#489 Former Psychopath

June 7, 2021Scott Benner

Beth is the mother of a child living with type 1 diabetes and celiac.

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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.

Scott Benner 0:10
Hello friends and welcome to Episode 489 of the Juicebox Podcast. I want to start today by admitting I am not perfect. This is one of these episodes that got lost in my filing system. I am now beginning to think that filing system is not great. Anyway, this is Beth Beth lives in Wales in the UK. She has two sons, one of whom has type one diabetes, and celiac. Beth is on the show today to talk about the diagnosis, looping and some mental health issues that she suffered with at the beginning of her son's diagnosis. This is a fantastic episode, and they just got it got misplaced in my files, I apologize. Nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, please always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. And I'm going to finish this episode up and figure out a better way to do the things that I do here. Once again directly to you, Beth. I'm very sorry for the time that this took. If you guys can imagine she booked this in mid 2019. We recorded it in mid 2020. So I'm sorry. Enjoy the show. This show is sponsored today by the glucagon that my daughter carries. g vo hypo Penn. Find out more at G Vogue glucagon.com forward slash Juicebox. Podcast is also sponsored by the Dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor. You can get started right now at dexcom@dexcom.com. forward slash juice box.

Beth 1:52
I'm Beth. I'm 39. I live in Wales in the UK. And my son Finn is 11. And he was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes when he was two.

Scott Benner 2:02
Wow. So you've been at this for quite some time already? Yes. Is it feeling normal at this point? Or no?

Beth 2:11
Yeah, I'm obviously jumping ahead a little bit. We've been looping since August of last year. And that's made a huge difference to our well being and the way we live really. So yeah, I think after all this time is finally becoming manageable, then

Scott Benner 2:28
I will definitely get to that because I want to hear about the entire process. But yeah, I'm a little more interested in the moment. You're in Wales. Yeah. I want to know a little bit about what it's like to be diagnosed there. So can you take me back to when that happened? And sort of how it went?

Beth 2:44
Yeah. So Finn was down, he was coming up to three. So this was the January he was due to turn three in the April? And have he just sort of come out of diapers, as you would call them. So he was potty training. But I noticed that he was going to the bathroom a lot, drinking a lot. But then again, you know, you kind of sometimes think Well, yeah, but he's going to the bathroom or not because he's drinking a lot and vice versa. His clothes were a little bit looser on him. But again, he wasn't wearing the diapers anymore. And so, you know, everything has sort of had a reason for it. But it's sort of over a period of a week really, before he was diagnosed, things started to get more noticeable. And one night, the electricity blew in our kitchen. And so I took my two cents out to McDonald's for evening meal when my husband called the electrician, and it's literally a 10 minute drive. So I took him to the bathroom before we left. And then as soon as we got there, which was 10 minutes later, he was saying he needed to go again. So I took him again, he barely finished his food before he needed to go again. And then we needed to go to supermarkets, which is like literally just across the way from McDonald's. And as soon as we got in there, he started saying he needed the bathroom again. So we found a bathroom there. And then on the drive for me was sort of panicked, really, really panicking that he needed to go again. And every time I was taking him he was actually passing quite a lot of urine. So it wasn't the case. He was just worrying. He genuinely didn't need to go. And then the fall I think it was either that night or the following night. He woke up in the middle of the night and called me for a drink. And I had quite a large glass of water on my bedside table and he would normally drink water. And he would drink milk or sugar free squash and he just done this huge glass of water and then just handed it to me and said more. And it was sort of that at that point. Then I think I started thinking that he's got diabetes because my friend in work had type one. So I was my childhood friend. We happen to work together as well. I've known her all my life so I knew the symptoms. And I think I would that night that was the following day. My husband had the day off work and I was Didn't work and was just to go round and round around in my head. And I rang my husband at lunchtime and said, I think Finn's got a type one. And, and he was like, Don't be so ridiculous. He's been wrestling me all day, we've been playing football, he's fine. There's nothing wrong with him. And I thought, I don't know where there was a mother's intuition or anything. But anyway, I decided I had some glucose testing strips at home urine testing strips, because my other son had had a kidney issue prayer. So I had some of these strips left. And so I decided when he went to the bathroom, when I got home from work, I was just going to dip the urine. And I did the urine, and it just went to the dark as level of glucose possible. So we I rang the what we've got is like an out of our syllabus, or when it's after sort of between nine and five, you wring the out of hours and get in touch with them. So I told him that I dipped his urine, and it was really high indicator for glucose. And they were quite sort of dismissive. If I'm honest, saying, you know, are they indeed Do you sure you've deployed properly and even though I told them all the symptoms that he had, they seemed very skeptical of the fact that he was type one, but I kind of knew at this point. So they said, you know, you can take them to the local hospital, but they may not have the care today that you need, or you can bring him to the main hospital, which is only about 20 minutes away. So I decided to take him to the main hospital, I packed a bag, I knew I wasn't coming home. And then when we got there, they called us in and I'll never forget, he was fast asleep. And he had this parka cord, this big theory called dunks it was freezing cold. And they put like a lay him on the bed. And she was still quite dismissive of me. And then she sort of pricked his finger and her face just dropped. And I said, What's the matter? And she said, it won't give me a read any sugar is too high. And I was dead, then it was basically you get to the ward straightaway. When when I did the urine, there was no sign of ketones, which is a good thing. But

Scott Benner 7:03
when we got real quick, I know you were like in a frenzy when this is happening. But when she did the blood sugar, and it didn't work, did you have this feeling like you want to say Are you sure you did it? Right? Because

Beth 7:13
Yeah, it was like you didn't want to be sort of smug about it because I didn't want to be raped. But I was, I guess I do know to defer your instinct. The wrong way to dip a stick into urine, by the way, on my other side, and I explain this because my other son had had post streptococcal glomerulonephritis, about six months prior. So I had to dip his urine every time he went to the bathroom for months and record the inputs and outputs in the readings. It wasn't as if I'd never done it before. I wonder if maybe you had done it wrong. All those other times? Yeah, maybe? Yeah. So anyway, um, at the time, my husband was just in denial. He was I think, I at that point, I was wrong. And my husband was just like, no, this is wrong, you know. And he said, you know, we went for a walk it and I bought him some sweets. Could it be? Could it be that? And she just looked at him and said, No, you know, this should this should high levels of sugar. He's got type one. Our boys great. I know. He always looks at the positives, which is very grateful for in the following weeks. But yeah, we got to the ward. It was it was horrendous the next few hours, because they were determined to try and get a light into him in case he had DK in case he was in DK. And I kept saying, you know, there was no Keaton's on the orange ship. He's absolutely exhausted. He was screaming, crying. He's been through enough, can you just please wait for the Bloods to come back? And if he needs a line, he needs a line. So anyway, the nurse did get a line in eventually, and then He thrashed, and it pulled out and there was just blood everywhere. And, and she laughed in a nervous way. Yeah. But at that point in time, I could have killed her. And I just said, that is enough. You're not you know, I know it was nervous because she was obviously getting all worked up as well. But I said, wait until the Bloods come back, you're not put you're not putting him through that again. So they found this a bed and he had his first insulin injection. And then the Bloods came back, and he had no ketones. We didn't need to lie, which again, I was quite smug about it. Because, you know, I was like, I don't over these things. And so yeah, we were on mixed insulin injections then that back in 2012, he was at the Nova mc 30. So it was like 30% long acting 70% fast acting, or vice versa. I can't even remember now. Yeah. And he just had sort of the one insulin injection with breakfast and another one with tea, even in meal. But it was just, if I were if I was to go back to that time, I think I've gotten involved with quite a lot of parent groups and advice groups and among sort of patient reference groups with the local health authority now and I know speaking to nurses that are training to be diabetic nurses, or just General news is, and that is one of the things I've said his bedside manner is so important because that I know, when when we finally met the DSN, it was sort of, you know, give me an orange and practice inject in the orange. And, of course, it's not the same injecting and oranges injecting your two year old child. But it was, I know, you've got to get used to doing it. But it was just the kind of way it was just we'll just practice on that. And another thing that was said at the time was, I was desperate at this point, and just saying, you know, do you think there's going to be a cure for this? And, and I'll never forget, she actually said to me, yet I think there will be but I hope it's not during my career, because I love my job. No. Well, that's lovely. Yeah, and I love that has always stuck with me, because I and I remember speaking to a lot of student nurses, a couple of months back, and I said, this is something that was said to me, and they faces were full of horror. And I said, I know. But at the time, you just think, Okay, there we are, then. And it was just kind of washed over. But I think there's so much training needed, especially we've got such a shortage of nurses here with the NHS, which specialized in diabetes, things are improving slightly now. And I'm involved with a lot of the groups that are sort of taking place, but I think there's a huge need for a lot of, and I don't mean to be rude on this. But we've got a lot of older nurses who just cannot keep up with the technology. And I think that's a massive issue with the moment because technology is moving so fast. And they and a lot of them just can't keep up with it. Yeah. So yeah, that was how it started. I was I was, once I was in hospital, I was fine. I was quite control because it was next to me. You know, they were sort of taking care of him. And they knew what to do when they were given him the injections. And then it was sort of when I go home then that I kind of went downhill rapidly. And well,

Scott Benner 12:00
hold on. Because you know what, you're sorry. No, no, you're okay.

Unknown Speaker 12:03
Take a breath. You're

Scott Benner 12:04
doing great. By the way, either. That was a really amazing diagnosis story, or your accent just made it fantastic. I can't tell Oh, I hate my accent. No, no. You get used so many different colloquialisms that I loved. I just I was just giggling over here. So

Beth 12:20
I'm trying to use American words. You know what I'm talking about? Oh, don't worry. I

Scott Benner 12:23
know what you're talking about. And if no one else knows, that's their problem. I'm having a good time. No, see, you're fine, honestly. But you're just you know, a lot happened. And I know sometimes you can look up at that hour and think, am I gonna get to everything? Yeah, but but you will Don't worry. So you're back then. What are you in your late 20s or just turned 30? I was 31. Okay. And you had you had both of your children at that point?

Beth 12:50
Yeah, my oldest son, Keon was six, and Finn was coming up to three.

Scott Benner 12:55
Okay. So this all happens. And I want to just dig into the management just for a split second longer. They're giving you that was what was that? Was that what they called cloudy back then? Or that the insulin? Yeah, that's right. Yeah. So you're shooting like once a day for food, or your expectations for outcomes at that point, just completely different than they are in present day.

Beth 13:20
And yeah, I was obsessed. I'm an accountant by my profession. So I'm upset. You know, I and I'm a huge control freak. So this was the worst thing ever. And because no matter what I did, no matter what I tried, which looking back now, with knowing how useless that insulin is, it's no surprise, but it was so hard because he would be high. And I couldn't do anything, because he literally just had these two daughters one in the morning, one in the evening, and I'd be putting him to bed at night. And he'd be like, 17 or 18, which, sorry, that's in millimoles. Now, I'm just trying to think Well, that would be in your reading bird that is extremely high. And I couldn't do anything, because that was he had his doors. And then through the night, he would always come back into range by the morning, but it used to really, really stress me out how long he was actually high, and how long he was taken to come down from that height and what the damage he was doing. And that was something else that I was obsessed with at the time. Yeah, which didn't help.

Scott Benner 14:25
It gets to you were really imagining, like the internal things that were happening.

Beth 14:30
Yeah, yeah. And I was constantly googling the worst case scenarios and the and the the life expectancy of somebody with diabetes as opposed to somebody without and I drove myself insane for a number of weeks to be honest.

Scott Benner 14:44
Do you think I haven't but he doesn't do that though.

Beth 14:47
I think I was just surprised because I'm just so I'm quite a strong person. And I'm quite independent. And I, you know, I'm not one of these people who if I go to a hospital appointment, my husband say what do you want me to come? I'm like, No, you know, I'm fine. I couldn't leave the house for weeks, I couldn't go to work, I couldn't do anything. And I just lost myself completely Well, for a number of weeks until I sort of somehow somehow pulled myself out of it. You know, I was on medication for a little while. And I joined a support group for parents of children with type one, which massively helped. And I think one day, I just thought, you know, you You've just got to deal with this. It's not going away.

Scott Benner 15:29
What were the real implications in your life? So you are, you're obsessively looking into the worst case scenario of having type one diabetes? Yeah, you're you're you're filling yourself with, you know, internet stuff, which of course, the internet is really only good for like four things and one of them to tell you the worst things in the world. Yeah, the other ones porn, by the way, there's not a whole lot the internet. Email. Yeah, that's pretty much it. And so and so you're doing that? And, and at the same time, you're having those thoughts about and I had them too about like, what did these high blood sugars doing to arteries, veins, you know, her body, how she's thinking, it becomes overwhelming. Did you ever go back to your childhood friend and talk to her, I'm interested.

Beth 16:21
This is a standard joke, because my childhood friend rang me every single day. And I literally never answered the phone. I couldn't even speak to her, the only people I could speak to was my husband and my mother. And I just wanted my mother to take me home and look after me. But it's a standing joke with my friends with my best friend now, because she's like, every day you just completely ignored my phone calls until I said, as I as I got a little bit better, I suppose I finally did start sort of speaking to her. And we did go to she said, Look, I'm picking you up, we're just gonna go for a coffee. And the thought of leaving him then was was another massive hurdle. But it was literally a mile up the road. And my husband was saying, you know, you need to go and speak to somebody else you need to get out. And so we went to this coffee shop. And I kept saying to her, you know, he's gonna die 10 years earlier, then Bella, because, sorry, to go back, her daughter was born three weeks before Finn. And so we spent our whole maternity leave together, we did everything together. And they were we always used to say, oh, you're going to get married, you know, and all this nonsense, but I used to say to her, you know, he's going to he's going to die before Bella. Now he's going to die like 10 years before Bella. And she, she just looked at me, and this is something else that sticks in my mind. And she said, Bella could get run over by a bus tomorrow, you don't know that. That's a ridiculous thing to think. And, and it made so much sense when she said it. And I and I just thought, yeah, you're right, you know, I'm googling all this, all this stuff on the internet is based on people who've had diabetes for 80 years, which, let's be honest, is nothing like all the treatments are like now. And I think it was those type of things and which slowly made me sort of come to my senses a little bit and, and made me realize that, you know, I was focusing on all the negatives, and I just really needed to focus on the positives. And that's kind of what I've tried to do since that moment. Really,

Scott Benner 18:18
I have to tell you, Bella, and Finn would be a great title for a Disney Channel show for like, 20

Beth 18:24
years old, and every time we say they're gonna get bothered, they literally want to vomit.

Scott Benner 18:29
It's not gonna happen. Which got annoying, they're not gonna help you keep your friendship together. So I am I want to know in that time period, like that time period of darkness for you, how long was it? Did it last? I was off work for six weeks. How far down the like the rabbit hole. Did you fall like Were you worried about yourself? Did you think you couldn't get back from where you were?

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I find managing diabetes to be much easier with the Dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor. I don't know that I've ever just said it that way but it's incredibly true. Before Dexcom I was not so good at managing blood sugars. But now that I can see the rate direction and Number all in real time, makes decisions much much easier for us. So think about that. I gonna pick up my phone right now and look to see what Arden's blood sugar is. It is 85 and it is stable. That's it. I can see that right there on my phone in that short amount of time. By stable, I mean, her blood sugar is not fluctuating up or down at a rate the CGM sees, you know, I'm saying like it's not moving, it's not going to be 87 or 88 or 90 soon, but if it was, there'd be a little arrow that would sort of just turn up and show me Oh, the blood sugar's moving this way. Those arrows indicate speed, there's a diagonal up arrow, a straight up arrow to arrow straight up. And they all mean different speeds, and you get to know them very quickly. They're also accompanied by little tones that you can set up. For instance, art and CGM will tell me if she crosses 120 going up, or if she crosses 70 coming down. And that's how I make those decisions. in real time. That's how you stop a 120 from becoming a 190. You can just sort of be like, well, we're getting on a range here. And let's kind of bump it back a little bit. And you're right back at it. dexcom.com, forward slash Juicebox Podcast and can actually share her data with up to 10 followers on Android or iPhone. I'm one of the followers. My wife is another and we could pick eight more. And of course, Arden can see everything on her phone, that doesn't count as part of the 10 It's really incredible. Check it out, please. dexcom.com forward slash juice box. There's links in your show notes and links at Juicebox Podcast comm if you can't remember it, buddy, you can just type it into a browser dexcom.com forward slash juice box Get started today. You will not regret it. Were you worried about yourself? Did you think you couldn't get back from where you were?

Beth 21:56
At one point? Yeah. I even thought about killing myself if I'm perfectly honest, it was really dark time. I can't describe how out of control I felt it was it was terrifying. And and when I finally went to the doctors, and they gave me antidepressants, they put me on to higher doors. And so I spent one night having anxiety attacks all through the night. And my husband literally nearly carried me into the doctor's on the following morning. And just because I was like a zombie between being overdosed on antidepressants, and not sleeping. And she just said you should never have been started on a dose this high. Cut it in half. Here you go. And then she gave me something to help me sleep and said you just take one. And then I remember coming to my room and saying Okay, I'll just take the one and I took one and I actually said that will knock you out for like eight hours. And I woke up after an hour and took another one. And then I woke up after another took another one. And then my husband came in and was like, What have you done? And I was like, I just need to sleep. I don't want to be awake and not dealing with it. So he flushed the rest on the toilet. And then Oh, he

Scott Benner 23:08
was wrong about that candy thing. But he got that right. That's good.

Beth 23:12
So, um, yeah, I think you know it, I just had to deal with it. No, the obviously the medication on a much lower dose was very helpful and, and I slowly sort of pulled myself through I guess, and my husband was amazing at the time, you know, he was going through hell, but he and I, he never showed any weakness to me whatsoever. And the amount of times I just sat there sobbing for hours and he just sat there trying to talk positively to me. And you know, it was my mother, I would never have gone through that time. But looking back now I can't ever imagine feeling alone but at the time it was really bad.

Scott Benner 23:49
I have a number of questions. So prior to the diabetes, Had you ever felt suicidal or had depression before that? No, no.

Beth 23:57
And I had slight slight postnatal depression after my first son but it never ever felt like that ever.

Scott Benner 24:04
And is it and I might be generalizing now from romantic comedies so you tell me if I'm being silly, but it is all that emotion uncommon in general.

Beth 24:17
I do struggle with I think only really since the diabetes I struggled with anxiety more than anything as he takes a new sort of path in life so when he changes a school or like when he went on his first residential trip for the weeks and weeks before that I still get really uptight and anxious and worried and I am quite a you know I do get mood swings but i'm i think i don't think that intense or anything they just just melt my husband says all women are slightly crazy. So I suppose I'm kind of fit in the building.

Scott Benner 24:51
Sometimes my kids say to my wife fear that's gonna make you crazy and I always just go are from across.

Beth 24:58
Yeah, he says as well. You You know, what do you mean? Oh, women mental. I'm like, oh god,

Scott Benner 25:03
I just, I just want a warning light. I've always said to my wife, I was like when your mood shifts if just like a, like a, I don't know, like a light glow of a color would come up over your head or something like that. I'm aware of it. I get into the situation differently. But I felt like I was talking to the person from 25 minutes ago. And that's what happened there. I got very confused. I'm so sorry. Yeah, no, listen, I want to be serious for a second. I love women. I don't know what happens to your bodies with all the chemicals and the hormones that are running around on you guys. You're doing a great job. It's not Yeah. Yeah. I'm watching Arden over the last week. Just you know her as her period comes on all the shifts that are happening or stomach hurts and that it doesn't and then she's hungry. And then she's not. And you know, just all of that is, you know, it's just it's the slightest little, like hormonal change inside of you. It's, it sucks. And

Beth 25:57
yeah, listen, I can be the most evil person at that time. You know, I hate everybody. And everybody gets my nerves. And then the next day I wake up and I go, I was a bit yesterday. So yeah. So yeah, it's not fun being a woman, I can assure you

Scott Benner 26:12
know, but I mean, all the political like upsides and and how you're treated in the workplace, that all really fixes it. Yeah. My gosh. So you're in a you take some you're taking the medication, you're it really is when you look back on it no differently than having a really unexpected and tragic death in the family. And yeah, you hear about people needing to be sedated through that for time. And, and that's it, it just, it's more surprising to you, you said because you you thought of yourself as a more as a strong willed person. And by the way, I don't know that there's a correlation between being a strong willed person and not being able to hear that your kid just got diabetes like Yeah, yeah, that's upsetting to everybody.

Beth 26:54
And that's exactly what I said at the time was, I felt like it was a period of grief for the healthy child that I lost, if that makes sense. Yeah,

Scott Benner 27:02
I think so for sure.

Beth 27:06
But during one of my trolls fino, bad news stories on the internet, I found a court and and this has stayed with me as well. And it's something that I've kind of tried to live by since. And it was the person who knows the most about diabetes lives the longest. And, and that's kind of changed my tack, really. And I sort of thought, Well, yeah, that makes sense. And so I, you know, I bought books, and I read about things, I joined loads of groups, and I tried to find out as much as possible. And obviously, that's part of how I found this podcast and everything, because I'm always trying to sort of learn more and, and I think that's what I've tried to do is try to keep up with the most up to date technology, try and get our hands on anything we possibly can to make this easier to manage. And I think at that point, it was when I went from all the bad news stories to think in general, this is not going to ruin our lives, this, this is us, this is where we are. And we've just got to make the best of it. And it sort of went from the really,

Scott Benner 28:01
I've always said that the people who listen to the show, all have one thing in common. They're there, it's it's usually the way they got there. And yeah, it's either the people who are really searching for, like next level ideas, they don't want to just sit in the status quo, or it's someone who's had such bad luck, getting blood sugars together. And then someone comes along as it either happened to me and this podcast helped me. And they're so they're so lost and dying for any kind of information that they're really willing to jump on a podcast and listen to somebody. Yeah, they say something, you know. And I think that's why I think that's why when you see the people who listen to altogether, like I have a private Facebook group. And I you know, I just realized I say that all the time. And I never really put any context to it. And I'm, I'm learning more recently, that a lot of podcasts and other entities charge people to be in those private groups, they make it like a fee or a membership. I don't do that. It's just a Facebook group, where people can talk a lot about management. And when you see all these people together, it's fascinating how much they've taken out of the podcast and other places and how good they are at talking about it. It's Yeah, it's such a different thing. From some public spaces I've seen we're just anybody can kind of trickle into it. And then they end up talking probably from those articles you read online. You know, sometimes it's interesting that there's more fear. It's nice when you get a bunch of people together who feel emboldened.

Beth 29:33
Yeah, I think as well, you know, I found this podcast about I think it was about 18 months ago. And even though I've read the books and you know, you read things online, it seems it's so much easier to listen to somebody talking about things then read in I find and, and even though I'd been obviously, Finn had been diagnosed nearly seven years at that time. It was it was like a lightbulb moment when it was kind of you know, it's easier To treat low sugar and tobacco with a high and I've never really thought about it like that. Because it always be always high, but I've corrected him so he should come down now Why isn't he come down? I'll wait two hours and I'll correct him again. And then all of a sudden it was less like a lightbulb moment. Well, yeah, give him the extra insulin. We've got a Dexcom. You know, we've we've switches, watch the arrows and then treat him and until we started looping was a huge, huge benefit that I adopted and made a huge difference.

Scott Benner 30:28
It's funny, you're you're that's what's where this conversation is going to head because last night, I have you ever heard Have you heard the episodes with Kenny the fox in the loop house episodes? About? Yeah, right. So Kenny and I were talking last night, because when this whole Coronavirus thing happened. And Arden is now at home. It took a few days, but her insulin needs during the day during the time when she was going to be at school significantly dropped. And see I was have gone through the roof. Really? Isn't that interesting? Yeah. Yeah. So we had these, we had these adjustments I needed to make. And I told Kelly one day I said listen, Arden's like her settings on her loop are so messed up at this point, because I was adjusting slowly like I would in a normal situation. And everything just got out of whack. I said, I'm going back to zero. And I'm going to start over again, I'm going to put her at one basil rate, and one ISF you know, and I'm just gonna Yeah, word. And in that moment, I messaged Kenny, and I said, and he and I don't talk super frequently or anything like that. I told him I was doing that. He's like, oh, let me watch your nightscout. So I can say and I was like, Alright, so I, you know, I gave him that. And we've been together, you know, like for the last week and a half or so making these like adjustments. And Kenny showing me about how he's thinks about loop. And it's was different than the way I thought about so whether I end up doing what he does, or with the settings or doing what I do, or what I've been doing in the past. It's just really interesting to see different ideas about how to make the settings work and how to handle basil and things like that. Yeah, so yeah, I thought for a while now. And last night, he and I talked for like an hour, it was the first time we'd actually spoken. We've done all this through messaging. And it struck me just what you just said, he's explaining something. And it to me seems so technical, that I struggle to understand what he's saying sometimes. But he's just he understands it intrinsically just, it's he's more of a math person. He's working off of the numbers. And then I say something that's just painting with pictures, you know, I'm like, does that mean this and I say something ridiculous. And he goes, Yeah, that's the same idea. And I was like, Okay, great. But I can't understand his numbers. And I don't think he ever could have come up with the picture gram that my brain made when he was talking.

Beth 33:02
Yeah, I've got a similar situation in the, the lady who helped me to build the loop. So she sort of talked me through it until two o'clock in the morning, she lives in West Wales, which is about 75 miles away. And she built the loop. And she's been using it for two years. But she talked me through it. And she's just like, some kind of mathematical genius, where she just knows exactly what to change when and her daughter's HB ones are just amazing. But I know and I work with figures day in day out, but I just haven't got the brain that she's got. I need just need to do things differently tweaks here and there. But she just seems to know, we're just by looking at a graph. And looking at my son's graph, what I need to change. And I find that incredibly clever. And I wish I could do it.

Scott Benner 33:47
Well, what I think is that there's there needs to be people need to remember when I say people, I mean, I mean pump companies, and they're in a weird position because their FDA mandate does not let them know flip switches on your pump and say turn this up or turn this down, they can tell you, this is what this setting does. This is what this setting does. Now you're off to go talk to your doctor and figure it out. Except, you know, if you talk to them, you realize that they're worried because doctors aren't going to know how to do that. And there's an entire year you may have heard Jenny talking about it a couple of months ago, she was at a an event where she was talking to clinicians and explaining them how to set up the an algorithm pump because they don't know either. So we're stuck in this weird thing where you have this device that does such a great job. And I think whether it's going to be the base like you from tandem or it's going to be horizon on the pod, I think they're all going to do a really good job for people. But no one's there to tell you a little more a little less now and the people who understand it are the math people and with due respect, they're sometimes the worst at explaining things to Yeah, yeah, they do. Yeah, it

Beth 35:04
is similar because I gave a talk, come back a beginning of the year, I can't remember where now we seem to have been in lockdown for God knows how long. But yeah, I gave a talk at the start of the year to where they asked me to go and give a talk on loop into a number of health professionals from all over Wales. And one of the consultants came on to me at the end and said, you know, do you want to come and work for me, because I just don't understand. I'm supporting these families on on the on this loop. But obviously, it's not approved. So I can't make decisions on what to change. And I look at the graph, and I because I've never been shown how to set this up, I'm in no position to help them. And I couldn't really give him an answer, because I said, well, you're not going to be able to have them in that way. Because if you don't understand how the loop works, you're not going to be able to give them advice on that is a really difficult position to be in. And I think, personally, from my own point of view is if you're going to set your child up on that kind of system, I've had to learn how to manage that and how to tweak things myself with a bit of help from others. But if I go into clinic, I only go to clinic now to get here to be one, you know, they don't change anything, they don't look at anything. They just do as HB one say amazing his level of grip Off you go see you in three months. And it's difficult for I think health professionals to support you with something that's not medically approved at the moment. So of course, it is a bit of a stranger. And really,

Scott Benner 36:27
you know what, when I hear you say that about I really only go in probably for your you know, to get the the a one See, I'm starting to think that I wonder how many people are going to go to telemedicine on with diabetes, because you really don't. There's so much data coming back and so many apps that can tell you really within reasonable accuracy, which anyone say is that, you know, do you need that draw all the time to tell you?

Beth 36:57
Well, that's a good point here. I mean, we don't pay for health care here, obviously. But you know, I can understand if somebody is paying and traveling across the country to go and get blood drawn. And I'm thinking well, you know how you're doing, you know, from the data from your, from your nightscout from your loop, you can run reports in nightscout to tell where you're here to be one r is. So yeah, I mean, we go just to sort of catch up with them. And I do like to get the HV when results. But as I say, you know, we I know what it's going to be roughly before I go there, and it's normally pretty close.

Scott Benner 37:30
Yeah, that's how I feel to that we play a game the Yeah, the nurse practitioners like what's it going to be? And I tell her, and she goes, Okay, and then she pulls away branches it is and I'm like, great. Yeah, we're done. Yeah, you know, but then I need to get prescriptions written. But you don't need that right?

Beth 37:45
No, no. Yeah. Well, where are we kind of do it. We've been funding the Dexcom since 2017, January 2017, up until January this year, so three years, we were funding that ourselves 100% because we didn't have funding from the hospital. But they I put an application in beginning of the year as evidence in the fact that how has helped with this HB one and Finn plays rugby. So he's very active. And so they've they've now agreed to fund that for us. So that is fully funded, but it just gets sent to us every three months. So

Scott Benner 38:19
well the islands got so much more money now that Megan and Harry left, right, so Yeah, exactly.

Unknown Speaker 38:23
that a little bit.

Scott Benner 38:25
I think that's Yeah.

Beth 38:26
But it's quite straightforward. You know, we ring up the pump company, for pump supplies whenever we need them, they get sent to the door. And then our Dexcom guests sent on an automated basis every three months. So the only thing we need to go to the pharmacy for the insulin and the testing strips, but to be honest, I very rarely use testing strips these days.

Scott Benner 38:46
You know, I have to say we don't test a ton with but there are days when you test more than others. Like you'll you'll not test for a couple of days in a row. And then all of a sudden you'll be like I need to know this is 100% right or you know there's a CGM change somewhere the end of us yeah sometimes it's interesting to have you know, you need that you need that great meter when you need it. Just not Yeah, not constantly like you used to if you have you know, if you have Dexcom honestly, the version of Libra that exists now, from what I understand isn't I think you'd still want to be testing if you're using that.

Beth 39:21
Yeah, right. We use the Libra for two years I think before we switch to Dexcom and it wasn't the best accuracy wise for me. I mean, I know other people find it amazing some people are looping with it but I always found say is you know it was always like five or six points which to us is a lot in millimoles Hello higher than what the actual blood reading was and it would over exaggerate highs and lows. I didn't know if he was in range. It was pretty good but anything out of that sort of tiny range. It was never that accurate dress really

Scott Benner 39:56
for people listening earlier. Viewing said Did you know there was a blood sugar of 18? Which would have been 325? And yeah, being the difference between, you know, five points off of an 18 would be what? 325 to probably around 225. It's like 100 points. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I really have to make up one of these charts and just put it on the web, you know, so people I know, it's so hard. I hear there are people who are listening, they have it on paper, and they hear someone with an accent and then they run around grabbing their

Beth 40:29
shirt. Yeah, I do that. I do that because obviously if the other way for me, so when they mentioned in like three to five, I'm like, right. Okay, divide that by this and last millimole. But, yeah, it's the same year Really?

Scott Benner 40:39
Well, I'm gonna make up a chart somewhere that people can download and print out and it'll, yeah, would you want it wallet size or for tabletop? Anyway, we'll figure

you know, you you guys went through a lot of different versions of of care. And, you know, landed eventually with Dexcom. And then and looping. Yeah, I know that this seems weird. But just very quickly, for people who have just stumbled into this episode, at the moment, in May of 2020. The Loop algorithm is an app you download from the internet, it's not made by a company, it's not approved by the FDA, there are some really brilliant people who have written it and continue to update it and make it work. Arden is using it at the moment and with with relative success. And it just makes decisions for you about insulin. Now, there are different versions of it. And there's the master version, which I guess is the the main one right now. And then there's one called Do they still call it pizza branch that actually does Auto bolusing? Do you use the auto bolusing? version or use? No,

Beth 41:57
I we're not actually on loop. We're using the Android version. Okay. So we're on what's called Android APS. So this is something that's been specifically written for Android phones rather than the iPhone or the Apple product.

Scott Benner 42:11
Oh, so you're that's interesting. So you're not actually using the loop algorithm. You're using the the APS the other? Yes. Yeah. Call it loop. Because that's, I guess that's a more

Beth 42:21
Yeah, I call it like a closed loop. DIY. Closed loop is what I call it a people who don't really know what Android APS would be.

Scott Benner 42:28
That's super interesting. So is yours, the one that was made by the woman who was on the show years ago? Um, Dana. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So Dana came on years ago, and was like, I wrote this program, and it keeps my blood sugar state. And I was like, get out of here. And she told me Oh, yeah. And yeah, okay. So, technically, APS is the one you're using is also made by a lovely person who's not a company and it hasn't been FDA approved. There's also one called loop. But the idea of closing the loop or a closed loop system, so that's how you refer to it. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. No, no, don't be sorry. That's that. I just want to make sure I understand. Yeah. Oh, that's excellent. And you find the same kind of is the saturation in England more APS then loop among people who are using?

Beth 43:22
I don't know, actually, no, I think there's quite a lot of people using loop as well. And I think for me, obviously, we just went for it. Because he's used to Android, his actual phone that he uses to sort of talk to his friends, etc, is an iPhone. But it was just the I knew a lot of people that were using this current algorithm. And so that's how I just bought like a cheap Android phones that is so that is something that he doesn't need to touch that is literally carried around with him, but he's got his own phone. And then for his sort of socializing with his friends, I think that's quite important.

Scott Benner 44:00
I'm wondering how APS works, is it? Is it mostly manipulation of basil and meal insulin, or does it Bolus on its own?

Beth 44:08
Well, there's like there's sort of this three different algorithms that you can choose, and you've got to build it in Android Studio, and then build the APK and download it onto the phone. And then you have to go through a number of objectives over a period of six weeks when you first start to prove that you understand how it all works. And then once you get to the end of that six weeks, you get the most, the most sophisticated system, which is the SMB, which is the micro boluses. So there's a mixture of temporary bezels on and off, they also then provide like tiny little bonuses as well. So the system will give micro policies as well as changing the basil. And that's when we've seen the best results. So if we did something for example, say he's having 50 grams of carbs over three hours, it will do a mixture of the temporary Basal and we'll give these tiny micro Bolus is they'll say For the next three hours, and then we'll just give tiny naught point two or 0.3 is not point fives you know, as and when they see fit based on the trend of the algorithm. That's your a little soft. Your voice got softer.

Scott Benner 45:09
Did you? Oh, sorry. No, they're better. Yeah, just yeah. Get on that microphone. Because Because you're doing knots. And they're my favorite part of anytime somebody from from your part. Because that's all I'm so sorry that you just got really soft for a second. I couldn't hear you. And I didn't know. Okay, sorry. No, no. So, so I think the same thing, by the way, we see the best results with an auto Bolus, because it happens more quickly, then. Yeah, then ramping up Basal insulin. Yeah, right. It's interesting, though. Now, you know, you're never gonna run into this, but loop for Arden, away from her period. So away from hormonal things loop is like magical for Arden. And then it's certain times of the month, it the settings are just not right to handle what's going on with her. And it's more around food than it is around just basil. So you have to be a little more agile, I have to be a little more agile around those times of the month. And so that's a

Beth 46:16
and I haven't got that lovely stage of hormones yet. I'm sure I'll enjoy it when it arrived. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm hoping it's not so bad with boys. But who knows?

Scott Benner 46:27
When I hear from parents of teenage boys is that what happens most of them is just sort of when it goes wrong, it ends up being like, it's fine, I got it. And it's not fine. And they don't got it. So

Beth 46:41
yeah, with the other thing that we've got with, which was the other reason I chose this version, I'm not I'm not that familiar with loops, this may have been a similar thing. But with the Android version, I've got an actual app on my phone, because I obviously it was an Android phone called nightscout client. And so I can actually change his profile, or give him gum, enter carb. So the loop activates from my phone, if even if I'm nowhere near him. So if for example, he was in school prior to lockdown when he was going to school, and I was in work, if I could see that he was getting a bit high in the loop wasn't being as aggressive as now, I can just add into my phone, 10 grams of carbs. And that would then give him a little bit more insulin to bring him down. Yeah. So because he's he was quite young. And I wanted to be able to have that sort of option. And there's there's also text messaging, sort of Bolus is that you can give as well, which are all password protected, and you won't have to enter a PIN. I think for a younger child, I felt like this, this gave me a little bit more control from being remotely in, in work, and he's in school. But again, you know, as he's getting older, he's predominantly doing everything himself. And so I just think for people with the like, sort of young, young children, it is quite beneficial. But as I say, we're trying to encourage him now to make a lot of those decisions himself, and he is getting made, and he is quite, you know, he's very responsible to be fair to him

Scott Benner 48:09
right now. So it's a lot to learn, and it takes a long time for them to absorb it all. I don't, you know, I wish I had Arden really understood, you know, when we were doing what I talked about on the podcast, and you know, bumping and being which I use versions of that with with loop two, but when we were doing all that she really started getting it. And I was like, oh, wow, this is great. And then you know, someone said try loop and just so you can try it. And I have to admit, when we first started doing it, I thought this might just be something I need to understand for the podcast. And why not try something new? Yeah. And and now I think, no, I think algorithms are, are the way we're gonna go. You know, moving forward, I am genuinely interested in Omni pods for a couple of reasons. Maybe the biggest one. When horizon comes out, the algorithm will live right on the pod, which may not seem like a big deal to people. But when you're looping, you have a phone, and then a bridge. They call it a Riley link. Arden calls it the thing, right? And so the phone needs to be near the thing that needs to be near the pump. And then that the end and the minute you wander too far away from one of those things. The loop, you know, isn't doing what it's supposed to do. Yeah. When I guess on the pod, you know, was developing their thing. They decided like printed on the circuit board, I guess of every pod is the algorithm. So you don't need to be near your phone for the algorithm to keep working. That's exciting. Yeah. Like Yeah, I'm really, really super hopeful about that. I'm looking to be I think the COVID-19 pushed it back a little bit. They were saying the end of this year, but now I think they're saying the beginning of next.

Beth 49:57
Right. Okay, so that's the end The thing we don't need any any extra software with the with the Android version, so he literally just has the phone. But because he has the extra foreigners Well, he still has to carry the tool. But when he's at school, he's got sort of like a, you know, like a spy Bell type of thing that people were to go run and he just where's that, where's the extra phone in his belt and obviously leaves his iPhone at home. So he doesn't have any he's just got to watch them so he can he can actually ball us from his watch with this APS system. So you can actually enter the carbs into his watch and the watch will deliver the ball. So I think when he goes to high school in September, he doesn't actually do it on the water at the moment because his friends are so used to see us do it all he just gets the fall now, I think maybe when he goes to high school and and he's like a little fish in a big pond, he won't want the attention on him. So I'm hoping that he will sort of valid he will see that as a benefit. Maybe then

Scott Benner 50:50
yeah, of whatever makes them comfortable, I guess. And you know, yeah, he doesn't care about doing it in front of people, then.

Beth 50:57
You don't care about anything. He's the most chilled to that child you'll ever meet. And the happiest honestly. He can teach me a few things. He's just nothing ever gets him down. He's incredible.

Scott Benner 51:08
Excellent. That's really cool. Hey, listen, this is off to the side. But you guys be nice to Adele. Because she looks great. And I'm afraid people are gonna give her trouble for losing weight. And I think that's ridiculous. But I just wanted to be able to sing still. Is that how

Beth 51:22
you feel? I'd like to look like Adele. Yeah, right. Well, my time just growing by the day in lockdown, because I'm just drinking more wine, and having more barbecues and eating more chocolate are not going anywhere. So yeah,

Scott Benner 51:33
chocolate has been my problem. And and I I have not said it out loud. Anybody but I went to bed last night I thought, huh. 36 hour water fast? I'm not. I'm not eating anything tomorrow.

Beth 51:46
Yeah, it's just so I think we'd allow to for daily exercise as part of the lockdown rules. But I think our where we live at the moment, has got the highest rate of COVID infections in the UK. And that's terrifies me. So at the moment, we just stick into the garden. And we're not going anywhere. So I haven't been out for any kind of exercise for about six weeks. So yeah, it's not, it's not great. And I'm drinking wine. And we have a zoom quiz on Friday night and a zoom quiz on a Saturday night. And yeah, and then we've eaten cheese and crackers. It's like 12 o'clock in the night. It's just, you know, I'm going to come out today looking like Dell did before. Not after,

Scott Benner 52:27
this is a zoom quiz code for reason to drink wine.

Beth 52:32
Yeah, no waste. Kay is great. Because we meet up with like, my husband's side of the family and my husband's got older children as well. So we all have a quiz on a Friday and then on a Saturday night is sort of my mother, my auntie, my cousins and, and probably see more of my family and friends now than than I did before. So um, yeah, you know, you got to make the best out of you.

Scott Benner 52:52
Yeah, I don't, there's nothing else to do. My son just finished college the other day from home,

Beth 52:56
you know, out of his bedroom, which I think yeah, it's quite sad, really. But he's, you said it knock domain at the moment. Oh,

Scott Benner 53:03
oh, yeah. Yeah, we're, our restrictions are on, I think, at least till the middle of June. And so I have to be honest, I'm not looking to go back. Like, I don't want to be one of the first people that runs outside. No, no, me.

Beth 53:17
I'm quite happy in my little bubble here. I'm that no, I have no confidence at the moment in the way the government are running anything here. And I don't trust anything they say. And so I'm not going to be part of the little experiment, shall we say?

Scott Benner 53:30
Yeah, yeah. Well, you've got you've got the he looks like the cold miser from that might be a reference you don't get but there's an old christmas cartoon and your guy's hair looks like

Beth 53:41
well, we need a mass at the moment because obviously the United Kingdom is Wales, Scotland, England and Ireland and Wales, Scotland and Ireland have decided to do something different to England because they don't agree with lift near as soon as he is. And so there's so many mixed messages. Now everybody can do different things, and it's just a mess. So I'm just staying in eating and drinking.

Scott Benner 54:01
Dammit, I'm gonna kill myself. I'm not gonna kill me. Yeah, I just gonna die of overeating instead. I'll take care of this on my own. I don't need your help. How did the kids handle being inside? And is it seen?

Beth 54:16
Um, my oldest son is struggling more I think he's, they both play a lot of sport. And so they're missing that because obviously, it would be training two or three times a week playing every Sunday. Obviously, that hasn't happened known since since the middle of March. My oldest son has been going for a run now and again, but I'm just like a nervous wreck until he gets back but I'm allowing him to go. To be honest, Finn has been pretty good as he turned 11 in lockdown, so he didn't see any of his family and friends really other than people standing in the garden. So please took it all in the chimney or we had the big buffet for his birthday. And then we had a barbecue at the garden in the evening and they pretty good. I mean, they've got The ps4, so we speak into his friends on there every day. And I think whilst there can be something you resent on occasions, at the current moment in time is definitely needed for them to keep in contact with each other. And they get in work set by the teachers via either Microsoft Teams or Google classrooms. And so, you know, I can't say they're doing a huge amount of work, but they do and whatever set. So yeah, it's just just become kind of normal. So quickly, you know, you just think that when he first gets announced, it's just like a shock to the system. But now it's the new normal. And I can't imagine going back to before

Scott Benner 55:33
Yeah, it is interesting how quickly you can adapt to something like this. Yeah, we had just something we refinanced our mortgage because the rates got really good. And I was like, Alright, well, I'll take less money out. Yeah, like, you know, so a notary Republic showed up at our house yesterday. And we had to sign a bunch of paperwork. And you know, she's got gloves on and a mask, and she comes into the house and we sit at a table and I disinfected the table. I joked when she came in, I said, I've used this table for stuff like this in the past, I've never disinfected it. I've always wiped it off. Never thoughtfully killed the germs on it before, you know, and and we signed the paperwork. And she left and I said to my wife, isn't that strange? We'll never know what she looked like. Yeah, like, I'll never if I saw that woman tomorrow would know it was her. And it was that I found kind of interesting and odd. Yeah. But I was struck by how I didn't sit there the whole time. And think that lady's wearing a mask and gloves. They could didn't

Beth 56:32
Yeah, it's just become so normal.

Scott Benner 56:34
Yeah. I don't know, though about. So art, and we're gonna finish up in a few minutes. But Arden said something to me, we had to go. She did get an X ray, which ended up being negative during this whole thing. And it was the one time she was out of the house. She's, you know, in a waiting room with me waiting her turn, and she's got a mask on, I have my face covered. And, and she just says, Is this how it's gonna be? You know, from now on? And I said, I don't think so I said, I think maybe one day we'll transition to, like, maybe this will make Americans think, you know what, when I'm sick, I'll cover my face when I go in public, like sort of like they do in China already. You know, like if your cover your face. And I said, that might not be a bad thing. I said, but I don't imagine it's gonna go forever. I said, I think we'll, you know, this will change at some point. And I said, Why? And she said, is it bothering you? And she goes, I just don't like, what's the point? And she's like, we can't see anybody. Nobody's interacting. Everybody looks scared. She's like, what are we doing? And I was like, You mean, like, this isn't living? And she said, Yeah, like that. This doesn't feel like being alive. And I was like, Yeah, that's a good point. So um, you know it. I'm interested to see what's going to happen for sure.

Beth 57:48
Yeah, I know, we're supposed to be coming to Florida in October. We booked 60 nights in a villa in Orlando. And we've booked all the park tickets and we're going to Discovery Cove on Halloween. And well, obviously, none of that's gonna happen now. So right. And that's my foot myself my 40th birthday. So I'm quite mad. Really. I've, we've, at the moment, we've lost about six holidays this year, because we'd plan so much because it was my 40th birthday. And yeah, so we're gone to part. So we are, we don't say from Well, that's the main thing.

Scott Benner 58:20
100% we don't vacation much at all. And so and we stopped, we were going to do one a couple of years ago that we didn't because we're like, you know, we're gonna do instead, my son graduates college The same year, my daughter graduates from high school, that's when we'll go away. And so we're planning towards that. And you know, it's still a couple of it's a year or two off, but you're still like, oh, like is that is the whole world?

Beth 58:42
Yeah, I know. So, you know, it's and it's like my cousin was supposed to have got married last Saturday. And we literally went on the hen weekend on the 13th of March. And everything was fine. It was just carry on as normal. And we got back on the 16th. And it was like, stay in, don't go out, lock down. And it was all of a sudden, just complete, you will just change overnight. And now and and I remember we were on that hammock and she was saying I'm worried about my wedding is ridiculous. You're not going to call the wedding off. And of course, the dead you know, that wedding didn't happen on Saturday. And that was been delayed until October. And now we're even thinking is that gonna happen?

Scott Benner 59:18
We were right in Florida. My son was playing baseball, right as this was going on. And I remember a mother looking at me and going, this isn't going to be a big deal. Right? And I said, it sounds like a big deal to me. You're like, you know, like, I'm like, have you been listening to the news and paying a little bit attention to like the direction it seems like things are going and she's like, no, but this is silly. And I was like I don't think so. I said I don't think they're gonna let the kids go back to school.

Beth 59:42
Or your school's definitely close until September or August to see you go back.

Scott Benner 59:47
Yeah, I don't the my daughter's not going to end up back in high school like that's she's going to finish the year out like this, his college years over already. And now we're just hoping you know, for us personally, Cole's hoping that he gets It's a play. He's in a collegiate baseball league in the summer. And he's hoping they actually play. And you know, then everyone's hoping they're going to go back to school. There's a lot of college kids here in America talking about if, if distance learning happens again next semester, they're going to take a semester off, they're not even going to go back and do it.

Unknown Speaker 1:00:17
Yeah. So

Beth 1:00:18
they talking about you Now, obviously, finish in what we call your sick. So that's the last year before they go to hate the way you would call High School. And they talking about that you group are being allowed to go back for the last three or four weeks of term. I just don't, I don't understand. I don't understand what you know, they say no, you know, they need to transition and they need to see their friends and I'm a governor in fin school with. So I was speaking to the head this week. And, and he said, it's not going to be the same experience. If they come back or four weeks, we can have like five in each class, you know, they're going to be he's got staff that are extremely vulnerable and who can't come back to school. They're not going to have a normal teacher. They're all going to be split up. It's not going to be like they're happy. Oh, here we go by experience that they thought they were going to get whatever happens. And so I just think is taking unnecessary risk. And and I'll be honest, I don't think I'd be sending Finn back even if the schools do reopen, because they've already said the key and won't be going back to school. So he's your name, which is three years old. Three years older in high school. I don't send he wasn't, he won't be gone back.

Scott Benner 1:01:22
Yeah, I don't see it now. Arden's like she loves this. I think she's gonna fight us back home back next year.

Beth 1:01:27
Yeah, yeah, I gotta be honest, I think finished sort of happy enough. He's not bothered about going back as in is the first thing he said, when I said, Look, you know, you may not go back to school this year. And he said, Ah, at least I won't have to do the test. Because we do these big tests before they go to high school. That's all he could focus on was, you know, the positive, which is him all over. Whereas I think pn is Miss missing the social side of school, and I'm seeing his friends in that type of environment. But

Scott Benner 1:01:56
it is what it is Arden likes to she gets done. And then she comes upstairs, she doesn't work out in a rooms takes shower, like she seems like she's living a great life, all of a sudden, her stress is obviously lower because her insulin needs are down so far during the day. Yeah, her Basal insulin went from near two units an hour to one unit an hour.

Beth 1:02:17
Really, it's crazy, because his has gone through the roof. And his not so much is basil. But he's actually Bolus and his carb ratios have decreased massively. And I think it's because he was so active before. So he was doing sports or two, three or four times a week. And he was obviously out out in the schoolyard running around three or four times a day. And now he's just not doing anything. So yeah, it's it's more than the Bolus that we've had to sort of increase the insulin for but you know, it's working and his levels have been, it's been really good. So

Scott Benner 1:02:53
well, you can use the right amount of insulin, but people will kind of incorrectly think of that as insulin resistance where it's not insulin resistance, it's that the activity isn't Yeah, isn't bringing his blood sugar down in different areas. Yeah, yeah, it's interest. So

Beth 1:03:06
we spent the last two weeks we've got builders out the garden at the moment, social distancing, because we just figured, like we've got, we've got six holidays that have been canceled this year, like just UK breaks, rather than the big one to Florida. And we thinking, well, we're staying in, we've been safe. So we're going to get the garden done. So as of Friday, that should be finished. And he's got a 12 foot by six foot football goal waiting to go up. And so I'd be locking him up there a couple of hours a day to get some extra to get some exercise.

Scott Benner 1:03:34
Quiz go outside. That's great. I really appreciate you doing this. We miss anything that you were hoping to talk about?

Beth 1:03:44
No, I don't think so. I think it was just sort of, you know, when when Finn first got diagnosed, I couldn't see a way out. And I think I felt so low that if somebody had told me then what I would have achieved technology wise now and why and how happy and healthy he would be? I would never believe that. And I think it's just, it's nice for people who've just been through what I went through at that point in time. If they feeling low, there is light at the end of the tunnel. And it's not, it's never going to be as bad as you think it's going to be thinking life is over. And you think I see so many desperate posts from people whose children have just been diagnosed and it makes me so sad because I know exactly how they feel. And they just wish that they could see you know that things do get better and it does become the new normal. And you know, I always say that it is life after the type one diagnosis is nail

Scott Benner 1:04:34
Yeah, I just I like to say that. While diabetes doesn't ever get easier, you get so much better at it that it sometimes feels easy. And then yeah, that's the same thing. It's you know, one day you'll just you'll gather up so much experience that you'll look at blood sugar and just know what to do. I somebody was asking me yesterday about they saw some app or I forget what it was and you you know you ask it you say I'm having an apple And it says, based on your, you know, your activity today and bah, bah, bah, like, give yourself this much insulin for the app. And I'm like, Yeah, I don't like.

Beth 1:05:07
Yeah, I know. I think I think that's one of the things from using this API system is this so much more to it than that there's so much more to it than how much carbs is in that Apple. You know, it's only because the Bolus insane you've got on board the Basal and then you've got on board the carbs you still got on board is so much more to think about what your human brain can't compute every minute of every day when we've got our own jobs to do and lives lead and, and I think it's just incredibly clever. And I'm so grateful to the people who have created it and, and then allowing people to use it free of charge. You know, if somebody had told me this would be available 10 years ago, I definitely wouldn't have been such as psychopath at the time. But yeah, it's it's changed our lives and and I sleep every night. I mean, since we'd be looping, I'd say I've got up since last August, I've probably got up around 20 times at night. Whereas I was up every single night for seven and a half years and I think the sleep is just I forgot what it was like

Scott Benner 1:06:11
yeah, it's wonderful. It changes your life

Beth 1:06:13
dad haven't done anything that has changed my life. No, because you saw a reasonable when you're tired and and things get on your nerves more and you get stroppy with people and you know, I'm not saying I'm not stopping my husband would definitely still agree that I am but you know, you feel so much better when you've had a good night's sleep and can't put it into words how much of a difference that made you say it's part of my,

Scott Benner 1:06:35
when I speak in public The last thing I say to people is you have to you have to find a way to sleep or this is all going to fall apart. I don't care how much you understand how to use this insulin. Yeah, listen, you may be mortified to find that. Up until 45 seconds ago, I didn't know what to call this episode. I was struggling I actually was gonna stop the recording and ask you to tell me like some colloquialism that I could like put on it. But just at the very end, you came up with it. This one's gonna be called a former psychopath. Just so you know. Yeah, that's good. I love it.

A huge thank you to one of today's sponsors, g Vogue glucagon, find out more about chivo hypo pen at G Vogue glucagon.com forward slash juicebox. you spell that g VOKEGL. UC ag o n.com. forward slash juicebox. I'd also like to thank the Dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor for sponsoring this episode. Head over to dexcom.com forward slash juice box to learn more where to get started today. And of course, thank you so much to Beth, for sharing her story. I'll be back soon with another episode of the Juicebox Podcast.

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