This Guy's Story Has a Twist (Part 1)
Jacques's daughter drank ninety ounces of water in one day. Days later her blood sugar was over a thousand, and that evening she did cartwheels in her hospital room.
Jump to a moment
- Nothing looked like illness. His daughter's weight gain slowed and then dipped by about a pound, and the pediatrician said they would keep an eye on it. Over the summer she became, in Jacques's words, the best water drinker in the world. There was one bedwetting accident, which had never happened before, and the weekend before her diagnosis they tracked her intake for a day: ninety ounces.
- They sent a message through Kaiser's portal on Sunday, she gave a urine sample on Monday, and on Tuesday — her little sister's first birthday — the results came through while his wife was driving her to the appointment: ketones four plus. The meter read HI, the pediatrician called an ambulance to Children's, and her blood sugar was over a thousand. The doctor put her about twenty-four hours from DKA. That evening she was doing cartwheels in her hospital room.
- His wife read Dr. Bernstein and Think Like a Pancreas and found the Facebook group and then the podcast. A few hours there taught them more than thirty-six hours in the hospital — more nuance, more hope, and permission. The discharge instructions said to wait three hours before correcting a high. Hearing kids with A1Cs in the fives, Jacques's reaction was: why would I do less than that?
- Food is deliberately not restricted in their house. His wife was firm about it, because girls and eating disorders go together too often. Instead they plan around it: when his daughter goes to a party, Jacques sits in the background holding her phone and handles the boluses, so she never has to pick it up.
- He quit his rehab hospital job in the summer of 2021 to stay home with the baby — his wife is a teacher and was going back in person mid-COVID. Within weeks the older girl started first grade, switched to a Spanish immersion school, got quarantined for COVID, and then was diagnosed. Kaiser has since switched her from Humalog to Kirsty, a biosimilar that works a little slower but that she needs less of.
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Every word of the conversation
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Meet Jacques2:27
Hi, everybody. My name is Jacques, and I am the father of a, almost 12 year old daughter, who is a type one diabetic.
How long has she been type one?
She was diagnosed, at age seven, so in 2021, on her sister's first birthday, which was kinda sucky. So almost just about five years.
My father-in-law, who's gone now, had a heart attack had a heart attack on my son's first birthday.
Wow. Yeah. Yeah. That's that's like... Come on, people.
Time it better.
We bought a cake. What are you doing?
Yeah. What are you doing? I'm I'm having a heart attack. Yeah. I Just...
It was it was a rough a rough first birthday for my daughter, my youngest, and also, obviously, a rough day for my
For your family.
For my oldest. For the family.
Yeah. Yeah. And do you just have the two?
Yeah. Just the two. Yeah. So almost 12 and almost six.
I was gonna say, I bet having a kid diagnosed on your other kid's first birthday makes you go, maybe we should get into gardening.
Yeah. No. We we started a little bit late too, so I don't know that we had significant plans. But, yes. Two is two is good.
Two is good. I agree. Yeah. Well, let's let's find out a little bit about that. Yeah.
So give me the run up to... I mean, if... Already, if if your one child's having medical issues while you're in the middle of raising a one year old, I imagine it's hard to see what's going on, but go ahead and tell me what happened.
A Super Healthy Kid4:01
Yeah. So super healthy kid, you know, absolutely no issues, never never had any... Even, like, infection. She went to day care, never really got very sick. So we were like, you know, we we we struck it lucky.
And then in... There was a there was a doctor's visit, I think, in May 2021. And so my daughter's... She's almost 12, and she's five eight and maybe, like, 95. She's like a very tall kid.
I'm six three, so she
Mhmm.
She goes after me. But there was a a period between November, I think, of twenty twenty five and May 2026 where her weight gain had slowed down. And then... So this is May, and then July of that... Of twenty twenty one, she had another visit, and she had actually lost weight.
And... But not like a lot, maybe a pound, or maybe she didn't gain. Something like that. It was it was a very kinda subtle. And so the doctor was like, oh, it's fine.
You know, we'll just keep an eye on this. And she didn't have any other real symptoms. But over that summer, she became, like, the best water drinker in the world. Like, she... You know, kids are like, oh, I don't wanna drink water, blah blah blah.
But she just became like a really good at drinking water, and she was always thirsty. And initially, it was like, oh, she's, you know, she's really realizing the value of of being well hydrated. And then it got to be a little bit crazy, and and she she she had one way... A bedwetting event, which she'd never done in her life. Yeah.
Ninety Ounces in a Day5:41
And we're like, okay. This is this is kinda weird. And then I think the weekend before she was diagnosed, we we tracked her water intake one day. She, like, drank, like, 90 ounces of water.
Oh, gosh.
Oh my god. That's not that's not normal. And so we we we kinda, you know, that... The Internet was already there, and we were looking looking at things. And we're like, yeah, it might be type one diabetes, the bed wetting, and the the thirst, and lots of lots of drinking.
Really had a hard time being away from... Like, not not being able to be close to a bathroom. She would just have to go to the bathroom all the time.
Well, couple of pieces of it... A couple of pieces of advice here. First of all, when you think your child's learning something, something's already wrong. You're wrong about that. You've you've made up an excuse in your mind.
You're like, you know, I think she's she's really starting to understand the value of it. And then you should have went, oh, no. Something's direly wrong, and that can't be what's happening.
No. Not not at seven years of age.
No. No. No. I I...
I was giving her the benefit of the doubt. But...
I had I had a good I had a good conversation with my kids last night. They're 22 and 26. And as we were talking, I thought, oh, they're starting to really come into their own here. This is awesome.
Oh, okay. Okay.
So I should I should be a little bit patient.
Well, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Seven's not gonna do it.
That's for sure.
Seven's not gonna do it. Yeah. But... So, you know, there was nothing else that we... She wasn't, like, acting sick or lethargic or vomiting or anything.
Maybe she had a bit of a bellyache. But there there was this... I remember the weekend... So she was diagnosed on a Tuesday, I believe. And so this weekend, we were with with friends at some, like, little town festival, and we had ice cream.
Right? And and we walked there from their house, and she barely made it back to the house to get to the bathroom. I remember that. And and then the Sunday, we reached out to her doctor. So we...
Like, through the portal, were with Kaiser and, you know, we we reached out and the doctor ordered, like, urine analysis for us.
Mhmm.
And she went in on the Monday and and did the... Like, got the urinalysis. And then and then she had a visit with the doctor on a Tuesday morning. And so my wife took her in. So this is my daughter's...
Ketones Four Plus on Her Sister's Birthday8:10
My youngest daughter's first birthday, but these two are on their way to the doctor's office. As they're driving to the doctor's office, the labs come through ketones four plus. And I was like, oh, crap.
Yeah.
So I I knew I knew immediately.
Well, you guys knew days before, it feels like.
Yeah. But we... Like, and I'm in health care. Right? I'm a I'm a physical therapist, and I I try and be on top of things.
I'm, like, the only person in both my wife and my... No. Actually, my sister-in-law is is is also in health care. But let's say I'm on my side, I'm the only person in health care. And so my family members always ask me questions, so I'm always the one that goes to look up stuff.
And so, yeah, maybe maybe we knew, but maybe we were in denial. But not not not like in... I don't know. Maybe denial is not a conscious thing.
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Maybe it could be it could be conscious, but that was very much unconscious in this case. Like, we just... We didn't we didn't... I I won't say I was thinking I don't want it to be true. Because once I saw the urine labs, I was like, okay.
It's true.
This is it. Yeah.
So so I knew, you know, before they got there. And then, you know, they did finger stick and the machine read high, and the cutoff on the machine is, 700, 600, something like that.
Mhmm.
Over a Thousand at Children's11:16
And so the pediatrician said, we're calling the ambulance, taking her to Children's. So we live in the DC Metro Area. So I went to Children's Hospital, and I believe her her blood sugar was over a thousand. So the first time they could actually get a reading on it.
Mhmm.
So she was... The doctor said, you know, twenty four hours from DKA. So we, you know, we kinda caught it caught it just in time.
Well, they say it either... You know, when when we brought Arden in, they were just giving us credit for her not being in a coma because she was two. They were like they were like, good job.
This
is really good. You don't know. This usually goes much worse than this. So we were like, oh, like, you know, this doesn't feel like a good job scenario, but thank you.
Yeah.
Yeah. Well, good good job. Shock, wait a wait
a Yeah.
Yeah. Wait to get it done.
Cartwheels in the Hospital Room12:06
No. I mean, in in, like like, later, I think that evening... So she was admitted that morning. That evening, we're in the hospital room, and Anya's doing, like, sorry. Anya's doing cartwheels, my daughter.
You know? So she wasn't, like, feeling particularly sick also by this time.
It was all it was all about the the water intake and out... And and output at that point that was really what had you. Okay. Well
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. So back through your family line or your wife's, are we looking at any other autoimmune issues like celiac or thyroid or anything like that?
Type 1 on His Wife's Side12:41
Yeah. So in my my family line, absolutely nothing. Like, nothing. My wife's family line, she had an aunt who had type one. She was diagnosed at eight who has since passed away.
And I spoke to my mother-in-law recently, and apparently, there are other... There's some other type one more distant family members, but... So definitely on my wife's side.
Yeah.
And then and then my wife has a cousin who has celiac, which is also on on her mother's side. So so there's definitely some things on on that side.
Mhmm. Okay. Yeah. Well, I guess that wasn't in her Tinder profile. No.
No. She she she wasn't telling people. Isn't it funny that she have no way to know until it happens to you? You don't think, oh, well, of course, I have a distant aunt with type one, and I have this. And my child's obviously gonna...
It... You know? And, you know, the the first seven years of your daughter's life where you're like, she doesn't even get sick. You don't you don't think it's because her, you know, her immune system's turned up to, you know, a thousand. So it's really, it really is...
I mean, has it changed your outlook on how you handle things? Is it... You you said you got started a little later. So for context, how old are you now?
46.
Okay.
So she was born, so my wife and I are a week apart, and the kids are six years and a week apart, so that's kinda cute. But... So, yeah, we... So she was born when we were both 34, and then my second child when we were 40.
Okay.
So... Yeah. So that's... I mean, nowadays, lots of what they call geriatric pregnancies. Right?
But I think having a child at 40 is still on the older side.
Yeah. I would tell you less common... Less uncommon, but not... You know? Yes.
But that but that was my point. My point was is that, like, you know, you've been through life a little bit at that at that juncture. So has the diagnosis revealed anything to you about yourself, about the world, about life, or do you not even have time to think about that when all this kinda gets thrown at you like that?
No. That's a very good and deep question. I really like it. No. I I...
So I... My health care background, I definitely helped. Right? Because I worked, started in a rural clinic in South Africa where I grew up, and then worked in a a big hospital practice with a test to outpatient clinic. And then I've done...
Comfortable in a Hospital15:27
Worked in inpatient rehab settings. And so I'm very comfortable in the hospital setting. So, you know, the first time I see see my daughter after diagnosis, she... You know, she's in a hospital room. The hospital rooms don't intimidate me.
Like, my... I'm sure my wife will tell you she would rather never see a hospital room again. But to me, it's it's like something that's that's familiar to me. And we're very practical people, so we were basically... It was...
This is what it is, and we are... Like, what can we learn to make the best of this? So my wife went very hard on her research. She read some books. She...
I think she read the book by... The low carb book, doctor Bernstein maybe.
Mhmm.
And she read Think Like a Pancreas. And we we found... I don't remember how we found... My wife's research found the podcast or the or the Facebook group. Maybe first the Facebook group, then the podcast.
Okay.
Nuance, Hope and Permission16:35
So that, you know, that made a massive difference as people often tell you on the podcast, and it's not... You know, we're not buttering you up. It it is it is by far... The the amount of information that I... That we learned in the thirty six hours that she was in the hospital compared to what I learned in, you know, listening or looking at the Facebook group for for a few hours or listening to two or three podcasts.
There's just so much more so much more nuance, so much more hope, I would say. And hope... And and, like, and and permission because they give you very basic basic information. Like, you... This is your...
Gonna be your basal insulin. You're gonna give it at this rate. You're gonna give boluses for meals. If a blood sugar goes high, you're gonna wait for three hours before you correct. Mhmm.
Why Would I Do Less Than That17:29
Like, all of those all of those things. And we very quickly decided that we can do better than than what they offered us because, you know, listen to the the podcast and kids are, like, having a one c's in the fives. I'm like, oh, if that's possible with with this technology, then that's what we're gonna strive for. Why would I do less than that?
Yeah. Well, it... That's...
So we're... Yeah. We're just practical problem solving people.
Right. So you you problem... Problems here, this is sad, but let's keep going. We'll figure it out. Take good steps.
Learn maybe that what you're being told isn't everything, and then, you know, I guess, swallow the swallow the red pill and go find out what's really happening.
Yes. Yes. Basically.
Okay. Yes. Well, that's... I'm I'm very happy to know that it was there and that it it helped you at all. So I I appreciate it.
Absolutely. Yeah. And then we got really fortunate. We got really fortunate with having a very compliant child.
She she didn't argue a lot?
Not about diabetes.
I was gonna say. Yeah.
She she is... Yeah. She has been really good about doing what needs to be done, and I... And it's... No.
I can compare it with all of the other stories I've listened. I haven't listened to all the episodes, but I listened to a lot of the podcast.
Okay.
And I've read a lot of the posts, and people that say, you know, there are kids that stop, they just don't care and just let their sugar sit in the three hundreds. That is not my daughter, and and part of it is because we help her manage still. Mhmm. But, you know, she... Has she bought at a few part changes or a few Dexcom changes?
Sure. But overall, her compliance has been amazing.
Okay.
And we're really thankful for that. And also, I'm really proud of her that she has been able to handle it like that.
What... How does... Where does she get her understanding of the how and the why? Is it... Obviously, from you guys, but how much do you tell her about the why?
Why is this important? Why are we doing this?
No. We tell her, I mean, I guess, age appropriate amount, but we... We're pretty open kind of parents. I'm not gonna gonna show her a video of... Or a picture of someone with a amputation and be like, this could be you.
Right? But I... Because I work in health care, again, I have also worked with many patients who are, by chance, they're not in the hospital for or they're not my patient as a PT for diabetes reasons, or although they might be. They might have an amputation, and they have to learn to, you know, to walk before they before they can get a prosthesis or whatever. So...
But I I can say I have seen firsthand the side effects of not taking care of diabetes, and we want you to have a happy and healthy life. And there are ways to do it. And there are more than one way. Right? You don't have to be on this pump.
You can be on shots. You can... We can try a different pump. You can take a break from... You know, we I guess what I'll say is food is a big topic and a big issue for a lot of people.
Not Making Food an Issue20:55
So when we kind of... She eats like you let Arden eat. We're not very restrictive at all Mhmm. Because it... That...
And that's I think something my wife was very serious about because of, you know, statistically girls and eating disorders are are good friends, and and my wife says, like, we're not gonna make food an issue. And and that that takes a bit of that takes a bit of learning because some foods are hard to dose for, and then you, you know, pay the price afterwards when blood sugar don't wanna come down. And so... Yeah. That's...
You know, we we... We've we've tried to to say, you know, these are these are... This is the reality, but let's not make it harder than it has to be. Okay. And hard...
Very thoughtful.... Harder than it has to be is is like is like, still... Let's let's enjoy food. Let's let's put exercise in a positive light. You know, let's make a plan for if you're going to a party, how can we how can we make that work?
Holding Her Phone at the Party22:10
Can I come with you to the party and sit in the background and just take care of the? You know, just keep your phone with me and I'll do the bolus thing, like, and I then get involved. You don't have to pick up your phone. I'm I'm in charge of that. And and for now, you know, that works.
Mhmm. No. She's younger. She probably really... I mean, listen.
I think a lot of people would appreciate it. But but I think that's fantastic. It sounds like you guys are are are working in tandem. It sounds like you're doing a great job. It sounds like she's going with it.
Obviously... Look. I'll... I'm gonna tell you that whatever this is right now, it's gonna be a new thing more times than you can count the next ten years. So, you know, I would just say keep that attitude and and try not to fight too hard to stay in the part you're in now when she tries to move forward into the next part, which will happen over and over again.
But I feel like you'll be fine about that. Yeah.
So Yeah.
That's awesome. Who's the main caretaker of you and your wife, or is there not one?
So... No. No. So, we are, I would say, equal partners, but I am the main caretaker simply because you and I actually have more in common than than you know. I...
Quitting to Stay Home23:26
So let me let me give you a back... A little bit backstory. In August 2021, July 2021, I quit my full time job to become a stay at home dad. So I was working at a rehab hospital full time. We had my youngest daughter and my wife...
This is like COVID time, so my wife's a teacher. So my youngest was born October 2020, and then she had maternity leave, and then she went back to to work for, like, four months teaching, like, online. And my daughter was on her lap for those four months with her teaching. Mhmm. And then in the summer of twenty twenty one, they said, you're gonna go back to teaching in person.
And so we were like... So this is, like, heavy COVID times. Right? So so my so my oldest went to day care for four years and then went to school. And so we were like, well, do we do day care again or do we...
No. We've thrown the idea of me staying at home and starting my own thing. We've thrown it around a little bit, but not a ton. And and so it was, like, decision time. And so I said, okay.
I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna bite the bullet. I never thought as a younger white man from South Africa, a pretty patriarchal society, that I would be a stay at home dad. But fortunately, I am... You know, ended up being... Have more flexible mindset than than maybe I I could have had.
And so I said, yeah. Let... Let's... Well, let's do this. And so I started taking care of my youngest.
So for that first year, she was home all the time with me. But... So this is... So so I quit my job, went to visit my family in August in South Africa, came back. First grade started.
My daughter goes from her local school to getting into a Spanish immersion program. So she goes to a local school for a week, goes to... Then gets into the Spanish immersion program, now goes to that school where she has to get on a bus. We have a nine month old baby at home. Within the first week, there's COVID in the classroom.
They get quarantined. And then, like, two weeks later, she gets diagnosed with diabetes. So that's how it started. That that was... I mean, it...
The fact that I was... Then I stayed on that was obviously so fortuitous, like like, to an insane level because we just could not have done that.
Did People Talk26:01
Can can I ask you in your in your community or or even your family, was it seen as odd? Do you see p... Did people talk behind your back? Or because I I mean, I did it a long time ago now. I...
02/2000 is when I left my job.
And
Yes. I... Openly, people would question what was happening. And behind my back, the the muttering was that I was taking advantage of my wife.
Mhmm.
Did you get any of that?
I... Definitely not openly. I could I could guess that behind behind my back, some of that might have happened. I think my family is pretty pretty open minded. Yeah.
I don't I don't really know. And I... Maybe even even if I did, I don't know that it would have bothered me. I... It was it was kind of a...
It was quite a practical decision.
Yeah. Oh, I wasn't bothered. I wasn't bothered by a jock. I I wanna be clear about that. Yeah.
Yeah. But Yeah. Yeah. It was... I I can recall, like, years into it when my father-in-law, like, proclaimed out loud to the group that I was very good at taking care of the baby.
And and maybe even by then, it was Arden and Cole. Yeah. But it was... I I remember it happening at some event, and I thought, oh, this is this is a a purposeful signal. He's telling everybody it's okay.
Scott's doing it. And I I thought, oh, that's hilarious that he thinks he's in charge of all this, but okay. Like, you don't let it be. Yep. Then twenty years later, you know, as he's at the end of his life and and and they're older, he comes to me and and he says...
He's like, look. He's like, you know, in the beginning, I just... I thought... And I was like, I know what you thought. Don't worry.
I was... You don't have to tell me. And, and he... And and then he said, but I gotta tell you, he goes, just a fantastic job. He's like, the kids are just they're fantastic.
And I was like, I know, man. I said, you should have tried talking to me back then instead of just assuming I was gonna, like, have a have a a Pabst blue ribbon in my hand in
the middle of the afternoon, not know where
the kids were. You know what I mean? So Yeah. It's it's... But it's it's impactful because people look, they talk.
Although I'll tell you one of the greatest things about... I found around that time... The world's different now a little bit, but I spent a lot of my daytime time around women because because they were moms and we were in, like, similar situations. I really think that helped me, you know, growing up, actually. So anyway...
Yeah.
No. It it... I I think I think the fact that it was COVID times, I think the... That was a bit of a buffer. Like, people like, oh, we we get...
Maybe people said you... We get why you're doing this because the the options are... You know, people are jealous, I think, of have... Of other people having options.
Oh, yeah.
But, like, if you have... Right? You you... In in in where we live, like, most families, both parents work, and most of my my kids' friends go to aftercare because school gets out, you know, before they're done with work. And that just doesn't almost ever have to happen in our house.
Well, listen...
And so people are jealous of that.
Yeah. Yeah. Old men... The the number of men who would pull me aside and go, hey. How'd you pull this off?
Yeah. No. I think people are honest with themselves. Right? That that is really...
They would... Some some men would would much rather do that than some desk job they're stuck in.
I... It's been very rewarding. And, and so much so that I I still feel badly sometimes that my wife didn't get to do it. It's, there... There's something really great about it.
Although, I did joke with her last night. We're talking about... I mean, we're not ready to retire. We're retiring, you know, in a decade or more. But, you know, you start you start trying to plan and talk about things a little bit.
And last night, I said, I think, you know, this is the age you could probably retire at. This is the age I could probably retire at.
And I
think I think I said it backwards. I meant that I was the older age and she was the younger age. She goes, why why do you get to retire before me? And I and I and I thought that's not what I said. Like, you know what I mean?
You know, every... By the way, no one wants Alexa listening. But if someone would come up with an app called, hey. Who was right? And it just replayed the last thirty seconds back.
I think it would be a big seller. But, but, you know, you... How many times you and your wife stand together and you're like, I... You just said this. She goes, no.
I didn't. And and just... You want somebody to be able to tell you for sure because she always thinks I'm wrong, and I always think she's wrong. And that can't possibly be true. So No.
Yeah. Yeah. So, so I'm standing there, and and before I knew, you know, what she was saying, I just pivoted to joking. And I said, well, you know, like, with being a stay at home dad, I just thought I'd be like a stay at home retired person first and figure the whole thing out before you jumped into it. And she looked at me like, are you serious?
Because I'm not doing... I was like... I said, no. I think I must have misspoke. But it's No.
It's been a great experience. It really has.
Yeah. Yeah. No. My my wife is definitely jealous of it. My wife really appreciates the aspect of of teaching, you know, summer breaks.
She's not the type that takes... You know, gets the summer off and puts her kids in summer camp. She wants to spend the whole summer Yeah. With with our kids. Like, that is her attitude.
So she there... There's definitely, you know, feelings of... Like, if if you're... This is... Being being a stand on dad is not some kind of burden.
Okay? This is like a real privilege. Yeah. And make sure you you take... You know, you make you make the best use of it.
A 100%. Well well, I wanna learn about... So if that's the situation and that's the setup, You are... I mean, it sounds like your wife found the podcast or the or the Facebook and the podcast first. But do you do you need it for community?
Do you need it for direction? How do you use it as a tool?
Taking Notes on Pizza32:37
I I like to hear people's stories. I listen to the podcast for the stories. Like, there's not... No. I I shouldn't say that.
They they are... Few months ago, I think we had pizza or something and I... That that went poorly again so many times before. And I'm like, come on. I I have to figure out how to bolus for pizza.
This is dumb. Really frustrated. And so I went on and looked for the Bolus 4... I don't know if it is specifically pizza, but maybe it was pizza. I went to a Bolus 4 episode.
And it was... It's with Jenny. Right? Yes. That you do those.
And I, yeah, I listened to it and there was just one or two snippets in there. And I was like, okay. Because I I think, you know, the longer you stay in it, you just you just swag everything. Mhmm. I...
To me, like, I don't I don't really count carbs and... But it was a really good reminder, like, this is what this thing will do. This this this carb will hit when and the protein will hit here and the fat. And I... In the back of my head, knew it, but it was it was a really kinda clear picture.
And so... And and so... And the time after that pizza went much better. And I made some notes about what I did because not particularly good at that. Like, oh, yeah.
I remember what I did the last time, and then I totally don't do what I did the last time. So I actually took some notes that I can go back to because that's a smart thing to do. Right?
I don't know. I'm a boy too. I I wouldn't even know how to quantify that. I just... I'm just following my nose.
So I... You know what I mean? But but that's great. So... But you like to hear the people's stories.
What do you think that does for you?
Yes. Sorry. I
You cut out?
I got... Hi. Sorry. Can I can I? I need to text my daughter quickly.
Can I do that?
Do what you do. I'll pause here. Go ahead.
Alright. Thank you.
Yep. Oh, actually, now I gotta tell you to hold on. Hold on one second. Okay?
Okay.
A Call From the Vet34:53
I'm gonna I'm gonna keep recording, though. Hey, doctor. It's Scott Benner. Weird thing. I make a podcast.
You don't know that. I'm recording right now. But if you don't mind, I really don't wanna miss this call. So, I'm calling about Basil. He's just got discharged from his eyes, and he suddenly doesn't seem to be able to hold his urine the way he wants to.
So we've been going through this process as he gets older. I I don't wanna tell you what to do, but, like, it feels like he needs an antibiotic, but I'm not sure.
Okay. I mean, with his history, I would say, really, the best thing is for him to come in.
That'd be great. Could you see him today?
Yeah. We should be able to. Let me... If you're okay with him, I'm just gonna have, Melinda upfront pick up.
That'd be great.
We should be able to see you.
Yeah. Do appreciate it. Thank you.
Yeah. Of course. Give me a second. Yep.
Sorry.
We appreciate your patience while
we help another pet parent.
Okay.
Please note for the month of August...
I'll take that off the speaker for a second. I gotta make this appointment. My older dog is just, he's struggling this week, And Okay. We've been trying to get ahold of the, the vet, and they're like, we're on vacation. I'm like, how...
You know how to go on vacation?
No. Of course not. What are you talking about?
Vacation. Anyway, I took it the speaker because in in any second now, they're gonna say the address of the place, and then you guys are gonna know where I live. So, you know, just hold on one second.
Okay.
Jack, do do a good job of remembering where we are. Okay? Because this might be the, this might be the end of my brain power to be able to remember what we were talking about and take it. And, also, where the hell is Melinda? Melinda, come on.
Omnipod Melinda? Omnipod five.
Omnipod five. Okay. I'll hold that thought. Yeah. I'm sorry.
I'm still on hold. No.
You're all good.
She's telling me about...
What's going on and offer treatments that bring relief. For ear infections, we even have an office options that last. No at home meds needed. Ask us a... Hi there.
So doctor Princeton said that we need to have people come in today.
Yeah. The only
appointment I
have is
at 03:50. Would you be able to
make that?
03:50. I'll be there.
Alright. We'll see you then.
Thanks so much, Wanda. Alright. You're welcome. Bye bye. Bye bye.
Yeah. I'm gonna tell you. Sometimes I'm thrilled. Hold on. Did she say 350?
Like, I'm asking you. Let me write that down.
350. 350. That's what I
heard. Okay. Vets and dentists are going the same way in America. I don't know about... You're in South Africa.
Right? I don't know about there.
But No. No. No. I'm here. I'm here.
Oh, you're here now? Oh, okay. You're from South Africa. Okay.
Yeah. I'm from South Africa. Yes.
So vets and dentists all have different, like... I don't know. They're... I don't wanna say, but I... I've never received so many sales emails from a doctor before, but vets are just like...
They bombard you with, like, we're having a sale on this. We have that. I'm like, it's a... It's health care. Like, what do you...
I I... What? And and, and my dentist all the time. We gotta do this. We should run a test.
Let's run as a a... Let's see what what? Maybe there's some bacteria back there. I'll I'll send out a $50 test to find out. I'm like, I've been alive for fifty five years.
No one's changed... Ever tested the bacteria around. I'm like, what are you talking about? You need a tray. We have to fit it to your mouth.
Put this gel in it. Okay. I get the tray. I got the thing. You know, next time I go back, he says, oh, the tray is really working.
I think to myself, I haven't used that tray one time. Son of a bitch.
Oh, dear.
Yeah. Yeah. The other... The the... And now I do it...
Like, now I feel like I'm being cheated on. So, like, I do the things I would do if I was dating and wasn't sure if the girl was being faithful. So, my last three months... Like, also, they wanted to clean my teeth every three months. I'm like, I I don't know why you think they're that dirty.
And
Yeah.
So the last three months, I stopped using the rubber picks. Right? Because they're so about... Use the rubber pick. You...
I stopped. And he looks at my teeth and says, hey. You're doing a great job with those rubber picks. And I thought, you mother... Unbelievable.
Anyway...
No. No. I know that. I know that. I know the guy.
I I will say as as someone who works in health care, the the the need to pivot to aspects of health care that keeps paying the bills, there's definitely a pressure there.
Oh, sure.
And so... Right. So... And I'm not I'm not justifying anything. I'm just in in...
Even in physical therapy and and where I work for myself now, just have a single person practice, you know, and I'm part of groups where people is all about how do we... If reimbursement is going down, where where else do we find money? What else what else can we sell? What other skills do we have? What is, like, content and products and and things?
And I think it's the same it's the same there.
Too Much Content39:55
Yeah. Well, I'm gonna just say this, to all of you as a person who's been in this, in this space for... And I don't mean diabetes. I mean in, like, creation content, that kind of stuff. I've been doing
this for
a really long time. You're all flooding the world with this stuff, and it's gonna backfire. So Mhmm. Everyone is gonna look up one day and go, there's too much in front of me, and they're gonna zone out. And maybe it'll be good for the world because they're gonna go back outside, but you guys are just like it...
It's not working. Like, you're you're overwhelming people, and now instead of consuming a few things or picking and choosing, they're either consuming eight... Literally, at this point, the average watch time Instagram Reel is less than six seconds. So Yeah. You're forcing people to not do anything, and it will backfire.
So we're on our way. You're you're you're saturating a market that can't be saturated. People's attention is not limitless.
So... Yeah. No. Absolutely. I I I feel I feel that personally.
I, there are days where I I I turn it... The radio off in the car, and I just... I drive in silence, and I, you know, I I gotta just switch off. There's there's too much coming in.
I I find it's... I I don't
want it.
I find it's ruining music for me. I used... I I I used to think music as a relaxing thing, and now it feels like noise when I can't have noise. And that's No. A 100%.
I've...
Just these last few weeks, I've had that, and I hate that because I love music.
Terrible. It's really... It's a it's a... Anyway, you're all ruining the world. It's...
You don't have a sass.
Yeah.
You don't have a a a surefire idea to make $10,000 extra a month. Just let it go. Okay? Go get a job. Yeah.
Jesus. God. I am a podcaster. You all can't do this. Okay?
Jesus. I beat you to it. I'm sorry. Oh, Jesus. You did.
You did. Yeah. It's not my fault. Like, you can't be mad at me, Jacques. I I didn't know.
I wasn't... Also wasn't doing it for a business. I was just doing it because I thought it would be helpful way to, like, spread my my blog more. And Yeah. Yeah.
I was... Look. There's another thing coming. Go find out. Instead of trying to make...
The Juicebox Hub42:05
Instead of trying to be a YouTuber, try to figure out what you can do with AI or something that you couldn't do before because your little brain couldn't hold it together. Jacques, the other day, before we get back to Omnipod five, which I'm so impressed with myself for remembering, let me let me tell you that, I was I was... I don't know what I was doing. I was making breakfast and and listening to a video about, some new update to Claude. And the the person who was explaining the update just said something that clicked in my head, and I thought, oh, you know what I could do with that?
And then I, like, had a fully formed idea. And thirty six hours later, you can now go to juiceboxpodcast.com/hub. Yeah. And when you get there, you will find, the... Right now, it's a fork that can send you to two different places on the on the on the website.
I fully imagine it will send you to many more places soon enough. But there's something called pro tip practice, which is a twenty one day kinda guided self reflection that only takes a few minutes a day. And k. That's been there for a little bit, but I'm making it public now, after over a 100 listeners have demoed it behind the scenes. So I'm not just throwing it out there for you.
And now I I put something else out, which I'm gonna say here because I want people to go try it and and, you know, please get back to me if it didn't work or there was something about it that was, like, glitchy. But, basically, you... It's the pro tip series, like, split up into labs, like, into 27 different... Because that's how many episodes of the pro tip series are. So you open up the first one, and right there, it...
You'll be presented with 12 different sort of, like, learning opportunities inside of that episode. And you just drop the drop the first one down. It it says, you know, there's a little a little blurb. It's not a it's not a real thick paragraph. I know you're gonna have to read.
And and then a quote from... It happens to be from Jenny from this drop down for number one. In two seconds, you can click on a button, and right there in your browser, listen to the four minute clip where Jenny says what she says So you can kind of, like, get get the idea together, get an example of it, move on to the next thing, do all that. At the end, it'll give you a little quiz. It'll keep track of the entire thing for you as you go through every episode.
And then... And if if you pass at the end, you get, like, a little digital certificate and everything like that. And it's a way to help people go through the pro tip series who think differently or learn differently.
Yeah. No. That's awesome.
It's a 100% awesome. Guess what? It's also free. I wouldn't possibly I'd never think to charge you for it or turn it into, like, a... You know, for just $5, you can get into the hub or...
I'm... None of that. I don't I don't care about any of that. That's all... That's been possible for years, and I've been thinking about it for years.
But I couldn't I couldn't make it happen as I'm one person. And I don't know if you've been listening to the podcast or not. I... I'm not that technically adept. And finally, anyway, yesterday, when, you know, Anthropic was like, well, here's what we have now.
I thought, oh, I can finally use it to do that. And thirty six hours later, it's online.
So Yeah. That's... That is incredible.
Well... But, also, keep in mind when someone, will now approach you with stuff like this in the next six months and say, hey. It's just $20. Or for for a thousand dollars, you can join our three month course, or you're gonna start getting you're gonna start getting hit with that a lot. Yeah.
Yeah. So... I know. I... The the problem for those people are that in the in the PT private practice space, the the guy that I found who's...
He's not he's not a coach. He's not a business coach. He just has had his own practices, and he started a Facebook group for people that are interested in in doing this... Doing private practice and maybe combining private pay therapy with some with some insurance based pay or Medicaid pay, and he does he does all of this similar stuff also for free. Yeah.
And so I've been completely spoiled by a guy who's who's willing to do that same as you. And and, you know, he's he's... And he's an entrepreneur, so he just comes up with other ways to to make his money. He's like, I'm not gonna charge people for this. This is like a community.
Yeah.
And I'm thankful that, you know, that this community can, through advertising, you know, can pay you to do it so that we don't have to pay.
I appreciate that. Yeah. I just said to somebody online the other day, I said, listen. I'm an American. I made a thing.
I created value, and I sell ads on it like a good American. Yeah. That's exactly
it. That's exactly right.
Let somebody with money pay for it. Okay?
Yeah. You could. Yeah. Exactly.
It shouldn't be you guys. Like, that's... I... Listen. I'll tell you that fifteen more years ago, my wife said to me, hey.
My company is offering business coaching. I'm gonna do it. And I was like, what? I... First of I'm looking at my wife like she's she's really, like, adept and smart and good.
And I'm like, well, you don't need business coaching. She said, well, they're offering it. And I was like, okay. So I happened to be around a couple of times for these calls, and I'm listening and listening in the background. And she gets off she gets off, and I said, you should be coaching him.
I was like, I don't... Wait. What is going on right now? You know? And Yeah.
She goes, yeah. I'm not getting a lot out of us. You're not getting a lot out of it because he doesn't know anything. And and I was like I was like, I don't understand. Like...
So I went back over it with her again. This guy sold this... His business coaching to a big corporation. He's, like, on a three year contract where you could sign up, you know, and he would jump on with you. So he didn't work for the company.
He was, like, an outside contractor. And when my wife told me what they paid him to be available for three years, I almost swallowed my tongue. I was I was like, how did he trick you into that? Like, trick them into that. That's really...
I was like, ugh. But, anyway, I I take your point. Like, people have to make money. And Yeah. The world the world is, you know, pivoting, and people are trying hard to keep up.
And it's not lost on me that everybody would try stuff like this. I get it. Like, I really do. But you gotta stop and look at all the people in your life and ask yourself, how many of the people I know would I pay to tell me what they know? I bet you the number's small.
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. So... I... Yes.
Yes. I know a lot of nice... I lot... I know a lot of nice people. I I ain't asking them for advice.
So, again, that's what I do, Jacques. I'm already... I've already taken that job. It's done. The...
You you don't need you don't need 50 of us. I'm good.
Yeah. We we do.
Back to Omnipod 549:03
Sorry. Omnipod five, my thought was, twenty seven years ago, I... My thought was, is her insulin... Are her insulin needs going up because of the adrenaline or excitement of a new school year? And then the pod maybe started giving her a little more.
Now she's calmed down, and the pod might still be on that that old bend from the
first week. Yeah. I mean, like, yesterday morning, she didn't have the same breakfast, but I I have, like, a rotation of maybe four breakfasts for her. And yesterday, she she needed more, like, quite a lot more than she normally needs. And then this morning for...
She... This morning, she had a yogurt parfait, which normally spikes her because of the granola and somehow
it didn't. It just didn't.
So, you know you know, all the all the the 101 factors that you have to consider. I I definitely... Like, if she runs above... If she eats... I don't Her sugar is above one fifty and she eats, like, the the difference between one fifty and one ten, The response after with with everything timing and amount of insulin the same is is is very significant for her.
I I really have to have to be careful with that.
Yeah. So her resistance changes significantly in that in
Absolutely. That Yeah. Yeah. And then we're and then we're fighting at the top. She...
Kirsty, a Biosimilar50:25
They're also... Kaiser switched from Humalog to to... Is it called Kirsty? I think it's the insulin. It's a it's a fast acting, but it...
I think it's a little slower than Humalog. But she also seems to overall need it a little bit less. So it... Even if it's a bit slower, it works a bit better for her. What's it called?
What's it called? Think. Oh, I'm
looking at it. French.
No. I got it. Is it
Kristy or Kirsty? Think it's Kirsty.
K I r s t y. Yep. Yep.
That's it.
I have to be honest with you. I've never heard that one. It's a... Oh, it's a biosimilar. Rapid acting insulin first interchangeable biosimilar approved for FDA as substitute for NovoLog.
I had no idea. You're gonna see a lot of biosimilars in the next couple of years. I don't know if you'll all recognize it, but they're coming fast and furiously in diabetes and in a of other spaces. Yeah. Yeah.
Today's show was sponsored by Tandem Diabetes Care, the Eversense three sixty five, and Touched by Type one, who you can learn more about on Facebook, Instagram, and at touchedbytype1.org. Head now to tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox and check out today's sponsor, Tandem Diabetes Care. I think you're gonna find exactly what you're looking for at that link, including a way to sign up and get started with a tandem mobi system. I'd like to thank the Eversense three sixty five for sponsoring this episode of the Juice Box podcast. And remind you, if you want the only sensor that gets inserted once a year and not every fourteen days, you want the Eversense CGM.
Eversensecgm.com/juicebox. One year, one CGM. 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 deliver 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 JuiceBox podcast. The bold beginning series and all of the collections in the JuiceBox podcast are available in your audio app and at juiceboxpodcast.com up in the menu. Thank you so much for listening. If you're not already subscribed or following the podcast in your favorite audio app like Spotify or Apple Podcasts, please do that now.
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