2:52) How did the audience, seem to feel around the conversation?

Erika Forsyth (2:58) I think and, hopefully, if you're listening, this is true. (3:01) I think they enjoyed it. (3:02) My I did ask a colleague who was in the audience for some feedback, and she agreed with my assessment that I was trying to cram in a lot of information in forty five minutes. (3:14) So that is partially and and and Scott had this idea for us to do this series and really kind of take the time to process and think through a lot of the the terms and the stages and the application.

Scott Benner (3:27) So Awesome. (3:28) So we'll jump into it. (3:29) Yes. (3:30) Yeah. (3:30) Tell me about the book.

Erika Forsyth (3:31) Okay. (3:32) So body grief is it's actually the book is called This Is Body Grief by the author is Jane Mattingly.

Scott Benner (3:40) Mhmm.

Erika Forsyth (3:40) And she has gone through her own journey of of chronic illness and and disability. (3:48) And so through her life story, she and she's also, I believe she was a social worker and maybe also a psychologist. (3:59) I actually can't remember her her credentials, but has worked with with clients and patients. (4:05) So through her own personal journey and working with clients, she created these stages of body grief. (4:11) And so we over the next we're gonna be introducing the the ideas and concepts today and then over the next few series going through the stages that she has coined and created.

Erika Forsyth (4:23) And then we will be applying those terms and stages and definitions and looking at them through the lens of living with diabetes.

Scott Benner (4:31) Awesome. (4:31) How did you how did you find her book?

Erika Forsyth (4:34) Well, actually, I was talking in my own therapy, and my therapist recommended this book.

Scott Benner (4:41) Interesting. (4:42) Because of your type one?

Erika Forsyth (4:44) Yes. (4:44) She said, have you heard of this new book? (4:46) It I think it came out last March or April. (4:49) So that's thanks to my therapist. (4:52) I was introduced to this book.

Scott Benner (4:54) You found it helpful?

Erika Forsyth (4:55) I did. (4:56) It it it is if you do decide to read it, it it takes a long time to get through. (5:03) It's kind of a you know, you pick it up and read it and there's some reflections in it Mhmm. (5:07) Journaling. (5:08) So it's it's a book that you can kind of take your time and and read through.

Scott Benner (5:12) Awesome. (5:13) Okay. (5:13) Well, jump right in. (5:15) I'm gonna probably, for people listening, be a little more of a more of a fly on the wall, like, oh, I have a question, person in this in this conversation. (5:24) So you're gonna hear a lot from Erica, and I I wanna let her get going.

Scott Benner (5:27) So

Erika Forsyth (5:28) Okay. (5:28) Okay. (5:29) Thanks, Scott. (5:30) I in our world and life, you we hear these thoughts, and you might have had these thoughts yourself. (5:38) Like, why me?

Erika Forsyth (5:39) Why did this happen? (5:41) Or if only I had eaten some something different, then this thing would have happened or done something different. (5:49) So that's the if only I had then mindset. (5:53) Or my body failed me again, or my pancreas failed me, or who am I without a working pancreas, or who am I without, you could fill in the blank, with anything within your body. (6:10) So those types of thoughts are what we are going to be kind of thinking about that kind of encapsulates body grief.

Erika Forsyth (6:19) Mhmm. (6:19) And so the actual definition of body grief from the book is the sense of loss and mourning that comes with living in an ever changing body. (6:32) So the sense of loss and mourning that comes with living in an ever changing body. (6:36) So to start off with, body grief is something that every human experiences because we all are living in bodies. (6:45) And it also can be very personal as we get into kind of, you know, the the nuts and bolts of it all.

Erika Forsyth (6:52) So body grief can occur when our body changes in ways that feel like it's out of our control. (6:59) It feels like we can't go back to the way things were. (7:04) It feels like it's no longer our own. (7:08) You might have that experience of feeling like, ugh. (7:10) Won't be able to go back to the way it functioned, the way it looked, the way it felt.

Erika Forsyth (7:17) And with that sense of loss comes this unraveling of your identity and your sense of self. (7:24) So this can happen when you get a cold. (7:28) Right? (7:28) It's it's not a big it can be a big sense of body grief and a small body grief. (7:34) Right?

Erika Forsyth (7:34) So when you get a cold or you get an illness or you have a physical injury or surgery, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, infertility, perimenopause, menopause. (7:48) I'm acknowledging those are a lot of maybe more kind of issues that that women face, but also men go through their own sense of of body grief loss too with changes in their systems.

Scott Benner (7:59) Can it So can I ask can it be as can it go from functional to just the way you see yourself? (8:07) Like, you know what I mean? (8:08) Like, could it for a guy, could it could it go from the range of, like, erectile dysfunction down to I just I'm not as strong as I used to be?

Erika Forsyth (8:15) Yes.

Scott Benner (8:16) Really? (8:16) Okay.

Erika Forsyth (8:17) Yes. (8:17) Yes. (8:20) While it can be something actual actually physical

Scott Benner (8:24) Mhmm.

Erika Forsyth (8:24) It can be the way the way I interpret it is that it can be also a kind of this mindset around your body and what you think it you felt like it could do but can no longer do.

Scott Benner (8:36) Okay. (8:37) Thank you.

Erika Forsyth (8:37) Yes. (8:38) That's a good question. (8:41) One of the important things, I think, to note is that body grief doesn't go away simply because we don't wanna feel it. (8:49) And we we might try and ignore it. (8:52) We might try and fix it.

Erika Forsyth (8:55) But the this I think the concept that our body grief can't be fixed, it must be felt, can be a challenging one. (9:05) I think if we think about the the normal or the the grief stages that you might be familiar with already around, for instance, a death, which is, they're either five or seven. (9:18) So, denial, shock, depression, anger, and acceptance. (9:28) Those are usually kind of the five grief stages, and and these will feel a little bit similar to those.

Scott Benner (9:34) Mhmm.

Erika Forsyth (9:35) We often I think when we think about grief, we think we're like, well, I just gotta go through the grief stages, and then I'll be okay.

Scott Benner (9:40) Yeah. (9:40) Think you pop out the other side of it if

Erika Forsyth (9:42) Right.

Scott Benner (9:42) That's what they tell you. (9:43) Right?

Erika Forsyth (9:43) Right. (9:44) That's we we a lot of believe that. (9:45) Right? (9:46) Yeah. (9:46) Just work the stages.

Erika Forsyth (9:47) But with body grief and and sometimes that might feel true, but we also know that with grief around the death of a loved one, the intensity might change, but it still it still felt that

Scott Benner (10:00) loss. (10:01) Right.

Erika Forsyth (10:02) And so with with body grief and as we think about with diabetes, it's it is always there. (10:07) We are always gonna be experiencing these little micro moments of loss, which we'll get to. (10:13) So the we wanna think that we can fix it, but we can't. (10:19) And we we try and tell ourselves, and you might hear other people say things like, oh, just, you know, just go ahead and eat. (10:28) Like, bolus later.

Erika Forsyth (10:30) Love your body. (10:32) You are beautiful at any size.

Scott Benner (10:35) Mhmm.

Erika Forsyth (10:36) Time heals all. (10:39) At least it's not cancer, or you are a warrior. (10:43) You are a t one d or t two d warrior. (10:46) Right? (10:47) Like, so we hear these things.

Erika Forsyth (10:48) And now those are all beautiful statements. (10:51) Those are aphorisms. (10:52) It's a new vocabulary word I actually just learned. (10:56) That are they're they're there's well intentioned. (10:59) They are true.

Erika Forsyth (11:01) Those are all true statements. (11:02) Right? (11:03) Like, we can be grateful that at least it's not cancer. (11:06) But when we hear that or we tell ourselves that we're trying to kinda fix or avoid the feeling of that body grief in that moment.

Scott Benner (11:14) Okay. (11:15) Is it possible that the harsher those statements feel to you, maybe the more intertwined you still are in that grief and that you haven't been able to process it or found a way through it? (11:26) Because I I do see people really rub up against some of those. (11:31) You know what I mean? (11:32) Like, I some people who, you know, call somebody a warrior and and there's a group people think it's awesome, and then there's somebody in there who's like, I I didn't wanna be a warrior.

Scott Benner (11:41) I wasn't looking for this. (11:42) You know, you always hear, like, different sides of the argument. (11:45) I wonder if your reaction has a lot to do with where you are in maybe the process that we're talking about today. (11:52) And that's kind of an open ended question, but it it's what I was wondering while you were while you were going through that list.

Erika Forsyth (11:59) That's a that's a really great point.

Scott Benner (12:01) Yeah.

Erika Forsyth (12:02) I think the the intensity of your response might vary, but, yes, based on where you are, how close you are to the that grief.

Scott Benner (12:15) Yeah.

Erika Forsyth (12:16) But it it also can hit just like because we aren't gonna go through the stages and be done, it it can affect you in ways that you might be surprised. (12:27) You're like, wow. (12:27) I thought that didn't bother me anymore. (12:29) And then all of a sudden

Scott Benner (12:30) Right.

Erika Forsyth (12:31) This person is telling me you can't eat that, or can or can you eat that? (12:36) Or It just hits You have type one, but it's not cancer. (12:38) I'm like, well, actually, you know

Scott Benner (12:39) Yeah. (12:39) And you get a reoccurrence of that feeling again. (12:41) Right.

Erika Forsyth (12:42) Yes. (12:43) I think that I think it's important to bring up these types of statements because instead of giving allowing ourselves to feel what we're actually feeling, We're trying to hold on to some of these truths, but they also don't give you any room to feel the intensity of the whatever the emotion is. (13:05) And I think the the t one d wire slogan, I think, is is, yes, so beautiful, but also doesn't depending on the time. (13:15) Right? (13:16) Like, we I will share you know, as I've shared before, growing up, it was like, k.

Erika Forsyth (13:22) You can do all things. (13:24) Don't let diabetes stop you. (13:25) You're gonna achieve all your goals. (13:27) And we hear that narrative, and there's nothing wrong with that. (13:30) That's a beautiful narrative.

Erika Forsyth (13:33) But when your child or yourself, you actually don't want it or you're feeling angry or you're feeling really sad about having it, if that's the only thing that you're allowed to feel or think or say, it pushes down these other feelings.

Scott Benner (13:51) Mhmm.

Erika Forsyth (13:52) But they're still there.

Scott Benner (13:52) You have to be ready to accept the idea. (13:55) Right? (13:55) You can't just it's not a thing someone just says to you, oh, you know, if you just, blah blah blah, then it'll all be okay. (14:01) You have to there has to be a I would imagine amount of time and consideration. (14:06) You have to be in the right headspace.

Scott Benner (14:09) You're making me think a lot about, a gentleman I interviewed the other day who, is blind. (14:15) He's not just legally blind. (14:17) He's he he put it as I'm in the dark blind. (14:19) And I I I don't think I've spoken to anybody with a better attitude in a long time. (14:25) And I just I I couldn't I asked him.

Scott Benner (14:27) I was like, how do you get to this? (14:29) You know? (14:29) And his answer was his answer was his his faith, honestly. (14:34) But I I would imagine it doesn't matter how you get there as long as you can, I mean, transcend the moment and ascend to that idea? (14:43) I don't I I don't know.

Scott Benner (14:45) I I I want you to keep going. (14:47) It just it may it is making me thinking about him a lot because he just was it he had he had described so many of these different, like, grieving processes and things that he lost along the way, but then his attitude, what he was saying, how he actually felt didn't didn't carry any of the what you would think was obvious anger or sadness that you could have in that situation. (15:11) So, anyway, I don't that Mhmm. (15:13) Why I brought that up exactly.

Erika Forsyth (15:14) He was on he's on his own journey of processing and getting to a place of peace.

Scott Benner (15:21) Yeah. (15:21) And he got there. (15:22) Mhmm. (15:23) You know? (15:23) But by his by his, you know, by his description, in my opinion, he's there.

Scott Benner (15:27) So okay. (15:28) I'm sorry. (15:29) Please.

Erika Forsyth (15:29) No. (15:29) That's that's good. (15:30) Yeah. (15:31) So as we remember, you know, the the definition of body grief, the sense of loss and mourning that comes with living in an ever changing body. (15:41) Mhmm.

Erika Forsyth (15:41) As we layer that definition over the lens of diabetes, we experience loss, these micro moments of loss. (15:51) And, again, this might feel really insignificant or a lot bigger to you based on the moment or the day or as a caregiver, how you're bolusing, you know, and with the loss around that for yourself.

Scott Benner (16:03) Right.

Erika Forsyth (16:04) So the loss of being able to eat, exercise, sleep, and live without thinking about the blood sugar do you and do you loss of even time as we think about it too. (16:17) Around do I have my insulin, my my blood sugar kit, my carbs? (16:22) And then we also might experience loss as we think about all the unseen aspects of managing diabetes. (16:32) We we are probably familiar with these stats around the 180 plus decisions a day, the 40 plus variables that we're considering every time we bolus. (16:43) The device management, you know, every time you have a pump or CGM malfunction or site change day or maybe even receive a comment about your devices.

Erika Forsyth (16:57) You beep in class or in a meeting and the heads turn. (17:02) You have the constant you know, the the stigma. (17:07) Again, we'll get into a lot of these topics throughout the series, but there's the stigma and misconception. (17:13) So every time someone says something that feels like they're trying to be they're trying to be compassionate and encouraging, but it just kind of lands as as ignorant, you might be experiencing that micro moment of grief, of body grief.

Scott Benner (17:31) Right. (17:38) And anytime any of these things happen, it's as if there's a small megaphone in the back of your head reminding you, like, something doesn't work right, and it's Yeah. (17:46) And it's you. (17:47) Your body doesn't work right. (17:49) And even if you can separate yourself from you in your thoughts and you in your shell, it's still you.

Scott Benner (17:55) Right? (17:56) So my my pancreas isn't working correctly, and therefore, this happened. (18:01) That's not my fault. (18:02) I didn't do anything to this oh, that that does give I've I've long I've long wondered a number of things that people, fight against. (18:11) One of them is how how vociferously you'll hear type ones make make the argument, make sure you understand that type one diabetes wasn't like a dietary or a lifestyle choice.

Scott Benner (18:24) And I always think, like, what why do they care? (18:27) But this is why they care. (18:28) Right? (18:29) Because then these these other impacts come in from the outside and then those that that would probably feel like attacks whether they're meant that way or not are felt as a reminder that my body doesn't do a thing it's supposed to do. (18:43) Contournext.com/juicebox.

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Erika Forsyth (20:56) Yes. (20:57) And then you can get stuck in that stage of my body failed me. (21:05) And and you kind of bound and again, right, you're queuing up really well these great stages and themes around how do we what happens when we get stuck in that my body failed me

Scott Benner (21:16) Okay.

Erika Forsyth (21:17) Mindset. (21:19) So as we're kind of we you you guys know all of the the details of managing, whether it's for yourself or your child, all of these micro moments of per se of of loss. (21:34) It's not even perceived loss. (21:35) It can be felt as real loss. (21:38) They this whole mental load can contribute and become the terms that we've defined before diabetes distress and diabetes burnout.

Erika Forsyth (21:48) And I thought it would be interesting just to pause here and kind of review the definitions of distress and burnout. (21:55) Mhmm. (21:55) And when and I just kind of wanna think about is that our is diabetes distress and burnout our version of body grief? (22:04) Or because of that, do we experience body grief? (22:09) And that might sound confusing as I kind of introduce it.

Erika Forsyth (22:13) But the, you know, diabetes distress is the emotional response to living with diabetes. (22:22) Right? (22:23) The burden the relentless this is from the ADA definition. (22:26) The relentless daily self management, the prospect of or reality of its long term complications, the social impact, which is the stigma, discrimination, unhelpful, you know, reactions from people, the financial implications of from, you know, insurance, treatment, etcetera. (22:46) So that's distress.

Erika Forsyth (22:47) It's like this emotional response to living with diabetes that every single person living with diabetes has experienced once if not many times. (22:57) It is very normal. (22:58) And and and also the caregiver can have diabetes distress versus diabetes burnout, which is oftentimes just described as distress can lead to burnout, but doesn't have to go that way. (23:14) And this is more that the state, right, in which this is from beyond type one, in which someone with diabetes grows tired of managing their condition, and they just simply ignore it and for a period of time or or forever. (23:27) And this can look like having strong negative feelings.

Erika Forsyth (23:31) You're overwhelmed. (23:31) You're frustrated. (23:33) You have these thoughts that you're being controlled by diabetes. (23:36) You feel really alone. (23:37) You're either isolating because of the burnout or or vice versa.

Erika Forsyth (23:42) Mhmm. (23:42) And you're avoiding doctor's appointments, other, you know, planned things that are helpful for you. (23:48) So as we think about distress and burnout, again, I I just wonder how much of this of these two terms do we experience because we're trying to fix or ignore or push down the body grief stages and feelings. (24:08) Or is it all is it all does it maybe it's not even important to to understand which comes first or are they intertwined? (24:16) And I'm not posing these questions to incite shame.

Erika Forsyth (24:20) Like, if you don't if you don't go through the the body grief stages and feel your feelings, that's why you're in burnout. (24:26) That's not at all what I'm suggesting. (24:31) But I just wonder to kind of just hold that question for us to kind

Scott Benner (24:34) of

Erika Forsyth (24:34) mull

Scott Benner (24:35) over too.

Erika Forsyth (24:36) As we work through the stages. (24:37) Does that make sense?

Scott Benner (24:38) It does. (24:38) I am also really enjoying how you've taken this this book that was introduced to you for personal reasons and found the through lines to diabetes. (24:47) This is really this is lovely what you've done here. (24:50) Thank you.

Erika Forsyth (24:52) Well, thank you. (24:53) No. (24:53) It it's been helpful, for for me personally because I think one of the other things as you asked in the beginning, when we hear those types of thoughts or comments, are they gonna hit us differently or land us you know, land for us differently based on where we are in our journey? (25:14) I think that's one of the the beautiful things to have. (25:16) The reason why I really appreciate these terms and stages, not only does it give us vocabulary to normalize what we're going through Mhmm.

Erika Forsyth (25:25) Because we can feel like you know, I've lived with type one for thirty five plus years now. (25:31) But when something happens, whether it's diabetes related or not or a new complication or a new, you know, physical injury, you absolutely can go through and experience body grief in a separate way. (25:47) So I guess I'm just bringing that up that it's it's yes. (25:50) We can we're gonna be talking about through diabetes, but it's also really helpful as we think about our universal experience.

Scott Benner (25:56) And do you think this is a, kind of an exploded view because the diabetes is so, I I guess, ever present. (26:06) But this is if you you've had no contact with diabetes or or chronic illness, you're still experiencing this stuff, probably just not at the same rate. (26:15) But but, you know, you you said something earlier that probably sounded so simple, but, I took it deeper. (26:21) But you said we all have a body. (26:23) You you know, like and and everyone's body is changing and slowly failing or, you know, falling apart or however you wanna put it, like, as you go.

Scott Benner (26:32) And it could be something as simple as, like, I can't believe my heel hurts every time I walk. (26:36) And, you know, like and then that's I guess that gives you a little bit of the, I'm not right where I was before. (26:44) I hear people talk about it all the time. (26:45) They joke about it, like, well, I'm getting older so my back hurts now. (26:48) And then they just your back doesn't stop hurting, but you just give a give up the the fight on it, I guess.

Scott Benner (26:54) Go, okay. (26:54) I accept that. (26:56) But I guess there's that maybe not seen by everybody impact of that of that process of of having the the, you know, the the thing that fails, you having to get over the idea that it's ever gonna go back to the way it was before. (27:12) And these are for small things, they're still difficult for people. (27:16) So when I stop and I think about them, you know, on something big like this, my, you know, my kid's pancreas stopped working.

Erika Forsyth (27:23) Mhmm.

Scott Benner (27:24) I now see why people are so intent, some of them, on figuring out why it happened. (27:32) I don't know if they think they're gonna fix it once they figure out why, but some people are very intent on, like, why did this happen? (27:37) I need to understand why this happened. (27:39) And the word normal, it gets brought up all the time. (27:43) Like, big people are always like, my life's never going to be normal again.

Scott Benner (27:47) That that that that really hurts them. (27:49) And I guess it's because of the finite nature of it. (27:53) I don't know. (27:53) I'm just I'm just listening. (27:55) I didn't get to hear your talk in, Orlando.

Scott Benner (27:57) So, I'm I'm having a lot of fun learning about it now. (28:01) And you see I know we're not done, but you see this going forward as a series where we break these ideas down into smaller episodes. (28:07) Is that right?

Erika Forsyth (28:08) Yes. (28:08) And and the questions and points that you're bringing up, what what is exciting for me is that even though this woman wrote this book kind of in general, the the concepts are so applicable to the, you know even the question of normal. (28:25) Like, what is normal? (28:26) Yeah. (28:26) Why do we even have that concept that there's normal and not normal?

Erika Forsyth (28:31) Mhmm. (28:32) The why me? (28:34) Who can I blame? (28:35) How can I fix this? (28:36) Who's at fault?

Erika Forsyth (28:37) And I think before we go into these last two points, I thought it might be maybe helpful to just review the stages of body grief.

Scott Benner (28:45) Please.

Erika Forsyth (28:46) So dismissal. (28:49) And, again, she these are not like any grief stages, they are not linear, but we're gonna talk about them as you might experience them, but you can always go back and forth. (28:58) So there's dismissal, shock, apology, fault, fight, and then hopelessness and hope. (29:15) So within those kind of seven stages, I think it's important for us to kind of review these two key concepts that that she talks about. (29:28) And the first one that are kind of applied and discussed through each stage, the first one is called perceived body betrayal.

Erika Forsyth (29:35) Mhmm. (29:36) And this is the narrative that somehow our body has betrayed us, that we and we have all felt this, whether it's with our pancreas or something else. (29:43) You just gave examples, my back, my heel, my eyesight. (29:47) You know, maybe it's even your voice. (29:49) You get it.

Erika Forsyth (29:49) You've lost your voice, and you have a sore throat. (29:52) Right? (29:52) So and we live in this narrative because it's our effort to control what's happening. (29:59) It's our effort to control our body. (30:02) And she says that this perceived body betrayal is the core driver of body grief Mhmm.

Erika Forsyth (30:09) Because it it then places us and and catapults us into this deep disconnect between our body and ourselves. (30:16) So we're pitting ourselves against our bodies when we have this kind of language that my body failed me. (30:21) My body gave out. (30:22) My pancreas failed me. (30:24) And it makes it seem like you were just kind of saying earlier that we're it's us against our bodies when when it's not.

Erika Forsyth (30:34) But that's what it actually really feels like.

Scott Benner (30:36) Right.

Erika Forsyth (30:37) And we'll go into all the reasons why.

Scott Benner (30:41) Well, I guess it could also feel like you against you. (30:45) Right? (30:45) Like Mhmm. (30:46) Like, almost like, another version of you attacking yourself. (30:50) Like, because I I am gonna get stuck on this idea a couple of times.

Scott Benner (30:54) I do hear what you're saying about it's it's my body is failing me. (30:59) But there's another I mean, you are your body. (31:02) Right? (31:02) Like, I know you're not, but you but you I mean, in the context of, like, reality and the way you think about it, I don't know how you're supposed to separate those two things. (31:10) I'm sure you can.

Scott Benner (31:11) And I'm I I would imagine that people who fight with things like cancer or people who have had type one diabetes for a long time and appear to be on the other side of it now, I imagine at some point they have to find a separation between me and it. (31:27) I don't know if that makes I might be wrong, but it's it's striking me that way.

Erika Forsyth (31:32) So the this concept of perceived body betrayal, yeah, is a natural response.

Scott Benner (31:39) Mhmm.

Erika Forsyth (31:39) But the way it's kind of understood and articulated is that if we it drives the grief, and then we but we don't wanna get stuck in that because we're always then gonna be trying to find, well, why did this happen? (31:55) Who can I blame? (31:57) This is unfair. (31:58) Those are all really normal and healthy responses

Scott Benner (32:01) Yeah.

Erika Forsyth (32:02) To a perceived loss, right, or mourning and the change in your body. (32:08) But you're kind of what I wanna understand your reflection is can see. (32:15) It's natural to stay kind of differentiated.

Scott Benner (32:18) Well, it seems to me that, like, if if you're feeling like your body failed you, I don't know how you're I don't know how I could separate, like, the feelings of the body being me. (32:32) Do know what I mean? (32:33) By that, like, like, how how am I not gonna get to the point where I feel like I failed myself, I guess, is the is is my statement. (32:40) Meanwhile, you're not in any control of the the physical attributes that you have, don't have, how well things work, or don't, how long they last, or don't. (32:49) But I don't know how it I it's almost like when you see, an athlete get hurt and they're so angry.

Scott Benner (32:55) Like, are they angry at their leg or are they angry at themselves? (32:59) Like, that's that's what I'm wondering if we'll we'll get through and find Mhmm. (33:02) At the, through the conversation. (33:04) Also, I'll tell you that this I feel so I feel, like, very hopeful about this conversation because I do know a number of people who've had significant illnesses or have lived with type one for a long time who when you meet them, they really I I I would bet my life that they're on the other side of this problem somehow. (33:24) And if they got there, I would imagine that understanding the process could help other people get there maybe even more quickly.

Scott Benner (33:32) Right? (33:32) Because if we're all really going through this thing, I often think that diabetes is just like a mirror held up to your face that feels like it's fast forwarded. (33:41) Because we all get sick and get older and and are you know, and have more and more health issues as we go. (33:48) Diabetes just speeds the whole thing up a little bit, and and it gives it I think it gives more or all of it to you in in a short amount of time instead of the way that, I guess, nature intends it is for you to, like, slowly experience these things. (34:04) And and I I just think that maybe once you see them all, know them all, if you could process them all, maybe you could leave them all behind at least, you know, as much as possible.

Scott Benner (34:15) Anyway, I I think this is gonna be great.

Erika Forsyth (34:18) Yes. (34:18) And there there there is hope because there has to be, and that's, you know, why why I do what I do and why I'm bringing this this into our kind of, hopefully, our our mindfulness, our awareness that and I know you said kind of get on the other side of it. (34:39) And I know what you mean, but you are always kind of in these stages.

Scott Benner (34:44) It's not gonna stop. (34:45) Right?

Erika Forsyth (34:45) But gonna stop, but you're gonna have maybe more awareness and more tool practices.

Scott Benner (34:49) So that it doesn't hit you. (34:51) Maybe doesn't hit you as hard in the moment or you're able to process it

Erika Forsyth (34:55) Yes.

Scott Benner (34:55) More more judiciously maybe.

Erika Forsyth (34:58) Yeah. (34:58) Or and and process it and not try and ignore it or fix it.

Scott Benner (35:02) Right.

Erika Forsyth (35:02) Yes.

Scott Benner (35:03) Yeah.

Erika Forsyth (35:04) So kind of conversely from this perceived body betrayal concept, the other important one is called body trust.

Scott Benner (35:14) Okay.

Erika Forsyth (35:15) And this is important because our body and this might this is kind of hard to understand without gonna going through all the stages, which we will get there, that our body actually does not fail us. (35:28) And so she talks about body trust as this kind of reciprocal concept. (35:34) Right? (35:35) So body trust is defined as a two way street. (35:40) In order to trust our bodies, our body needs to trust us to take care of it, to be kind to it, and to nourish it in all ways.

Erika Forsyth (35:51) Right? (35:52) So there's this kind of back and forth between in order to trust our bodies, our body needs to trust us. (35:59) And this this concept, takes some time to understand what that actually looks like, feels like, and and in practice. (36:09) But underneath it is this mindset that our body is not against us. (36:14) It's not like, oh, I'm gonna go.

Erika Forsyth (36:15) I'm gonna I'm gonna shut down this thing and see what she can do with it. (36:19) Right. (36:20) Right? (36:20) That our bodies are always on our side. (36:24) And when we work through these stages and engaging in the body grief, it means that we get to meet our body where it's at right now instead of trying to ignore it or push it down or say, I'm fine.

Erika Forsyth (36:41) I'll be fine. (36:44) But to that's part of the body trust process is saying, okay. (36:48) Where am I hurting right now? (36:50) Or where am I not hurting physically or emotionally? (36:56) And just being present with that in the in the moment.

Erika Forsyth (37:00) Yeah.

Scott Benner (37:02) Well, you're making me think of all the people that I've interviewed who have, like, what you would consider to be, like, significant extra things to to work through Kate, who's been on the show a couple of times, you know, who's in a chair and, you know, even the gentleman the other day who's you know, he's completely blind. (37:22) He was even able to, like, forgive. (37:24) Like, he was diagnosed at a time where he you know, the insulin regimen wasn't great. (37:29) He didn't really know what he was doing. (37:31) He was misdiagnosed for a long time, so he was living probably with LADA and being treated for type two.

Scott Benner (37:37) You know? (37:38) And then, you know, one day looks up and sees, like, spots in his eyes, and the next thing you know, it's, you know, it's thirty five years later, and he's been blind for decades. (37:48) And he even told me that he had, initially, after seeing the spots, had a surgery, and he's not even sure if the surgeon didn't maybe make things worse for him. (37:59) And he still wasn't mad. (38:01) I was I really like, the guy somebody should study him.

Scott Benner (38:05) But, you know and and thinking about Kate Brim and and, like, her talking about I'll never forget when she told me about the worst thing that could happen is getting in bed and realizing you left a light on when you're when you're a paraplegic.

Erika Forsyth (38:17) Yes.

Scott Benner (38:18) And and I thought, well, what a simple little thing. (38:20) Like, we've all jumped in bed and thought, ugh, I left the light on in the hallway. (38:24) And, you know, and the worst thing that happens to you is, oh, I gotta get out. (38:27) It's gonna be chilly. (38:28) And she's gotta go through an entire process if she wants to go put that light back off again.

Scott Benner (38:32) And yet, there she was with maybe one of the best attitudes I ever heard in my life. (38:37) And and I'm I I've been trying to tell those people stories in the hopes that somebody can, you know, I don't know, take something from it and try to apply it back to their own life. (38:49) And, again, I'm just I'm very happy today because I think this is really gonna maybe, help that for a lot of people. (38:56) I can't I can't help it to to that keeps going over in my head while you're talking that that that maybe this thing that I've been hoping, which is I I'll just keep telling stories till somebody goes, hey. (39:05) You know what?

Scott Benner (39:05) That makes a lot of sense. (39:06) I'm gonna try to adopt a little bit of that. (39:08) Maybe there's actually a process of adoption that, that that would, be helpful. (39:13) I'm sorry. (39:14) I'm talking over.

Scott Benner (39:14) I apologize.

Erika Forsyth (39:15) No. (39:15) No. (39:15) That's good. (39:15) I'm I think that's a great way to to pause our, to conclude our our intro Okay. (39:23) With those hopeful stories.

Scott Benner (39:25) Yeah. (39:25) Well, I really appreciate this. (39:26) I I can't wait to get back together and and go on to the next part. (39:29) Do you do you have the rest of it laid out? (39:31) Can you tease it here a little bit, or do you wanna just let them find out the next time they see an episode?

Erika Forsyth (39:37) Yes. (39:37) I mean, I think we can review. (39:38) We'll just from this kind of introduction around, you know, what is what is body grief? (39:43) How can we discuss it and think about it through the lens of diabetes? (39:47) These concepts of perceived body betrayal and body trust.

Erika Forsyth (39:51) We then will move into the stages, that I can say again are dismissal Mhmm. (39:58) Which is I mean, should I just Yeah.

Scott Benner (40:00) Roll roll through them real quick so people know what's coming.

Erika Forsyth (40:02) Yeah. (40:03) Okay. (40:03) Okay. (40:03) So, yeah, so these are the stages again. (40:05) So dismissal, which can feel like denial, right, in the normal or the kind of traditional grief series.

Erika Forsyth (40:14) Dismissal, shock, which is actually another stage in the grief stages, apology, fault, fight, hopelessness, and hope.

Scott Benner (40:29) Okay.

Erika Forsyth (40:30) And so we will move and kind of discuss move through those stages and discuss them and then apply them to the to our, you know, life with diabetes.

Scott Benner (40:40) Awesome. (40:40) So this one will be called probably body grief introduction or something. (40:45) And then, you'll look for those those other, topics, moving forward. (40:50) And I really appreciate this. (40:51) Thank you so much.

Erika Forsyth (40:51) Yes. (40:52) You're welcome. (40:53) Thank you.

Scott Benner (41:00) Thanks for tuning in today, and thanks to Medtronic diabetes for sponsoring this episode. (41:05) We've been talking about Medtronic's MiniMed seven eighty g system today, an automated insulin delivery system that helps make diabetes management easier day and night. (41:13) Whether it's their meal detection technology or the Medtronic extended infusion set, it all comes together to simplify life with diabetes. (41:21) Go find out more at my link, medtronic diabetes dot com slash juice box. (41:26) I'd like to thank the blood glucose meter that my daughter carries, the Kontoor Next Gen blood glucose meter.

Scott Benner (41:33) Learn more and get started today at kontoornext.com/juicebox. (41:39) And don't forget, you may be paying more through your insurance right now for the meter you have than you would pay for the Kontoor Next Gen in cash. (41:49) There are links in the show notes of the audio app you're listening in right now and links at juiceboxpodcast.com to Kontoor and all of the sponsors. (41:58) Hey. (41:58) I'm dropping in to tell you about a small change being made to the Juice Cruise twenty twenty six schedule.

Scott Benner (42:03) This adjustment was made by Celebrity Cruise Lines, not by me. (42:06) Anyway, we're still going out on the Celebrity Beyond cruise ship, which is awesome. (42:11) Check out the walkthrough video at juiceboxpodcast.com/juicecruise. (42:15) The ship is awesome. (42:17) Still a seven night cruise.

Scott Benner (42:19) It still leaves out of Miami on June 21. (42:22) Actually, most of this is the same. (42:24) We leave Miami June 21, head to CocoCay in The Bahamas, but then we're going to San Juan, Puerto Rico instead of Saint Thomas. (42:31) After that, Bastille, I think I'm saying that wrong, Saint Kitts And Nevis. (42:36) This place is gorgeous.

Scott Benner (42:37) Google it. (42:38) I mean, you're probably gonna have to go to my link to get the correct spelling because my pronunciation is so bad. (42:42) But once you get the Saint Kitts and you Google it, you're gonna and see a photo that says to you, oh, I wanna go there. (42:49) Come meet other people living with type one diabetes, from caregivers to children to adults. (42:55) Last year, we had a 100 people on our cruise, and it was fabulous.

Scott Benner (43:00) You can see pictures to get at my link, juiceboxpodcast.com/juicecruise. (43:05) You can see those pictures from last year there. (43:08) The link also gives you an opportunity to register for the cruise or to contact Suzanne from Cruise Planners. (43:13) She takes care of all the logistics. (43:15) I'm just excited that I might see you there.

Scott Benner (43:18) It's a beautiful event for families, for singles, a wonderful opportunity to meet people, swap stories, make friendships, and learn. (43:27) If you're looking for community around type one diabetes, check out the Juice Box podcast private Facebook group. (43:34) Juice Box podcast, type one diabetes. (43:37) But everybody is welcome. (43:38) Type one, type two, gestational, loved ones, it doesn't matter to me.

Scott Benner (43:43) If you're impacted by diabetes and you're looking for support, comfort, or community, check out Juice Box podcast, type one diabetes on Facebook. (43:52) I can't thank you enough for listening. (43:53) Please make sure you're subscribed or following in your audio app. (43:57) I'll be back tomorrow with another episode of the Juice Box podcast.

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Scott Benner 1/17/26 Scott Benner 1/17/26

#1740 Bolus 4 - Potato Chips

Jenny and Scott talk about bolusing for potato chips.

+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Scott Benner (0:0) Hello, friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Juice Box podcast. (0:15) In every episode of bolus four, Jenny Smith and I are gonna take a few minutes to talk through how to bolus for a single item of food. (0:22) Jenny and I are gonna follow a little bit of a road map called meal bolt. (0:27) Measure the meal. (0:28) Evaluate yourself.

Scott Benner (0:30) Add the base units. (0:31) Layer a correction. (0:33) Build the bolus shape. (0:34) Offset the timing. (0:35) Look at the CGM.

Scott Benner (0:36) Tweak for next time. (0:38) Having said that, these episodes are gonna be very conversational and not incredibly technical. (0:44) We want you to hear how we think about it, but we also would like you to know that this is kind of the pathway we're considering while we're talking about it. (0:52) So while you might not hear us say every letter of Mielboldt in every episode, we will be thinking about it while we're talking. (0:59) If you wanna learn more, go to juiceboxpodcast.com/meal-bolt.

Scott Benner (1:05) But for now, we'll find out how to bowl us for today's subject. (1:14) Nothing you hear on the Juice Box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. (1:18) Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. (1:23) Jenny, I, today, just today, in fact, went to the interwebs and said, what are the most popular junk foods in The United States Of America? (1:34) And it put it into categories for me.

Scott Benner (1:36) Potato chips, chocolate bars, frozen or fast food pizza, soda, candy, fast food burgers, ice cream and frozen treats, cheese snacks, which is interesting, I thought, packaged cookies, snacks, cakes, and pastries.

Jenny Smith (1:56) There's some fancy organization there.

Scott Benner (2:01) I like that this is the way they thought to put it, that AI saw this. (2:05) Like, because this what I use. (2:06) I use AI just to to pull it together real quick. (2:08) I also did a couple of Google searches, put it all together. (2:10) But

Jenny Smith (2:10) And are these, like, the number the first one that was listed is the number one, or are these just the top and they're not ordered by which one's the most popular of these?

Scott Benner (2:20) I asked for them to then be put into popularity by category. (2:25) So potato potato chips gave me, let's see, Lay's, Ruffles, Pringles, Cape Cod, and Kettle brand. (2:33) Oh. (2:33) So we're gonna today, we're gonna do Lay's potato chips.

Jenny Smith (2:37) Lay's potato chips. (2:39) Got it.

Scott Benner (2:40) Got it. (2:41) Alright. (2:42) And I have a thought about all this when we're done. (2:45) So Lay's classic potato chips, yellow bag, thin chip, no ridges. (2:49) You understand?

Jenny Smith (2:50) Mhmm.

Scott Benner (2:51) Total fat, 10 grams. (2:54) Saturated fat, 1.5. (2:55) Cholesterol, none. (2:57) Sodium, a 170. (2:59) Total carbohydrates, 15.

Scott Benner (3:02) There's a gram of dietary fiber. (3:04) They claim there's calcium in it and a couple of other things. (3:08) But this is for a serving size of about 15 chips.

Jenny Smith (3:14) Mhmm.

Scott Benner (3:15) Okay. (3:15) It says there are eight servings per container.

Jenny Smith (3:18) Do you want a little factoid right there with the carbs and the chips?

Scott Benner (3:21) I do.

Jenny Smith (3:22) You said 15 grams of carb. (3:24) Right?

Scott Benner (3:24) Mhmm.

Jenny Smith (3:25) And a serving is approximately 15 chips.

Scott Benner (3:28) Yep.

Jenny Smith (3:29) In general, a good rule of thumb, if you don't have a label, is a potato chip is about a gram a carb per chip.

Scott Benner (3:37) No matter what brand?

Jenny Smith (3:39) Again, this is a it's a generalization, a broad one. (3:41) But in in general, I mean, Lay's chips aren't teeny tiny chips. (3:45) They're all fairly uniform. (3:47) It's like ugly apples. (3:49) They don't put them out in the bag.

Jenny Smith (3:50) Right? (3:50) So all the chips are about the same size. (3:54) But in general, potato chips are about a gram of carbon chip. (3:57) And despite not talking about them, tortilla chips are about two, sometimes three grams of carb per chip.

Scott Benner (4:03) Oh, okay.

Jenny Smith (4:03) It's a little more dense, but just for potato chips purpose.

Scott Benner (4:06) Alright. (4:07) So I went and looked at ruffles just for fun. (4:10) And, yeah, total carbs, 15. (4:14) Mhmm. (4:14) Alright.

Scott Benner (4:15) So we look up and we say to ourselves, we're gonna have chips. (4:18) Now what do you think the biggest problem with chips is is that you don't eat 15 chips. (4:23) Right?

Jenny Smith (4:23) No. (4:24) No. (4:24) What's the what's the what's the Pringles fill kick? (4:27) It's once you pop, you can't stop.

Scott Benner (4:29) Oh, is that what they say? (4:30) That's awesome.

Jenny Smith (4:31) Think that's what they at least that's what they used to say. (4:33) It's like the Band Aid commercial. (4:34) Nobody knows anymore. (4:35) Right? (4:35) But, yes, I think you're correct.

Jenny Smith (4:37) Nobody unless they have the single serve bags, which is a very clear indication of what a single portion is.

Scott Benner (4:45) Mhmm.

Jenny Smith (4:45) Once you open that bag, it's very easy to keep grabbing.

Scott Benner (4:49) Yes. (4:49) I would think that is completely true. (4:51) I noticed this week we were away on vacation this week, and there was we sat at, like, kind of like a a bar and Mhmm. (5:02) Ordered, like, you know, like, fresh made chips from the bar. (5:05) I know for certain I ate 10 more when I was done by the time I was done with them.

Jenny Smith (5:10) I'm sure.

Scott Benner (5:10) Yeah. (5:10) They had, like, Parmesan cheese on top of them and, like, some like, they were

Jenny Smith (5:14) Those are some fancy chips.

Scott Benner (5:15) They were fancy chips.

Jenny Smith (5:16) Did you eat tomatoes with them, Scott?

Scott Benner (5:18) Jenny, I wanna tell you what I did this week. (5:20) You're gonna get me off track real quick. (5:22) Okay? (5:22) But in a previous episode, I what did I say? (5:25) I'd never had a tomato, and I've never had because I said I've never had salsa even.

Scott Benner (5:31) So I did I ate salsa this week. (5:34) And when there was a chunk of a tomato in it, I kept going. (5:39) So, technically, I've had a tomato now.

Jenny Smith (5:42) There you go.

Scott Benner (5:43) Was very, very spicy, and it was on a tortilla chip. (5:47) I just wanna point that out as well. (5:48) What else was there was something else this weekend I did. (5:50) I texted you about both things, didn't I?

Jenny Smith (5:53) You texted me the tortilla chips and the salsa, and I think you actually said salsa, check, or done or something like that.

Scott Benner (6:00) Yes. (6:00) I sent that back. (6:02) I said salsa, check. (6:03) And then Jenny sends back a picture of her salad that just literally has greens and a giant tomato in the middle of it that I know you probably ate like an apple. (6:11) I did that.

Scott Benner (6:11) Well, I also sent you a

Jenny Smith (6:13) Oh, you sent me a funny picture, which I didn't I forgot to respond to.

Scott Benner (6:17) It's a whole shelf of Velveeta cheese that I saw at the grocery store yesterday. (6:21) Just like it genuinely looks like a 100 maybe more boxes of Velveeta cheese covering four different shelves in different sizes. (6:29) I saw that. (6:30) Was like, that's funny. (6:30) I'll send it to Johnny.

Scott Benner (6:31) Okay. (6:31) So sorry about that. (6:33) Are

Jenny Smith (6:33) going Break down the to loaves chips.

Scott Benner (6:34) Yep. (6:35) So we're gonna we broke down the chips. (6:36) Right? (6:36) We know what the carbs are. (6:38) Why don't we say this time I'm gonna do something a little crazier.

Scott Benner (6:41) Let's say today that, you know, your blood sugar is a 150. (6:44) Right? (6:45) So you now you've looked up. (6:47) You're like, oh, I'm a 150. (6:49) I'm about to have 15 grams of chips.

Scott Benner (6:51) Hopefully. (6:52) Probably not. (6:53) So now you need to bolus for the number, the one fifty. (6:57) Right? (6:57) Right?

Scott Benner (6:57) Whatever your target is, you there's an amount of insulin that'll bring your one fifty that target. (7:01) That insulin goes in. (7:03) Insulin for the you know, if you're one to 10, right, 15 carbs is gonna be Right. (7:07) A unit and a half.

Jenny Smith (7:09) Right.

Scott Benner (7:10) And then, you know, we'll, you know, look at all the things. (7:13) Are we gonna be active? (7:14) Are we not? (7:15) I'm guessing if you're eating chips, it's possible you're gonna be inactive. (7:19) Chips are a sitting around thing, aren't they?

Jenny Smith (7:21) Unless they're served at, like, a picnic or a barbecue or, you know, that kind of thing, then maybe you're doing something after.

Scott Benner (7:27) Fair enough. (7:28) Fair enough. (7:28) So are we gonna be but is are chips a thing that you think activity would cut into, or are they gonna be a thing that are gonna be too sticky for activity to break?

Jenny Smith (7:39) They actually hold the activity from dropping you. (7:42) I mean, if you consider this this particular brand

Scott Benner (7:45) Mhmm.

Jenny Smith (7:45) This chip. (7:46) Right? (7:46) We have 10 grams of fat.

Scott Benner (7:49) Mhmm. (7:49) Yeah.

Jenny Smith (7:49) That's not light fat. (7:51) When we look at, you know, what's the total what's the total calories in this?

Scott Benner (7:55) $1.60 for the 15 chips.

Jenny Smith (7:57) One sixty. (7:58) So if you consider how many of the calories are coming from just fat

Scott Benner (8:04) Mhmm.

Jenny Smith (8:05) You're looking at nine calories per gram, which is 90 of these calories. (8:09) 90 of a 160. (8:11) That's more than 50% is coming from fat. (8:14) Mhmm. (8:15) Which means that they're going to be more let's call it stabilizing.

Scott Benner (8:20) Yeah. (8:21) Stabilizing. (8:21) Jenny's like, don't want it to be too positive of a word. (8:23) But yeah.

Jenny Smith (8:24) Yeah. (8:24) Yeah. (8:25) Yeah. (8:25) But more stabilizing. (8:26) So when you ask about activity, you may think, well, I am gonna be active after this, then maybe these will hold me a little bit better.

Jenny Smith (8:34) And I am not encouraging people to eat Lay's chips to be stable in exercise. (8:38) I just wanna make that very clear.

Scott Benner (8:40) Just being we're just trying to talk about the chips for a moment.

Jenny Smith (8:42) Just talking about the chips. (8:43) Yes. (8:43) But it's a good consideration now for those who aren't going to be let's say, you're lounging around and it's, you know, a cookout and you're just the one you like to sit in your lawn chair and talk to whoever's there. (8:54) Mhmm. (8:54) Then you might actually find that bolus thing just for the carbs, especially if you have more than just the 15 chips

Scott Benner (9:01) Mhmm.

Jenny Smith (9:02) You're likely to stay maybe stock Yeah. (9:06) Higher.

Scott Benner (9:07) I mean, this is also could be a situation where the chips are going with beer. (9:10) Right? (9:11) That could be another thing. (9:12) Yeah. (9:13) So anyway burgers

Jenny Smith (9:14) or yes.

Scott Benner (9:15) So but but anyway, let's taking it back to just I grabbed a bag of chips.

Jenny Smith (9:19) Mhmm.

Scott Benner (9:19) Understand what your activity is gonna be afterwards. (9:22) That could impact how much insulin you're gonna use. (9:24) Right. (9:25) Time of day sensitivity, other factors like that that we're gonna look at. (9:29) Now, pre bolus thing.

Scott Benner (9:30) Here's one where I mean, no person in the world I don't have diabetes, and I have so much compassion for pre bolus thing. (9:38) You have no idea, especially as, you know, my daughter gets older and I can see her, you know, becoming more and more, like, of a I don't know. (9:45) An adult, has more things to do. (9:47) Right? (9:47) Yeah.

Scott Benner (9:48) It's hard to remember to pre bolus. (9:49) I understand. (9:50) But you don't pre bolus a potato chip. (9:52) It's gonna grab you pretty quickly, and you're gonna be fighting with it then for hours afterwards.

Jenny Smith (9:57) So And that's frustrating given what we just talked about with the fat.

Scott Benner (10:00) Yeah. (10:01) Yeah.

Jenny Smith (10:01) For sure. (10:02) But if you go back to some of the nutrition episodes that we did Mhmm. (10:07) You'll understand that the more processed something is like, we're not talking about this being a baked potato with a spoonful of butter on top.

Scott Benner (10:16) Right.

Jenny Smith (10:17) We're talking about something that's, like, processed potato flakes.

Scott Benner (10:21) Maybe.

Jenny Smith (10:22) May maybe. (10:23) Yes. (10:25) It started out as a potato at some point in its life, and now we have something that's a chip. (10:31) It's flavorful. (10:32) It's got fat.

Jenny Smith (10:33) It crunches. (10:34) It's got salt. (10:35) They do it the right way. (10:36) That's why you don't just eat 15 of them. (10:38) Yeah.

Jenny Smith (10:38) But in the long run, you have a two sided effect here. (10:43) If you don't pre bolus, you are going to get a rise eating again just the potato chips, but then you may have a lingering effect from the fat. (10:53) There's not a heck of a lot of I mean, I'd almost call these void of protein. (10:57) There's nothing valuable protein wise here.

Scott Benner (10:59) Yeah.

Jenny Smith (10:59) But the fat definitely is gonna linger.

Scott Benner (11:02) Mhmm. (11:02) Yeah. (11:03) I mean, potatoes, vegetable oil, canola, corn, soybean oil, and or sunflower oil, salt. (11:09) Mhmm. (11:09) That's it.

Scott Benner (11:10) So it's more of the processed nature of it that's

Jenny Smith (11:13) It is.

Scott Benner (11:14) Yeah. (11:14) And then you're getting the fat from the

Jenny Smith (11:16) oils. (11:17) Yes.

Scott Benner (11:17) Okay. (11:18) Alright. (11:18) So you process the potato, that makes it more difficult for your body to process. (11:22) You add a bunch of oil, it slows down your digestion, makes it even more difficult again. (11:27) Then you run into the idea that when you get to 15 chips, you're like, that was a nice appetizer.

Scott Benner (11:32) I'm gonna just grab a handful of chips next time. (11:35) And now you're doing the blind, like, 45 carbs. (11:38) What is 45 everyone's number, by the way? (11:41) Yeah.

Jenny Smith (11:42) I kind of funny. (11:43) It's they're round numbers. (11:44) If you look at enough records like I do

Scott Benner (11:47) Mhmm.

Jenny Smith (11:48) You'll definitely be able to see sure. (11:51) Some things are even five, ten, 15. (11:54) Most things are not.

Scott Benner (11:55) Mhmm.

Jenny Smith (11:56) Most things are, like, eighteen, twenty three. (11:59) 28 is a very common carb count on lots of different foods.

Scott Benner (12:04) Yeah.

Jenny Smith (12:04) Right? (12:05) But you can definitely tell

Scott Benner (12:07) Mhmm.

Jenny Smith (12:08) That, this was just an estimate. (12:10) It's like, 45, 45, 45 for each meal. (12:13) No. (12:14) Probably not, but good guess.

Scott Benner (12:16) Arden's give up number is 45. (12:18) So I wonder how many other people's is just like, this is 45. (12:21) I saw her do it yesterday, and I thought, this is not 45. (12:24) This is probably more. (12:26) But moreover, the bigger problem was is that it was a sit down bolus eight, five minutes later.

Scott Benner (12:31) And I was like, this is not gonna go well. (12:34) And in the end, hours later, that bolus missed by four units, I think. (12:40) That's a fairly sick significant amount. (12:43) Yeah.

Jenny Smith (12:43) Yeah. (12:43) Yeah.

Scott Benner (12:43) So, anyway, I'm not telling you to like, I know people are like, look. (12:47) I don't count my carbs, but, like, you gotta guess you gotta guess right. (12:50) So I think Fairly close. (12:52) Yeah. (12:52) Yeah.

Scott Benner (12:52) So pre bolus these chips if you can because if not, you're gonna fight with them and maybe be honest with yourself about how many you're gonna eat so that you can get that insulin in upfront.

Jenny Smith (13:02) Right. (13:03) Yeah. (13:03) Absolutely.

Scott Benner (13:04) Do you have a favorite potato chip?

Jenny Smith (13:06) Like, brand wise, nothing.

Scott Benner (13:07) No?

Jenny Smith (13:08) Well, I can't actually say it was probably two weeks ago we were gonna get some food to have at the pool for an evening dinner and, like, swim.

Scott Benner (13:18) Mhmm.

Jenny Smith (13:20) So I made some sandwiches, and the boys always they they want chips. (13:24) Like, if they could pick, they would have picked chips probably every single day of their life because, you know, who wouldn't? (13:30) So I stopped at the grocery, and I did pick up I think it was the Boulder brand.

Scott Benner (13:35) Boulder?

Jenny Smith (13:36) Because they're made with avocado oil.

Scott Benner (13:39) Oh, okay. (13:41) Does that did you eat any of them?

Jenny Smith (13:43) I did. (13:43) They were they I mean, from a potato chip aspect, I don't like something that's gonna melt in my mouth, and they, like, they tasted

Scott Benner (13:51) They crunched.

Jenny Smith (13:52) They crunched, and they had, like, substance to them.

Scott Benner (13:56) Mhmm.

Jenny Smith (13:57) So, yes, avocado oil or I know there are some brands that use, olive oil as well.

Scott Benner (14:04) Okay.

Jenny Smith (14:05) But I think that was the brand that I got, if I remember correctly.

Scott Benner (14:08) Okay. (14:08) Alright. (14:09) Alright. (14:09) There Jenny's endorsing.

Jenny Smith (14:11) There there you go. (14:12) Jenny ate potato chips. (14:13) That's what you can call this episode. (14:14) Alright.

Scott Benner (14:15) I'll see you later.

Jenny Smith (14:17) Thanks.

Scott Benner (14:26) In each episode of the bolus four series, Jenny, Smith, and I are gonna pick one food and talk through the bolus thing for that food. (14:35) We hope you find it valuable. (14:37) Generally speaking, we're gonna follow a bit of a formula, the meal bolt formula, m e a l b o l t. (14:45) You can learn more about it at juiceboxpodcast.com/meal-bolt. (14:51) But here's what it is.

Scott Benner (14:52) Step one, m, measure the meal. (14:57) E, evaluate yourself. (15:00) A, add the base units. (15:02) L, layer a correction. (15:06) B, build the bolus shape, o, offset the timing, l, look at the CGM, and t, tweak for next time.

Scott Benner (15:15) In a nutshell, we measure our meal, total carbohydrates, protein, fat, consider the glycemic index and the glycemic load. (15:24) And then we evaluate yourself. (15:26) What's your current blood sugar? (15:27) How much insulin's on board? (15:28) And what kind of activity are you gonna be involved in or not involved in?

Scott Benner (15:32) Do have any stress, hormones, illness? (15:35) What's going on with you? (15:37) Then a, we add the base units. (15:39) Your carbs divided by insulin to carb ratio, just a simple bolus. (15:44) L, layer of correction.

Scott Benner (15:45) Right? (15:47) Do you have to add or subtract insulin based on your current blood sugar? (15:50) Build the bolus shape. (15:52) Are we gonna give it all upfront, a 100% for a fast digesting meal, or is there gonna be like a combo or a square wave bolus? (15:59) Does it have to be extended?

Scott Benner (16:01) Offset the timing. (16:02) This is about pre bolusing. (16:04) Does it take a couple of minutes this meal or maybe twenty minutes? (16:08) Are we gonna have to again consider combo square wave boluses and meals? (16:13) Figure out the timing of that meal.

Scott Benner (16:15) And then l, look at the CGM. (16:18) An hour later, was there a fast spike? (16:20) Three hours later, was there a delayed rise? (16:22) Five hours later, is there any lingering effect from fat and protein? (16:26) Tweak.

Scott Benner (16:28) Tweak for next time, t. (16:30) What did you eat? (16:31) How much insulin and when? (16:33) What did your blood sugar curve look like? (16:36) What would you do next time?

Scott Benner (16:38) This is what we're gonna talk about in every episode of bolus four. (16:43) Measure the meal. (16:44) Evaluate yourself. (16:45) Add the base units. (16:46) Layer a correction, build the bolus shape, offset the timing, look at the CGM, tweak for next time.

Scott Benner (16:52) But it's not gonna be that confusing, and we're not gonna ask you to remember all of that stuff. (16:57) But that's the pathway that Jenny and I are gonna use to speak about each bolus. (17:05) Hey. (17:05) Thanks for listening all the way to the end. (17:07) I really appreciate your loyalty and listenership.

Scott Benner (17:10) Thank you so much for listening. (17:12) I'll be back very soon with another episode of the Juice Box podcast. (17:16) The episode you just heard was professionally edited by Wrong Way Recording. (17:21) Wrongwayrecording.com.

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#1739 Smooth Operator - Part 2

Claire shares her story of being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 29 during her lunch break, only to board an international flight to Australia just days later. A long-time listener of the podcast, Claire discusses how she utilized the "Pro Tip" series and Jenny Smith’s book to prepare for a healthy pregnancy.

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Claire (0:10) I'm Claire, and I've had type one diabetes for ten years. (0:13) I'm really excited to talk today.

Scott Benner (0:18) Friends, we're all back together for the next episode of the Juice Box podcast. (0:21) Welcome. (0:22) Please don't forget that nothing you hear on the Juice Box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. (0:28) Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan or becoming bold with insulin. (0:42) Alright.

Scott Benner (0:42) Let's get down to it. (0:43) You want the management stuff from the podcast. (0:45) You don't care about all this chitting and chatting with other people. (0:48) Juiceboxpodcast.com/lists. (0:52) They are downloadable, easy to read, every series, every episode.

Scott Benner (0:57) They're all numbered. (0:58) Makes it super simple for you to go right into that search feature. (1:01) In your audio app, type juice box one seven nine five to find episode one seven nine five. (1:08) Juiceboxpodcast.com/lists. (1:24) I'm having an on body vibe alert.

Scott Benner (1:27) This episode of the Juice Box podcast is sponsored by Eversense three sixty five, the only one year wear CGM. (1:35) That's one insertion and one CGM a year. (1:38) One CGM, one year. (1:41) Not every ten or fourteen days. (1:43) Ever since cgm.com/juicebox.

Scott Benner (1:46) This episode of the Juice Box podcast is sponsored by US Med. (1:51) Usmed.com/juicebox, or call (888) 721-1514. (1:57) Get your supplies the same way we do from US Med. (2:01) Today's episode is sponsored by the Tandem Mobi system with Control IQ plus technology. (2:06) If you are looking for the only system with auto bolus, multiple wear options, and full control from your personal iPhone, you're looking for Tandem's newest pump and algorithm.

Scott Benner (2:17) Use my link to support the podcast, tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. (2:22) Check it out.

Claire (2:23) I'd say the first trimester first trimester, I kinda knew I was pregnant before I took the test just based on my CGM. (2:31) I was like, little insulin resistant today. (2:34) Mhmm. (2:35) So that was kinda cool. (2:38) So I immediately had changed my settings and just kinda increased my basal a little bit to compensate for that, reached out to my endo.

Claire (2:47) And I was seeing her the next week anyway, so it's perfect. (2:49) So went in, made some adjustments, and she basically just kinda cranked everything up a little bit

Scott Benner (2:53) Yeah.

Claire (2:53) To help with the resist the little bit of increased resistance I was having and to make sure I'm hitting those tighter goals.

Scott Benner (2:59) Mhmm.

Claire (3:00) And then we were keeping it a secret at first, which, you know, can everybody's probably gonna do it a little differently. (3:07) We kept it a little secret at first. (3:10) We wanna get all that blood work back. (3:12) We wanted to try and tell our family in person. (3:14) It was still very, you know, much COVID times.

Claire (3:18) So we were able to tell our family on Mother's Day. (3:22) And I think I was about ten weeks pregnant at that time. (3:27) And then I just was trying to be very cautious with what I was eating, count my carbs, know what I was eating, all that stuff, using all the tips and tricks I had, you know, previously read about and researched and experimented with. (3:42) Yeah. (3:43) But the first trimester wasn't too crazy.

Claire (3:46) Mhmm. (3:46) But then in that second trimester, it's probably around, like, eighteen weeks, give or take. (3:52) It just it was like Jenny says, you know, that roller coaster cranking up, cranking up, cranking up. (3:58) But I had a great team. (3:59) I had my OB, my high risk doctor, and my endo.

Claire (4:03) And the three of them are familiar with each other because, you know, they all work in the area. (4:08) My high risk doctor and my OB actually went to med school together.

Scott Benner (4:12) Okay.

Claire (4:13) And then my endo kind of led all the blood sugar insulin stuff. (4:18) Because I've heard a couple episodes where, you know, one person's driving. (4:22) One of those three doctors is driving, you know, the the changes insulin needs and, you know, all the changes. (4:29) But for me, it was my endo. (4:30) So every two weeks, we would connect through the messenger app.

Claire (4:36) She would review my log or she would review my CGM, all my pump data, everything, and then send me a message back with adjustments. (4:44) And then once a month, I would meet with her. (4:46) So I was making adjustments at least every two weeks. (4:50) And then anytime I would see a pattern change for two days instead of three or more, I would make adjustments accordingly.

Scott Benner (4:57) Okay.

Claire (4:57) So it just kept going up, up, up, up, up.

Scott Benner (5:01) How were you about I'm sorry. (5:02) How were you guys how were you guys connecting? (5:04) Was it texting? (5:05) Were you doing a portal? (5:07) How does phone

Claire (5:08) Message yeah. (5:08) Messaging through the portal. (5:10) Mhmm. (5:10) And then once a month I think at first, I was going in person and then we were doing virtual appointments where she would again review my data and we would talk in person.

Scott Benner (5:19) Okay.

Claire (5:20) So I was just in very close contact with her. (5:23) And as soon as anything went funky, I would just reach out and immediately get a response. (5:28) I remember I went into work. (5:31) I was 36. (5:33) I was, I think, right at thirty six weeks.

Claire (5:34) Went into work, and I my blood sugar just kept crashing. (5:38) And I was like, I don't think this is a good thing. (5:41) Now Jenny's book, she talks about it. (5:43) Must have missed that part. (5:45) But at thirty six weeks, your insulin needs kind of plateau or even dip.

Claire (5:50) So I reached out to my endocrinologist, and they called me right back. (5:54) And she was like, yep. (5:55) This is typical. (5:56) Just I think I decreased my basal 10%. (5:59) Everything leveled out.

Claire (6:00) It was fine. (6:02) So I was like, man, I didn't take Jenny's book to work today. (6:05) Should've.

Scott Benner (6:06) Why does that happen why does that happen at thirty six weeks? (6:09) Do you know?

Claire (6:10) I think it's I mean, Jenny would know. (6:15) But it's something about, like, everything kinda just settles out. (6:19) Like, I don't think it's and it all kinda goes back to the placenta. (6:22) I think a lot of that insulin resistance is from the placenta. (6:26) But I think everything just kinda, like, starts to settle out, level out, and your needs sometimes almost dip.

Claire (6:31) I don't know. (6:32) But at first, I was, like, worried that something was wrong. (6:35) Like, why why is this dropping?

Scott Benner (6:37) Mhmm.

Claire (6:38) But once I found out that it it was typical, expected, and the change was made and everything leveled out, then I was that was okay. (6:45) And my baby was moving fine too, so I was monitoring that too.

Scott Benner (6:49) Well, ironically, because eventually AI will stop us from needing to make babies, but it seems to know about this. (6:55) Let's check into it for a second. (6:58) Why insulin needs drop around thirty six weeks. (7:01) A shift can occur where insulin requirements plateau or even drop. (7:05) The main reasons would be, one, placental changes.

Scott Benner (7:07) As the placenta begins to age or mature towards the end of pregnancy, production of those insulin resisting driving hormones may decline. (7:15) Less placental hormone equals less insulin resistance equals lower insulin needs. (7:21) Fetal glucose use, the baby is growing rapidly and using more glucose directly from the mother's circulation. (7:27) That extra uptake by the fetus can reduce maternal blood sugar levels, again, lowering insulin demands. (7:33) And this one's listed as a clinical concern, early placental insufficiency.

Scott Benner (7:38) In some cases, a sudden and sharp drop in insulin needs can signal placental insufficiency, which is the placenta not functioning well. (7:45) That's why obstruction, obstetrics teams usually monitor closely if insulin requirements fall rapidly. (7:52) It can be an early red flag. (7:54) Practical takeaways are a modest reduction in insulin around thirty six weeks is common. (7:58) Normal physiological change and a dramatic drop should always be reported to the care team.

Scott Benner (8:03) There you go.

Claire (8:04) There we go.

Scott Benner (8:05) Nice. (8:06) And yeah. (8:06) And then one day, like, you'll we'll grow babies in labs, and AI will take care of all of it for us, and none of this will be important when it takes over and then turns us into the the machines that run the world.

Claire (8:16) But who's gonna name the babies?

Scott Benner (8:18) Well, if I can gain control, they'll all be named Scott.

Claire (8:22) Yeah. (8:23) If

Scott Benner (8:24) if my cult here's the plan. (8:26) I start a cult based around people taking care of their diabetes well. (8:29) Then, eventually, I get some coders in there. (8:31) We develop our own AI, and one day, we're can you imagine? (8:35) By the way, I I I if if any of are worried about AI, I I understand.

Scott Benner (8:39) And if any of you are excited about it, I understand too. (8:41) I'm very much hopeful that we fall somewhere in the middle where we're not slaves to computers, but yet it's helping us in different ways.

Claire (8:48) Yeah. (8:49) Mhmm.

Scott Benner (8:49) I I was listening to somebody talk about, medical research the other day. (8:54) And they said in their lab where they're researching, you know, a thing, that most of the people in that lab prior to AI would be people who were compel you know, compiling data and, you know, just making models so they could try to hopefully figure something out, then they'd end up calling, you know, somebody else that they know and said, hey. (9:14) Have you ever seen this? (9:15) Like, it was a very, like like, that kind of process. (9:18) And now those people, well, here's the downside of it.

Scott Benner (9:22) Those people don't have a job in the lab anymore. (9:24) But Oh, yeah. (9:25) But Yeah. (9:25) The AI is is doing the compilation. (9:29) And then how did he put it?

Scott Benner (9:31) He said, and then it considers things that would take me years of sitting there banging my head against the desk to see the the the the connections between it sees the connections in, like, a couple of hours and, and made it sound very hopeful. (9:46) And so I was like, awesome. (9:47) So, hopefully, that's the way I hope it goes, nevertheless. (9:50) Yeah. (9:50) Yeah.

Scott Benner (9:51) Although, in my mind, I just see that the the, the robot smashing the the skulls at the beginning of the Terminator movie. (9:58) So I'm

Claire (10:01) thinking of Spider Man with great power comes great responsibility. (10:05) Mhmm. (10:05) You can use it for good or for evil.

Scott Benner (10:07) Yeah. (10:08) And someone's gonna do one and someone's gonna do the other for sure. (10:10) Like, for every person who's out there, like, I wonder if it could help us compile data faster so that we could learn about medical advances. (10:16) There's someone else who's thinking, I wonder how I could get it to steal someone's money for me or house or, say, something like that. (10:23) Well Yeah.

Scott Benner (10:24) People. (10:24) What are you gonna do, Claire? (10:26) That that little kid you're raising over there, he could go either way. (10:28) We don't even know yet.

Claire (10:29) No. (10:30) Do you

Scott Benner (10:30) ever think about that? (10:31) Do you ever think about that? (10:32) Like, you could be raising a bank robber or, you know, somebody who's out helping people.

Claire (10:40) I think he'll be a helper. (10:41) Yeah. (10:42) He'll be a helper.

Scott Benner (10:42) Hope so. (10:43) It's nice. (10:43) I wonder if the people know. (10:45) Like, I'd like to get the people whose kids ended up being bank or bank is bank robber or real thing. (10:49) I'm saying something like it's 1965.

Scott Benner (10:52) But I wonder if somebody whose kid, like, grew up to do something like that. (10:56) I wonder if you could get an honest answer from them and say, hey. (10:58) When they were five, did you think this kid's gonna grow up to be a criminal? (11:02) Like, did you know? (11:03) You know what I mean?

Scott Benner (11:04) I'd love to know that.

Claire (11:05) Yeah. (11:06) Alright, Claire. (11:08) We've lost the threat. (11:09) Some there are probably some small signs.

Scott Benner (11:11) Small signs. (11:12) I'm like she's like, do not bum me out about my three year old. (11:14) He's awesome. (11:15) Stop it. (11:17) I'm thinking that.

Scott Benner (11:18) Claire, right now, she's like, oh my god. (11:20) He's gonna use heroin and rob banks? (11:21) That's not what I no. (11:25) Okay. (11:25) So you get that you get that drop at thirty six weeks.

Scott Benner (11:29) You you make your adjustment, and then how does it proceed from there?

Claire (11:33) So listening to the podcast episodes, I was like, okay. (11:36) Do I wanna manage my own blood sugar during labor and delivery or not? (11:40) Mhmm. (11:40) So, the plan was to induce it thirty nine weeks, which is, you know, the recommendation to anyone who's well controlled. (11:47) We're gonna induce you at thirty nine weeks.

Claire (11:49) They didn't wanna let it go on too long and risk placental failure. (11:52) That was, like, their concern about letting me go longer than thirty nine weeks. (11:56) Mhmm. (11:57) So I was like, okay. (11:58) Let's go with the plan.

Claire (11:59) And, you know, when I hit active labor, I was like, you know what? (12:04) I'm gonna I'll turn over the blood sugar control to you guys. (12:07) Because in my mind, was like, IV insulin's gonna work faster than subcutaneous, and I don't wanna be high. (12:14) So I was like, okay. (12:15) I'll turn it over to to you guys and, you know, one less thing for me to worry about.

Claire (12:18) That was my that was my plan. (12:20) Once we get there, I was managing my blood sugars during the early phases of labor all on my own, you know, at my I was wearing a Dexcom. (12:29) I was in manual mode. (12:31) This is before the Omnipod five algorithm existed.

Scott Benner (12:34) Mhmm.

Claire (12:35) I still was on my 10% decrease basal. (12:38) I think once I hit active labor, I actually had to drop it more because just all that energy expenditure of labor was bringing me low. (12:46) Anyway, so I'm, you know, I'm monitoring, managing, doing everything fine. (12:49) And my OB walks in, and she's like, are you you sure you wanna pass control over to us?

Scott Benner (12:55) Your your OB is like, you're doing a great job here. (12:57) Like She she did. (12:58) Yeah. (12:59) Yeah.

Claire (12:59) Actually she empowered me. (13:00) She's like, look. (13:00) You've been doing a great job so far. (13:02) Like, why don't you just keep doing it yourself? (13:04) And, you know, you can always change your mind.

Claire (13:05) You have ID access. (13:06) We can switch you over. (13:08) No big. (13:09) And I was like, really? (13:11) Like, you think I can do it?

Claire (13:12) Well, yeah. (13:13) You're right. (13:13) Like, I've I've been doing all of this myself here, and it's going really well. (13:18) I mean, my blood sugars are great between, like, 70 and a 100. (13:22) Mhmm.

Claire (13:23) And I was like, well, what's my blood sugar now? (13:25) 70. (13:26) I was like, well, what's your what would you do now? (13:29) Like, what's your protocol? (13:29) And I'm like, well, your blood sugar's only 70.

Claire (13:32) So we wouldn't give you any insulin. (13:33) I was like, wait a second. (13:34) You're not gonna give me any insulin? (13:36) I'm not gonna stay at 70. (13:37) I was like, yep.

Claire (13:37) Okay. (13:38) I got it. (13:38) I got it. (13:39) You guys, you do your job. (13:41) I'll do mine.

Claire (13:42) We're cool. (13:42) Got it.

Scott Benner (13:43) Nice. (13:44) Hey. (13:44) And worked out well?

Claire (13:45) It worked out really well. (13:47) There was only one minor problem.

Scott Benner (13:50) Mhmm.

Claire (13:50) But this is a great story. (13:52) So what happened?

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Claire (16:01) Eventually, my labor stalled and my doctor was like, okay. (16:04) I'm gonna give you an hour. (16:06) But if I come back in an hour and things are not ready to go, we're I would highly recommend a c section because I think if we just keep delaying it, we're delaying the inevitable. (16:16) I was like, okay. (16:17) Got an hour.

Claire (16:18) So in that hour, trying to, like, relax, keep it together, Look at my husband. (16:24) I'm like, okay. (16:25) You are gonna have to change my insulin pump settings for me when the time comes because I had my you know, all my prepregnancy settings, like, ready to go on my Omnipod and my PDM. (16:38) I was like, alright. (16:39) So take this in to the OR in your pocket.

Claire (16:41) And, you know, once the baby comes, we're all excited. (16:44) We're all happy. (16:45) Once the placenta's out, so we're gonna assume that happens, like

Scott Benner (16:49) oh. (16:50) Oh, where'd you go?

Claire (16:52) Sorry.

Scott Benner (16:52) No. (16:52) It's okay.

Claire (16:55) Speaking of, speaking of, what is it? (17:00) AI. (17:01) There goes my Amazon Alexa. (17:04) Okay. (17:04) So so my doctor says that, you know, I'm gonna come back in an hour.

Claire (17:10) Probably gonna need a C section. (17:12) If we keep delaying it, you know, an hour at a time, keep checking it every hour, she's like, think we're just delaying the inevitable.

Scott Benner (17:19) So You should have had your husband pinch your nose and blow into your mouth.

Claire (17:23) I I was trying anything. (17:24) Mentally, I was like, try and relax. (17:26) Like, baby, move. (17:28) Like, let's go. (17:31) But to me, c section wasn't the end of the world.

Claire (17:34) My my labor and delivery plan was I want the epidural, and I don't want my kid to get stuck on the way out. (17:39) Mhmm. (17:39) So as long as we accomplish those goals, we're good. (17:43) So I had epidural on board, you know, kind of mentally preparing. (17:47) Okay.

Claire (17:47) This might end in a c section. (17:48) But I had all my pre pregnancy settings and everything, like, ready to go on my Omnipod. (17:54) I just knew I had to switch it, and I knew how to switch it once the placenta was out since that was, like, the main driver of all the insulin resistance. (18:02) So so I turned to my husband, like, okay. (18:06) Here's my PDM.

Claire (18:07) Let me talk you through how to change it. (18:10) Okay. (18:10) You ready? (18:11) You're good? (18:11) Alright.

Claire (18:12) We're all good. (18:13) So I go in the OR first, and then he comes in right after me. (18:16) I'm like, you got the PDM? (18:17) He's like, yep. (18:18) Cool.

Claire (18:19) I actually feel terrible by this point. (18:22) Like, it's just been a long time, a lot of drugs. (18:24) I'm exhausted. (18:26) And I'm laying on the OR table, and I'm like, oh my gosh. (18:29) I'm gonna I'm gonna throw up.

Claire (18:30) I'm laying on my back. (18:31) I I can't throw up right now. (18:32) This is the best moment my life, but I feel like I'm gonna throw up. (18:35) So I was a I was a mess. (18:37) But my husband's there.

Claire (18:38) He had the PDMs. (18:39) We're good to go. (18:40) And then, you know, they're like, he's coming. (18:42) He's coming. (18:43) Baby comes out.

Claire (18:44) He's crying. (18:45) Looks great. (18:46) I can see him. (18:48) My husband goes over to him. (18:51) And then I'm like, hubby, you got you gotta change that.

Claire (18:54) You gotta change the the settings. (18:56) And I can barely talk because I feel like if I open my mouth, I'm just gonna, like, throw up

Scott Benner (18:59) everything. (19:00) Yeah.

Claire (19:01) And he gets if anybody's familiar with Omnipod five in manual mode, I had a temp Bazel running. (19:07) And when you have a temp Bazel running, you get an error message when you try and change your profile settings.

Scott Benner (19:13) Mhmm.

Claire (19:14) So here's my husband getting this error message. (19:16) He's never seen it before. (19:17) I haven't seen it in a long time. (19:19) And when we practiced him switching it over, he didn't actually hit go. (19:23) So neither of us anticipated this error message coming up.

Claire (19:26) And I can't talk because I'm gonna throw up if I open my mouth. (19:29) So I just grab my PDM from him with my left hand. (19:32) I'm right handed. (19:33) So with my nondominant hand, I change my insulin pump settings on the OR table.

Scott Benner (19:39) I would love to clip out this, like, five minutes and make, like, eighteen to 23 year old girls listen to it to hear you go. (19:46) It was the best moment of my life because they're probably like, oh my god. (19:49) What is they'd be like, what is happening to this woman?

Claire (19:52) Yeah.

Scott Benner (19:52) How is she describing this as the best moment of her life? (19:55) Oh my god. (19:56) Did he think you were mad at him?

Claire (19:59) No. (19:59) No. (19:59) He was just like he had this panicked look, like, I don't know what to do, and I literally was afraid if I opened my mouth to say anything

Scott Benner (20:07) Vomit was coming with it.

Claire (20:08) Yeah. (20:08) Yeah. (20:08) And I'm like, I probably shouldn't throw up when I'm flat on my back, and I probably shouldn't move because I'm on an OR table.

Scott Benner (20:14) Plus, I don't wanna dirty the, the memory. (20:17) You know what I mean? (20:18) Yeah.

Claire (20:20) But, anyway, so that was probably the second coolest moment of my entire life. (20:25) Was like, that was pretty badass. (20:26) Like, I just grabbed it, swiped it, and did it. (20:29) No. (20:30) I just think he was just, like he was, oh my gosh.

Claire (20:32) I had one job. (20:33) I don't know what I'm doing. (20:34) Like, what is this error message? (20:36) Yeah. (20:36) Just, like, moment of panic and

Scott Benner (20:38) there was, If like if and I can lend some perspective as a person who's been married longer than you. (20:43) Never mention it. (20:45) It'll just it'll loom large for him. (20:48) And then one day when you see his confidence come back and you realize he's forgotten about it, that's when you bring it up. (20:55) I don't have time.

Scott Benner (20:56) Yeah. (20:56) Yeah. (20:56) You have plenty of time to use this as a psychological manipulation is what I'm saying, if that's what your goal is. (21:02) No. (21:03) No.

Scott Benner (21:03) Because look at how nice you are. (21:04) People are like, god. (21:05) This guy's wife must be terrible. (21:06) She's not. (21:07) She's just Catholic and you know?

Claire (21:11) It was just so it was just so funny because in that moment, it was like, we had just you know, our son's born. (21:17) He's happy. (21:17) He's health well, he was healthy.

Scott Benner (21:20) Yeah. (21:20) You know if he was happy or not.

Claire (21:22) Yeah. (21:22) We don't know. (21:23) He was probably like, what the heck? (21:24) It's cold out here. (21:25) Pull me back.

Scott Benner (21:25) Yeah. (21:25) No clue.

Claire (21:26) But but it was just like this moment of, like, sheer panic on his part. (21:32) What's going on Slash. (21:33) I was like, I don't know what else to do. (21:35) Let me do it myself. (21:36) And I was like, wait.

Claire (21:37) I just changed my insulin pump settings while I'm lying on an OR table. (21:40) Was like, that was pretty cool.

Scott Benner (21:41) Yeah. (21:41) That's that's really awesome. (21:43) It felt empowering.

Claire (21:44) Oh, yeah. (21:45) Yeah. (21:45) I can do anything.

Scott Benner (21:46) I can do anything. (21:47) But then how long was it until you're like, I don't wanna do anything. (21:50) I'm gonna stop. (21:51) Because there's a moment where you're like, I'm exhausted. (21:53) There's a lot going on here.

Scott Benner (21:55) Where does your a one c and your goals change to? (21:58) How long do they stay there before you say to yourself, you know what? (22:01) Screw this. (22:01) I can I can be that healthy, like, forever if I wanna be?

Claire (22:05) Yeah. (22:06) Probably gosh. (22:08) There's just so much going on and so many changes occurring, like, day to day, week to week. (22:13) There was probably once I got back more in, like, a rhythm and a routine, probably, like, back to work. (22:19) And not, like, right back to work because that was that was a rough reentry.

Claire (22:22) But maybe when my son was about, like, six months old, I was like, okay. (22:24) I feel like we've got a little bit of rhythm, a little bit of routine. (22:27) My blood sugars are a little bit more understandable. (22:31) They're not quite so crazy. (22:34) But I was like, okay.

Claire (22:35) Like, I can I think I can do this? (22:38) And then Omnipod five had come out, and I I liked the idea of having that, kinda like that assistant to your blood sugar. (22:47) Right? (22:47) You've got you know, so a lot of adjustments going around in the background that you don't have to, like, mentally think about. (22:52) Mhmm.

Claire (22:53) So I was like, that sounds great. (22:54) Like, if I could get better control with a little more automation, that sounds perfect.

Scott Benner (22:59) Hey. (22:59) I wanna let people know you I think you did misspeak at one point telling the labor story where you said OmniPod five, but you were not using OmniPod five during the delivery. (23:07) Right? (23:07) I have always disliked ordering diabetes supplies. (23:11) I'm guessing you have as well.

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Scott Benner (24:04) That's usmed.com/juicebox or call (888) 721-1514.

Claire (24:12) Correct.

Scott Benner (24:13) Right.

Claire (24:13) I might have missed that.

Scott Benner (24:14) Yeah. (24:14) That's all. (24:14) I just wanna make sure because so it doesn't confuse people. (24:16) That's all.

Claire (24:17) Yeah. (24:17) I was on Omnipod, but in the plain old regular

Scott Benner (24:23) Using a dash and manual?

Claire (24:25) Yeah. (24:25) Manual. (24:26) Okay. (24:26) Mhmm. (24:29) So then I did that for a little while, and I still wasn't quite getting the results that I wanted.

Claire (24:37) My a one c has been really good and fine. (24:41) I've been in the sixes ever since my son was born. (24:45) But I think it's, like, it's this very interesting place I'm in now where, like, I kind of come up for air. (24:51) My son's a little older. (24:52) Come up for air.

Claire (24:53) I'm, like, kinda, like, okay. (24:54) I think I can handle a little bit more control. (24:58) I can handle a change. (24:59) I can handle, like, a little bit more interaction Mhmm. (25:04) With my diabetes because I want better control.

Claire (25:08) And even though my a one c is coming out good, fine, passing on, you know, medical standards, I still see these big fluctuations or stubborn highs. (25:19) And I'm, like, getting really frustrated with that. (25:21) Because I'm like, I know I can do better. (25:22) I know I feel better. (25:24) You know, I felt so good when I was pregnant, but I also put in so much effort.

Claire (25:28) Like, can I kind of find something in between here?

Scott Benner (25:31) Yeah.

Claire (25:31) So all the AID systems are, you know, coming out and, you know, everybody's upgrading and leveling up and this and that. (25:39) So I was like, okay. (25:40) Like, let me try. (25:41) I've I had Omnipod, and I really didn't want a tube because I'd never had a tube. (25:46) So I was like, alright.

Claire (25:47) I'm sticking with Omnipod or maybe looping, but just the idea of looping was just so overwhelming. (25:54) I was like, oh my gosh. (25:54) I can't I can't can't build anything. (25:57) I can, like, barely get my Apple products to work. (25:59) So so, actually, I met with Jenny through IDS.

Claire (26:03) I did a one time consultation. (26:06) I met with Jenny, and I was, like, kind of, you know, this Omnipod five algorithm isn't giving me what I want. (26:14) You know, I don't have enough options in there. (26:16) You know, it's doing so many things auto automatically, which is great, but it's, like, not quite enough. (26:21) Like, what else can I do?

Claire (26:22) So she gave me some, like, hacks for the Omnipod five, just some suggestions. (26:28) She was, or you could try another algorithm. (26:32) So she told me and, you know, she mentioned that Omnipod and Loop. (26:37) You know, when you Loop, you can use the Omnipod, so you're still tubeless. (26:43) I was like, Jenny, I I can't I can't build Loop.

Claire (26:47) Like, I no. (26:49) So she told me there's a company that will build it for you, and you pay them a monthly fee. (26:55) And I think you actually interviewed one of the guys who's working there now.

Scott Benner (27:00) Yeah. (27:00) I'm sure. (27:01) There's I think there's a couple, but yeah. (27:04) There's there's a couple. (27:04) So you got somebody to set it up for you.

Claire (27:06) Mhmm.

Scott Benner (27:07) That's awesome. (27:07) Yep. (27:07) Yeah. (27:08) That's Now I'm

Claire (27:09) on the loop algorithm using Omnipod Dash and the loop algorithm that was built for me. (27:15) And it's definitely giving me more options, which now I can you know, my brain can function and I'm using more options and features. (27:24) Whereas, you know, some days I was like, no. (27:26) You just do it all for me. (27:27) Mhmm.

Claire (27:28) Algorithm, you do it all for me. (27:29) I can't mentally deal with this right now. (27:32) But but now I'm in a headspace where I'm like, okay. (27:34) Can mentally deal with it. (27:35) I want more options.

Claire (27:36) I want more control to see the results and to feel to feel better, but without so much of the effort that I was putting in back in the day. (27:46) So I really like the algorithm. (27:47) I think it's helping me more. (27:48) I think I could definitely do more with it if I sat down. (27:54) I probably need to go back through the approach it series.

Claire (27:57) Probably need to learn more about the algorithm. (28:00) Excuse me. (28:02) And I can definitely do more with it. (28:03) But that's where I'm at now, and I definitely feel like I'm putting in less effort and getting better control, which is just such a hard balance to strike. (28:12) And then I think in the future, I'll be able to customize it more, learn about it more, customize it more, and have it serve me even better.

Scott Benner (28:19) Yeah. (28:19) And you went with Loop, not with Trio?

Claire (28:22) I did. (28:23) I think that just came out because I switched to Loop about a year ago.

Scott Benner (28:28) I see. (28:29) So just as you were doing it, it felt a little newer. (28:32) Arden's really, I I think having a lot of success with Trio, by the way. (28:38) Yeah. (28:38) Now that you're you're a professional, you could just jump back and forth.

Claire (28:43) I know. (28:43) Try them all.

Scott Benner (28:44) You know, plenty of people have both of those algorithms on their phone. (28:49) Wow. (28:49) Yeah. (28:50) And they'll just, like, start a pod on one or start a pod on the other one. (28:54) Yeah.

Scott Benner (28:55) You think you'd be that kind of person?

Claire (28:58) I don't know.

Scott Benner (29:01) I just like you. (29:01) You just went, ah. (29:03) That was great.

Claire (29:04) Good. (29:09) But I I do love the the Omnipod's tubeless and the other appeal when I was, like, hesitant to switch from MDI to to pumping. (29:17) Just, you know, change is hard. (29:18) Right? (29:18) And I was like, I don't know.

Claire (29:20) But the appeal was instead of purchasing the pump, you know, and having to wait four years for insurance to pay for another one or whatever. (29:28) Gives you a rough life cycle. (29:30) With the with the pods that you can really kinda do it month to month, I think, because instead of being DME, it's considered a pharmacy something or other. (29:39) Anyway, so I was like, that's appealing too if you're not, like, locked in committed for four years to a pump. (29:44) I definitely didn't wanna do that.

Scott Benner (29:46) Awesome. (29:46) Have you shared everything with me that you were hoping to share today?

Claire (29:52) I I think so.

Scott Benner (29:54) Got it over in your head. (29:55) Take your time.

Claire (29:57) I think so. (30:00) I think the only other tidbits I know you have interviewed ton of other people with type one with interesting stories of diagnosis or crazy things that happened or and, obviously, pregnancy. (30:12) The only other thing I can offer as just something a little different is when when I was pregnant, I was about eleven weeks pregnant, and we had a little bit of a scare where we thought we were we thought we were having a miscarriage. (30:27) We thought we were losing our son.

Scott Benner (30:30) Jeez.

Claire (30:30) So that was a very, very rough couple of days. (30:36) But what was interesting was looking at that CGM. (30:40) My CGM, my blood sugar numbers, my insulin needs were all behaving like I was still pregnant. (30:47) So I was oscillating back and forth between being absolutely devastated and still hopeful because those CGM numbers. (30:56) And then looking back on it, once we found out that, you know, every I went to the doctor.

Claire (31:01) I got checked out. (31:02) Everything's okay. (31:03) But it was just so cool to look back on it and realize that because I had type one, I was wearing a CGM. (31:10) And because I was looking at my CGM, my CGM was showing me, like, you're still pregnant. (31:16) Baby's okay.

Claire (31:17) And that was just, like, very cool to look back on because it's, again, like, very unique experience.

Scott Benner (31:22) Yeah. (31:23) What was, happening that made you think that the pregnancy was not viable?

Claire (31:28) Yeah. (31:28) I started bleeding. (31:30) It was, like, ten or eleven weeks. (31:33) I went to the bathroom and I was like, oh, I'm bleeding.

Scott Benner (31:39) And then what do they say to you? (31:40) Like, what what's the steps to take after that? (31:42) Rest and Yeah. (31:43) Let's see if it stops?

Claire (31:45) Yep. (31:45) Yep. (31:46) So and it was a it was a Friday.

Scott Benner (31:49) It's always a Friday too. (31:50) Been Friday, Claire.

Claire (31:51) Friday. (31:52) It was Friday. (31:53) It was 6PM. (31:55) And I was like, do I go to the emergency department? (31:57) What do I do?

Claire (31:57) Well, I called the OB on call Mhmm. (31:59) Who was great. (32:01) He was like, you know, he's like, okay. (32:04) It might be something or it might be nothing. (32:05) It's nothing you did.

Claire (32:06) You didn't do anything wrong. (32:07) It's nothing you did. (32:08) It's nothing you ate. (32:09) It wasn't the green Jell O. (32:10) He was just, like, you know, trying to, like, calm me down.

Claire (32:13) But I still remember that day. (32:14) It wasn't the green Jell O. (32:15) I was like, okay. (32:16) I didn't eat green Jell O, but just, you know, just trying to, like, relax me, calm me down. (32:20) He's like, look.

Claire (32:21) What you're gonna do is just rest this weekend. (32:23) See us first thing Monday morning, and we'll check and we'll we'll see what's what's happening. (32:29) And so I was like, okay. (32:31) Don't go to emergency department. (32:32) Also, whatever they told me, you know, that's not their area of expertise.

Claire (32:37) So I'm like, I could just go to the emergency department. (32:40) But also, I was like, alright. (32:41) Trust my OB. (32:42) If they say just wait, we'll wait, which is not a fun wait.

Scott Benner (32:45) Yeah. (32:46) Jeez. (32:46) I bet would he just sit in the house, like, staring at each other?

Claire (32:50) No. (32:51) We we thought about, yeah, canceling all plans and, like, just holding up in the house. (32:56) But I was like, okay. (32:57) We're gonna lose our minds. (32:58) We were gonna go to an outdoor concert, and we still went.

Claire (33:04) I just sat the whole time instead of standing.

Scott Benner (33:06) Yeah. (33:06) It wasn't

Claire (33:06) in to rest.

Scott Benner (33:07) It wasn't in Australia, was it?

Claire (33:09) Oh, gosh. (33:09) No. (33:10) It was only, a two hour drive away. (33:12) But, it was, like, out in the country outside, you know, big field music. (33:17) And, I was like, okay.

Claire (33:18) Well, we'll just bring, like, camping chairs to sit on because I was told, like, don't, you know, don't run, try and sit, rest. (33:24) Don't lift anything heavy. (33:25) You know, this stuff like that.

Scott Benner (33:27) Yeah. (33:27) Don't bounce to get around in there.

Claire (33:29) Yeah. (33:29) Yeah. (33:29) Don't make it any worse. (33:31) Stop jostling the baby. (33:33) Like, what did you do?

Claire (33:36) But, yeah, sometimes it just happens. (33:38) And so I went to the doctor Monday, and they're like, oh, yeah. (33:40) Sometimes this just happens. (33:41) But, you know, they're like, baby's fine. (33:43) Baby's fine.

Claire (33:43) Sometimes this stuff happens. (33:45) Just, you know, relatively rest. (33:47) And then eventually, everything was fine.

Scott Benner (33:49) It was just okay. (33:50) And and there's no answer after that? (33:52) There's no, like, great pronouncement about what happened or didn't happen? (33:55) Just like, oh, that's over. (33:56) Cool.

Claire (33:57) It's actually, hopefully, I'm pronouncing it right. (34:00) It's called a subchorionic bleed, and it's just blood fills somewhere in the uterus. (34:06) I forget. (34:07) I think it's between the uterus or placenta or something. (34:10) But it's just this little pocket of blood.

Claire (34:12) And usually, you know, depending on the size and the severity and symptoms, you know, sometimes bad things can happen. (34:19) It puts you at increased risk for other things. (34:22) But in in my case, it was small and it resolved on its own. (34:25) It was fine. (34:25) But that's what I was seeing.

Claire (34:28) And then as I think any woman would assume, you know, you're pregnant. (34:32) There's blood. (34:33) Like, that's it.

Scott Benner (34:34) It's over. (34:34) Yeah. (34:35) Yeah. (34:35) Yeah.

Claire (34:35) But I didn't know that this existed. (34:37) And it actually happened to a friend of mine who was pregnant at same time. (34:39) It happened to her a couple weeks later. (34:41) And we kinda circled back on it later comparing notes. (34:44) I'm like, oh my gosh.

Claire (34:44) That happened to you too. (34:45) So I was like, why doesn't anybody talk about this? (34:48) Probably because they don't want you to assume one thing or another. (34:50) They don't want you to assume that everything's okay or assume everything's the end of the world terrible. (34:55) Yeah.

Claire (34:55) But it was just very interesting, like, later on to compare our experiences. (34:59) And I think she probably didn't wait a whole weekend like I did to get checked out by the doctor. (35:05) But that weekend, I had that CGM information and, you know, my insulin needs were the same. (35:11) And I was like, I was like, I think I'm still pregnant.

Scott Benner (35:14) That's something.

Claire (35:16) So it was just interesting to have that. (35:18) It was kind of a comfort, but I didn't know, you know. (35:22) Yeah. (35:22) It was just different.

Scott Benner (35:23) Two questions. (35:23) If that would have been a Wednesday and not a Friday, do you think they would have had you write in? (35:27) You would have been examined. (35:29) Do you think that that exam would have alleviated all your concern right then and there or not necessarily?

Claire (35:36) Yeah.

Scott Benner (35:37) Maybe.

Claire (35:37) It probably would've given me answers sooner, but it probably would've been the same result. (35:41) Like, hey. (35:42) Hang out. (35:43) Wait. (35:43) Relax.

Claire (35:45) Yeah. (35:46) I don't know.

Scott Benner (35:46) What was the bleed called again?

Claire (35:48) I think it's called a sub chorionic bleed. (35:51) You can probably look it up on AI. (35:55) I know how to spell it and pronounce it. (35:57) But it was just a it was, it was just interesting to go through that as a type one with the CGM information while I was waiting to find out if everything was okay or not. (36:07) Mhmm.

Claire (36:08) Because all of my technology, my insulin needs, my blood sugar needs were all showing that I was still pregnant. (36:14) So I was, like, pretty hopeful that I was still pregnant, but I didn't know.

Scott Benner (36:20) Yeah. (36:20) But did you cling to that a little bit?

Claire (36:23) Yeah. (36:23) I was, like, holding out hope. (36:24) So I was definitely oscillating between, like, oh my gosh. (36:27) We're losing this kid. (36:28) We already know it's a boy and all all of that.

Claire (36:33) But I kept clinging on to that little bit of hope because I had that CGM. (36:38) And

Scott Benner (36:38) And you could see your blood sugar was still being screwed with by by a pregnancy. (36:42) And you thought, oh Yeah. (36:42) A kid must be okay in there. (36:44) Look at my insulin resistance. (36:45) Yeah.

Claire (36:46) Yeah. (36:46) Yeah. (36:46) Not just the CGM, but, yeah, my insulin needs were the same as the day before when I knew I was pregnant.

Scott Benner (36:51) Right.

Claire (36:53) My blood sugar wasn't crashing. (36:54) I wasn't going sky high. (36:55) I was like, oh, okay. (36:57) I was like, I think I'm still pregnant. (36:58) Mhmm.

Claire (36:59) I acted like I was still pregnant.

Scott Benner (37:01) Well, I have here that a pelvic, let's see, like a cervical dilation, whether the cervix is soft or thin, but it doesn't tell them how the baby's doing. (37:11) Fetal heart rate monitoring, Doppler in the office, continuous monitors in the hospital, the main tool to assess distress in the baby. (37:18) Patterns in the baby's heart rate show how well oxygenated they are. (37:22) Non stress tests measure how the baby's heart rate. (37:25) Did you end up doing all this when when the the week finally came around?

Claire (37:29) I think they just did a quick ultrasound. (37:31) I was like

Scott Benner (37:32) That's the next thing. (37:33) Ultrasound, NST to check movement, breathing motions, muscle tone, and amniotic fluid, contractions, stress test, ultrasound, double. (37:40) Okay. (37:40) Alright. (37:40) So Yeah.

Claire (37:40) So it was pretty it was pretty early. (37:42) Was eleven weeks. (37:43) You know, I went into the doctor's office, and they were like, okay. (37:46) Let's just they were like, okay. (37:50) Let's just let's take a look.

Scott Benner (37:51) Yeah. (37:52) Just

Claire (37:52) ultrasound take a look. (37:53) And she was like, oh, that's what it is. (37:54) I see the bleed there and spent a minute, like, listening to his heart rate. (37:58) She's like, oh, baby's fine. (37:59) It's

Scott Benner (38:00) his heart rate. (38:00) Yeah. (38:01) Now does that experience early on in the pregnancy, are you able to give it away, or does it stick to you the entire time the baby's in there? (38:09) Like, do you think about it?

Claire (38:13) It did for a while. (38:15) And then because I was getting so many ultrasounds and that was on my record, they looked, they checked, like, oh, it's gone. (38:21) It's resolved. (38:22) It's a nonissue now. (38:24) I think, you know, I didn't know as much about that.

Claire (38:27) I already knew everything was high risk for everything being type one and, you know, mid thirties. (38:33) And so I was more worried about that.

Scott Benner (38:36) Yeah.

Claire (38:37) I was like, ugh, just another thing. (38:38) But I was just more worried about all the other risks more being associated with type one and

Scott Benner (38:44) Yeah. (38:44) Yeah.

Claire (38:44) Not being 25.

Scott Benner (38:45) Awesome. (38:46) So you would tell people who have type one and are, thinking of getting pregnant, it's very doable, I assume?

Claire (38:54) Yeah. (38:54) I used to think it was impossible. (38:57) Like, there is absolutely no way these goals are insane. (39:00) There's no way I can do that. (39:03) But I did it.

Claire (39:04) So I'm like, okay. (39:05) If I can do it, anybody can do it. (39:07) I would do some research, some planning first, and it's hard to go from zero to 60. (39:13) So I'm really glad I took, like, a year to kind of hone it in, ramp it in, take the information in, do some research, listen to other people's experiences, but it is totally doable. (39:25) And I think we have a little bit of an advantage because we're all in better touch with all of the things, sleep, exercise, nutrition.

Claire (39:34) We're so so much in better touch with our bodies and the way we feel

Scott Benner (39:37) In the world.

Claire (39:37) More in tune, yeah, than somebody without type one or a chronic health condition that needs constant monitoring.

Scott Benner (39:44) Yeah. (39:44) So I

Claire (39:44) think we're already at a bit of an advantage there. (39:46) So, like, if anything funky does happen, I feel like we kinda know know our bodies best and trust our gut really well. (39:56) We've got this I feel like that. (39:57) It also needs and CGM is, like, an extra vital sign when they're doing all this monitoring and testing. (40:02) So

Scott Benner (40:03) That's really awesome. (40:04) I'm I'm very happy that you you took the time to share this with me. (40:07) Thank you very much. (40:08) I want you to know that, when you earlier said like, you sounded, like, embarrassed about how much you like college football, it made me find you on, Facebook. (40:17) And Yeah.

Scott Benner (40:18) Yeah. (40:19) Yeah. (40:19) You might have a problem. (40:20) I just wanna say.

Claire (40:21) I might have a problem. (40:23) I may or may not be wearing football attire right now. (40:29) Like, my second favorite day of the year. (40:32) It's, you know, big kickoff tomorrow. (40:34) It's beginning of the college football season.

Claire (40:36) So

Scott Benner (40:36) But you don't care about pro football?

Claire (40:39) I follow the football players I like in college. (40:43) I follow them to the pros, but then they change teams, like, 20 times and I get very confused.

Scott Benner (40:47) Yeah. (40:49) I like it when you're just forced to play for this one team. (40:51) It's better. (40:53) It's awesome.

Claire (40:53) Can you just stay in one place so that I can buy the jersey and it's still valid a few years from now?

Scott Benner (40:59) Now is this is there an irony here where, like, you know, we finally find a girl who loves football, but the guy you married doesn't care about it? (41:06) Or do you guys have that in common?

Claire (41:09) He knows what he married into.

Scott Benner (41:11) But he doesn't love it like you do?

Claire (41:14) He he will get into it for me. (41:16) He enjoys it, but he he doesn't seek it out in the same way. (41:21) Like

Scott Benner (41:21) He doesn't have an illness like you.

Claire (41:23) Exactly. (41:24) It's, like, I will seek it out. (41:26) I will turn it on. (41:27) I'm ready to go. (41:29) And he's like, wait, what time is it?

Claire (41:30) What channel is it on? (41:31) Okay. (41:31) It's on. (41:31) Yeah. (41:31) Let's watch.

Scott Benner (41:32) That's fine.

Claire (41:33) But, funny story about us is he actually proposed to me in on the 50 yard line of my college football, field, which is not easy to get on.

Scott Benner (41:45) Did you do it legally?

Claire (41:47) Yes. (41:48) Yeah. (41:48) Very nice. (41:49) Yeah. (41:49) We had an employee escort us out there.

Scott Benner (41:53) What does he tell you you're doing? (41:55) Because do you know you're being proposed to?

Claire (41:59) No. (41:59) I didn't know. (42:01) It was definitely a little odd. (42:03) He was like, you've never you've never taken a tour of the stadium? (42:06) I was like, no.

Claire (42:07) I was like, I have been on the field one time.

Scott Benner (42:09) Right.

Claire (42:10) But I was no. (42:11) I wouldn't take a tour. (42:12) I've never been on a tour. (42:13) I've been to many games there. (42:15) Why do I need a tour?

Claire (42:16) He's like, oh, well, I'm gonna take you on a tour. (42:18) I was like, okay. (42:19) We pull up and this employee, he shows up and he's like, oh, are you guys here for the tour? (42:26) So the the employee was totally in on it.

Scott Benner (42:28) The tour?

Claire (42:28) Has in

Scott Benner (42:29) the tour. (42:29) At what point were you like, I am not having sex with you on this football field, you creep. (42:33) Is that where this is leading to?

Claire (42:35) No. (42:36) No. (42:36) Wait. (42:37) My husband and I pulled up and there are these two, employees And they're like, are you guys here for the tour? (42:42) And we're like, I guess so.

Claire (42:45) And my husband's like, oh, yeah. (42:46) Yeah. (42:46) We're here for the tour. (42:47) And then, and at first, it seems like a legit tour. (42:52) Like, you know, here's the locker rooms.

Claire (42:53) Here's that. (42:54) Here's this. (42:54) And then we get to the field, and here I am being, like, the nerd that I am. (42:58) Like, how often do you have to paint the field before a game? (43:01) Well, we paint it, like, twice a week, but crazy lady, like, stop asking me questions.

Claire (43:06) I'm like,

Scott Benner (43:06) it's not really

Claire (43:07) a tour. (43:07) Boyfriend.

Scott Benner (43:08) And I don't I

Claire (43:09) don't know boyfriend.

Scott Benner (43:09) I don't know a lot about this stadium.

Claire (43:13) I mean, I think they they did. (43:15) So they were kind of trying to answer my question, but also facilitate getting me to center, like Yeah. (43:20) To the 50 yard line, like, center of the field. (43:23) And they're like, why don't you go just, you know, walk out there, see what it looks like from the center? (43:27) And that's where my husband proposed, and the employees got photos of the whole thing.

Claire (43:31) It was great. (43:32) And afterwards, I was like, okay. (43:34) That was amazing. (43:34) But was like, you didn't have to go to I would have said yes anywhere. (43:38) You didn't have to do that.

Claire (43:39) And he was like, no. (43:39) But it was cool. (43:40) Right? (43:40) I was like, oh, that was very cool. (43:41) Yeah.

Claire (43:42) The pictures are great.

Scott Benner (43:43) Set the bar too high. (43:44) He's gonna be he's gonna be chasing that dragon the rest of his life now.

Claire (43:47) I know. (43:48) Mhmm. (43:48) I know. (43:48) And then, like, all any any mutual friends were just like, oh, dude. (43:52) Come on.

Claire (43:53) Like Yeah. (43:54) You did that? (43:55) What am I gonna have to do? (43:56) Yeah.

Scott Benner (43:57) I I looked at my wife in the bedroom we were living in, and I said, you know, it should probably be easier if we got married. (44:03) And she's like, what? (44:04) I'm like, well, you know, we could afford the car insurance then. (44:07) My wife and I got married for car insurance. (44:10) Like, I'm not kidding.

Scott Benner (44:11) We were dating for a while, living together because of a bad circumstance in her family. (44:18) And she got a great job, but we couldn't afford to like, like, you couldn't afford anything. (44:25) So we figured out a way to lease her her a car because it was very inexpensive back then to get started. (44:30) Right? (44:31) And but we couldn't figure out how to like, she couldn't afford the insurance.

Scott Benner (44:35) But if we were married, the insurance would have been much cheaper. (44:39) So we got we planned a wedding and got married in a number of weeks, used the money that people gave us as gifts, which if I'm remembering correctly, did not equal more than about $750 to put a down payment on a leased car, and then we could afford the insurance because she was now on my insurance policy.

Claire (45:00) Wow.

Scott Benner (45:00) Not as sexy as your story. (45:02) But, like, that's now keep in mind, that seems like a terrible way to start a a marriage and a life, and we've almost been married for thirty years.

Claire (45:12) Yeah.

Scott Benner (45:12) Yeah. (45:13) Who knows how it works and how it does.

Claire (45:14) Thank you car insurance.

Scott Benner (45:16) Thank you. (45:16) Hey. (45:16) Yeah. (45:17) They they

Claire (45:17) insurance premium.

Scott Benner (45:18) Exactly. (45:18) Yeah.

Claire (45:19) I've heard of I've heard about health insurance, but not car insurance. (45:21) So

Scott Benner (45:22) She had to get it was a great job. (45:23) Like, we couldn't she couldn't not take the job, but it was too far away. (45:28) There was no other way to get there. (45:29) She needed a car. (45:30) It needed to be dedicated to her.

Scott Benner (45:32) We didn't have anybody that could help us with that. (45:34) And so those are the steps we took. (45:35) So if you're if you're sometimes wondering, like, how did Scott figure out diabetes without having any knowledge about it, that's how Scott figured out to get car insurance when he was broke and, you know, like, 20 some years old.

Claire (45:46) Yeah. (45:46) There's a will. (45:47) There's a way.

Scott Benner (45:48) I'm just a practical person. (45:49) That's all. (45:50) Alright. (45:51) Claire, you were great. (45:52) I'm gonna take a little breaky, and then I'm actually interview, I'm actually recording with your your friend Jenny in thirty minutes.

Scott Benner (45:58) So

Claire (45:59) Oh, awesome.

Scott Benner (46:00) I'm gonna go rest my voice and then come back and do it again.

Claire (46:02) Yeah. (46:03) Good.

Scott Benner (46:03) You were terrific, really. (46:04) I I really genuinely appreciate it.

Claire (46:06) Oh, this is really fun. (46:08) It was really fun to be a part of something that I've, you know, been listening to for so long. (46:12) It's influenced me positively for so long. (46:14) So it's it's really cool. (46:16) I've been telling a lot of people.

Claire (46:17) I'm like, oh my gosh. (46:18) Guess what I'm doing? (46:19) I'm so excited. (46:20) And it's really cool to talk to you in person too. (46:23) I just wanna thank you for all this all of this hard work.

Claire (46:27) So many episodes. (46:28) I'll tell people, like, this is, you know, the number one diabetes podcast. (46:32) It's this many episodes and they're just floored. (46:34) They're like, oh my gosh. (46:35) I know.

Scott Benner (46:36) I appreciate that So very

Claire (46:37) much time, energy, and effort.

Scott Benner (46:39) I I'm I would certainly not I am not complaining, and I certainly would not complain. (46:43) But if you were here and watched me every day, you would be like, I think maybe Scott should go outside a little more often. (46:49) Or, you know, like, I'm worried that he's not, like, living a life just making this podcast. (46:54) But I just see it as a, I mean, it's a moment in time. (46:58) It's it's not gonna be here forever.

Scott Benner (47:00) And, you know, the more conversations, the more ideas, you know, the more people get stretched a little bit and and come up with new ideas and come back on and have time to share. (47:13) I I think it's just important, you know, and and I think it's I think it's a time in my life where I'm dedicating more time to a job than I probably should be, for me personally. (47:26) But I think that, hopefully, you know, big picture, it's gonna be something. (47:30) Like, when I leave it, when I put it down at the end, and I go, here it is. (47:33) You guys can do whatever you want with it.

Scott Benner (47:35) I think it might keep helping people. (47:37) So Yeah. (47:38) That that's my my goal, certainly. (47:40) And I appreciate you speaking so nicely about it. (47:42) Thank you.

Claire (47:43) Yeah. (47:43) And it'll keep helping people even if you were to stop tomorrow because it's all out there just sitting and waiting on the Internet.

Scott Benner (47:52) Yeah. (47:52) I can't stop that now though. (47:54) Like, I keep seeing connections to other things. (47:56) Like, I interviewed a guy the other day, and at the end of talking about, you know, this really amazing conversation about how the podcast helped him get his daughter on her feet in just a few years before she was on her way to college. (48:08) Then she had this experience, like, right away at college, and she handled it really well.

Scott Benner (48:13) And he related that all back to the podcast. (48:16) And we're kinda done talking, you know, forty five minutes, an hour later. (48:20) And he just sort of pops up and he's like, oh, also, I listened to your weight loss series and changed my life. (48:26) And I was like, oh, and he's like, I've lost 36 pounds in the last six months and talked about all the good things that happened for him personally. (48:33) And and I was like, my gosh.

Scott Benner (48:34) Like, there are there are days, Claire. (48:36) Like, I just record this stuff. (48:37) I just assume, like, no one's listening to it. (48:40) Like, you really like, it have to be a maniac to just think I'd be insane if I actually believe that the number of people listening to this were the number of people listening it. (48:49) Like, I know functionally that's how many people are listening, but when you sit down and talk, you can't think, I'm about to speak and x number of people are gonna hear the words.

Scott Benner (48:57) Like, it's just not a way to think about it. (48:59) So when Yeah. (49:00) He comes around and he's like, this helped me, I spent, like, a half an hour after I'm recording thinking, like, wow. (49:07) Like, I decided to do a thing and listen to what happened for him. (49:09) Listen to what happened for his daughter.

Scott Benner (49:11) Listen you know, like, that's it's awesome. (49:14) Like, I wanna do more of that. (49:15) And then you start seeing connections with it, and you're like, you know, we gotta keep talking about this. (49:19) Like, I'll I'll tell you right now. (49:21) I was out ahead of talking about injectable GLPs for type ones.

Scott Benner (49:25) And when I started talking about it, I took a lot of from people about it. (49:28) And I've been out ahead on a couple of things, but I think I'm only there because you guys are all coming in, like, having these conversations. (49:37) And I'm seeing, like, like, through lines. (49:39) And I'm like, no. (49:39) That really does feel like something that's that's positive right here, something we should pay more attention to.

Scott Benner (49:45) We have to keep talking about that so we can grow. (49:48) I think that, one of the saddest things about content in general is that it's it's fleeting. (49:57) Like, most content creators that you listen to, they burn out pretty quickly or the the algorithm gets tired of them or whatever happens. (50:04) And before they can really build a compendium, they're here and gone. (50:08) And because there's no financial incentive to keep going, they just stop.

Scott Benner (50:12) And so I I think that's part of why the podcast grows and becomes more and more valuable is because we're able to put this much effort into it for such a long time. (50:22) That's a lot of, like, high minded talking about me making a podcast, but that's sort of how I think about it. (50:26) Yeah. (50:27) Yeah. (50:27) So, anyway, I really appreciate you saying that.

Scott Benner (50:29) It's very kind of you.

Claire (50:30) Yeah. (50:31) Awesome. (50:32) Yeah.

Scott Benner (50:32) Awesome. (50:33) Alright. (50:33) Hold on one second for me. (50:34) K. (50:42) Head now to tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox and check out today's sponsor, Tandem Diabetes Care.

Scott Benner (50:49) I think you're gonna find exactly what you're looking for at that link, including a way to sign up and get started with the Tandem Mobi system. (50:57) Arden has been getting her diabetes supplies from US Med for three years. (51:01) You can as well. (51:02) Usmed.com/juicebox or call (888) 721-1514. (51:09) My thanks to US Med for sponsoring this episode and for being longtime sponsors of the Juice Box Podcast.

Scott Benner (51:15) There are links in the show notes and links at juiceboxpodcast.com to US Med and all of the sponsors. (51:22) Today's episode of the Juice Box podcast is sponsored by the Eversense three sixty five. (51:27) You can experience the Eversense three sixty five CGM system for as low as $199 for a full year. (51:34) Visit evercentcgm.com/juicebox for more details and eligibility. (51:40) My diabetes pro tip series is about cutting through the clutter of diabetes management to give you the straightforward practical insights that truly make a difference.

Scott Benner (51:49) This series is all about mastering the fundamentals, whether it's the basics of insulin, dosing adjustments, or everyday management strategies that will empower you to take control. (51:59) I'm joined by Jenny Smith, who is a diabetes educator with over thirty five years of personal experience, and we break down complex concepts into simple, actionable tips. (52:09) The diabetes pro tip series runs between episode one thousand and one thousand twenty five in your podcast player, or you can listen to it at juiceboxpodcast.com by going up into the menu. (52:20) If you're looking for community around type one diabetes, check out the Juice Box Podcast private Facebook group, Juice Box Podcast, type one diabetes. (52:29) But everybody is welcome.

Scott Benner (52:30) Type one, type two, gestational, loved ones, it doesn't matter to me. (52:35) If you're impacted by diabetes and you're looking for support, comfort, or community, check out Juice Box podcast, Type one Diabetes on Facebook. (52:44) Hey. (52:45) Thanks for listening all the way to the end. (52:46) I really appreciate your loyalty and listenership.

Scott Benner (52:49) Thank you so much for listening. (52:51) I'll be back very soon with another episode of the Juice Box podcast.

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