#1962 They Thought I Was on Heroin
They Thought I Was on Heroin
Cynthia was told she had type 2 and put on Ozempic. Three years later she was found barely conscious in a school parking lot and spent three days in the ICU with a blood sugar of 120.
Jump to a moment
- She was misdiagnosed as type 2 for roughly three years. Cynthia is a Chicago teacher, now 40, who had gestational diabetes with both pregnancies and was told at 37 she had type 2. The early signs she noticed weren't the classic ones — her thick hair started coming out in chunks, and she had a constant sweet taste in her mouth, like a piece of candy that never went away.
- The crash came at work, and people assumed the worst. She was found barely responsive in a school parking lot. She later learned colleagues and a passerby had assumed she was on drugs, and rumors ran through the school while she was in the hospital. She drove herself to the emergency room, where staff were waiting for her at the door.
- Her blood sugar was 120 and she was in DKA. Euglycemic DKA — near-normal glucose with acid levels dangerously high. She spent three days in the ICU and two more on the floor, describing breathing so labored she couldn't finish a sentence. Her sister, a nurse, initially told her she'd be fine because she was just a type 2.
- The GLP that helped her got taken away. Her endocrinologist attributed the DKA to Ozempic and refused to prescribe it again, telling her the weight loss was the drug's doing and that she simply needed more insulin. Cynthia pushed back that she thought she was insulin resistant and was told she wasn't — she just needed a different ratio. She is now on a different GLP and down considerably in weight. This is her experience with her own clinicians, not advice.
- Scott's longest on-air rant in a while sits at the center of this one. Around the 45-minute mark he stops the interview to address the ADA, endocrinologists, insurers and diabetes organizations directly, arguing that people keep arriving at his podcast having already paid professionals who failed them. Cynthia's response is the part worth hearing: the podcast helped her figure out what to ask her doctors for.
- Diabetes Pro Tip series — Episodes 1000-1025 — settings, insulin timing, and food impact.
- Mental wellness series with Erika Forsyth — For anyone, like Cynthia, looking for a therapist who already understands type 1.
- Bold Beginnings series — Scott and Jenny Smith for the newly diagnosed — or the newly correctly diagnosed.
- T1D Exchange registry — US residents 18+ with type 1 — take the survey and support research.
Every word of the conversation
Cold open & sponsors0:03
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Diagnosed type 2 at thirty-seven1:37
Well, my name is Cynthia. I am, 40 years old, and I was diagnosed, at the age of 37 as a type one LADA, after being misdiagnosed as a type two for a couple of years.
How many is a couple?
Initially, I was started oh, I got diagnosed in 2000. Right? Right in, like, around COVID time.
Okay.
And so that's the initial, time, but I did have gestational with my two my my two pregnancies. My first one was back in, 2012. And so they just diagnosed me as gestational, but I didn't have to go on insulin. It was kinda diet controls because I think I missed it by, like, a one marker or something. So, they just had me do diet control at that time.
Cynthia, can I
But I think it started from back then, though?
Let me just double check something because I you I think you misspoke or I misunderstand one or the other. You were diagnosed during COVID in 2020?
Yeah.
Yeah. Not 2000.
Oh, it's I said 2000. Sorry.
'20 It's fine. Was like I was like, was I not around was I not around for that other COVID? Back back then, I think they called it, the flu or something else. Yes. Nevertheless.
Okay. So you've you're three years diagnosed, a couple years more than that, something going on, but nobody's really telling you what's up. Can you describe those first couple of years from 2020 on? Were you paying any attention to it? Was it having any impact on your life?
Yeah. Well, I started off during that time, we were, like, doing renovations. We had just bought a house. My son was my my little one was about a year old, and we had the crazy idea of, you know, doing an addition to the the house that we had just purchased. Of course, contractors and everything, that kinda when we took the roof off the house and it kinda stayed like that for months.
And then COVID hit, so we had no roof to our house. And so we had to move in with my parents until we could figure out how to fix this mess that we had started. And during that time, you know, my dad was sick. We were living with them, my two sons, my husband, myself, in their house with our three dogs, both my two dogs and my mom's dog. So three dogs at that point.
So it was kind of hectic. And it started I'm a teacher, so I, like, had just started the school year too. I had just come back from maternity leave. Here in Chicago, we had just had the with the we had the big strike that happened also. So it's like it was kind of all at one time.
Mhmm. So I started where like, the like, I had, like, a sweet taste in my mouth all the time. Not necessarily always wanting to drink water, but always had, like, the like like, if I had, like, a piece of candy in my mouth twenty four seven.
Hair in chunks, and a sweet taste4:40
You know, no one's ever put it that way before.
Yeah. And so I was I like, I felt off, and I was always tired. And then, initially, it was my hair. My hair was like I had had really thick, thick hair. Everyone would make fun of my hair when I was little because they they would say it looked like a wig.
Like, I had a Mary Tyler Moore kind of Mhmm. Hairstyle because it was so thick, and it was just falling out, like, in chunks. And I would, like, take showers, and I I would clog the, like, the the tub every single time because there's chunks of hair coming out.
Oh.
And so I was like, something's going on.
Was Mary Tyler Moore wearing a wig? Now you have me thinking.
No. But it was like, I was a little girl, and so think of Mary Tyler Moore's hairdo on a little girl. So, like, even, like, the length flipped out.
Yeah. Yeah. Just way too much hair. Right?
Yes. Just way too much hair. So it looked like a wig, but it was just my hair was super thick.
I almost wanna see a photo of that. But and that stayed with you through your adult life.
Yeah. So I I always had, like, the thick, thick, thick hair. And it was funny because my my dad's side of the family has curly hair. So, like, my sister, my grandmother, my aunt, they all have the curly hair, but I have the straight thick hair. So I was like it was something I I always like my hair was my thing.
And so I noticed, like, it's coming out in chunks, and it was getting thinner and thinner. And I'm like and my mom would say it looked like a I had, like, a rat's tail of how thin it was. Like, if I will put my hair in a ponytail, it was just like it looked like a little thin rat tail.
What's the length of time between the thick hair and getting to the rat tail?
I wanna say maybe so I didn't go into the doctor. So September, October I went into the doctor, like, in January, and it was around September, October that it started, like, coming out. Like
Okay. Five months maybe. Yeah. That's quick.
Mhmm.
Yeah. Yeah. Were you worried about anything else, or was the hair, like, the only thing you were noticing?
The hair was the only thing I was noticing, and then, like, that that candy taste in my mouth Mhmm. Was the next thing.
And once that came, that was 247?
Yeah. Once I came, it was 247. I didn't, like, have, like, the, like, immense thirst. I just had, like, that sweetness in my mouth.
Okay. Did people say your breath smelled differently?
No. I never no one really said anything.
Okay. Okay. And you're married at that point and everything. So Mhmm. So it's a thing
He never really said anything.
Yeah. And so it's a thing you're noticing, but maybe not a thing other people are noticing. Or Mhmm. Had you been married long enough that you hadn't kissed him in a couple of months?
I mean, that too.
Right? That's, for young people so you can feel sad about what's coming. That's all.
Well, we're high school sweethearts, so we have been together for a very long time at this point.
Cynthia's like, I used it up. Okay. It's okay. So these two things are going on. Do you do you decide to go to a doctor about it?
I do. Well, it ended up, because there was one night that I just felt really, really off. And my mom's a type two, so it was my dad. And so, my mom said, well, how about you just check your sugar if you feel like your that sweetness in your mouth is, like, not going away?
Mhmm.
And so I checked my sugar and it was, like, 300 and something.
Oopsie.
And she's like, oh, I think you have type two diabetes. It's it runs in the family. And so, of course, I'm I start crying. I'm like, I don't want this. And so finally, after I had checked my sugar, she gave she's like, which, of course, we should not do, but she's like, here.
Take a metformin. Take one of my metformin so it could bring your sugar down Mhmm. Until you get a chance to go to the doctor. So scheduled the doctor's appointment, and I went and I told them, like, you know, what was going on. And, of course, it was like the initial was just my hair is falling out.
It's coming out in chunks, and I have this sweetness. And I checked my sugar, and it was 300 and something. And so they checked my a one one c, and at that point, I was at, 14.5 a one c. Okay.
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And when I went in, I think my sugar was close to, like, the four hundreds at that point, and that was, like, without eating anything because I was, like, first thing in the morning. Mhmm.
And and they just assume you're type two then?
Yes. Okay. Just because my parents are type two. I'm of Hispanic descent, so, of course, you know, it runs in our culture. Mhmm.
I was overweight, and so they're like, okay. Type two. And that was it. It was just like an a one c and, put me on metformin, and let's, and then he's figure out how to change your diet, and do a little bit more exercise.
You're making me can I cut you off for a second? I'm sorry. Yeah. You're making me, mad about something completely different. But I was talking to someone the other day about ways to help people with type one diabetes and whether or not doctors or, institutions would get behind this idea.
And the person was like, well, they're gonna want data. They're gonna want this. They're gonna want studies. They're gonna blah blah blah blah blah. And I was like, isn't it and it just made me think, like, isn't it funny that people who would say, oh, I can't tell anyone that.
I don't care if you say it works because I want studies and data are willing to look at you and go, oh, your parents have type two. You're overweight and you're Hispanic, so you have type two. Like like, there there nobody wanted to study there. Nobody want Yeah.
It was just, like, initial. Like, that's what it is. Yeah. Go for it.
Yeah. I I I academic people get on my nerves sometimes. This is one of those this is one of those times.
Oh, you'll you will we'll have many more Oh, oh, please. That would upset you as well. Go forward.
Thank you.
So yeah. So there's, like, change your diet. Change, do some more exercise. Lose weight, and you're gonna it's all correlated. So at this point, my my grandmother, my maternal grandmother, who I at this like, after listening to your podcast and listening to different stories, I think she probably had type one.
But, again, culturally, like, we're more known to have type two. And then it's, like I don't know if it's just my Hispanic family, but I feel like all Hispanic families are very hush-hush when it comes to, like, medical things. They don't tell, like, everybody, like, the actual things that are going on. So then, like, you know, assumptions and things happen. But I think she did have type one at that, but it was as far as the family knows, it's type two.
Okay. But she passed away. She was on insulin, and she ended up passing away, of a low blood sugar in the middle of the night.
Oh gosh. Oh, how which how old was she?
She was she was young. She was, like, in her seventies.
Oh, no kidding. Yeah. Oh, that's interesting. How long do you how long did she have a diagnosis?
As as far as I remember, like, all my life, she was always diagnosed. And I that's why I say I like, after listening to the podcast, I think she was type one because she, like, did, like, a I remember her having, like, a drastic weight loss and everyone being concerned, like, that she was so thin and then that she was on insulin. And then I remember, like, she actually passed away on 09:11. And I remember she they had told us that she had passed because she had taken insulin to go to sleep ahead and eat in anything and then passed in her sleep from a low blood sugar.
Losing weight and feeling worse14:22
Dear god. That's a lot. Mhmm. Oh my gosh. I'm I'm I'm so sorry.
I and now you're gonna wonder forever if, like
If that way if you if that was, you know, what she really had or not. Yeah.
Yeah. Okay.
So, like, as me being told, like, you're a diabetic, that was the first thing that came to my head, you know, like, oh my god. You're gonna die too.
Oh, did you say is that how you felt? Mhmm. Oh my gosh. That's how do you get through that? Like, how do you, like, push through the idea of somebody just told me I'm gonna die?
Honestly, I don't think I have.
No kidding.
Sorry. Oh, no.
I didn't I'm sorry. Didn't realize you were getting sad. I'm sorry. Take your time. If you're willing to answer, I'd love to hear more.
I I mean, I will. It just I don't think it has actually said it yet. Like, I still feel like that's a fear of mine.
That you that this is gonna take you? Yeah. Is there something going on that makes you feel that way?
I don't know. I think it's just the lack of knowledge. The lack of, you know, me I'm still trying to learn, trying to navigate things.
After three years, it still feels like that?
Yeah. After three years, it still feels that way. Okay. I mean, I've come a long way. I will say that.
But I'll still I still won't eat certain things just to avoid the high blood sugar or having to give myself insulin to the point where, like, maybe I miscount and then I drop. And then Yeah. So, like, going to sleep sometimes, it's like, oh, I have to look I, like, triple check my sugar before I go to sleep just to make sure I'm at a level where I'm I'm okay to go to sleep. Mhmm.
But if if you go to your physician, they tell you you're doing okay, or do they tell you like, and does that because my my thought here is that if every like, what's your a one c right now?
So I'm down to a 5.2.
Oh, wow. Jeez.
So yay.
Way to go. But but so as far as your physician's concerned, you're probably a model patient. There's nothing wrong and nothing you need.
And that's the thing, and I think that's where it kinda get worried because, again, like, it was like, do your diet, do your exercise, you'll you know, like, that's how you get over type b and type two. And I did. I I I was two hundred and ten pounds at the time of diagnosis, and I cut out, like, all carbs, all sugar. And, of course, it was COVID time, so it was so much easier for me to just, like, you know, go out and exercise and watch what I was eating because I was at home instead of being at work. So I did.
I I ended up losing, I was down to a hundred and sixty pounds, but my sugar was always high. Like, no matter what time I would check it, it was always, like, one eighty or higher. Mhmm. No matter what. And I could eat a I could eat a salad with just nothing on it, and I would just, like, spike.
But, again, I was a type two in their eyes. And I would tell them I would tell my doctor, and I'm like, why is it all like, why am I always so high? Why is it like, my hair's still falling out. Like, what am I doing wrong? And they're and from coming down from, like, the 14 a one c, I was down to, like, an eight a one c from just cutting out, like, certain foods and doing a lot of exercise.
Yeah.
But it was just like, well, see, you're doing everything good. You've lost this weight, and your a one c's down to an eight, and that's perfect. That's what you should be at.
Because you're moving in a positive direction. There's no need to give you more information. They think you're getting to it. Mhmm.
Okay. But It was just like, you're doing fine.
But you don't feel like that?
No. I felt crappy, crappy, crappy. And it wasn't until, I wanna say, it was maybe two years into being a type two that I kept telling them, like, something's wrong. Like, my sugar doesn't come down. It's always high.
I'm always tired, like, all this stuff. And so then my primary care is like, okay. Well, what about if we go on Ozempic? That would probably help you lose more weight, which would then bring down your a one c even more and then would help your sugars at the same time. And so that's what I got went on.
I went on the Ozempic, and it did. It helped me lose more weight. I was down to, like, a hundred and thirty pounds.
Mhmm. How tall
But, again
How tall are you?
I'm five four.
How much did you lose?
At that time, I was two hundred and ten pounds, got down to a hundred and thirty.
Seventy pounds? Mhmm. How long did that take?
Probably a good three years.
Yeah. It's awesome, isn't it?
Yeah. I mean, at the time, I was like, great. Now I'm losing all this weight. I was like, this is awesome, but my sugars are still not, like, where they should be.
Yeah. Thanks. Help.
Something's alright, but at the same time, I'm fitting in these size four pants.
So there's positive stuff with your weight. Nothing's changing with your blood sugars?
No. At that time, nothing.
Okay.
And I think, honestly, I think like, I went on that whole keto diet thing, and I was hardcore, like, hardcore with it for a long time. And I think that probably delayed going into DKA for a while because of the way I was eating. But, again, I was not eating any carbs, any sugar. Like, life was bland. Mhmm.
Found in the parking lot20:23
And it wasn't until that September of my of well, before I oh, when I was 37 that, my husband's job had a something, like a conference in Hawaii. And so I was like, oh, I'm definitely, you know, jumping along this conference.
And so he's like, I'm thin, and we're going to Hawaii. Let's
do it. Yeah. So we went to Hawaii. And from all these, like, past years of not eating, like, carbs and sugar, my husband's like, you're on vacation. We haven't been on vacation in forever, and we're in Hawaii.
You know? Like, live a little. So, you know, I I would eat a little sandwich here, a little carbs here, and just something, like, not over the top, but I was eating way more carbs than I had for years at this point. Yeah. And we were there for, like, five days.
And the night before we came, my husband started with, like, a stomach bug.
Mhmm.
And we came back home. He had the stomach bug. And then the next day, I, like, started throwing up. And I'm like, man. I'm like, you gave me whatever you have.
That stomach bug you have, you passed it on to me. And I got to the point where I remember going to work, and I just sat in the parking lot, and I couldn't get out of the car. Like, I was just, like, so tired, and I couldn't like, I fell asleep in the car. And then, like, a coworker passed by, he's like, you okay? And I was like, oh, yeah.
I'm fine. Got out, went into, like, my classroom, put my head down on my desk, and fell asleep again. And then, like, they the the bell rang and I woke up and I'm like, oh my god. Like, I fell asleep again. And I just couldn't stop throwing up.
Yeah. And so I asked my principal at the time, like, I can't. I I, like, I can't keep my eyes open. Like, I'm running to the bathroom twenty four seven at this point. I need to go home.
And so I asked for an early dismissal that I got coverage. I went home, and I just fell asleep. And, again, thinking I had a stomach bug. The next morning when I woke up, now I couldn't breathe. And so I called my doctor who was on vacation, and he's like, well, I can't see you.
But you know what? I think you should go to the emergency room. Just given your your sugars and everything, I think you should go to the emergency room. But I think he already knew what was going on because by the time I got to the emergency room, like, they just rushed me in.
He called us out?
I think he did. Because when I came in, he's out there, like, who's your doctor? And then I told them, and they're like, okay. You're so and so. And I'm like, yes.
And so they just rushed me in away.
You know that while you were going in the hospital, that guy that found you in the parking lot was on day two of telling people you're on heroin. You know that. Right?
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Pretty sure. Yes. Because even my principal, when I after I told him I was, like, in the ICU, he's like, oh, okay.
Yeah. Because, you know, everyone was talking about you falling asleep. There I'm sure rumors went rampant.
They were like, she was nodding. It was definitely fentanyl. I saw it. Yeah. Yeah.
I know they I saw her doing something in the parking lot.
People were already trying to get your job. It was happening.
I'm sure.
“Why are they waiting for me?”23:45
So you get to the hospital. Are does it hit you then how dire it is that they're waiting for you?
No. I was just like, why are they, like, waiting on like, wait. What? Like, something's up. Great service.
Throwing yeah. I was like, oh, this is awesome. Maybe I should come to this hospital more often. But then they started putting, like, an EKG machine on me, and then I guess I had, like, irregular whatever beats it does. And then they started throwing out DKA, and I'm like, what is that?
I don't know what DKA is. And at this point, I'm by myself because I just drove myself to the hospital.
Yeah.
And and then, they're like, okay. We're sending you to ICU. And I'm like, why am I going into the ICU? And barely like, I couldn't even catch my breath. I felt like I had just run a marathon, but I couldn't like, my breathing was so labored.
I couldn't, like, take enough breaths of air to, like, be able to talk.
Yeah. Cynthia, you're describing dying, in case you're wondering.
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I was yeah. And I didn't know how bad it was until, like, I called my husband.
And I'm like, well, I'm here in the emergency room, and I'm going into the ICU. And he's like, why? I thought I was just a stomach bug. I'm like, they're saying something about DKA. I don't know what that is.
Hey, mister Live A Little. Could you get over here and help me out, please?
It was yeah. And then so then they send me up to, like, the ICU, and they started putting drips or whatever. But my sugar wasn't high, so I guess I was on u uglosimic TKA. So my sugar was, like, one twenty when I went in. Okay.
But, I guess, my acid levels were off the roof, which went into, like, the DKA.
A blood sugar of 120, and three days in ICU25:26
Yeah. How did it take them days to clear that for you?
Yeah. I was in ICU for three days. After that, then they took me out of the ICU into, like, the regular floor. And then I was in regular the regular floor for, like, another two days.
Are you pretty whacked in the ICU, or do you have time to think?
No. I was fine. Like, after they started, I guess, putting in whatever drips they were putting in, the next day, I was fine. Like, I wasn't as tired anymore, and my, like, breathing wasn't as bad. So I was able to actually, like, look up what DKA is, and I'm like, what is this?
Hello, Google. Yes. And my sister's a nurse, and my aunt's a paramedic. And so, like, I messaged my sister. I'm like, hey.
I'm in the ICU. Apparently, I have DKA. And then she's still like, she did it. Like, I guess, even that, she's like, really? Why?
Mhmm. Like, it wasn't, like, clicking into nobody. Like, you'll be fine. You're just a type two.
Oh, everything's fine. That's what we do over here. Mhmm. I see. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. I I listen. I say this all the time, and I say it out of love and and concern. But, when nurses end up being the parents of type ones, they so frequently come on here, and they track as, like, maybe the worst prepared.
And and I think it's because that the the information they do get through nursing school and the jobs they have at the hospital, I think they they can believe that that's the entirety of what diabetes is.
Mhmm.
And and not understand the bigger picture. Because it's gotta be a letdown to, like, to text a a loved one who you think has, like, a background. They're like, ah. No. Like, no.
Seems pretty serious. And and they're like, nah. You'll be fine. Mom and dad
You'll be fine. It's okay. You'll you'll yeah. Like
We get it.
Mom, dad has it. You'll be fine.
Yeah.
They're probably wrong.
They don't call it the sugars in your in your culture. Right? Like, do down south in in, like, Georgia, Florida, that area.
They do. But they say, like, La Sukar. La Sukar.
Oh, it's nice. It sounds
So like the sugars.
It sounds nicer that way. Well, you but you understand at that point, not type two, or has any of that not been
said yet? It's still, like it's they were just like, oh, you're you're in DKA. But, again, still, like, in my brain, like, I'm type two and NDK. And I'm like, okay. I don't understand how that goes.
Mhmm. And it wasn't until, I guess, like, the diabetic nurse that comes and shows you how to, like you know, you're gonna insert insulin into yourself, and this is how you do it. That's when I was like, oh, okay. So I'm not a type two. Yeah.
And she's, like, showing me how to, like, you know, pull insulin out of the into the syringe and how to inject. And as as she's telling me this, like, it's going in one ear and out the other. And, again, going back to, like, my grandmother, like, the whole insulin thing scares the living
Mhmm.
Crap out of me. So then I start crying, like hysterical crying, and she's looking at me, she's like, you're fine. You're it's gonna be okay. And I'm, like, trying to tell her. I'm like, no.
I'm gonna die. Like, you don't understand. This is, a death sentence. And then there's, like, the doctor who was the endocrinologist. He's out in the hallway, and then they call him like, he sees me, like, having this hysterical meltdown, and they he comes in.
He's like, why is she crying? And then she's like, well, she's upset because of the insulin. And he's like, well, why? She'll be fine. And I'm like, over here, even more cry.
Like, he doesn't understand. This is, like, the end of me.
I got another, another guy over here with the, live a little. It's what that's a doctor?
Yeah.
Just what are you upset about? Oh, you're wrong to be upset?
Yeah. It was and that was even worse for me. Like
Yeah. Well, what is wrong with everybody? Do you think something? Do you you ever sit and wonder? Do you have you you're old enough that you don't worry about it anymore?
You just go, oh, no. I'm just gonna get to the end of my life. I I still wonder. I I still sit around and think, like, why would someone dismiss you like that in that setting from that position of power and not see that as not the thing they should be doing. You know what I mean?
And, again, it was and and it was just like, oh, you're a type one, and it was just, like, something that they threw out there. It wasn't like they explained anything to me. It was literally just, oh, you're not two. You're one. Now you're on insulin.
And, again, like, from my culture, like, type one is the bad diabetes. You know? And so, again, thinking, like, oh, it's the bad one. I mean, you're gonna die.
Also, you thought the good one was gonna kill you. So yeah. Yeah. Wait. I listen.
I'm not a professional, but just for everyone listening, in case you have a job that, you know, you might intersect another person and have the opportunity to ruin their life for them a little bit. When someone says, oh my god. I'm so upset. You say, oh, tell me why. Mhmm.
Not you shouldn't be. That's a funny thing you say to your wife when she's upset, and then you wanna have a fight on a Saturday. It's not a you go, oh, just calm down. Like like like, why would someone
do Like, you're making a big deal out of nothing.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What what don't worry.
Don't worry. Like, I'm worried. I don't know what to tell you. Like, I'm not calm. I can't just not I mean, if the world worked that way, everything would go much.
If you just had to look at somebody and go, be taller, be calmer, be the and go, oh, I didn't realize. I'll just do it. Like, that's just ask questions. When people tell you they're upset or they're worried, ask a follow-up question. Let them tell you how and then if you have some knowledge that will be valuable to them that they don't have, you just sprinkle it into the conversation as you're talking.
Learning it was LADA31:19
And I don't understand how people don't understand. I a doctor. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know, Cynthia. Oh, keep going.
Alright. So now you you alright. Now you know you don't have to be upset anymore because the guy told you. And and then where does it go from there?
So at that point, that's when I was like, I have no idea what's going on. I I don't know what what to do now. So then they sent me to, like, the regular floor. They put in, like, an insulin drip.
Mhmm.
And this is another, like, off the topic story. But in the as I'm in the bed with, like, you know, this insulin drip on my arm, I feel like liquid coming down my arm. And I'm like, oh my god. Like, now I'm squirting out liquid. Where why is why am I squirting out liquid?
But, again, I don't know why. So I call the the nurse, and I tell her, like, hey. There's, like, a bunch of water coming out of me. Is that supposed to happen? And she's like, oh, yeah.
I think one of your IVs is leaking. And then she walks out and never comes back. I'm like, okay. So this time, like, it's, like, 02:00 in the morning, and I'm messaging my sister. I'm like, hey.
I think I'm dying. There's water coming out of me, and she doesn't come back.
No one cares. Also, get when I look at my bill later, this bag of saline is gonna cost $5,000. It's running down my arm. Mhmm. And, really, I think your IV is leaking.
Never returns.
Nope. So then I'm over here trying to figure it out. I'm putting, like, blankets on the bed to, like, soak up all this little saline, like, whatever was coming out, and then, like, wrapping it around my, like, arm. And I'm like, yeah. I'll just, you know, die a slow death here.
Everybody needs to do better. I I really believe this. I I need you all to try a little harder. I need you to do I I listen. Fair is fair, Cynthia.
My job is not a real job. But I do a really good job of it, and I work really hard at it. And I feel attached to the idea that I should follow through and at least do the things I say I'm going to do or the things that someone's paying me to do or whatever. I I can't I really can't understand that. I I know it's listen.
I'm sure that a nurse would tell me, I'm sure that she was really busy. It wasn't emergent. She planned on coming back. Something else happened. I I could hear all the excuses right now, and maybe they're all legitimate.
But it doesn't matter to you, the person who's three days into this packing blankets around themselves going, I told you I was gonna die. This is it. In the middle in the middle of the night while your sister's like, leave me alone. It's very late. And yeah.
Oh my it's just not right. I I I don't know. Like, I I'm not a I'm not a, like, chicken soup for this whole person. You you know what I mean? But, like, we could all just do a little better.
It's not it doesn't take any extra to do a good job. I actually think it's easier to do a good job than this to do a bad job.
Too much effort into having to do a bad job.
Yeah. I I say this all the time, but it it's I see so many people so put so much time and so much effort into pretending they're working. I think I don't think it would have taken that much effort to actually just do the thing. And I don't know. I I give up.
They well, they didn't kill you. I mean
They didn't. No.
They tried, I guess, but it didn't work out. Didn't work out for in their favor. They were trying too hard. And you're online learning about diabetes, I imagine, in the hospital. You sound like you're motivated.
Yeah. So, I mean, I was I was trying to figure out. I was going through, like, Facebook pages and, like, trying to, like, oh, like, where do I go? Like, what do I do? And then I kept like, told my husband.
I'm like, hey. Like, I left my book bag in my car with my computer. Can you come and grab it and bring it to me so I could do more research? And he's like, dude, you're in the ICU for a reason. Let it be.
We'll figure it out. So he would not bring me my computer to do, like, more research than I could.
He was watching a ball he was watching a ballgame when you for sure. He's like, I I the kids. I got the kit. By the
The kids. I gotta take care
of them. You got kids. Right?
Yes. I have two.
Two. Yeah. He's like, oh, no. No. The kids meanwhile, the kids, he gave them a ho ho.
Sent them upstairs. It's a 100% watching a ballgame. And he's like, oh my god. Like, I'm sad that Cynthia's sick, but the house is so quiet. No one's bugged me about the dishes or the trash.
I'm just gonna sit here. I might call a buddy and smoke.
You have a cigar in the backyard.
Yeah. My god. What up? I I know this would be like a vacation for me. No.
But but but your instinct is I gotta learn more.
Yeah. And I I still couldn't because I still hadn't said, like, officially, like, what what it was. You know? It was just like you're in DKA, and, like, you were so close to dying. Like, you're lucky that you came to, like, the time you came because, you know, it could you got could have gone into a diabetic coma or you could have not woken up at all.
And I'm like, what what is this DKA they keep talking about?
Yeah. And isn't the liquid important?
Yeah.
Yeah. I swear to you. I could get lost in this moment. I this is this the I I I understand that in the in the in the moment, the nurse and nobody's thinking about it the way you can think about stuff when you break it down in hindsight and everything. But my like, my god.
You're really in a panic. You were just told you almost died. Somebody stuck this in your arm. You got to imagine because you need it, And now it's running down your arm and nobody's helping you. And then you're like, well, let me learn more about it to see if I should be panicked.
Your husband's like, you don't need that. And so and by the way, he's also not wrong. You're in the ICU. You're supposed to be sleeping.
Yeah. And that's what his, like like, his that's what his reasoning is. Yeah. No. He's right, by the way.
Yeah. According to according to him. I gotcha. But but, you know, he's being reasonable. Everyone's probably being reasonable.
No one is living in the situation you're in right now. Mhmm. Yeah. But then what I think the unintended consequence that people don't see is that three years later, when a stranger brings it up to you, you start to cry. You're still upset.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
Yeah. I'm not gonna make you cry again, are you? I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to do that. By the way, if you're gonna cry, do it out loud so people can hear it.
It's better for the market. Yeah. Yeah. Don't don't hold it in like that, Cynthia. That's just dead air.
Really if you wanna wail a little bit
That would work.
Throw your hands up, talk to Jesus, whatever you're gonna do. But but but seriously, so okay. You you wake up the next day, you get out of the ICU, etcetera. Like, when do you get ahold of your laptop?
So I I don't want until, like, a home pretty much. Mhmm. And then they give me the name of the an endocrinologist that the hospital recommends, you know, to follow-up with. I call, and they're like, oh, she's booked until next year. I was like, oh, great.
So in the meantime, what do I do? So I like, they've I I guess they gave me some I get their assistant, somebody else that was available. Regardless, she never really saw me. They were all virtual appointments.
Mhmm.
So, again, never really explained, like, what how is it that I went from a type two to now a type one. What is it that I like, how is it that I went into DKA? None of that. It was just you're type one. You're on insulin now.
We're gonna get you a pump, and, you're going oh, and a CGM. But in the meantime, I need you to schedule an appointment with our dietitian to figure out how you're going to do this. And I'm like, well, I don't need to any dietitian. Like, I've been, like, not eating carbs for how long. Like, I just need to know figure out, like, what's next.
Yeah. Cynthia's like, do you see me? I'm skint y. What's going on? Yeah.
Yeah. I don't need that. That part I got under control. Have you heard about Ozempic? Yeah.
Jeez. And by the way, a dietitian, that person doesn't help you with insulin. Right?
So the he did, like, the sense of, like, how telling me how to cut my carbs, which also didn't help because it's still like, that's still an area a gray area for me. But I keep telling him, like, well, I'm very low carb. I don't eat carbs. Like, what do I do with this insulin? How much do I give myself?
How much don't I give myself? And so they scheduled me to come in, and he like, the first thing was like, oh, why are you here? I'm like, I don't know. They told me to come see you. And they're like, oh, okay.
So it took him a while to, like, figure out why I was even there. And so I guess he scheduled me to get the the pump. So I got onto the Omnipod, and then I was on the CGM, the Dexcom.
Fighting to get back on a GLP40:08
Do you ever see the do ever see the movie Falling Down where Michael Douglas is on his way to work one day at his office job, and he just gets out of the car in traffic with a machine gun and just loses his shit.
Yeah. That was me probably.
I swear to you, if that dietitian would have said to me, why are you here? I would have been like, okay. I'm good now. I'm gonna I'm gonna go flip out somewhere. Why are you here?
Unbelievable. I swear to god. I anyway, Falling Down's a great old underrated movie, that you should that you should check out. And you'll think, oh my god. One day that man will marry Catherine Zeta Jones, which is odd.
And I know you don't know who Michael Douglas is. You're so young.
I do. I do.
Oh, you do. Okay. Thank god.
I'm an old soul.
You're an well, I swear to you. Like, I just I would feel like everyone is telling me I'm okay, and I'm not okay. And then when I I go to someone, it's not the person I want to talk to. And when I get there, they're not helpful either.
No. Not at all.
That's been your situation. That that's been your experience
so far? Yeah. This whole time. This whole time, it's been like that.
Okay. So the dietitian what did you mean you the, the carb counting is a gray area?
I still I mean, I count my carbs now, but I think it's also it's so they took me off of the Ozempic because, of course, they said Ozempic was what caused my DKA as well. So they took me took me off of it. But in taking me off of the Ozempic, like, my sugars were back to, like, being up and down in a sense.
I feel like I I can't take this. I'm gonna flip out. And while we're I'm gonna call this episode falling down in a second. Okay? I the one thing you had going for you, they were like, give that back.
Yeah. And then and that's one and so even and so she took me off of it. Like, the endocrinologist took me off of it because, like, of course, that's what caused my DKA, and that's why I was there. So I can tell you that. Probably kept you alive.
That was probably the only thing that was keeping me alive at that moment. Yep. Okay. Alright. Alright.
So I went down from, like so I was at a hundred and thirty pounds, when I got diagnosed. And then in a matter of months No.
No. No. No. Don't say it because I'm thin now. It makes me upset to say it out loud.
Don't say it. But go ahead say it.
How much I went up to, like, a hundred and eighty
pounds. No. No. No. No.
Well, that's healthier. You're you're fine. Everything's and did the endo go, oh god. I'm sorry. Take the Ozempic back?
Well, she goes, well, you know that the only reason why you were on, you were a hundred and thirty pounds was because of the Ozempic. Right?
Yeah. Thanks. Can I have it back now?
And so she would not give it back. She said no. And so, like, I like, my primary care, I like, bless his heart. Like, I love him. He's not and he's he'll tell you straight up.
I do not know anything about type ones. He's like, give me type twos. I know how to manage you. But when it comes to type ones, I'm not comfortable with it. And so I'm like, okay.
At least you're honest with me. Right? And so he's like, I I don't mind putting you back on Ozempic if the endocrinologist thinks that's a good idea for you. Again, I don't know how that works for a type one. And so I told her, and she goes, well, you know you're gonna have, you know, what is it, pancreatitis
or whatever. I wish you could see me right now. I my both of my fists are balled up, and I'm pressing them into my cheeks. And and I'm I let me say this real quick, Cynthia. Nothing you hear in the juice box pocket should be considered advice, medical or otherwise.
Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. Now that I've said that, just all listen to me. Okay? Or just Google something or or ask a hobo. I think you'd be better off.
I can't be I Cynthia, why is this making me so upset today? Why no. Because I had that conversation yesterday with the guy about how to help people. Everything we do is counterintuitive. Everything.
Everything institutions do until you find a good doctor, but they but you're gonna be crazy by the time you either figure this out for yourself, learn to ignore the doctor, do what you're gonna do, somebody into giving you the meds you need, blah blah blah. All the bullshit that goes on for the I'm gonna start cursing. I can feel it. And and, like, all the stuff that people have to go through and the hoops they have to jump through. Meanwhile, I look on LinkedIn, and I see a bunch of academics patting each other on the back.
They can't stop packing each other. We're helping people. We're helping people with diabetes. Oh, oh, we have a program. You're not helping anyone.
Scott has something to say44:39
I how come I talk to a new person every day that doesn't seem to be helped? And then I go online and see you all telling me how much you're helping everybody. Like, this is the this is the stuff you guys put into play. This is what happened to Cynthia. All the high minded shit that you you're gonna do, and we're gonna do this, then she'll see a dietitian and blah blah blah.
You hear me ADA? All the stuff you're doing leads to this over and over and over again. And then they come to me to find out how to take care. Is this gonna be the end of this story, Cynthia? Did I save you?
Just say it now.
Actually, I will say your podcast did help me. It'd be it helped me to figure out what it is I needed to tell my doctors. Like, here, do this. Check this. Give me this.
Yeah. That's my point. Is that, like, you went to professionals, paid them money. Insurance, by the way, hey. Are you listening to insurance?
This is what you're paying for. Okay? Mhmm. Then you're then then all this is going on. Everybody's trading money back and forth and pats on the back back and forth.
And in the end, people named Cynthia are walking around 40 for no reason with an a one c that's too high with blood sugars that are bouncing around for no reason because not one person that she's intersected knows a damn thing about how to help her. She has to go to her GP who who says, well, look, I I'm okay writing you the script, but not unless that person says okay. Everybody's passing the buck, throwing each other under the bus, and the and in the end, you die. Like, that's the end of all this. Mhmm.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Everyone should be ashamed of themselves. There.
Okay, Cynthia. I'm sorry. The Endo said no to the Ozempic. What happened next? Must be mother each I'm sorry, Cynthia.
I told you I wasn't gonna curse at the beginning. Go ahead. Go ahead. I'm sorry.
No. No. You're good. You could MF everyone for me.
I well, unbelievable. Right? Like, really, I try so I I say it nicely on other episodes. I say things like, oh, if you went to get your tires changed, the guy didn't know how to use the impact gun. You'd think that was strange.
I'm trying to get people to pay attention to the fact that they have a job and that people count on them and that it's important and they do a terrible job mostly, except for the ones who are doing a good job who will get insulted when they hear this. Listen to me. I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to the rest of them, and you know who they are because you're sitting next to them in a cubicle right now. So don't act like you don't know and get all upset with me.
I didn't do this. Now go on. Now I'm sorry. I'm gonna stop. I'm gonna push the microphone away so you can talk.
Go ahead. Go ahead. I'm sorry. Jesus Christ.
“You just need more insulin”47:03
No. You're fine. Go ahead. But he it's all she told me that the reason I had lost that weight was because of Ozempic, but the Ozempic caused my DKA and that, all I needed to do was increase my insulin. And I told her, well, your insulin, I feel, is what's causing like, I don't think like, I feel like I'm insulin resistance.
This is, again, coming from one of the podcasts I was listening to. And so I said, I'm like, I think I'm insulin resistant. And she goes, No. No. No.
No. You're not insulin resistant. You just need to increase your insulin to carb ratio. I'm like, well, wouldn't that be what insulin resistant is?
Wouldn't that mean that I'm need more insulin and Mhmm. Insulin's
a Insulin.
Storage hormone and your nutritionist didn't and I'm not eating anything because you weren't eating anything. Right?
I was not. Like, I and that's why I was like, man, I should just eat the damn cheesecake if no no matter what.
If I'm gonna die, why am I not having cheesecake? That's the first thing. And can I ask a a detour question for a second? Mhmm. When you were heavier, were you still not eating a lot?
Like, was your diet okay, or did the diet change because of the Ozempic?
No. I was not like, I was trying to listen to what my doctor said and, like, lower my my, carb intake and do more exercise. And, also, I was I was miserable. I probably still am miserable because I still don't eat the cheesecake even though I've
but I still miserable as a t shirt, by the way. I would like to say to people listening, if any medical people have made it this far. If not, it's just for all of us to be angry together. But if any medical people are listening, some people's bodies don't work right. If GLPs have not taught you that in the last couple of years, you're fundamentally not paying attention.
I lost 14 pounds in seven days on my first injection of Ozempic on a nontherapeutic dose of Ozempic. My body doesn't work right. And on OGLP and let let me say this. I don't care about your studies. I don't care about whatever you wanna say that has to be done.
It doesn't matter. It works. Okay? It doesn't matter. If I I again, if I grow a horn out of my head because I take a Zepbound now, if my horn says Lily diabetes up the side of it or Lily on this, I will put lights on it and celebrate Okay?
Because it has changed that much for my because, well, we don't know what's gonna happen. I I definitely know what was gonna happen without the Zepbound. I was gonna have a heart attack and die. Maybe a stroke. Who knows exactly?
Right? But everything about my life is better now. I have more mental clarity to yell at you people. All the aches and pains in my body are gone. I've, lost 70.
I still eat exactly the same way I did before I started taking Zepbound. People like, oh, well, you don't eat as much anymore. I eat exact I eat the same stuff. Do I eat less of it? Yeah.
But not that much less of it, and it wasn't terrible stuff to begin with. You would have followed me around when I was heavy, watched me eat, and thought, this is the fattest guy that doesn't eat anything that I've ever seen in my life.
And that was me. That was me.
I know. Yeah. Because you and I have the same thing wrong with us. I I 100% know. I I knew as soon as you told me you lost all that weight on the Ozempic.
It's it's not it and I don't I don't have time. You don't have time for everyone else to figure it out. All these, like, academic people who are gonna sit around, they're gonna wanna see twenty twenty five studies. They're gonna want the ADA to say it's okay, and they're gonna want this to happen so they all can stop throwing each other under the bus. Well, if that one says it's okay, then I'll say it's okay.
Nobody's got the courage of anything. They're just spineless for the like, nobody wants to help you. What they want is for them not to get in trouble. And if you die in the process, then so be it. That's it.
I I'm so sick of this shit. I swear to God. I don't know why I'm so upset today. I have two meetings later with clients. I'm gonna have to calm down.
I I You're breaking. I'm just blaming Cynthia.
A guy just ask me. In an extra room of his house with a podcast. First of all, shouldn't have 22,000,000 downloads. I have 22,000,000 downloads because you all don't know how to help these people. And, and my common sense is outweighing your well, we'll have to wait and see.
We'll we'll wait for a study. Double blind, maybe. And then I don't know. Five, ten years from now, maybe we'll have enough to go on and blah blah blah blah. We're all gonna be dead then.
Okay? Five, ten years from now, if I wait for those people, I'm 65 years old and seventy pounds overweight. You think I'm gonna make it much longer that way? The other day, I was in a room with people who were who were ten years younger than me. They looked fifteen years older than me.
And all I could think was, you ought to go on that GLP. Right? Tell them about the mental clarity. I haven't even asked you. I'm just gonna assume.
Tell them about it.
Oh, yeah. Like, every from as soon as they took me off the Ozempic, like, I felt, like, that fogginess, that brain fog just, like, completely consume me. Yeah. Not just, like, the brain fog, like, that comes with, like, you know, being newly diagnosed or anything, but I was I I was here, but I wasn't here. Like, my body was here and functioning, but I wasn't.
Yeah. You know that movie with Bradley Cooper where he takes something, he gets really super smart?
Mhmm.
It's called limit is it called limitless? Unlimitless?
Think, yeah, limitless.
Not really important. It was not a great movie. The premise was awesome, and he was good in it, but somehow it didn't pay off. That's between you, and I don't wanna do a movie review right now. But also Bradley Cooper's from Philly.
What's up, man? Go birds. And, but the but the this is not the point. The point is this. I am the real life version of that.
Like, I'm not obviously, like, for the movies. Like but I everything about me is clearer and sharper. I was just explaining to somebody yesterday on the podcast. When I get to the end of the day and I have to go to sleep, I'm disappointed. Like, I'm tired and I go to sleep.
Don't get me wrong. But I think, oh, no. I have so many I I my brain's still going. And not in, like, an ADHD, I can't go to sleep way. Like, I'm excited to be alive kinda way.
I don't if that makes sense. But but but if you're a doctor and you're listening to this and it doesn't make sense, stop worrying about whether it makes sense and just say, oh, it happened to Scott. It happened to Cynthia. It happened to the girl that Scott was talking to yesterday. I wonder if maybe I should get out of the way.
You know what
actually, like, help them.
Yeah. You're the you're the impediment at this point with her diabetes, with her weight. Like like, you're the impediment. Anybody who says, oh, I don't know or I'm not sure. What they mean is I don't wanna get in trouble.
Mhmm.
Yeah. Your health isn't worth my risk is what they mean. So either, like, nut up or get out of the way. Seriously. I'm so done with all this.
Cynthia, we're never gonna get through your story. Alright. I'm sorry. I swear to God. I'll stop talking.
Oh my god. How did you so you you did go online. I I by the way, I was not fishing for a compliment. I just assume if you're on this podcast, at some point, you're gonna tell me after this factocta story that, like, you got to the point where you're like, I gotta take care of this on my own.
Well, that's that's what happened because no matter how many doctor's appointments and, she never like, the endocrinologist never saw me in person. It was just, like, a virtual meeting and would never answer my questions, and it was always like, no. Just up your carb insulin to carb ratio. Mhmm. That should help.
And so I was like, no. Something's gotta give. Like, I don't I don't understand what's going on. I don't know. So I started going through Facebook, and there was, like, a diabetes, like, Facebook group.
And I've I forgot what the name of it is, but they recommended your Facebook group. And so I was like, okay.
Getting the pump, and getting it working55:02
Yeah. By the way, listen to what she just said. She went to a diabetes Facebook group, a diabetes Facebook group. And in that Facebook group, they were like, you know what you should do? Get the hell out of this Facebook group and go to the one for the juice box podcast.
What does that say to you? Like, if it doesn't say something to you, you're I I might have had enough of this. I might have to pivot. I I need another job. I I can't do this anymore.
I I mean, I'll figure it out. But, like, it's so unnecessarily damaging and frustrating. And if people listening aren't thinking, oh, I really have to do better, then I don't I don't know what to say. Like, I I I really like, if you're listening to this and you have control over someone's health and you're okay with all this, you really are as much of the part of the problem as the disease itself.
Mhmm.
So anyway, I'm sorry. You went to Facebook. They led you to my Facebook group. By the way, Juice Juice Box podcast type one diabetes on Facebook. Currently, 86,000 active members.
Go ahead.
And so I I did I, like, I found your the the podcast, and I just hit click play on the late the latest one. And I'm listening to it, and they're telling their story. And I'm like, great. You know, like, I'm over here crying with them and laughing at them. I'm like but I still don't know what to do with what's going on with me.
Right? Mhmm. So I went on the Facebook page, and they said, like, I have all these questions. How do I get these questions answered? And so that's when someone on the group sent me the list of the pro trip pro tip series.
Yeah.
And so I was like, oh, this is exactly what I need. So that's I started like, I went back and started, like, with each pro tip series on, like, explaining certain things. Because even, like like you said, I think you said in one of the podcast, like, MDI and bolus and like, all those words were, like, gibberish to me. Mhmm. Because even, like, the endo would, oh, you need to, like once she said, up your insulin to carb ratio.
I'm like, great. What does that even freaking mean? I don't even know what that is, and how do I even do it?
Yeah. I'll just do that. I'll supercalifragilist XPL, whatever the hell you just said. Right. Yeah.
I by the way, I, again, figured that out. I made the podcast. I made the content that I knew helped people. Then I made the the Facebook group. And then you notice when you ask a question in my Facebook group, you don't get told, don't worry.
You're okay. You get
in there. Not gonna die.
Yeah. Hey. Shut up. Okay? Let the thing drip down your arm.
We couldn't possibly care less. No. It's not that. We I've, I think there's 13 people that helped me with that Facebook group. All volunteers.
By the way, everything you've heard about free. Podcast is free. The pro tips are free. The Facebook group. Nobody charges you for anything.
And when and and still when you ask a question of a person who's not your physician, who is not being paid to help you, they make sure that you they understand your question, and then they move you in a direction that will be actually valuable for you.
Mhmm.
Yeah. They listen, they reflect, and they give back. Right? Like, that's it. A doctor could do that.
Which side note, my son who was in second grade, his teacher is a type two. And she was sick a couple days, not, like, sugar related. I think she was going through, like, you know, basic teacher and germs
Yeah.
Things. But he was concerned, and he thought, like, oh, I think it's her sugar. You know? Like, just like you, mom, I think it's her sugar. She's a diabetic too.
He doesn't know, like, a lot of the difference between one or two.
Yeah. But Well, could be a doctor then. Go ahead.
Well, he calls the next day she comes to to work, he he goes, you know, you really need to, like, work on your sugars. Maybe that's what's making you sick. You should go listen to the juice box podcast. My mom listens to it the time, and she's learned a lot.
What's that boy's what's that boy's name? What's that boy's name?
Xavier.
Xavier, thank you so much, buddy. You just you took all the anger out of me just now. Thank you. That's lovely.
But he told me, and then I was like, really? And I didn't like I'm like, he's probably just you know? He's just saying it. But then the teacher told me he's like he's like, yeah. He told me to listen to the podcast because I can learn a thing or two about it.
I'm like, oh, I'm like, oh, you do listen to me, Xavier. You do listen around.
I swear to god, that's the nicest thing I've heard in quite some time. Like, seriously, like, your son saw enough in another human being, and instead of telling them that they'd be okay to shut up, he said, you know, here's something I think might be valuable for you. Ain't that lovely? Alright. I get okay.
I'm back. I can I can I can I can do it a little longer? But I swear to you, I I'm saying this I I don't know. Cynthia, have you taken the survey yet? I have a survey on my website, juiceboxpodcast.com/survey.
And it's just to see how the podcast has either helped you or not helped you or whatever. It's a it's and you take the survey, and, in a week or two, I'm gonna be making the results, public. But, the results are are pretty staggering already from the first 150, 170 people who have responded. And I showed it to a person who's in this space, you know, who works in this space, a scientist. And he looked at the data and said, this is fantastic.
Like, nobody does this. Like, he's like, this is the like, what are you gonna do with this? And I was like, I don't know. And his suggestion was, you should show it to health care systems. They should probably be giving your podcast to people upon diagnosis.
If this is the outcomes, like, that people are having, then, you know, they're being it's free. There's no reason not to hand it out to people. And I and I thought, yeah, that's actually a really good idea. Yep. Just the pro tips of the bowl beginning series, like that kind of thing.
Yeah. Because, like, that's a two year your, you know, two year horn or whatever the saying is. But you did. Like, it it gave me the information I kept asking, and I wasn't getting the answers to for me to go back and be like, this is what I want. This is how I can kick this endocrinologist out the window and, like, find a new one because I did end up going I think in one of the podcasts, you guys had mentioned, like, going and looking at, you know, the list of doctors that, you know, the
Oh, another resource of mine for free. Juicejuiceboxdocs.com. Go ahead. Yeah.
So I did. I ended up finding one of the doctors that was on your list, switched over to her, from she's at Northwestern, and, like, she's been, like, one eighty completely different from what I had. Like, she actually sees me and touches me and, like, you know, spends, like, an hour, if not more, with me answering questions. And, like and before I leave, she's like, you sure? You don't have any more questions?
Like, I love you. You know? Like, thank you for answering them.
Seems like she'd be upset if you died, that kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah. Like, she seems human. Is that what you're saying?
Yes. Awesome. So she actually put me back on, Mounjaro.
Hey.
So I've been on Mounjaro for that one. Like, so she took me off of she's like, well, won't go with the Ozempic route because she did put me on Ozempic. So when we came back went with her, she put me on Ozempic, but it wasn't it was, like, really slow progressing. So she's like, let's try Mounjaro. I've heard that those Mounjaro might be a better fit for you.
Yeah. So she did. She put me on Mounjaro, and I finally started losing weight again. Still haven't eaten, like I'm still very low carb, which is, like, I think more of me being scared of food still.
Well, let's
So I still don't eat the damn cheesecake.
Yeah. Let's end on that, though. How do you how are we gonna get you past that part?
That, I don't know. That's where and I think that I do have to get over it because I think with because I'm at the highest dosage of Manjaro at this point Mhmm. Which
You're on fifteen?
Yes.
Okay.
But with the fifteen, that finally, like, hit the nudge where I started to lose the weight because I wasn't losing the weight, and my insulin absorption wasn't as much. Like, before, I was taking, like, two hundred units in my, Omnipod and, like, being done with the two hundred units in those three days. Now I'll if I put two hundred units in, I suppose probably still have, like, all of it at the end of, like, my change.
Yeah. Arden changed Arden changed the pump the other day, and she had a vial of insulin that was getting pretty low. And she drew it up, and she said, I don't there's not enough insulin here to fill the pod with. And then she just paused and said, I'm taking Mounjaro right now. That should I I I won't need all this insulin.
And then and then she put it in. That's really fantastic. May I just suggest I as a person who's been on Zepbound, which is Mounjaro for a long time, try eating more to see if you lose weight.
And I think that's what I think I need to do because I I'm not I don't eat like I probably should, which wasn't it's not so much Mounjaro thing. It's just like me and my brain thing because I wasn't doing it before. Yeah. But I think with the higher dosage, it's kind of making me sick. Like, I'll have, like, the headaches, and then, like, I have a headache once a week.
I'll throw up once a week at least, but I don't think I think it's more of the fact that I'm hungry.
What do you mean?
My body is like
Are you eating feed me. Yeah. Are you eating high fat items when you eat?
Yeah. Like, high protein stuff. So, like
That the protein can be harder. Actually, I would tell you to just have a slightly more balanced, like, diet. And, I mean, you're not afraid to bolus. Right?
No. I think I mean, I've gotten a little over the like, being afraid to bolus. Okay. Before, I was, like, super scared. But I've also started because I also with one of your episodes because I was always on the automatic, on my pod, but I've changed to manual so that I could extend my bolus because I've noticed that I would drop.
Where her numbers are now1:05:15
Mhmm. But I think because the Manchuros, like, making it, like, last longer in, like, the food, whatever I eat to, like, digest slower
Yeah.
I would drop and then go high. So at least with the extended bolus, I'm not dropping right away, and then it's and then I'm not spiking, like, two hours later.
Okay. And are you are you technically Lada? Are they calling you are. Yes. So do you have moments when you don't need as much insulin, your body's handling it?
I
don't know, to be honest. There are times where, like, no matter what I do, like, those times of the months where, like, my sugars be, like, crazy high. And then there's times where it's like, I'm okay, like, between I think the highest I'll go is, like, one twenty.
Okay. What what system are you using? You're Omnipod five?
Yes.
Yeah. But you're not on automation?
I I am and I'm not. So it depends. Like, if I'm gonna eat, I tend to, like, go in manual mode and extend it versus the automation. If I'm, like, not eating anything, I'll be just on automation.
Do you have any of the 100 target pods yet? No. No. How many do you have to use up before you end up with those?
I don't know, actually.
Yeah. Because I the new 100 target should be valuable for you. Okay. I'm seeing a lot of people online talking about how, it's been helpful.
Oh, okay. I'm looking to that one.
Because they just moved the target down to 100 from what one what was the lowest one twenty before? And and, anyway, people are changing the target and having success with it. Did you not see me in the commercial? We're yelling one hundred one hundred, like, all that stuff.
I I did see the commercial. I'm like, what is he talking about?
Yeah. Oh, they'll be they'll be thrilled to know you didn't know what they were what we were talking about. Actually, there's a person right now who I like very much who I know just heard you say that, and she's like, okay. I just got she's banging her head on a desk right now. Lovely lovely person.
I won't say her name. Yeah. Yeah. They moved the target down to 100. So, that that, you know, gives more insulin, makes it a little but there's also a couple of other adjustments they made to the algorithm.
I will also tell you that I think that Omnipod six will be out in not short order, but not that long from now. And I don't have any details about that or and I don't know anything that everybody else doesn't know. Nothing you can't figure out publicly. But from what I'm, like, gathering, it might be a real, like, leap for the for the device. So, hopefully, that'll be, something that would help you as well.
But I would just I would just tell you for now, if you're up on 15 of do you would do you get back to one thirty in your weight or no?
No. I'm down to one fifty four.
Okay. I if 15 of Mounjaro is not where what were you using? How much Ozempic were you using when she took you off it?
I wanna say not that much. I wanna say it was, like, the 2.5 or the five.
Yeah. So maybe some of it was high blood sugars too, like, helping you along. I would I I still I'd wanna I'd wanna go throw a brick through her window. I would I'd be I wouldn't do that, and I wouldn't suggest that anyone else does anything like that either. I it would make me upset.
Are you pissed that she took you off of that?
Oh, yeah. And the fact that she wouldn't, like, put me back on it, it was just like, really? Really?
Yeah. Did you call her the b word when you left the office?
Well, again, virtual. So when I left my virtual meeting, I was like, what the and then I walked into because we had a meeting at school that day. And so you could tell, like, everyone's like, are you okay? I'm like, no. I'm pissed.
Yeah. I is this where I should start? I I've I've started in a couple of episodes reciting the Hippocratic Oath after these conversations, but I won't do it today. Although I found it funny the first time I did it, but I might be the only one. People are like, oh, yeah.
I I fast forwarded through that. Well, I I I genuinely appreciate you sharing this with me. Is there anything that we haven't talked about or anything we missed that I should have asked you about?
No. One thing I do and then I don't know if you might know, if there's something on your, you know, wealth of knowledge of you on your website as far as, like, therapists. Because I've tried you know, like, I know I need to talk to a therapist. Okay. And I did.
Trying to find a therapist1:09:50
I tried, but it was more me explaining what type one was to the therapist, which I was like, yeah. This is not what I want. I want them to, like Awesome. Help me. Yeah.
I pay you $40 to educate you about type one diabetes? This would be awesome. What state are you in? Can you say? You're, like, in Chicagoland area.
Right? Yeah. Yeah. I I took do you wanna know how I figured all that out or no?
Mhmm. How?
Okay. Well, you're clearly, you're clearly, like, an upper middle class family. I can just tell by how you speak. I know that's strange to say. You your husband has an attitude that things are gonna be okay.
Your your accent a tiny little bit. Something you said about geography earlier, I forget. Oh, about the hospital, about Northwestern. But, like, you give off a whole vibe. Like, I I feel like I know who you are a little bit better, like, after we've talked for an hour.
Anyway, that's neither here nor there. I I I I threw that in because I failed to figure out, a girl was from Minnesota the other day or Detroit or something that she she she got on. She's like, at the end of this, I want you to guess where I'm from, and it put a lot of pressure on me. I felt that the entire time I was talking. Anyway, you I could kind of tell where you're from.
Did I get you right about your, like, your family structure and situation?
Yeah. I would say my upper middle class.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No. You guys
Probably just middle class, not upper.
Listen. Middle class is upper middle class nowadays. Right? You're either a billionaire or you're that or you're broke. I don't think there's anything else.
There's just three. And so I don't think Erica, who's on the podcast, can do Chicago, or or Illinois, but I would send her a note and ask her if she knows somebody.
Somebody.
Yeah. Because I think she could probably help point you in the right direction because it is difficult. You need to find a therapist who I mean, I'll tell you. Like, Erica has type one. I think that gives her a great advantage when talking to people with type one.
Mhmm. So you gotta find a good therapist, but you also, like you said, don't wanna be explaining diabetes to them because now you're saying things to them that if you if you look at the general population, those are the same people who go, it's not that big of a deal. Right? Like, don't you just take a shot, or doesn't the pump do the whole thing? Like, so you don't wanna, like like, you're explaining your trials and tribulations.
You don't need the therapist sitting across from you thinking like, You know? Like, you wanna
That's how I felt. Like, the whole time, I'm like, okay. This is not I'm getting nowhere with you
Yeah.
Because I'm just explaining to you what it is.
Right. Right. Right. Yeah.
I mean again, then you have to, like, take out that, like, misconception of what type one is. Because, again, like, when I met her, she's like, oh, I thought that was only a childhood disease. I'm like, oh, great. This is this is going down. The drain is on that
one. Yeah. Yeah. The doctor in the hospital. You'll be alright.
Don't worry about it. See It's like the same the same exact thing. Like, you don't have heart you know, your heart didn't fall out. I'm like, why that doesn't help me? I still have my problems.
So, yeah, I mean, if she could help you, it's I think it's erica foresight dot com. She does like, I think she can practice virtually in, like, 10 states, but she's in California. But but I'm sure she would not be upset if you sent her an email and asked her. Just said I was on the podcast or I'm in the group, and I'm just wondering if you know anybody in this area. She could probably help you out.
Okay. I don't wanna Yeah. Because I know I know I need to talk to somebody.
Wait. Because of the the the the things that you talked about about the bolusing and the eating and stuff like that.
Yeah. The bolusing, the eating, like
The general sadness about having diabetes? Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. You don't wanna I mean, it would be nice to work your way through that for sure because otherwise, it's gonna stick to you forever. You know? Because you still feel that way you described in the beginning when you were crying and you're like, I don't want this.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. All the time. And even thinking, like, about my kids too, just like, I don't want that for them either.
Are you worried that they're gonna get type one?
Oh, yeah.
Other autoimmune in you or your husband's families? Hashimoto's, celiac, vitiligo?
So I think my on my husband's side, his mom has, again, the whole Hispanic thing. Like, you don't tell anybody your like, your medical stuff. But just, like, seeing her and, like, looking at the things that she does, I'm pretty sure she has some type of autoimmune. Mhmm. But then on my side, I'm the only one, like, with the type with type one besides, like, you know, the regular type twos.
And then my brother has, eczema, which I think is considered an autoimmune.
Yeah. Yeah. I think so too. Yeah. I mean, so will are you the kind will you do the trial net idea, or do you would you prefer not to know, or would you prefer to know?
I would prefer not to know because then I think knowing the type of person I am, like, if I know that that's gonna like, it's that, you know, one of them has it or will have it, then I would just probably dwell on it forever.
Do you have anxiety?
Not diagnosed anxiety, but I'm pretty sure I do.
Not diagnosed, but I'm diagnosing myself right now. Yeah. And for your for your whole life?
Yeah.
Yeah.
For sure.
The kids have it at all?
I wanna say they do. Yeah. Just looking at the certain things that they do. My older one, for sure.
Xavier's out there in second grade worrying about old people's health. So
Oh, yeah. And he's always he's, like, one of them that's always, like, sending people to, like, your podcast or, like, trying to save the world.
I should get that kid business cards to hand out. He's got a he's got a good he's got a good sniffer for diabetes. Like, hey. I could just see him just flipping that one of those out between his, you know, his index and his pointer and his middle finger. Just like, nope.
There you go. That's I
hear you. You need one.
Wait. Hold on. The pointer finger is the one you make the gun with. Then there's middle index is wait. Is index ring finger?
Yes. Your index is
ring pointer finger and middle finger. And then puts the card in there and just kinda, like, twirls it around a little 180 degrees, hands it to you, keeps moving. I get I get 20 or 30 him out in the world. We might really make this podcast jump.
Right.
So, okay. Alright. Well, listen. I I don't have somebody for that. I can tell you that I have considered asking people to add their therapists to the Juice Box docs page.
So Mhmm. You know, maybe
a good idea.
Yeah. I think that's not a bad idea at all. Okay. I I'll put that on my to do list. I feel like Sam Jackson in Jurassic Park some days.
That's gotta be a reference nobody gets. But he's like he says, like, we have all the problems of a zoo and of a theme park and we're not even open yet. Like, I feel like that some days. I'm like, oh, I should make a post about this or that or this. And I actually just did a thing this morning where I realized that I've added so much stuff to the website that's valuable, and I didn't even tell anybody.
I just I just put it up there. I was like, I don't find it. And I was like, you know, that's really not how that works. So I made a post about it to try to draw some attention to it, and then I realized these algorithms, they don't they don't want you to see they don't want you to see anything at this point. Like, here, I'll complain to you for a second and then I'll let you go.
Okay? Everybody listen. Don't tune out. Okay? I'm telling you something about how your life's being manipulated.
I can tell you that on Instagram turn this down. On Instagram, I've made a post in the last couple of days that would help you with your diabetes, that could help you with a lot of other things that would be very health related. I assume you're following me. I've made a post to celebrate a gentleman's life who was an advocate for type one diabetes who passed away. And none of my posts have done as well as me standing in front of a pack and play in the parking lot of my grocery store.
I was about to ask you if you found out who that pack and play belongs to.
I didn't I ain't got that kind of time, Cynthia. I just I just looked at it. I took the picture and I left. But point being is that, I I so I look. I was getting in my car.
There was a pack and play in the middle of the parking spots. Clearly, happened is someone took the pack and play out to put the groceries in, never put the pack and play back in and left. Okay?
So I You know that some wife is yelling at some husband right now for forgetting.
Is that interesting? You think it's a guy that did it. I see. Okay. And I write on the just on the picture, I'm like, parenting is hard.
I saw this at the grocery store parking lot trying to imagine the moment when someone says, hey. Where the hell is the pack and play? So and it's and it's just a static image. Right? With actually jelly roll over top of it singing in a in a in a loop.
I am not okay. Like that. The point is is that that's been served to people tens of thousands of times. And my post that it's like, hey. I have this thing on the website that'll help you.
I can barely get it to show it to a thousand people.
So because I don't think I think I saw the old pack and play for sure.
Oh, no. Of course you did. Because it But
I didn't see I don't think I saw whichever one about those those things on here.
Right. Because these algorithms are just serving you both that doesn't help you at all. And then I put the this is this I I'm gonna look down. I know it's gonna break my heart. Let me just let me just pull it up.
So I put the post up, and I'm like, hey. There's four things on the website you might not know about. First of all, I put up a transcript library because the people who read, like, each episode has its own transcript, but I put them all for the management stuff in one place. It's really fantastic and easy to get through. I put up the listener survey, which is really gonna help me explain to people how to, you know, how how the podcast is being helpful so that maybe other clinicians will will, know, send it around.
There's this great, twenty one day, it's it's sort of like short readings, one little idea thing you notice, a thing to practice, like to help you go through the small sip series, is kind of like a primer for the pro tip series. I piloted it with 50 people. They had amazing outcomes listening to it. And I made a juice a jukebox where there's, like, songs that are literally made from episodes of the podcast that'll help you either understand your diabetes management, help little kids understand it, or for adults, a lot of the kind of, like, social or mental health stuff. And they're they're some of them are goddamn snappy.
And and and right. And that post has been served to 1,200 of the 86,000 active members in the group. But my photo I put up the other day of something completely innocuous and stupid was shown to, like, 50,000 people. So this is just how this all works. So you it is if you think it's on you to figure out what to do because your doctor's not gonna tell you, I'm gonna tell you that even after you find me, it's still on you.
So hard.
Yeah. You still have to dig. No one is gonna hand this to you. Like, it just it no one's incentivized to hand it to you. The doctors don't seem to be incentivized.
The algorithms don't be incentivized. Trust me. You've seen some diabetes influencer act like a fool 20 times this week, but you've not seen any of the stuff that I put out.
That's true.
Until the one time I said something stupid. Then it was like, oh, here. Here's Scott standing in a parking lot with a pack and play. You must be interested in this. So, anyway, good luck to all of you.
Okay? It's a it's I don't know what you're gonna do. Oh oh oh, here's one my posts where somebody yelled at me. That got more likes. Yeah.
Alright. I gotta go, Cynthia. I'm gonna have a stroke from you. Okay? Alright.
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Friends, my diabetes pro tip series is about cutting through the clutter of diabetes management to give you the straightforward practical insights that truly make a difference. This series is all about mastering the fundamentals, whether it's the basics of insulin, dosing adjustments, or everyday management strategies that will empower you to take control. I am joined by Jenny Smith, who is a diabetes educator with over thirty five years of personal experience, and we break down the complex concepts into simple actionable tips. The diabetes pro tip series runs between episode one thousand and one thousand twenty five in your podcast player, or you can listen to it at juiceboxpodcast.com by going up in the menu. If this is your first time listening to the juice box podcast and you'd like to hear more, download Apple podcast or Spotify, really any audio app at all.
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