Scott Benner 4/15/19 Scott Benner 4/15/19

#222 Ignorance is Wedded Bliss

Not borrowed, definitely blue…

Maggie was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes close to her wedding date.

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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 0:00
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Episode 222 of the Juicebox Podcast. Today's show is sponsored by Omni pod Dexcom and dancing for diabetes, you can go to my omnipod.com forward slash juice box, dancing the number four diabetes.com or dexcom.com forward slash juice box to find out more about the sponsors. And if you can't remember those links, don't worry. I've included them at Juicebox podcast.com. And in the show notes of your podcast

Unknown Speaker 0:27
app.

Scott Benner 0:31
Today's guest is Maggie, and I'm going to tell you something she really delivered. I don't really know another way to say it. And she really came forward with good solid clear information. She knew what she wanted to say. And she said it. Please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise and to always consult a physician before making changes to your medical plan for becoming bold with insulin. If somehow you haven't had enough of me on this podcast and like to come out and you'd like to come out and see me live, I will be at touched by type one on May 18 in Orlando, Florida. And I'm speaking at the jdrf type one nation event in Kansas on November 16. If you'd like me to come to your event, just go to Juicebox podcast.com. Scroll to the bottom of the page hit contact send me a note.

Maggie 1:26
I don't know if this is ironic or not, but like going low at the moment.

Scott Benner 1:31
Well, we should definitely take care of that. How low Are you getting?

Maggie 1:34
The dexa saying that I'm 77 with a diagonal down right now and I just took a shower. So I'm guessing that it's probably just like a little bit of Aftershock from the shower.

Scott Benner 1:49
When do you start feeling low?

Unknown Speaker 1:51
I usually feel it

Maggie 1:52
out like 55 that's when I can really feel it where I feel like Okay, it's time to definitely do something right now. I don't know if this makes me like a controversial diabetic or not. But I don't mind sitting at 70 if I'm stable, I keep a close eye on it and stuff and make sure that I don't fall anymore or, but I definitely try to stay in a good range as much as possible. I'm not a person that gets scared at, like, ad or anything like that.

Scott Benner 2:27
That makes me think of two things. First of all, you've very likely already named the episode controversal diabetic. And secondly, when you say when you say a good range, like what's the range you're shooting for?

Unknown Speaker 2:44
Um, yeah,

Maggie 2:46
I guess saying the word good is like kind of controversial as well, like, good and bad are trigger words, especially the diabetic sometimes. But the range that I try to stay in, for the majority of the day is between 80 and 120.

Scott Benner 3:03
That's, that's it. That's I reshoot we shoot for 7120 Yeah. And then and Arden's Dexcom is set at 70 and 130. So I find out before she finds out, just just so we can I can start thinking about it before it comes up. Please don't forget to go to dancing for diabetes.com sometime today, just you know, when you have a moment you're sitting at a computer on your phone, go to dancing the number four diabetes.com

Maggie 3:33
My name is Maggie and I have had diabetes since February of this year. So I'm not even yet I think maybe that's on? Yeah. Interesting. Okay, long.

Unknown Speaker 3:46
What are you Maggie,

Unknown Speaker 3:48
I just turned 26

Scott Benner 3:50
any diabetes or other endocrine issues in your family?

Unknown Speaker 3:55
Um,

Maggie 3:55
so my maternal uncle was diagnosed with type one when he was in his 30s. And that is the only other person endocrinology or there's a little bit of type two diabetes for like, we know that they don't really have anything to do with each other. So I don't usually like

Scott Benner 4:21
to you're on today because you're MDI, right.

Maggie 4:24
Yeah. passionately, on MDI. Well, that

Scott Benner 4:27
also could be the title of the episode passionately. But I wanted to kind of go backwards first to something you alluded to, because I saw something recently that made me feel like this, too. So you said that like, maybe good range could be considered a trigger word. For people with type one and there's a there's a ton of them. We could sit here and list them all. People, you know, some people get very upset if a comic makes a joke about diabetes. Some people don't care. Some people say oh, you can't say test your blood sugar because that sounds like It's a great and some people don't care. Some people don't want to be called diabetic. Some people, like there's a ton of personal preference around how we speak about things, and which is all 100% fine. But I saw something the other day, that threw me off. And I don't know that I've ever said it on the recording before, I will say it to people privately all the time, but I'm going to say it here to you. So there are the community of people with type one diabetes who have an outlet now to share about their diabetes is much bigger in terms of the people, because social media is so much simpler to get started. Now, like if you know, 10 years ago, if you wanted to share with people, you had to design a blog and put it online and it was hard to accomplish. So it you know, but now, if you have an Instagram account, or you know something that you can set up rather quickly, you can can pretty quickly get out into the space and start talking. And so I saw I've seen recently, another rash of another one of those things that we don't say, quote unquote, which is people are either happy to share their agency or very much act like they should never. And and the people that I hear say, Well, I don't share my eight, one c because I don't think it's fair to compare. Those are also sometimes the same people who are telling you, this is the way you should be living your life with diabetes, I find it interesting that they're willing to say do all this stuff that works great. But I won't tell you the results of what I'm doing. And I and I wonder sometimes if that's disingenuous or not, because the only reason I share my daughter's a one z is so that you can listening have some confidence that what I'm telling you, this is how it's resulting for us at least. I mean, you know what I mean? Like, it's, it would be a strange thing, I think, to tell somebody, hey, this is how I eat, and it's really great and everything. But I can't tell you what my results are with my blood sugar. All right, so but and so it you just made me think of that when you said that? Because I don't think there's anything wrong with saying a good range. I mean, is it is it? Would it be wrong to say that if your blood sugar's between 350? And 380? That would be a bad range? Yeah, I

Maggie 7:13
mean, it's, it's so hard to say, because, for me, I guess I get nervous about saying good and bad. Because

Unknown Speaker 7:26
I, I mean,

Maggie 7:29
I haven't had diabetes for very long. I'm very new to this. But, um, but I'm, I'm actually not afraid to say that I think that I'm doing really well. And I think I'm taking really good care of myself. And I'm fortunate that I have like the resources and the support to be so successful. And so sometimes, I guess my hesitation to maybe try not to say good or bad, or whatever, is because I know that not everyone is in the same position that I am. And so I would I my sensitivity is that I, I don't want to make someone feel bad when I say, like, I tried to keep my blood sugar between 80 and 120. And I do it.

Scott Benner 8:19
No, I agree with you and I have that same Listen, you'll hear me stumble over words. Sometimes I don't want to say things that will make somebody feel terrible. That's obviously not my goal. It shouldn't be anyone's goal. And, and at the same time, I think that here's kind of what I think I was thinking about this this morning, as we were getting ready to talk. There are homes that are nearby my house that cost three times what my house cost. And I look at it and sometimes I feel jealous or unaccomplished. You know, my son had a friend growing up, excuse me, and his house was just so much nicer than mine. And when I walked into it, even though I don't think I have a bad house, I used to feel bad about myself. I was like, wow, how were they able to accomplish this, and this is all I was able to do. And I think it's similar, except, that's at least more fine. It's, that's more concrete, there's a person out there earning way more money than I can earn. That's fair enough, but being jealous about that, that maybe is reasonable. But when you see someone walking around with an A one C, and the fives or the sixes or the sevens or whatever, is markedly better than what you have. I don't see how people feel jealous about that or angry I would, that would make me feel hopeful that you don't mean like if I was pulling a seven and a half a one C. And someone came along and said, Hey, I have a 5.4 I would think wow, that's possible. I wonder how that person is accomplishing that. I would like to know those things. I just think it's just I understand the I understand how it can initially make you feel but to me, it's always just seemed hopeful that someone had that a one seat or someone could keep their blood sugar between 80 and 120 for a majority of the time I don't know, like, I think that if you're wasting your time being angry about this stuff, you've you may very well be missing out on a lot of other valuable messages for yourself.

Maggie 10:11
100% with what you're saying? I feel very, I definitely feel that way, as well as being a very, like, healthy person and then having diabetes all of a sudden, and not really knowing why. I I definitely. I mean, I think that I'm still angry about it sometimes. And I can see why other people would, why maybe seeing a lower a one fee would would be

Scott Benner 10:46
some off

Maggie 10:46
discouraging? Yeah, you know, we can see the fridging, especially if, and I think that effort is definitely perceived, like, based on the individual. And so while someone may not be trying hard in my eyes, they may feel like they are trying very hard to like change habits and to not see those results. I know how that feels. And so I guess, maybe, even though I don't necessarily agree with how they feel, I, I, I feel for them. So

Scott Benner 11:24
I felt and I felt that way in the past, too. I just, I just guess what I know, today that I didn't know, back then when I was in that same boat was I was spending a lot of unnecessary time, feeling defeated and angry and hopeless. When it turned out, I just wasn't listening to the right information.

Maggie 11:44
Right. And I, I think also that's just like, that's just like a life that needs to click on in you. And you can't necessarily force that, or you can't predict when it's going to happen. It just one day, it just clicks and you get it and I don't know maybe that some of that frustration comes from it, just not clicking with them yet.

Scott Benner 12:06
100% here and even as you're speaking, what I'm thinking is I'm having a very male reaction to this, like, I just sort of want the, you know, make if you just cut your emotion out of this, you could get to the good part. And it is I don't know if it's fair to call that a male reaction to it is sometimes mine it is, you know, the idea of like, if we could just take the drama out of this for a second, I think we could all see there's a clear path in front of us So, so I get that. And let me finish by saying this, anyone who's out in the space trying to tell people that this is a viable, you know, what I do is a viable way of living with diabetes, I, I would call on you to then show people the results of what it is you're doing. Don't just tell them this is a great thing. And, and like, you know what, if you had a I don't know, if you were gonna invest some of your money. And I was selling to you and I was like, Look, if you invest with me, trust me, it's gonna be great. It's very exciting. Everybody you invest with me is very happy. You're going to love it. And then you said, Okay, well, can you show me your results from last year? I should not. And I don't want to show you that. You just give me all your money. You can't just promise people something. And and, and not show them how it ends, like show me how it ends. You know, maybe it's a, maybe it's a 781 C, maybe it's an eight. You know, if I have if I have a 10 a one C and you have an eight, I'd love to know how you got to an eight. Sure, you know, but don't don't go show me your pretty pictures on Instagram and on Facebook and all the places telling me all the good stuff you're doing and then don't follow through and let people know what it is they're buying. Like so yeah, and buying I obviously don't mean it's actually for sale, but you know, right, trying to get somebody to buy into an idea. Have the courtesy to show them how it ends. That's all so that's obviously something I heard somewhere and I'm not gonna say any more that made me upset. But but so Maggie, we're gonna dive right in here with you. Here's going to be here's where my cynicism jumps right in. You're doing really great with MDI. And then I'm gonna say, but you've only had diabetes for eight months. And isn't it possible? You're still honeymooning? So are you still honeymoon? We're gonna find out in a moment if Maggie's honeymoon is over, but today is a perfect day to begin your union with on the pod. I want you to go to my omnipod.com forward slash juice box or click on the links in your show notes or Juicebox podcast.com to get a free, no obligation demo of the Omni pod today. That's right when you go to my link on the pod, we'll send you a peck a pod experience kit and in that kit, you're gonna get a demonstration pod that you can actually wear. I don't worry it doesn't insert the candle or anything like that. It's a demonstration pod. But you will be able to get a feeling for where on your body you'll want to wear the on the pod and how it feels because you're going to have only the half the size that the pod itself is all real. Not a fake pod. It's not a fod. It's not a fake on the pod demo. It's a pack up pod experience kit. Now we've, we've all been to a wedding, you know what happens to the end, you get a kiss. So take a pack from Omni pod, jump into your marriage with the world's greatest and only tubeless insulin pump. Not only will you get a pack to start off your marriage, you're going to get the same amazing insulin pump that Arden has been using. Since she was four years old. 11 years. Go to Miami pod.com forward slash juice box you put in your name, a tiny bit of information. And on the pod, we'll send you a pod experience kit directly to your door. All that's left is to put it on and find out if you like it. Do your Juicebox Podcast listener take the Omni pod tubeless insulin pump to be your wedded insulin pump to have and to hold to Bolus and to bazel in the shower out for as long as you need the untethered freedom of the greatest insulin pump on the planet. Miami pod.com forward slash juice boxes the links in your show notes for Juicebox podcast.com. May your honeymoon with Omni pod never end? Are you still hunting? Well, my

Maggie 16:10
doctor had told me that I am out of my honeymoon. She said that my pancreas is producing like such little insulin that it it's not doing any it's really not doing anything. From what I have seen on the internet and know of other people. My insulin to carb ratio seems pretty on point with people who have had diabetes their whole entire lives. Not that that necessarily has anything to do with honeymooning.

Unknown Speaker 16:43
But

Maggie 16:45
that was kind of how I was gauging that. Myself Plus, I like it. I have probably pushed every button I could with this disease, even in the last eight months where I'm just like, oh, like you can eat that and not not taking insulin for it. Like it's just one thing. But I can't even eat a serving of carrots without my blood sugar, like going up. And so if this is my honeymoon, I am not looking forward to what's coming later. Because

Scott Benner 17:21
Did you ever notice an uptick? Like where it was like, Hey, this is easier, and then all of a sudden it got harder? Was there a time when that happened? Or did you maybe just start closer to where you are now do you think?

Maggie 17:32
No, I think I definitely just started closer to where I am now. I I believe that I was undiagnosed for about 10 months. 10 months. So um, I think that that was probably where I lost out on my honeymoon. And

Scott Benner 17:49
you used it up before you knew you needed it.

Maggie 17:52
Yeah, seriously,

Scott Benner 17:54
was that first 10 months before you knew you had type one? Like, were you having health issues?

Maggie 17:59
Yeah, I was. And I was explaining them away and ignoring them. And looking back on it, it, it was actually really, really hard to to not have access to the things that my body needed or to not be treating it as well as I should have fun. I remember the first diagnosed in February. So I really started seeing symptoms that summer. And I was working. And I said to my boss when you were in your like mid 20s, like 25 because I was I was almost I was about to be 25 I think at the time, and did you ever just get really thirsty? And like, you just felt like you couldn't drink enough. You're just so thirsty. And she just looked at me like, no,

Scott Benner 18:54
that's not a thing that happens. Never.

Unknown Speaker 18:56
Yeah.

Maggie 18:58
And I just thought I was dehydrated. I was like you're dehydrated or you're something your hormones are changing. Like maybe you're going through some hormonal thing or I don't know something that your body needs more water and listen to your body. You need to be drinking more like I was telling myself, like, take better care of yourself drink more water. And at the same time I was eating like a

Unknown Speaker 19:24
probably,

Maggie 19:25
oh, just like two I mean, like two bags of candy a day, probably at that point.

Scott Benner 19:32
So you had that insatiable hunger and the thirst and were you losing weight on top of it. So

Maggie 19:38
I was very slowly losing weight in the beginning I would say just like it was just coming off slowly, very slowly. To the point where I was thinking like, Oh, I was preparing for a wedding. My husband and I got married in January. So we it was leading up to that and so we were working out a little bit I was just like, Oh, it's just, you know, you're just like losing weight from working out. And I felt like I was eating better, even though I was kind of mindlessly eating sugar all day. Because my body was just craving those, like, very simple carbs to keep it going. Yeah. I

Scott Benner 20:22
see. And you say you were diagnosed a month after your wedding?

Maggie 20:25
Yeah, like almost to the day? Wow,

Scott Benner 20:28
that's not the classic wedding gift for a spouse. What were you planning on getting? Oh, did you know? So this is really interesting. When you find out you have type one. Are you by yourself in the doctor's office? Or is your husband with you?

Maggie 20:46
So I, we had actually gone into the doctor's office, because, um, I had, you know, I had continued to have, you know, the classic symptoms going up, and I lost about 40 pounds leading up to our wedding. And then on the day of our wedding, I actually lost my vision. And I had very blurry vision, and I couldn't really see. And, but I didn't say anything to anyone because I was like, maybe they won't let me get married. And I didn't want that. So we put it off, I've kind of put it off. And then my vision came back a little bit. And then and then it came, I lost it even worse. So I finally got put on my husband's health insurance. And we decided to go to the doctor to check out my eyes. And even sitting in the doctor's office, he was asking me some of the symptoms, and I told him the blurry vision. And basically that was it. That was all I wanted to talk about. Because I was not about to complain about losing weight to anyone. And my husband was like, Well, I mean, she she's lost about 40 pounds, too. And I kind of like looked at him like why are you selling me out? Like the doctor?

Scott Benner 21:59
I'm just here for contact buddy. Let's not answer. pounds mean. No, I hear you. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 22:08
Um,

Maggie 22:10
so they took a, they took a blood test, or they took a blood sample or whatever. And I remember just freaking out. Like, I do not like needles. I don't want needles on me. I don't want needles in me. No, no, no, I mean, my hands really clammy and white, and I was sweating. And so they took the blood sample. And I was just like, cool. Like, I'm glad that's over. And then we made an appointment to go see an ophthalmologist the next day. So we went home, we had pizza for dinner. And woke up the next morning to a voicemail on my phone that the on call doctor had left at like 1am that my results were in it. My blood sugar was over 700 and that she was like it was the most disturbing phone call I've ever had in my whole entire life. She was like you need to go to the emergency room right away. This is extremely dangerous. Yeah. And she said, I don't know if you're a diabetic or not. But you need to go to the emergency room. And I was like, what the

Unknown Speaker 23:17
EFF? Like, no kidding. Well, I

Maggie 23:19
can't swear on here. Yeah, but if we do lose

Scott Benner 23:23
iTunes in a couple of countries, so but but so otherwise, wouldn't it be fun just to curse about that? Maybe I'll have to just do a different diabetes podcast or be all curse about it. But so when you were talking about I have to say I've, I've sat here and listened to hundreds of people tell me about their diabetes and you described your vision blurriness like it frightened me like that was that was really something you must have had such an overwhelming feeling of I'm not gonna interfere with this wedding today. Because if my my vision goes blurry like that, I'm done. I'm going right to a doctor. So that was that was really that had to have been incredibly frightening. Do you think it ruined the day for you? On some level? Did it was the day not what you expected because of it? Or did your pancreas kick in a little bit and let you

Maggie 24:10
know, it was perfect. The day was perfect. And I'm even looking back on it. I thought many times like, I'm so lucky to be alive. And I'm, I'm very fortunate that it worked out the way that it did and I I am happy that it happened when it happened and that I I was able to enjoy that day without without worrying about it. I think, especially with the diagnosis right before that, I think I think it would have been hard for me to really enjoy it and focus on on the day and what it was truly supposed to be about. So

Scott Benner 24:52
you know, in a way my ignorance was wedded bliss to I've lived Two things together.

Unknown Speaker 25:01
Yeah. That

Scott Benner 25:03
clearly is not going to be the episode title. So I usually don't have six ideas for a title by 25 minutes in, but today I do. So here was I love your story. And I'm really happy you shared it with me. I was asking because then I was gonna ask you a harder question, which was, did you at any point look and think, Wow, this isn't what this guy thought he was getting when we decided to get married. Were you worried about that at all? When you had to tell him you had died? Like when he realized you had type one did that? Where are you on a personal level, like for your relationship? I'm gonna go to my messages for this text combat. The technology for this disease is life changing. And without Dexcom we couldn't manage the way we do. From 10 minutes ago, I've been listening to your podcast for a while now. It got me into buying a Dexcom g sex and I'm loving it. I've been able to avoid hypo and hyper glycaemia with my Dexcom. Thank you. Let's see what this person said. Hmm, this one's about army pod wrong ad. Scrolling, we have Dexcom when we can finally start living a normal life and not being afraid anymore. Thank you Next scrolling. Look at this Dexcom errors were steady throughout the night. I slept like a baby. Next. This person says I'm randomly just clicking onto my square do up ones about when the Pre-Bolus skoolie do. Here's one, we just got Dexcom. Better late than never thank you so much love all the content. So easy to understand. Some of that was about how great the podcast was not just XCOM. but you get the point. These people's results are their own, and yours may vary. But I do know that you're gonna love the share and follow features that are available for iPhone and Android. And you're going to absolutely adore being able to see what direction your blood sugar is moving and how fast it's getting there. The dexcom g six is where we get the data to make decisions about Ardennes management. And I think you're gonna love it. Go to dexcom.com forward slash juice box and get started today. Tell them the Juicebox Podcast Center. When he realized you had type one did that, were you on a personal level like for your relationship?

Maggie 27:31
I'm not really we. I mean, it was truly love at first sight for us. And we have just been. I mean, all the cliches are inseparable since the day that we met and, and we love each other very much. I think that both of us had nervousness that maybe our lives would not be what we had planned them to be because now I have this. But I mean, to two months, three months after my diagnosis, we went to Iceland for a week and Ireland for a week on our honeymoon. And we go backpacking together, we go hiking, I'm super active. And it's just, it's just something to plan for. And so I think that in the beginning, he really, he spent probably the first like, month on the internet searching for your cure, and just obsessively researching, trying to figure out how to fix it until he kind of realized that like, this is just something that we will live with and something that we will take care of.

Scott Benner 28:44
That's sweet. It's very sweet. He sounds like a great guy. I only I just asked because I can't remember if it's out yet or if it's an episode that hasn't gone up yet. But I was speaking with someone at one point who was living with their fiance and who is now married to them. But they didn't know they like they didn't tell the person they had diabetes. It was just too hard for them to to share. And I just didn't know how hard it would be to look at somebody when you were just a month pasture your wedding and say, Hey, you know, this is now something that I have that's not going away. And I didn't know I just didn't know. But I have your answers. Beautiful. I I'm really happy for you that that was your situation. So

Maggie 29:22
yeah, I mean, he was at the hospital with me and he drove me to the ER. And so the whole time. I mean, I remember we were just like sitting in the hospital bed together, like playing cards or something. And just like kind of waiting for answers, not really knowing what was going on. And I I truly felt like we were sitting there just like, I felt like we were kids just kids sitting in this big bed playing games together and somebody comes in and they're like, well, you have diabetes, and the doctor just walked out and we just kind of looked at each other like one Yeah, what is going on?

Scott Benner 30:02
I can tell you that at around your age, my wife and I were having our first baby. And when they brought Cole into the room the first time the nurse came in, and was like, Hey, here's the baby, I'm gonna leave. I had, I didn't just have the thought. I said it out loud to her. I said, Listen, you don't know us, but possibly be breaking a law by leaving that baby here. Like, I'm not 100% confident we can keep this kid alive. I really think that if you took any kind of a medical oath, you might want to hang back and watch us for a while, you know, and it really did make me feel like I was 12. And I think that's what you're talking about. Is that that sort of idea of like, I've never gone through anything like this before in my life. I've never been the adult in one of these situations. And and it's about me, and it is frightening. It really is. Yeah. So when did you find because I heard you say Dexcom. Right. You have a CGM? Yes,

Maggie 30:59
I use the in pen as my pen needle. And Dexcom.

Scott Benner 31:07
Did you find out about impact on the show any chance?

Unknown Speaker 31:09
No, I did not.

Scott Benner 31:10
Come on. You could have just said yes.

Unknown Speaker 31:12
Sorry. No, it's

Unknown Speaker 31:13
fine. Feel free to edit about Yes, I did. Wow, great.

Scott Benner 31:18
No, I would never do that. That's so funny. So you see, you're using in pen, which is this app that you know, they were on the show a few months back. It's an app that goes with their pen, and it gives you a lot of the functionality from an IT that an insulin pump has built with the pen. Oh, the only thing I guess you lack is the ability to manipulate your basal insulin.

Unknown Speaker 31:39
Right? Right. So

Scott Benner 31:40
tell me a little bit about your day with MDI. Because you're you're doing what is your agency? Can I ask?

Maggie 31:46
So my a one c upon my diagnosis was 15.9. And my a one C, three months after that, at the end of May? was 6.4. And I haven't gone I'm due for another a one C, but we just moved from Chicago to Michigan. So I am waiting for an appointment with my new endocrinologist. And, but according to the dexcom clarity, it looks like I'm going to be at about the same place probably like a 6.56

Unknown Speaker 32:23
point,

Maggie 32:25
I would guess. 6.3 to 6.5. Somewhere in there just based off of my average.

Scott Benner 32:31
What is it? Yeah. 128 133. Like in that space? Yeah,

Maggie 32:34
it's somewhere between there. Somewhere around 130 I believe.

Scott Benner 32:43
It's amazing. And you don't? Yeah, absolutely. I am. And so you don't restrict your diet at all. By the way, if I lost 40 pounds, I would have eaten pizza every day, I would have been like, yeah, this is the this is the world giving me the okay to have pizza for dinner every day. Right? That so let me just ask you about a little bit about you're not restricting your diet, obviously. And you're, and you're staying in a really great amazing range with MDI. Can you tell me a little bit about how you?

Maggie 33:13
Yeah, so I I definitely don't feel like I have a restricted diet. But I do eat lower carb, maybe than the average American does. I try to pick options I call them I say that they're foods that are gentle in my blood sugar. So instead of eating like a deep dish pizza, I'll eat like a cauliflower crust pizza or something like that, just to give myself I don't know healthier options to like, when you get older, you can't just eat hohos all day and like Doritos and stuff like that. You have to kind of pick and choose your treats, I guess. So. In the morning, I have quite I show quite a bit of insulin resistance. So I try to eat little to no carbs. And just like a little bit of healthy fat. So something that I would normally eat is like scrambled eggs and some bacon and avocado. And then I've never really been a bread eater. So it's not it's not weird for me to not eat bread in the morning because I've just never been a bread morning person. But like if I'm going to eat a doughnut or something, that would be like a special occasion.

Scott Benner 34:39
And while you don't limit carbs, you don't have a very carb heavy lifestyle.

Maggie 34:45
I wouldn't say that. Yeah, probably but I also don't. I never if I want something myself No. So I don't feel like I'm restricted. I feel like I definitely get to eat whatever I want whenever I want I just plan to pick, I guess, more lower carb or gentle carb meals.

Scott Benner 35:11
So if you get up in the morning said you're a little resistant in the morning, but you stay with I mean eggs and bacon is pretty low. That's fairly low carb. So. So do you end up having to Bolus or to inject just for the eggs and bacon still? Or do you think would you be giving yourself insulin that time in the morning no matter what?

Maggie 35:28
No, I have to give myself insulin that time in the morning no matter what. So say, if I wake up, like say I wake up kind of high, which happens sometimes. So if I wake up like between 140 and 150, or something, if I just like, decided to ignore the Dexcom beeps in the morning, then I would give myself usually, usually I just give myself three units right when I wake up. And though that will bring my blood sugar down very, very, very slow, just like a slow, steady fall. And then, by the time that I'm eating something for breakfast, I might have to bolus like another unit for the protein. I have to Bolus for protein, protein heavy meals, just because they both tend to raise my blood sugar over time.

Scott Benner 36:22
A lot of people talk about needing insulin for protein. It's not just not just you, Arden had a fairly low carb meal last night, but still had. Like there was chicken, you know, a little bit of bread. And there were a lot of steamed vegetables, like a mix of steamed vegetables that she ate. And we I bought a fairly heavy for that meal.

Unknown Speaker 36:43
Like Yeah,

Scott Benner 36:44
like I would have if it was you know, if she took like a half a French bread with or something like that. Anyway, but but still a fair amount of it's and what's the difference between the amount you would give yourself in the morning for eggs and bacon. And the difference and the amount you might give yourself for eggs and bacon in a donut.

Unknown Speaker 37:01
Um,

Maggie 37:01
so if I was going to eat a doughnut, I would Bolus probably. I mean, it depends on where my blood sugar that you know, it's like, kind of a hard question that you're not going through it in the moment. A lot of my management is just feeling how do I feel? What does this number look like? What does this food that I'm eating look like? And how much do I think it's going to take? So if I'm going to have a donut, which is going to be like a thick, cakey old fashioned donut covered in glaze,

Unknown Speaker 37:33
that would be my choice.

Maggie 37:35
I mean, I look at that donut. And I would think I don't know, probably 30 carbs, 40 carbs would be my guest for that. I mean, it's like a good sized donut.

Unknown Speaker 37:46
So

Maggie 37:48
I would Bullis up front for it allow myself to eat the eggs and bacon and then I would probably wait and look and see where my if my blood sugar is falling yet. And I would almost treat it like I would wait for it to fall. But then it also depends on where my blood sugar is, is my blood. Did I wake up at 80? Or did I wake up at 121 30? Like? It really it depends. It's a feeling you have to it's it's a lot of intuition. And like, I hear you say this on the podcast quite a bit. And it is something it's become a mantra to me something that I tell myself when I'm making these decisions is what's my blood sugar? How much do I think this is? What do I know will happen? I've done this before, what do I know will happen? How do I know my blood sugar will react to this in this moment? And? And I just I take it from there? Yeah, I don't know. It's like a non answer. Answer. I feel like but it is. It really is a feeling that I have. And so

Scott Benner 38:58
Maggie, this was in my opinion, the perfect answer. I was thrilled to hear you say that I you know, I was like, wow, that's because you've only been doing it for a certain amount of time. I don't know where else you're getting your diabetes information from if it's all coming from this podcast, or if it's coming from a collection of places or whatever you're doing. So I'm not aware of that. But I'm just thinking about Maggie's doing what I would do, but you're doing it like right away upfront in the first number of months. I think that's really exciting actually.

Maggie 39:26
Yeah, I started in April. I started doing this in April. Um, I mean, I also have to say that I'm yes I'm doing this on MTI because I I enjoy being on MTI. I like the perceived freedom that it gives me of, you know, the depth but I couldn't do it without Dexcom I would not feel this comfortable without Dexcom this, what I do, how I manage this, like anyone on MDI can do what I'm doing with pens. Or with syringes. But could I manage the way that I do without Dexcom? Know

Scott Benner 40:08
what number two? you correct? Do you correct numbers that get away from you? Or you don't just wait them out? I imagine. Oh, no, I

Maggie 40:15
correct right away. And this is where the in pen really comes in, because it's nice to be able to look and see how much insulin I have on board. And to, to look at it and be able to know like, okay, I maybe just missed this bolus, and I didn't time it right. And I look at it and I see where's my blood sugar going? Like, do I think it's going to even out? Do I not what's going to happen? How much insulin Do I have on board? And if I feel like maybe the insulin just hasn't caught up yet? I might wait it out. Otherwise, the minute that I start, like feeling uncomfortable, like, Wow, you really messed this up, like time to bring it back. Trying to reel it back in is like, again, a feeling but um, depends on how much insulin is on board and how high I'm getting. So depending on what I'm eating, whatever, it's just so hard to say.

Scott Benner 41:12
I just, I Arden and I just recorrect really corrected her lunch while you were talking. So Arden's you know, growing a lot, like a lot, a lot. And you know, so if if I would say to give this context, it is October now in 2018, about 12 to 18 months ago, Arden was five one, and she probably weighed about 80 pounds, maybe 85 pounds. And now she's five, five, and she weighs 117 pounds. And so it's you know, she gets her period. Now, it's you know, it's a standard issue period, not the starter period. It's you know, it's, she's growing a lot. And we are actually, Maggie, you're going to be the first person I get to tell about this. So Arden got her a one C on Monday. And it was when we sat down in the office. And I said to the doctor said to me the doctor, I've never seen the doctor, I wouldn't know the doctor, they bit me Actually it's the it's the nurse practitioner. And she says, Where do you think you're at? Because we play that game? And I said, well, the clarity app tells me five, seven. But I can tell you this has been the most difficult three month period since I figured out diabetes like not prior to prior to understanding things the way I do now. That was a disaster. But since I've kind of put these things all together that we talked about on the podcast, this is the this has been the most difficult three months. And I said because her insulin needs are going up significantly for food but not for other things. Right, right. And so you know, I'm seeing two, two spikes a day that are going to about 180 or so and I'm having more trouble getting them back down than normal. And so the you know that that times a little greater and it's just been more of a struggle. Well, I'm basically reteaching myself what it is I do, because Arden's now a different person. She's not the same person, I learned how to do this on basically right, I'm refiguring it out. I said without the without the clarity app, I would tell you if I didn't have if I didn't have that clarity app to tell me where her average blood sugar's were through the last three months. I would guess like a six and a half a one say, but because I have the app, I'm going to tell you the app says five, seven, but I bet you it's gonna be higher. And you know, five minutes later, the nurse came in the room, she puts the piece of paper on the table. And the nurse practitioner looks at the piece of paper and she turns to me and she goes it's five sec's and I was like what was a really hard three months you don't know and and she's looking at me like, like, I'm an idiot. And then she goes you this is the best day one see anyone's gonna have in here all month like what do you mean? I was like I'm telling you it was harder. And so you know, I'm because I'm now refiguring things out. And so just now. Now just now a half an hour ago we did Arden's Bolus for lunch, she did think we did 12 and a half units extended it gave her 50% right away and 50% over a half an hour just so she could get to lunch. And then we caught a diagonal up at 140. After after it went to 110. We caught a diagonal up at 140. And I took me a couple minutes to get a hold of her to Bolus and so I just got her put in three more units. And I stopped the straight up arrow at like 179. So this may end up being too much insulin and if it is, it will be too much insulin an hour or so from now right and then we'll grab it with some juice. Right But I'm just not messing around anymore. Like I'm just you know not that hurry once is obviously terrific. I'm not I'm certainly not saying that. But at the beginning of this year, it was five to, and then at the second test this year with the five, four, and now it's a five, six. So no shame in any of those numbers, obviously, but I am trending in the wrong direction. So I have to make some sort of an adjustment to what I'm doing. And as I thought about it, I realized that when we're catching these spikes at meals right now, I am not as aggressively going after them as I once was. And so I've decided to just be more aggressive about it. You know, so that's, that's what we're doing right now. So she was 120. When she got her insulin, she is 180 right now, and I can see the arrow just went from straight up to diagnose up which means we've caught it, and it's gonna start coming the other way again, but I'm not gonna make the mistake of sitting and waiting like I did these last three months,

Maggie 45:53
right? Yeah, I don't, I don't sit and wait too much. Sometimes if I'm dealing with a food that maybe I'm not familiar with, I might give it a little more wiggle room, then something else. But I've really learned in these last eight, nine months, whatever that the answer is generally more influence.

Scott Benner 46:17
Yeah, thank you. You're like my Luke Skywalker. As you were talking, I was like, this is this is really cool. Like, you really got a lot out of this podcast in a short amount of time. I'm very happy for you. But I'm also pleased to know that it shocked you so much. If I really was a Jedi, I would just put my hand up and make you go to dancing for diabetes.com I guess. But since I can't do that, I'm just gonna ask, won't you go to dancing for diabetes.com to learn more about the organization that helps children living with Type One Diabetes through dance, dancing, the number for diabetes.com. And if you're in the Orlando area, I'll be speaking at their touch by type one event in may check out the website for that information as well.

I do you think you were so available to the information like because it easily could have scared you like is something about your personality? Is that like, what made you so like, Hey, I'm gonna go do things the way no one else is telling me about it.

Maggie 47:28
I just think that it made sense to me. I think, in general, I'm a pretty rational and reasonable person. My husband and I, we say that his name is Frankie, my friend he and I we say that to each other quite a bit like, Oh, well, we're rational and reasonable. So this makes sense to us. like things like that. And I just think that it made sense. Like if your blood sugar is high, use more insulin. I don't I mean, it's a it's a basic, it's a very basic thing. But I, it was interesting that you were saying how your nurse practitioner was saying, Well 5.6, like almost like you shouldn't be complaining about that. Or you shouldn't feel bad about that, or whatever. Because that's the best. That's the best a one c I'll have in here all month. And I wouldn't say that that makes me mad. But it disappoints me, because I had a similar situation with my nurse practitioner when I went in for a visit in July. And she was saying, you know, your agency is really crazy. And the the diabetic educator, nutritionist, she was telling me that she felt like 6.4 was low. That's what she was saying. And so I was like, wait, God, I know, you're wrong. First of all, I'm not going to talk to you anymore. But um, you know, like, you have to you have to find your audience for sure. In this, which can be hard when doctors are limited. But the nurse practitioner was saying, well, you look great. Your numbers look great, everything's great. And I was extremely like, how are you? You know, how are you doing this? How are you managing it, and I just explained to her how I use the insulin on board from the intent. And I also I told her at the time that I was like, I know that I need to Pre-Bolus like, sometimes 45 minutes, I don't have to do this anymore, but at the time I did. I have to Pre-Bolus 45 minutes before I eat something because the insulin isn't affecting my blood sugar until about 30 to 45 minutes into like, if I just was fasting and I took the insulin it takes 45 minutes for it to bring me down. So and I would never have that information without the pen without being able to watch it and see that happen. The entire index combos all like every Together, I would never know how that how that happened or how the insulin affected me if I didn't have that technology. So I was explaining that to her. And how now I know when I have to bolus and so I bolus and so I'm getting successful at bolusing for meals and how just because my blood sugar is going low over time, like it's slowly drifting down, no arrow movement, just as just a steady arrow, that I don't necessarily, when I hit 70, I don't mean to necessarily correct with 15 carbs, because that's gonna spike me up, especially if I'm fasting and I have nothing in my system and, and my insulin is low, like when you and I started this conversation I said to you, you know, my blood sugar is kind of low, it's going low right now. And I was at what 77 with a diagonal down this whole conversation, the juice box isn't even empty. I've been sipping on an honest kids eight carb juice box. And I am sitting very comfortably at 83. So like

Scott Benner 51:10
I said, Oh, I put onto my car and drove her to school today, her blood sugar was 68. And I didn't think twice about that, because her blood sugar this year at school has been drifting up as she leaves her school over the first hour and a half. So I thought oh, 68 or, you know, we'll keep an eye on I told her when she got the car. I was like, keep an eye on this, because we just caught a diagonal up arrow. And what I told her was is we could be bolusing soon, right? And I'm not sure right? So this diagonal up arrow is working 78 levels out. Then all the sudden, back to 63. And I sent her a text and it said, drink a juice. And what I meant to say was drink a half a juice. And I just the dogs were outside and I was like doing like nine things. And so five minutes later, I thought oh no, no, I did not mean and I text her back. Did you drink that juice yet? And she said yes. All right. bolusing unit. I bought this right away. And in that campus right around 135 and drifted to 120 by the time you know, before lunch. But as soon as I as soon as I realized they didn't say half a juice. I was like, that sucks. Like, I wish that would happen. You know, but but it just it was too much. And again, to your point, little juice box, not a lot of carbs. And you know, I knew it was too much as soon as as soon as I realized what I'd said so, but I want you to know, too when I was in that, that the doctor's office, I didn't feel bad about what the doctor was saying. And I wasn't telling her that I felt bad. I was just telling her that this was the most challenging three months that I had had, since whatever it is I understand I understood, and she's not. She's not hard on me. You know, like we don't have those kinds of commerce. So Arden's endo appointments are more like, Hey, how are you? I'm good. Great. How are sites? Look, they're great. You're doing great. Thank you. Bye. Like it like, you know, it's sort of like that. But I do hear too much of what you said earlier from a lot of people that you went into your windows office with a six, four, which by the way, well done, congratulations. And and they're in there telling you No, no, this is too much. Did she think she think you were having lows? And do you have a bunch of crazy lows? Like I'm talking about? Like, are you like sitting in the 60s in the 50s for hours and doing nothing about it? You're not right.

Maggie 53:35
No, not at all. And I mean, it. Like, I guess more to my point is like you and I are lucky because we think this way, and we know that what we're doing is right for us, but someone who's maybe experimenting and doesn't have the same support, or knowledge or understanding or whatever. Like once they get to a place that would be you know, good or comfortable for your eyes. And they hear from their doctor Oh, well, you know, this is too much then they might change that. I mean, there's there's a woman who has reached out to me on instagram because she saw the in she's been using the ink pen and before she got it she was on the internet and she found me on instagram because I tagged it or whatever. And so she asks me questions quite a bit. And so we talked about the intent together and she texted me the other week and she said I'm really struggling right now. I'm I'm having a hard time like I'm binge eating quite a bit and I just can't, I can't stop. And my first thought was, oh, that's okay. Maybe don't call it binge eating. Maybe just say you're eating first of all. Like, it's okay for you to sit down and eat, you're, you're allowed to eat. But I said, Okay, do you want to follow each other on ducks calm and you can, you know, it's sometimes it's nice to have that support, you can see my numbers, I can see your numbers, and maybe we can figure some of this out or we can help you or, you know, whatever. Or maybe if you just want to follow me and see how I'm doing as like encouragement to you that that's fine, too, whatever you want. And so I follow her now. And she spends quite a bit of her day over a 300. And I just said to her, when are you bolusing Are you are you bolusing for everything that you eat, because for the most part, you need Bolus for everything you eat. And she said, My doctor told me to only take insulin at mealtimes.

Unknown Speaker 55:53
It's working out great.

Maggie 55:54
And I just thought like, she's only doing what our doctor told her to do, which is what a lot of us do, we're only doing what the experts are telling us to do. We're not getting the results that we want. And she feels bad not only about eating, but her body probably feels terrible. And because she is like that quite a bit. She, you know, now she's maybe now her body is comfortable being there. I had noticed a few times where her blood sugar started to go down quite a bit, and it got to 150. And then she spiked right back up. And I'm like, okay, she was probably coming down from that high. And she felt uncomfortable. She felt shaky, and she corrected it. And, you know, like, but it's not necessarily her fault, because she's only making decisions based off of the information that was given to her. I think what you're

Scott Benner 56:56
seeing with that person is something that is so classic and happens to most people, which is you get diagnosed and you're scared, you don't know what you're talking about. And someone gives you this basic information. Like when you're low, it's 15 carbs, then you wait 15 minutes, and you're like that stupid thing. And then you know, and they're just giving you like, it's don't die advice. It's you know, it's it's great advice that will keep you standing up and which is good advice. But they it's good advice to keep you alive. It's not good advice to keep you healthy. It's not good advice to keep your blood sugar anywhere near where it's not 300 and making you feel horrible. It's just it's starter advice. And then it doesn't go anywhere. From there. You don't get the next step. Nobody gives you more information. It just, it hits there, then people exactly what you're saying. They do what they're told. And it's gut wrenching because I'm doing what my doctor is telling me. And I'm saying to him, Hey, look, my blood sugar's high. He's going, it's okay, just bolus at meals. And so I'm doing what I'm what I'm being told, but at the same time, I know in my heart This isn't right. And, and then nobody can make that leap. It's difficult to make the leap from the doctor said this, but I know it's not right I need to over I need to consider this for myself and do what I think is right. That's a very difficult leap for most people to make. It's it's for every person who I hear, I get an email from there's like, you know, we got our kids a one c went down a point and a half, like it's like, thanks very much. But then the nurse yelled at me and said the six five was too low. Most people listen to them and then start pushing the one c back up again. It takes a takes a lot of it takes a lot of courage to look at someone and go okay, I hear you, but I'm not gonna listen. And it's it people get caught in that cycle. And then that cycle becomes a whirlwind of psychological torture and physical unpleasantness as far as long term complications, short term complications and not feeling well moment to moment. And then you just you're caught in this tornado, and he can't get out of it most of the time.

Maggie 59:01
Right? And it's just like, for, for us to not, I'm not saying us like you and me, but just for people in general not to acknowledge what a huge mental game diabetes is. It's not just the physical, it's not just the insulin, it's not just the carbs. But you know, it's I got diagnosed on a Thursday and that Saturn earned the week after that. There was the type one nation in Chicago that I went to, I mean, I was like, barely a week diagnosed, wearing my mom's three year old reading glasses because I couldn't see still and I just like, went there with my husband and my mom went with us too, and Carrie was speaking at it. I don't know what her last name is. She's,

Scott Benner 1:00:03
she's Carrie Carrie Sparling.

Maggie 1:00:05
Okay. Yeah, she's the blogger, she's the big blogger. And she said, like it something about, like, you know, it's hard not to look at these numbers and, and if and equate them to how I feel about myself. And I was only a week into it sitting there just like crying in the audience, because I felt like a failure a weekend, I felt like a failure for having diabetes. I felt like a failure for not being able to control my blood sugar. Like, I just felt like, this sucks. And it's hard. And am I ever going to figure it out? Am I ever going to have it figured out? And I just think a lot of people probably feel that way. Still, not just a week into it. And just two weeks into it a year? I think it's probably it's a common feeling and diabetes just takes a huge emotional toll.

Scott Benner 1:01:13
I agree. I couldn't agree with you more. And it's it really is. You make me think about the people who don't ever get to break free from it. They don't find whatever their answer is to get out of that space that you just described. And then that's how they live their whole life. And I'm heartbroken by that thought.

Unknown Speaker 1:01:31
It sucks.

Maggie 1:01:33
I mean, it sucks so hard. And I think a big part of it is just like, and I wish I could swear right now, but just like bad doctors, like doctors who aren't in it for the right reasons, or I don't know why. Why. Why do you want to help? diabetics if you're not interested in finding them real solutions? olace at mealtimes? I don't only eat at mealtimes I eat all day long. Like, I don't know. I mean, it's just crazy. And it's suck.

Scott Benner 1:02:15
That frustration is completely real. And it's one of the main reasons why I do the podcast because it just it's a horrible thing to think that that's what someone's being told that that's the world they get thrown into. And that they very well may never break out of it. Like, you know, you even look at your own situation. If you don't go to that event, and you don't hear Kerry speaking, maybe that pressure would have just overwhelmed you. You don't I mean, like maybe but but maybe hearing her say, I feel like this tour, it's hard not to feel like this. Just giving you a little bit of sameness, you know, and a little bit of connection. In that moment. Probably it probably really helped you at that time.

Maggie 1:02:53
Yeah, I think it definitely gave me just like real to feel the way that I felt. And to be able to accept that it was okay for me to sit in that space for a little bit. And acknowledge that I would probably feel that way, at at different times in my life. Like moving forward with this. I don't know this sounds corny, but this journey or whatever, like, it's, I mean, I'm, I'm not that far into it. I think I definitely am at a good place. I feel successful. I feel good about myself. And I just yeah, I want to I want to help other people, like I want other people to know that it's definitely possible and whether they're on the MDI, because they want to be or because that is what they can afford. Or, or for whatever reason, like it is definitely possible for you to feel successful and manage your sugar and take good care of yourself.

Scott Benner 1:04:08
Oh, absolutely. Yes. I'm glad you came onto set. We're at a an hour already. But I'm thrilled that you came on to talk about that, because it's it's incredibly important. You know, it's, we use a pump. And you know, there's a pump company that sponsors the show, and I 100% believe in it. If you and I got I mean, I would never try to talk you into anything else. But if you asked me to, I certainly would. I'd give you my pitch for pumping. But at the same time, for a myriad of reasons. There are going to be a lot of people who don't pump and they absolutely need to know that this really amazing life exists for them. You know, like you shouldn't think if I don't have a pump, I'm lost, because you're certainly not and you're a great example of that. So I appreciate you sharing that. I appreciate that. Well stories.

Maggie 1:04:56
I'm not anti pump by any means. I'm definitely like Grow, whatever works for you is, you know what you should have and you, I want I like, I want everyone to be able to have access to everything, especially Dexcom. But I mean, I am I am sure that there will be a time in the future when I decide that I'm ready to pump

Scott Benner 1:05:22
out Maggie, you'll listen to the podcast. My, one of my favorite emails is from Michael, who just sent me an email that said, okay, you when I got an iPod? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 1:05:35
amused by that? I mean?

Maggie 1:05:38
Yeah, here's your plug for Omni pod when I'm ready for a pump, it will be Omni pod. I know it will be I know that. That is, is and will be the right choice for me just based on my activity. But for me right now, like, yeah, doing great. And it's, it is hard to go 25 years of your life without having any kind of device on you. And for me, I'm just not there yet. Mentally, I'm not ready for that, to see it. Or to have the reminder, or, you know, I wear a lot of high waisted pants, and I get the best insulin like activity in my stomach. So I wouldn't want to like, I'm so vain, I wouldn't want to go up a pant size and have a saggy butt just to fit my pod. Like,

Unknown Speaker 1:06:27
I see the tight pants my daughter wears with that. Yeah, just to be okay. But

Maggie 1:06:32
I do have time for it, I'm sure.

Scott Benner 1:06:35
But I would never want to talk to you in anything you didn't want to do but I hundred percent understand what you're saying.

Unknown Speaker 1:06:41
Yeah, I'm, I'm,

Maggie 1:06:43
I feel like when the time comes that I'm ready to try and get pregnant. That will be that will be my time when I'm ready. Just to. I feel like I've got good control now. But I will want to be extremely militant, when when that opportunity in that time comes. And I think the Omni pod will be the tool I

Unknown Speaker 1:07:03
use.

Scott Benner 1:07:04
May I want to say one thing before I let you go because I feel like you've tricked me on some level today because you have this Midwestern accent but you a number of times wanted to curse. I think you sound sweeter than you are. Is that true?

Maggie 1:07:17
Oh my god. It's I mean, I have actually had quite a bit of anxiety leading up to this because I say I swear so much. I mean, all the time I like I on Instagram, if I'm like doing a like talking to the phone, like doing a story or whatever. I mean, it is like every other word that's just I lived in Chicago for six years. And, you know, it's like, just like normal for people to say the F word and common conversation or whatever, like to like, joke around or I don't know, I mean, I swear quite a bit. And so this has been many times I was like, well, and I even want to say it right now just like expressing it to you like, well, like if I mean, you're gonna have to use that bleep button a few times with this. So I'm getting pretty good, but I haven't really

Scott Benner 1:08:16
gratulations Maggie,

Unknown Speaker 1:08:16
I have to fast

Scott Benner 1:08:19
said to people privately who listened to the podcast. If you knew me, personally, you'd be amazed that I don't curse on this podcast, you'd be like, God even accomplished that this has been a very good training ground for me because I, I love just an expletive here and there for no particular reason. And I do think sometimes I'm thinking of just two days ago. I'll let you go in a second. But I was driving home talking to Michelle was it Michelle? One of them was a mom. And we were talking about something and I probably just it randomly in the first 10 minutes of our conversation cursed. And there was like a long pause and I was like, Hey, I'm not. We're not on the podcast right now. So you're probably gonna get I'm sorry if this is back a little bit. But no, I just but you don't hear probably and what everyone else who's not in the Midwest hears is that you sound so sweet. Like your accent just and you just you sound like you're You sound like you're 15 almost when you're talking to me, and I know you're not I know you're a grown person. But but it but it just it doesn't. There's an expectation that your accent isn't going to come along with an F bomb. But I feel like if we hang this up and I stop recording, I'm going to hear a completely different Maggie. So yeah,

Maggie 1:09:40
I mean, maybe I Yeah, sometimes there just are words that can really you can substitute for the F word. I just feel like it. It fills me in a way that no other words

Scott Benner 1:09:54
are gonna stop so much for coming on. I really appreciate you sharing your story first Maggie was absolutely terrific. And I really appreciate her coming on the show. I also appreciate that you listened and that you're telling other people about the show. This month is shaping up to be a another record breaking download month for the Juicebox Podcast and I have you to thank. So let me say thank you. Thank you sometime this summer, sometime this summer. I believe we're gonna write it maybe the end of the summer. gonna hit a million downloads total for the show. And we're gonna have to try to think of something to do for that some sort of a giveaway or a contest or something with prizes all figured out. Don't worry. If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave a rating and a review on iTunes. And I'll see you next week. Is it time for more Jenny Smith next week? Let me see this is April this one's gonna go up on April 15. Oh, now what do I do here that excellent supposed to go up on the 23rd third? Nope, sorry. You don't get Jenny Smith for two more weeks. But there's more diabetes pro tips coming? It just gonna have to wait. And I just figured out what the million download giveaway is gonna be. Oh, I can't wait to tell you about it. I'm not gonna do that now. Just gonna make you wait for that too, but I figured it out. least I know what I'm doing. I think you're gonna like this.

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Scott Benner 4/8/19 Scott Benner 4/8/19

#221 Katie and the Old Man

Katie and Scott have their first conversation…

Katie is my new favorite person. Funny, smart, thoughtful and honest. This is the kind of type 1 diabetes talk we need.

+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello, everyone, welcome to Episode 221 of the Juicebox Podcast. Today's show is sponsored by the dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor on the pod the world's only to boost insulin pump dancing for diabetes, and real good foods. We're gonna be talking about them all later in the show. But let me just say this, if you love low carb and yummy, you're gonna love real good foods calm and when you go there, don't forget to use the offer code juice box to save 20% on your entire order. And if you'd like to check out the Omni pod, they'd be happy to send you out an absolutely free no obligation pod experience kit. That's right, it's a demo with a pod that you can try in your own home. We'll also be talking about the Dexcom g six and all the goodness that it brings. And of course dancing for diabetes. I love this organization so much I'm gonna fly down to Florida and speak at their event soon. details about that are coming up in their ad. I'm gonna have trouble describing today's episode because I'm gonna sound like I'm selling it to you when I tell you how much I enjoyed my conversation with Katie. Katie was 14 years old and had diabetes for a year when we recorded this. It's you know, a few months later now, but she was just absolutely spectacular on the show. Honest, open, smart, witty. I'm telling you at the end of this hour, if you don't think yourself, there's no way that girl was 14. And that's the most fun. I'm gonna have listening to a podcast this week. That I don't know what I'm talking about. But I tell you right now, I'm willing to bet. Forget it bet. I'm gonna offer you a money back guarantee on this episode. If you don't love it, you get your money back. Please don't forget that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. And to always consult a physician before becoming bold with insulin, or making any changes to your medical plan. Let me take this couple of seconds. I have here to thank you all for the wonderful ratings and reviews that you've left recently on iTunes. Not only do they mean a lot to me personally, but they help the show to be more searchable by people who are looking for Type One Diabetes podcasts. So thank you.

Katie Parks 2:03
My name is Katie parks and I'm 14 years old and I got diagnosed about one year ago.

Scott Benner 2:08
Okay. Katie was diagnosed a year ago. In 2017. Okay, yeah. Do you use any kind of technology?

Katie Parks 2:18
Yeah, I have both an Omnipod Dexcom. Ah,

Unknown Speaker 2:21
perfect. Yeah.

Scott Benner 2:21
So well done.

Unknown Speaker 2:24
They're the best. See that?

Scott Benner 2:27
except we're done. There's no ads in this one. Just listen to Katie. Okay. But no, seriously, how did you? How did you figure out you had type one was it like, did a doctor tell you? Did you get sick or what happened?

Katie Parks 2:39
Um, it was actually pretty crazy. So we were on a camping trip. And my friends were like, let's go on a 12 mile hike.

Unknown Speaker 2:52
And

Scott Benner 2:54
by the way, Katie know, a friend doesn't say to you, let's go for a 12 mile hike.

Katie Parks 3:00
It was up a 14 or two.

Scott Benner 3:03
Means that sounds an incline. Yeah.

Katie Parks 3:04
If it was on a mountain. I would never

Scott Benner 3:07
get that far. Never.

Unknown Speaker 3:09
Never. Yeah. So.

Katie Parks 3:12
And like, before we went on the camping trip, I was feeling pretty crappy. Like, I was thirsty, like, all the time drinking so much water. And you know, like the normal stuff where I'm just like, not excited to do anything and all that. So I was just like, you know what? I'm not going on the hike. It's not happening. And when they thought that was a little weird. Because like, I'm the kind of person who would go on that

Scott Benner 3:40
you normally would have done?

Katie Parks 3:41
Yeah, yeah. And, and so they thought that was kind of weird. But since we were camping, like whenever I had to go to the bathroom, like, we did have like this kind of porta potti thing. But like it was really far away. So I would have to like, there's a river. So we were tubing. So I would have to get out of the tube and walk all the way to the porta potty. Like to go the bathroom and like I was doing it so often.

Scott Benner 4:06
I want everyone who's listening right now to acknowledge that they would have just peed in the river. And seriously, just everyone right now is in their car, they're doing their laundry, they're grocery shopping, and they're thinking, Oh, what a sweet girl I would have paid in the river. Very nice. You know what, there's nothing better than all of the disgustingness of a porta potti with all of the the closeness of a nine mile walk to get to it. So really, really not a good deal. So you're going back and forth back and forth during this trip. You're constantly not up to like doing the things you would normally do. And then your friends left you alone and you smelled like sugar and a bear came after you what happened next?

Katie Parks 4:49
No. Um, so my dad like finally figured out like something's really wrong with me. So he we like we had to drive like two hours. down to like my doctor's office. And they took my took, like took a blood sample and I was high. So, like five or 600? Yeah, yeah.

Scott Benner 5:15
Did they take you right to the hospital? How did they handle that?

Katie Parks 5:18
Yeah, they did they. They drove me right to the hospital, and they got me hooked up to an IV and then yeah, by that time, my mom came down, and we were just, I was only in the hospital for one night. So it wasn't like, instantly bad. But

Scott Benner 5:35
you're in Colorado, right? Yeah. Saw the doctors are high, and they're just very relaxed. Just go home now. It's cool.

Unknown Speaker 5:43
No, Katie?

Katie Parks 5:47
No, thank goodness, they didn't do that. I'm actually up near Denver. And we have this center. It's called the Barbara Davis center. And it's like a, it's a type one diabetes place. And so after I spent a night in the hospital, they sent us up to the Center

Scott Benner 6:08
for your like, your education and stuff like that.

Unknown Speaker 6:09
Yeah, to get okay. Yeah, that's nice. That

Scott Benner 6:12
actually is really kind of cool. So got you out of the hospital quicker, and it got you to more focused. Hey, if you live in the Orlando area, come out to the dancing for diabetes touched by type one event on May 13, you will be able to hear me speak there live about being bold with insulin. Go to dancing for diabetes.com that's dancing the number for diabetes.com. And look for the tab marked events. Just click on touch by type one for everything you need to know. And if you come out, please introduce yourself, I would love to meet you. Let me ask you this question because you're at such an interesting spot because you're 14. But as people are going to hear while you're speaking for the next hour, you're like 75 in your head, you're like an old You're like an old soul. So by the way, loosen up a little bit. And but but no, but but so what I'm saying is, is that you're going to have an interesting recollection of this from a child and kind of an adult perspective. So what was it like, first of all, hearing that, like, what was your understanding? Initially, when they were explaining this to you? Did you really have any perspective on what was being told to you?

Katie Parks 7:21
Well, at the beginning, um, so my grandpa has type two diabetes. So all I knew was that he had to take shots before he ate. And so that was like, all I knew. So we start getting injections. Yeah, yeah. So right away, and I, like I'm not afraid of needles, which thank goodness. So I was like, Okay, I'm prepared. Just give me the shots like, um, but I didn't realize like, all the other stuff. That had to be like, there's so much to it that like you don't even know,

Scott Benner 7:57
like, you just probably felt like, at back then it was probably look at there'll be this regimented thing like, right before I eat, I'll do this thing and everything. You didn't realize everything else that went with it. It's time, which is

Unknown Speaker 8:06
exactly, yeah.

Scott Benner 8:07
How did you figure the rest out?

Katie Parks 8:11
I'm like, What do you mean? Like,

Scott Benner 8:13
when did it start hitting you? When did you go, Wow, I have to count carbs. And I have to wait and like, when did you When did the totality of it come into focus for you?

Katie Parks 8:24
Well, at the hospital, they kind of showed us how to count carbs. And so I was like, Okay, I have to do this now. But then once we went up to the BDC, which is what we call the center. Like they were explaining, like pricking your finger, because I thought that it was just something they did the hospital but like pricking your finger, like the range and like the Lantus and the chemo log and all the, like everything and I'm, I was like, starting to get overwhelmed at the same time of kinda like, just give me the stuff. I'll figure it out. Okay, so

Scott Benner 8:59
you had that app. You had that kind of attitude? How are your parents? Were they holding it together? Were they crying and shifts? What did they do?

Katie Parks 9:07
Um, I never saw either of them cry.

Scott Benner 9:12
Yeah, that's a thing. You'll figure out. When you get older. You go into a different room to cry when you have kids?

Katie Parks 9:15
Yeah, yeah, I know. They definitely did. But my dad was kind of with me. At the beginning, when I was at the hospital, and my friends who were still on the camping trip was saying that my mom was crying. Like when she first heard

Unknown Speaker 9:30
they stayed on the camping trip.

Katie Parks 9:32
No, my mom. My mom was packing up with my sister.

Scott Benner 9:36
I met the friends. Oh, yeah. I agree with what they did. But still the moment it would have been nice. Were you are you live in Colorado? Is that correct? Yeah. Okay, so you so you were on a mountain but you were still within a couple hours here home?

Katie Parks 9:50
Yeah, yeah. And cut. The nice thing was they made me a card. And and they were kind of being like funny. Like like writing funny stuff on the card. And when I got in the hospital, I like, did it understand that they were trying to be funny? Like, I was like, okay, like you think

Scott Benner 10:09
they were like being crappy to you? They were like, like getting picked on what's going on? I just

Katie Parks 10:14
didn't understand like what they were saying. I was like, why are you writing this?

Scott Benner 10:19
Maybe your blood sugar was high and you couldn't understand. That's fine. I can't listen. Plus, they're not you, Katie, you're a special child. You're you're talking to me like you're 93 years old. 47 years old. Something like that. Maybe these are just regular average. 13 year old kids. Do you? What's your schooling situation?

Katie Parks 10:39
Um, so I'm in high school right

Scott Benner 10:43
now. Okay. public high school private.

Katie Parks 10:47
Yeah. public high school. About 300 kids in my class.

Scott Benner 10:52
So small. Definitely a small school though.

Katie Parks 10:55
No, we have like, 1000 kids in this

Scott Benner 10:59
class. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 11:00
yeah. Class. Yeah. Okay. It's um, yeah.

Scott Benner 11:03
So how do you manage? Mom? You know, don't I don't want to get to that yet. Let me let me slow down a little bit. As things are coming into focus, and you're starting to realize they're slow acting insulin, a long acting insulin, I'm counting carbs. And this pokin thing isn't just one time, it's every day and everything. And it's all kind of coming together. Are you? Is that a summer? Are you diagnosed in the summer? Or is it?

Unknown Speaker 11:26
July? July?

Scott Benner 11:27
So you didn't have to go right back to school.

Unknown Speaker 11:29
Right. I had I had a little bit. And what

Scott Benner 11:31
did you guys do? Did you like pretty much have like diabetes bootcamp at your house where you figured everything out and like, tried to pull together some sort of a plan?

Katie Parks 11:39
So, so what they did is they they taught us like the basics, and they send us home. And they said, Come back. I forgot. It was like, tomorrow, like the next day? And then we'll see how you did. And then we'll, we'll give you like the big rundown. So like talking to like a social worker. Like it's a huge center. So we had like a lot of people we had like a nutritionist and a social worker and like the endo. Yeah.

Scott Benner 12:09
It's almost like one of those bad movies when someone gets a makeover and they go from like, person to person like station to station to station, like, let me I'll cut your hair. I'll do your name. Exactly like that. Let me fix your by the time you come out the other side, you're like, boom, new person. Yeah, exactly. So you popped out the other side. You're like, booth. This sucks.

Unknown Speaker 12:28
And yeah.

Scott Benner 12:30
I can't wait to do all this. Do you know anyone else that has type one?

Katie Parks 12:35
I'm actually funny story. So I got diagnosed on my one of my friend's little sister's birthday. And then about six months, like January of this year, she got diagnosed with Type One Diabetes,

Scott Benner 12:51
so they didn't leave the vacation to support you. But they started getting diabetes to support nicer than leaving the vacation. That well that's that's odd, like so you genuinely diagnosed on her birthday. And then a year later, she got it?

Katie Parks 13:08
Yeah, exactly. And she also got diagnosed on another one of my friend's birthday.

Scott Benner 13:14
Must be them. So I'm sorry, I can't curse that kidneys be freaking out.

Unknown Speaker 13:20
I'm pretty sure he is. He's got to be like, I've

Scott Benner 13:23
got one year to like, get diabetes. Oh my God, if that kid gets diabetes, you have to give me his name. I want to have him on the podcast. And also it's possible you live in a magical place. But but like backwards magic.

Katie Parks 13:36
And magic.

Scott Benner 13:37
Maybe you're more right. Maybe it's a curse. But that's, I'm telling you if I'm that kid, I'm like, wait a minute. No, no. What are we passing this around or something? That's that I'd stop having a birthday if I was.

Unknown Speaker 13:50
Well, that's great. So

Scott Benner 13:51
how are you making out? Like, I mean, how do you? How do your days go? Generally? Do you know what I just did? Yesterday, I had to cut my lawn. I feel like you know what that means? Summer is coming. And you want to be ready, don't you? You'd like to have a nice like pair of shorts on or a little shirt. Maybe you got a nice flat belly. You want to show somebody right? You want to wear like a tippy top. Right? A little someday a halter. What do they call it in the 2000s? He's I'm only coming up with words from 1956 here. Anyway, you're gonna want to wear a little less when it's warm outside and you might want to hide your insulin pump. Well, you want to worry about that with the army pod. Well, you because there's no tubes and there's no controller strapped to you. So you can wear it on the pod pretty much anywhere and no one's going to be able to see it. Not if you don't want them to. But if you want them to see it, go for it. slap it right on and be proud. I don't care how you wear. All I'm telling you is that you have choice when it comes down the pod. You can be discreet, or you can be out and proud. It's up to you. You want to know what else is up to you with your Omni pod. How you take your insulin, maybe you'd like to have a temporary bazel increase or a temporary decrease or an extended bolus. You've heard about those and podcasts, haven't you go back and listen to our bolusing episodes with Jenny Smith, you absolutely have the power to stretch out your bolus over time. Maybe to accommodate Chinese food or pizza, or something gives you a stubborn high leader from fats doesn't matter. It's up to you, you're completely in control. You're in control of where you where your pump, you're in control of whether or not you want people to see your pump. And you're in control of your insulin and how you use it with the on the pod. Now let on the pod send you a pod experience kit. It's absolutely free, and there's no obligation. Go to my omnipod.com forward slash juice box and get going right now. Summer is coming. My omnipod.com forward slash juice box are the links in your show notes, your Juicebox podcast.com. How do your days go generally

Katie Parks 15:47
for school? If I have the only pot, it's pretty easy to just pull it out in the middle of class. Like if I'm like I have my high alert at 140. And like my loler at 70. So it's pretty easy to just like pull it out, like give myself a bolus and then be fine.

Scott Benner 16:06
Right? Kind of bump it around and try to keep it Yeah. And so that's your goal to 140 do you mostly Are you mostly able to kind of keep it there?

Katie Parks 16:15
Yeah, mostly, um, schools been throwing me off a little bit, but I'm getting the hang of it now. So

Scott Benner 16:22
good for you. And do you think you're honeymooning still? Or do you think that that's over?

Katie Parks 16:26
Um, I am actually not sure. So I'm actually I'm part of a study that's trying to see if they can prolong or like, maintain the honeymoon phase.

Scott Benner 16:41
Is that trial net?

Unknown Speaker 16:42
Yeah, yeah.

Scott Benner 16:43
So you don't try it? That's excellent. And so you're so right now? How much do you manage on your own? Is it Are you very in like, do your parents still get involved? Like, do they see your CGM? Like, how? How do you guys do that part?

Katie Parks 16:57
I would say I'm 90% in control. Um, I like to talk. Like, I like to talk with my mom. Like sometimes, like if I needed to change like a basal rate or something, or change my ratio, because I am still doing carb counting.

Scott Benner 17:13
It's really impressive, though, seriously, that that's a that's spectacular. Do you if you don't want to you don't have to? But are you having the outcomes that you're looking for? Is your agency near where you were hoping for? Or is it something you're working on? Where do you how do you see that stuff?

Katie Parks 17:30
Well, I'm actually just how long ago was it just like a few weeks ago, we had my agency appointment. And my agency before this appointment was 6.9. And that was around when I started listening to the podcast, and then I had like the whole summer to kind of like, like, get like, get down on it like you're listening in.

Unknown Speaker 17:53
I understand.

Katie Parks 17:54
Yeah, yeah. And so this most recent agency appointment, my agency was 5.8 Yo, oh

Scott Benner 18:03
my god. Congratulations. Yes. Crazy. Good. You, I think now all those people before who were like I would pee in the river now they're like, That kid is doing way better than me. But be happy for listen to everybody. I mean, this I've been thinking about this a lot lately. When you hear somebody say one C or you see their their graphs, and they're better than yours. That's that's just a reason to be hopeful. You should see you should see what's happening to Katie and go Wow, so that's possible. I can do that. So let's tell people a little bit how you do it. You don't eat any food. Right? You stay. You're staying alive on dust. Exactly. Yep. found on the floor. Yeah, exactly. Flintstones, chewable vitamin. Nothing else for the rest.

Katie Parks 18:43
No. Yeah, I'm eating. Probably like a normal person. Like, yeah, would you if I had, well, I don't normally have a doughnut for breakfast. But my

Scott Benner 18:57
apologize for the donut.

Katie Parks 19:00
My grandparents are here. So they, they they bring doughnuts and like treats for like breakfast, which is amazing. So I had a doughnut this morning.

Scott Benner 19:08
Cool. And you were able to keep it from spiking too much.

Katie Parks 19:11
Yeah, my lines actually, like perfect.

Scott Benner 19:15
This this is a good moment for you and a better one for me because I'm very excited for you. So okay, so I'm going to try not to be too excited. So you had it. So Katie, who is 14 and is taking care of her own diabetes 90% ate a doughnut for breakfast without a spike. And your a onesies? What was it again? five, eight.

Unknown Speaker 19:31
I play it. Yeah, cheese as

Scott Benner 19:33
well done. Arden just got hers three days ago and she was five, six, and we'll pass on your excitement. It's funny because this was the toughest three months that we had had in a while. And I still, you know, had I not had the clarity app with Dexcom. If somebody would have said to me, what do you think Arden say once he's going to be for this, you know, this snapshot. I would So I would have thought like six and a half, for sure.

Katie Parks 20:02
Yeah, I use the clarity app as well. And it's amazing. Like, the information it tells you is really cool. I know. So, so useful.

Scott Benner 20:09
Yeah. So because I had the app, I kind of knew where her average blood sugar was, and when where I thought are able to come in, I guess that five, seven and ended up being five, six. But it's climbed. You know, please, I don't want anybody mad at me. It could climb steadily from five to 254 to five, six this year over the last three, the three quarters. And I just realized, like, you know, she's growing and she's, you know, you're probably very similar age like Arden, 14 and in July.

Katie Parks 20:38
I was in May. Okay, so,

Unknown Speaker 20:41
so Oh, my God, why is this happening? Katie?

Unknown Speaker 20:43
No, no, I

Scott Benner 20:45
just bumped my foot on the floor. It's not it's not the end of the world. Everyone relax, it's fine. Basically, you can lay back down, it's okay, buddy. I genuinely just picked my foot up and tap it on the floor. And the dogs like, this is it.

Katie Parks 21:00
My dog used to be like that, too.

Scott Benner 21:03
He's like, he's like over 10 years old. He knows nothing's happening. But anyway, so um, so Arden, you know, just started getting your period this year, I'm assuming you're somewhere in that space as well. And, and things started getting a little more difficult. And we're, we're just I'm starting to realize that, you know, the good I was at diabetes, last year was almost like it was on a different person. Getting I mean, like, so now I'm adjusting on to who Arden is now. Because she's made a pretty big shift. She's grown a lot. She's, you know, she's a lady now. And she's, you know, her life has changed and I'm changing along with it, we're getting, you know, we still see a couple spikes a day. You know, sometimes 151 80 Today was a not a particularly good spike, it went well over 200 we got it back down as quick as we could. But still a five sec's without without crazy lows. So you're not sure I hope people understand you're not trying to be perfect. You're just trying to, you know, stay where you're trying to stay as frequently as possible. When you get out of bounds. Just get it back. So I want you to tell me a little bit about that. Like when you when you both say you would have given yourself insulin for this doughnut this morning, and it would have gone wrong. And by wrong your I mean, your blood sugar goes up, what would you have done next?

Katie Parks 22:20
I would have like, once it hit 114. Well, it wouldn't depend on the arrow. Like it was if it was 140 with like two arrows I would have given myself see probably about five units you would

Scott Benner 22:36
have just put more you would have your mindset then would have been Wow. More. It's a lot more innocent. Yeah,

Katie Parks 22:40
yeah. Cuz I like I obviously didn't give myself enough. So I need more. And then yeah, and if it if it wasn't, like, if it was, like straight and like the line was a little bit curved, yeah. Like I would have give myself like a little bit more insulin, but if it probably got to come down, so Okay,

Scott Benner 23:01
so that's perfect. Let's just say that's for me for my money. That's you've really got this understood. And now you're kind of freaking me out, because you're the second podcast I've done today. And the person before you was also a newer diagnosed person in the last year or so. And she was talking about the same thing. She's like, I don't know, I just I got to the podcast early on in my diagnosis, what you were saying made sense. And now that's what I do. And she, she's on a very similar path, you she thinks about it, like very similarly. And I was just really blown away, to be perfectly honest. I was like, Wow, I can't believe it affected somebody this quickly. But I think you're a great example of what I'm trying to explain to the larger community, you know, which is that if you get to people early with good information, they don't have to go through a whole process of not understanding and and and you know, blood sugar's all over the place and you know, not feeling well. And, and, and having like psychological problems with feeling like they're failing constantly. Like that doesn't have to happen if you just give them good information up front. So yeah, right. And so it sounds like that's what's happening to you. I'm really interested in as much detail as you can say, what about the things we talked about on the podcast struck you and got you thinking the way you're thinking now,

Katie Parks 24:26
I just remember listening in new talking about how Arden's like parameters, were at 130 and 70, or like 80 or something. And I was like, Whoa, because mine, like my high alarm was at 250. So I wasn't even getting notified. And so like, immediately, I, I closed my, like, I close my range, and like it was magic, like it worked. Like amazingly, like immediately I was doing so much better.

Scott Benner 24:58
Yeah, you know, so I'm gonna go into this deepers somewhere else, but I got this message on Instagram today or the other day. And a person said that they found the podcast and things are going great for them. And that one of the things they did when they lowered their high threshold, which just basically means like they've, they've decided that they're going to react and do something sooner with a blood sugar that's going up, right? She said that a lot of the anxiety she had when she she had alarm anxiety, she's like, every time this thing beeped at me, it made her feel, you know, terrible, like she was upset and disappointed and all this stuff. But she realized, at 130 or 140, it was such a small adjustment to get it back again. But now the alarms Didn't they had the exact opposite effect. Instead of hearing a high alarm and thinking, what did I do wrong? She here's a high alarm now. And she realized that she can do something right, and take care of something quickly and be done with it. She said all her anxiety about the alarms went away. And I never considered it that way. I thought that was really insightful that, you know, there's actually a way to, you know, because I think it's, I think what people do is counterintuitive, they push that high alert, so high up, because they don't want to hear it. But then they realize that when they hear it, it's so late, you're in a mess. It really is I've said this before and you're young, you won't maybe this might not mean much to you. But if you get your electric bill on the first day of the month, and you know, it's due on the 30th day of the month, and you think you might not be able to afford it, not opening it till the 29th doesn't change what the bill says. Right? So you pray, I prefer to open it up and go, Oh, that's more money than I wanted to pay for my electric bill. But at least now I know. And now I can start making plans and making adjustments to myself to get things to where I want it, I think of this very similarly, like in a way that it's it's, it might sound like a good idea to ignore it for three weeks or for three hours, you know, but by the time you get to that fourth hour and your blood sugar's 250, or 300, it really would have been much simpler to do something three hours prior. So

Katie Parks 26:59
yeah, definitely. And now, and now you're like struggling to get down to high, instead of just giving like a little bit and not doing anything,

Scott Benner 27:07
right. And now it's a lot of insulin, and you could end up low later, and you probably likely will end up low later off of that, which will then throw you right on that roller coaster. And you'll be going up and down and up and down forever. And just repeating this anxiety over and over and over again, instead of just getting it somewhere and putting a little more effort into keeping it there. Which do you find it to be a lot of effort to keep your blood sugar and your range?

Katie Parks 27:31
No, definitely not like, yeah, like, especially in school, we're in again, with the Omni pod and the Dexcom. Like, I can just pull out my PDM. And just then I'm done. You know, like it doesn't even, like inhibit my learning or anything.

Scott Benner 27:49
Right. It's quick. I try to tell people that a lot when they're like, Oh, I don't understand, like sugar in contact with Arden all day long. I'm like, no, not in contact with her all day long. Like we talk by text. I'm gonna say three times a day on average. And it takes all of 30 seconds maybe? Yeah, no, and that and that's it. It's like, Hey, little more insulin, little less insulin drink half of this dude. Like, that's pretty much it, you know? And,

Unknown Speaker 28:13
indeed,

Unknown Speaker 28:14
what is the thing? Amazing.

Scott Benner 28:18
He's like, we never record in the afternoon. I'm not prepared for this. And so, but but so like, there's that. And I think your point is that you're coming to that. You can take the PDM out, give yourself some in some put it right away, it happens very quickly. It's pretty private, you can be as private as you want about it. There'll be a day where you'll give yourself insulin from your cell phone. I don't know I don't know when it'll be but it'll there'll be a day when that happens. And everything's just gonna be right there. You'll you won't look like you're doing anything different than, you know, everyone else who's staring at herself. Yeah, definitely, no one's gonna notice that. So how do you feel about that? Do you mind people knowing? Or is it just you just trying to say it doesn't interfere with your education? Or do you are you trying to stay private?

Katie Parks 29:02
I don't mind people knowing it's just kind of, it's a part of me. Like, it's kind of like people knowing like my name. Well, not exactly, but it's just another thing that I'm doing and it's just like, I don't really care if people know or not right now, I

Scott Benner 29:17
think that's an incredibly valuable way to think about this. Honestly, it's, it's a, it's a healthy thing to to just say, look, this is who I am. And these are the things I do and I'm not gonna spend any time hiding this from you. Like, it's just it doesn't make any sense. Plus, you really do end up educating the people around you to the point where even if, even if they're weird in the beginning, I mean, you know, after a certain amount of weeks and days and months that they're gonna get accustomed to it as well. They're gonna see that it's not changing. You know anything about who you are, who they thought you were five minutes before they found out you had diabetes. I hear from Arden's teachers a lot, you know, by the you know, first you know, they have those like parent teacher calm As you go in and, and I'm like, you know, they talk about all the academic stuff, and then I say something like, well, how's the diabetes stuff going? You have no idea how frequently they say I actually have to remind myself that she has diabetes sometimes. Because I just can't like nothing happens. She doesn't go to the nurse. You know, she's, you know, there's, she said that they'd say, the beeping You know, there was beeping sometimes, but I got used to that. So yeah, I think it's just like everything else. You just need a little time with it. And then it becomes very average. You know?

Katie Parks 30:31
Yeah, definitely. Boring, actually. Yeah. It's not all that exciting. It's not that exciting.

Scott Benner 30:37
So So you said you like to climb is or other activities you do?

Katie Parks 30:42
Um, yeah. So I play soccer. Which is a whole nother thing with Temp Basal and stuff. And like figuring out, am I gonna get a journal in this game or not? Or

Scott Benner 30:54
does the elevation affect it? Do you think are you guess you always live in it? So you wouldn't really know?

Katie Parks 30:59
Yeah, yeah. I don't really know. Actually, I don't think I've been outside of Colorado since. Yeah, I haven't been outside of Colorado since I've been diagnosed.

Scott Benner 31:08
Well, I don't know how true or not true this is. But there's a person who contacts me once in a while. They're like, I'm sure that elevation has an effect. And I'm like, okay, so I don't that at all. But anyway, be be if you ever, if you ever come down off the mountain. You understand the the knowledge I have if you're like,

Unknown Speaker 31:28
yeah, yeah.

Scott Benner 31:30
Mountains, and that part's legal. That's really all. And so. Yeah, that's basically what it is. I'm over here thinking I'm dumbing down to Colorado. You're like, that's the whole thing pretty much. But But yeah, so look for that. When you you know, if you ever go to another elevation, if you start seeing a weird changes? That could be it. I guess now, I'll have to try to find out more about that. But, but I think it definitely could be.

Unknown Speaker 31:53
Yeah, it's interesting.

Scott Benner 31:54
Can I ask you a non diabetes question?

Unknown Speaker 31:56
Yeah, of course. Okay. Is it?

Scott Benner 31:59
What is it like to grow up where marijuana is legal?

Katie Parks 32:03
Honestly, I'm not, like really affected by it. We live in a pretty like a pretty nice neighborhood.

Unknown Speaker 32:10
Right? So

Katie Parks 32:12
yeah, we don't have a lot of people using it. It's kind of like a joke

Scott Benner 32:16
that you know, of, by the way, but yeah. I mean, what I was kind of getting at was, once it was legal. Did you notice your friends? Are you are kids a little older? You they're going oh my god, it's time to just go bathe? And we'd now like it. Like, was it like a switch was thrown? And they were like, okay, it's we can go? Because I don't imagine it to be that way. But I'm interested. Did you hear people talking about it and suddenly doing it? No, no, not really. Like the only the only thing it's like,

Katie Parks 32:46
I don't know, like the only thing that's really changed? Yeah, I mean, there's nothing like

Scott Benner 32:52
that. And by the way, like, I don't, I don't think that making it legal would suddenly takes you know, millions of people who were never going to smoke in their life, and all of a sudden have them go on. But do it now. Because I just don't think it works that way. I don't think right.

Unknown Speaker 33:06
Yes. That way.

Scott Benner 33:07
So yeah. It's interesting to hear that from a person your age. So thank you. Yeah. Okay. So let's see, you're managing pretty much on your own. You're a one sees You're good. You're still pretty early on, you're doing okay, at school is a little bit of an adjustment. What are the things? Are there things that you're worried about in the future? Like, what are your concerns wrapped around diabetes? Do you think about it? Like, does it worry you when I imagine you, you're not like, seriously dating at the moment? Do you think about that, right? Like when you get older?

Katie Parks 33:38
I haven't really thought about that. All the only thing I'm really a little bit wary of is burnout. Because like, I'm not, I'm not that far into it. But like, I know, it's gonna happen eventually.

Scott Benner 33:53
Like, do you have an expectation that there's going to be that you're going to wake up and think, Oh, my God, not not diabetes? Not today.

Unknown Speaker 33:59
Right? Yeah, I

Scott Benner 34:00
get that one. Do you for a little while? Yeah. Do you talk to anybody? Are you? I mean, how do you think you would handle that if it happened?

Katie Parks 34:10
Um, I think I think that at first, I wouldn't really tell anyone. But then eventually, I would probably tell like, either my mom or my dad, that I'm struggling with it. And then and they've told me like many times that if you don't want to deal with it, we can deal with it for a little while. Like a break. A little hot. Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Benner 34:35
Maybe that might be a fun thing.

Katie Parks 34:37
Yeah, the thing is, like, the kind of person I am, like, I would just, I don't know if I'd be able to like, let go. I'd be like so. What jishu like, what are you doing? You know, Katie, what

Scott Benner 34:50
kind of a person are you? What did you mean by that?

Katie Parks 34:54
I'm I'm definitely perfectionist, which is kind of hard with this. But also like, I like to be in control.

Scott Benner 35:05
So you know, and this is weird because this is like a parenting moment for me, which I have no business doing with you, but, but I understand the idea of wanting to like having a perfectionist kind of attitude, and that it's probably really made difficult with diabetes, but you realize that every time something doesn't go the way you want it to, it really is just an opportunity for you to figure something out for next time. Like, please don't think of those things as as mistakes or failures or anything like that. I've had a couple of experiences this week with Arden's blood sugar, where I just did something and it did not go nearly the way I expected. And I reminded myself, I use my I was like, I became a listener of the podcast for a second, I just reminded myself, I was like, this is just great information. Just look at this. And what is this telling you? You know, like, what, what happened is it's trying to show me something like what is it? Okay, yeah, that's how I handle I hope you do that. Because because there's no reason to feel defeated, you know,

Katie Parks 36:02
right. And that's what I have to keep reminding myself like, like, you've said many times before, like diabetes is hard. And I have to, yeah, and, like, kinda like you said, like, it's just learning like, oh, that didn't work. What can I do? What can I do to fix it?

Scott Benner 36:21
Yep. It's I wanted this to happen. But that happened next time. I want this to happen. And what did I learn from this? That would help me make that decision the next time? A little closer to what I was hoping for?

Unknown Speaker 36:31
Exactly.

Scott Benner 36:33
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Unknown Speaker 37:06
Who would even think of that?

Scott Benner 37:08
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diabetes is just too It's variable. And so that to hold yourself accountable for taking variability out of something that has, you know, naturally has variability in it is insane. It. Yeah, it's just it's like if I cut a tree down, and then I stood you next to it, and I was like, right now right now, I put a nice clean cut through it. So it's balanced, but you have to stay here. And if it starts to go, you stop it. Because that's you couldn't do that at the tree, start grow, you know, step back and go, okay, the tree is gonna fall. And yeah, let it go. Now, there's a lot of things we can do to keep it balanced longer. But at some point, you know, the variability is going to maybe get the best of you. And when that happens, you got to be okay with it. And you got to be able to roll with it and get it back as quickly as possible and keep going. You know, ardens ardens, um, graph the other day, I don't have it anymore. I wish I did just look like an upside down. Like the fake Fang, she'd put it in for for Halloween, like, her blood sugar was like 85 9085 9085 985 and 8220, back down to 8599, all the way across, like another 12 hours and boom, did 200 then back down again, it just looked like fangs, like upside down facts. And, and I as I looked at it, I thought, well, that's thanks. But what did I do here? And it turns out, I think there's a misunderstanding between art and AI about when her her lunch starts at school. So we're, we're, I'm looking really looking at our schedule and like, so for most people who, you know, you ever see, I don't know, if you ever see parents online, when it's back to school time, and they've, they've packed like, 9000 like, they could keep 43 kids with diabetes alive for seven days with the stuff they send to school. And, you know, they're writing down like, you know, instructions and having them laminated and, you know, force, forcing the bus driver to go to driver to training, but the bus only drives the kid across the street, like all that. They're all like, it's back to school time. I do none of that. Our back to school PrEP is you probably laugh, but our back to school PrEP is we go to the grocery store, buy a bunch of juice boxes, go to the school and put like three juice boxes in every class. And then that's it. Like we don't, we don't do anything else. You know, and so it's but having back because it's fluidity the whole way. Like, we'll figure out the schedule, I'll figure everything else out. But because we put no pre planning into it whatsoever. I really thought Arden's lunch was at a certain time. And apparently it's like 10 minutes sooner. Juice, you know, and so we're Pre-Bolus seeing it a bad at the wrong time. And so that'll that'll mess you up. Right?

Unknown Speaker 42:41
Yeah, definitely. Right. So

Scott Benner 42:42
we just figured that out. So we're trying to, but it's, it's to show you how kind of relaxed we are about it that no one really quite new, we're just you're just like going along doing our thing. Right, you know, and so, I think that, I think that there can't be anything more important than staying flexible around the whole thing, and just being ready to adjust and make decisions and, and you know, see something happen and then do something. And I think that's really the only thing you can do.

Katie Parks 43:15
Yeah, definitely. It's Yeah. Yeah. So our setup was kind of similar. Like, we definitely, like we talked to the nurse because we haven't had this nurse before. And what she did is for like, the first week, she had me go down to her office, and like, tell her my blood, my carb count, and what I'm bolusing and I was an I don't need to do that. Like, I just need to pull it out, like at the end of the class before lunch, and just give myself a, like a bolus. But um, yeah, so that was kind of really the only prep that we did.

Scott Benner 44:00
And do you do that now? Or as the school year ago? No, no, no.

Katie Parks 44:04
Yeah. After after, after week. I was like, Can I be done? And she's like, let me ask your mom, my mom was like he or she can be done. And so

Scott Benner 44:14
Wow, you're doing really well. Did your friend who was diagnosed? recently? Did they come to you for any kind of advice? Or did how did that go? Did you create like more of a bond over that? Or have you not really spoken about too much?

Katie Parks 44:28
Yeah. So it was her sister is my friend's sister. So we were like we knew each other, but like, we didn't know each other all that well. And now like, we're pretty close, because this is, I mean, it brings people together. I feel like it really does.

Scott Benner 44:44
Yeah, you're 100% right. I know. Arden has friends from you know around the country that she only knows because she has diabetes. Yeah, yeah. And do you have like a Is there like a hand signal or something you do in the hall.

Katie Parks 45:00
No, she she doesn't go to my school yet. Like she's not in the I gotcha. She's

Unknown Speaker 45:04
younger. I see.

Katie Parks 45:05
Yeah, yeah. So, um, so I don't see her. I wish I wish I saw more often, and I will. I think I'm like, tears, I think,

Scott Benner 45:15
oh, she's so she's a couple years younger than you.

Katie Parks 45:17
Yeah, yeah. So I think I'll see her then. And hopefully we can do something cuz, like, she Yeah, she's a little bit younger than me. So she's still working out everything and figuring out. And yeah, I think we're just like, like, I don't mean to brag, but I feel like we're such like a good resource for them.

Scott Benner 45:40
Good. Yeah. Oh, you absolutely are? Of course you are. Yeah. Anybody? Is it just to have any kind of camaraderie around diabetes is an amazing resource for people Plus, you know, you're having, I mean, you really are setting a standard if you you know, people are listening, have to be amazed by what you're doing. I mean, you're inside of a year, you're 14, you're taking care of it on your own. You're a one Caesar terrific. You're, you're you're proving that, that it can be done like this. And, of course, that's an amazing resource, because anything you could tell her would be would be beneficial. You know what I mean? Especially when she's got questions. You know, imagine like, what do you do when you have questions?

Unknown Speaker 46:21
Well,

Katie Parks 46:23
I usually, well, for the study, we've been going up to the BDC, every, like four weeks, like every month, so I usually would just ask them, because there were a bunch of doctors there. I'm

Scott Benner 46:38
sure. favor. So they Yeah.

Katie Parks 46:40
But now we're to the part where I'm don't have to go up as often. So I don't, I don't know yet. I haven't really gotten to that point. Like, I've talked to my parents, but they know about as much as me. If not less

Scott Benner 47:02
than 14 You can find like you can say that about your parents. And it's true. Like I know about as much about this as you do. Do you think do you think that give Actually, I was gonna ask you about other Do you have siblings?

Katie Parks 47:14
I have a little sister. Okay.

Scott Benner 47:16
Is she doing the did she do trialnet as well?

Unknown Speaker 47:20
Yeah. Okay.

Scott Benner 47:21
Did you know if she got back her results? Would that be something they would share with you right now?

Katie Parks 47:25
Um, I think I'm trying to remember. I think they said something that she's not. She doesn't have diabetes, but she's not, like, completely clear, or something like that.

Scott Benner 47:38
She has some of the genetic markers.

Katie Parks 47:40
Yeah. Yeah. But they're not like completely sure. That's interesting.

Scott Benner 47:45
Did they tell her that?

Katie Parks 47:47
I don't know. I think they did. I don't know what maybe you should find out before you let her listen to.

Unknown Speaker 47:55
What's her name? LEAH. Okay. Yeah, we'll surprise.

Unknown Speaker 48:00
You might get it

Unknown Speaker 48:01
diabetes. Well, and

Scott Benner 48:03
probably on somebody's birthday, because that's how we do around here. Yeah, so anyway, so seriously, make sure that she knows this before you get to it. But I think it's I think it's really interesting, because I think Tron that is, it's obviously a pretty personal decision about whether you would want to know if you had genetic markers that would predispose you to type on or not. And I've heard, I've heard conversations on both sides of the argument, I would never want to know, just let me live my life like this until it happens. And then people are like, I absolutely want to know, because if there's something I could do to prolong the, you know, the time it would take to get diagnosed, I would want to do that. Plus time, plus some child that uses all that information for a ton of other good research. It's not just for you, it helps everybody with diabetes. So it's really cool. You did how old is Leah?

Katie Parks 48:49
She's 10. Yeah, she turned

Scott Benner 48:53
10 and 14, you probably don't even talk to her. Right? That's a pretty big

Katie Parks 49:00
we're actually pretty close.

Unknown Speaker 49:02
It's a nice good,

Scott Benner 49:03
I'm gonna give you all it's got nothing to do with her. It's you by the way your parents have done a really good job. I don't know how they keep you in line. If it's like they beat you once in a while. Or what they do is a lot of threats are really sweet. That's excellent. You so seriously, do you know you have good parents? As soon as this podcast is over, I want you to dancing for diabetes, calm that's dancing, the number four diabetes calm, and then go visit them on Facebook and Instagram. I can tell you to do this, this podcast compels you to go to dancing for diabetes.com

Katie Parks 49:39
Yeah, yeah. Um, I mean, like with all of my friends, like we're so we're so tight. And so I don't I don't really know. Like, other parents like all that much. Like Besides, like, the people I hang out with, but I think they're great. Like,

Scott Benner 49:57
they very much.

Katie Parks 49:59
Yeah, I don't really have any Anything to base it off of, but I know that there

Scott Benner 50:02
you've got a limited perspective, let's say they be monsters and you wouldn't know. But my guess that they're not right. Because to give you this kind of Actually, I was gonna say to give you this kind of freedom, maybe they're just like, oh that Katie kid, I don't really want to be bothered with the diaries let her do it. But it doesn't sound like so. So to give you that freedom is really amazing to trust you like that is spectacular, to not give you any weird food feelings about like, you know, don't excuse me, don't eat this don't have a cup. That's all really those are well done decisions. You know what I mean? Because diabetes is a long term thing. And if somebody, you might have less of a shot of being burned out one day, because you're not running around, trying to adhere to all these crazy rules and expectations and, and feeling badly about food and stuff, I'm a big proponent of not causing weird feelings about food. You know, I sometimes I say what Arden had for lunch, and I'm sure some people here that know, like, maybe the kitchen needs something healthy once in a while. She does. But I just think that I just think that there's more value in not being scared of food or seeing food as the enemy because that could really cause a serious eating disorder at you know, earlier in your life or later in your life. He could cause you all kinds of problems with especially with having diabetes and not having diabetes, by the way, you don't want to have an adversarial relationship with them. Right,

Unknown Speaker 51:21
right. Yeah. But okay, so

Scott Benner 51:23
So the reason I asked about your parents is because just the other day at Arden's appointment and it made me feel awkward. We were kind of like finishing up. And the endo, the nurse practitioner looks at art and says, Hey, aren't you have a great dad? And I was like, That's weird. Don't say that. Like, you know, because, first of all, whether I'm a great dad or not, is up to Arden to decide, you know, and secondly, she only knows this about diabetes. Like I could be at home, like forcing her to mined diamonds or something like that. Like, they don't know. The rest of it, right?

Unknown Speaker 51:55
Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Benner 51:56
Look how she is I'm like, Oh, of course, it's because she paints houses overnight. That's how we make extra money. You know, like, like, she's very well worth but but, but it just made me feel awkward for a second. Like, I was grateful for the sentiment that they thought we were doing well, and you know, and we had this involvement, but at the same time, I was like, Hmm, I don't know. Like, isn't that for someone else to decide? Not you. Like, you know, like, I can't run around going. I'm a great dad. Like, that's weird. Yeah, but now I have medical proof of it. So I guess I could get a T shirt if I wanted to at this point.

Katie Parks 52:29
Yeah, my parents. Yeah. They're great. They're just, they're amazing.

Scott Benner 52:33
One of them are you afraid of? You can tell me who's by You went too quickly. My gosh, I hope your mom doesn't listen. Okay. You should have paused sweetie. Just a little bit in between. Which one of you? My mom she's are scared of I'm scared right now. Arjun would have said Kelly too, I think so. We get off lightly being dads, we can just get the joke through things while everybody else is doing the hard stuff. So that's for please do need me to edit that part out. Are you frightened for your life now or Is everything okay? You don't want to get left in that river next year for the trip. Where's Katie? Oh, no. No, no. She's at home. Let's drive back down the mountain and look for just a bandaid on the mountain going. I'm sorry. indies coming over to me. He never does this. What are you looking at me?

Unknown Speaker 53:36
Buddy? That's okay, brother. What's going on?

Scott Benner 53:38
I'm not petting the dog on the podcast. Things have gotten out of hand and they're not interesting at the moment. But, but we have hardwood floors. So when he walks away you just gonna hear him like Click Clack. Go lay down the guy. It's okay,

Unknown Speaker 53:49
guys, you can do it. Are you walking in a circle? Go back and lay down. Good data.

Scott Benner 53:56
I have to ignore him or he's gonna stare at me without cute now basals here bazel. What do you want? Do you want to make a weird noise for everybody? How about? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 54:10
This is Katie.

Scott Benner 54:10
I'm so sorry about this. You're being you're being infringed upon heartily. Did we have we not talked about anything that you were hoping to talk about?

Katie Parks 54:19
Not really, we kind of covered everything.

Scott Benner 54:21
I do pretty good with this. I don't like but I'm also a good parent. Apparently.

Katie Parks 54:25
You helped me so much like this. I was a little nervous before we started, like I like I mentioned but I'm feeling great. Now like,

Scott Benner 54:33
okay, the secret here in this situation is that I am emotionally not much older than you. So I'm able to relate on this level. Pretty simply, actually, if you want to talk about other stuff, like BuzzFeed quizzes or to find out like Harry Potter character, I just I know about all this stuff. I do I so I guess I I asked you earlier if there are things you're worried about in the future. I thought burnout was a really, like, seriously mature answer. I was thinking like you were going to be worried about dating or driving or something like that. But you went through something really important. And so that I think you listen, you can't tell the future for anybody. Right? But that you're thinking about it now in a thoughtful way, I think is a good indicator that you'll be okay. If it should come. And then if it doesn't come, I wouldn't spend a ton of time worrying about it. You know what I mean? Like, it's, I think you'd be okay, if it did happen.

Katie Parks 55:31
Okay, thank you. Yeah,

Scott Benner 55:32
he's like, I appreciate it's a weird thing to do this podcast, by the way, because sometimes when you're giving your opinion, it's feels like you're telling someone something, and and I always want to, like, be like, Look, it's not my place to say,

Unknown Speaker 55:45
like, right? Yeah.

Scott Benner 55:46
No, seriously, like, I think it's like anything else in life? If you're, if you're kind of thoughtfully aware. And you don't need to, you don't need to sit around worrying about it all the time. Because, you know, I named a whole episode that I think worry is an incredible waste of imagination, you know, like, So, as long as you're ready for when something happens. You don't have to sit and think about it constantly. Can I ask you're using the G six or the G five for the Dexcom?

Katie Parks 56:13
I'm using Digi six. We got it? pretty recently.

Unknown Speaker 56:17
Did you have the G five?

Katie Parks 56:19
Yeah, so we Yeah, so I started with the G five. Like pretty, pretty soon after diagnosis. We got the Dexcom. Like right away. Well, actually my like, right after we got diagnosed. Okay, my mom loves listening to podcasts. Like,

Scott Benner 56:36
does she listen to this one?

Katie Parks 56:37
I think she does. Not as often as I do. I listen every every week.

Scott Benner 56:43
Thank you. And secondly, let's call this one Katie's mom is scary.

Unknown Speaker 56:50
No, she's like,

Scott Benner 56:51
I don't think she would at all. I think that's why it's fun. But there's no By the way, there's no better joy as an adult than to say something to a child who's not yours about their parents and put their parents in lockers situation. It's one of my favorite things in the whole world to do. So I don't I never get to do it on the podcast. I do like to like sometimes, you'd be like a softball game with Arden or something like that. And the kid will be like, Yeah, I just want to go here for lunch. And you'll hear the parent go, No, we can't. And I'll like look at them. I'll be like, you know, if your dad wasn't such a horrible person, I think he really would take you to that. And I think maybe if you just asked him like this and said this, and then I just look over to that. And I'm just waving I don't like, I think I don't know why I just enjoy causing problems for other parents. So, but we're clearly joking. Your mom's your mom's? Yeah.

Katie Parks 57:38
I love her. She's, she's amazing. Well, yeah, I

Scott Benner 57:40
mean, you have to love her because she says, because if you don't, I'm just kidding. I'm totally kidding. Your mom's name? I'm

Unknown Speaker 57:46
sorry. Shell shell. We're

Scott Benner 57:48
just joking. I'm so sorry. It's got a great sense of humor for 14. So that's something good. She, by the way, Katie, you are sarcastic in a way. I don't expect that of West Coast people, which is totally unfair of me to say, and your parents on the East Coast originally by any chance. My dad's from Florida.

Unknown Speaker 58:08
Texas,

Scott Benner 58:09
okay, so they can handle it. They've taught you, right? Yeah. There are some times when my children are having conversations that are only in sarcasm. And I think this is probably not healthy. I think during the middle of them, like we should probably say something real to each other. And not just keep testing each other's ability to joke. But but know you're really like, I just, it is hard for me to think that you're 14 while we're talking. So it's really cool to be able to have like such a fun and thoughtful conversation with you at this age. It's really, it's really something Can I ask you? Do you ever have since since you you can talk on a different level for your age? Have you had any moments yet? Where you like really? Do you get sad ever? Like do you ever think wow, I really wish this wouldn't happen to me.

Katie Parks 58:59
Um, I do sometimes. Like, especially if I like Miss Bolus, or like if, like, for example, like a few days ago, we had like a faulty Center, a sensor. And like, my data was so spotty. So like, I would be like at 16. Like, I'd say I was at 60. And then like, I get no data and then like 30 minutes later, I'd be like 200 something. And so I was getting really frustrated. And I was like, Why do I have to deal with this? No, I

Scott Benner 59:33
I've had an ardent when she was younger, a few times she would. I don't know if meltdowns the right word, but she would just be like, I can't believe this is my life. Like, I don't want this, you know, but it hasn't happened recently and I just didn't know you're such a good person to ask. So when something goes a little out of your control, that that's when it hits you a little harder.

Unknown Speaker 59:57
Yeah, yeah, definitely. Makes sense.

Scott Benner 1:00:00
It really does. I mean, I think you're doing really well. But I mean it to expect to never feel like that is unreasonable, I think, right? You know, it's obvious that things like this are gonna come up. Wow. Well, you're really cool. I would trade Arden for you probably already known her for like 14 years. Right? That's enough. Yeah. My son left when he was 18. He just up and went to college. Like, we didn't even count. He was like, say it was it. But that's it. You're like, by, you know, so this kid really is only gonna give us like four more years, and then she's out of here. So I could start over with you. It'd be nice. I don't ski and I would never call Katie, you would hate living with me. You'd be like, Can we go skiing? And I'd say no. And then you'd say, Can we go for a hike? And I go God, no. Like, don't you just want to watch Netflix? What's wrong with you, Katie?

Katie Parks 1:00:56
Let's go nature.

Scott Benner 1:00:58
Watch One Tree Hill for the 13th time and leave me alone, please. That's completely fair. But But I really don't want to climb up anything. We're coming back down it really fast either. None of that makes a whole ton of sense to me. Just Just so you know. But I'm glad it makes sense to you. How is it managing your blood sugar while you're like doing stuff like that? Like skiing, hiking, those kind of things? Is it just you handle it mostly with Temp Basal?

Katie Parks 1:01:24
Yeah, Temp Basal is a big part of it. The like, the biggest problem is adrenaline. And if I noticed that my line is starting to head up. I'll usually just quit the Temp Basal. And that usually brings it back down. And worst case scenario I just give myself like how you use juice boxes. I use Skittles. Nice. Like, I just give myself enough for five Skittles to cover.

Scott Benner 1:01:49
Do try to combine certain colors for a certain flavor, or do you not think about it?

Unknown Speaker 1:01:56
Um, I know.

Scott Benner 1:01:58
You don't have an immediate answer. You don't know.

Unknown Speaker 1:02:01
A little bit. Well,

Unknown Speaker 1:02:02
I try to like purple with yellow.

Katie Parks 1:02:05
No, I try to save like the colors. Like I have an order that I eat the colors in.

Scott Benner 1:02:10
Okay, do you like the psychiatrists? Is there something wrong? There's an order and there's colors what's going on green

Katie Parks 1:02:15
first, then yellow, and orange, then purple than red?

Scott Benner 1:02:20
I think your mind might want to be scared of you forget them. So you eat them in order like you eat all that all the greens first.

Katie Parks 1:02:30
Well, I eat all but one of the green.

Scott Benner 1:02:35
You're not sounding crazy. Katie. You're crazy.

Katie Parks 1:02:38
But I have it. What is the greens? Like all but one of the yellows etc? And then I have like the five like colors at the end? And then I eat those like all

Scott Benner 1:02:51
the colors of the rainbow.

Unknown Speaker 1:02:53
Yeah.

Scott Benner 1:02:54
Which is going to be the end. That's going to be the title of the episode, I'm assuming. But but that's Wow. Listen, we only have a couple minutes left, but you're not like hopping over like cracks and sidewalks or anything like that. Are you? Okay? All right. Is there any other weird stuff you do that we should maybe Call a doctor about?

Unknown Speaker 1:03:13
Nope, I could think of

Scott Benner 1:03:14
that you're gonna after you heard yourself saying the Skittles thing out loud. You were like, Oh, I should have never said this right? Am I right? Yeah. Can be your new best friend. Even though we're like 40 years apart. I don't think we can be friends. I think that would be weird. But but still. But I am really genuinely, like, I want to say here at the end like this is it's gonna sound like I'm saying something positive about myself. But I'm not. Although I might be. I am the greatest parent in the world. So whatever. I can do what, but but that a podcast, basically run by a 47 year old guy who doesn't have Type One Diabetes that it could reach up 13 or 14 year old girl and do what it's done for you, I think is an amazing testament to how important it is to talk to other people who have diabetes.

Katie Parks 1:04:06
But so amazing. And yeah, that's it. That's exactly it. Like if you just like talk to other people like it helps you so much. Because it's so unlikely. Can

Scott Benner 1:04:15
you imagine if a friend of yours said Hey, what are you listening to? And you're like, oh, there's this old man on the East Coast doing a podcast about diabetes. I love it. Your friends would be like, wait, what's happening?

Katie Parks 1:04:27
When I said to my friends, I'm like, I'm gonna be recording a podcast and they're like, for what I'm like, talking to this old guy about Davies. Did you?

Scott Benner 1:04:38
Did you call me old? It's okay. If you did. I just want to know.

Unknown Speaker 1:04:40
Yeah. Excellent.

Scott Benner 1:04:42
That's so amazing. Because it's exactly what we're doing. Wow. I love this next generation. I wish I could be young again. I like how just obviously honest you are about it. You're like, I'm gonna go talk to a guy. I swear to God, he's like nine times older than us about something like this. They were probably like, why and did they say Why?

Unknown Speaker 1:05:02
I think so. Remember your

Scott Benner 1:05:05
favorite podcast and like, what's wrong with you? And you're like, shall

Unknown Speaker 1:05:07
we just like, smiled and nodded.

Scott Benner 1:05:11
They were probably they probably just walked away and they're like, do you ever see Aretha Skittles? Don't mess with her? Kid, you really are delightful. I appreciate you coming on and doing this. I have to go in a minute. But is there anything at all that you want to say? you absolutely should say it right now cuz we're gonna hang up.

Katie Parks 1:05:31
No, I think this is good. I, I love talking with you. And this hour flew by so fast. Well,

Scott Benner 1:05:36
I would love to hear back from you again, in a year or something like that, like, I'd love to have some more perspective from you. Because I just think you're a really good, you're really good person to hear from to the so if you want to. If you're up for this for as long as you'd be willing to. Maybe every year, we should, like just do this again. And again. And again. Maybe it would be really cool to track like one person's progress to all this.

Katie Parks 1:06:01
And that would be amazing. I think.

Scott Benner 1:06:02
And for anybody else who has younger people who have been on the podcast before that I didn't offer this too. It just occurred to me now. It's not like I've had the IDM and waiting for the right kid. Your kid wasn't the right kid. Nothing like that. Just just it just occurred to me now. Like maybe it would be cool to maybe revisit this over and over again. So let's try to keep that in mind and keep in touch.

Unknown Speaker 1:06:22
Yeah, definitely. Katie, thank

Scott Benner 1:06:23
you so much. Please tell your parents thank you for being good sports, and apologize to your sister if five out of the fact that she might get diabetes one day. I will make sure she doesn't hear that before you know, okay. Okay, I'm gonna say goodbye. What did I tell you? Katie is amazing. And this episode was spectacular. You know what else is amazing and spectacular. Dexcom Omni pod dancing for diabetes and real good foods. Don't forget to get your free pod experience kit from Omni pod just go to my Omni pod comm Ford slash juice box. Speaking about less monies, and I mean, tough to get better than free. But about 20% off at real good foods calm that's 20% off your entire order when you use the offer code juice box. I can't give you anything free with Dexcom but I can give you some free advice. Try it Dexcom g six. It is a game changer. dexcom.com forward slash juice box. And if you want to hear me talk about being bold with insulin, you're gonna have to come to Orlando in may go to dancing for diabetes.com. To find out more, go to the Events tab and then click on touch by type one. There you'll see me and other people who'll be talking but I mean, honestly, you're gonna come from me. If you catch some other people and they're good bonus dancing for diabetes.com that's dancing the number four diabetes.com I'll see you next week.

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Scott Benner 4/1/19 Scott Benner 4/1/19

#220 Laura is a CDE with Type 1 Diabetes

Laura has type 1 diabetes and is a certified diabetes educator…

Laura and Scott chat about type 1 diabetes like old friends.

+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello everyone and welcome to Episode 220 of the Juicebox Podcast. Today's show is sponsored by Omni pod Dexcom and dancing for diabetes. You can learn more at my Omni pod.com forward slash juicebox dexcom.com forward slash juice box or dancing the number four diabetes.com. If you're looking for the greatest insulin pump in the world, the best CGM man has ever made, or the most wonderful diabetes organization on the planet. These are the places you'll want to be. There are links in your show notes at Juicebox podcast.com. If you can't remember the links I just provided.

In this episode of the podcast, I'll be speaking with a CBE who also has type one diabetes and was diagnosed a little later in life, but is living with type one for quite some time. Please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your medical plan, or becoming involved with insulin. This episode was recorded a few months ago. So for those of you who have been missing bazel snoring in the background, because he's not near me anymore. When I record, you're gonna like this one. Because that little dog is like, in the background, you'll you'll hear it Trust me.

I'm going to ask you to introduce yourself and I want you to consider this before you do. I don't know what you're going to say or how comfortable you're going to be saying it. But because because you're a CD, a nurse practitioner, you work with people who have diabetes, I'm looking for some real like honesty from you. So if you want to be anonymous, that's fine with me. Or if you think that your honesty is not going to get you in trouble at work or anything like that. Do whatever you want. So you can use your first name, your first your last name, we can make up a name. I don't care,

Unknown Speaker 2:05
whatever we decide, yeah,

Scott Benner 2:07
sure.

Unknown Speaker 2:08
I don't know what I'm gonna say. Yeah, that's perfect. And

Scott Benner 2:10
I'm leaving all this in right just asked you about your name, too, because this is this is exactly what I want. So. Okay, so we'll have to make up a name for now.

Laura 2:20
Oh, you can call me Laura.

Scott Benner 2:25
I was gonna call you, Barack. And so. Okay, sorry. Okay, so, okay, Laura. You're a CD, a nurse practitioner? Uh huh. And I know nothing else about you, except that you sent me an email. That pretty much indicated to me that you were excited about how we talked about diabetes on the podcast. And the reason we're getting you on so quickly, is because it is my It is my very, you know, not so private goal, to reach every CD, so I can stop doing the podcast, I would like to have it. I would like everyone to think about things like this in a way that they tell newly diagnosed people. So a whole new generation of people diabetes aren't scared. And I can use my free time for something else. So that's, that's my goal. But but so just tell me a little bit about yourself. Do you have type one? If not, how did you end up working with a give any connection with it at all besides your work?

Laura 3:25
Well, yes, I have type one diabetes. And yeah, I was diagnosed in about 1994. And so under 25 years, but I've been 20 years,

Scott Benner 3:37
I had an A 24 Oh, good. I went 94 out of 10. I got to 2004 at a time where I was 2014. Then Then I knew that was 2018 and 84. Right? Boom, like that. I was right on top of it. So Oh, yeah. Oh, please, you have no idea how smart I am. Now. Um, but so 24 years ago when you were in the what range of age?

Laura 4:04
So it's fine. I was 31 I believe 3132 or 31. And I was pregnant.

Scott Benner 4:14
So did you didn't start as gestational or did you have type one immediately? or How did that go?

Laura 4:18
Well, it was really interesting. I was diagnosed with gestational. But in fact, it was really my diagnosis for type one. Okay. Okay, during my pregnancy.

Scott Benner 4:33
So those two things mimic each other and then they just assumed because you were pregnant. That's what was happening were

Laura 4:39
Yeah, in fact, they I was considered gestational diabetes completely. And I never and I was at a major university in Florida at the time, which it was. I had great care and you know, everything and basically they never had me check my Blood Sugar after I delivered. And so I went along my merry way thinking that I just had to do insulin during my pregnancy. And I thought, Oh, you know, after I had our first son, that was it. And then it was a, it was actually after I stopped breastfeeding at about 10 months that I started losing weight. And I just the total typical signs that I tried to ignore. And, you know, I was thinking, Oh, this is great. I'm, you know, getting my, I'm better than my pre pregnancy weight. You know, and I, it was a, I've heard you tell the story, like where people would always have this diagnosis, either on vacation or holidays? Well, it was Christmas Eve. And I had some time off from work. And I checked my blood sugar on this old meter that I'd had 10 months earlier been using for pregnancy. And I was 800. And or no 600. Wait. Yeah, I was oh, I had gotten this box of Christmas, Carmel from home from family in California. This was like popcorn and nuts. And it was all Carmel and I ate. I ate the entire little package and lost three pounds overnight. And I'm like, wow,

Scott Benner 6:28
I'm onto something here.

Unknown Speaker 6:31
Yeah, something's wrong. So

Scott Benner 6:33
I'm gonna have another baby and lose 15 more pounds.

Laura 6:37
Exactly. So I looked in the mirror and I was like, Oh, my God, I look like I'm starving. My app is just bones. It was not pretty

Scott Benner 6:45
your small frame, right? Like I just you popped up for a second when we were setting up, but you're a smaller person.

Laura 6:51
Yeah. And I was basically down. And I just thought, Oh, I'm working full time. I have a new baby. You know, I just thought. Yeah.

Scott Benner 6:59
Oh, finally get my stepson.

Laura 7:02
Yeah, exactly. So are you working then? Yes, I was as a neonatal nurse practitioner. Okay. Yeah.

Scott Benner 7:12
So Isn't it funny is it so you brought up a couple of things and I'll just kind of skip over them real quickly. But the the one that I think is most important, is that everybody always thinks, oh, everybody gets diagnosed on vacation. We're at a holiday. And really the truth is, is you slow down enough to start paying attention to your health on vacation or a holiday. You don't mean like life just kind of a lie.

Laura 7:35
You know? You I heard you say that in another cast. And I was like, That is so true. It is it's just you're able to I was definitely hyperglycaemic. And, you know, just didn't pay attention to the signs until I had, you know, a few days off for Christmas. Yeah,

Scott Benner 7:52
it's funny what your body can accomplish. Like when you when you don't feel like you have time to die, your body won't die. Do you know what it you know what I'm always stunned by it. I don't in any way mean this to be amusing because I really don't but do you ever see a mentally challenged adult who's in it's in their 40s or 50s and their parents are still with them and alive in their 80s? And I always think, Wow, those parents just must feel like I can't leave this kid alone. And and and somehow that takes them a you never don't see that. It's it's really, it's sort of spectacular what your body can accomplish when it feels like it has to. And so you you know you were you were doing what you needed to do and and everything was okay, right up until it wasn't and then it is funny than the minute it's almost like having a long exhausting day. Right? As long as you don't sit down. You're okay about it. Yeah. And the minute you sit down you go, Oh, this was a mistake. That did sleepy time. So so you're diagnosed later? Was there any? Any? Any? Like anything in your family type one?

Unknown Speaker 8:58
Oh, yeah. They're

Scott Benner 8:59
endo issues. There was? Yes.

Laura 9:01
My sister has two children. They're adults now. But my sister's daughter was seven when she was diagnosed, and her son was three when he was diagnosed. And so and this was before CGM. So it was actually my niece was diagnosed before I was. And it was so funny because our family was like, Oh, it's got to be on, you know, the dad's side of the family. And then, you know, just a couple few years later, I get diagnosed. No, no, no,

Scott Benner 9:36
everybody sort of blaming each other. It's like, Oh, that's your that's your family, not mine.

Unknown Speaker 9:42
Yeah,

Scott Benner 9:43
well, so that's a shot I have to imagine. Right? You were I mean, even though you're in the medical field, you don't expect to get type one diabetes in your 30s even though people around you are habit and did you ever I mean, you weren't living like that thinking Oh, it's gonna get me eventually right?

Laura 9:58
Not Not at all. Not at all. Yeah, in fact, like, as I've kind of read about it and learned about it, it's kind of interesting, like 30% of new onset type ones are over the age of 30, new onset type one are over the age of 30. And now that I'm working, I work with kids, but I also work with adults. And it's amazing how many adults are diagnosed with type one. Yeah,

Scott Benner 10:22
absolutely. And later in life, and at all that all varying, I think by now, on this podcast, we must have somebody in every five year increments, you know what I mean? Like I was between 40 and 45 is between 55 and, you know, 50 and 60 seconds. I've hit everybody at this point. And, you know, so there is no, there's no magical age, like people were, you know, believing, you know, years ago, or when they call it juvenile diabetes. Okay, so, you've had type one now for 24 years. What did you when you were first diagnosed? I mean, that's so fairly, you know, just to put us in the right place, there's a meter and some insulin and,

Laura 11:01
yeah, there you go. Just like everybody else's story. It's really, although it's happening today at the same time, and I was at a major university. Like I was saying, in Florida, which were like trial net started. And, you know, it was very much type one, it was awesome. But yeah, I went to the emergency room on Christmas Eve. And they gave me a vial of insulin, but I had been, you know, I was a nurse and I had been gestational diabetes. So I felt, you know, I was I was equipped and, you know, the place I was living was a small college town. So I was going to a Christmas party where there was a CDE that was going to be there.

Scott Benner 11:37
Like, I'll just get my I'll corner them with a big time. Hey, so Christmas, right? I have diabetes, I'm just gonna, here's my $20 copay. Please sit still and set yourself free with the Omni pod dash system. Have you considered pot therapy and how you could say goodbye to needles and pens if you made the switch to the Omni pod to boost insulin pump? Well, if you have diabetes, and your body requires insulin, you need to know about on the pod, it can make your diabetes a smaller and more manageable part of your life. People living with diabetes everywhere are choosing the Omni pod insulin management system. Maybe you have type one diabetes, where you have type two and require insulin. Maybe you're the caregiver of adult or a child, it doesn't matter. Everyone who needs their insulin needs an omni pod. Now the best part about on the pot, of course, Mount you know, I could say it's the tubeless pump. It is the only tubeless central pub, I could say it's how small and discreet it is and how you can hide in your clothes. There's a lot I could say. But I guess the best part about this, this message you're getting right now is that on the pod offers a free, no obligation demo of the pod. They call it a pack, which like a pack. Here's what you do. My Omni pod I'm doing right now.com forward slash juice box. Now when you get there, you can request a free experience kit, a pod experience kit, there's no obligation and no cost. So you get a free pack from mommy pod. Miami pod.com forward slash juice box to the links in your show notes or Juicebox podcast.com. Get Your FREE experience kit today. Take a look at the Omni pod where it see what you think. And if you like it, it's simple to get started. All you have to do is let the pod know that you've tried it and you'll like it and you'll want to keep going. couldn't be easier than that. Okay, go get your pack.

Unknown Speaker 13:40
Did you get that?

Scott Benner 13:42
What do they call that? White Coat blindness or I forget there's a name for it. I'm getting it completely wrong, where medical people kind of give short shrift to other medical people because they don't think you need the explanation of what's happened to you.

Laura 13:56
Um, I think though I am inquisitive. So I didn't feel that. No, I was like kind of trying to learn as much as I could. And talking to everybody. I could Yes,

Scott Benner 14:08
you ruin somebody's Christmas party. So you would just stand out for a second. Tell me what are ketones. Okay, so now you find out you're type one. How old's the baby at that point? Just 10 weeks, like a couple months. Okay. Were you back at work by then? Oh, yeah.

Laura 14:25
I mean, I went back, you know, just like, after three months.

Scott Benner 14:30
How did you find managing at that time? Like, what did you call success? I guess like what were you shooting for?

Laura 14:38
Boy, it was a long time ago. And you know, the meters were so different. And I didn't even start they didn't have lantis like, Well, I think lantis was fairly new. I was on ultra lenti these weird influence that would peak at different times. And I think it was on reget. Well, human log was kind of new and, you know, so it was it was Kind of just take some insulin, you know, try to eat in a healthy way, I don't remember ever being told to carb count, necessarily at the very beginning. But that came later. But I also felt like I was in a good place, I felt like I had lots of support, and you know, had a good, good start, you know,

Scott Benner 15:24
so diabetes was at some point, type one was, at some point, just this thing that was sort of no different than a medication, like a disease where you had to take a pill, like, just take your pill the way you're supposed to. And, you know, once a once every year, we'll give you a blood test and stay alive. And that's your goal.

Laura 15:44
Yeah, or even, like, things have changed, like I've worked at a diabetes camp for it's a day camp here in my area. And at the beginning, like I, this was like, early 2000s, most of the kids didn't have a lunchtime shot. Because they would take you know, this intermediate acting with their short acting in the morning, and the intermediate acting would cover their lunch. And so basically, it was just checking blood sugars. For most of the kids, there was a writ, you know, we had a few kids on pump. But there was very little interaction, the kids would, you know, be high all day. And that was kind of the they would tell the parents, you know, like, your kids are going to be high this week, don't you know, and then it was just kind of the norm now camp is like, No, no, no, no, no, we try to make goal and you know, it's a different story. Yeah. So

Scott Benner 16:36
So basically, the tools change the medication and the tools change what At what point did you start counting carbs and sort of doing that? Do you know how long?

Laura 16:46
So I started on a pump? Probably within the first year, okay. I, and those pumps, you didn't put in your carbs. This was before the smart, you know, putting, so you just put in? Yeah, yeah. And so I would just Yeah, and I am like, you could already tell I'm not a real math person. So I would totally just have my calculator with me always and be doing the math for that. Isn't it funny? I've

Scott Benner 17:17
always wondered why older people, you know, in the last 10 years that I've met, were so excited that pumps had bolus calculators when I when I was already looking at them and thinking, and I would rather just make this decision myself. But they were always so like, oh, does your pump have a bolus calculator? That's fantastic. What is the bolus calculators that you know where people like my kit, you know, they'll get on line. They'll say my gave my son insulin, and his blood sugar still going up? What should I do? Well, what does your pump say your iob is? And I was like, yeah, who cares? You know, like you obviously didn't use enough insulin, your blood sugar's high. I will tell you this morning this morning. This is why this podcast is great. Why diabetes is great for a podcast, no matter when I sit down to record it. I have a fresh story about diabetes from six hours prior. But but but this morning, Arden gets up extra early. Because there's picture retakes today. She told him she told me and I don't want to. I can't curse here. But she told me she told me privately I She goes, I really eff up my pictures. Wait till you wait till you see. And then the picture came and I was like, Oh, wow. Yeah. What were you thinking? smiled like that, you know, she goes, I'm gonna retake them. I was like, okay, so she gets up extra early. She's straightening her hair and putting on makeup and doing all this stuff. And as we're leaving for school, she goes, I want to grab something to eat. And I said, Okay, you know, like, so she reaches out, she reaches in and she grabbed some sort of this like little baked pastry thing. And it has some icing on it. I don't even know where it came from the perfectly honest. I didn't I didn't buy it. And and she's like, I'm gonna have this and I was like, Okay, well bolus this much and do this with your bazel. And this is what's worked in the past with this thing. And she leaves the house and I'm watching a little bit as I'm coming home and from dropping her off, and it's gonna be okay. And then I get see it starts to creep up. I was like, hey, let's bump it a little bit. She bumps a little bit and at 140 the arrow turns diagonal up and I think, oh, we missed, and I'm texting or China like razor and I can see it's in between classes. So she's traveling through the harm thing and she's not going to see this. And I'm texting and I'm texting I'm telling you, we went from 140 diagonal up to 200 to up and I don't think we'll never see double arrows around here. And I was like, I'm like I'm like whoa. And she's like, what am I double your bazel for an hour and Bolus two and a half units. And I have to tell you, that was a blind blank I guess as I could have made and now we are two hours later and she's 130 diagonal down. So like I we caught it but it was crazy. It went from 140 to 250. And back to it's it's insane. Yeah, you know

Laura 20:00
And just like you were saying, it's having these tools now. So back in the day, we couldn't watch that we couldn't, it was much more static, you would check a blood sugar, and then you'd see the results, you know, like three or four hours. So you didn't really have a sense that you could intervene like we can now Yeah. And so to me, these tools that we have, have changed it from this static way of thinking of dosing, and that to this more dynamic process that we go through, on a most I mean, like, kind of what you're describing on a regular basis.

Scott Benner 20:38
So then tell me, tell me something that because as we're as we're discussing this, what it occurs to me is that we have this, this, you know, current way of dealing with things, you know, many people have glucose monitors ways to see their blood sugar moving pumps, where they don't have to inject constantly, if they want to give themselves more insulin, they can push a button. But the but the rulebook doesn't. It's almost like we took the rulebook from 1980, and handed it to the people with the technology from 2018. Is that is that what's happening? Because why do people get such bad information about how to manage their type one?

Laura 21:17
But I just think it's, I totally agree, I think we haven't caught up. And I think that it's changing so fast. It's just, and I just think it's changing so fast. And if you're not, like living with it, day to day, moment to moment, right. It's, it's hard to provide guidance for that in a safe way.

Scott Benner 21:45
Have you checked out dancing for diabetes yet? I mean, have you gone to dancing for diabetes.com, or found them on Facebook or Instagram to see what they're really up to? Well, if you haven't, I'm encouraging you to do so. But additionally, if you're in the Orlando area, once you go to dancing for diabetes.com, click on the Events tab, and check out what's happening in May. That's right, the touched by type one conference will be held on May 18. This annual conference is designed for all ages, kids, teens and adults. And the goal is to educate, encourage, and empower everyone touched by type one diabetes, if you have type one, this is the place for you to be, especially if you'd like to hear me speak live about how to be bold with insulin. You're intrigued. I believe what you said not let's let's I'm gonna go with your premise that things are moving so fast. And you know, I come to work every day. Yeah, I don't fall, you know, an endo or anybody because they're they're doing they're doing what they know to do. And the world's pulling away from them. Like you said, you know, it's funny, just put up an episode with tide pool. Yesterday, art and pictures are during the launch, so we won't Pre-Bolus because I don't know how long it will be.

Unknown Speaker 22:56
And I say okay,

Unknown Speaker 22:58
yeah.

Scott Benner 23:02
Text me, as you know. So I was talking to Chris, and I said the same or he just made it, she just knocked it out of my head. Oh, my God. Wait, hold on a second speed of Arden knocked my phone out of my head with their text. Okay, oh, actually, you know, what, my inability to remember what I was gonna say is my point. How is it possible that me, the guy who just had to read a text and then forgot what he was going to say, could could figure it out, but a doctor can't figure it out.

Laura 23:33
I think this really this technique really works for you. And it really resonates to a lot of people and and like the more people I talked about your podcast with and you know, it's, it's fascinating, but there are people that think in a very linear way and you know, this method so so like, you kind of have to find what works for different people's brain in terms of what management is going to work for different people's abilities.

Scott Benner 24:13
But is it actually working for those other people? Yes, yes, there

Laura 24:16
are other people walking around with five to eight one sees who count carbs put it in at a certain time don't think about it again for three hours. They do it in a different way. They do it in a way that works for them like I'm sure and I haven't heard much about like Stephen ponders, we're, you know, kind of that whole thing of that sugar surfing stuff. So that is very much like kind of ORed with the same john Walsh's pumping insulin, you know, where it's all kind of laid out exactly how to dose and, and and that works for some people. So it's like you kind of have I really feel like you have to find what works for you what's safe for you with the tools You have over certain you

Scott Benner 25:01
have to have the right tools. You can. Yeah, I mean, what I'm doing right now with a meter is, I mean, would probably have you testing 20 times a day? I would more or more. Right, right. I would definitely think,

Unknown Speaker 25:15
yeah, yeah. So

Scott Benner 25:16
so I have, so I want to be clear, I don't care how anybody does this. I just want it to work for them. Yeah, I just I don't want

Laura 25:23
no. And I have people that listen to your podcast, they don't do kind of what you're doing. But they love the message. They love the like, hearing people struggle, you know, hearing people go through the same thing. But they're not on CGM. They're not on an pump, and they don't want to yet you know, there's issues, emotional, other, there's all kinds of reasons why. And so they just, they get something from this, so and it's helped them and they're seeing better numbers, and it's just kind of this awareness, this discussion, that doesn't happen in other places. Okay, so

Scott Benner 26:04
it's that you think that it's, it's funny, um, you think the discussion is where the value lies, as much as anything else.

Laura 26:11
So I think for some people, the methodology that can work for, for some people and other people, it's they cannot go there. But they still love listening to people their experience, how they're dealing with it. And so there's an and, and listening about the gift, they're not ready. I know it's hard to believe in this day and age, but some people are not ready for CGM. And it for them to hear all these people talking about it and how useful it is. And that is more than than someone just saying, you need a CGM, you know, it's very much a cut gives value to what their experiences and then they're open to hearing other ideas. Cool.

Scott Benner 27:00
Tell me the this the statement, they're not ready. This What is there?

Unknown Speaker 27:06
And there, you don't want it?

Scott Benner 27:07
And why why do people say they don't want it? Because I have my thoughts, but I want to hear yours, please.

Laura 27:14
There's different reasons. Some people and I deal with kids, but I also deal with adults. And so right now, when I'm thinking I'm thinking of the adults that I that she don't want to feel like they have to be thinking about it all the time. And if it's continuous, they feel like they have to think of it all the time. Whether or not that's based in what their reality should or shouldn't be. That's their reality. And so some people don't want to be tied down to this

Unknown Speaker 27:53
constant

Laura 27:55
thing that they have to look at and respond to.

Scott Benner 27:58
So here's how that strikes me. I'm gonna sound like such a jerk. Oh, wow, I don't do this very often. This is great. I'm gonna be jerky there are some people listening are like, dude, you're jerky all the time. Calm down. But But okay, so that would be to me, like saying that I smoke two packs of cigarettes a day. But I only worry about the health effects of my cigarette smoking on Saturdays between noon and 3pm. Because it's not like me not thinking about it doesn't make it not happening.

Laura 28:25
But let me put it in another way. Please. So so when I listened to you manage Arden's blood sugar's when she was younger, you did it, you know, like she didn't, you didn't want to burden her with all of that. Right? And so you are doing so you kind of it's, it is there for some people is seen as just too much, you know, whether it's where they are, emotionally developmentally, you know, so, so there is this component of Yes, it's a lot of information. And you do have to deal with it if you have that information. Or maybe not, but so I just feel like people are in different spaces, different places. And I would you know, if someone could manage me all the time, I think that would be great. But I'm like, I'm not offering that up to my husband to

Scott Benner 29:24
he doesn't have a podcast, or how's he gonna do so here would be my response to that kind of concept that made me think I guess I don't really know how to say what I want to say

Laura 29:40
this, but I mean, some people are ready and some people aren't and just like some people can't, but I feel like with smoking as an addiction, and that's, you know, I think that's a different place to just stop, you know, but there's also an emotional to this too.

Scott Benner 29:54
Yeah. And I may have had a bad apples to apples there. Maybe I was more like apples to like grape apples, but My thought was is that you can't you can't ignore something for a number of days and pretend that that's taking care of it. Because I don't know what's happening, or I'm not going to think about what's happening. But what I was going to say about the other part was, I hear that it could be my response to this would be, I understand that people might think that what I'm doing with art takes up a lot of time. But what I'm going to tell you is, is that it takes up less time. It once you understand the basic concepts that we chat about here on this podcast, it takes less effort and less thought to keep my daughter's blood sugar between 70 and 120. than it would to not.

Laura 30:37
Yeah, I believe you. I mean, I totally believe you once your blood sugar's high, it's so hard to get it into a good place. And then you're bouncing all over. Yep, absolutely.

Scott Benner 30:45
Stupid analogy, you're driving down the road, your car starts to drift. Do you nudge the car back to the left? Or do you wait till you're in a pothole and off the side of the road, you start turning because that takes more effort. Now you're being pulled off the road. There's other things at play, you have to steer more, it's dangerous, there's a tree there, etc. But when you saw the white line coming, all you really had to do was turn your steering wheel, just maybe a quarter of an inch to the left, you went back again. And so it's simpler to react in those tolerances with smaller adjustments because smaller adjustments create less counter adjustments so when you start swerving that's the roller coaster if you just a little this way a little that way. That's that's the other side of it. So I get the podcast in itself doesn't explain every, every week. What the diabetes that you know how to handle something does that you have to kind of listen through the whole thing and that you do, I do hear a ton of people who say, look, I listened for a while and I finally got it. Some people get it quicker. Some people get it slower. I also hear from there's a guy, Michael who listens, hi, Michael, who said one day sent me a note and he said, okay, you when I'm getting it on the pot. And what I what I took from his from his statement was, oh my god every week, but the sound the pot that I'm just gonna buy it if you like, leave me alone, you know, like, and and now he loves it.

Laura 32:07
Yeah. And so no, I, I just and I can tell you person after person that I've talked to listening to your podcast, and some of them are doing it. And it's and almost everybody is more engaged in their diabetes after when listening to you and kind of this. And, you know, yes, some are following kind of the formula that isn't really a formula, but just, you know, it works. Some people can do that other people. They're not there, but they're still getting value. You know, they're still making changes in their life. And yeah, it's awesome. Yeah. Listen, I

Scott Benner 32:44
got a message from yesterday, I joked with my wife when we got home. When she got home from work. I said, She's like, how was your dad's like, today was since got an email and tell him how great the podcast is today. I said, because I got seven of them today. Which by the way, thank you, everyone. And I will, I will respond to it at some point. But one of them was, you know, from from a woman who was just like, just talking like you like I love the podcast and changed how I think about things and everything. And I said, Can you tell me, you know, would you mind me asking what what struck you the, you know, the hardest? Like, what? What, what about the podcast, catch you looking for whatever I might have said. So I can know to say it again, basically, you know that it works on that it works and people hear it. And she said just not to be afraid. It was such a simple part of the idea because in my mind, and I don't know how I can run through it off the top of my head. But in my mind, managing Type One Diabetes begins with not being afraid. Once you're not afraid, you have to learn how insulin works in your body. You can't do anything until you learn how the insulin works. And then from there, it's all about timing and amount. And in the end, in the end, I don't see it as any more difficult than that base. There's more to it. But if you go back to those three concepts, you're a one sees going down a point and a half just for those three ideas.

Laura 33:59
Yeah. And I have I've so many patients, so many people that I work with that have had a bad experience with a low blood sugar. Yeah. And then they just they they cannot they cannot keep they keep their blood sugar in this very tight range between 200 and 300 all the time, because they're paralyzed with moving it down. And so that at least you know, if the were a CGM, then we just work on 20 points, you know, let's get it instead of 280. Let's try for 250 as your top, you know, yeah, all the time. I

Scott Benner 34:41
say if you keep it steady somewhere, you can keep it steady. Any Yeah. Right. It doesn't like what is the difference between 250 and 150, except your fear? What's the difference between 150 and 80? Except for you're concerned that your blood sugar is going to drop too quickly. And so, I mean, people say but really difficult when when you're faced with, you know, some

Laura 35:04
unknowns. Yeah, or just fear. Yeah, anxiety. Yeah, God,

Scott Benner 35:08
you have no idea of course, perhaps. Yeah, absolutely. I'm gonna tell I don't know if I've ever I've, I've said this yet, but I go to the dentist about six months ago. And I'm a person I hydrate a lot during the day. So I don't think clearly and drink probably what is the equivalent of 110 ounces of water in an hour and a half prior to going to get my right. So I roll into the dentist's office, they're like, Hey, you can come back. I'm like, Yeah, right after I pay. So I go and go into the bathroom. I go in now the girls working on my teeth, 20 minutes or so. And I look at her and I go, Hey, is this a good time for me to get up for a second? Because bathroom again. And so I do it again, right? And then later in the in the visit, she has the doctor come in to look over what she's done. And, you know, talk to me. And as I'm sitting there, she says that she ratted me out to the doctor. She says, you know, he's he's gone to the bathroom twice since he's been here. I'm like, well, that's like, holistic dentist's office. What are we doing here? Like, don't worry about my whole thing, just how's my teeth. And so, and I so I joke, I could go again, like trying to impress them. But I'm saying that because again, I i've consumed a cooler swath of water, you know, right before heading there. And he goes, you really could go to the bathroom again. I said, Yeah, I just I drunk. I drank a bunch of water. He looks right at me. He goes, that could be type two diabetes. Oh, my God. And I went, I went, wait, what? No, I just drank a bunch of water man. And he's like, Well, no. And then he starts talking about it. So the point of telling you the story is I get home, you know, I'm hungry. And I can't bring myself to eat. Because I'm like, What if I have type two diabetes, and no joke, like a rest of the day I kind of could meet. But I got up in the morning, I thought I'd forgotten about it. And I couldn't eat. I couldn't bring myself to eat because everything I know about insulin and my daughter's diabetes. And then this guy puts it in my head that I could have tied to it by 10 o'clock, I'm on the phone with my doctor, I need a physical and and he's like, wow, I'm like, I need a physical now I'm in now I'm at the physical. Right. And, and my doctor, you're gonna get the whole story, Barbara, why not? Let's tell it right here. So my doctor's services you come in the first time, you just meet with the doctor, let them know what's going on. It's 15 or 20 minutes. Excuse me, and then we'll make the real appointment. So that's what I believe I'm doing this day, I'm just coming in to sit with a doctor. I thought it was stupid. I didn't understand it. But I was doing. So I'm in with the doctor for a couple minutes, he starts asking some questions. He puts a stethoscope on my chest. And I think this seems more like a physical than to talk about a physical. It goes a little farther. And he looks at me and he says, I'm gonna need you to take your pants down. And I was like, What is happening? This is the weirdest meeting in the history of my life. And I think I gotta stop you for a second. I was like, is this the physical? And he says yes, the physical. And I'm like, but I was told I was coming in for a meeting. Oh, I don't know why they do that. So five minutes later, for everyone listening, I'm facedown on the thing with the doctor standing behind me thinking when I get out of here, I'm gonna go find this dentist and punch him in the face, right? Because look what has happened to me. And then the whole thing gets done, because we'll do a little blood work because it's part of the physical everything and he hands me the orders for the bloodwork. And I say my I see you didn't put a one C on here. And he goes, Oh, you don't have type two diabetes? No, no, no, I'm like, I want the a one c done. I was like, I don't care about the rest of this. And, and you're gentle man. But please do the a one seat. So anyway, there's a way funnier part of the story that's inappropriate for the podcast. But nevertheless, I get my one seat on May once he's fine. And, and but thank you, but but the point is, is that for three days, I couldn't barely bring myself to eat, because I was so afraid of what my blood sugar might be doing. And so I now have a renewed sense of how people must feel when they say they're scared. It's a little it's different. But I'm a little closer to the understanding at this point. You know, yeah, it really was sort of insane. I say it all the time. I get that if you're if you live alone, and you're an adult that what we talked about might be more difficult. If you don't have a CGM, it's in it would be a leap to do some things. Right. But what I would say is if you have insurance and you are financially able, in my opinion, just go into the podcast player, click on the link and check out Dexcom because that's how you could do this stuff. I mean, look at Arden's blood sugar right now is 112 now, so so it's so sweet. We

Unknown Speaker 39:45
want 12 right now,

Unknown Speaker 39:47
are you really? Yeah,

Scott Benner 39:48
I just looked down that might be the name of the episode. So but but but I mean, think about what happened. Arden ate something completely. Sugar rific this morning, we weren't able to Pre-Bolus the We wanted to we missed on the Bolus, readdress the Bolus within 25 minutes. And squelched a pretty severe spike and brought it back without making it. And, and that's, that's, that's common and wearing a pump. That will that was because we use temp basals in there and all kinds of other stuff. Unlike a blood glucose meter, which provides just a single glucose reading Dexcom provides real time dynamic glucose information every five minutes up to 288 readings, a 24 hour period, you can gain valuable insight about your glucose levels, including rate of direction and change. This will give you additional insight to proactively manage diabetes. What can that lead to? How about a reduction in a one C, reduced hypoglycemia, and active monitoring while you're sleeping. These are a lot of fancy ways to say peace of mind while you're sleeping, and the ability to see the speed and direction of your blood sugar. And if you want to know how someone gets an A one c reduction with a glucose monitor, here's how we do it. You hear us talking about all the time in the podcast. But if Arden's blood sugar tries to go over 120, we bump it back down again, the dexcom g six tells us, hey, you're rising. And then we can use a tiny bit of insulin to stop that rise when you only use a small amount of insulin for the rise. And you know very frequently, what I find for us, you know, your results may vary. But for us, when we use a little bit of insulin to stop arise, the likelihood of a low later. pretty unlikely, because you've only used a tiny amount of insulin to stop that 120 that's just starting to come up. And then you stay off the diabetes roller coaster, no bouncing all over the place. That's just one way that Dexcom helps us. The next thing you need to do is go to dexcom.com forward slash juice box or click on the links in your show notes. Where Juicebox podcast.com to get started today with the Dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor the best decision you'll ever make. In your opinion, if you could if you could take away people's you know how they feel for a second. We'll just we'll just take away people's Free Will for a second. If you could take freewill away from people for a second. And you were in charge of how people manage their diabetes. Would you put them on a pump?

Laura 42:29
I don't think a pump is as important as CG CGM. Okay,

Scott Benner 42:34
so you would definitely put them on a CGM. If I took away their Well, you would.

Laura 42:38
But it's so interesting because we can't get it covered by so for so many people. It's not covered.

Scott Benner 42:45
How is that? What what what ends up happening? Because their insurance covers it. You just can't sort of No, no, no,

Unknown Speaker 42:52
no, not at all. Not at all.

Scott Benner 42:54
Is it an age thing? Is it a? Is it an A one c thing?

Laura 42:58
No. We just got like Medicare to cover it about a year and a half ago or so. So that's been a huge. It's been wonderful. I mean, there were people that turn 65 and had to lose their CGM. Yeah, this is like crazy. So, um, but so that's good. Medicare is now covering it, but like the state insurances aren't. And yeah, and then the cost like some people have these, you know, they work for a small company, and the insurance isn't great. And they have to pay exorbitant amounts, basically, almost the whole cost of it. So I mean, there are a lot of people that if anything, we could change to me, it is the standard of care. We need everybody to have the availability to have it available to them. It would, it would save so many hospitalizations. You know, there's so many things that would be a benefit. But yeah, people can't get it.

Scott Benner 43:53
And so what are the What does the What do most insurance companies try to say when you say this person needs to see gym they go? No, they don't? Do they say they don't need it as they call it? not medically necessary? What do they? Yeah, so

Laura 44:04
then we have to do these prior authorizations. We write letters and they still say no, no.

Scott Benner 44:10
And does it once in a while workout, or do you have to have like some like PDF to show

Laura 44:14
we had the patient and this is gonna sad, very sound very sad, but he didn't have any fingers. And so out of all of these patients, one patient I know of God

Scott Benner 44:25
because he couldn't test his blood sugar because he didn't affect

Unknown Speaker 44:28
Oh, well. And that's what I mean. He could still test his blood sugar but but not it was Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Oh, my God. Yeah, that's

Scott Benner 44:34
not good. Oh, yeah. realities. I do think that we're probably I mean, I don't know. I really do. I'm not. I'm not being coy. I don't know. But I would imagine that once Dexcom gets the transmitter portion of the process smaller. That probably is the space where they can then say okay, We're gonna make this more mass consumable financially, like you would, you would think that's what is because they've that, you know, here's what I don't think people get about diabetes companies in general right is they're smaller companies than you think they are. They're not these giant, you know, they're not for the most part giant conglomeration. spintronics have, of course, a much bigger part of a pharma company, but are a smaller part of a pharma company, which makes them bigger and more powerful. But if you have on the iPod, or even Dexcom, those kinds of these are companies that sell one.

Laura 45:33
Yeah, and I live in Southern California. So I'm right there where Dexcom is, and yet I've gone into the factory or whatever you call it and, and talk to them. They are I it really feels like a small business as it is. Yeah. Love that. Yeah, they're very helpful. They're wonderful. But yeah, I just think we just need to get we need we need more help to make it so it workable. Yeah.

Scott Benner 46:05
Well, I have a, it's, it's, it really is such a crazy conversation, because it should, of course, everybody should have it. And at the same time, you know, there's an argument to be made for if the company doesn't make money, then none of us are going to have it. And you know, like and, and insurance companies should be you know, Bob, there's just there's so much it's just such a I imagine you see it every day, right? It's such a convoluted web of BS, I imagine.

Unknown Speaker 46:32
Yeah. Yeah.

Laura 46:34
It is. And it's frustrating because people just want it. People want nobody wants to do poorly with their diabetes. Right, right. Nobody does. Nobody does.

Scott Benner 46:47
That getting too low is a good reason to need a CGM. But getting too high is not like like, why is that? Why Why is it isn't it? I mean, so the insurance company values not dying today, but they don't value not dying next week? Like what? Yeah, what what why would that even be so it really isn't about your health as much as it is about

Unknown Speaker 47:11
I guess sweating out, I

Laura 47:13
guess. I don't know. I hate I'm not a cynical person. But, um, but you know, just know that it there are challenges out there. Why people can't use these tools that are available. Mm hmm. Yeah.

Scott Benner 47:26
I hear you. Okay, so, jeez. Well, what would you Okay, so you would give you would give people a CGM. If you if you were, if you were great and powerful Oz, you could take care of everything and just do whatever you want in that CGM would definitely be there. What do you think about?

Laura 47:42
Like, there's still, there's still especially there's people that don't want to have things on their body? And so it's not gonna be for everybody. But um, you know,

Scott Benner 47:53
Oh, absolutely. No, I hundred percent agree that there is there. There is a trade off though, right? though, if you if you, it's no different than if you look back to, you know, go back 30 or 40 years, and someone says, Look, I've been taking care of my diabetes for a long time without a meter. I don't need a meter. And, and because that is really I ever, you know, I know, people who were diagnosed when

Unknown Speaker 48:13
I see patients every day like that, yeah,

Scott Benner 48:15
yeah, I don't need a meter, I'll be fine. But but in the long run, they're not going to be fine without a meter. Right.

Laura 48:21
I, so I worked for, I don't know, 17 years, or no 15 years, with kids with diabetes. So I rarely saw complications. And then in the last three years, I started working with adults with diabetes. And so that changed my whole perception of what we do in pedes. And I still work one day a week at at the Children's Hospital and four days a week now with adults and young adults with diabetes, but it's just seeing all the complications has really changed my focus on our pediatric care to really engage kids, so that they're more like, active in their own care, and transitioning to adult, you know, independent care in a more seamless way.

Scott Benner 49:18
And that takes time. Is that is that your I mean, that's how I see it.

Laura 49:22
Yeah. Oh, yeah, it starts. Yeah, yeah. Very, very young. Yeah.

Scott Benner 49:27
And that's just I think it's a very slow I see it just like every other parenting idea like you don't, you don't grab your eight year old and start yelling at them about this is something you need to do get it done right. This second, like, you know,

Unknown Speaker 49:40
yeah,

Scott Benner 49:40
I think I think as a parent, my I was telling my son this recently, I'm like, he's like, what do you think your biggest job is like in parenting? And

Unknown Speaker 49:49
I said, Well, I

Scott Benner 49:50
think it's repeating things without getting annoyed. You know, because I think there are certain things you're going to need to hear a dozen times 100 times 1000 times. In a way that doesn't make you tired of hearing it.

Unknown Speaker 50:02
Right, you know, I

Scott Benner 50:03
think it's my job to kind of watch what's going on and keep directing you in a certain direction without you sometimes knowing you're being directed, you know, asking you, I did it to him the other day, and he's a college I, I told him something about his sister that I wanted him to know about himself. And if I would have told it to him about himself, he wouldn't have heard it. But when I told it to him about somebody else, he was like, Yeah, I see that. So you know, like, I think that's my job. My job is to manipulate you privately behind in a very kind of loving, right, yeah, yeah, let them let them have the idea. But you're basically showing them something in a way that doesn't make them immediately put up a defensive wall about that's, that's my thought. And, and so he was, you know, and I've seen it work, and it's working with the diabetes very slowly, just you know, even last week, or this, excuse me, this, it's been Arden's been a freshman now for about a month and a half or two months. And she's like, I don't want to set alarms anymore to remind us to Pre-Bolus for lunch, I'm gonna keep track of it. And I was like, Okay, great. Oh, great. Oh, good. So, you know, last week, I'm losing track sheet

Unknown Speaker 51:20
today. How did you do with that?

Scott Benner 51:22
I'm fine. I don't, I'm just I just stay fluid. My whole thing is just a float. So I'm like, so I'm like, okay, but she has a days and B days, and there's lunch on different times a day, and I lose track. You just saw me read a text and forget what I was gonna say. So I don't know if today's in a day or a B day, right. She either has lunch today at 1030 or 1130. I don't know. Because I don't know what that is. So one day, I'm like, oh, it must be. I don't know what day 1130. And 11 1030 goes by and it's quarter 11. It's 11 o'clock, and all of a sudden, I see her CGM change in a way that like, I was like, I didn't expect that that you know, and then the diagonal up arrow, which you know, I'm like, wait, what, what's happening? And then boom, I text her. I'm like, hello. She's like, um,

Unknown Speaker 52:09
I think I want to eat.

Scott Benner 52:20
Oh, my God, I eat. I'm like, how much is I've been done for 20 minutes. So everyone knows Arden's, you know, lunches are like a conglomeration of like, stops. I was like, uh, uh, and I think about what's in there. And I think, okay, if we would have done this on time. I think this is like 12 units. But now she's 20 minutes past having eaten, she'd probably been eating for 40 minutes. I'm, we're screwed. You know. So like, I was like, double your basal for an hour and a half. And then I bolused what I thought the food was gonna take plus, like three more units. And it went to 280. You know, but it came back. Right. And so and I wasn't upset. I was like, this is how most people rock, you know, like, so I was like, it'll be okay. And yeah, right. And everything was fine. And she got home and I was like, Hey, no big deal. Like we got your blood sugar back. No problem. I said, but you know, I need you to, you know, it's fine. If you don't, yeah, just remember, she's like, okay, like, five days later, it happened again. And now and now you see her? Like, she just texted me, hey, they're gonna do our pictures during our lunch. So we can't Pre-Bolus now that in my mind, is my daughter learning a lesson without feeling bad about it right without being like yell, yelled at, or directed or dominated or something like that. Just let it let let some experiences happen so she can learn from

Laura 53:41
them. And I think you know, that's awesome. Because, you know, some, I see some situations where it's all on the kid. And that doesn't work. Well, you know. And so it's just this intermingling of an adult brain and the kid and, you know, kind of helping that person figure it out. Helping the child figure it out, is key to success. And so that they're not alone. They're in that you guys are talking about it awesome. And that's how people can kind of transition to independent care in a more seamless way for sure.

Scott Benner 54:26
Don't forget to check out dancing for diabetes at dancing for diabetes.com they're also on Facebook and Instagram. That's dancing the number four diabetes.com if you'd like to see me speak live about being bold with insulin I will be at touched by type one and event run by dancing for diabetes, go to dancing for diabetes.com and click on the Events tab. You can't You can't say you can't do your thing. You can never throw your hands up with anything but diabetes especially can't go I don't know where this is the best I can do. Like, that can't be an answer. And I and I, I heard a person say the other day about their child with diabetes, that they were, you know, unable to mad, like pay attention to this kid's blood sugar as much as they wanted to during the day. And their blood sugar was getting pretty high from it. And as I was trying to imagine ways to affect that, they said, well, it's, you know, it's just, I can't do it. And I was like, wow, wait, what? Like, like, that's a strange idea. Like, like, to me like the the idea of, well, it's beyond what I can do. And I understand there could be a ton of reasons could be work related, it could be sleep related, it could be money, there's a lot of different reasons. But there's also usually a different way. If you if you just keep, keep wondering about it, like, just keep looking into it. Don't just keep running into the same wall over and over again. But think differently, you know, what I mean? Like, like your outline, or whatever you want to say outside of the box, or whatever. But once you've applied your thoughts to this, and you've come to know, answer, find someone else's thoughts. You know, because they said this to me, and I said, Well, have you considered this? I gave them my idea. I'm being very vague, because I don't want to ask somebody, I gave them my idea. And it turned out, they hadn't considered that. And now that's what they're gonna try. And I do the same thing. My wife said to me the other day, hey, we're not going to be able to go on this spring trip with with Cole's baseball team because of this. And I said, Well, why not? Why don't we try to figure out how to do it? And she's like, yeah, maybe we can. But it was her first inclination that it wouldn't work. And you always have to, if you if you can't imagine how to do something, find someone who can. That that's all I please never say the the dreaded sentence about diabetes. That's just diabetes, I please you make you make me crazy. If I even think you're saying that somewhere in the world. Never say that's just diabetes. It's something else. And keep trying. Reach out, find community, ask a person ask your doctor ask. Write it on a Facebook page. I don't know yell it out your window. Maybe your neighbors got diabetes, though. Y'all back Bolus. I don't know how it'll go. Tell me. So tell me this as we wrap up, what you think fears, the biggest hurdle that you see people have? Right? What do you think gets them past the fear?

Laura 57:21
For people that are really struggling with that fear? I think small changes, make big differences. So just kind of that idea of, you don't have to be 75 to 120 all the time. And that's just overwhelming when they're comfortable in this 250 range. But just you know, just for a week, and it's gonna be really, really hard. Try accepting. If you're, if your comfort zone is 252 30, for a week to you know, just bring it start bringing it down and wearing a CGM. You know, that, to me, that really seems to help. But I think also, I think everybody in diabetes needs to see a therapist, I really do. I think you're dealing with something that you have to think of every moment of every day. I think, you know, whether you're going to sleep or you're working out, or you're eating things that are basic to life. You have to have this other thing in your mind. And so it's overwhelming. And so I think it's a good idea if you're struggling, if you if you're having a hard time getting to goal, you know, keeping your time in range, then yeah, go talk to somebody. I think the emotional thing is, is pretty high. Spectacular advice.

Scott Benner 58:52
Quick question. Yeah. How low is too low? If you're steady at it? So let's say you're not falling, right? There's no danger, you're gonna fall. My blood sugar's 80. That's fine, right?

Unknown Speaker 59:04
I think so. Okay. 70.

Laura 59:09
Because you have insulin, working on your body.

Unknown Speaker 59:14
For

Unknown Speaker 59:17
most people

Unknown Speaker 59:19
70 is you're on the edge,

Scott Benner 59:23
because you're considering you're gonna keep falling.

Laura 59:26
Not necessarily everybody. So let's say they got to 70 after being 200 or 250. You're not going to feel good there, either. So some people, like when they've had highs for a long time, they may start feeling a low at 120. Right? They just, you know, they need to get to a spot where they're not in the two to 300 all the time. So they feel normal at 100. But 70 to me, especially in kids, and if you don't have a CGM, no way so So, to me, there are some limits and, and, and there were some studies early, like I don't know, 10 years ago about brain development and hypoglycemia, but those were studies before CGM before, you know, so I don't, you know, but so I don't I don't really know. And then there were studies in adults with a when seagulls you know, with type two, these were older people with type two and they thought, Oh, if sevens good, maybe we should get them lower. And that accord study showed that there was in this is an adult older population with type two diabetes so not really relatable. But there was more sudden cardiac death in patients who had a one sees less than 6.5. So how are we saying that a low A when C is that great either we don't have the data. So

Scott Benner 1:00:53
we have two mixed thoughts here. So let me let me unpack them for a second. So I get that if you're a person who's had a high blood sugar for a very long time that a 120 could feel like low, and that you want to come down slowly as your body gets used to it to stay on there. My but my question that I probably didn't phrase correctly was, I'm just wondering, when is it in the moment not forget long term, but in the moment, when does it become detrimental to your brain for your blood sugar to be at a certain thing, like I here's my thought, and, and I don't want Arden to be under 70 for any long period of time. But if she gets to 65, and it's going to sit there for a few minutes, I'm okay with that. If she hits 55, overnight, and I can trim a bazel and bring it back in 20 minutes or an avoid juice. I'll do that. Don't get me wrong, if she's 55. And she's falling. If she's 55. And she has, you know, I would counteract it with carbs right away. But if she drifts to 55, and then bounces right back again, and I'm talking about in 15 or 20 minutes, I don't think of that as horrible. It's not something I would want. And I don't think it's that it's healthy. But I don't think she's about to die either. And, and so I think that there's all I'm saying is I would like Arden's blood sugar to be above 70 and sitting as stable as possible. But I think it's important for people to understand that if their blood sugar should go to 65. They're not about to expire, and they haven't caused a third of their brain to die, or. Right, right. They just

Laura 1:02:26
need to act on it. Yeah,

Scott Benner 1:02:28
right. Do something. Yeah. But see, the reason I bring that up is because is because Do you have any idea how many people you see whose blood sugar's get to 120. And they start eating carbs. Because they feel incredible.

Laura 1:02:43
I talk to people and they say, my content, like a medium for the first time. And they're like, my comfort zone is I like to be 150 to 200 because that's where I feel good. If I'm lower than that, I feel low. And and so then there's this discussion, they just help, you know, they, it's just a matter of getting more information and getting, you know, because they're just going on how they feel like

Scott Benner 1:03:09
they made their body accustomed to something. Yeah, not right for that health. You saw a post online once, that said, we almost lost our daughter last night. And I was like, Oh my god, this is horrible. Her blood sugar got to 68 they thought she was going. And I was like, wait, what, what are we talking about? And so it said, I'm reading and I'm like, wait, maybe I'm thinking maybe she was 68. And they used a you know, like, like, I don't know novolog that Atlantis at night or something? They put it but eight units. And I'm like I'm so I'm trying to figure out what's going on? No, no, her blood sugar just gonna see jam. She drifted to this number. And, and sat there for a few minutes. They they were breaking out the glucagon. And I was like, Oh my god, it's 68 I'd be like, if I trim her bazel back 50% for an hour. We sleep all night. And I wake up and she's like, like, that's how I started thinking about it. This poor girl was almost in the hospital. And I was like, oh, gosh, and that's the misconception.

Laura 1:04:09
box the reality of everybody's coming from different places in terms of their understanding. And, you know, they're with they've been taught it's, you know, and and yes, we I think, you know, keeping your blood sugar over 70, you know, is a good idea. But when people are in tight control, they are going to drift down and just so long as they're dealing with it and bringing it back up. And yeah, you do not want to be you know, in a danger zone. Or often. Yes. Right, right. And that whole thing about the CGM is to kind of look at that time and range. You know, you can have a great day one See, but if you're having more than say 5% in that low, two areas, you know, yeah, you know, you kind of want To think, what could I do to get myself more in the green?

Scott Benner 1:05:04
By the way, too, I wanted to I don't have the person's name. I'm not calling anyone out, but to the person who said their clarity app from 50 to 300. And then posted Look at me, I was in range 100% of the time. Shame on you. Okay. I mean, seriously, between 50 and 300? Where are you in? 24 hours a no hitter? Uh huh. And I was just like, it was like, Oh, my gosh, like, look at this. This is like, and because joking aside, this poor person doesn't understand what they're supposed to be doing. They said, they said, it's like saying, you know, I don't know, I've got all five lanes of the highway, I never left my lane. Like no way what you're supposed to stay in between the white lines over here. If you drift a little bit, you've left your lane. And and I all I could really think was two things. First of all, what a horrible misunderstanding of what, what their health is about. And, and secondly, look at what they're showing to all these other people, because people are like, Oh, my God, that's amazing. I'm like, it's amazing. Was it How was that amazing? It's, it's, it's a misunderstanding of what you're doing. And, and so my point is this. And we started off by saying this in the beginning, and I still steadfastly believe what I'm gonna say. You said, Just now, it all depends on where they come from and what they've been taught. In my heart, I want people to be taught that that insulin is dangerous, and they need to respect it, but they can't be afraid of it, if they're afraid of it, that their health is going to, it's going to, at some point, suffer that they have to make smaller adjustments, because that keeps you off the roller coaster that highs cause lows, because you use a lot of insulin at a time when eventually the food leaves your system and and what's left behind is the insulin. If your blood sugar is high, you've likely have mistimed your insulin or miscalculated or combination of the both. And if your blood sugar is low, you've likely Miss times your insulin miscalculated, or a combination of the both. If you can afford this technology, please give it a try. I know you don't want it attached to you, or whatever else you're thinking. But just give it a try. If you don't like it after you try it, and then don't use it. But don't say, That's not for me, if you've never tried it before, I think if people got that simple direction earlier in their time with diabetes, that we'd see more people who could say, who would understand the 275 is not in their range. And and I just want you to know, it's your job now, to go tell every CD that I would do it, but no one's asked me to.

Laura 1:07:33
It's funny, you know, like, you talk about it, like a tug of war. And, um, I kind of think it's more to me, I mean, I like the tug of war thing. But, um, I kind of like the idea of it's like, it's like driving a stick shift. Okay. So when I, my husband and I met in high school, and like, I was learning how to drive. And he was teaching me and I was, like, I was very linear at the time, I think. And I said, Okay, and write down exactly when I'm supposed to change gears. You know, like, I want it exactly. I want you to spell it out. Exactly. And he goes, Hey, Laura, you just got to feel it, you got to know when you know, to lead off and when to give and, and, and to me, and then yeah, sometimes you saw, sometimes it's not perfect. But you can still get up the hill, you know. And so it's like to be it's kind of like that kind of it's a given take, it's kind of like how you have to feel it. And now we have these tools, like you know, the CGM to be able to see the result. You know, I don't know what that is in a car. But you know, like, basically,

Scott Benner 1:08:53
it's your head not jerking around when you shift. I like what you're saying about the idea of you have to feel it. I fear though the concept of a stick shift analogy has just struck three people that are listening and no one else. My I said to my daughter the other day.

Unknown Speaker 1:09:08
Right? I'm so old. Yeah.

Scott Benner 1:09:11
Not at all. But that's so funny.

Unknown Speaker 1:09:13
I know. I

Scott Benner 1:09:14
just I really believe that. There's, I genuinely think and I understand what you were saying before about doctors are in the moment. They're teaching it there. They're not living it. But if I could figure it out, and I can find a way to pass it on to somebody else, because the podcast is all well and good. But I could line up hundreds of people for you who've called my house. And we've had 45 minute conversations that have changed their entire perspective and put them on a new path. If If I can do that, then certainly a doctor can do that. And I'm sure maybe not everybody I've ever spoken to has gotten off the phone and been like, Wow, my life has been changed. Some people probably hung up and went well, that's not for me. And I get that. But there's no there's no reason And not to present that information to people? Yeah.

Laura 1:10:04
Yeah, I think I feel really fortunate because the university that I work at two of the attending, I have type one also. So it's like, and they teach the fellows. So they are teaching. So it's a different, it's a really good setting for that I feel like to get to what it's really about. Which I don't think everybody has to have diabetes to treat, I don't want that to be the message at all. But I think having a personal connection, and understanding and and that's true with any aspect of anybody's job, if you can connect with people on a personal level, and really try to understand what they're going through day to day. And if you can, you know, basically walk in their shoes, understand what's going on, whether you have type one or not. But just understand that you know, what people are facing every single day and the decisions they have to make to stay in a good place is important that you're

Scott Benner 1:11:06
not just reading to them from a manual, which is, as we talked about earlier, likely was written 20 years ago for technology. Nobody's using now. Okay. All right. I hear you. All right, go to work. And everyone, please log on at 630 her time with me in the morning. If someone said to me that there was $1,000 in my backyard, but I had to get it at 630 in the morning and be showered and dressed I'd say you know what, how badly Do I really need that money. And so and Laurie did this for free. And so thank you very much. I really appreciate you sharing your insight, especially with the work you do. And I genuinely appreciate you getting up so early to do it too. So I really do. I just want to say thank you.

Laura 1:11:48
Well, thanks for having me come and talk. I really appreciate it but I want you to know that there are so many people that aren't reaching out to you that are also I mean, I've someone from Mexico told me about your pot I mean, like you're reaching people all over and it's it's just powerful and I just want to thank you so that people can listen to these conversations and and just feel like they're they they're not alone in these decisions they have to make every moment

Scott Benner 1:12:17
I appreciate that so much it's so incredibly such a nice way for me to start my day so thank you and anytime someone mentions the podcast to them please pass my thanks on I really appreciate that

Unknown Speaker 1:12:27
they listen. I will thanks Have a great day. You too

Scott Benner 1:12:34
long show so I'm going to give you a short outro Thanks so much to on the pod dex calm and dancing for diabetes for sponsoring this episode of the podcast please go to my on the pod comm forge slash juice box dexcom.com forward slash juice box or dancing the number four diabetes.com these links are available in the show notes of your podcast player at Juicebox podcast.com. And by now I'm assuming seared into your brain because you've heard me say it so much. And even though they didn't buy an ad on this episode if you find yourself at real good foods.com use the offer code juice box to save 20% of your order. Thank you so much to Laura for coming on and being open and honest. In this episode. I quite enjoyed our conversation. I hope you did too. We'll be back next week and every week with another episode of the Juicebox Podcast.

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