#1605 Lion Heart
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Marla, 44, shares 36 years with T1D, her late dive into pumping, her daughter’s iron struggles, and her raw frustration with clueless doctors.
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Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, and welcome back to another episode of The Juicebox podcast.
Marla 0:14
This is Marla, and I am a type one diabetic from Kansas, and I've been a diabetic for 36 years.
Scott Benner 0:26
Nothing you hear on the Juicebox podcast should be considered advice medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan or becoming bold with insulin. This episode of The Juicebox podcast is sponsored by Omnipod five. Omnipod five is a tube, free, automated insulin delivery system that's been shown to significantly improve a 1c and time and range for people with type one diabetes when they've switched from daily injections, learn more and get started today at omnipod.com/juicebox of my link, you can get a free starter kit right now. Terms and Conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found at omnipod.com/juicebox us med is sponsoring this episode of The Juicebox podcast, and we've been getting our diabetes supplies from us med for years. You can as well us Med, Comm, slash Juicebox or call 888-721-1514, use the link or the number. Get your free benefits check and get started today with us. Med, I'm having an on body vibe alert. This episode of The Juicebox podcast is sponsored by ever since 365 the only one year where CGM that's one insertion and one CGM a year, one CGM one year, not every 10 or 14 days ever since cgm.com/juicebox
Marla 2:48
This is Marla, and I am a type one diabetic from Kansas, and I've been a diabetic for 36 years.
Scott Benner 2:56
Awesome. We're recording then Marla, here we go. Okay, how long have you had type one for 30 just say 36 years. 36
Marla 3:02
Yes, 36 and like, four months. Maybe
Scott Benner 3:06
no kidding, and how old were you when you diagnosed?
Marla 3:08
I was eight, eight years old,
Scott Benner 3:12
44 now I could have done the math. I'm not
Marla 3:14
good at math, but I just know that I'm 44 so and I know I was eight when I was diagnosed. I think I did the calculator when I when I was every year, in February. I'm like, Okay, what year is it? And I'll say, okay, because that was the month I was diagnosed
Scott Benner 3:31
and you stopped to figure it out every year you wanted to make sure you were celebrating correctly. Yeah.
Marla 3:36
I'll say, oh, okay, it's this month. I don't really celebrate. But I'll say, Okay, well, I've made it another year. Yay,
Scott Benner 3:44
yeah. How is it living in Kansas? I love Kansas. I've
Marla 3:48
lived here most of my life, and it's the Sunflower State, and we grow a lot of crops to feed America so and maybe in the world. I don't know how far our crops go, but I didn't ask.
Scott Benner 4:00
I didn't ask. I didn't I didn't get, you should get out the calculator on that and figure it out. Where did you
Marla 4:05
live prior to Kansas? Well, I I was born in Kansas. I've lived a few years in Kentucky, which is interesting, because my father was a second career pastor. He had a career in marketing, aviation. Oh, and also, well, I live in Wichita, which we're the air capital of the world, so we build planes here. And my dad is very business minded, oriented. He grew up on a farm, in a farm family. However, he got a call into ministry. He decided he wanted to become a pastor, so he moved our family to Kentucky, and when I was in kindergarten, so we moved to Kentucky so he could go to seminary, get his masters of divinity, and then we moved back to Kansas to serve churches here. So no kidding, we just moved. Moved for a few years. So I asked my mom this morning. I said, When did I get sick? I mean, I remember what I went through. I know what my symptoms were, but I really don't remember being sick. And she and I was diagnosed the year after we moved back to Kansas. Okay? So she said that when we lived in Kentucky the year before, we were only there for two and a half years. So this would have been when I was seven. I was in second grade in Kentucky. I guess I had strep throat a lot that year, and also fixed the disease, which I don't even know anything. It's like a version. Wait, what's it called Six? Like the number six, but it's a version of herpes. Congratulations. Mom never knew that. I looked it up and it's, yeah, it's like a you can children get it, and it's a rash. Have no idea where that came from or what I don't, I don't remember having that,
Scott Benner 6:03
and that was maybe a year or two before you were diagnosed. Yes,
Marla 6:07
she said, one year before. So I would have been seven. Then we moved back to Kansas, and you want me to tell Do you want me to go into that, please? So, yeah, tell me. But I felt like, but, you know, in Kansas is pretty flat. Everywhere we've lived in Kansas anyway, there are some hills east of us, but in Kentucky, there really are hills. We were in the Smoky Mountains, and so I always thought I would get a lot of ear aches when we lived there, I felt like my mom said, Well, yeah, and you got strep throat also. So I at the time, I was thinking, Oh, it's because of where we live, but who knows, and that might have been, I don't know if the altitude was messing with my system. But then we came back to Kansas and we lived in southwestern Kansas, in a very small town, so we travel for any kind of shopping, even grocery shopping. I don't even think we had a grocery store. We had a gas station, but we would go to Amarillo, Texas, because they had a mall. One day we were there, I guess this was in February. I don't even know why we would be down there in February, but anyway, we were and we were shopping, and I guess every time we turned around, I had to go to the bathroom or and as soon as I got done, go in the bathroom. I was thirsty. So my mom the whole trip, I guess that it was just a day trip. The whole day she was either taking me to the bathroom or getting me a drink. So when we got home, she said, Okay, something's not right. She took me to our doctor, and they, I guess they checked my blood sugar. I don't know that was probably a telltale
Scott Benner 8:02
sign you don't remember any of this, though, really, I don't
Marla 8:05
remember much. Yeah, I so they must have checked my blood sugar, just our family doctor's office and saw that it was high, but I wasn't in DKA. I don't really know how high it was, because we didn't go, I mean, we didn't have a hospital anywhere close, but I know they told us, Okay, the next day, you're going to Wichita, which was about five hours away,
Scott Benner 8:35
really, geez, hey, you might have had that altitude induced tonsillitis. I don't know. I love that you were like, it's possible the altitude got me. I think it sounds like you're just like, I've never heard that. That might be a new one. You know how sometimes people go up into the Great Smoky Mountains and come down with adenoid Oh yeah. Sounds to me like your immune system was just kind of like, maybe sputtering and having issues. You were getting sick a lot for the first for a couple years before, yeah, is there other autoimmune in your family?
Marla 9:05
Well, yes, I knew you would ask. So my whole immediate family, both of my parents and my sister, have, I is it I think it's hypothyroidism when you're when you have under wrap? Well, no, it's not Hashimotos, but they have under, we all have under active. Maybe that's hyper.
Scott Benner 9:25
No, no, you're right. Hypo, so, but like, hypo, yeah. What I'm getting at is this, has anybody ever been tested for
Marla 9:33
Hashimotos? You know, I don't know, because everybody
Scott Benner 9:37
always says no, but then I realize nobody ever gets tested. So
Marla 9:40
that's, yeah, that's true. So, and I know I have, has a cousin that is also has thyroid. I also have vitiligo. I've lost pigment in on the top of my hands, okay, and on a few of my wrists, on a few, like, I have more. Then
Scott Benner 10:00
wait, all three of your wrists have Viti Lago on them.
Marla 10:04
Scott, this is what I was talking about. I said, I'm kind of afraid of what I'll say, so I didn't
Scott Benner 10:09
know which it's funny before we started recording. And I was like, you know, I asked her if I give any questions or concerns you'd like to talk about before we start and, you know, Marla's like, I mean, I'm a little worried about what I'm gonna say. And I thought she seems so sweet and calm, like, like, what?
Marla 10:23
Like, things like that two of my wrists. Like, who says that?
Scott Benner 10:27
You didn't mean, like, you were gonna say something horrifying. You meant you're gonna say something and you're gonna be like, Oh, I sound stupid,
Marla 10:33
right? Exactly like the things that you think about, you know, when you can't go to sleep at 11 o'clock and you're like, Why did I Did I really say that?
Scott Benner 10:42
Why you have reflective moments at the end of the day
Marla 10:45
where you're like, why would you even think it, much less say it?
Scott Benner 10:49
I had Viti Lago on a few of my wrists. What do you think you were trying
Marla 10:53
to say? I have no like on two of my wrists. On both of them.
Scott Benner 10:59
You could just say my wrists
Marla 11:01
Exactly.
Scott Benner 11:02
Hey, that could be the altitude from Kentucky still getting you, I don't know,
Marla 11:07
37 years later, it's still that that maybe that explains all my issues.
Scott Benner 11:13
Well, listen, I want to tell you something I once ate in a waffle house in Kentucky. Oh, yes, and everyone in there had a problem. So maybe it is Kentucky. I have no idea. It was one of the wildest experiences of my life, a waffle house. Yeah, I had never been before, and I always telling my wife, I'm like, one day I'm gonna eat at a waffle house. Like, this was something I should aspire to. And then we went to a wedding in Kentucky. Like, I think we got up the morning, we were gonna, like, drive back, and I was like, there's a waffle house near here. And then we went and, I mean, it was horrifying. I don't even know how to describe what I saw.
Marla 11:48
Let me know. I'm sure I can only imagine. We've, we've been to a few in the South. Yeah,
Scott Benner 11:54
I'm just gonna tell you now, I think it's a it's from the altitude, so I think it's awesome. All right, hold on a second. So you don't really remember much about this whole time, but when's the first time in your memory that you start thinking of your memories as having diabetes, you know, involved in them.
Marla 12:09
I do remember being in the hospital. So we went to Wichita, my mom and I stayed for two weeks in this education program. So I was actually inpatient, and my parents both, I believe my dad came for the first week, maybe, and they had parent classes in one room, and there were kid classes in another room. And now that I think about it. I just think, you know, you you hear about a lot of kids today being diagnosed, but back then, there weren't that many. But I feel like there was a class of us kids. I had a roommate in my hospital room that also was newly diagnosed, yeah. So I remember we did the classes separate, and then we would maybe come together at the end of the day to I guess, I don't know, talk about what we like. I do remember that my I worked with a nurse. She was awesome. I always, I still think about her. I don't have any idea where she is, but she taught me how to inject my shots, right? I believe we practiced on an orange. So she taught me how to draw the insulin. She taught me how to tap the bubbles out, how to pinch my skin and inject. Well, then when we met back up with our parents, I was showing my parents what I learned, and I started to tap the syringe, and my dad said, No, don't do that. What are you doing? Because he thought I was doing something I shouldn't have been doing. And I said, No, that's what I'm supposed to do. I'm getting the bubbles out I had. I guess, I don't know, maybe I had learned how to draw the insulin before they did, or something. I remember him saying, No, don't tap the syringe, though. And I was like, No, that's what she told me to do. I know what I'm doing. I'm eight. I've had diabetes for two days.
Scott Benner 14:13
Marla, I have a couple of thoughts here. First thought is, two weeks, yes, is it a re education camp where you like? What the hell was going on when you think of a CGM and all the good that it brings in your life is the first thing you think about. I love that I have to change it all the time. I love the warm up period every time I have to change it. I love that when I bump into a door frame, sometimes it gets ripped off. I love that the adhesive kind of gets mushy sometimes when I sweat and falls off. No, these are not the things that you love about a CGM. Today's episode of The Juicebox podcast is sponsored by the Eversense 365 the only CGM that you only have to put on once a year, and the only CGM that won't give you any of those problems the Eversense 365 Five is the only one year CGM designed to minimize the vice frustration. It has exceptional accuracy for one year with almost no false alarms from compression lows while you're sleeping, you can manage your diabetes instead of your CGM with the ever since 365 learn more and get started today at ever since cgm.com/juicebox one year, one CGM. Today's episode is brought to you by Omnipod. We talk a lot about ways to lower your a 1c on this podcast, did you know that the Omnipod five was shown to lower a 1c that's right. Omnipod five is a tube free automated insulin delivery system, and it was shown to significantly improve a 1c and time and range for people with type one diabetes when they switched from daily injections. My daughter is about to turn 21 years old, and she has been wearing an Omnipod every day since she was four. It has been a friend to our family, and I think it could be a friend to yours if you're ready to try Omnipod five for yourself or your family, use my link now to get started. Omnipod.com/juicebox get that free. Omnipod five Starter Kit today. Terms and Conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found at omnipod.com/juicebox
Marla 16:20
I don't know, but I do know that we had in the back in the 80s and the 90s, Wichita had an amazing endocrinologist. His name is Dr Richard Guthrie, and he just he was very determined and and dedicated to families and children and type one, and just teaching us everything that we needed to know, setting us up. And today, I'm just amazed. I have friends that have been diagnosed, and they they might go to the ER and spend, they might spend one night and come home and know nothing,
Scott Benner 17:05
yeah. Like, did it work? Did those two weeks really set you up? Well, yeah, I
Marla 17:10
think they did. My parents, they had a ton of information, yeah, I feel like we were comfortable. Not that everything always went well. I mean, you know, with diabetes, every day is a new day, and we learn new things. Even after 36 years, I still learn new things, so but I felt like we were set up. Well, I don't know. I should probably ask my parents.
Scott Benner 17:33
Marla, do you remember what your outcomes were like? Because there might be a difference between you being comfortable and feeling prepared and actually being prepared, or maybe there's not maybe you were like, rocking some crazy
Marla 17:44
I do remember so at this time, you know, we don't have CGM or but I do remember my parents would wake up in the middle of the night to check my blood sugar. I do know that during that first few years, I did have a few lows, probably, I think they were very early morning that sent me. I think maybe I had two that sent me to the hospital. And I don't even know that I stayed overnight,
Scott Benner 18:18
just an emergency thing. I mean, this is regular and mph, right? Yes,
Marla 18:23
yes, regular and, but we all, I remember taking 7030 also,
Scott Benner 18:29
okay, so, yes, so you've been through one two, you've probably been through like, three or four iterations of insulin. And yes, probably what like, when did you get a pump to the first time?
Marla 18:39
30? So I am MDI still today. I still don't wear a pump. I know I'm so old school, no, but you know, I will admit that after being a part of Juicebox and I'm actually new to this community, okay, but after reading so much about them. I'm more open to it today than I ever have been. And I see my endocrinologist in just a few weeks, so I'm I'm gonna talk to her. I'm open to it now I struggle with sensitivity, with things being attached to me. So that's been my one major issue for me, what
Scott Benner 19:21
are your experiences with having something attached to you that you didn't enjoy?
Marla 19:24
I just don't like things touching. I just, I just want to be,
Scott Benner 19:28
yeah, spoiler, you're single.
Marla 19:32
No, I'm I'm married. I've been married for 21
Scott Benner 19:36
years. Well, then you figured out how to let icky things touch you. You can do this true. That is true.
Marla 19:41
I I'm more I'm very much more open to it. Now, go
Scott Benner 19:45
away. Go backwards with me, a little bit like, when's the first time somebody mentioned a pump to you and what was your reaction? I have always disliked ordering diabetes supplies. I'm guessing you have as well. It hasn't been a problem for us for the last few years, though, because we began using us Med, you can too us med.com/juicebox, or call 888-721-1514, to get your free benefits. Check us med has served over 1 million people living with diabetes since 1996 they carry everything you need, from CGM to insulin pumps and diabetes testing supplies and more. I'm talking about all the good ones, all your favorites, libre three, Dexcom, g7 and pumps like Omnipod five, Omnipod tandem, and most recently, the eyelet pump from beta bionics, the stuff you're looking for, they have it at us. Med 888-721-1514, or go to us. Med com slash juice box to get started now use my link to support the podcast that's us. Med com slash juice box, or call 888-721-1514,
Marla 20:58
yeah, this is a whole nother ball game, and maybe this is why I've been so against it up until recently. I mean, when did they come out? I really don't remember the exact time, but I do know. I do remember them introducing it at our at my doctor's office, my very first endocrinologist. That was so awesome. But I remember it being very strict. And I believe I was probably in junior high or high school. I might have been in high school when, you know, control isn't maybe the best. And I remember them being very strict. I had to log every single number, and my a, 1c, had to be, like, perfect. Like, I mean, below six that before they would give me one. So I believe at the time, that probably just set me off, like, Well, I mean, I'll never be able to do that, not that I would never be I've been in the fives before, but not that I would never be able to do that. But I think from the get go, it was probably a negative, just like, Well, okay, I'll never be good enough. You
Scott Benner 22:07
felt like you weren't doing what they were wanting from you. Yeah, the pump was going to be control, or the man having you, or
Marla 22:16
probably some control also probably I, you know, I like being able to inject, not that I like taking my injections, but that's just what I've done.
Scott Benner 22:28
So you got accustomed to it,
Marla 22:30
yes, but I will say So I began wearing a CGM. Though I've always been open to a CGM, I began wearing one when I was pregnant 10 years ago. Okay, so I did that, and I believe since I've been wearing a CGM now that I'm having to correct more, because I can see my numbers, 24/7, like if I'm outside and my insulin is inside or in the car, and I see I'm going up a little. I think, man, if I just had a pump, I could just tell it, or it would automatically give me some more. And then I have to stop whatever I'm doing and go draw, like, two units of insulin and inject it. Okay,
Scott Benner 23:16
so for that time between the CGM and you know, the first time a doctor said you get a pump and you were like, Get away from me between those two times, what were your outcomes like, like, a one CS. And
Marla 23:28
I have been able to bring it down on my Well, my CGM has definitely brought down my a 1c before. It was always probably in the sevens and eight, okay,
Scott Benner 23:40
and did you have a lot of lows?
Marla 23:44
Don't know, how
Scott Benner 23:46
frequently did you think to yourself, I feel dizzy. I needed something.
Marla 23:50
Yeah. I mean, I would say it's not every day, but, I mean, I remember definite, extreme lows, but definitely when I was a child, I had more, and that might be because I
Scott Benner 24:08
was but in this gap of time again between, like, somebody saying, do you get a pump? And you saying no, and then 10 years ago, when you get a CGM for your pregnancy, like, would you say that? Like, there were scary lows monthly and lows to be dealt with every other every other day or so, or something like that. Okay, yes, yes. And then how often do you think you were super high and didn't know it?
Marla 24:31
I'm scared to even know because now I see it. You know, I love my CGM because I can see it all the time and correct but yeah, there's no telling. You know, I and one thing that I've learned from being a part of the Juicebox community is how awful highs make people feel. They don't make me feel bad, because when I was diagnosed, I was maybe in the three hundreds, I wasn't up there. Like a lot of people are,
Scott Benner 25:01
well, I'll tell you this though, like, if you're high a lot, your body will get accustomed to it, so you won't feel like you're, you're maybe
Marla 25:08
that's, yeah, maybe that's true also, especially when I was, you know, in my teens and 20s. Yeah. Do you have any complications? No, I don't. I mean, praise the Lord, I really don't. Because, I mean, I didn't have the best control in my probably college years and early 20s.
Scott Benner 25:29
When do you get fast acting insulin? When did somebody hand you Lantus the first time or something?
Marla 25:35
That was, yeah, that was probably in call. Would that have come out, like, in the,
Scott Benner 25:41
I mean, late 80s, nine, early 90s, around there maybe,
Marla 25:45
okay, so, yeah, I was on that, probably in high school. You might have
Scott Benner 25:50
been in high school already if you're running around with seven, a one CS, but you're also very low a lot, and very high a lot. Then, I mean, that's not really a 70 1c right? Like, so it's, yeah, throwing off the average, and then you get the CGM. Like I said 10 years ago, was this for your first pregnancy,
Marla 26:07
it was for my last so I went through and she's my third. So I've had three. I have had five pregnancies. I have three living children. But you know, when I was diagnosed in the late 80s, it was 1989 of course, you know, they say, Well, he's not going to be able to have children. And of course, you know, that made my parents sad, but we never made a huge deal about it, but it was just always kind of in the back and I've always wanted to be a mom, but that's always in the back of your mind. So like, when you date someone or get serious with someone, and I haven't dated a lot of people, but I think I've had to have that conversation a few times well, just so you know, I might not be able to have my own children, but then, you know, when we got into the 2000s my doctors were much more open to it and saying, Okay, well, you'll be fine. You can do this. Make sure you're more in range and have a better a, 1c
Scott Benner 27:12
so this is interesting. So you're diagnosed right around the time my friend Mike is diagnosed, okay, you're describing the the year that I graduated from high school, okay, and he's not with us anymore. I don't mean to be a bummer. Oh, he didn't know you're kind. I appreciate it. He has a story that's not different than yours, really. Like, diagnosed, like, you know, 7030 regular mph, you know, shoot twice a day, three times maybe, you know, eat when you're dizzy, like that kind of stuff, and then he just, like, never changed, like, they didn't move him to faster, insulin any quicker. But it's interesting to hear you talking about this, because you just did find, like you're saying, You just found everything kind of recently, like Juicebox and probably the Facebook group and stuff like that. So you're seeing people talking about it in a different way after having lived with it for 36 years the way you did. You know what I mean? Like, yes, it's got to be a shock. No. Like, just to see, like, oh, this has been happening. I have not been aware of this. Or no, are you just happy to see something different? Like, I'm trying to figure out what happens to you when you look up and see the world doesn't, from
Marla 28:19
my viewpoint, I'm I'm happy to see something different. Okay, I'm pretty optimistic, but I I'm also a realist, and I know I feel better when I'm not alone, and so I know I just love this community and seeing all these moms know that they're not alone because, okay, their child is going through the same thing that another child is going through, and
Scott Benner 28:46
that's cool. So you're getting the community vibe out of it. Yes, I
Marla 28:49
love that, okay, but I also love the information. For me, just Yes, seeing how people, how these young kids, are handling their pumps, I love that. I'm like, Well, okay, if they can do it, I can do it. You know, I know that if I were diagnosed today, there's no question I would be on a pump because of my circumstances in 1989 and that season of the diabetic community in the medical world. At that time, I wasn't so I kind of wonder about that, like, Hmm, okay, what effects am I going to have in 2030, years that could have been changed? I don't know.
Scott Benner 29:30
Yeah. I mean, it's not listen, it's one of those things like, right? It's not worth worrying about, but it is interesting to think about. And, and you had two kids before you even had a CGM. Were those pregnancies? Did you know those pregnancies
Marla 29:43
were actually pretty great? I had healthy pregnancies. My a 1c with my first child was probably the best it's ever been. I was 5.6 i. Leave when I was pregnant with her. However, I did have two miscarriages before I had her. So after my miscarriages, I said, Okay, I'm gonna and my a 1c was maybe in the sixes. At, you know, during those miscarriages, my doctor doesn't believe we don't know what caused them. My doctor doesn't truly believe it was diabetes, but who knows?
Scott Benner 30:24
You know, I think the A 1c is nice, but, like, I think the unpredictable variability is probably it's hard on you, like, it's hard on your system, but it's got to be hard on your fetus too. Like, right? So you don't have a CGM, Hemi, you didn't get a pump. Did you think of yourself as behind? I
Marla 30:39
got my a 1c down to five point I think it was 5.6 Yeah, or 5.7 yes on shots and just my glucometer. I took that glucometer with me everywhere. I didn't used to take it with me everywhere, but I did that year. So that was 2007
Scott Benner 30:58
so you're 34 then
Marla 31:01
yes, well, no, at that time, I would have been 27 because she was my that was my first, the first I did have one weekend where, well, I know now I was dehydrated, but I woke up with a migraine. And I've never had a migraine in my life. I rarely get headaches, maybe, maybe once or twice a year, I woke up with this just pounding headache. Felt sick. I was throwing up, and I was just in so much pain. My doctor, we kept calling my core husband. He kept calling my OB, saying she's not getting better. He kept saying, go to the store and get Mountain Dew. Have her drink, you know, 40 ounces of Mountain Dew, straight and
Scott Benner 31:50
help. This was medical advice, yes,
Marla 31:54
yes. For a migraine. I
Scott Benner 31:57
appreciate that, you guys. I mean, he wanted you to have caffeine. Probably, yes, yes, you could get that from T I just wanted to
Marla 32:04
say, All right, so we finally, we end up in the ER, my I'm like, I think my mom came to stay with us because my husband's, you know, he just, he cares so much, he loves me so much that he it overwhelms him when something like that happens. So we end up at the ER, and I'm like, What is going on? They're like, we don't know why, but
Scott Benner 32:29
let's give you some fluids. They didn't give you the Mountain Dew. They somebody didn't yell, 40 mls of Mountain Dew not
Marla 32:35
hitting you. They gave me fluids through an IV, and that headache went away within probably 10 minutes.
Scott Benner 32:44
You just saw what happens when you're not dehydrated anymore. Oh, my
Marla 32:47
goodness, I've never been dehydrated, I guess, or to that extreme. So that was really the only issue for that pregnancy. I had a great labor with her. She was six pounds, six maybe 12 ounces,
Scott Benner 33:02
and you switch doctors. How? Immediately after he suggested soda to you for a health issue?
Marla 33:06
Well, no, I stayed with him because I I love him. I don't love a lot of doctors, but he's actually one that I do love. Has
Scott Benner 33:16
he had any other great influences on you? Did he ever give you chocolate for hemorrhoids or anything like that. Or,
Marla 33:21
Oh, I think that was mentioned, maybe what I don't think that was mentioned by him, but I think after delivery, yes, I do remember someone mentioning chocolate. That's funny.
Scott Benner 33:32
Are you seriously? Because I randomly just made up two things and said it out loud, no,
Marla 33:35
chocolate is a laxative, right? I
Scott Benner 33:39
mean, it's got thanks it's
Marla 33:44
yes, it is. My aunt
Scott Benner 33:47
told me I need everybody in Kansas right now to pack your cars up and drive in whatever direction seems attractive to you. You gotta get the out of there right now. Okay,
Marla 34:00
we need people to build airplanes and farm.
Scott Benner 34:04
We need a couple of doctors for those people too.
Marla 34:07
I know, okay, no, the doctor is not the one that told me to eat chocolate. But even after you have a baby, you have to be careful. You know, you don't want to get the roids. You're right.
Scott Benner 34:21
Normally, they'd give you magnesium oxide for that. But, you
Marla 34:24
know, magnesium, yeah, well, everything my other children.
Scott Benner 34:29
So what about Hold on, what did magnesium just make you think about
Marla 34:33
my third daughter, my third child, she was, we'll get there. She was my. What are we talking about? She was my, like, hardest pregnancy, not so much pregnancy, but delivery, I
Scott Benner 34:47
should come out sideways, hold onto your liver, or something like that. And
Marla 34:51
the delivery wasn't that terrible. Actually, I really can't complain about that, but the recovery, yeah, my magnesium, my. OB, I believe she had a little bit of jaundice. And I remember my OB and my daughter's PCP standing in the room, in the hospital room, trying to decide, okay, are we going to let them go? I mean, the jaundice is better with the baby. And I remember my OB looking at my daughter's doctor and saying, I'm going to make this real easy for you. They are not going home because her magnesium is all messed up. I don't know how he said it, but I remember him saying, I'm going to make this real easy. She is not going home. So I do it. And that was the doctor that suggested the Mountain Dew, and it was
Scott Benner 35:39
probably what do you give you for the magnesium problem, Doritos or Ho Hos? Hadley handled,
Marla 35:44
no, I wasn't able to eat Doritos or Ho Hos in that hospital. I have another story about Okay, so I don't know that. I believe they gave me something through the IV. Is
Scott Benner 35:57
there? Can you imagine? That's what they did. I just figured, since he suggested soda, he might suggest potato chips next.
Marla 36:04
This was a weekend when my, when my dehydration episode happened, I'm almost sure that it was his nurse that said, Drink the Mountain Dew, anyway. So Yes, with my third child, my second daughter, yeah, I don't know my magnesium, and I'd never, I didn't, never thought about my magnesium. And then afterwards, I hear all these people say, Oh yeah, that's real important. Gotta check your
Scott Benner 36:29
magnesium. Were you taking, like, prenatal vitamins? Yes,
Marla 36:33
okay, yeah, I was. So I don't know. So then I had this sleep in the room that I gave labor in. You know, you usually give labor in a room and then they send you to another floor. I don't know if that's every hospital, but that was this hospital at the time. Okay, so they made me spend the night in the actual room that I gave birth in.
Scott Benner 36:56
So we were like, were they afraid? They'd never seen somebody with three wrists before. I
Marla 37:01
don't know, I think they needed to keep a closer look on me. I
Scott Benner 37:06
guess, Marley, you don't hear my sarcasm at all. It's awesome. It's my favorite thing that's happened to me this this week, for 100% you do not hear my sarcasm at all. Oh, my goodness, fantastic. Sorry, no, don't be sorry. It's fantastic. I said, did they keep you in the surgery room because they had never seen a person with three wrists before? And you were like, I don't know. Maybe, yeah,
Marla 37:30
well, at this point in life, Scott, you don't I mean, yeah. Well, when I've had this much trouble with doctors, there's no telling. But then okay, so I was sent to another room the next day. Well, then I believe that night, this was just a normal birth, and I was in that hospital for five days. That's not with my other two I will say I was only there for maybe two
Scott Benner 37:55
days. It was natural, yes, didn't care or anything.
Marla 37:58
This was no, no, no, it. But so they sent me. I think it took a few days for this magnesium to come up, I guess. But I did go low. I was nursing, and this was the first baby that I was able to nurse, just because, I don't know, the other two just weren't having it. I swear
Scott Benner 38:20
to god, I almost said something out loud that I definitely think people would not like me for afterwards. But were you having trouble producing milk the first two
Marla 38:27
times? No, well, those first couple days, you're just, you know, it's not like, what is it called? It's a loss. It's not, yeah, so I don't know. I think my kids were just hungry.
Scott Benner 38:41
Probably. Were they lazy suckers? Were they not like? Were they latching? What's that thing that they say? Were they latching
Marla 38:47
on? Just we were like, you know, and you know, with my first it's like, all brand new. And every time, you know, hormones are going crazy. So you just didn't want to do it. No, well, I did, but it wasn't working. So I was like, Okay, well, it
Scott Benner 39:07
wouldn't come out. You get mad at yourself when that happens. Is that? Like, what's that? What's that feeling like? Is it disappointing? Do you get angry? I
Marla 39:15
was disappointed, but I also wanted to sleep. So I was, I mean, I was disappointed, but it wasn't enough to make me go crazy or to make me go into a you know, there are lactation specialists, but they're not available all the time. They they might they're probably so many more resources. Now, that was 18 years ago. So my third child, though, the one that I was in the hospital for five days. One of those nights, I told my husband, I said, you know, I feel I feel low. I think I'm going low. So we had my glucometer. I was not. Okay, so this is the child that I began the CGM when I was pregnant with her. I did love it, but I also hated it because it was all new. I don't know when did CGM, when were they released? When did those come out?
Scott Benner 40:16
I mean, the Dexcom 24 I think it's the first time. I don't remember honestly. So this was
Marla 40:24
2015, okay, maybe they had been out for a while, I don't know. Well, once again, we live in Kansas, so we get things a little bit later than the rest of the world. However, one night, I tell Phil, I think I'm low. So he checks it on our own glucometer. You know the hospitals, the nurse is checking me throughout the day on her own device, but I have mine too well. It's 26 that's low. It's low. And so I freaked the nurse out. He tells her, you know, she needs something. And at this time, I think with my first one, I may be gone into like, the 60s, you know, which is 60s for me. I I'm fine. I can walk around, I can do everything. But when I was maybe in the 60s with her in the hospital, and they would give me real pop, I would be like, Oh, that's a treat. You know, I don't usually like real pop, but sometimes when I'm low, I do like it so but this time, this was eight years later, and by that time in the hospital, all they would give you if you had a low blood sugar was the gel, like the glucose gel, which is disgusting,
Scott Benner 41:41
not looking for that Wall Street 26 so that's pretty low Yes. So yes, I probably did. Well, can I ask a question? I don't want you to be insulted by Yes. Do you have ADHD?
Marla 41:52
I probably do. I as an adult, I have really noticed that yes, I not been diagnosed as a child. I don't think I did think it's
Scott Benner 42:05
something to happen later. Oh, yes, okay, I want to stay here with you getting that CGM so you get that CGM. Like, do things get easier? Do you start seeing like, Hey, this is awesome. Like, I like being able to see this. I can make better adjustments, or was it just the thing you used for, like, telling you you were low. Like, how did you, how did you use it at first?
Marla 42:27
Okay, so I started with the Dexcom in 2015 and at first, yes, I loved it, but I did stop wearing it after I had her because it just, I think it got to be too much for me to handle. I think I was over stimulated, honestly, the alarms and my husband freaking out, calling me, I shouldn't say freaking out. I should say caring about me and loving so much that he would want to make sure I was taking care of myself with a newborn and two other children at home.
Scott Benner 43:10
Next time I freak out, I'm going to tell my wife, I'm just loving her extra see where that gets me. Okay, so did you when did you put it back on and why did you put it back on?
Marla 43:21
I put it back on. My endocrinologist finally convinced me, and this was maybe two years ago. I know this is so bad. I know it's so bad now that I have it back on. Oh, I'm I'll never be without it.
Scott Benner 43:39
Marla, why are you fighting yourself?
Marla 43:42
I believe at the time, it was just I needed, I don't know if I needed support. I don't know what would have changed. It was a lot
Scott Benner 43:53
the way, I think to say this is going to be upsetting, but you're kind of a pain in the ass. Like, why? Yeah, yeah. Why is I
Marla 43:59
know. Why are you being I
Scott Benner 44:00
can't believe I'm saying this. Like, it's nice. 1975 and you have the vapors. But, like, why are you being difficult? Like, I know, yeah. Do you have any real reason? Like, do you do you have understanding?
Marla 44:10
Yes, I do. So I believe that under possibly different circumstances, I don't know if it was because it was just all new to me when I was pregnant, I think at the time, I was over stimulated, and I thought, well, I've lived with no complications. Well, for 28 years or 30 years, maybe I can get through the rest of this year without all this other stuff happening. So you were just, and I'm not saying that's right. No, I don't. Probably wasn't right,
Scott Benner 44:50
but no, that right or wrong doesn't come in. We're talking about psychology and like and you know, and like, what seems important to you. Like, I mean, you lived a long time believe. Saying, like, oh, getting low once in a while. That's what happens. And this is what happened. Like, so if you just think it's happening the way it's supposed to happen, you might not have a reason to believe that changes are better, that things have progressed. I mean, if you're talking to doctors who are telling you about, like, you know, chocolate and soda as like, fixes for things, I don't imagine they're throwing a ton of good information at you about other stuff, either true. So once you see it during the pregnancy, what you end up focusing on more is like the what you thought of as like the crazy parts that came with it, like somebody being aware and getting upset and stuff like that. So you just took it off again, and you never did you ever think about a pump in any of that time, like you said, you're thinking about it now, but you No, I am none of that time you thought about I just
Marla 45:47
feel like you're so overwhelmed when you have all these like little people counting on you. And that's another, I mean, you could look at it another reason, like, Yes, I have these little people counting on me. I should be the best that I can be. I should be on a pump and on a CGM and but at the time, I was just I couldn't take one more new thing.
Scott Benner 46:15
So I don't say that you can't take care of yourself on MDI without a pump. You certainly can. But if you're getting low a lot and then high a lot, you're not, I mean, you're not having the outcomes you're looking for. You knew those weren't the outcomes you were looking for. Yes or No, true, true. Yes. Okay, so then you do the thing of like, Well, I haven't had any complications, so this must be okay, and I have a lot else to do, so I'm not going to focus on this right now. Yes, right. And now you're seeing people who are are using these things. Are you thinking, Oh, maybe if I would have taken a month to figure all this out, a lot of things would have gotten easier.
Marla 46:50
You know? What if I do start using a pump? I could probably answer that in a year from
Scott Benner 46:57
now, yeah, what's got you even thinking about it right now, like, what looks attractive at the moment?
Marla 47:02
What is attractive? Okay, so I used to not want, well, I've said I used to not want anything attached to me. However, I just feel like I'm correct. I'm I find myself correcting and really, okay. So another thing that since I've been in the Juicebox community is looking at time and ranges my I have never been so focused on my time and ranges as I am right now, and in order to get that percentage higher, I feel like I I could do it so much easier on a
Scott Benner 47:47
Why do you want to improve it? Though? What's what's driving you to want to improve
Marla 47:52
it? Hmm, just
Scott Benner 47:55
the community of people trying that are also working towards it.
Marla 47:59
Yes. Okay, well,
Scott Benner 48:04
have you tried the Pro Tip series yet?
Marla 48:07
No, I haven't. I have seen, I've read other people say how much more in control they've gotten after doing that.
Scott Benner 48:18
When you're impacted by a community and you're, you find yourself like, I like it here. I like what's going on. I might want to try to, you know, I'm going to try to do some of the things they're doing. And then they come, somebody comes along once, twice, 10 times. I mean, I mean, the truth is, is, if you're in that Facebook group, you're going to hear somebody say, you know, one of those series really helped them every 20 minutes, yes. So when that happens, and now your kids are older, right? And you're not in charge of three people all the time, and I'm sure Phil's leaving you alone more often than he used to like, so you have a little more free time to yourself. I'm not because of you, because he's older. You know what I mean? Like, yes, you know what happens when you see somebody say, like, I listen this Pro Tip series, and this is my outcome. And they say it again, and somebody else says, But why don't you say, What stops you from going like, oh, that's free. I'll go listen to that and see what what they're talking about. Don't get embarrassed, because I'm genuinely interested
Marla 49:11
in your sounds so silly, but honestly, just taking the time to look it up. So I listen mostly when I'm on my way to pick up kids from school. We are done with school now, so I and I thought about that. I'm like, I When am I going to listen to my podcast? Because I'm just, I'll still be in the car, but not for maybe two and a half hours straight.
Scott Benner 49:39
What are you busy with? You run an IBM over there. What are you doing? Exactly
Marla 49:43
you would you would think, I
Scott Benner 49:46
mean, I'm a very busy person, and I listen to hours of podcasts every day. So
Marla 49:51
yeah, I think sometimes I just need it to be silent. Sometimes I just need to turn everything off. I don't need some. Thing, I'm going all type. I just get
Scott Benner 50:03
over every time somebody's not around, I put headphones in, okay, to try to learn something. Doesn't even matter what it is like the wayside,
Marla 50:10
so but, but another thing that I do, I really just listen to whatever was the last episode. Sometimes I'll search but for the pros, what is it? Pro tip? Pro
Scott Benner 50:23
Tips? Go to Episode 1000 hit play. Just let them let it play. Okay, and it'll play 25 episodes through the Pro Tip series. Then I think there's one new pro tip that's in, like the 1400s you'll have to go find it. Okay? So the reason I asked, and I'm certainly I'm not coming down on you and I'm not, I don't want you to be embarrassed or think that your answer sounds silly, because I don't think any of that, but I'm in a unique situation where I've made this thing that people overwhelmingly agree work. Some not everybody loves it. I'm not saying everybody thinks it's awesome, but like a lot of people all over the world are like, this group of episodes is really valuable to me, and then I somehow attract what I think now is coming up on 70,000 members in a Facebook group, and I am faced every day with the idea that the majority of those people will not try that podcast. I can't wrap my head around that like because, like, they're looking for help. They find help when they get there, all they can hear being shouted from every corner of the room is a tribal beginnings. You should try the Pro Tip series. You know what? I know you might not have a thyroid issue, but if you do, or maybe if you're even worried that you might like, here's four episodes about that that really will set this right for you. Like this saved my life that I these are not my words that saved my life. Scott saved my I read something before I started interviewing you today made me cry like from an older man who laid out his history, his health history, and a long note, and at the end, it really is just like he said. He just said, I just am saying this so I can say thank you to Scott. Oh, I cried like tears came out of my eyes. Now I think I welled up, but the ladies in my life tell me that if you well up, you're crying. So I'll just say it, I was crying. Okay?
Marla 52:09
Someone was cutting onions.
Scott Benner 52:10
I just think I got emotional, sure, but nevertheless, like I am daily faced with the idea that people see that man's post, or a post like it, and then go, I don't know, how do you get all the way to the protest? So much work, and when am I going to listen to it? Never mind. I'm busy. What are you busy with? I got to pick my kids up at school. The whole day is 24 hours long. Yeah, so that that's the thing that I can and I'm not saying that I'm probably not doing that my own life with something else. Like, don't get me wrong, like, I'm sure there's something I should be doing right now that I'm not doing. I'm trying to understand people so that I can intersect with them in a way that would give more people the opportunity to write the note that that guy wrote. Like, I want you to feel that way. Yeah. Can I tell you something I'm before again, before we started the interview today, I was texting with a business partner about something we're doing together, and they just said something to me that said, like, you know, what do you dream of? And it's not exactly what they said, but trust me, it got the conversation moving in that direction, and then I had just read this guy's note, and I'm all, like, emotional, and I respond back and I wish, and I said, like, I don't know, like, something you probably wouldn't say to a person you're you're doing business with. I said, honestly, like, I sometimes I think about being able to live in two different climates so you can run from the weather, but I want to be near my kids, so I probably wouldn't do that. And I'm pretty boring. Like I said, I just grew up broke, like I've been focused my whole life on just like, having money to retire with, or, like, not get sick and not be able to afford something like, I don't really have, I don't dream about stuff. And I said, and as strange as it sounds, and I'm paraphrasing, because I'm looking at this text. I said, I just read this note from this man, I said, and I'm now, I'm sad, like, I'm I feel melancholy, like, look what this did for him. And I'm just focused on trying to find more people who can be happy. Yes, once you've figured out like that, you can spend your time doing something and it makes somebody healthier or happier or less burdened, or whatever. Everything else seems kind of like ridiculous, right? I don't have things I want, like, I don't want clothes or like, you know, like, I don't really need expensive things. I have a car that I like, you know, like, but I mean, beyond that, I'm probably wearing the same T shirt I'm for three years. You know what I mean? Like, I don't have, I own two pairs of sneakers. Like, I don't have, like, a lot of feelings like that, like, but when I sit and think, when she said, What do you dream of? I thought finding more people who could like, be like, helped by this. But what you're. Telling me, Marla, is that when I kill myself, to find you, you go, I don't know. I don't really have time for that. And so, like, I don't know where to go from there. Like, you know what I mean?
Marla 55:10
Well, I appreciate you, and I know so many others do. I I think you should. I don't know. I Well, what's funny is that I just love everything that you talk about. Nothing's off limits. And you know, diabetes is really not what brought me to Juicebox.
Scott Benner 55:36
It's the community you like, the community
Marla 55:38
the yes, the community just knowing, I mean, people want to know that they're not alone and and I love reading these stories from parents perspectives, because it helps me to see what my parents were maybe feeling in the 80s and 90s. Because, you know, honestly, yeah, we, I mean,
Scott Benner 56:04
so is the answer. Marla, like, I'm not getting everybody, and I just shouldn't think about that. No, I don't think so. I'm imagining maybe I'm wrong, but I'm imagining you and people like you, who are have found, you know, commonality in something, and you're having a good time and enjoying the podcast and everything, and I'm over here thinking, like, maybe it's me putting how I feel on you. Maybe that's the unfair thing. Like, you know, like, because I'm saying, like, I want you to know how to use your insulin Well, I want you to understand, you know, like, like, I don't know basic things about your life that I think would help you, and I think I'm right. I think if you learned those things, that everything would get easier, and probably you'd feel less encumbered and all that other stuff. But maybe everyone's just that's just not their intention. It's not going to be and no matter what someone else does, it's not going to change. Like, I can't grab you and like, make you listen to it like, you know what I mean, like, and I certainly wouldn't even if I could. So, I mean, maybe I'm thinking about it
Marla 57:07
wrong. The fact that I saw, I'm not kidding. I really did see. I don't remember if it was yesterday or when it was but someone, I believe it was a comment. I don't think it was an actual post about the pro tip, and then you bring it up to me. So maybe I, maybe that's opening a door for me. Okay? I believe in the Lord, so I, you know, I might look at it. Is that okay? The Lord's opening the door and opening my eyes and leading me, okay, the pro tip, I need to go there
Scott Benner 57:41
so it's not, it's not up to me how quickly you get to it, like I can expose you to it, and then hopefully, yeah, and hopefully you'll find your way to it.
Marla 57:49
Yeah, all right. But you know what brought me to Juicebox? My daughter has low ferritin, okay? And she's 17, and we've had a heck of a time even finding out what was wrong with her, but she's been sick for about six months, and I posted on Facebook about it, and I have a friend whose daughter is a type she's very young. I think she was diagnosed when she was two, and she had seen a post on Juicebox about someone's low ferritin, and so she sent it to me right away. She's like, well, you need to be on this anyway. She didn't. She knew I wasn't on it, and so I'm like, yeah, why haven't I been on this had no idea. Well, that's crazy.
Scott Benner 58:44
No, that's, I guess, you know what? Honestly, maybe every day, yeah, maybe it's not crazy. Maybe it's kind of beautiful, like maybe it's maybe just how it works. Yeah, I maybe it's just because I'm so steeped in it all day long. It's just personally frustrating to me.
Marla 59:00
Yes, and I understand that would be so frustrating. You put everything, I know it
Scott Benner 59:07
feels like you're fighting against Facebook's algorithm, Apple's algorithm, Spotify algorithm, and like, you know, like you post things that I can't believe that what's going to happen is that my life is going to be about learning how to post things that are worded in certain ways so that algorithms deliver them to your feed. Like, I just so badly don't want that to be my truth. You know what I mean? Like I
Marla 59:30
just, and it's not Scott
Scott Benner 59:33
You don't know, I'm sitting here a lot of hours doing
Marla 59:38
every single day, but you know, that might be what some kids feel like, or what some type one moms feel like my life. You know, at their funeral, are they going to say anything about their diabetes? Probably
Scott Benner 59:53
not. I don't know. I might come up. I hope not. I mean, I hope it's a thing that's in the background and. Just is reasonable for them to deal with. And you know that it's not. I'm sure some people are gonna be overwhelmed by it and never climb out from under it, but I don't know. I just don't want, I don't know, like, morally, like, it's hard to explain, because when I start explaining it, I feel like I'm complaining, and I'm not. I'm just telling you that, like, there's right an amount of work that goes into reaching people in mass is insane, and everything between you and them appears to be fighting you. Wow, even when you have information that you've seen over and over again, works. And then even as I say that, I feel like I sound like a lunatic. So you know, it's not how I imagine spending the bulk of my days learning how algorithms like, how to word things. So algorithms will like, will push your post to somebody I don't know. I genuinely don't know what to say.
Marla 1:00:51
So, I mean, the internet, social media, is not new, but how is it kind of, I feel like, is it kind of like the medical community, like we're looking for answers and don't really know? Okay, this is the thing about diabetes, and the contrast that I have learned with dealing with my daughter and her low ferritin, we know for a fact that insulin is what we need to reduce our blood sugars. Now the balancing act of it all is a whole nother ball game, but at least I'm thankful for that with ferritin. I'm just like, there is no clear cut answer for it
Scott Benner 1:01:40
sure there is, I can give it to you right now. Okay, tell me she's of a menstruating age, correct? Yes, all right, and
Marla 1:01:48
not heavy, but not She assures me. It's just regular, like, not out of the norm.
Scott Benner 1:01:56
Okay, fair enough. Does she have celiac by any chance?
Marla 1:02:00
Okay, this is another thing I know that I know this is another thing, Scott, that I haven't done that I should be doing. I have not had any of my children. I have not had their antibodies tested. And I know there is that someone's told me there's a test for checking their antibodies, and it also checks for celiac.
Scott Benner 1:02:22
Does she make the poopies when she eats bread? Oh, well,
Marla 1:02:26
I don't know about that. However, I do know that her stomach hurts all
Scott Benner 1:02:31
the time. So, so here we go. So she's got,
Marla 1:02:33
I mean, I if we got the test back there, I wouldn't bat an eye at the results if they were
Scott Benner 1:02:38
possible. I don't know anything, but you've got vitiligo on all three of your wrists. You have type one diabetes. You have everyone in every woman in your family has Hashimotos. Your daughter's anemic, and her belly hurts all the time. She's probably celiac, not absorbing her minerals correctly, and that's why her iron is low. Okay? And in the meantime, you take her to a doctor, and you say, my daughter's anemic. Here's all the things that's happening to her. I want to get her tested for celiac to see if that might be why. But in the meantime, you're going to give her an iron infusion so she's not walking around like a zombie, and then four weeks later, she feels better, and that's it. We're on our way right. Then you start looking into why she's not absorbing the iron correctly, which is probably, you know, she probably has some sort of an autoimmune issue too. That's stopping that from happening. Yes, and when a doctor tells you, like, we'll take an iron tablet every day, you say, that's not gonna work. So let's do something more aggressive, like an infusion, and that's it. And she'll go to an infusion center, they'll pop into an IV. They'll Jack her up, maybe hit, depending on your insurance, they'll give you one of two different types of iron. One you have to have infused a little more often, or more frequently to get yourself up. Maybe it'll take like four visits and another one, it's like two visits, okay? And I'm telling you that once her red blood cells regenerate again, with all that iron in her system, she'll turn back on like a bright light. That's awesome. I can't wait. Yeah, it's that easy. But you I actually have down. You got to do it, though.
Marla 1:04:10
Yes, I have found a place that will, it's like one of those, you know, IV places. It's like a medical,
Scott Benner 1:04:18
come to your house and give you the little juice. Yeah,
Marla 1:04:21
yeah. But this place, I think we would have to go there. There's only, there's only one that I can find in Kansas. We have insurance in Kansas that will, yes, well, call your doctor do. Well, this is the thing we've been round and round and round. This is our, this is our biggest roadblock is that her ferret that my doctor's ferritin levels. The range is wild. Their range is five to 240
Scott Benner 1:04:54
Yeah, well, there's normal. Listen to me. Okay, all right, so Juicebox, Juicebox podcast.com, Okay, you go up to the top on trying to get on my own website, which always feels goofy. Imagine I'm like, let me just go to my website right now and I'll but yeah, so you go there and you want to go to, let's see what we have here for you. I'm going to tell you to go to episodes and then, no, no, no, yeah, go to series. And you just, by the way, you just talked me into making a series about iron. Oh, please. I just did that in my head. Please, do? We're gonna go now to the thyroid series, right? Okay, and you're going to look for episode 413 it's called thyroid disease explained. And I think in that episode, Dr Benito also talks about ferritin levels, and she says very directly, a woman of menstruating age with a ferritin under 70 is too low.
Marla 1:06:02
Thank you. Thank you for saying that. So hers. We've had it checked twice. In March, it was seven, and in April, it was nine.
Scott Benner 1:06:12
Cover your ears. Marla, cover your ears. I don't want, I don't want the Lord to hear this through your ears. Your doctors, okay, yeah, so is this the Doritos and soda guy? No, no. Different
Marla 1:06:26
other one. Oh, my God, one. I will say it's the same one that was in the hospital room with me when my OB had to tell him, I'm gonna make this real easy for you. Neither one of them are going home tonight.
Scott Benner 1:06:40
Yeah, listen, I don't know what you're dealing with over there. Okay, Episode 413, 413, she'll say it directly in there. Listen, I'm going to explain this to you. You already know this, but you're going to go back and and fight differently. The test ranges that come back on labs, all they mean is, this is the range we see people fall into.
Marla 1:06:59
Yes, I have done, oh, I have tried to figure out
Scott Benner 1:07:04
the doctor sees green, and they say, though this is fine, I've not met your daughter, and you have not spoken directly about her today. And I could describe her to you right now, because I know what low iron looks like, and you get her an iron infusion today. And I'm telling you they'll have her back in a week. They'll do another one. If you've got great insurance, she'll be done. If you have insurance that wants a cheaper one, you might have to go back a third week and a fourth week, right? It takes 30 minutes. You go in, they pop in the IV, they push in the iron, it's over your body, then remakes red blood cells. Right? Now her blood cells are being made without enough iron. So it's like she's building a sand castle without enough sand, right? So she's making a red blood cell. She's her body does not have enough iron when it's building it, it's going to put that iron, that ferritin and all those minerals, into her bloodstream. The next time her body goes to make red blood cells, it will make them with the correct amount of iron. She will then be able to breathe again, walk around without getting out of breath. She won't get lightheaded, she won't be tired all the time. She won't be distracted, foggy, all the other things that I know she is weak, right? Pale? Is she all these things? Yes, right? Yes, yeah. And then she's going to be fine. Then once she's fine, she doesn't seem like she's dying all the time. You take a deep breath and you say to the doctor, now let's figure out why this happened, because it's not from bleeding. She doesn't have heavy menstrual periods, so I have an autoimmune disease. Actually, I have a ton of them, and so does my family. Let's check for celiac first, but in the meantime, you could have her start eating like she has celiac to see if that starts making her stomach feel better. If it does, then you can hit the doctor with that and say, okay, look, let's get her iron back up. We'll change the way she eats, and let's see if her iron stays up, and if it doesn't, for some reason, we don't let her drift into oblivion again. We give her another iron infusion till we figure it out. We don't let her walk around like a zombie because she's 17, and that sucks. Yes, also, is she gaining weight? Yes, yeah, yeah. I know. Trust me. Do you see how I know? It's because I know, I know what low iron looks like. And you do too. You can't just go to the person and then say that to them, then have them go like, Well, no, we don't agree. And then you go, Oh, well, the guy doesn't agree.
Marla 1:09:14
He's wrong. So I found, Okay, who else does iron infusions? I found this medical
Scott Benner 1:09:22
spa go right to a um, a hematologist. That's
Marla 1:09:26
okay. Well, that's another issue I'm running into. I have asked to be referred to a hematologist. Our doctor, flat out says no. Now I have found another doctor. I'm done with them, because they said no, she's in normal ranges. She doesn't need to go to a hematologist.
Scott Benner 1:09:42
What's this answer to her problem? Then I Yeah, exactly No. He's gonna try to put on a an SSRI soon and Tell You She's depressed or something like that.
Marla 1:09:50
Well, yeah, that that's exactly what he said. Oh, look at me. I know what I'd say. I got you. She Well, this is the thing. We needed a school note signed for her to be out of school. She can't, I
Scott Benner 1:10:05
mean, she could. She can't lift her head up. I don't imagine a seven. Listen better. I had an 11 one time I bent down to pick something up. I almost fell through the floor head first. I took my son to an emergency room. When that happened, I
Marla 1:10:19
know like he's been through so much so, yeah, he said the best thing that you i i didn't want to go because I knew, I knew he wasn't going to believe us, and it was just going to be a big mess. But we needed a school note signed saying that she could finish the semester remotely, because they do have a thankfully, our school system had some kind of program, you know, like, if you have a health
Scott Benner 1:10:45
concern, but, yeah, but see, Marla, this is the problem. Like, instead of just fixing her problem, you're just finding ways to make her problem less burdensome, like, like, and that's not you, but that's Do you? Does your insurance require a referral?
Marla 1:11:00
Well, no, they don't, but because
Scott Benner 1:11:03
Marla, now I'm mad, what are you getting a referral for? Then,
Marla 1:11:05
because she's 17, every single
Speaker 1 1:11:09
hematologist wants her to be an adult, yeah,
Marla 1:11:13
if she's 18, they'll see her without a referral. But because she's 17, they say we need a referral from your PCP. It All right,
Scott Benner 1:11:21
if I curse again, let's see. I
Marla 1:11:26
have found, I, I have found a new doctor for just for my children, and I to see, yeah, but I, and I did find this medical spa with, but, I mean, it's gonna be $300 an infusion. So if she has to have four, yeah, it's a lot of money.
Scott Benner 1:11:49
Yeah, do they offer iron? I'm looking at one that's near me right now to see if they do. They do. There
Marla 1:11:54
is one that does iron. Just offer straight iron,
Scott Benner 1:12:01
like, I mean, Why can't someone know what they're doing? I'm not even kidding, like, just once in a while,
Marla 1:12:07
well, and I Yeah,
Scott Benner 1:12:12
seriously, it's so irritating this poor girl. Like, none of this has to be happening to her right now,
Marla 1:12:18
right? None of it I have. Called so many people. I have like, I just go down all these rabbit holes on every single social media. And I've, I've found some good groups, but,
Scott Benner 1:12:34
you know, you just need one doctor to do the right thing. How old is she? When she gonna be 18?
Marla 1:12:39
October 30 should
Scott Benner 1:12:41
be dead by then. Never mind.
Marla 1:12:45
I know I'm like, I gotta do something to get us through the summer.
Scott Benner 1:12:49
Here's my best advice. I would just call PCP offices. I would explain very simply, don't get wordy. Just say, Look, my daughter has low iron. She's under 18, my current doctor does not understand that her seven ferritin needs to be addressed with an infusion, and because she's under 18, I can't just book her directly with a hematologist. Is this a thing you would help us with? Please don't ask me to come in and talk to us. I need to know if you're amenable to getting her to an iron infusion, because I don't have time to waste because this girl's quality of life is terrible. Okay, I like that. Put it to them that way. Let them answer you. One of them is gonna say, you know, yes, we'd be happy to help her. She definitely sounds like she needs an iron infusion. You go, Great. Can you see her today? Okay, this is emergent. She's now out of school because of it, certain days, all she needs is an iron infusion. I know that she's going to be okay after this, and then tell her after that. We don't this is not from bleeding. We think it's possibly celiac, because we have a lot of autoimmune in our family. But can we first get her back on her feet before we try to figure out what's getting her there, like what's knocking her down, and then just wait for somebody to answer you, and if they give you a good answer, great. Make the appointment. And if they give you a beta answer, say, thanks very much. Hang up the phone and call the next place. Okay, yep, I like that. Thanks. Stop waiting for somebody to do the right thing. Like just Yes, just keep going. Call anywhere you have to call. Yes, you could get off with me now and have this worked out in an hour.
Marla 1:14:21
Yes, you absolutely. So my mom back to immediate family autoimmune endocrinology issues. Both my mom and my sister have had thyroid cancer. So my mom has told me her oncologist is also a hematologist. That's what I'm finding out all the hematologists are also on college
Scott Benner 1:14:43
because mostly like hematology is where people go for confusions, for their cancer treatments too.
Marla 1:14:50
Yes. Okay, so, so I called hers, and he's one in town that he his license just won't allow to see her until she's 18. However. I knew the girl who answered the phone was so nice to me, and she couldn't tell me that who she was when I called, but she told me afterwards. She's like, that was me, and I know her in real life. I'm like, of course, that was you. I know you work at a doctor's office, and I just didn't put the two, but she actually told me then who refers which doctors in town refer good to their clinic. So
Scott Benner 1:15:31
Marla say goodbye and go, go call them right now. Yeah, that's good. We did a good job. It's a nice podcast. We're all finished. And now let go save your daughter. Because this is, trust me, I've had this. It's way worse than you think
Marla 1:15:43
it is. I know that's what I'm hearing. I just feel
Scott Benner 1:15:48
she's not just tired. Yeah, it's horrible, like, really, really, really horrible.
Marla 1:15:53
And isn't that weird that every it happened to us, but everyone that I talked to that it's happened to also, they'll say, yep, your doctor will say you need to go to a therapist.
Scott Benner 1:16:05
Yeah, no, because that's what happens to women. Oh, they get told, like, you know, Oh no, it's in your head. Or are you just sure you're not sad? Maybe you're hormonal. Like, yeah, don't sleep. Better, put your phone down. Blah, blah, blah. Like, back in the in the 50s, but they say to women, you get what you get. She's got the vapors. Get right, like she's hysterical. Remember that in the 60s? Yes, now it's whatever it is. Now she's depressed. She's got no iron in her body. That's what's wrong with her, like all and by the way, go look up signs of low iron, depression is one of
Marla 1:16:45
them. Yes, it Yeah,
Scott Benner 1:16:49
your body is a machine that is running off of so many different minerals and hormones and water and glucose and all these other things. And it's when these balances get off too badly. You're moving forward on sheer will. At that point, your daughter's trudging along because her body doesn't want to die, but it does not have the ingredients it needs to be successful. That's all this is. And so you give her the ingredients back, she'll come right back to life, like a plant that you put in a window and watered. Oh, and then you get and then you look at her and you say, Okay, now we need to figure out why this happened. It's very likely, like, let's go look at celiac first. That's probably what's happening. You're probably not absorbing your nutrients correctly, or maybe she's eating, like, I don't know, I don't know how you feed her, but like she maybe she's not getting iron in her food. But the point is, she's so low now that even if you tried to supplement her with, like, good food and, you know, vitamins, but and she was able to absorb them to get her from a seven to where she's not going to feel like this is going to take years, and it probably it's just, it's too much. There's no reason to ruin this time in life. All right. Marla, say goodbye and go do that right now. Please. You're making me Okay. Thank you, Scott. You're very welcome. Hold on one second for me. You the podcast episode that you just enjoyed was sponsored by ever since CGM. They make the ever since 365 that thing lasts a whole year. One insertion every year. Come on. You probably feel like I'm messing with you, but I'm not. Ever since cgm.com/juicebox Arden has been getting her diabetes supplies from us med for three years. You can as well us med.com/juicebox or call 888-721-1514, my thanks to us, med for sponsoring this episode and for being longtime sponsors of the Juicebox podcast. There are links in the show notes and links at Juicebox podcast.com to us, med and all the sponsors. This episode of The Juicebox podcast is sponsored by Omnipod five. Omnipod five is a tube, free automated insulin delivery system that's been shown to significantly improve a 1c and time and range for people with type one diabetes when they've switched from daily injections, learn more and get started today at omnipod.com/juicebox, of my link, you can get a free starter kit right now. Terms and Conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found at omnipod.com/juicebox,
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