Scott Benner 12/24/25 Scott Benner 12/24/25

#1719 Santa vs. Cookie

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A playful Christmas Eve poem where Santa uses diabetes tech, smart timing, and a little Juicebox wisdom to deliver presents, handle cookies, and stay perfectly in range all night long.

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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.

’Twas the night before Christmas, the sleigh was all set, But Santa had data he couldn’t forget. He looked at his sensor, the arrow was straight, A perfect 100 — a number so great. He adjusted the pump underneath his red vest, Preparing for travel and feeling his best. “The night will be long,” he remarked with a grin, “With billions of cookies just waiting to win.” “I need to be bold,” Santa said to the deer, “I’ve listened to podcasts throughout the whole year. We don’t fear the insulin, don’t fear the food, We just get the timing to set up the mood.” He programmed a bolus before taking flight, To cover snickerdoodles planned for the night. “I’ll wait fifteen minutes,” he shouted out loud, To the elves and the helpers who stood in the crowd. He sprang to the sleigh, gave the reindeer a cue, “We’ve got a long flight and a job we must do. Now Dasher, now Dancer — stay focused and quick, No time for a low or for feeling quite sick.” He slid down the chimney, his pump in his pocket, And flew ’round the world like a red-suited rocket. The cookies were frosted, the milk was whole-fat, But Santa knew exactly how to handle all that. Once over the ocean, a beep filled the air, A diagonal drop gave the reindeer a scare. “Relax,” shouted Santa, “I see the slight drop. I’ll sip on this Juicebox and cause it to stop.” The drop leveled off with a graceful glide, The arrow stopped falling and turned to the side. He viewed the results with a satisfied glance, Leaving nothing to fear and nothing to chance. He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. As he shouted out loud, “That data looks right! Happy Christmas to all — may your numbers be tight.”

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Scott Benner 12/24/25 Scott Benner 12/24/25

#1718 Knowing All Your Tools - Part 2

Sarah shares her LADA journey—misdiagnosed as type 2, overwhelmed postpartum, then empowered by a new endocrinologist and GLP-1 therapy—showing how persistence and better care can change diabetes management.

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Scott Benner (0:00) Hello, friends. (0:01) Welcome to the Juice Box podcast. (0:03) From my family to yours, I want to wish you a happy holiday.

Sarah (0:17) Hi there. (0:18) My name is Sarah, and I officially have latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood or LADA.

Scott Benner (0:25) If this is your first time listening to the Juice Box podcast and you'd like to hear more, download Apple Podcasts or Spotify, really any audio app at all. (0:34) Look for the Juice Box podcast and follow or subscribe. (0:38) We put out new content every day that you'll enjoy. (0:42) Wanna learn more about your diabetes management? (0:44) Go to juiceboxpodcast.com up in the menu and look for bold beginnings, the diabetes pro tip series, and much more.

Scott Benner (0:51) This podcast is full of collections and series of information that will help you to live better with insulin. (0:58) If you're looking for community around type one diabetes, check out the Juice Box Podcast private Facebook group. (1:05) Juice Box Podcast, type one diabetes. (1:08) But everybody is welcome. (1:09) Type one, type two, gestational, loved ones, it doesn't matter to me.

Scott Benner (1:14) 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. (1:23) Nothing you hear on the Juice Box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. (1:28) Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. (1:33) US Med is sponsoring this episode of the JuiceBox podcast, and we've been getting our diabetes supplies from US Med for years. (1:41) You can as well.

Scott Benner (1:43) Usmed.com/juicebox or call (888) 721-1514. (1:50) Use the link or the number, get your free benefits check, and get started today with US Med. (1:56) The podcast is also sponsored today by the Omnipod five. (2:00) And at my link, omnipod.com/juicebox, you can get yourself a free what'd I just say? (2:07) A free Omnipod five starter kit.

Scott Benner (2:10) Free? (2:12) Get out of here. (2:12) Go click on that link. (2:13) Omnipod.com/juicebox. (2:16) Check it out.

Scott Benner (2:17) Terms and conditions apply. (2:18) Eligibility may vary. (2:20) Full terms and conditions can be found at omnipod.com/juicebox. (2:25) Links in the show notes. (2:26) Links at juiceboxpodcast.com.

Scott Benner (2:28) Today's episode is also sponsored by Skin Grip. (2:32) Your devices, they can fall off. (2:34) But with Skin Grip, they stay secure for the full life of the device. (2:38) Juice Box podcast listeners will save 20% on their first order at my link, skingrip.com/juicebox. (2:46) If you want a durable skin safe adhesive that lasts, you want Skin Grip.

Sarah (2:50) Hi there. (2:51) My name is Sarah, and I officially have latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood or LADA for seven years. (2:59) And I have recently went through a really life changing, really informative endocrinology appointment, which felt like it gave me some power back with my disease process and really giving me options, which is what motivated me to reach out to you to be able to share because I anticipate there's other folks who are in the in a similar situation, and maybe maybe this could benefit them.

Scott Benner (3:25) I'm not a 100% sure what you're gonna say, but if it goes any way the way I expect, I think you're a 100% correct. (3:31) Awesome. (3:32) Hey. (3:32) What do you do for a living? (3:34) Most people you guys don't know this if you're listening, but most people, I'm like, go ahead and introduce yourself when you're ready.

Scott Benner (3:40) And it'll be like, hey. (3:42) I'm you just launched right into it. (3:44) Did you practice that in front of a mirror? (3:46) Or

Sarah (3:46) No. (3:48) But thank you for that.

Scott Benner (3:49) You don't have a job that requires you to speak to people?

Sarah (3:53) Well, I do. (3:53) Yeah. (3:54) No. (3:54) For sure I do.

Scott Benner (3:55) Okay. (3:55) You don't wanna tell me what it is?

Sarah (3:57) No. (3:57) I'm happy to tell you what it is. (3:58) I a nurse, and I spent the bulk of my career working in a peds ICU in the beginning, and now I switch to safety and quality. (4:08) And I work for a big hospital system and I am in a ton of meetings. (4:14) I connect with people a lot.

Sarah (4:15) I hope I come across as calm and informed and able to communicate, but we'll see. (4:21) I mean, this is just the first minute. (4:22) You never know how it will go.

Scott Benner (4:24) Well, I would love to be in a meeting with you.

Sarah (4:27) Well, thank you.

Scott Benner (4:28) Yeah. (4:28) You have a, a nice mix of able to communicate. (4:31) You seem assured of what you're saying, and you were, you know, timeline wise. (4:36) I like I like the the I don't know. (4:38) The order in which you you laid out what you said.

Scott Benner (4:40) So that was really great.

Sarah (4:41) Thank you.

Scott Benner (4:41) You listen to podcast?

Sarah (4:43) I do.

Speaker 3 (4:44) Do I seem calm when I'm speaking?

Sarah (4:46) Yeah.

Scott Benner (4:47) How do I seem? (4:48) Because I I think I seem scattered.

Sarah (4:51) I I think you seem scattered too, but that doesn't mean you're not calm. (4:55) Like, I think you're all over the place, but that's you still have a calm, confident presence.

Scott Benner (5:00) Okay. (5:01) It's interesting. (5:02) I I always wonder, could I speak linearly? (5:04) I don't know that I could. (5:06) Like, you know, start at a and end at z.

Scott Benner (5:08) I don't know if I could do that or not.

Sarah (5:10) What if your brain doesn't work that way, I just it just doesn't.

Scott Benner (5:15) It doesn't, but yours does.

Sarah (5:17) Well, I don't think so. (5:18) I mean, I could be scattered. (5:19) It's still early.

Scott Benner (5:20) Thirty minutes from now, you're just gonna be like, I went to the circus. (5:23) I'm like, wait, what? (5:25) You know, a little behind the scenes picture of this. (5:29) Yeah. (5:29) I believe that, you know, an hour is a long time to talk.

Scott Benner (5:33) Not for me. (5:34) Like, I'd go listen to a two or three hour podcast if I was interested. (5:37) I'd have no trouble with

Sarah (5:37) it.

Scott Benner (5:38) Mhmm. (5:38) But I think that for most people, it's easier if this conversation you and I have really ends up being eight or nine short conversations that are somehow tied together than telling, a tome. (5:52) And and I think it's more entertaining that way too.

Sarah (5:54) That feels that feels reassuring because I feel like there's certain buckets of my story that breaks down into several little stories, so that that's great. (6:03) And then I don't have to talk for an hour, but we can have this great dialogue about it.

Scott Benner (6:08) Perfect. (6:09) Let's start. (6:09) Seven years ago, you said? (6:11) Yep. (6:12) How old were you then?

Sarah (6:13) I was 37.

Scott Benner (6:14) Okay. (6:15) And now you are seven years later, but you don't have full blown here it comes type one diabetes?

Sarah (6:21) I think that I do. (6:23) I mean, this has been such an interesting ride. (6:26) I've, like, fully am insulin dependent. (6:29) I, have a lot of type one history in my family. (6:34) I have the anti the antibodies.

Sarah (6:39) Thank you. (6:39) Yep. (6:39) For type one. (6:41) And it just happened when I was later, but it had a slower progression. (6:47) So I I've been referred to as type one a lot of my seven years and then also recently just said, nope, you're LADA, and you can be treated as type one or type two.

Scott Benner (6:58) Okay. (6:58) How many other people in your family line have type one or other autoimmune issues?

Sarah (7:03) Yeah. (7:03) Have a sibling who has type one who was diagnosed at, like, nine, a great grandfather who died from type one diabetes at, like, age 29 before insulin was available. (7:14) I have my dad who was diagnosed in his fifties with type two initially and then one point five or LADA. (7:25) Mhmm. (7:25) And, there's some MS diagnoses in my family, Hashimoto's for me, Hashimoto's for my mom.

Sarah (7:33) So it's it's a smattering.

Scott Benner (7:37) It's unless there's 50 kids in that family, it seems like a lot.

Sarah (7:40) Yeah. (7:41) It's a lot.

Scott Benner (7:41) Was diagnosed your sister was diagnosed at nine. (7:44) So you've you grew up around type one. (7:47) I wanna understand if does hindsight let you think, oh, I could see it coming now even before your initial seven years ago? (7:56) Like or was there no way to know this was gonna happen to you until it happened?

Sarah (8:01) I appreciate that question. (8:03) So it was it was my brother just so I don't in case you I'm sorry. (8:07) Correct that. (8:07) No problem. (8:08) My mom was such a great advocate for us.

Sarah (8:11) So after my brother got diagnosed, she enrolled us in trial net. (8:15) So I was immediately tested for antibodies and I was GAD positive. (8:20) So that was at 11.

Scott Benner (8:22) Okay.

Sarah (8:23) So my mom knew, like, she told me kind of what that meant. (8:28) Like, there's a higher chance of you developing type one diabetes, and we just don't know what, when, or what. (8:36) What really triggered my diagnosis was having my third kid. (8:41) Like, it it felt like that was totally that event that pushed me over, that pushed my body into into this.

Scott Benner (8:48) Yeah. (8:49) Like your kid grabbed a ripcord on the way out or something.

Sarah (8:51) Totally. (8:51) Yes. (8:52) And that's totally his personality too. (8:54) Like, how can I just blow things up? (8:56) And yeah.

Scott Benner (8:57) What's this switch, Mark? (8:58) Don't touch. (8:59) Yes. (9:01) Boom. (9:02) Mom has diabetes.

Scott Benner (9:04) Okay.

Speaker 3 (9:05) So did your mom tell you when she did try on it?

Scott Benner (9:10) Like, did you grow up knowing that this might happen? (9:12) Yep. (9:13) Oh, you did?

Sarah (9:13) But I you know, as a an 11 year old, so just growing up, like, I was like, okay. (9:18) That that's something that could happen. (9:20) But, of course, you're like, that will never happen to me. (9:23) So even though I knew that, I didn't actually think it it would.

Scott Benner (9:27) Did it leave your mind as time passed on, or did you always have the same level of, like, background concern about it?

Sarah (9:33) I would say it left my mind. (9:38) I also am pretty health aware, and maybe hypochondriac is a better word for that. (9:45) Like, just always worried something is wrong. (9:48) And so I also have a tinge of that and I think probably helps me, you know, catch it early.

Scott Benner (9:57) Gotcha. (9:58) I wonder if it's because someone tells you you might get type one diabetes. (10:01) Totally. (10:02) We'll never know. (10:03) I'd love to rerun your life again, not tell you, and see if you're a hypochondriac.

Sarah (10:06) I know. (10:06) You never know.

Scott Benner (10:07) Yeah. (10:08) Taking away the fact that you had the trial net experience, is there anything about your life prior to your diagnosis that pointed to it? (10:19) Like, forget that you knew it was coming. (10:21) Were there it's it's kinda great because you're if you're hypercontract, you were really paying attention to what was happening to you. (10:25) Like, could you look back now and write out the road map?

Scott Benner (10:28) Oh, yeah. (10:28) When I was 14, I lost a bunch of weight and gained a bunch of weight. (10:32) And how about that? (10:33) Like, two years later, I got Hashimoto's or, like, is there anything like that that sits in your memory?

Sarah (10:38) I don't think so. (10:40) I was an adult when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's. (10:43) I had gestational diabetes with all three of my kids. (10:46) Excuse me. (10:47) Insulin dependent.

Sarah (10:49) But I don't think there was anything that said, yes. (10:52) This is gonna be my future.

Scott Benner (10:54) Okay. (10:55) I appreciate you answering because I'm trying to figure out you know, I'm just trying to look backwards to see if there's signs or things that people could be paying attention to.

Sarah (11:03) For sure.

Scott Benner (11:04) Yeah. (11:04) Right. (11:05) Right. (11:06) Happened that led to you thinking like, uh-oh. (11:10) Here it comes.

Sarah (11:11) Yeah. (11:12) I so gestational diabetes with all three. (11:15) My first two kids, it was like, delivered, the placenta is out, my blood sugars returned to normal. (11:21) There was no issues. (11:23) My third kid, it was, like, a couple hours after delivery.

Sarah (11:27) They checked my glucose, and it was high. (11:30) Like, it was, like, one eighty or something, and I just immediately felt like this is not this is not good. (11:38) Like, I have delivered this kid. (11:40) The placenta is out. (11:41) These these glucose levels should be back to normal.

Sarah (11:44) And so that was my first something's going on. (11:49) About a year later, I had a checkup to just check an a one c post gestational diabetes, and it was elevated. (11:57) Question. (11:58) Yeah.

Scott Benner (11:59) First two pregnancies, baby comes out, you deliver the placenta, your blood sugar goes right back.

Sarah (12:03) Right? (12:03) Immediately. (12:04) Yes.

Scott Benner (12:04) Yeah. (12:04) Okay. (12:05) That's been my understanding talking to other people. (12:07) So then having had two experiences that way, a brother with type one, a dad with type one Mhmm. (12:14) A grandfather who wasn't lucky enough to be born before, I guess, 1921 or something like that.

Scott Benner (12:20) Why when you had the elevated after the third, didn't you raise your hand and go, hey. (12:25) I I don't wanna wait a year to find out about like, what happened in that that moment there?

Sarah (12:30) I think probably life and having three kids and just being overwhelmed was enough to distract me like, okay. (12:40) Crap. (12:41) But also by the time I discharged, my glucose level is back to normal. (12:45) So it it was like this tiny red flag that I was able to suppress.

Scott Benner (12:50) Got it. (12:50) Okay. (12:50) Thank you. (12:51) Okay. (12:51) Please keep going.

Sarah (12:52) Yeah. (12:52) So I had a elevated a one c like in the nines, and my endocrinologist said, hey. (13:01) I think this is type two. (13:03) Let's get you started on metformin. (13:05) And so started that.

Sarah (13:06) I got kicked out of trial net because I got started on metformin, really walking down that type two diabetes diagnosis. (13:13) Like, what does this mean? (13:15) Is metformin all there is? (13:17) And also still having three young kids, it was enough of a distraction for me not to really go down the rabbit hole of where I, you know, frequently go today.

Scott Benner (13:28) Did that doctor know about the type one in your family?

Sarah (13:32) Yes.

Scott Benner (13:33) Fascinating. (13:34) Okay. (13:34) Yeah. (13:34) Sorry. (13:35) So what is that rabbit hole of, hey.

Scott Benner (13:37) You have type two diabetes. (13:38) Here's metformin.

Sarah (13:40) I mean, I think it would be, wait a second. (13:43) I have all this type one in my family. (13:46) Let's do some digging. (13:47) What the actual heck? (13:48) You know?

Sarah (13:49) Like, it doesn't make sense for me to have type two, but I I just I don't think mentally I was I was there.

Scott Benner (13:55) Okay. (13:55) Because you had antibodies. (13:57) The doctor knew that?

Sarah (13:58) Oh, good question. (13:59) I don't know if they did. (14:00) I they may have not because, you know, when you enroll in trial, that that's kept in trial, that and it's not like it gets to your health record.

Scott Benner (14:10) Right. (14:11) But and you didn't mention it? (14:12) No. (14:13) And you would describe yourself at that point as overwhelmed?

Sarah (14:16) I would say yes. (14:17) Like, I had kids. (14:19) Like, anxiety really ramped up for me. (14:22) I had some postpartum depression. (14:24) So, like, my when my kids were young, it was it was rough for me.

Sarah (14:28) So I think that's just one more thing on top of a complex family life that I either just couldn't quite deal with or couldn't quite dig into.

Scott Benner (14:37) If I was a therapist, I would say I'd like to acknowledge that I appreciate that. (14:41) But instead, I'm gonna tell you that I I really appreciate you digging into that with me because what I think it does for other listeners I mean, like, look at Sarah. (14:51) Like, she knew she had type one diabetes. (14:53) Like, right? (14:53) Like, she knew she had autoantibody.

Scott Benner (14:55) She knew she had type one in the family. (14:56) She, like, she you should be listening to her speak, she bright lady. (15:00) You're in health care.

Sarah (15:01) Mhmm.

Scott Benner (15:01) Right? (15:02) Like and still the wash of life Mhmm. (15:06) Was a somebody said type two, and your feet came out of the sand, and you just went out to sea with it. (15:10) And just were like, okay. (15:11) I have type two.

Scott Benner (15:12) Just like that. (15:13) Yeah. (15:14) So I hope everybody hears that and realizes that when you're beating yourself up, when you have no context for this whatsoever and, you know, you or your kid end up in the hospital and you're like, oh, like, how do I not see this? (15:25) Like, it's really easy not to say it. (15:27) Mhmm.

Scott Benner (15:27) So yeah. (15:28) That's all. (15:29) I so thank you. (15:30) Unless you think the postpartum and stuff like that has impact on the story, I feel like you should just move forward. (15:35) But if you think it has impact, you can tell me about it.

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Sarah (18:05) Yeah. (18:06) I don't think it does have impact on the story. (18:07) It just provides context about where my mental state was when all this was happening.

Scott Benner (18:12) Okay. (18:13) Okay. (18:13) So please.

Sarah (18:14) Yeah. (18:15) About a year later, still on metformin, I suddenly started dropping, you know, 15 pounds, which I was super pumped about because I was like, man, I'm, like, eating all this crap, and I'm still losing weight. (18:27) This is amazing. (18:28) And not no red flags going off for me, just, like, really loving life. (18:33) And then I remember working and being like, dang.

Sarah (18:36) My fingers are, like, so tingly. (18:39) And this has been happening, like, every single day in the afternoon. (18:43) Like, what the heck is going on? (18:45) And it was those two things that I probably sat with for a month. (18:52) Like, I'm losing weight.

Sarah (18:54) My fingers are tingly and not quite ready to acknowledge it. (18:58) And then I just finally, one morning, I woke up and checked my blood sugar fasting, and I I knew it was gonna be terrible, and it was, like, three eighty.

Scott Benner (19:08) Oh, yeah. (19:10) And there you go. (19:11) You said, I don't have type two diabetes?

Sarah (19:12) Like, damn it. (19:13) Yes. (19:14) Here it is. (19:15) And that was that was it.

Scott Benner (19:16) I thought the tingling was just an alarm to remind me of how awesome and skinny I was.

Sarah (19:20) Totally. (19:21) I know.

Scott Benner (19:23) I've bought so many great clothes in the last month.

Sarah (19:26) I know. (19:27) And now, dang.

Scott Benner (19:29) No. (19:29) I hear it. (19:30) Okay. (19:30) So what do you do? (19:31) Do you go back to that doctor and you hit him with a rolled up newspaper, or how do you handle it?

Sarah (19:36) It was interesting. (19:37) So I called my endocrinologist and said, crap. (19:40) My fasting was three eighty. (19:42) What do I do? (19:43) And, like, it was so interesting because I don't think this would happen with, like, regular people who maybe aren't in health care who didn't have the gestational diabetes diagnosis, but literally it was over the phone.

Sarah (19:58) Like, you're starting Humalog. (19:59) You're starting, long acting. (20:02) Go pick it up. (20:03) This is starting today. (20:05) Start checking your blood sugars, we'll get you in an appointment when we can, and it's not for like four weeks.

Sarah (20:11) And so I just don't think of any scenario where someone with this new diagnosis is managing that on their own without actually going in. (20:20) Does that make sense?

Scott Benner (20:21) Yeah. (20:22) Oh, it feels positive and negative to me. (20:24) It feels positive that the doctor was like, didn't fight you and say, no. (20:28) We'll give you more metformin. (20:29) What have you been eating?

Scott Benner (20:30) Like, that kind of thing. (20:31) But you didn't get that. (20:32) You got you got, oh, gosh, you know, capitulation. (20:35) Same doctor that gave you the type two diagnosis? (20:37) Yes.

Scott Benner (20:38) Okay. (20:39) And but on the other side of it, is it because you're in medicine? (20:41) Do you think that they were like, oh, she'll know what to do. (20:44) Here. (20:44) Take your insulin?

Sarah (20:44) Yes. (20:45) I totally think so because they knew I was a nurse. (20:47) They knew my mom was a diabetes educator. (20:50) Like, we of course, I had the resources, and so I'm not faulting them for that. (20:55) It really just was like, I can't believe that happened like that.

Scott Benner (20:58) No direction, education, anything at all. (21:00) Just we'll send some scripts over and you you rock and roll, you get going.

Sarah (21:04) Get started. (21:04) Yep.

Scott Benner (21:05) How did you figure out I mean, you go to your brother, or how do you figure out how to get your even, like, choose a the amount for basil, for example?

Sarah (21:12) Yeah. (21:12) I think I leaned in on my mom. (21:15) Just her she had the knowledge. (21:18) It was, okay. (21:19) Try to do this many, units of insulin for this many grams of carbs, and then it was just off and running.

Sarah (21:26) It was trial and error.

Scott Benner (21:27) Well, your mom worked for, like, Medtronic or something like that?

Sarah (21:30) She worked for Medtronic, she also worked for Tandem.

Scott Benner (21:33) So you go to your mom, who raised a kid with type one Yep. (21:37) Has has the background, you know, professionally to some level or another. (21:40) Yep. (21:40) And you go MDI?

Sarah (21:42) I go MDI.

Scott Benner (21:44) Okay. (21:45) And you're how much did you need in the beginning?

Sarah (21:48) Oh gosh. (21:49) Like, you will be really testing my memory. (21:51) I remember it was, like, keep under 20 units a day. (21:55) That was the first the first prescription.

Scott Benner (21:58) I was gonna guess, like, a lot less than now Yes. (22:00) Or not really?

Sarah (22:01) Yes. (22:02) Yeah. (22:02) Now it's a little bit different. (22:03) But, yes, like, at the peak, a lot less than where I started or than where I got to.

Scott Benner (22:09) Excellent. (22:10) So okay. (22:10) So you go to your mom, but then you're not I mean, where are you, postpartum? (22:17) How long how old is your youngest at that point?

Sarah (22:19) At least a year. (22:20) Not quite two.

Scott Benner (22:22) Would you still consider yourself in that malaise, that haze there?

Sarah (22:25) No. (22:25) I think I was out of that. (22:27) Yep.

Scott Benner (22:28) Okay. (22:28) So you're a little more clear minded at that point. (22:31) So explain to me your mindset about the diagnosis being thrown into it. (22:36) Like, I'm really interested in those first four weeks before you get to the doctor.

Sarah (22:39) Mhmm. (22:39) It was a ton of denial, and that actually lasted a really long time. (22:44) Like, this is something I'm doing today. (22:47) This is something I'm doing during this hour, but it's not my the rest of my life. (22:53) I I just, like, could not could not get there because of how almost, like, devastating it feels to, you know, to get that that sinking and feeling to be like, oh my gosh.

Sarah (23:07) This is the rest of my life, and I just could not. (23:09) And so I handled it almost like I handled work sometimes. (23:15) Like, there's a critical situation, you know what to do, you have the training to do it, just do it and get it done and make sure your glucose levels are in normal range.

Scott Benner (23:27) Okay. (23:27) And I'm sorry to ask, but you you didn't go to your brother. (23:31) You're not close or you are close, but you didn't occur to you to go to him?

Sarah (23:34) Oh, for sure. (23:35) Like, I my brother knew, my dad knew, my mom knew. (23:39) I mean, my whole family knew. (23:40) We talked about it, like, processed it, and it sucked. (23:44) But his journey was so much different, like, been diagnosed at nine or at seven or whatever it was.

Sarah (23:52) And then this kind of slower onset, it just was different. (23:57) The nice thing was is it opened up this channel of communication between all three of us, my dad, my brother, me. (24:02) Like, we're in this little tribe together.

Scott Benner (24:05) Yeah.

Sarah (24:05) And then this is a little bit of a tangent, but I quickly advocated to get on a pump. (24:10) I quickly advocated to get on dexcom, and at that point, neither my dad or my brother were on a continuous glucose monitor. (24:17) So literally within thirty days of this diagnosis, I was on one and, you know, they've been on this for years.

Scott Benner (24:24) Yeah. (24:24) I was going to ask, I guess, was your dad's, like the entirety of his advice, like, don't eat that toast. (24:30) I don't know. (24:30) I give myself the thing, and I try not to eat bread. (24:33) Is that, like, you know, is that how he's managing?

Scott Benner (24:35) It was how he was managing Okay. (24:38) Did your brother follow suit with that management style more so? (24:42) I I know it's hard to, like, call because it feels like you're calling him out now because now you know how to live with diabetes. (24:47) You know what it really means to say this out loud. (24:49) But do you think he was doing as well as he could have been?

Sarah (24:52) No. (24:52) I would say no. (24:53) And I I could say that to his face for sure. (24:56) And I also think he was doing what he could with what he what what was going on in his life. (25:04) And not like not like he had a ton of stuff going on, but it's it's a lot.

Sarah (25:07) And he was and he's had it since he was young. (25:10) And it just He's

Scott Benner (25:12) older than you?

Sarah (25:12) He's younger than me.

Scott Benner (25:14) Younger than you. (25:14) So how so he grew up with it through the eighties?

Sarah (25:20) Through the eighties. (25:21) Yep. (25:21) Because he was born in, like, '82.

Scott Benner (25:25) Okay. (25:25) So he probably got Lantus and Humalog at the very beginning of Lantus and Humalog. (25:29) Yep. (25:30) Yeah. (25:30) Okay.

Scott Benner (25:33) But and so I know what the tools were like back then as far as how they were, communicated to people, and it really was about, like, testing periodically, and Mhmm. (25:42) It's not I don't think it nearly is what it was. (25:44) So your mom's understanding of management is back there as well. (25:48) Oh, speaking of your mom and your dad, you sound like you guys have a pretty close relationship. (25:53) So this question is really just for me.

Scott Benner (25:56) Were they devastated when you were diagnosed even though you were 37?

Sarah (26:00) No. (26:01) I would Yeah. (26:01) Say I and maybe that's just also their, like, Scandinavian roots. (26:08) Like, it is what it is. (26:09) Like, you move forward.

Sarah (26:11) And it also is like this probably was writing on the wall.

Scott Benner (26:15) Yeah. (26:15) That you think they've been waiting for it forever. (26:17) Maybe it was a relief.

Sarah (26:18) I think they, yeah, knew that it was probably coming, especially my mom knowing what the antibodies meant and knowing that I was GAD positive at 11.

Scott Benner (26:28) You know, as soon as I don't know. (26:30) As soon as Arden was diagnosed, a couple years later, we sent Cole to trial that he did not have any autoantibodies. (26:35) K. (26:36) But he but he did develop Hashimoto's a handful years ago.

Sarah (26:39) Okay.

Scott Benner (26:40) And I will admit that it took some effort not to look at him and think, oh, god. (26:45) Is he gonna get diabetes? (26:46) Every time I looked at him. (26:47) Yeah. (26:48) And I still can't tell if it feels more possible because of my job.

Scott Benner (26:55) And I hear everyone's stories and no one comes on to tell the story of how they were this, you know, the I don't know, the brother or daughter or sister of a type one and nothing ever happened to them. (27:05) Like, nobody comes on to tell that story. (27:06) So every story I hear sounds like that Or so I don't know if I I feel that way because I hear the stories or because if it's a real anxiety, you know, and a genuine, like, back back brain concern. (27:19) Mhmm. (27:19) But somehow knowing that your parents because I know some people think of parenting differently than I do.

Scott Benner (27:26) Right? (27:26) I'm I'm sure we all think of it in a ton of different ways, but I I feel like it's a lifelong endeavor. (27:32) I just I don't know if I could handle fifteen years from now, like, like, being 70 year will I be 70 in fifteen? (27:40) Hold on a second. (27:40) Jesus Christ, I will be.

Scott Benner (27:42) Okay. (27:42) So I don't know if I oh, it was terrible. (27:45) Now I'm upset. (27:46) I I don't know if fifteen years from now, I'm 70 years old and my, you know, I don't know, 40 year old son calls me up and says, hey. (27:56) I have type one.

Scott Benner (27:57) I I don't know if I could handle it. (27:59) Like and I'm and your actually, your parents' reaction is making me feel a little more like maybe I can.

Sarah (28:04) Yeah. (28:04) And almost like a relief. (28:05) Like, oh my gosh. (28:06) We made it to 40, and I'm, of course, not projecting that that's gonna happen.

Scott Benner (28:10) Yeah.

Sarah (28:11) I have that same feeling for my three kiddos, like, just waiting for that diagnosis, which is terrible. (28:17) And they all did trial meds and they don't have the autoantibodies, and I will always be waiting for that for the rest of their life. (28:25) So, yes, I hear you.

Scott Benner (28:26) Yeah. (28:27) Any autoimmune on your husband's side? (28:29) I don't know if you're married still, but

Sarah (28:30) I am still married and no, there's no autoimmune on his side.

Scott Benner (28:34) Okay. (28:35) Just is he just annoyingly healthy?

Sarah (28:37) Yes. (28:37) Which is awesome for him. (28:39) Yep.

Scott Benner (28:40) Awesome for him.

Sarah (28:41) Yeah.

Scott Benner (28:44) You said you have Hashimoto's as well?

Sarah (28:45) I do. (28:45) Yep.

Scott Benner (28:46) Alright. (28:47) So before we get into you jumping onto a pump really quickly, how old were you when you were diagnosed with that?

Sarah (28:51) I was probably about 25.

Scott Benner (28:54) Oh, okay. (28:55) Managed with Synthroid?

Sarah (28:56) Yep.

Scott Benner (28:57) Do you have any symptoms even when you were medicated?

Sarah (29:01) No. (29:02) Not really.

Scott Benner (29:03) Okay. (29:03) You've been good with that. (29:04) You haven't needed a t three to help or anything like that? (29:06) Nope. (29:07) Nope.

Scott Benner (29:07) Awesome. (29:07) Oh, that's great. (29:09) Any of your kids have Hashimoto's? (29:10) No. (29:11) No.

Scott Benner (29:12) How old are they?

Sarah (29:14) They are 14, 12, and eight.

Scott Benner (29:17) Oh, wow. (29:17) And you're wait. (29:19) And you're 44?

Sarah (29:19) Yep.

Scott Benner (29:20) You start a little late?

Sarah (29:22) Start a little late for what? (29:23) Kids?

Scott Benner (29:23) Yeah. (29:24) 30. (29:24) How old were you when you

Sarah (29:25) 30 was my first kiddo. (29:27) My parents were totally young. (29:29) So, yes, they were totally done having three kids by, like, the time they were 27. (29:33) So, yes, starting at 30 is later than what they did for sure.

Scott Benner (29:38) Oh, your mom and dad are still younger then?

Sarah (29:40) Yeah. (29:40) My mom is 69, my dad is 70.

Scott Benner (29:43) How do you like that? (29:44) Can you still talk to them? (29:46) You know what I mean?

Sarah (29:46) Yeah. (29:47) I I have always loved that they're younger and always envisioned myself, like, being a super young parent, which I am what I am. (29:56) You know, it is what it is. (29:57) But I yeah. (29:58) I always I've always loved that.

Scott Benner (30:00) Okay. (30:00) You meet a guy late. (30:01) You build a career first?

Sarah (30:03) Like, I started building my career. (30:06) I loved I loved nursing and jumping into that. (30:10) We I didn't meet my husband till I was 26, I think.

Scott Benner (30:17) Oh, and he's older than you or younger?

Sarah (30:20) He's just a year older, so not

Scott Benner (30:21) Okay.

Sarah (30:22) Not that much older.

Scott Benner (30:23) So you waited till you found a decent one?

Sarah (30:26) Yeah. (30:27) And he's a decent guy. (30:28) And we got married when we were 29 and then, like, surprise, then had a baby at 30.

Scott Benner (30:34) Was three kids your goal?

Sarah (30:37) It was we didn't have a goal. (30:39) We for sure, wanted to try to have a boy and a girl or a son and a daughter. (30:44) And our we had boy, girl, and then we we sat on that, like, hey. (30:49) Maybe we're done. (30:50) Maybe we're not.

Sarah (30:51) And then it was just decided for us that we weren't done, and then we had a third.

Scott Benner (30:55) Did you go to a wedding? (30:56) What happened?

Sarah (30:59) I don't know.

Scott Benner (30:59) It was k. (31:00) Yeah. (31:00) I don't know. (31:02) Caught me in a weak moment.

Sarah (31:03) Got me in a weak moment.

Scott Benner (31:05) So you jumped onto a pump pretty quickly. (31:08) Did you go what what pump did you get?

Sarah (31:10) I went to the t slim.

Scott Benner (31:12) Okay. (31:12) And back then back then, but seven years ago, was there even bolus IQ at that point?

Sarah (31:18) No. (31:18) There was not.

Scott Benner (31:19) Okay. (31:20) I I guess take me a little bit through your education process because it was probably a self education. (31:25) Right? (31:25) Or did the endo finally jump in and add value?

Sarah (31:28) It really felt like a self education and partnering with my mom. (31:32) Like, even when I got started on a pump, it was my mom that came over and, like, walked me through it while I was on the phone with someone trying to tell me, but really it was my mom working through it and showing me how to use it. (31:45) And I remember calling my mom and being like, oh, my blood sugars are here. (31:51) Like, something's going on or this happened and this happened. (31:53) And she would help troubleshoot with me, which I thought was super valuable because, of course, your mom is just so much more available than any provider could ever be.

Sarah (32:02) And so that was invaluable for me. (32:04) And it was trial and error managed by me, less by endocrine.

Scott Benner (32:10) And how slowly was your ramp up in needs? (32:13) How many months or years did it take for you to get to your insulin need that you have now?

Sarah (32:18) I would say it was gradual but continuous. (32:23) It was, like, every year, I felt like I was taking more insulin. (32:28) That was the most stressful thing for me is, like, what the actual heck? (32:34) Like, this is just gonna keep going for the rest of my life. (32:37) Like, every year, I'm gonna be taking more insulin every single day.

Sarah (32:40) Like, that's terrible. (32:42) And it just it felt like that was the journey that I was on.

Scott Benner (32:46) So then tell me, would you prefer it all just happened in a moment, or do you I mean, I guess the question comes from a more, like, psychological side because I think health wise, you'd prefer that it to take forever if it could. (33:01) Right?

Sarah (33:01) For

Scott Benner (33:01) sure. (33:01) So what's your look back on that?

Sarah (33:03) My look back is, yes. (33:05) I probably have the preferred way of having it ramp up gradually, you know, every year getting more and more, and it was very distressing. (33:14) Like, the diabetes distress, which my diabetes educator quite shared that term with me and I really have globbed onto it, it just increased the distress every time I had to go up.

Scott Benner (33:28) Do you have any of those feelings of your body letting you down? (33:31) I guess this is probably a a forward looking thing, but, like, Erica and I are are starting to do a, a series around body grief. (33:38) Yeah. (33:38) And that idea of, like, how hard it is to live every day, like, feeling like your body's not doing what it's supposed to do and all that comes with that.

Sarah (33:48) I don't I totally see that, and I don't think that was my experience.

Scott Benner (33:52) Okay. (33:52) Or just this it was probably omnipresent, I guess. (33:56) Like, it's getting work. (33:57) It felt and it felt like it was getting worse. (33:59) Right?

Scott Benner (33:59) Yeah. (33:59) Making quotes. (34:00) Yeah. (34:01) So okay. (34:02) What made you wanna come on the podcast?

Scott Benner (34:04) Tell me again. (34:04) You you went over it at the beginning, but I'd like you to outline it again because I think I probably jerked you away from it a little bit.

Sarah (34:09) Yeah. (34:09) Sure thing. (34:10) My diabetes journey, when it kicked off, just stayed the same. (34:16) It's like this is type one, you're, you know, latter type one, but usually referred to as type one. (34:22) Your C peptide is really low.

Sarah (34:24) It was checked one time and this is what your life is gonna be. (34:29) And probably a year ago, the distress for me was really picking up, like, doing a ton of research. (34:38) Like, what else is there for type one? (34:40) What else is there? (34:41) This can't be it.

Sarah (34:43) It can't be just try harder, and you're doing so much better than, like, ninety percent of my patients. (34:50) But, like, that's not the goal I was looking for. (34:53) It's like, I want I want to have an a one c of someone without diabetes, and I want to be really tightly controlled. (35:02) And I want every single tool to be available to me, not just what the endocrinology team thinks is best for me. (35:10) I want all the research.

Sarah (35:12) I want all the potentials. (35:14) And so that's that's where I was sitting over the last year. (35:18) I got a recommendation to try a new endocrinologist in the spring, and that was life changing for me. (35:27) He really started at the beginning and said, I'm not gonna write a diagnosis on your chart. (35:34) We're gonna see what the labs tell us and we'll go from there.

Sarah (35:38) And so it was this really full history. (35:40) It was drawing every hormone under the sun, all the autoantibodies again, c peptide, literally everything. (35:47) And coming back to that appointment and walking through what my labs were telling was so insightful. (35:57) I was surprised that my c peptide was actually in the normal range. (36:02) It was like 1.5.

Sarah (36:04) And when I first was checked at diagnosis, I was like point four.

Scott Benner (36:09) I guess describe the difference between what I'll call, like, your first diagnosis with that endocrinologist and your, you know, what should we call it?

Sarah (36:19) Like, your the rebirth. (36:21) I don't know.

Scott Benner (36:21) Yeah. (36:22) Was gonna call it rebirth. (36:23) Like, you you know when you get married again? (36:24) Like, you're like, oh, let's do another wedding.

Sarah (36:26) Yes.

Scott Benner (36:26) You were like, let's start this over again.

Sarah (36:28) Exactly that.

Scott Benner (36:30) How did that really support you though?

Sarah (36:33) It was so validating to me. (36:35) And I remember, like, wanting to connect with my husband after this appointment to just talk through it. (36:41) And we were on a walk, and I was sobbing. (36:43) Like, I knew I knew there was more. (36:46) I knew that there was more to this than just what was available to me and that the story is so much deeper than just on paper.

Sarah (36:55) It felt like this endocrinologist was looking at me truly inside of who I was and what was going on with my body and wanting to respond to that versus your a one c looks great. (37:09) Keep up the good work. (37:10) And it Yeah. (37:11) It just was it was so validating.

Scott Benner (37:14) So you have this probably enduring feeling that there's more to this than I understand.

Sarah (37:19) Yes.

Scott Benner (37:19) And you can't just let it go. (37:21) Yeah. (37:22) Yes. (37:22) So that is infuriating, anxiety ridden, all the I would imagine a little bit of all that. (37:30) Yes.

Scott Benner (37:30) Yeah. (37:31) What made you like, what tipped you over? (37:35) What made you say, no. (37:35) You know what I really need to do? (37:37) I need to go find a different doctor who's gonna be more involved with me.

Scott Benner (37:40) Like, was there a a moment that pushed you or desperation?

Sarah (37:44) I think it was desperation. (37:46) It was a combination of a couple things. (37:48) I remember bringing an idea to my endocrinologist about amylin or reading about that and wondering, like, is that a place for me? (37:59) Is that something that's really helpful? (38:00) And I think I understand now that that's not prescribed anymore.

Sarah (38:04) Is that correct? (38:05) I think you probably know that.

Scott Benner (38:07) It does seem like I have an email from somebody who, you know, it's funny. (38:12) There's a guy that was on the podcast in the first year. (38:14) I haven't emailed him back yet. (38:16) This is great that you brought this up, actually. (38:18) He wants to come on about that.

Scott Benner (38:20) Oh, interesting. (38:21) Yeah. (38:22) I've been using it forever, and suddenly, I cannot find it. (38:27) It's, it's such a shame. (38:28) But, no, there's somebody very recently.

Scott Benner (38:30) So I don't know. (38:31) Is Amlan no longer available? (38:35) I don't know if that's the case.

Sarah (38:38) I feel like I read something, like, it's not as effective as maybe it was thought to be.

Scott Benner (38:45) Contextually, you were looking for anything. (38:48) I like this, by the way. (38:49) You and I would dork out together talking about stuff. (38:51) Like, so you, like, you were just like, maybe this will work.

Sarah (38:55) I was looking at everything and anything trying to find articles or research showing, like, what's the latest technology? (39:02) What have people tried? (39:04) Really just anything. (39:06) And what I think I was talking about, like what tips you over the edge, I reached out to my endocrinologist and asked like, what about Amylin? (39:14) And his response really punched me in the gut.

Sarah (39:19) And I don't blame him for it. (39:20) This is just where they were was I don't prescribe that, and I don't even know who I would recommend you to to prescribe that. (39:29) It, like, crushed me because it felt like, oh my gosh. (39:33) Like, there's all this chatter and all this research happening, and I'm not being offered that or I'm not even given the opportunity to discuss it. (39:42) Like, where where does that what's the place for that?

Sarah (39:45) Where do I have this conversation with a provider about all the things that I read? (39:50) And they tell me, yes. (39:52) It's a good idea. (39:53) No. (39:53) This is why this is not a good idea, but have that collaborative relationship.

Sarah (39:58) And that that pushed me over the edge.

Scott Benner (40:00) I also think that it's telling that anything that they don't do, many of them aren't gonna wanna be involved in. (40:07) You don't go into an office and say, hey, you know, would you sit here and philosophize with me for a few minutes about what would happen if this and maybe you and I will try it together and wouldn't that be interesting? (40:16) He's like, I don't know what to do and I don't know where to send you. (40:19) That sentence is, please stop asking me about this. (40:22) Mhmm.

Scott Benner (40:23) Yeah. (40:23) Because we're not talking about this anymore. (40:24) Yep. (40:25) And then then you were like, right on. (40:27) I'm gonna go find a different doctor.

Sarah (40:28) Yes. (40:28) Exactly that.

Scott Benner (40:30) I tell people all the time that when they wanna switch doctors, I would call around. (40:35) Like, I think and and have real conversations on the phone. (40:38) Lay out your expectations and say, is this the kind of office where this is permissible and encouraged? (40:44) Because if not, you're gonna make an appointment. (40:46) You're gonna wait weeks and months.

Scott Benner (40:48) You're gonna go in, say your thing, and run the risk of the person looking up at you and going, I don't do that. (40:52) I don't know where to send you for that. (40:54) Like, it could take you two years to find a good doctor that way. (40:56) How did you find one on the first try?

Sarah (40:58) It was divine intervention. (41:01) The diabetes educator that I was connecting with and really walking through all this, like I was able to be very real with her about what I was thinking, where my distress was, what that conversation with my provider was. (41:13) And she said, I have a recommendation for an endocrinologist. (41:16) She also gave me a couple other recommendations too. (41:19) She saw him at one point and she said he saved my life.

Sarah (41:22) He was able to diagnose me as Latta. (41:25) That's what she had said. (41:27) And she said he's different and it might be just what you're looking for. (41:31) So I, like, I did some research online. (41:34) There were some terrible reviews, but I just something felt like I had to try it, and I was able to get into them quickly, and it just worked it worked out.

Scott Benner (41:45) Yeah. (41:45) I I think that your vibe then when you got there was this is the right person.

Sarah (41:50) Yep. (41:51) Good. (41:51) Definitely.

Scott Benner (41:52) That's awesome. (41:52) Awesome. (41:53) So what else did you in that time of picking through and saying, how about Amlan? (41:57) Like, was there other things that popped up for you or ideas about management that you what did you think was in that toolbox that you hadn't opened yet?

Sarah (42:06) I read a lot about GLP ones because that was really coming out to, like, so much publicity. (42:12) Like, it was coming out on Bravo and Real Housewives and all this other stuff. (42:16) I'm like, what the heck is this, and how does it benefit? (42:19) And being available to just those with a type two diagnosis didn't necessarily make sense to me. (42:26) The more I read about it, the more I felt like this actually seems like there could be an offering beyond type two.

Sarah (42:34) So it was like knowing that that was all drumming up and getting excited and people were looking at it, seeing that there were some research started by using that on type one or people with type one. (42:45) And I think that was that was it. (42:48) Like, there's there's something else out there for me because these discussions are happening in research and articles and in the diabetes community.

Scott Benner (42:56) Are you using a GLP one now?

Sarah (42:58) I am.

Scott Benner (42:59) Which one?

Sarah (43:01) I never say this right. (43:03) Mounjaro. (43:04) Thank you. (43:04) I always wanna say, like, bonjour or something. (43:07) Mounjaro.

Sarah (43:07) Yes. (43:08) So

Scott Benner (43:09) how long and what dose?

Sarah (43:11) I have been on it since April and I am at seven point five.

Scott Benner (43:16) Did you have weight to lose?

Sarah (43:17) For sure. (43:18) Yep. (43:18) I Yeah. (43:19) Had like 15 pounds to lose.

Scott Benner (43:21) Is it gone?

Sarah (43:22) It's gone. (43:23) Yeah.

Scott Benner (43:24) And you so you're at seven point five because it's a good maintenance dose for you?

Sarah (43:28) Yes. (43:29) And because my my the weight loss happened pretty quickly in a short amount of time, and now my hair is falling out. (43:36) You know, I'm just going through some of that hair loss that happens, and so I'm not willing to go up. (43:41) I'm still seeing the great impact of it. (43:43) I just wanna hold until I know I'm not gonna lose all my hair.

Scott Benner (43:47) That does happen to some people. (43:49) Right? (43:49) Their hair thins a little bit. (43:50) Yeah. (43:52) Have you tried going backwards to see if you can hold position with with even less?

Sarah (43:57) I haven't. (43:58) No. (43:58) But that would be a good idea.

Scott Benner (44:00) If you don't wanna do it as a script, you could go on Amazon, buy vials, inject it into a vial, then draw it all out with an insulin needle to give yourself a measurement and then mess around with how much of it to give yourself.

Sarah (44:12) Oh, that's genius.

Scott Benner (44:13) Yeah. (44:13) Yeah. (44:14) Okay. (44:14) That's for you. (44:15) Arden right now is using 17 equivalent insulin units of Mounjaro, and I think it's a little too much.

Scott Benner (44:24) I think the next time she does it, I'm gonna try try tell her to try 15.

Sarah (44:27) Okay.

Scott Benner (44:28) It really keeps her blood sugars super stable.

Sarah (44:32) That's amazing.

Scott Benner (44:34) Yeah. (44:34) Do you have insulin resistance? (44:35) Is that where it's helping you?

Sarah (44:38) Well, can I can I go into a little bit more? (44:40) And if I'm telling you too much, please feel free to No.

Scott Benner (44:43) Go crazy. (44:44) Yeah. (44:44) Please. (44:45) Please.

Sarah (44:45) Within this endocrinology appointment, getting my c peptide level back, antibodies, which was GAD, and that I was positive for the insulin antibodies. (44:56) So knowing that, like, actual insulin was being attacked, and I did not have the islet antibody, which breaks down that protein in your pancreas. (45:08) So two out of those three. (45:10) So just learning all this, and he described it by having a c peptide in the normal range. (45:15) He said your beta cells or whatever is producing insulin are like raisins.

Sarah (45:21) We need to help those be grapes so that you can utilize the insulin or they can produce insulin and you can utilize it. (45:29) And so that that was a good visual for me to understand what we were gonna do with, GLP one. (45:38) So getting that c peptide level back and my autoantibodies allowed him to say, this is LADA for sure. (45:48) This is your diagnosis. (45:49) It's LADA, and you can be managed like type one or you can be managed like type two.

Sarah (45:56) And he said, if you're gonna be managed like type two, the repertoire of available medications just just explodes. (46:04) Like, there's so many other opportunities. (46:07) And he said, I think that you should go on a GLP one because it will protect those beta cells. (46:13) You'll have protection of those so they're not destroyed and that they'll work properly. (46:17) You'll have the cardiovascular benefit, the inflammation, and protection against dementia or all those things.

Sarah (46:26) And he said that's that's the way to go. (46:28) And that felt amazing. (46:30) Like, there's something else I can try, and it's not just insulin, and it's not just me trying harder. (46:36) It was, like, the gift no one would ever be able to give me. (46:39) It was amazing.

Scott Benner (46:42) That's awesome. (46:43) Yes. (46:43) How did and it's the same doctor. (46:45) You Same doctor. (46:46) Progressive doctor ended up helping you in a number of different ways.

Scott Benner (46:48) Yes. (46:49) Yeah.

Sarah (46:50) It just felt like this is someone who is understanding this journey and where people with distress are at. (46:57) And it felt like people should know this. (47:00) Like, you shouldn't just get your C peptide checked once. (47:02) It's fluid. (47:03) It changes depending on your blood glucose level.

Sarah (47:05) Like, you should be checking that regularly to ensure you have the right diagnosis because I'm sure there's folks out there with LADA who are managed like type one or diagnosed as type one only and then don't have access to additional medications where if they had these additional labs, they'd be able to have that access.

Scott Benner (47:26) Doctor Hamdi was on the show earlier this year, and he talked about that he believes there will be a lot of dual diagnosis in the future. (47:36) I believe that. (47:37) Yeah. (47:38) And how valuable that'll be. (47:39) I mean, that's ardent.

Scott Benner (47:40) That's how ardent is diagnosed is that, you know, if she didn't have type one, she'd be insulin resistant. (47:46) Like, she still would be. (47:47) And these two things are not mutually exclusive. (47:50) Like, she has yes. (47:52) She has type one diabetes, and she's more insulin resistant than you would expect her to be.

Scott Benner (47:58) And so, you know, it makes her eligible for that medication. (48:02) And what a big deal it it is for. (48:05) You know, for people who would say, oh, well, you just lost weight. (48:09) That's why you're using less insulin. (48:11) Do you have more context for them than that?

Sarah (48:13) I I do. (48:14) I it's that raisin grape, like, mentality that I feel like makes so much sense. (48:20) It you know, as soon as I started, it was like my insulin per carb ratio totally changed. (48:28) It was, like, from eight carbs for one unit to nine and then 10 and then 11, just like this marching change that I needed less insulin to to cover carbs. (48:39) And that was, like, immediate proof to me that this was working and that those beta cells were plumping up like grapes and they could function how they were supposed to.

Sarah (48:48) And it's for sure, like, you're you're gonna lose weight. (48:53) You're probably gonna eat less. (48:54) That is less insulin, but I'm not necessarily looking at how much insulin I'm using during the day. (49:01) I'm looking at how much insulin it takes to manage the carbs.

Scott Benner (49:06) Okay. (49:06) And do you see less significant spikes around food? (49:17) This episode was too good to cut anything out of, but too long to make just one episode. (49:22) So this is part one. (49:23) Make sure you go find part two right now.

Scott Benner (49:25) It's gonna be the next episode in your feed. (49:27) Today's episode was sponsored by Skin Grip. (49:31) And Skin Grip, they understand what life with diabetes is like, and they know how infuriating it can be when a device falls off prematurely. (49:39) And they don't want that to happen to you. (49:41) Juice Box podcast listeners save 20% off with their first order when you use the link skingrip.com/juicebox.

Scott Benner (49:48) Links are also available in the show notes of your podcast player and at juiceboxpodcast.com. (49:54) Today's episode is also sponsored by the Omnipod five. (49:58) And at my link, omnipod.com/juicebox, you can get yourself a free what I just say? (50:05) A free Omnipod five starter kit. (50:08) Free?

Scott Benner (50:10) Get out of here. (50:10) Go click on that link. (50:11) Omnipod.com/juicebox. (50:14) Check it out. (50:14) Terms and conditions apply.

Scott Benner (50:16) Eligibility may vary. (50:18) Full terms and conditions can be found at omnipod.com/juicebox. (50:22) Links in the show notes. (50:24) Links at juiceboxpodcast.com. (50:27) Arden has been getting her diabetes supplies from US Med for three years.

Scott Benner (50:31) You can as well. (50:32) Usmed.com/juicebox or call (888) 721-1514. (50:39) My thanks to US Med for sponsoring this episode and for being longtime sponsors of the Juice Box Podcast. (50:45) There are links in the show notes and links at juiceboxpodcast.com to US Med and all of the sponsors. (50:52) As the holidays approach, I wanna thank all of my good friends for coming back to the Juice Box podcast over and over again.

Scott Benner (50:58) It means the world to me. (50:59) It's the greatest gift you could give me. (51:01) Thank you so very much. (51:03) Unless, of course, you wanna share the show with someone else, then that would be an awesome gift too or a five star review. (51:08) I don't know.

Scott Benner (51:08) You don't really owe me a gift, but, I mean, if you're looking for something to do. (51:12) You know, subscribe and follow, tell a friend, etcetera. (51:14) Thank you. (51:15) Merry Christmas. (51:19) Hey.

Scott Benner (51:20) I'm dropping in to tell you about a small change being made to the Juice Cruise twenty twenty six schedule. (51:25) This adjustment was made by Celebrity Cruise Lines, not by me. (51:28) Anyway, we're still going out on the Celebrity Beyond cruise ship, which is awesome. (51:32) Check out the walkthrough video at juiceboxpodcast.com/juicecruise. (51:37) The ship is awesome.

Scott Benner (51:39) Still a seven night cruise. (51:41) It still leaves out of Miami on June 21. (51:44) Actually, most of this is the same. (51:45) We leave Miami June 21, head to Coco Cay in The Bahamas, but then we're going to San Juan, Puerto Rico instead Of Saint Thomas. (51:53) After that, Bastille, I think I'm saying that wrong, Saint Kitts And Nevis.

Scott Benner (51:57) This place is gorgeous. (51:59) Google it. (52:00) Mean, I you're probably gonna have to go to my link to get the correct spelling because my pronunciation is so bad. (52:04) But once you get the Saint Kitts and you Google it, you're gonna look and see a photo that says to you, oh, I wanna go there. (52:10) Come meet other people living with type one diabetes from caregivers to children to adults.

Scott Benner (52:17) Last year, we had a 100 people on our cruise, and it was fabulous. (52:22) You can see pictures to get at my link juiceboxpodcast.com/juicecruise. (52:27) Can see those pictures from last year there. (52:29) The link also gives you an opportunity to register for the cruise or to contact Suzanne from Cruise Planners. (52:35) She takes care of all the logistics.

Scott Benner (52:37) I'm just excited that I might see you there. (52:39) It's a beautiful event for families, for singles, a wonderful opportunity to meet people, swap stories, make friendships, and learn. (52:49) Have you tried the Small Sip series? (52:51) They're curated takeaways from the Juice Box podcast, voted on by listeners as the most helpful insights for managing their diabetes. (52:58) These bite sized pieces of wisdom cover essential topics like insulin timing, carb management, and balancing highs and lows, making it easier for you to incorporate real life strategies into your daily routine.

Scott Benner (53:09) Dive deep, take a sip, and discover what our community finds most valuable on the journey to better diabetes management. (53:16) For more information on small sips, go to juiceboxpodcast.com. (53:20) Click on the word series in the menu. (53:22) Hey. (53:23) What's up, everybody?

Scott Benner (53:23) If you've noticed that the podcast sounds better and you're thinking, like, how does that happen? (53:29) What you're hearing is Rob at Wrong Way Recording doing his magic to these files. (53:34) So if you want him to do his magic to you, wrongwayrecording.com. (53:39) You got a podcast? (53:40) You want somebody to edit it?

Scott Benner (53:41) You want Rob.

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Scott Benner 12/23/25 Scott Benner 12/23/25

#1717 Knowing All Your Tools - Part 1