#1904 I Killed My Own Pancreas
I Killed My Own Pancreas
Caitlin was diagnosed with type 1 at ten; a year later she’s running most of her own care with an A1C in the fives. She and her mom Jen share how they got there — calm, informed, and steady.
Jump to a moment
- A year in, an 11-year-old is running most of her own care — and thriving. Caitlin does about 95% of her management at school, sits at an A1C in the fives (Jen cited a printed report around 93% time in range), and her mindset is simply: “I don’t fight my diabetes.”
- Type 1 can hide behind “normal.” Caitlin was active and seemed like herself for months — a slightly loose cheer uniform, more thirst, vague stomachaches — while her blood sugar climbed to 575 and her A1C to 14.7. Jen’s “mom gut” and a Google search (excessive thirst, weight loss, headaches) are what finally got them to the pediatrician.
- Knowledge lowered the fear. Jen — an architect and self-described type A planner — leaned on the Bold Beginnings and Pro Tips series during her commute, then relayed the key ideas to Caitlin and her husband. Her takeaway: you can’t control type 1, but you can manage it with tools, awareness, and a plan.
- Tight ranges and early corrections were a choice they made together. They correct sooner than their endo suggests, keep alarms tight, and treat lows small — “rather treat a low than fight a high.” Their care team has been supportive and even curious about what’s working for them.
- Calm is a skill, not a personality. Jen still gets up at night and manages her own health (PCOS, a clotting disorder, perimenopause), but her comfort comes from preparation — a stocked supply bag, a travel basal profile, community connections. A steady, prepared parent gave Caitlin room to feel capable rather than afraid.
- Bold Beginnings Series — for the newly diagnosed, with Jenny Smith; where Jen started (verify slug)
- Pro Tips Series — the management fundamentals Jen relistened to and “really clicked” (verify slug)
- juiceboxpodcast.com/clinician-share — a page for doctors to easily print, copy, text, or email the series to patients
- Tandem Mobi & t:slim (Control IQ+) — Caitlin uses the t:slim; sponsor link
- Dexcom G7 — the CGM Caitlin wears on her arm; sponsor link
- Friends for Life (Children with Diabetes) — the Orlando conference they hoped to catch (verify URL)
- Juicebox Podcast Facebook Group — 74,000+ members talking type 1 (verify URL)
Every word of the conversation
Meet Caitlin and Jen0:00
Welcome back, friends, to another episode of the Juice Box podcast. Please don't forget that nothing you hear on the Juice Box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan or becoming bold with insulin. If you or a loved one is newly diagnosed with type one diabetes and you're seeking a clear practical perspective, check out the bold beginnings series on the juice box podcast. It's hosted by myself and Jenny Smith, an experienced diabetes educator with over thirty five years of personal insight into type one.
Our series cuts through the medical jargon and delivers straightforward answers to your most pressing questions. You'll gain insight from real patients and caregivers and find practical advice to help you confidently navigate life with type one. You can start your journey informed and empowered with the Juice Box podcast. The bold beginning series and all of the collection in the Juice Box podcast are available in your audio app and at juiceboxpodcast.com in the menu. This episode is sponsored by the Tandem Mobi system, which is powered by Tandem's newest algorithm, Control IQ Plus technology.
Tandem Moby has a predictive algorithm that helps prevent highs and lows and is now available for ages two and up. Learn more and get started today at tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. The episode you're about to enjoy was brought to you by Dexcom, the Dexcom g seven, the same CGM that my daughter wears. You can learn more and get started today at my link, dexcom.com/juicebox.
Hi. I'm Caitlin, and I was diagnosed with type one diabetes a little bit over a year ago.
Caitlin, how old are you?
I'm 11.
11. Who are we allowing to talk with us today besides you and I?
My mom.
Your mom. Hey, mom. What's your name?
Hi. I'm Jen. I'm the mom of Caitlyn, my new relatively newly diagnosed t one d, and I also have a son who's a few years older Okay. Who is not t one d.
Who's not. And so alright. So a year ago.
March 2025.
Are there other people, Jen, in
your family who have type one diabetes or other autoimmune issues?
A Family Full of Autoimmune2:48
Yeah. So my aunt was actually diagnosed late about fifteen years ago when she was 60. Interestingly enough, I knew she had diabetes, but I had no idea what it was, what type it was. She's very private about it.
Mhmm.
So not until we were in the hospital didn't it come to light that that's actually the same as what she had.
I just wanna take this moment, Jen, to let the universe know that if I get something like that when I'm 60, I'm gonna be extra mad. I I I just because by 60, I'm gonna think, didn't I make it? You know what I mean? You know?
Right. Yeah. I'm retired. I almost retired.
Right. Right. Right.
We let's go.
Leave me alone. I'm out of this now. Right. But you said she kept it pretty private.
She kept it pretty private. She still does. We do talk occasionally. But she also has thyroid issues. My uncle, her brother, also has pancreatitis.
Mhmm.
And then I have PCOS, Raynaud's, and antiphospholipid syndrome, blood clotting disorder.
Oh my gosh.
Which I believe is also autoimmune. I was googling it last night.
Yeah. Can I guess? Is that your mother's side?
Mhmm.
Mhmm. Mhmm. Mhmm.
Okay. Yep.
Oh, and then you made a couple babies. One of them is named Kate. But then Kate, you said you were gonna be called Kate, but then you introduced yourself as Caitlyn. It's your last chance. What do want me to call you?
Kate. Kate. Alright, Kate. Tell me what you remember about diabetes when it started.
Chugging Water, Losing Weight4:22
So I was, like, chugging water, and I was, like, eating way more, but I also lost, like, 30 pounds
Oh gosh.
When I was diagnosed. And I remember being in the hospital and, like, eating it and being hooked up to, like, IVs and not really understanding what was happening.
Yeah. No. I I bet. How long were you drinking that water for? Before they took you to the hospital.
Do you know how long that was going on?
Five months.
You think it was months? Yeah. Jen, is that about your remembrance?
Yeah. Looking back, I would say noticeably a couple months because I remember Christmas, we got her a larger Stanley to be able to bring more water to school because she was just drinking so much. And we got a blue light blocking glasses because she was having headaches, and I couldn't figure out why.
Okay.
And that was Christmas. So from Christmas to March. So, yeah, a couple months. But even looking back, I think I started seeing signs even in November.
Okay. Kate, you got blue light blocking glasses and a better jug of water when when it looked like you had diabetes. That wasn't helping at all, was it? Nope. No?
So do you go to your mom and say you're not feeling well? Mom, do you guys start noticing things? Like, how do you think the I I guess, walk through the progression of the first time you thought, that's weird, till you got to medical help?
So I I think I started really thinking that's weird in, like, January. But looking back, so she had started cheer or she had been doing cheer that fall.
Mhmm.
And I remember in November at a competition looking being like, oh, her uniform's a little loose. I wonder if she had a growth spurt. And she was starting to have drink a little bit more then and eat a little bit more, saying her stomach was off. And I'm like, okay. Is this growing?
Is it you know, what what's going on? Is it a like, because she was doing the stomachache stuff. And I'm like, well, you know, are we starting to look at different foods? You know, I try to track at the dairy that's bothering her or gluten, and I wasn't coming up with anything. And then I as I told you at Christmas.
But then January, February, she kept losing weight, and it didn't it didn't make sense. And then one day, she got on the scale, and it was it was pretty close to thirty pounds. And I was like, oh, okay. Something's not right here at all. And then I just googled it.
And I would say it was probably mid February I googled it.
Doctor Google Says Diabetes6:43
And I was like, well, that doesn't make sense.
I can't be diabetes.
That you got diabetes when you googled.
I googled excessive weight, headaches, excessive weight loss, drinking, headaches, and stomachache.
Okay.
Those seem to be, like, the major by February, those were what I was saying were, like, okay. Major things. And then it did come back diabetes. And, of course, it came back with, like, 10 other things as well. But diabetes was the one that was kept coming up more and more.
And I remember talking to my husband about it, and both of us were just like,
that doesn't make any sense.
Mhmm.
It can't be. And and you kinda talk yourself out of it. Yeah. Like, ugh. Because she was still fine.
She was still active. You know, she was still not wanting to go to bed at night. She was still not wanting to get out of bed in the morning. Like, a lot of things didn't change. So it was really easy to be like, oh, that's just weird.
Well, let's just keep an eye on it.
I see.
And then and then I and then I was like it was probably another week or two, and I'm like, this it's just that mom gut. I was like, something isn't right. And so I that's when I reached out by like, through MyChart portal to a pediatrician, and I I didn't let on what I thought it was because I was starting at that point to really think maybe it was diabetes, but also had no idea how critical the timing could be.
I see.
Right? Like Yeah. I didn't realize that we could be within days of, you know, bigger issues. And so I reached out and said all the symptoms, and they immediately called me. And they started questioning how's she acting?
How's she feeling? I'm like, she's fine. And they're like, okay. Well, we wanted to go get some blood work done. And we were just really busy that time of year, and and I was, like, trying to get my son off to a camp.
And I was like, well, can we go this was, like, Thursday. I'm like, can we go Saturday morning? And I'm like, yeah. That's fine. Unless you notice any big changes between now and then.
So it was even a couple days before we went to get the blood test because I think because she was still acting
Okay.
Kinda like herself.
Yeah. Yeah. It sounds like they handled it pretty well, actually. And and Yeah. You can I ask that during this time, the googling and the wandering and googling again, is Kate involved in this, or is this a thing your husband and you were privately doing?
She was involved, I think, in more of the conversations of like, how do you feel? You know, did you eat something that was making your belly feel off? Did you you know, how much did you drink today? But she she wasn't involved in any conversation of this Google's coming back as diabetes.
Yeah. And Kate Kate So I know this is a weird question because you were, what, nine when that happened? But
10. 10.
10. 10. Yep. And when
it happened? Okay. Like, it's a weird question because you're younger, and you're probably not accustomed to this. But did you ever, like, look at your mom and dad and say, I don't think you're right, or this is serious? Or did you feel like did you feel like, oh, they're taking care of it and it'll be okay?
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No. Some of the stomachaches, I was like, it's not I'm not exaggerating, mom. Because, like, mom thought it was just me progressing. Think of, like, I'm not exaggerating. My stomach actually hurt.
It really hurts. And and compared to other stomachaches that you've had since then or before, was it much worse, or was it pretty pretty much the same as you've always experienced?
Pretty much the same. A little bit worse.
A little bit worse. Okay. So nothing that would make anybody go, Okay. So I guess that blood work got you there. Right?
What was her let's see. From your description, months, she was still moving, her blood sugar was can I guess? Do you know what her blood sugar was?
575, and a Bone-Cancer Scare12:59
So on that this is a funny story with that. So, yes, we found out her blood sugar was five seventy five when she was tested.
Yeah.
So it was a very long start, I think, knowing that I was when looking back, I think it was, like, November to March. So, yeah, five seventy five. But what happened was so she went in Saturday. Sunday morning, I'm up first, and I start getting the MyChart test results in. And the first thing that comes in is some blood test, and it wasn't sugar.
It wasn't her glucose. It was some blood test, and then then I and it it was, like, flagged abnormal. And so I googled that. Right? Because doctor Google once again.
It's Sunday morning at, like, eight in the morning. I'm like, what the heck is this? And it was basically coming back that either she was dehydrated or she had bone cancer.
Oh.
And I'm like, oh, well, oh, she can't be dehydrated. She's drinking, like, 80 ounces of water a day.
Oh my god, Jen. You thought she had bone cancer from that?
I thought she had bone cancer because how could she possibly be dehydrated? She drank so much water. Right? Like, I didn't
I mean, it's a fair it's a fair thought. Right.
And so I'm like, no. My husband's still sleeping. My son, we're try I'm, like, trying to make plans to pick him up because he was away camping. Caitlin's still sleeping. And then so I I go as I'm walking upstairs, I wake up my husband.
I'm like, oh my god. I don't know. Like, this is what it's saying. You know? Then her pediatrician calls.
And now this is, like, 09:00 on a Sunday morning. Mhmm. Her pediatrician calls. And this has been our pediatrician since my son was born, so for thirteen years at this point.
Okay.
And I'm like, this this isn't this isn't good. Like, you don't get a call from the pediatrician Ever. Sunday morning Yeah. Ever.
He's in his pajamas right now, or she?
Right. He he and he's been great. And and so he's like so he told us what her blood sugar was, and then I'm like, oh, well, so on the way to get her blood drawn, my husband stopped and got a refresher and a doughnut for her because she didn't really wanna go get her blood drawn. Like, that's gonna be why. Right?
You know, because again, you just don't know. Yeah. And he's like, yeah. No.
No. That's not how that works. Well and so there you are.
So she
goes on Sunday. You guys go to the hospital, I guess.
Yeah. So he was he was good. He was so we're in Massachusetts. He's like, you can either go to UMass, which is in Worcester, which has a pediatric ER and a pediatric endocrinology team, or you can go into Boston to, I think he said, Boston Children's. And I said, well, UMass pediatric ER.
I've been I've been there before for other things with kids. So I'm like, let's just go there. And he's like, you're probably gonna wanna pack a bag. I you know, we explained, I think this is type one diabetes. They're gonna confirm it there.
If it is, you're gonna stay you're like, we're gonna stay overnight a couple nights, so you probably wanna pack a bag. But I didn't wanna worry her, Caitlin, like Yeah. That we're potentially going for days. So I said, let's pack a let's pack a day bag. Let's pack, like, an ER bag with some snacks and its phone chargers and some stuff to do, And we'll pack our overnight bags just in case we have to stay, you know, and then we'll be up to daddy to decide what we're gonna wear.
And so she was on board with that. So we each packed overnight bags and left them, figuring that if we were gonna stay, Chad, my husband, her dad was gonna come in and, know, with us.
Did did you guys tell her at that point that that you thought she had type one?
Telling Kate16:34
Yay. We did? Mhmm. I remember sitting at the kitchen table crying.
Wow. Jeez. And so was it was it Kate, what's the word I'm looking for? Was it hectic? Like, were your parents, like, flipping out a little bit, or were they calm?
How do you remember that?
They were kinda calm, but they didn't know which was worse. So, like, my breakfast that day, I hadn't had breakfast yet because it was, like
Bizarre.
Eight in the morning on a Saturday. So they're like, this thing has more carbs, but this thing has more sugar. Which one do I give her?
That's what you remember them saying?
Uh-huh.
Yeah. Started right away, Jen?
Honestly, I I don't remember that. So I'm I'm I'm a type a planner. She's she's actually my mini me. But I immediately whenever anything comes up, I just go into, like, plan mode, what we were gonna pack, who was gonna get, you know, our son from scouts, and how you like. It's kinda how I cope.
But Mhmm.
I so I don't even remember that in my interaction.
I was, like
Well, you
know immediately, like, trying to figure out, like, what we needed to bring and what we needed to do and Yeah. Who was gonna go where. And
Well, we move forward, I think we have to acknowledge that people make fun of it all the time, but Google did a really good job for you.
They did do it did do a really except for the bone cancer part, but
Oh, still.
It did do a really good job because, you know but it it still I think I not having anyone that we knew at that point, we didn't know to take to get moving on it. You know what I mean? Like, we could've gotten diagnosed even earlier if, like, we've moved on it. And we're fortunate she was not in DKA. Her a one c was 14.7.
So that also kinda shows that it had been going on
for a Yeah.
I'm I'm actually really grateful she was only five seventy five.
Actually, I realized I I was guessing in my mind in my mind, I was talking to myself. And I I thought she's probably in the mid fives. And I should have said it out loud because now nobody will believe me that I was close. But I it might be a new game on the podcast where I start guessing people's blood sugars at diagnosis. I'll I'll think about that.
There you go. Yeah. Based on their description of how they work.
Well, yeah. I just I realized as you were talking, I was like, oh, she's probably that long. Just you know, you were talking about how she felt, but how she was. And I was like, yeah. It's probably in the mid fives.
And, nevertheless, another skill I'll have nothing I can ever do with. So so, Kate, you didn't like the hospital. Right?
I hated it.
Hated it. You hated it because it was scary, unknown, boring, all the above. What did you not like about it?
All the above and, like, they just kept poking me with needles.
Mhmm. Yeah. That's not easy to like, don't think. How do you do with your needles now, Kate? Like, with I'm assuming you have a pump maybe?
Yeah. I have the t slim.
Okay. How do you deal with putting in your infusion sets, things like that?
Like, it's pretty good. Sometimes it hurts. Like, last night, I had to do a site change, but I had to take out the one we just put in because it hurts so bad.
Oh, well, it sucks. Do you do you how do you deal with it when it hurts? Do you say a bad word? Do you flinch, cry, hold somebody's hand? What do you do?
Like, cry.
Cry? Yeah. I would too. I just want you to know. And then last night, one went in and it hurt so badly.
What do do? You go to your mom and say, hey. This has gotta come out?
I after my dad put it in, I'm like, dad, get it out. I don't it hurts really bad.
Okay. And do they sometimes hurt and then stop hurting? Or if it hurts, you know it's gonna be like that?
If it hurts for, like, over forty five seconds, then I know it's gonna hurt Okay. For the rest of the time. But if it only hurts for, like, twenty seconds, then it's less and less and less.
Yeah. Do people help you with these things right now, Kate? Are you putting them by yourself or somebody helping you?
I can do, like, all this stuff.
Okay. That's cool.
And, like but I can't put it in by myself.
I see. Now when you get out of the hospital, are you feeling better, or does it take time for you to feel better?
I was feeling better after I got out of the hospital. I did my first finger stick, like, five days out of the hospital.
Mhmm.
And I did my first insulin injection, like, two months out of the hospital.
Two months out. Can you tell me a little bit about what that's like to be told that, like, forget everything else. Just you're gonna have insulin that's gonna go in through a needle. Maybe you'll get a pump one day. This is gonna be, you know, every day.
And is there do you have internal thoughts about that? Do you have thoughts that you share with your parents? Like, I'm looking for how it really made you feel.
The Diabetes-Alert Cat21:38
No. But my cat was like, she can tell when I'm low and when I'm high.
Wait. You have a you have a diabetes alert cat?
Basically. She's 18, and she's being very annoying right now. She's on my lap and trying to scratch her face on the computer. No. You want
me to come get her out of your room, honey? Yes.
But, like, one time, I was going low, and I didn't know I was going low because my Dexcom was, like, not saying I was low.
Mhmm.
And my cat came down, and she, like, sat on one of the kitchen table chairs next to me while I finger stuck. And I finger stuck, and I was slow.
Oh, wow. And and the does she do that all the time, or was that one time it did happen?
Yeah. Most of the time, she'll, like if I'm high, she'll just sit on my nightstand, like, crying until someone comes in and, like, finger sticks me and tells her, like, I'm okay.
Oh, wow. That's pretty cool. That's really, really cool. You didn't teach her any of that. Right?
Or you just talk to her, let her know what's going on? How does it work?
I didn't, like, teach her anything. She just one day
Start doing it.
And was, like, crying at me. I'm like, what? And my finger stuck. And I was, like, in the seventies, like, low seventies.
No kidding. But go so going back though to, you know, being told the or I guess coming to the understanding that you're gonna do these shots every day, there's gonna be multiple ones. You don't feel a certain way about it. You just do it because that's what's supposed to happen?
Yeah.
Okay. And have you had thoughts about it since then, or is it just kind of turned into, like, how things go when it feels very common to you now?
Yeah. It just turned into thing how it goes.
Okay. How about with your friends at school? Are people aware that you have diabetes? Is a thing you share?
My Pancreas Rage Quit23:38
Yes. Like, on the second day of school, I did, like, a thirty, forty five minute long presentation to my class about type one diabetes, why I have a phone and my pump and why I'm gonna beep and everything. And I use the term my pancreas rage quit on me.
It rage quit?
Yeah. And that's how they understand.
But what's the thing what's the thing that people were saying last year, Jen? Quiet quitting? People just weren't showing up to work anymore?
Yeah.
Yep. Yeah. That's it sounds like that. Yeah. So far but hers just got mad and left all at once.
Yep. Yeah. She's wearing a shirt right now. What does it say, Kate?
Don't mess with me. I killed my own pancreas.
That's very funny. So you've shared it with your friends. You're comfortable with it. And have you, like, come a long way? And how did you, like, how did you get where you you have come a long way.
But, like, how have you gotten here? How do you learn things? How do you get prepared to count carbs to make this part of your life?
I just I don't fight it. I don't fight my diabetes. I don't say, I'm not doing that. I don't wanna do that. And, like, it helps that my friends know what it is.
Like, my best friend that I've known for, like, three years knows what a glycemic index is.
That's nice. That's very nice. How did you know not to fight it? Is that something that someone taught you, or is it something you came up with on your own?
Something I came up with on my own. I just knew I had to do it to keep myself alive. So
Yeah. Have you had that thought about other things in your life? Have you ever been like, I have to go to bed now. I shouldn't fight it.
No.
No. That you fight?
Yes.
Yeah. Every night.
Yeah. Because if you go to sleep then you might miss something. Right?
Yeah.
Yeah. Do you ever miss anything? Like, when you stay up, you're like, oh, I'm so happy I stayed up. This is way better than going to sleep.
Only on New Year's Eve.
Three hundred and sixty five days a year and only one day is worth staying up for?
Yeah.
Yeah. I agree with that. It turns out getting good sleep is good for you. Makes the day better. Right?
Yeah.
The Great Bedtime Debate25:58
Yeah. But you still your mom's like, it's time to go to bed, you say, I don't want to. What time is she trying to make you go to bed, Jill? What time are making this kid go to bed?
So I try for eight. I'd be happy at 08:30, but we typically leave her room after nine, 09:15.
Eight. What do you where'd you say you live? You're on the East Coast. You're trying to make that kid go to bed at 08:00? Yeah.
Kate, I'll fix this for you.
Hold on second.
Well, she has to get up at 06:15 in the morning. Yeah.
But that's ten hours of sleep.
Yeah. She's
eleven. Ask her how
well she gets at wait. Ask her how well she gets out of bed and how refreshed she is in the morning.
Well, no. Of course not. Because nobody wants to get up at 06:00 in the morning. Doesn't matter if you've been sleeping for three days. Who's doing that?
Hey. What time would you like to go to bed?
09:30.
Alright.
09:45.
09:45. Wow. But it's not tied to tell you you know, all this when I was a kid, Kate, I'm very old, but when I was a kid, all this was tied to television. Like, you wanted to stay up to watch something on TV, but that doesn't matter anymore. So what are you doing when you stay up?
Like, calling and texting my friends and watching movies.
Oh, I see. And your brother is older. You just say brother. Right?
Yeah.
Yeah. Does he stay up later?
Usually, I'm up later than he is.
Oh, he's what they call lightweight. He can't hang. Right? He gets sleepy?
He just, like, goes to bed. And, usually, like, my mom comes out of his room and my dad's still in my room. Or if my dad comes out of his room, my mom's still in my room
Okay. And still up. Hey. Okay. Wait a second.
When I I really I'm a little stuck on this, Kate. Like, so you wanna stay up, but you wanna stay up and talk to your friends. That means your friends are awake too.
Yes.
And then you sleep still, like, what, eight hours?
Yeah.
But then why can't you get up?
I don't know. I have, like, four alarms set, and I still barely wake up.
We joke with Arden because she has alarms on her phone. You know how people settle do you have alarms on your phone? K.
I have two alarms set on my alarm clock and, like, two alarms set on my phone.
I think Arden has an alarm every fifteen minutes on her phone from 6AM till two in the afternoon. It's sometimes sometimes she's dressed and moving around the house, like, leaving for a class, and her alarm goes off. And I'm like, time to get up. And she goes, that's my alarm for time to leave, not time to get up. And I go, okay.
I don't believe you, but okay. Those alarms go off so much sometimes, and they don't wake you up. Right? No. Your mom's gonna come get you.
Yes.
Yeah. Yeah. And and let me ask you a question. Be honest, Katie. If you went to sleep at 08:00, you think you'd pop out of bed at six like, whoo.
Let's go? Nope. No way. Okay. I'll see.
There you go, Jen. Let her stay up. What's the difference?
That's nice. She's like, thanks.
No. Look. I I should tell you to listen to your mom. She has your best interest at heart. Okay?
And who knows? Maybe she's right. And what are you talking about with your friends anyway? What's so interesting? What's going on?
Are you talking about other people? Boys? School? What are you talking about?
My best friend and I argue over this one stupid thing about who loves each other more. Like, I tell her, it takes, like, five minutes to settle that we love each other equally.
Mhmm. But you gotta do it every day? You can't just remember?
Yeah. We have to do it every day.
I see. Well, how are gonna make her not do that, Jen? That seems heartless of you. So what do you do for your diabetes in before bed? Is there anything you'd have to do?
You know, do you take a snack? Do you stay nice and stable because you're you're moby? Like, how does that work? How does sleeping go?
I used to when I was just diagnosed, I used to try and get bed at 01:50.
Mhmm.
That'll be, like, one hundred and be, perfect. I'm ready to go to bed.
Nice. Do you get low overnight ever?
Not really anymore.
Oh, and when it does happen, how does it get handled? Who does mom come in like super girl?
Uh-huh. Yeah. Is sugar picked until, like, finger stick me? But, like, I'm half asleep. I don't know what I'm talking about.
Like, I'm not really conscious. Like, my eyes are open and I'll be talking. But she'll be like, you were talking about something last night. I'll be like, no. I wasn't.
Yeah. I Arden's I was asleep. Bananas in her sleep and not remembered it the next day. You think you could eat a banana while you were sleeping?
I was drinking a juice box while I was sleeping.
I bet you could, actually. Hey. This is, what they call apropos of nothing, but the new Sugar Pixel will have a cartoon representation of me as a pirate on it in case you're interested.
Yeah. We actually ordered that one. It should be we ordered it after your that last
launch Oh, did you really? Oh, that's
so cool. Well, we have so we have three right now all over the house, but we have a camper. So when they started talking about the new one being able to connect easier or connect when you're, like, in a hotel or camping, I was like, bye.
Oh, you got That's awesome. Yeah. Oh, oh, that's so cool. It's a very, very handy very handy device. That's for sure.
Okay.
For sure.
Now, Kate, what I I guess I should ask you. If there's another little girl listening, what do you wanna tell her about diabetes?
It Does Get Better31:38
It does get better. Not every day is as bad as you think it's gonna be. Like, the days that you do have sight change or get shots that hurt really bad, there's gonna be a day tomorrow that you'd the shot's not gonna hurt as bad or your sight or you're not gonna have to change your sight.
Yeah. How often do you have days that you feel like they weren't good days?
Like, what so twice a month, maybe.
So not even every site change is a problem?
Yeah.
Okay. How do you like having your CGM, I imagine, on your phone? Is that a thing you enjoy? Do you use it?
Yeah. Do
you use it more to like, I guess I wanna know how involved are you in the management of your insulin. Like, do you use it to keep track of what's going on so decisions can get made? Or you do you use it more like, oh, no. There's an alarm. I have to do something.
At school, I do, like, 95% of my managing. Really, all the school nurses do is if I go really low
Mhmm.
They, like, call my classroom and give me the carbs for my lunch.
Hey. What was your last a one c?
Six point something or 5.9, something like that.
Is that right, John?
Yeah. So we've been since last summer, we've been between five point six and six point two or six point yeah. 6.2, I think.
And you would say that that she's managing most of that?
She at school, she does quite a bit of managing. We do quite a bit of text managing together too. Nice. Her school nurses are awesome. They're really willing to, you know, work with how we wanna manage it.
And from you, we learned, you know, tighter tighter alarms, keep tighter control.
Okay.
She she hates being off at 02:30. So we'll start correcting way earlier than the endo would like us to.
The endo doesn't want you to correct the 200 blood sugar?
They wanna say at go ahead, Kate. They say 300 for three hours, then you can correct.
Boston. Come on. You're right there on the coast to act like it.
Actually, this is with Worcester. But, yeah, they they we we correct when we feel like we need to correct.
Good for you. Hey, Keith.
I remember early on listening to one of your pot very, very early on when we were still trying to, like, get her to bed at 01:50, you had said, like, oh, if you saw Arden's number going, like, 01:30, 01:40 with, like, straight arrow up, you'd start deciding, you know, if you were gonna correct. And I remember, like, this was, like, a weekend, and I heard that. And I was like, that's bonkers. And now I do the same thing.
Hey. Can you say Worcester with the accent for me, Joan?
With the accent?
Yeah.
Worcester.
Thank you. Appreciate it. I feel like I just heard Ben Affleck read the phone book.
Yeah. Well, that's yeah. We could, for sure.
You see it when they did that? Matt and Ben got on some late night show, and they
I did.
Yeah. They read the towns in in in Massachusetts. Very funny.
Yeah.
Okay. So okay. So you're doing a good job. Kate, you're doing now when she when she gets home, does she, like, throw that phone at you? Like, you're on, lady.
And or does she keep doing it?
I think she keeps doing it. It's, you know, it's more of a team effort when she gets home. But, like, we'll often just tell her the carbs, but I I would say 95% of the time, she's the one putting in the information. I may be more than that. She's the one putting information into her pump as to the carbs, whether we're gonna, you know, split, extend, all that stuff.
I mean, the the I the t slim is awesome because she doesn't even have to have her phone on her. She could just pull it out Mhmm. And do it right on the screen. So that that was her choice for a pump, and it's actually worked out really well. And being able to extend, we've really nailed a few of the common foods we eat all the time.
Really? She knows exactly what to do.
What's
the for breakfast, she eats the same thing. So all I have to just double check-in the morning, did you bowl us? She's like, yep. And we don't that's all we talk about.
Yeah. That's awesome. Do you are you happy with the level of interaction you and your mom have over this, Kate? It does it feel like it's too much, or does it feel just right?
It feels just right.
Nice. Why do you think you understand this so well, Kate? Like, how did you how did you I mean, your mom taught it to you, I imagine, or did you figure it out as you were doing it?
Both.
Both. Okay. So you're really paying attention. How do you know to be this, responsible?
I don't know.
Is it just how she is, Jen?
Yeah. She's a really responsible kid. She's like I said, she's my mini me. She's a little type a rule following great kid.
Mhmm. So she just she
and she knows she feels yucky out of the range.
So we don't wanna feel that way, Kate. Is that it?
Yeah.
Yeah. That's great. Good for you.
Does
it ever take you away from things? Do you ever find yourself doing diabetes instead of something else you wanna be doing? And how do you manage that?
I mean, sometimes, but, like, when I'm at birthday parties, I had them on my phone, and I'm like, you're my pancreas for the day. Thanks.
Get going. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's nice.
That must feel really good that she's there to do that. Right?
Uh-huh. Like, I did a puppy yoga birthday party once, and she was my patriots the entire time.
Nice. Puppy yoga? That sounds nice. Did they smell good like little puppies?
They were really cute. They had, like, puppies and ducks. And
Puppies and ducks? Bunnies. Oh, bunnies. Oh, ducks would be nice too, but okay.
They did have ducks. They had puppies, ducks, and bunnies.
Hey. Hey, Kate. How involved is this Chad guy in all of this? What do
you call him? Involved?
You call him dad, I imagine. Right?
Yeah.
Yeah. Is he does he know about the diabetes too? Does he help you sometimes?
Yeah. He does, like, almost all my site changes. Like, he does, like, the pump site changes, and mom does, like, the Dexcom site changes.
Mhmm. How'd you get the one and not the other
one done?
So we we stumbled probably about four, six months ago onto the soaking concept of the Dexcom. Mhmm. And we just kinda follow a really regular schedule with it. So it gets her grace period starts at, like, seven or eight in the morning when we're getting ready for school. So that's when I put the new one on, and he's already left for work.
K. And so then when she's late afternoon is then when we, you know, get it started up and going. And who who's ever home with her at that point? We'll do that part and and get it rolling on her phone first. Once we're really accurate, like, we're confident that it's pretty close, then we'll change it over on our pump.
Nice. And that we super accurate with that lately. So it's just the timing. Like, we just try to keep it to more of a schedule with it so that we, one, remember to do it, but also just just kinda flows, and and it's worked really good for us.
Type A, and 49 With an 11-Year-Old38:57
Jen, is your type a anxiety based, or is it rule following based?
Yes. Both.
Oh, yes. You said you have you have Hashimoto's, Jen?
No. My Your mom.
My aunt Your aunt does.
Has some thyroid. No. I that's one thing I don't have yet. Probably, we'll see where that goes. But, yeah, I've got PCOS, Raynaud's, and antiphospholipid syndrome, blood clotting syndrome.
I'm sorry. Yeah. You said all that. I'm I'm I'm digging in here with everybody.
Oh, that's okay.
Forgot. PCOS, difficult to get pregnant, didn't have any trouble, painful, been better since you got older, worse?
So it's the pedal kinda came about after the blood clots. So the blood clots were found because I had been on birth control. So they took me off of birth control. And then that year, I went I was 30. I went off of birth control.
I gained, like, 20 pounds over the summer. And I was like, something like, I was working out, nutritionist. I'm like, my body is not working right. And then I really noticed, like, my periods were really irregular.
Mhmm.
And so then that within a year, I had that diagnosis. I actually went on metformin, and it started regulating my cycle. So I did not have trouble actually getting pregnant. Okay. I think because the metformin, you know, regulated everything so well.
That's lucky. What how is it now?
Same thing. I'm still on the metformin. I'm 49, so it's starting to be some, you know, perimenopause fun mixed in, which is awesome.
Jen, how did you end up being 50 years old with an 11 year old?
We we got a little bit well, a little bit later, sir, we want to we designed and built our own house. So we kinda wanted to get that done pre kids.
Okay.
So that was all happening while, like, the PCOS stuff was going on and all of that.
So I gotta ask you now in the future, how how is your old ass feel about that decision when your 11 year old doesn't wanna go to sleep at 08:00?
I know. Right? Hey. Well, the other one's fourteen. So, you know, it's I know.
Thirty five.
I I don't know how to feel, but, like, you're talking, and it occurred to me. My kids are 26 and almost 22, and I'm only four years older than you. And I thought, oh, thank god I did it like that. Yeah.
I know. I when I Caitlin's friends, like, I met the mom, you know, last summer or something, and I was talking. And I'm looking at her, and I'm like, I think I'm older than your mom.
And he's like, okay. I'm not gonna have
that thought again. We'll just move on.
Caitlin, wait a year in high school and somebody asked what what your grandmother's doing here, you're like, that's my mom.
On the bright side, both my husband and I actually live pretty young, so I think we have at least that going for us.
Oh, I tell myself that too.
Yeah. Yeah.
I Just
trying to get the wrinkles to go away.
There was a there was a time in my thirties when I really did look younger than I was, and now I just live off the memory that I used to look younger than I am. So Yeah. I'm seeing how long that'll last.
Yeah. Me too.
Yeah. Good for you. So did you ever consider a GLP?
I actually yeah. I I actually started one. Oh, I started working with a hormone specialist last year. And that's helped. We're doing very low and slow.
Can't really get into the hormone stuff yet because of the blood clotting factors.
Okay.
So we're trying to dive through that on what's okay, what's not okay.
Mhmm.
But, yeah, very, very low dose compounded, and and that's helped quite a bit.
Awesome. Awesome. That's true. That's really great. Okay.
Okay. Why did you wanna do this? Is there something you wanna tell people? Are you just a huge fan of me and you wanna say hi? What are we doing this for?
I don't know.
Did your mom tell you we're doing it?
Well, last week, do you wanna be on a podcast? I'm like, yeah.
Yeah. And
she's like, okay. Cool. Do you wanna talk about diabetes on a podcast? I'm like, or? So she got me
on a podcast. Are you getting a day off from school for this?
Yes.
Hey. Is is there something you wanna say to me, kid? It would be like, you're very welcome. Enjoy your day off. Okay?
What are you gonna do with the rest of it?
I have to get another endocrinologist appointment then. I have to get blood drawn, but other than that
Oh.
I got to sleep in an hour. And
Did you pop up at seven? Were you like, see, this extra hour really is important? Not really. No. I was gonna make the argument that maybe you shouldn't have to go to school because if you could just sleep till seven, everything would be okay.
But, apparently, you're not getting up one way or the other.
Like, I woke up better, but it wasn't like
Ten thousand. Yeah. Yeah. I hear you.
I still had to have alarms. Like, on the weekend, I'll sleep till 08:00, and I'll wake up whenever I wanna wake up.
Mhmm.
We should write a note to the school, see if they could maybe push that start time back till nine. You know what I mean?
Yeah.
Let you roll in at a comfortable time. I'm for that. I don't like getting up early if I don't want to. When I when I wake up, I'm happy about it. But if I'm tired, I would like to sleep.
What do you how how do you like school?
It's fun, and my schedule's good because it's like I have I have two teachers, and I start in homeroom, and I have two classes in that homeroom. Mhmm. And then I go, and I have specials, lunch, recess. Then I go to my switch class, and I have two subjects in that class. Yeah.
And then I go home.
Jen, when does the schedule get more rigorous? At what age?
So next year, she's still in the same school. I think she'll have three two or three teachers.
Okay. Two.
Unless math, sometimes they'll pull out for is for math, but that kinda depending on what group she's with. But then when she goes to junior high, then it starts to be seven classes, forty five minutes each, switching three minutes between. So seventh grade is at a junior high, and that's when I think it gets a lot more chaotic in the schedule.
Two Kinds of Anxious45:30
This is gonna be really interesting if the if my recording schedule lines up with our production schedule because I interviewed a a lovely woman yesterday who is so anxious and up and worried about everything about diabetes. And as I'm talking to you guys, I don't feel that from you at all. So is it that you're not anxious and worried, or is it you manage it that anxiety and worry differently?
I think we manage the anxiety and worry differently. I think for me I mean, I know it's an old saying, but, like, knowledge is power.
I
found your I don't even remember how I found your podcast, honestly. I think I the first couple weeks were blur, and I I can say more of on that story in a minute. But I found your practice. I started listening, like, randomly. Like, I think I listened to a pro tip series first, and I was like, woah.
This is a lot. And then kinda figured back way into, okay, bold beginnings and pro tips and then stuff. And I drive half an hour to work in the morning and then on the way home. And so I can pretty much do, you know, an episode a day, and I just soaked it in. And then I'd come back in, like, the really key parts I'd repeat to her and to Chad.
And I think we just I mean, that first appointment three months later, that's when we were at a 5.6 a one c, and we were MDI. And it was just like, you know, I I I can't control. It's an uncontrollable seat. Like, you can't control it, but you can manage it with tools and knowledge and awareness. And I think that kinda gives both of us well, all of us comfort, you know?
Yeah.
Easier to it's almost easier to stay in range than to try to, like, get back in range. Like, you always I think you've said this before.
I agree. Yeah.
I'd rather treat a low than fight a high.
Mhmm. It's funny. As you
kinda taken that on.
That's awesome. As you're describing it, it occurred to me it's like it's like getting a a saddle on a on a and a bit in a wild horse and maybe, like, getting some spurs and jumping on, holding on, being like, look, this thing is what it is. It's a powerful, you know, it's a powerful animal. It's gonna do what it but I could probably try to direct it a little bit. Maybe I could keep it, you know, between the lines a tiny bit.
And you and you got all that from so I've I've made a promise to myself that I'm not gonna act surprised anymore when people say the podcast has helped them. Even though it is my initial. I'm starting to worry that it comes off as disingenuous. I really feel that way, but I feel like maybe people don't believe that anymore. So I don't wanna I don't know.
It's true. Trust me. I'm stunned that you're like, oh, that thing you made, it helped me a lot. But I I've heard it enough now that I I believe it. You know?
Oh, for sure. I we I mean, we did we got great education at the hospital. I think our team is wonderful. Our diabetes educator, you know, we were there for two days. We can reach out to them by MyChart.
We they like, they were we left as more prepared than I think I hear some people leave. Mhmm. Because we were there, like like I said, for two days. But I kinda felt like there was more. And, like, the podcast filled that for me.
You know, I'm a working mom. I work full time, you know, kid with diabetes, life in general, family. And I did buy a book, but I think I read, like, a chapter of it. I don't have time to, like, sit and read. And so it kinda really being the podcast format fit into our life.
And, yeah, I mean, I would say you were instrumental in us being where we are with our knowledge, with our a one c, with our comfort level. I mean, truly, like, we'd rather, you know, free to low than fight a high. We, you know, we tightened our ranges so that we're not, you know, a minor minor even tighter than hers. She lets hers go a little, like, wider just so she's not eating as much in school. Sure.
But if I see it, you know, I'll text her. We do the text diabetes. Mhmm. Pre bolting, they did mention that to us in the hospital. You know, you probably wanna give this to the insulin a little bit before you eat, and that was super scary.
Because at that point, you didn't really understand, like, it's okay to give yourself this medicine fifteen minutes before you eat. Like, it you're not gonna, like, crash. Yeah. You know, as long as the police are concerned, obviously. But, like, you would talk about it, and it started just to become more common.
Like, we just it just made sense to me. I don't know. Like, for me, I'm very math oriented. It just like, the numbers kinda just make sense. Like, I can kinda figure stuff out pretty easy with it.
I don't know. It's not easy. I don't wanna, you know No. I see that. Definitely hard days for sure.
And there's definitely times where she goes low, and you're like, why did that happen? Or high. You're like, that makes no sense. But, you know, we started, you know, working through fat and protein and extended boluses and those kinds of concepts. Like, they, you know, they can only have you for two days.
It's this is a long Sure. Thing to learn about.
Would you Yeah.
It would spend instrumental to it.
Yeah. Oh, I'm glad to know that. Thank you for sharing that with me. Would you say that's a thing that comes easily to you, or did I beat it into your head? Or what like, did you just need it to be said to you, or did you need it to be said to you a certain way?
That makes sense?
Yeah. I think I just needed data. Like, I just need info. I think, you know, the way you describe things. And and I think because you have so many episodes, hearing it multiple ways sometimes is helpful too.
Yeah.
You know, I I actually recently went back and relistened to the pro tips because the first time I listened to them, it was like scattered throughout random. Like, I really didn't know what I was like, I didn't have a plan.
Mhmm.
You know, now if somebody told me, I'd be, like, start with bold beginnings and that you know?
Yeah.
So when I went back and listened to them, I was like, okay. That makes sense. That's why, you know, it it kinda all, like, really clicked. But, yeah, I think it's just having multiple options. Like, sometimes I'm listening to you have conversations, and then sometimes I'm like, okay.
Well, let me go back and see if I can find more of, like, an educational piece or for having a particular difficult time with, like, a fat or a protein. You know? Then I'll go back and listen to one of those episodes or try to find more episodes, you know, specifically to what we're, like, dealing with at that point. Yeah. Am just having, like, an hour in the car.
It's just it's just, know, a good format
Yeah.
To to learn.
No. I I even though you don't have a ton of free time, like, what I feel like I'm hearing is that you prioritize trying to get more information, and you put some effort into categorizing it in your head, going back, making sure that you you hit the, you know, the tones that you needed to hit. And then it just turned into a 59681 z. Yeah. Yeah.
That's how I I imagine it works, actually. Yep. Oh, thank
Like you you say, timing and amount and
Yeah. And
then understanding, you know, those extra things like the extended boluses and, you know, and stuff like that. It's and the fats and the proteins. Like, are you know, I've I kinda call them, like, a little bit next level skills. Yeah. That they didn't because they don't you know, first day in the hospital, they're just trying to keep you alive.
They're caring that you're gonna you know, and you haven't met your MDI. So, like, those are concepts that you haven't even touched on at that point. Yeah. So, yeah, it was it's a huge problem. When I was I just printed a graph that will go on the endo after this and, you know, 93% range.
Mean, she's just she does so good with it. Like, I have to say that I as much as I've learned and told her, like, she's amazing to be 11 in being able to handle this. Like Mhmm. If she sees herself going high, she'll correct. You know, if she sees herself going low, she'll treat it with, like, one or two carbs.
And, you know, and there are times where she's busy, you know, so she's on the swings. All of sudden, she'll drop really quick, and the nurse will come out.
Sure.
But but she handles so much. Like, I'm fortunate too that she's as smart as she is and as conscientious as she is about it because it makes as parents, it makes it work better as well because she's not doing all these crazy things. She's not randomly eating. She waits fifteen minutes or more or what. You know?
No. Yeah. But she's she's good about it. Jen, again, what do you do for a living? What was your did you get a degree?
How are you educated?
I'm an architect.
Okay. So you visual and
Visual, math. Yeah. Numbers.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Because you really took you really took to all this.
I did. And I'm surprised because I am not medical. I made myself give her a shot before we left the hospital because I was like, I have to I have to know how to do this. My husband is much more comfortable with anything medical. Like, if they if we're both home and one of the kids gets hurt, dad.
Okay.
I can't do I you know, I'll do it if I'm here. But if there's a choice between the two of us and there's something I won't let
them die. But, I mean, I'd prefer not to be involved.
Right. I'd prefer that dad handle it.
Dad's here. So, you know, interesting. He's the one, like, that came you know, we you're learning all that math with the correction factor in the hospital. And I think I was so overwhelmed at the beginning. Like, I had a harder time understanding, like, what was the math we were learning?
And he went home and, like, broke it down and then came back and explained it. Like, this is the correction factor portion of the equation, and this is and this and I was like, okay. That makes sense. And and so, like, we've kinda both been you know? And I'm the one that listens to the podcast and kinda regurgitate back to everybody Yeah.
You know, what what we're doing. But
Do you think he takes any of that from you and adapts it for himself?
For sure. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and and it's one of those where we're both home. If it's a sight change, it's gonna fall to him.
Right. He's just better at it. It's his he's more mechanically inclined. He's a more hands on kind of a guy, so that makes sense that that's in his wheelhouse. And if it's more like, okay.
What are we gonna do for an extend or a split or whatever? It's easier for me, so I'll kinda take that on. But if I'm not here, he'll he'll be doing it too.
What's what does he do for a living?
So he's he's a he's a contractor by trade, but he actually changed, and he's a vocational carpentry teacher about five years ago.
Okay.
So now he's a teacher, which actually works really good with summer schedules with a kid with diabetes.
Oh, and not only that, but he's good at at explaining something technical to somebody too.
Very good.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hey. Hey.
Hey. How does it feel to hear your mom talking about this, and and how does it feel for you to to hear how much your parents care about you and how hard they're trying to to to be good parents for you?
Feels good.
Yeah. You you you know everybody loves you?
Yeah.
Yeah. That's a great feeling. Yeah. Very cool. I I'm I'm just gen like, I like I said, the person I spoke to the other day, she's no more or less intelligent than you, no more or less focused, no more or less desirous of a good outcome.
And I'm trying to figure out what the difference is between the two of you. And I think it's that you know that everything could be crazy and terrible, but you trust that the things you're doing are gonna stop that from happening. And she and I think she can't believe that it's not gonna go wrong. I really think that's the the slim difference between the two of these conversations.
It's interesting. I actually had a conversation last last night, the night before with my husband because he doesn't have social media. He doesn't like any of that. But I, you know, I follow a number of, you know, common t one d kids on on social media. And so I'll often tell him stuff, and there was one that had a very scary low.
And they were, like, ten years in. You know? And I said to him, I said, I want when we settle, you know, someday, I want you to read her the mom's, you know, description of it because I think sometimes we almost get too complacent. Like, we got this. I mean, Caitlin hasn't had any lows less than 55 in the last looking at her Dexter last four weeks.
So, like, we you know, it's almost like sometimes we have to remind ourselves, like, not to be so complacent.
Mhmm.
Like, we we do have to, you know, always stay on our toes.
It's like it's like a like a fender bender. Right? Like, you can drive for twenty years. You know exactly what you're doing, and then just one day, you're, like, back into a car in your driveway, and you're like, oh my god. Like, really?
Yeah. Yeah. No. And and you don't know when that's coming or if it's coming and how to plan for it if it does. So yeah.
No. No. I take your point.
For me, part of it too is is, like I said, I'm a planner. And so part of my comfort level is we always have everything we need at all times. Like, I have created quite stockpile of supplies. She always she carries a sling pack to school, and it's got her low treatment in it, like, different kinds of low treatments
Mhmm.
And a back semi. Her bag that we take whenever, like, I'm out and about with her has, you know, everything in it in the backseat. You know, I've packed the camper for the season with half of her supplies from home. You know? And so part of my comfort level too is knowing that, like, I have in, you know, sugar free Advil.
I have sugar free cough drops. I have what's the medicine that makes you not nauseous? Zofran. Zofran. Thanks.
I have Zofran, you know, stocked and ready. So I think for me too, like, that planning part of my life where that's kinda how I cope, but if I I have everything I need to be able to handle any situation
Mhmm.
That helps bring me comfort.
Yeah. No. That's awesome. I listen. I I know other people have that stuff, and they can't feel the comfort.
So
Yeah. And I I don't know what the what the difference is because, like Don't know me. I'm not a not anxious person.
Yeah. Really. It's not like I'm not anxious, Scott. Let me tell you.
Not like I'm yeah.
You know, I may not sleep a whole lot, but I'm good. Okay.
Do you do you not sleep at all?
You know, I'm well, I'm the one getting up in the night because I sleep a lot lighter than everybody else in the house. So if she does, you know, have a compression low or she does need something in the night, I'm the one up. But then, you know, fun perimenopause in the mix decided
Yeah.
It's hard. Really hard time of life.
Oh my god. Sometimes I wake up and I look at my wife. I'm like, alright. Have you ever been to sleep tonight? And she's like, I don't think so.
And I'm like, oh, okay. Good luck today. Yeah. This part's probably almost over. You know?
Probably not, but it's been years.
Probably not. Yeah. Keep telling myself it's probably almost over. Yeah. We're good.
You know, the other night it's usually the first night she has a Dexcom on. She only wears them on her arms. Mhmm. It's almost pretty common the first night depending on exactly where it is, but she'll have, like, one or two compression lows, and then they usually go away. The other night, she just that was the arm she wanted to sleep on, and I'd roll her back.
And then she would be, like, right like, she couldn't be more on that Dexcom. It was, like, five times in one night she had compression lows. So I'm still getting up. I'm rolling her over depending on you know, look at the graph. I'll kinda gauge, like, okay.
Do I wanna wait five minutes and see if we pop up? Do I wanna finger stick? And, you know, that that wakes you up for a little bit. You can't just go right to sleep after that.
I hear you. Arden, roll over. You're laying on your sensor. Arden, roll over. You're laying on your sensor.
Except Caitlyn doesn't wake up, which is good. I mean, I can come in and I finger stick her. I give her juice. I roll her. She has no memory the next morning.
She doesn't and so on the bright side of her not wanting to wake up in the morning, she doesn't wake up at night either.
Mhmm.
So she, you know, she doesn't have to deal with, you know, any of that stuff yet. I'm not sure how we'll get there with because she's not a wake girl up.
Yeah. It comes eventually. I I I went in the other night, and Arden was literally cuddled up with a box of cookies. Like like, she she the the cookies were a little spoon. Arden was a big spoon, and she and she just and I was like, what is happening in here?
So because I asked her later. She was like, oh, she's like, I brought those up the other day, and they were still in my room, and I got low. And I was like, I had a cookie, and I was like, okay. Like, all good.
I fell asleep with them.
Yeah. But she just fell asleep with them on her bed.
Well,
it sounds like you guys are doing really well. The only
It Can Be Manageable1:02:36
question Well, I think that's one of the reasons I wanted to come on is, you know, it it's not that it's easy. Right?
No. No.
It's not that I don't wanna sound, you know, overconfident because, obviously, we have struggles. But it it can be manageable. We can do it. We you know, and we are doing it because, one, we have no other choice. But, yeah, I think we're doing okay with it.
And sometimes it's good to hear that part too. I know it's the negative stuff tends to get more clicks as you've been saying lately, but sometimes I I'm hopeful that hearing, you know, our story and 11 year old handling it so well Right. Can maybe give some others some hope or confidence.
No. I'm glad for you to do that. I really am. It's yeah. I mean, listen.
It's trite to say, but if you're paying attention to the Internet at all, obviously, like, you know, anger and and fighting and arguing, that stuff sells clicks better. I think it's just maybe human nature. And then you get the the feeling that everybody's struggling because that's all you see.
And Mhmm.
You know, then maybe you're struggling too. That's how it was served to you. And then you you get into this mindset that the whole world's a disaster and, you know, see, I I I can prove it. I clicked on a couple of things, and everybody else is mad too. But that's not the case.
Everybody's not feeling that way. I think just people are, you know, diabetes specific, just in different parts of their journey, and maybe they have different personalities. They handle things differently. But I think there's a path through this for most people. You know, I I don't know if everybody can get to it.
Like, some people's struggles are obviously significant and, you know, sometimes they're blocked by all different variables. It could be financial. It could be the devices. It could be bad doctors. It could be their inability to just believe that it's gonna be okay.
Like, you know, in a number of other things. But it still seems it still seems important to me for everyone to be to have access to stories like yours. You know?
Oh, good.
Yeah. Because hopefully, somebody will hear it and think, well, she's doing it. And, you know, it sounds like it's going well for her. You know, maybe I could maybe I could make an adjustment to how I'm thinking about this as well. And even, you know, Kate over there at her young age has has a great attitude about the whole thing.
You know? She's a it really not complaining. I mean, I'm sure like, Kate, if I asked you to complain about diabetes, what would you complain about?
How it hurts is, like, sometimes teachers are, like, put your phone away and, like, all the stuff that goes into it, like, 10,000 other decisions you have to make per day.
Mhmm. And and, Jen, do you think she's experiencing any kind of a honeymoon?
So I don't think so because we're so consistent. Like, those those rare outliers where she goes, like, low for no reason are are so rare that I'd feel like I'd see that more if we were still in honeymoon. Mhmm. Like, her insulin usage per day is pretty consistent if her carbs are consistent.
Okay.
So I don't know. I don't know how to tell that other than I think I would see more variables.
Yeah. I think people who are living through a honeymoon go, oh, no. No. It's there. I I see it.
So, yeah, I usually I take the it doesn't seem like it as a no. It's not here. Yeah. I would say this, you know, having a, you know, a kid with, like, you know, some some lady issues. Paid close attention to how the GLP is helping you so that you have context for it if she should run into similar problems.
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because when I was dating Kelly and we were young, she's like, I take spironolactone because I have tough periods. And trust me, over the last thirty years, that that that cute little, oh, she takes a little pill because it has turned into, you know, I had to have a surgery to have a cyst removed from my, you know, my ovary and, like, you know, and my god, like, heavy periods, pain.
Probably Arden probably has something like PCOS or something like that. I wouldn't be surprised if my wife isn't struggling with something similar. You know, there's not a lot of medical help for it. So any data you can collect about yourself not only will help you, but I think might be valuable for her in the future. And then I would also say with the family involvement, like, don't stop looking at, you know, thyroid numbers, you know, as time goes on, just in case.
Yeah.
For sure.
Yeah.
I was actually the woman I would I'm working with, guess you call it, like, a concierge doctor
Mhmm.
Specialty. I you know, I was actually emailing her last night, like because we'd just done some more blood work. I don't know the result yet, but I was like, you know, just emailing back and forth. What you know, what do you let me know what you think and stuff like that. Just trying to be on on top of it because, you know, my my history health history isn't the best either.
Yeah.
You know? And and I gotta remember too. I mean, it's my aunt with diabetes, and, you know, PCOS is obviously related to, you know, insulin resistance or issues. And, you know, and then now with Kate, like, I gotta I tell myself occasionally, like, I'm not out of the woods just because I'm 49.
I was just saying I didn't bring that up, but, like, I wondered if you were thinking about that.
Oh, yeah. It's crossed my mind. And even my, you know, my son is 14. He's like, oh, you know, like, that, you know, sucks. And I'm like, hey.
Just so you know, like, we're not gonna have him tested because part of me, I don't like, if I knew it was for sure coming, not knowing when, like, that would not help my anxiety. Mhmm. Like, I'm just one day, he was like, oh, I'm really thirsty. I'm like, give me a finger. You know?
So I think we'll be on top of it.
If He's never asked for water again. Like,
let me
take your blood sugar, and it was fine. And he's you know? So I think I'll now knowing what I know, I'll be, you know, much more on top of it. I'd rather just do it that way than, no, it may or may not. Because I you know, he's obviously has a sibling.
You know, he's at a risk.
Yeah. Well, listen. Keep chugging along. The only thing I can tell you is that Arden was diagnosed when she was two. And when I'm done here with you, I've been tasked with going out and ordering a bouquet of flowers for her commencement tomorrow.
So
Oh, that's awesome.
Time goes by. You know? And and It
it does. It flies by. And you just
keep doing the thing. Is that crazy, Kate, to think you'll graduate from college one day? Yeah. Yeah. It seems like forever from now.
Yeah.
Yeah. It's not not as long as you think. By the way, people, Kate doesn't feel good. She got a little cold, so I wanna give her some credit for doing this while she's not feeling well. What do you think is going on here, Kate?
Head cold, sore throat? What do we got going on?
I don't know. It could be allergies, but I don't have really many allergies.
Oh, jeez. Are are you taking any medication? Has your blood sugar been different since you haven't been feeling right?
No. My blood sugar has actually been really good. Okay. I've only been using my inhaler, like, once every few days.
Okay. When Arden's like, certain kinds of colds balance Arden's blood sugar. Like, make them
They balance it out?
Yeah. Like, there's some illnesses when she gets them, that that her blood sugars are lower and more stable and and take less insulin. And then there's some illnesses where it takes more insulin. It's interesting how it kinda goes back and forth. So maybe you got one of those.
Yeah. She doesn't I haven't I noticed, like, the past I mean, she she had a cold, and then she I thought it was getting better, and then it's another cold. So I think it's two different colds.
In a row.
It could be the same one with a gap in between. But, you know, the last couple days, I was like, oh, is your insulin need a little less? But then all of a sudden, it'll be, you know, she'll be high. High. Well, high for us.
You know, she'll be at one eighty, 200, and I'll be
like, k.
Maybe I'm around. It's not less.
Wait till the lady time starts. That's a big party.
I yeah. I've already been prepping her for that. I'm like, we're gonna have some insulin changes when we when we get there.
That's okay. You got you guys will handle it.
We'll handle it.
And, I mean, I think part of, you know, being aware, like, you know, of what's going on and watching you know, I'm not watching all the time her numbers, but being aware of her numbers and how they're doing. I don't know. I make changes to her settings on my own, so we'll have a talk about that at the end of the day. Mhmm. Like, I I noticed that night, she was starting to go a little higher, eight, nine, 10:00 at night.
I'm like, oh, I'm gonna I'm gonna bump up her basal a little, you know, starting at, like, seven through, like, eleven because I think she's getting a little bit of growth hormone happening then. And so I did. So hopefully Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
It used to work. You know, I don't know. You know, I don't think they're used to many people coming in with, you know, what I consider, you know, five, six a one c and making confidently adjustments. Like, I've, you know, I already started creating we're gonna be driving for three days this summer down to Florida. And so I've already started, like, kinda play around with what a travel profile will look like because her bail leads are gonna be crazy at that time.
She goes so high when we travel.
Yeah. It's the well, you know Like Why do you think that is, Kate? Do you know?
Just from sitting, all my fun can't move. Like, even when I get home and and sit on the couch, it, like, just I need to get up and, like, move my phone around.
Yeah. That's right. It's exactly right. The sitting still and probably snacking in the car is enough that your settings, the way they work for you in your day, are probably not enough. So, I mean, you know, you could try, like, a 20% increase in in basil and and maybe your carb ratio for the trip that might help.
And
That's exactly what I've changed.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And you you should be good to go.
We did a couple hour ride, and she had bulls for 10 carbs. So was like that time of day, was like point eight units. And we got in the car, and her blood sugar went up. And she didn't even end up having her snack. She doesn't like to eat if she's, you know, over one fifty.
She likes it to be lower so she knows she's not gonna go over 200, you know, for that bump. And she's like, oh, I'll just wait because we're almost there. And and so then I'm like, okay. Well, if her this is how my brain works. You know?
I'm like, well, if her basal's point five an hour and she gave herself point eight and it was an hour and a half in the car, that was almost double basal for that ride, and it barely kept her where she was starting. Mhmm. Even pumped her a little bit. And I'm like, well, does that mean basal you know, should we be looking at we're gonna need a basal increase. I actually increased it from it was point six to, like, point nine for my travel profile.
So a lot more like 30%.
Yeah.
And, I don't I don't know. I mean, I'm just kinda playing around at
You'll figure. I mean, it's listen. You'll be in the car. You can you know, if it's too much, you'll you'll know pretty quickly. You can take care of it.
But I guarantee you well, I can't guarantee you, but I don't think it's gonna end up being too much. She's just
probably You know, if it is, I can give her a piece of candy. Sure. Yeah. And you guys wanna feed the insulin, but why not?
And she's pretty act she's pretty active during her regular week, it sounds like.
Yeah.
Yeah. Right, Kate? You have you're doing sports or other activities? You're playing on the playground, stuff like that?
I do a school program where, like, you go early. You have to go early in the morning and then stay late after school, and you just get to play on the playground for, like, hours. And then I come home, and I play outside with my brother. And I do horseback lessons. Yeah.
And sometimes I'll do lacrosse with my dad.
Mhmm. And
I do cheer, and my blood sugar usually stays pretty stable Yeah. And goes low. But I have I also play the saxophone, and I have a concert coming up, and I think I'm gonna go high for that.
Do you get nervous for those concerts?
Yes.
Yeah. And that's well, that's where that comes from then. And, I mean, yeah, you you hear the whole thing right here. Like, she's she's super active, so her settings are a little lower to combat her activity. The activity's helping with her insulin sensitivity, basically.
And when you sit still, it's not going to. What are you guys going to Florida for? Gonna see an alligator?
I don't know. Maybe. We're going we're we're going to Disney in June and July. Ironically, we're gonna be there as Friends for Life is starting, but we're leaving, like, a day later planned. You know, I didn't know Friends for Life was gonna be there that
day. And
I looked into it. I'm like, well, let's what if we just skip out on Disney for a day, and you and I go over to Friends for Life for a day on our last day. And, you know, I and but then I looked online, and you have to buy, like, the four like, the full ticket. Like, there's no day ticket.
Oh. And I
was like, ugh.
Can't do that. What is it? '8 Yeah. Ninth, tenth? Is that Friends for Life?
The like, end of the weekend there?
Yeah. Yeah. Yep. And we we leave to drive home the morning of the tenth. So the ninth would have been, like, a great you know, I'm like, you know, we could Kate and I could have gone up because I wouldn't wanna make her brother do a diabetes thing on vacation.
Yeah. So they'd probably just go do something together, and I'd go over with her. But, like, well, we we'll just see people around. Like, I you know, we might see because we're gonna be on Disney property too. We might just run into more.
You might. I'll be there. I know I'm there. I'm only I'm not there the whole week, but I'm there a few days. So
Oh, we might run into you.
You're very welcome.
Maybe we'll have to go over to that hotel and just hang out in the lobby for a little bit, see if we say hi to anybody.
Please. Just text me or email me. I'll come out and say hi. I yeah. I think I'm at the I'm at the SugarPixel booth and doing some work with Omnipod and maybe Tandem too while I'm down there.
I think we're working that out now. So yeah. Cool. Alright. Well, listen.
You guys were terrific. I appreciate this. You probably have to get going to your appointment. I have to go buy flowers. I was just texted that Arden is graduating magna cum laude.
So it's very exciting.
That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Congratulations.
Thank you. She's a he's a smart one too. So it's fun having smart daughters.
It it really is. Yeah.
It makes
some things very easy.
Until they get older, and then it's really it's then she's gonna spend a lot of time telling you what you're what you're doing wrong, Jen, just so you know.
Oh, well, I
already get that a
little Yeah. Yeah. She's gonna she's gonna figure out everything you don't do right, and she'll explain it to you.
Okay.
So you're gonna have it's a nice moment when you test yourself for being quiet. Yeah. Anyway, Kate, I really appreciate you doing this. It sounds like you're doing terrific. I'm super happy for you.
I'm glad the podcast has been helpful for you. But it sounds like your mom and dad have been way more helpful. So I'm I'm thrilled that you have a good support system around you, people that love you, and it sounds like you're well on your way to having a great life. I'm super excited for you.
Finding Community1:18:06
Yeah. She's she's doing really good. I have to, you know, also thank, you know, some friends. I when when we got out of the hospital, the week went worse, believe it or not. Our other cat passed away the day after we came home from the hospital.
Oh. And then the day after that, Caitlin got a 105 fever, and we ended up back in the ER. So, like, that week was absolutely crazy. And I had a friend neighbor come over, you know, or text. She's like, I'm bringing you dinner.
What night do you want and which of these dinners do you want, which was, like, super helpful. Mhmm. And when she came over, we just sat on the porch talking for a little bit. And she was like, oh, do you know our other neighbor down the street? Her son has type one diabetes, and he's two years older than Caitlyn.
Oh.
And she's like, I'm gonna connect you. And so she connected us with them, and that woman's been you know, she's
Very helpful, I imagine. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. So helpful. They came over a couple weeks later. Caitlyn got to see, you know, another kid with a pump. You know, they're two years older.
He's a boy. She's a girl. But at that point, he was still at their school. Mhmm. So the nurse was great with, you know, oh, this is how they do it and, you know, me talking to that mom.
So just, you know, having other resources around has been super helpful too.
Oh, yeah. For
sure. Know where I don't know where it's going with that.
But No. Well, you it's just important to have community around you wherever you can wherever you can make it, wherever you can find it. It's it's just Yeah. It's incredibly valuable. Yeah.
I'm glad for you.
For sure.
Yeah. That's why and thanks and thanks for sharing all that nice stuff with me. It just it was really nice to hear how the podcast has helped you, and I I appreciate you sharing it with other people as well.
Yeah. I know. I definitely I mean, I haven't run into too many other, you know, newly diagnosed, but when I when I do, I definitely share it. I definitely shared it back with RCDE and and the team.
Do they handle that well when they when you say, hey. I've I've figured this all out from a podcast?
Yeah. And they well, so the the endo seems to be, I think, a little bit more conservative. The CD who we had in the hospital that first day well, so Caitlin had a nurse who was a type one diabetic for the first day she was in the hospital. Mhmm. And our diabetes educator was a die is a diabetic.
So even right off the bat, having two people that have this thing that you now have who are successful in doing what they're doing was such a huge relief. But, you know, over times that we run into them, and they're just you know, especially the the CDE when we run into it, you know, appointments with the endo, you know, she'll be like, how are guys doing? We'll just kinda sit and talk, and I was telling her about how we're soaking our Dexcom. And she's like, can you email me everything that you're doing? And I was like, yeah.
No. You know? And I also emailed about the Juice Box podcast and super receptive
Okay.
To that. Because I think, you know, having people who, like, for you know, understand it. I don't wanna say understand it. I mean, we're still new. Mhmm.
But, you know, having that communication level and being like, this was great, like, without saying that they weren't. Like, this is just more. Like, we had a great start with them in the hospital. But it's only two days.
Right.
You just need more. And I think that they were open in the fact that there's more and that we're taking more and we're learning and that our a one c's I mean, they were they were, like, cheering with her that her a one c was so low, and they were super excited about that. And then they were talking pump site locations, and it was just kinda neat, like
Sweet.
To have that. Yeah. Yeah. We're really fortunate in that regard.
Yeah. No. It's fantastic. I actually just built a web page that's for doctors. It's just juiceboxpodcast.com/clinician-share">juiceboxpodcast.com/clinician- share.
And it's an it gives them the ability to, like, print, copy, text, or email the different series more easily. So Oh, wow.
That's great.
Yeah. For doctors who have been sharing it that way, they you know, the problem was they're like dragging lists off and pictures and sending people stuff. So try to make it a little little easier for them.
Then Do you find a lot of doctors are are open to that and open to sharing?
Yeah. A lot of them are. They, you know, I don't know how public they are about it that they share podcasts with people, but they do it. So it's nice. I'm I'm very happy that about the ones that do.
And hopefully, we can, you know, spread it out and show it to other people, and maybe they can find more people like you and and have more outcomes like the ones you guys are having. Yeah. Yeah.
Definitely. It'd be awesome. Alright.
I have to go. My dog, speaking of elderly pets, my my my oldest dog, Basil, he has a prostate problem, and apparently, the way you fix that is by taking their manhood from them. So he had that happen to him yesterday. He needs a pain pill in about twenty months. So I'm gonna go Oh, no.
I'm gonna go get my dog nice and loaded so he can lay around today and recover from his, well, you know, his unfortunate afternoon yesterday.
So Yeah. For sure.
Anyway, did we lose Kate, or is she still there?
I'm still here.
Okay. Kate, I really appreciate your time. Thank you so much for doing this with me. I hope you have a great day, and I hope the blood draw goes easy and you get great news at the endo, but I think you're going to. You're doing a fantastic job, kid.
Hey. Do you not take a good do you not take well when people say nice stuff to you? Is it hard to hear that you're doing a good job?
I don't know.
No? Okay. You go ahead and go. Do think? Go no.
Go ahead. Okay. Do you think you're doing a good job,
Kate? Yeah.
Yeah? Okay. Well, I'm proud of you, and I think your mom is too. So go be proud of yourself and have a great day. Okay?
Thanks.
You're very welcome. I'll talk to you later. And Jen, thank you so much. If we bump into each other in Orlando, that'd be fantastic.
The podcast you just enjoyed was sponsored by Tandem Diabetes Care. Learn more about Tandem's newest automated insulin delivery system, Tandem Mobi with Control IQ plus technology at tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. There are links in the show notes and links at juiceboxpodcast.com. Today's episode of the juice box podcast is sponsored by the Dexcom g seven, and the Dexcom g seven warms up in just thirty minutes. Check it out now at dexcom.com/juicebox.
If you're living with type one diabetes, the After Dark collection from the Juice Box podcast is the only place to hear the stories that no one else talks about. From drugs to depression, self harm, trauma, addiction, and so much more. Go to juiceboxpodcast.com up in the menu and click on after dark. There, you'll see a full list of all of the after dark episodes. Okay.
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