#938 Thick As A Brick
Heather has type 1 diabetes. She upped her management game after finding a lump in her breast.
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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 friends and welcome to episode 938 of the Juicebox Podcast.
On this episode of The Juicebox Podcast I'll be speaking with Heather. She's an adult living with type one diabetes, who made a major change in her management after finding a lump in her breast. While you're listening, 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 health care plan. Were becoming bold with insulin. If you'd like to save 10% off your first month of therapy, use my link betterhelp.com forward slash juice box and to get five free travel packs and a year's supply of vitamin D. Make your first order for ag one from athletic greens at athletic greens.com forward slash juicebox if you're looking for the diabetes Pro Tip series, you can find it at diabetes pro tip.com juicebox podcast.com. We're beginning at episode 210 In your podcast player, and of course, don't miss the private Facebook group Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes absolutely free 40,000 members something for everyone. Check it out Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes on Facebook, but you don't have to have type one. We let everybody in this episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by us med us med is the place where my daughter gets her on the pod and Dexcom supplies but they have much more than that. Head now to us med.com forward slash juice box to get your free benefits check or call 888-721-1514 The podcast is also sponsored today by cozy earth. Now longtime listeners will know I'm sleeping on cozy Earth sheets. I love my cozy Earth joggers and sweatshirts, but I just made an addition. The towels we have the waffle towels now and they're fantastic cozy earth.com Go there load up your card. use the offer code juicebox at checkout and you will save 35% off your entire order. I'm gonna tell you about those towels later. Magnificent you have no way to say
Heather 2:30
my name is Heather. I live in Yellowknife northwest territories in Canada. I am a type one diabetic and I've been diabetic for 17 years.
Scott Benner 2:41
You know when you said Yellowknife I thought a minute ago before we started recording I told Heather you don't want to tell people where you live and now she's making something up that that's nonsensical. But it's a real place Yellowknife
Heather 2:56
it is a real place yeah in the Northwest like the far the northern most territory. Is that the Yukon? It's beside the Yukon. It's Yukon adjacent.
Scott Benner 3:06
You trying to name your episode? Maybe I don't know. We already have a butthole adjacent.
Heather 3:13
Do I know I listened to that one yesterday and I died. Did you really? Yeah actually did.
Scott Benner 3:17
Oh, what a coincidence.
Heather 3:19
It is a coincidence.
Scott Benner 3:21
Let me see if I remember that one. The guest a lady had abscess. Yeah, somewhere between I don't even know what to say. Yeah. Okay. popped into my head. Man I share. I'll just bleep it out. I thought to say between the end and instead I went children listen to this if they don't need to know that. Yeah, so so near her butthole and her lady bits sort of in between she had an abscess that's sort of how she was diagnosed. Am I right about that?
Heather 4:00
Yeah, you're 100% right about that. And she was a nurse.
Scott Benner 4:02
Everyone should check out that episode.
Heather 4:04
It's a great episode. Yeah. Okay.
Scott Benner 4:06
Anyway, you live Why do you live where you live? What happened? Did you get lost in there and just decided to stay
Heather 4:12
or I had just wandered off too far. And here we are. Where you born? My sister actually lives here so she got me a job at I worked at a dental clinic so she got me a job at a dental clinic I was
Scott Benner 4:24
like oh god you're not a can can dancer Are you because there was another episode was also a Canadian.
Heather 4:28
Yeah, Canadian can can do so I listened to that one a couple of weeks ago.
Scott Benner 4:34
I was like, oh my god, is this all gonna come full circle. So are you guys are you American? No, I'm
Heather 4:39
Canadian. Okay,
Scott Benner 4:41
so you guys born in the Canada somewhere your sister migrates to the North Pole for some reason. And you decided to go because there's a job in a dental office?
Heather 4:50
Because there's a job at a dental office. Yeah. And I don't like teeth. So why not?
Scott Benner 4:54
At least you're not following a boy around. No, no, no, he
Heather 4:58
followed me. Oh, well. That's acceptable
Scott Benner 5:00
that I have no trouble with. Yeah. By the way, does it sound like I have trouble with women following men places? I don't think I do. No, no.
Heather 5:08
But you know, you're you have a daughter. I get it.
Scott Benner 5:10
I also have to fill an hour this conversation. I need to have an opinion on almost everything you say or I'm interested. Absolutely. As you ship. Yeah, well, okay, so you how long did you move there?
Heather 5:21
Um, I've been here for nine years.
Scott Benner 5:24
You really don't like teeth?
Heather 5:28
Yeah, no teeth are gross. I hate the dentist. Like I have bad dental anxiety.
Scott Benner 5:32
What do you do in the office?
Heather 5:34
I do like administrative stuff with like insurance companies and stuff. So you're not the person like out of the picture. I'm like, in an office away.
Scott Benner 5:41
Okay, you're not the person who's texting me three days from my appointment reminding me of cleaning? No, no, that's been the worst thing to happen to dental care. 15 years is there.
Heather 5:53
By the way, you have a dental appointment text one to apply.
Scott Benner 5:57
I'm gonna hold on a second. This is this is how much I hate this. I'm gonna read you the text. I want to respond back and say you're making me not care about my dental health. But hey, Scott, it's Cynthia from Dr. BLANKS office. I'm reaching out to remind you of your hygiene appointment with us for Monday at 2pm. Please call or text to confirm. Thanks. I want to respond. Leave me alone. Yeah.
Heather 6:23
Where's the opt out?
Scott Benner 6:25
I have a calendar. I know when my dental appointment is, yeah, please leave me alone. And I ignore it. And then you get like a follow up. Then you're like, Oh, God. Now I have to respond. So I just type. I'll be there without punctuation. She's like, great. We'll see you then. Have a great weekend. Leave me alone. So excited about this. Yeah. Please leave me alone. Okay, so you don't like teeth, but you work in a dentist's office, but you're in the back. You've been in the Canada for like nine years, right? Yeah, yeah.
Heather 7:00
I'm in northern Canada for nine years. I've been here my whole life. But
Scott Benner 7:02
yeah, yeah. And okay. In that part of the Canada and And how old are you now?
Heather 7:07
I'm 33. Okay.
Scott Benner 7:10
And when did you get type one?
Heather 7:12
A month before my 15th birthday?
Scott Benner 7:15
Oh, yeah. Like 18 years ago? Yeah. Gotcha. Does your sister have any of the autoimmune stuff?
Heather 7:22
No, I am the only auto immune thing. My dad has a thyroid issue. So there's that.
Scott Benner 7:32
Do you know if it's autoimmune or if it's not?
Heather 7:34
Um, I don't know. But his like his mom had it. Her mom, you know, like, it's a long line of thyroid problems. They
Scott Benner 7:42
call it hypothyroidism or, yes, he thinks
Heather 7:45
Yeah, he's on that drug that your son takes? Really? Yeah,
Scott Benner 7:51
he's on to accent.
Heather 7:53
Yeah, I think so. Yeah.
Scott Benner 7:53
I asked him about it the other day. You can get that in Canada. I think so amazing. Yeah, it's amazing. It really is. I don't understand. You don't even have roads? Right? How do you get? Oh, you imagined it as dirt? No, not even that ice. Not even Oh, yes. Just Rossi snow, and a hill. And then just the thing standing off in the distance. It's an animal I've never seen before that looks vaguely menacing, but leaves me alone. That's how I see Canada. Absolutely. We have lots of those. And then a Mountie, and then three people in a bar stabbing each other. That's pretty much how I see this whole thing
Heather 8:28
that you just described.
Scott Benner 8:31
I imagined I did by the way, but I don't know. Okay, so right before your 50th birthday. So no family history. It's not like you were looking for it. How did it happen?
Heather 8:41
Um, so I used to play competitive soccer. And this was the first year that we decided not to practice their Christmas break. And I was living my best life so I was drinking lots the typical things drinking lots. My vision when my gums were bleeding, I lost close to 30 pounds. My mom was a nurse. So she kind of recognized it but you know, denial. So we went and got my blood sugar tested and I came out at 28 which is like in the five hundreds
Scott Benner 9:28
Hi there. We're going to have a good time today. And the reason I say that is because you thought back on being 15 and just for like, you know, so I did what 15 year olds do I drank to excess and my gums were bleeding
Heather 9:40
100% Yeah, that was it. I like I remember my my one of my girlfriends tells me like I remember we went to the movies and you drank like three large pops in an hour and I was like
Scott Benner 9:54
that but okay. There's that great wish you remember she's like that's important when you're Yeah, yeah. Why the latent alcoholism? It's such a young age Heather were you just bored? Sad what was happening?
Heather 10:10
Just like chugging all the time just needed the booze.
Scott Benner 10:16
I want to say is this a Canadian thing? But I think I'm the outlier when it comes to drinking. So I'm not sure how to
Heather 10:23
know. I mean, I wasn't a drinker really high. didn't drink until I was 19. I waited until the illegal appropriate age.
Scott Benner 10:29
All this chugging was just like pop. Yeah, like my answer. I
Heather 10:35
thought you were Oh, god. No, no.
Scott Benner 10:39
What did I misunderstand? I thought you were like,
Heather 10:44
I said, I was living my best life and you thought, oh, yeah, here we go.
Scott Benner 10:46
I just thought these Canadians, all they do is stab people and drink. This must be the story. So here we go. Here's another here's another Canadian girl. Tell me about her boozing. Yeah. But okay. Alright, so you are just consuming a lot of liquids.
Heather 11:05
Yeah, just a lot of liquid in non alcoholic form. Gotcha.
Scott Benner 11:08
Okay. All right. This all makes more sense to me now. Yeah. So So do you see your you think your mom notices? But she doesn't say anything, do you?
Heather 11:19
Well, I think it was just like a, I think it was a build up, like my vision went first. And then we went, got new glasses. And that was like the whole thing. And then like, I happened to go to the dentist, and they were like, Wow, your gums are bleeding a lot. And that's abnormal, but like, carry on with your life. And then, and then the weight loss, I think was what my mom really noticed. And like in such a short period of time, they figure that because I was so active that was kind of keeping my blood sugar in range. And then because I had like, two and a half weeks of no activity.
Scott Benner 11:57
You notice that all of a sudden? Yeah, I'll because of the lack of soccer. Wow, what a different story. I had you with a fifth of vodka in your hand, just bleeding from the corner of your mouth drunk in a movie theater, and really mean we can we could say that. That's what I don't want to say anything. It's not true. But, but instead you're just an athletic girl who gets a couple of months off and all of a sudden, this is how you see the diabetes come up. Yeah. Okay. And then because you're in Canada, you made an appointment, and they saw you in 14 months. Is that right?
Heather 12:27
They saw me no, they saw me like within like, three like this all happened in a course of three weeks.
Scott Benner 12:34
Okay. All right. So 18 years ago, that's pretty long gone. You're not what was the management style back then?
Heather 12:43
I was MDI, so I was on Novo rapid and Liv Amir. And then I changed to Lantis at some point after that, and then I was on trustee but at the end of my MDI adventure,
Scott Benner 12:58
but you're in a province where they didn't try to give you a sliding scale they gave you Oh,
Heather 13:02
they gave me a sliding scale they did.
Scott Benner 13:06
And how long did you stick with that? And did that mess with you?
Heather 13:09
Um, I think I only did that for a couple months. And then I got to carb ratio. And then everything was kind of golden from there. I basically like I never really honeymooned, I basically was like out of insulin. my pancreas was like, Yeah, I'm done with this. Gotcha.
Scott Benner 13:24
How long did you pay play professional soccer.
Heather 13:28
I love that. You said that. I'm a professional soccer player. So let's go with that.
Scott Benner 13:33
I was making fun of parents who are spending money on their children in sports.
Heather 13:37
Oh, God, no, no, I wasn't going anywhere. I didn't like to run. So and I was the goalie, so you know, good enough. That's like, that's the spot where you stay if you don't want to run, so. I played soccer until I was 18. Okay.
Scott Benner 13:53
Did you go to what would they call that? University? Would you call it University? And when
Heather 13:58
I did go, I went to Yeah, I went to university, but I didn't play soccer. I wasn't that good?
Scott Benner 14:04
Yeah. It's not gonna work out for most of you. That's all No,
Heather 14:08
no, I was not getting a professional career in soccer.
Scott Benner 14:12
I've come to understand that the money that my son got for playing sports in college was is almost a tip of the iceberg. For what most people get. You know, it's yeah, I never I guess I we were he was so focused on continuing to play. You had these expectations. This was going to happen as it kept happening. We're like, well, of course, the next thing happened like we expected it to. But now you look back with hindsight and you're like, because for so many people, it just doesn't work out that way. And yeah, almost random sometimes. But okay, so soccer. I mean, I don't know how you play soccer and snow but whatever.
Heather 14:50
Well, where I lived at the time there was no snow. There's no snow there. You're a liar. How could that be when you live in a small area of Vancouver, BC It typically doesn't get very much. No.
Scott Benner 15:02
West Coast. I see.
Heather 15:04
Yeah, yeah, that's where I grew up.
Scott Benner 15:06
Big TV filming area. Yeah, huge.
Heather 15:09
Yeah, it's funny. I can pick out things in movies. I'm like, oh, that's filmed in BC. I recognize those streets
Scott Benner 15:15
crazy when I interviewed Victor Garber. He was in Vancouver. Okay, they were on like a holiday break from the TV show he was doing at the time. Yeah, anyway, okay, that's not that's neither here nor there. So Heather, I feel like I should just jump in and ask you why you want to come on the podcast because your notes let me read them to people.
Heather 15:32
Oh my god. I bet they're super invigorating. Like they're just say why
Scott Benner 15:36
do you want to come? Here are the questions that are asked if I asked you to come on the podcast send you the link your relationship to diabetes. You said type one. Have you ever been in guest or have you been a guest on another type one podcast the past six months? You said no. What are some of the themes you hope to cover on your episode? Other complications from type one looping? How awesome Scott is?
Heather 15:58
Right see,
Scott Benner 16:00
there we go. I don't know if we can make an hour out of it. But let's talk about you for let's start on making August getting I wanted to talk about I guess I want to start with looping because you just went over your progress from the insulins you were using. When did you start using a pump
let me tell you about us med they have a dedicated 800 number just for Juicebox Podcast listeners 888-721-1514 use that number to get your free benefits check. You can also do it online at my link us med.com forward slash juicebox but that's not what you care about. Here's what you care about. US med carries everything from insulin pumps and diabetes testing supplies to the latest and CGM like the libre three and the Dexcom G seven. They also have the libre to the G six they've got what else on the pod dash Omni pod five tandem T slim x two What am I saying here T slim x two My goodness they got what you're looking for baby. US med accepts Medicare nationwide and over 800 private insurers us med.com forward slash juicebox go check them out there the number one specialty distributor for Omni pod dash the number one fastest growing tandem distributor nationwide and so much more. They've served over 1 million people living with diabetes since 1996. And they're gonna give you better service and better care. On top of all that, US med always provides 90 days worth of supplies and fast and free shipping. Head over to the link now us med.com forward slash juice box get your supplies the same way Arden does from us med now let's talk about some comfort. Cozy earth.com I got cozy Earth sheets on my bed. I've got cozy Earth joggers on my butt. I wear a cozy Earth sweatshirt the other day kept me warm without making me hot. wasn't cold wasn't on was just comfortable. And it fit me nice and it felt good. Comfy, comfy, comfy, comfy cozy, just like the sheets just like the name cozy earth. Now what have I done recently added cozy Earth towels to the lineup here at the house. I'm getting out of the shower every day. And I got the waffle towels from cozy Earth you'll find them at cozy earth.com Go up to have bath. Click on you'll see. Anyway, the Waffle House. One side has this like Wofully I don't know what you would call it. And I use that for my first towel down a little bit of Zoom Zooms in like get off the big stuff, you know what I mean? And then flip it around to this super, super soft side. Take care of the rest. I love the cozy Earth towels, my bits and pieces love them. And I think you might love them too. Cozy earth.com Now here's the best part 35% off of your entire order at checkout, not just the first time you go buy some towels today. You go to the checkout, you put the word juice box in a checkout you save 35% You come back a week later you want some sheets, use the offer code juicebox 35 Doesn't matter no limit you use that offer code as much as you want it cozy earth.com Use that offer code juice box at checkout. Save yourself 35% Make your bits and pieces happy. There are links in the show notes of the podcast player you're listening in now. Links at juicebox podcast.com to us med cozy earth. All the sponsors when you click on my links for use my offer codes, you are keeping the podcasts free and plentiful. And I very much appreciate it. Now I'm going to get you back to Heather and we're going to continue on our journey
Heather 20:04
I started using a pump in 2019 I think 28 My life 2018
Scott Benner 20:12
Four years ago,
Heather 20:12
four years. Yeah.
Scott Benner 20:13
Okay. Did you make the leap because you weren't happy with your care, or were you just trying to make a change or what?
Heather 20:20
Um, so I actually started wearing a pump pretty quick after I was diagnosed. I was very fortunate that one of my best friends was diabetic. So he was really big on me getting a pump because he had a pump and it made so much everything was so much easier if you just got a pump and my mom wanted me to wear a pump. So I was like, alright, I'll do it. I wasn't thrilled, but I did it. But it was a Medtronic, something I don't know. I can't even remember. I understand real old and I hated being like, tubed. I hated it. I worked for a couple years. And I wore it. They labeled me as non compliant because I didn't really care.
Scott Benner 21:14
So how does that work? It sure you're wearing the pump. You don't like the pump? Do you not put it on? Do you not Bolus? Like what?
Heather 21:21
Um, I think I just wasn't. I wasn't bolusing properly. So like, basically, I was running on Basal for most of it.
Scott Benner 21:33
Okay, because you were you when you weren't on a pump? Were you injecting it your meals? Yep. What the hell changed? Heather?
Heather 21:42
I don't know. I just like I was fine for the first little while. Like I probably got it when I was 17. I want to say and then by the time I was 19. I was like, Yeah, I'm done with this. But I didn't know that. I could just say that I was done with it. So instead of telling my doctor that I didn't want to do it, I just self sabotage.
Scott Benner 22:10
Oh, they call that quiet quitting now? Yeah. It's not what they call it nowadays. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I keep up with what the kids are saying.
Heather 22:22
So she's so in tune.
Scott Benner 22:27
So you thought you would you would break up with your pump by ignoring it?
Heather 22:32
Yeah. 100%. Yeah.
Scott Benner 22:33
It didn't take to him.
Heather 22:35
It did not. No, it didn't. It didn't. It didn't end well for me.
Scott Benner 22:38
Pump kept coming over on Friday nights expecting dinner and snacks.
Heather 22:42
Yeah, and I didn't deliver.
Scott Benner 22:45
So what an odd analogy, but what So what happened then? Did your health start trending the wrong way? I would imagine.
Heather 22:53
Yeah. So I always had trouble getting my blood sugar's down to begin with. I was insulin resistant for a while. Like I took Metformin. And just to try to help and that was horrible. I hated it. But I like I want I DK like, I don't know, I want to say like, six times.
Scott Benner 23:23
Oh my god. Okay, so were you tired of diabetes? And you were taking it out? Like you were blaming the pump? A little bit of both, I think Yeah. Okay. And that went on for how long?
Heather 23:35
Probably three, two or three years, maybe? Wow,
Scott Benner 23:39
I'm gonna get back to that in just a second. But it turns out quiet quitting is an application of work to rule in which employees work with defined work hours, and engaged solely in activities within those hours. The philosophy of quiet quitting despite the name is not necessarily connected to quitting the job outright, but rather doing exactly what the job requires. Why the hell would they call it quiet quitting?
Heather 24:02
That seems like quietly doing your job
Scott Benner 24:04
quiet working? Yeah, we're focused on really completing your tasks. And just to show you how quickly these like, like monitors can fly through the internet in the last under the News tab on the Google machine, yeah, quiet quitting has 12 articles in the last 18 hours. Jesus like what why did people our obsession with quiet quitting? Doesn't seem to be going away management's answered with quiet quitting Minnesota among top five states for quiet quitting it quiet quitting as a fake trend. Why does it feel real? says
Heather 24:43
well, doing your job is what that's called.
Scott Benner 24:45
So I just assumed quiet quitting was like you just don't do your job until somebody walks up to you one day and goes alright man, fine, leave, and then you can then you can go I don't know what happened. They just fired me. But It turns out that this has to do with what you were doing with your Yeah,
Heather 25:04
nothing to do with it. So I definitely wasn't like you were not quite quitting, but staying within
Speaker 1 25:10
you. So do people know you're in your late teens or early 20s? While this is happening, is that right? Yeah. Okay. Does anyone notice it? The doctor a family member somebody?
Heather 25:21
Yeah, my doctor did she, she like I went to go see her. I was still seeing a pediatric Endo. And she, like, Oh, let me see your pump. And I'm like, you know, I've written out all of my blood sugar's to give her and then she like, looks into the cab, but I want to see your pump. And I'm like, okay, an answer. And she's like, why are there no boluses and I'm like,
Scott Benner 25:46
it's more of a Basal machine. It
Heather 25:49
just like all I can see is Basil. Like, it never even occurred to me that that's something that she could look at. Like, I don't know, I just was like, oh, like she's just gonna want to see what my blood sugar's have been. Here's a piece of paper with it all.
Scott Benner 26:00
This is more of a niche pump. It only does this. Yeah, yeah. So when that happens, like this, the person the doctor looking at you horrified and go, Heather, you're killing yourself, or what did they do?
Heather 26:14
She was like, really angry. And she labeled me non compliant and then I never went back. I'll show you. That was my problem to that. I was like, fine. I don't need to see her.
Scott Benner 26:27
She's gonna be so. So honest about what's happening. Did you know I am completely compliant. I'm just not paying attention to it. I know. I'm supposed to be
Heather 26:40
willingly not doing what I want to do.
Scott Benner 26:43
What was your What was your diet like? During that time?
Heather 26:46
I ate whatever. It didn't matter. I you know drink slushies Ay,
Scott Benner 26:52
ay, one C and the elevens twelves.
Heather 26:54
Oh, yeah, easily. I have. I don't know what my agency was when I was diagnosed. But it was only like, just in the last like, four years since I've changed back onto a pot. It's only like, come down from the tents in the last four years. So
Scott Benner 27:14
other being serious from it. Do you have any, any hindsight idea about what was happening?
Heather 27:23
Probably I just was not happy that I was diabetic. Like it not that it was difficult, but I just, I just want it to be normal. Okay, I didn't have to think about it. And I know my friend too was diabetic. He like he was diagnosed when he was four. So like, everything was like second nature to him. But you know, he never known anything different. But I think because I was like, I was almost 16. So I had 16 years of just not having to worry about anything like that. And then to kind of have it piled on really sucked.
Scott Benner 28:00
But you said doing it wasn't difficult. So then this was no,
Heather 28:03
no, it was oh, no, it wasn't difficult. It just was like an extra step that I just didn't want to have to do. And I didn't think that I thought that if I ignored it nothing. Like what could go wrong?
Scott Benner 28:15
Yeah. So it's it's a psychological? Oh, yeah, for sure. In nature, okay. Yeah. Do you find help for that? Does it run its course. Do you have a scare?
Heather 28:29
Uh, no, I, I think I just kind of, I found an endo pretty quick after not being allowed to or not going to see the other one. And she was really great. I think she kind of talked some sense into me. Where at least and then I like she just was like, Get off your pump. You don't want to be on a pump, get off the pump. Like, that's fine. You can go back to MDI. And I was doing that. And my blood sugar's weren't good. But I had always in my mind, like, oh, well, my blood sugars are always high. That's just the type of like, that's just how my diabetes is.
Scott Benner 29:08
Okay. And so her idea was, you don't want to use the pump. So get off the pump. We'll go back to this, but that changed anything immediately. I can't. Or
Heather 29:18
I think I was well then I was bolting obviously. That I would.
Scott Benner 29:22
So there's that. So when it was pushing a button, you were like, bridge too far. But when it was to draw up a needle or using pen, you're like, Yeah, this is fine. I'll do this. Yeah, yeah, there you're gonna make some guy very unhappy one day
Are you well, that was the wrong word. Hold on. I'm going through a list of synonyms in my mind. I'm just gonna go back to my original word. Are you difficult in other ways?
Heather 29:54
I mean, I don't think so. Probably.
Scott Benner 29:57
Because like this is either like I don't have diabetes, right? But this is either a kind of deep rooted psychological, you know, Wall you've built around yourself. Yeah. Or it's you doing the like, like you're getting to hear art in a couple of weeks be on the podcast where she tells you that, like, she has no trouble taking her thyroid medication, for example. Sure, I'll take it every day, I'll take exactly what I'm supposed to I have no trouble with it. If somebody reminds me to do it, the first thing I want to do is not take it. And yeah, is it just that? Is it, um, call it self sabotage earlier? But do you mean that like, in the strict definition of it, were you trying to hurt yourself? I
Heather 30:38
just think that like I didn't think like, I didn't think that anything. Like it was like, Oh, I have diabetes, but like, I could see that my friend was fine. And he was doing what he was doing. And I I think I just didn't understand why. Why I was struggling so much, and why my blood sugar's were so high and why I couldn't do all the things like, you know, he could go and chug a Slurpee, or slushy or whatever, and he would be fine. But that's because he's boasting properly. Whereas like, I just didn't understand it. I don't think and I think I was just, I just didn't think that like, it didn't matter. Like, oh, I've diabetes, no big deal. What's the worst that could happen?
Scott Benner 31:20
Were you angry about it or depressed about it?
Heather 31:23
I think I was angry about it. I wouldn't say that I was depressed about it. Now,
Scott Benner 31:29
what's interesting, because you're thoughtful, and articulate and bright. And you're all the things that I would associate with, you know, wanting to push through it and help yourself. Yeah, I think there's no rhyme or reason for why it strikes people. Yeah, you know what I mean? It's interesting. Do you see any of these personality traits in your mom or your dad or other people in your extended family? Nope, nothing? Nope. No, like, kind of? Like, I don't mean these words. By the way, when I say, say stuff like, difficult, I don't mean in the 1950 sense. Like, Oh, yeah. Give her a second to sit down. She's difficult. I don't mean like, I just mean like, you're brusque against things. You're pushing back. You're, you know,
Heather 32:14
yeah. And like, this is like, I want to say that, like diabetes is the only thing that I've ever really pushed back against. I'm usually like, pretty like, chill.
Scott Benner 32:22
This is the thing you pick.
Heather 32:23
Yeah, this was it. I was like, Alright, this is the hill. I'm gonna die on Yeah.
Scott Benner 32:27
Literally, literally, literally. You know, normally, I just do what I have to do. But on this one thing I was, yeah, maybe I'd give myself a mountain of health problems. So did you give yourself a mountain of health problems? Or what happened?
Heather 32:42
Um, well, I have kind of, I have a lot of autoimmune stuff going on to begin with. So I had I think it's like, any, like, this might be part of it, too. Like, I was diagnosed with scoliosis, when I was 13. So I had to wear a brace for a year and a half. Okay. So like, wasn't thrilled about that. So then it was like, then the next I got it's called Kyary. One for me malformation. It's where your cerebellum space is too small. So the little tail on your brain can fuse to your spine.
Scott Benner 33:24
What now called Wait a second. What's that called again?
Heather 33:27
Chiari one malformation.
Scott Benner 33:35
Holy glare thing. Typing. Is, is it serious? But that's, that's the sad. No, that's the first that's the first question. Yeah. Which means that everybody who gets told this, the doctor is like goes to their phone. They're like, Oh, yeah. The severity of it. malformations can vary from person to person, but generally are not considered life threatening.
Heather 34:03
Well, yeah, no, yeah. So like, as long as I think because they caught like, so the the way they caught it is because my spine curved to the left instead of to the right first, and that's not typical of scoliosis. So that led them to do like an a, an MRI, and then, you know, they focused in on the old, the old brain and they're like, Hey, what's going on there?
Scott Benner 34:29
Carry malfunction. Type one occurs when everything you get as type one occurs when the section of the skull containing a part of the brain is too small or deformed, thus putting pressure on and crowding the brain. Does your brain feel crowded right now?
Heather 34:44
With knowledge,
Scott Benner 34:47
the lower part of the cerebellum at the tonsils is displaced into the upper spinal canal to problems with your tonsils.
Heather 34:57
I used to get tonsillitis all the time. Thanks All right.
Scott Benner 35:00
So what did they do for this?
Heather 35:04
Nothing, they just watched it. Um, but I feel like it was just like, so I had those two things. And then like, a year later, I get diabetes. And it was like, really,
Scott Benner 35:13
as a young person, the scoliosis is tough. And then because the brace couldn't have been fun, everybody probably saw it, but all that. And then this thing, which involves your brain, so even if you're not worried about it, you're a young kid that doctor's office, and they're like, hey, her brain is crowded. Really great. And then the diabetes. Yeah. All right. Heather, you had had enough?
Heather 35:37
Yeah, yeah, I think so. That's why diabetes kind of was like, Yep,
Scott Benner 35:40
I'm done with this. You kind of can't throw the other two things away. Yeah. Interesting. Well, you guess you could have took that back brace off, but it's probably too late. By then they probably held they probably actually.
Heather 35:51
I mean, aside from like it being a back brace and like I had to wear it in high school and like, traumatizing not really traumatized. I didn't really care but like, I loved it. It was so comfortable. Really, like when I just stopped wearing it. I still wore it because it was just like cozy. Like, at night. I'd like sleep in it. Do you like
Scott Benner 36:09
to wear like a tight shirt? Like an Under Armour or spin? spandex? Oh, I
Heather 36:13
don't know. I don't but I guess then maybe I do. Like,
Scott Benner 36:16
interesting. I'll tell you my back is sore. Sometimes. Maybe I'd wear a brace.
Heather 36:20
Like I sometimes wish that I still had it because like sometimes my back hurts. And I'm like, man,
Scott Benner 36:24
it was comforting. No kidding. Okay. All right. So let's, again, with very little education, and absolutely no training. Let's track. Let's chalk this part up to just getting a lot of stuff lumped on you at the end of your teens. And then when you went out on your own, you were like, you know, I'm going to just cut something out of my life. With all this, and but you never thought in that time be honest with me. Did you ever think I know I'm hurting myself? Or did you not even think of it that deeply?
Heather 36:57
Um, I knew like of complications that could happen, but I just was like, yeah, that's not gonna happen to me. It's fine.
Scott Benner 37:03
Gotcha. That'll happen to other people. Yeah,
Heather 37:07
and I was wrong. You were
Scott Benner 37:09
wrong. So what's the first so what snaps you back in? Like, what makes you put the pump back on and pull things together? Four years ago?
Heather 37:16
Um, I found a lump in my breast.
Scott Benner 37:21
Oh, I thought you're gonna say Jesus. I did not find I found Oh, she found God. That's like know, something worse was this lump? Yeah.
Heather 37:34
Yeah, so I found a lump in my breast. In like 2017, like in December, right before Christmas, perfect time to find a lump in your breast.
Scott Benner 37:47
It's Easter. Christmas, but I see what you're saying. So what were you self checking?
Heather 37:53
No. So as you know, I live in Yellowknife. It gets really, really, really cold here. And I was outside, like coming inside from my car into my house. And for whatever reason, my arm brushed against the side of my boob. And I was like, That, like, that's not right. Like, that's really hard. Like, my nipple shouldn't be that hard. I was on the outside for a second. And I'm wearing a jacket
Scott Benner 38:22
for context. And normally, I have to be honest with you, 700 some episodes. I've never asked this question. But are you like chesty? No, no. So through a jet. Oh, okay. I'm actually asking for a reason, because I'm first trying to figure out how you bump against the side of your boob. If you're not like,
Heather 38:42
Okay, well, like, I don't know, I'm not like a double D. But like, you know,
Scott Benner 38:46
there's some. If I was looking at you from the back, I might see some curves on the sides. Okay. I can't believe this is what we're doing. So, so you're wearing a jacket, and you live in wherever the hell it is. You live. So it's, um, you're probably wearing a thick jacket, and my point of like, dragging this all out is like that. It was obvious through the jacket.
Heather 39:06
Yeah. Yeah. Like it was like, rock solid. And I was like,
Scott Benner 39:10
is that wow, that's scary, huh? Yeah, we're at that point where you just like, oh, yeah, sure.
Heather 39:19
Like, oh, like it's cold outside. Yeah. It's like, okay, that's cool. And then like, you know, a week later, I'm like, okay, that's still there. And then I'm gonna go to a doctor. And then yeah, and so then I made a doctor's appointment, and they didn't exam and then they were worried. So that made me more worried. And then I got in for a mammogram pretty quick. Which is a terrible experience.
Scott Benner 39:51
I've never done it, but I've heard stories.
Heather 39:52
Yeah, well, especially when you have a lump, like
Scott Benner 39:55
and they're smashing it in that glass plate, right? Yeah. Like a glass vise
Heather 39:59
like who Well, thanks, I feels really great. And then they do a biopsy. But it was inconclusive. And we, because of where I live, we're not really like a we're not a big city. No, really? Yeah, no shocking. It a lot of our medical treatment gets sent down to Edmonton. So I had to fly down to Edmonton to get a biopsy done. And of course, the guy that's doing my biopsy is like, fresh out of school, doing a rotation. It's his, like, first day there. He's gonna biopsy me and like, it was horrible. It was brutal. Like, it took him like, eight tries to get like, a quality piece. Or like really, really like I'm all for like edgy. Like, I'm all for it like, but like, can we put a limit on the amount of times he's trying to butcher me? So
Scott Benner 41:06
he's, he's botched this three times, right? Why don't we get the other guy in here? Right? Yeah, I flew here for this, by the way. Yeah, you know, what I'm imagining is one of those planes with pontoons on the bottom right where you can land in a lake.
Heather 41:22
They do have those things, but that wasn't
Scott Benner 41:23
that wasn't the point you're on. Okay. So what was the lump?
Heather 41:27
So it came back as they called it, diabetic mess. Stop with it, which is something that I had never heard of.
Scott Benner 41:34
That's new Heather way to bring something new to the podcast.
Heather 41:38
Right? No one there's like no real like, I obviously, like looked it up right away, because I was like, that's that. Um, and there's no real cause for it. I would imagine it had something to do with my high blood
Scott Benner 41:58
sugars. Yeah, you might imagine. Hey, when you hear something funny while we're talking about lumps in your boobs, which there's nothing funny about you said you said diabetic neuropathy, or whatever you call it. You said it so quickly. I didn't catch the second word. So I googled diabetic boob lump and it came up. So anyone who ever gives Google crap like I mean, maybe they're stealing our information or taking over our lives, but it new diabetic boobless That's insane. Way to go. diabetic neuropathy is an uncommon complication of diabetes characterized by tough masses that develop in the breast. Yeah, okay. They can be mistaken for tumors. These lesions which are painless and mainly consists of primary fibrotic and inflammatory elements can be misdiagnosed as breast cancer. Do you have them removed?
Heather 42:50
Yeah. So I had one I had that one removed pretty quick after that, like, probably within a month, and then a year later, I got another one in my other breast. So I got that one removed.
Scott Benner 43:01
Wow. And then since Okay, did that and since then, nothing but did that put what pushed you into taking care of yourself? That was like, I gotta have was it? Was it the lumps are the guy just man handling you for eight tries? A little bit of? Like, I don't want this. This doesn't have to happen anymore. I don't want this to happen. Oh, my God, that's insane. You know, there'd be nothing. Okay, about calling this episode diabetic boob lump. But, I mean, right. You know, I know you would be because I've known talking for 40 minutes, and I feel like there's very little you wouldn't be okay with. Actually, you seem like a fun date. Heather. Like a time? I don't think there's a lot of questions and Heather immediately goes, No, today. Yeah. How we're gonna do that. Yeah. Okay, well, that's horrifying. Yeah, I only know how to joke through these things. If we talked about this seriously, I'd be crying by now. I'd be like, Oh my god, like, like I would I would picture you as a young child and being overwhelmed by your health issues and not having enough support or fortitude or emotional maturity to take care of yourself and then all this comes after that. And you're you're still kind of fighting through it. It's amazing. I am thrilled that something happened. That wasn't life altering that got you back to taking care of yourself. Yeah, that's, that's really good news. So let's talk about that a little bit. You have your second fibrotic and inflammatory element mass taken out of your boob you're like, Okay, this is probably got something to do with the fact that I don't Bolus from my meals and and your agency is like really high. that points though, right? Yeah, it was probably still in the tents. And still doctors don't try to help you. Well,
Heather 45:07
so. So up here there again, there's not a lot of like, there's no endos up here. I see a diabetic team. And that consists of like a regular GP, a diabetes educator, and a nutritionist, and I fired the GP pretty quick. She told me that if I took tumeric, everything would be fine.
Scott Benner 45:36
Tumeric Yeah, so that was like a thing you cook with?
Heather 45:40
Yep. Yeah. If you take a she's like a very, like nap. She does like all that, like natural stuff. So like, she was like, Oh, just take tumeric and you won't have to take as much insulin. And I was like,
Scott Benner 45:54
Yeah, listen, I don't think that's right. And if anybody's listening.
Heather 45:57
Yeah. So I was like, Yeah, I don't want to see her anymore. So I saw the diabetic educator, for I've been seeing her for six years. And she's amazing. And like, I mean, she's been trying to get she's I mean, she's done. She's done an amazing job with my diabetes. So yeah.
Scott Benner 46:21
Listen, I don't think there's anything wrong if you want to take Tumeric but I don't think I should assume that it's gonna take the place of your insulin if your pancreas doesn't work, right. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah,
Heather 46:31
it's not a one stop. Thanks all.
Scott Benner 46:33
I mean, if that was working on your food, it's fine. To imagine if that was true, right? That we wouldn't be talking about a type two epidemic and there wouldn't be so many people with type one because we'd all just be I, by the way, couldn't if you put Tumeric on my tongue, I wouldn't know what it was. Yeah,
Heather 46:49
I was like, why am I like, what? Why is that gonna fix? Okay, sure, lady. You're
Scott Benner 46:54
crazy. Again. I'm not against it, if you
Heather 46:55
think Oh, absolutely. I mean, tumeric works for you. Good for you. Yeah.
Scott Benner 47:00
What your need for insulin if you have type one diabetes.
Heather 47:02
You still gonna need to take that insulin with it, though. Yeah. Okay. Well, it's
Scott Benner 47:05
good to get rid of her cheeses. Heather, somehow we're doing happy and sad at the same time. I know. It's so exciting. It's overheating me a little bit. I'm wearing a sweatshirt. I didn't realize. What's your story? I think it might just be hold on a second. Yeah.
Well, maybe there's a malformation on my skull. It's squeezing my brain. literally sitting here thinking, wow, this is very emotional.
Heather 47:46
Really hot. It's just so emotional.
Scott Benner 47:49
It got cold here this morning. I put my sweatshirt on to take the dogs out. I didn't. I didn't take it back off. Okay. Really, if at this point anybody listening is thinking why am I listening to this guy about my diabetes, you might have a point. Although I love the story, although although Heather, I got a review on the podcast yesterday, it was a very good review. But the person said that the newer episodes are more talking and less management. I was like, okay, that might be fair, but there's all the management like sprint like there's all the series now like I put them together for you in different places. So we could have these conversations. And I think the person was being like saying I really liked the podcast, just know if you're looking for management stuff. You might have to go find the series or go back earlier into the conversations where he talked more about no like management stuff. And I would have been fine with all that except she used the word banter, which for some reason made me feel like we don't like her. Well, I did I did like the review actually. I thought it was a good review. I just wish you wouldn't have said banter, banter. I don't know I wanted to banter seems frivolous to me. And I our conversation about I don't find oddly enough if you want to look into my mind I don't find our conversations today frivolous No Yeah, I think we we we had a serious conversation so far in a frivolous manner but I don't think the contents for it was but anyway, neither here nor there. I'm a bit of a word snob I didn't enjoy banter in that exact city. Didn't like the use literally it was a terrific it was a terrific review five star she loves the podcast the whole thing.
Heather 49:27
I just wish she doesn't like your banter.
Scott Benner 49:29
I could have taken a couple of minutes on Google found a different word than banter. I think I would have been better with it. But that's neither here nor there. And I appreciate the reviews. So Alright, so let's get to before we figure out how you I just decided we're gonna take a bit of a left turn here. I love it before we before we talked about what you did to bring things together for yourself. Talk a little bit about how amazing I am.
Heather 49:54
Where to begin? You know you just you you I have the same personality that I have, which is why I feel like this is going so great. At least I think it
Scott Benner 50:04
is. We probably wouldn't do well married Heather, we'd be both think I Right?
Heather 50:07
Like we have the same humor. You say you say funny that man. I laugh a lot when I'm listening to your podcast, like a lot. What's wonder, Am I supposed to? I don't know. But I do.
Scott Benner 50:19
I don't. I don't know. I appreciate very much. I also think it's like, like you were doing like a low key brag when you talked about that. You could see your boobs for the back. Like I even though we were talking about health issues. Like she is still telling people I have a nice full breast. Like maracas formidable. And just like in the middle of telling a story, which by the way, at that moment, I wasn't sure that wasn't going to end with breast cancer. And so I was a little freaked out. And, and you're you still were like, no, no, no. Yeah, you can see them from the back their fault. Yeah, yeah, he's decent. Anyway, all boobs are terrific. I just want to say that right away. I've seen them. Yeah, from the teeniest tiniest, to the ones where you're just like, I don't understand how you're standing. And does your back not hurt? They all have a place in the world. And that place is equal. Yeah. So anyway, not the point. The point is, is that I'm terrific. But yeah, but it's, I'm more seriously asking you like, like, what about the podcast works for you?
Heather 51:25
Um, I think like, odd, like, I mean, like, a lot of the things that you've talked about aren't things that I've like, never heard before. But the way that you deliver them, I'm like, huh, I should try that. And like, you know, like, a Pre-Bolus. Scott, I've only just started doing that in the last like, year. So we were, I've been told to Pre-Bolus my whole life, but like, what's the difference? What's the, what's 15 minutes gonna make? Well, a big difference.
Scott Benner 51:58
Yeah. Well, person sent me a graph the other day, and they were like, what do we do about this? And I'm looking at it, there's been a big spike in a meal and it comes out gets crashy low. And I said, Is there a Pre-Bolus in this? No, he doesn't do that. I said, Well, you could try Pre-Bolus thing. And a person says, I mean, he's 16. He's not going to do that. I was like, I don't know. Like, what do you want me? What do you want from me? Like, it's like, it's like, she drove into a wall. And she goes, What should I do about this? And I say, step on the brake. And she went, I don't want to, I was like, Well, what else could I do not to crash into this wall? I'm still gonna go with stuff on the brake, because it seems the most, like reasonable here. I mean, I guess you could swerve or drive slower? Or I don't know, but just step on the brake, you know? And yeah, it's just it's super interesting. How resistant people are to doing the little things that make the biggest difference for themselves. Pre-Bolus thing just doesn't stop you from spiking, it stops you from getting a low later. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And it levels your whole day out. It makes everything easier. You literally put 10 minutes worth of thought into something to save yourself eight hours. Yep. And yet, and the person knows that, because they're literally saying Help me. I don't want this to happen. I was like, Oh, you have to do the right thing. I can't do that. Okay, yeah. I mean, I don't know where to go with that. But it's interesting that you brought this up. And I was, you know, didn't know what you're gonna say. But I was at dinner last night. With I don't want my life to sound too amazing. Because this is the first is maybe the fourth dinner in eight years that anybody's ever taken me to because of the podcast. But I was having dinner with some people from the tea one day exchange. And we were just talking about the exchange and and how I've been able to put, you know, get people to take the survey and they were so thank you dinner, if I'm being perfectly honest. That's what it was. Right? And so we were just talking about bigger ideas. And I said during the course of the conversation, I was like, you know, there's a couple of things I'm proud of around the podcast, I said, one of them is just the longevity of it. And then I've been able to keep it going in a way that it's not just helping people, but it's growing. I said, I think that's a big deal. I think you don't see a lot of a lot of content. Because I guess technically I'm a content provider, right? Like so it's hard to keep something like this going for for eight years, especially at the volume that I put out stuff. And I'm and I sit but the other thing is, I think I'm most proud of taking. I'm like if you're being honest, I'm not saying anything that people don't know. I'm just saying something that people don't say, or when they say it, they say it in a way that when it's heard, the people who need it most are just like, Oh, I'm not doing that. Or I'm not yes, it's just you know, like, I always in my mind, go to glycemic load glycemic index. It's such an important concept. It's so incredibly easy to understand. But it has a big weird name. And it sounds like it's gonna be more trouble than it is. So doctors don't talk about it. And when they do, people don't listen. Yeah, and that's it. And there's simple. Again, over and over again, I'll tell you, the podcast should be five minutes long. It should be one episode, it should be five minutes long. It should say get your settings right. Pre-Bolus your meals, understand the impacts of your foods. Don't stare at a high blood sugar don't over treat a low go color of your life. Like it really is. It's that you know, and, and anyway, I'm proud of being able to deliver it in a way that gets to people, especially hearing your story. Because your your, um, your heads. It's thick, like a rock, Heather. So I'm well aware. It took a lot to get through there, I imagine.
Heather 55:55
Yeah. And it's like, it's so funny. Like, it's just like the simplest things like I think the first, the first episode I listened to was the one with I think his name is Kenny Fox. Is that right?
Scott Benner 56:08
Kenny? Yeah. Fox in the loop house.
Heather 56:10
Yeah. So I was following I wanted to loop. I don't even know how I stumbled upon looping. But I did. And I was like, creeping on their Facebook page for probably a solid year. And then somebody had posted that Kenny was on your podcast, and I had seen your podcast, probably a year before that. And I had like, bookmarked it on my phone. And then I just hadn't ever listened to it. It was there. And I just like never, I just forgot about it carried on with my life.
Scott Benner 56:41
Sorry, buddy. No. That's how it works, by the way. And then
Heather 56:45
and then they were like, oh, Kenny's on this doing this podcast, you should listen to it. And so it was like the second one. And I was like, well, there's got to be a first one. So then I wanted to find the first one first. So I listened to it. And I think he said something like, it was like, you guys were talking about Basal rates. And it was like, Basal insulin, like the insulin. You take now is for later and Lola insulin you took before us for now. And I just was like, light bulb, like, Oh, like that never even occurred to me. Like, I just assumed insulin goes into me. And it's now like, boom, that's it. So like, all these times, I was like, my blood sugar's high. And instead of bolusing, I'm increasing. I'm doing a Temp Basal, like a Temp Basal increase by 50%. And it's like, why isn't my blood sugar coming down? I don't understand why my blood sugar will come down. And like, just wait. And then just like hearing that sentence. It was like,
Scott Benner 57:41
okay, so important. I just, I was on stage a week ago for touched by type one. And they put an amazing event in, in Florida. And it's one of the things I stopped and made sure people were hearing. It was like, you know, I'm like, insulin does not work. Immediately, I went through a whole discussion. So they would understand that it doesn't work. Immediately, I talked about how you can Bolus for a meal and where insulin hits along the way. And then I just said, look, the truth is that insulin use now doesn't work until later. But that's not the way to think about it. The way to think about it is that the insulin that's working for me right now, was used earlier, like what came before is what's happening now is the way if you think of it that way. For some reason, it's simpler.
Heather 58:26
Yeah, it just like honestly, like unlocked, like, I don't even know, a next level in my brain. And I was like, oh, okay, all right.
Scott Benner 58:35
I just I told those people last night, I said, I said, if I've done anything I've turned, I think I've turned complicated diabetes ideas into t shirt slogans for the lack of a better phrase. Yeah, and it really, it makes things easier, because life's hard and you're busy. And if you can just remember something simple, like, trust that what I know is going to happen, it's going to happen, then you can just have that 12 Second thought and move on instead of you know, instead of sitting down and trying to dissect exactly what's been going on with your blood sugar for the past 18 hours and making yourself crazy trying to do computations, that the truth is, like, even our best algorithms at this point, don't completely understand. Yeah, you know, and now you're trying to figure it out while you're working in a dentist's office trying to avoid people's teeth. 100% was a lot of work. A lot of work. What Yeah, do you guys ever, it's not fair to ask you what you do in the dentist's office, but I always imagine that sometimes something's really disgusting. And you guys have to get together in a room and you're like, Oh, my God, look at this.
Heather 59:43
They do I don't I can't look at tool. Teeth are gross. Like I don't want to see. I don't want to see I don't want to see it. I don't want to see it.
Scott Benner 59:51
Well, how how far does this two thing go with you say you and a person were kissing and your tongue hit their tooth. With that So that's
Heather 1:00:01
fine. It's just like, Yeah, I just don't want to see like, because like, the dentist isn't taking picture of nice teeth. You know, sure enough, he's taking pictures of like teeth that are rotting out of somebody's mouth. And I'm like, Yeah, I'm interested in saying that that
Scott Benner 1:00:12
bothers you. Okay. Yeah, but you can lick a tooth. If it's clear. Yeah. Like, it's you, Heather.
Heather 1:00:18
I don't like go out and like, like people's teeth for fun, but like, yeah, cut
Scott Benner 1:00:22
Heather. What I like about your line is that it's very squiggly. You're like, dirty tooth can't see it. I don't overcome it. You know, like, would be happy to lick your tooth though. If your tooth is 30. I do want to be healthy, but not enough to take my insulin. Yeah. Although, if something bumps through my jacket at me that might get me to do this. might really Yeah. What about your mom? Who's your mom said a nurse. She said, right. Yes. Were you just diagnosed at a time in your life where her interaction with you and diabetes was short lived?
Heather 1:00:59
Ah, yes. She I mean, she was pretty involved. She, you know, she understood it. I feel like more than I did. You know, I like she would tell me when to take my insulin when I was first diagnosed and stuff like that. And I would do it and like I was taking insulin at school. Like, that wasn't an issue. It was just like, it was like, I hit 19. And I was like, Yeah, I'm done with this. I don't, I don't care anymore. It can't control me. I'm going to control it. And I was wrong
Scott Benner 1:01:28
by stuffing it down this little box and never look. Yeah, I'm
Heather 1:01:31
gonna Yeah, no diabetes, complications are ever gonna happen to me.
Scott Benner 1:01:35
You think that was just immaturity? Yeah, for sure. All right. Okay, so you figure out all this and you get back on a pump. And you're not listening to the podcast at that point. That's four years ago. So what did you do? Was it was it as simple as you just started bolusing for your meals again.
Heather 1:01:56
Um, I think it's, um, I also started wearing a CGM at the same time. Okay, how quick Oh, I thought that CGM is we're still well, so I had that. When I was on that first insulin pump. I had the like, paradigm one that comes with Medtronic. That thing it was like, It was horrific. I hated it to go in. It was not pleasant. So I thought that they were done. And then I got a libre first. And I liked it. It was okay. I like I like seeing the information. So like, that was exciting for me. And like I was somebody that would check my blood sugar all the time. Like I wasn't just like not checking.
Scott Benner 1:02:41
Wait a minute. You weren't Bolus thing, but you were checking. Oh, yeah. So you just be like, Yep, my blood sugar's 358. Cool.
Heather 1:02:48
Yeah. Cool. Sick moving on. Yep. That's just like, it was like, oh, that's where I'm always like, I'm never like, I sat in like, the three to 400 range comfortably for probably 12 years.
Scott Benner 1:03:04
Wow. What's the first thing you notice? When your blood sugar started coming down? It felt like, you didn't like it when it was coming down?
Heather 1:03:12
No, it was really bad.
Scott Benner 1:03:13
How long did that last?
Heather 1:03:14
Um, probably a couple months. There was like a slow progression, like they didn't want because I had ran so high for so long. They knew that, like, I would go and see them. And I'd be like, I don't feel good. And she'd be like, Yep, we're just gonna, like, you know, we'll increase your Lantis a little bit, we'll increase your, your carb ratio a little bit like that was a very slow progression. To get it to where I like, didn't feel like I was low at, like, 200.
Scott Benner 1:03:42
Yeah, so a nice slow process, especially with a high blood sugar for that long. You really could cause like, damage if you came down quickly. Yeah,
Heather 1:03:51
so like, it was probably a couple months before it came down. And even then, like, I still was like, My target was, like, 180. Okay.
Scott Benner 1:04:04
So once you get past that part, can you reflectively look back at how you felt and how you feel now? Oh,
Heather 1:04:09
yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I didn't feel good at 200 ever, or whatever, like, at 400 or whatever. But I just like, I don't know, I just had it in my mind that because that's how it had been forever. That's just the that's just the type of diabetes I had. I just had a hard case people didn't. We just didn't know how to do it. Well, like they didn't know how to do it. I just wasn't listening.
Scott Benner 1:04:32
Yeah, that's so fascinating. I, I'm sorry, this happened to you. But I appreciate you sharing the story. Yeah, because I think it's common, and it's something that we could all be looking out for with our loved ones as they're growing through this, you know, certain stages of their life, I guess. And that, you know, you can't just I don't know like, Yeah, I think you have to understand it. Tell me if I'm wrong about this either. I'm stopping and starting so much, but you needed help. And if someone would have tried to help you, do you think you would have listened? Like if your mom showed up on your door and said, Heather, I just talked to your doctor, I didn't realize about your agencies, I want to help you. Do you think you would be receptive to that?
Heather 1:05:17
I'm probably but I don't think that it was. I don't think that like, really it took like, it took a lot. I don't even know what it was that like made me click that like, yeah, I really need I really need to get this together, like because I mean, I started even coming down from like, the four hundreds, even before I found those lumps. But I still wasn't like, you know, with my agency at 10. I don't think that anybody even really explained to me how an agency works. Like I realized that it was like a three month picture of like, what your average is, but like a 10 in my mind is like Oh, like that means that my average blood sugar's 10. That's, that's good. That's okay. But like, that's not the case. That's like an average blood sugar of 14 or whatever it is. So I think that that was a little bit confusing. For me, that took a really long time for me to understand that like, oh, 10 is not good. Like, what should I be aiming for? Then? Where do I Where should I be sitting? So I think like, and my mom was very involved. She, you know, as as a nurse, she wanted to help me as much as she could. And I think I don't think that she could have done anything that would have pushed me to where I am sort of thing.
Scott Benner 1:06:45
You understand why I'm asking, right? Like I'm trying, trying to figure out if this is a thing that happens to some people, and they either trip their way to a resolution or they don't. And they're again there Mike from like, the diabetes complications after dark episode, where he just lives his whole life that way. Like, is it is it just as is it just as random? Is that Is that something doesn't happen that I
Heather 1:07:11
shocked? I honestly think it was like a random like, oh, like, just one day. It was like, Yeah, I really need to get this together. Wow.
Scott Benner 1:07:20
Yeah, it's super interesting. I'll tell you that much. Okay, so you brought it down slowly. And then, I mean, just got it down. And we're like, good. I can do this now. And you just, you've been doing Yeah.
Heather 1:07:32
Um, so then I, because I'm 33. I, me and my boyfriend have obviously been talking about children. And so like, I know that an agency of nine isn't great for having kids. So I went in to see a guy No, and she was horrible. Sorry,
Scott Benner 1:08:01
cold hands. Trying to figure out what makes a guy No horrible. It's the first thing I thought, oh, no, she
Heather 1:08:08
was like, I mean, she she was just like, because I mean, I was only like I was there for information. Like I just wanted to know like, where do I need to be? What am I blood sugar's need to be at like, and she was very, like doom and gloom. You can't have children, you your blood sugar is out of control. And like, at this point, I think my blood sugar was like, or my agency was 8.2, which was like the best it had been. And I was like, okay, lady.
Scott Benner 1:08:39
Got this down from an 11. But thank you, right, like,
Heather 1:08:41
you're looking at like, one one picture here. And she, she, yeah, she was just like, like, I realized that there's obviously like, a lot of things that could go horribly wrong. But like, there was no like, 00 sunshine. Like she just was basically like, you shouldn't have children. And you shouldn't live where you live. If you want to have children. She's not from here. So she was like, you can't have children in this town.
Scott Benner 1:09:10
Where did she want you to live? Oh, she
Heather 1:09:12
didn't. She told me that I needed it because I was diabetic. I should be. If I was going to have a kid I should be like, somewhere down south. So because of health care. Yeah. Because like they're not equipped to deal with it, but like they are, to a degree obviously, like there is a chance that if I get pregnant, and things aren't looking good that I would have to go down to Edmonton and have my baby there. But that doesn't mean that they wouldn't be able to do it here. There's just no like there's no NICU here.
Scott Benner 1:09:41
I wonder. Wonder if she partially also meant please don't have a problem around here. I can't handle it.
Heather 1:09:46
Yeah. I don't want to deal with this. Yeah. Seemed like
Scott Benner 1:09:50
a problem. Heather. Why don't you fly somewhere else and make a baby? Yeah. Leave me alone. Yeah. So so on paper, even Though you were doing better to a new doctor, you still look like a dumpster fire.
Heather 1:10:05
Yeah, she wrote in with my so I, at the time, I was like talking to my diabetes educator almost like weekly, or she would like send me a text or whatever. And she, she was like, Oh, I just got your report from the guy. No. And she said that I'm doing the best that I can with the tools that I have. And I was like, wow, wait, she's like, I'm, like, offended by that. And I was like, You should be the
Scott Benner 1:10:31
second. The doctor is talking to another doctor. Yeah. And her report. Yeah. was saying, Listen, don't put this girl's health on me. I'm doing my best.
Heather 1:10:45
Yeah, no, yeah, she No, she said that, that my diabetes educator was doing the best that she could with the tools that she had. Is that is that regarding my health?
Scott Benner 1:10:57
Yeah, but are the tools quote unquote? Are they you? Were they what
Heather 1:11:02
I think like, yeah, like me and like our area, because like, we don't have an endo here. And like, that sort of thing. Like basically saying that, like, yeah.
Scott Benner 1:11:15
Between where we live, and this girl's effort, I'm we're getting don't don't look at this poorly. This is actually pretty good. Yeah. Oh, did you find that insulting?
Heather 1:11:25
I yeah, I felt that like, because I mean, like, like, the A one C before that was like 9.5. So like, in a three month range. I've dropped it, like a whole point, like so like, okay, like, you're looking at one day, but you're not looking at the big picture. And so like, I was offended by that, and like my diabetes educator was to
Scott Benner 1:11:49
was the doctor aware that you were at zero effort at one point? Yeah, I told her. Okay. And then I don't know why the I don't know why the the, the notes wouldn't reflect a change of heart and a change of enthusiasm. And that thinks we're going in the right direction. Yeah, that would be that would seem to be how you would talk about that.
Heather 1:12:12
Yeah, yeah. So diabetes educator, like we should get shirts that say, doing the best we can with the tools that we have
Scott Benner 1:12:22
an arrow pointing to your head? Yeah. Dummy doing best can thank you. Yeah. Oh my gosh, that's crazy. That really is not. Alright, so is there any big secret to taking good care of yourself?
Heather 1:12:37
Um, I mean, listening to you. And yeah, and then I started looping. So like, that was like, huge that like, game change? Everything.
Scott Benner 1:12:48
So you just so you were doing okay. And being serious. You found the Podcast, the podcast was helpful for you? Oh, 100%. Helpful. Yeah, get some ideas together and some big concepts, and then say, Alright, I'm going to employ more technology. And now what's your agency now?
Heather 1:13:03
Um, I got it done in June, and it was 6.5.
Scott Benner 1:13:11
Down from 6.6. In February, right. Yeah. Is it weird that I know what your agency is?
Heather 1:13:16
No, because I'm pretty sure I posted it.
Scott Benner 1:13:21
Okay, so that's Well, first of all, congratulations. That's wonderful. Yes. Yeah. Really good for you. Someone should tell you that the tools you have seem like they're perfectly acceptable. Yeah. And maybe even better than that. Yeah, I
Heather 1:13:35
think that it's amazing. And like, it's like, little things like even like, even in the last like two weeks. I don't know, I feel like you were talking to somebody and you were telling them. You're asking them what their Dexcom High was. And they were telling you and you're like, Oh, you need to lower that. And I was like, oh, I want to remain is so then I like look in mind. It's like, set it to 50 Yeah, that's and I'm like, oh, I should lower that. So like now I haven't set at 180. But like, in a couple weeks. I'm gonna lower that I
Scott Benner 1:14:11
had a you broke up. Hold on a second. Finally, the cannula call like Heather, the candidate? Caller. Sorry, you cut out? Yeah, it's kind of a problem. So. But you, you just said I'm going to lower it to and then you're
Heather 1:14:29
sorry, I lowered it to 180.
Scott Benner 1:14:32
Right. And then after that.
Heather 1:14:35
And then like so that way like I am at least stopping the high before it gets high. Right.
Scott Benner 1:14:40
Are you thinking of a lower number in the future? Oh, yeah.
Heather 1:14:42
I mean, I want it lower than that to cool. I want it I'd like to get it down to like 150 Yeah, that's a good high.
Scott Benner 1:14:48
Yeah. 150 is terrific. Yeah, that's a great spot.
Heather 1:14:52
Is that what you have Arden set at 120 for your phone, right? Yeah, it's
Scott Benner 1:14:55
120 on my phone. It's 130 on her phone. Yeah, and And but 150 is very Listen, you're a person who had like a 12, a one C five years ago, you're doing Yeah, you know. And if you need to take smaller steps to it, I actually don't think those are small steps 180 to 150, you know, what I generally find is you kind of get what you expect. And you get what you're paying attention to. So it doesn't matter. It's a two step process, right? If you're alerted at 180, then you'll keep your blood sugar's under 200. If you're alerted at 150, you'll probably keep your blood sugar's under 170. The amount of effort the same, although with a lower number use, you know, less insulin, and less insulin should cause fewer lows. And on top of that, if you're paying attention, big picture, you should start seeing, hey, I'm reaching 130 and having to correct this is only happening after meals, maybe I'll make my insulin to carb ratio a little stronger. Or this is drifting up on me overnight. Maybe I'll make my basil stronger here, like and then eventually you'll make those little tweaks and then all of a sudden, you kind of don't see 130 Yeah, it's just the process. Yeah, no, you don't? Yeah, like
Heather 1:16:11
even just like, so I've lowered it. It's been like a week and a half. And like, I've been like, 90% in target. Since I did that. Yeah, like, just like, because it's just like, oh, it's gonna start doing something,
Scott Benner 1:16:24
I fully expect that that's exactly what I expect you, you get what you expect, you know, you the tighter the tolerances are, the lower your agency should be, the less variability you should have if your settings are pretty good, and you're understanding the timing of the insulin pretty well. And then after that, excuse me, it just sort of becomes second nature at some point, and you almost don't find yourself thinking about it anymore. to the same degree. Oh, yeah. That's really cool. I'm glad I could help. Yeah, you're killing it. Yeah, well, please, wait, no.
Heather 1:16:54
I don't want to your horn. But like, we
Scott Benner 1:16:55
shouldn't say it too loudly. But podcast is at 8 million downloads the other day, killing it. 8 million. Do you know how many it had at the beginning of the year?
Heather 1:17:06
Ah, um, no, like to 2 million.
Scott Benner 1:17:10
I think it had like four at the beginning. And I think it might end the year with nine. That's insane. So that was crazy. I didn't expect that. I had a month, my biggest month ever, like last month over a half 1,000,030 days, which was just insane. The first month of the podcast have 1300 downloads for perspective. This is crazy. Yeah. And it's and it's still it's still striking people the way I hoped. Yeah, I mean, like, like, that's, it's not easy. If you not anybody gives up. We've cursed a lot in this. So anyway, but not that any of you really give up. But it's not as easy as you might think, to start a thing. And then to scale it and to grow it. And to not lose at its core. What it is. Yeah, absolutely. A bit of a balancing act. Yeah, for sure. And it's a it's just, it's pretty. It's pretty terrific. The other day, Heather, by the time this comes out, we'll know if this happened or not. But a major media company contacted me the other day. And they were like we're launching a podcast. I was like, Okay, what is this about? And it's a podcast being made by a pharmaceutical company who only deals with difficult disease states. And it sounds like they're going to make a limited run series, where they're going to talk about each disease state and an episode. I was like, okay, and they said, you know, we don't know how to grow the podcast. So we're going to, we were wondering if we could drop our diabetes episode, or type one diabetes episode into your feed. I was like, really? And they said, Yeah, I said, I don't know about this. They said, Well, we would pay you and I was like, well, then it seems completely reasonable to me. Yeah. How much? Yeah. And I said, well, first of all, just so you all know, the first thing I said was, I need to hear the episode first. Like, I'm not just not going to just say yes to you, like delivering blindly, whatever you want to my the people who listen to the podcast. And they said, Well, plus, you can put an opening on it, you can let them know upfront what it is. And that way if they don't want to listen, they can. They can just shut it off. And I'm like, alright, and I got off the phone. I don't know if it's gonna happen or not, you know, and I thought, it's my podcast that big. That Bloomberg media is contacting me about how to get a podcast off the ground. I was like, is that really happening? Cuz it's just me. Like you don't have there's no one else here. I mean, I don't want to say Isabel is very, very helpful online with the stuff on the Facebook group and we've actually started we kind of deputized a couple of you people to answer questions because the Facebook group is getting out of control. It's so freakin it's so big, it's just so big. It gets to the point now where if I put up a post people ignore me and I'm like, Hey, I used to be the one that was like, if I listen, people, people were like, Hey, that guy's here, you know. And now it's like, listen, there's, you know, there's a lot of posts every day. And so they can kind of get, we don't want people's questions to get missed. So now we have people who are watching and saying, look, here's your question. I think these episodes that are leaving you links like, these episodes are good for your question. Which is really cool. So, so I'm not doing it completely by myself. But I'm making the podcast by myself. And it was just strange to have like, you know, a PR person from a third party company hired by Bloomberg calling me saying we need, we need help from you to get this massive thing off the ground. And I was like, wow, okay. That's crazy. Cool. Yeah. And then I told him how much and I don't know what's gonna happen or not. But I can tell you, I was telling somebody the other day, they're like, Would you do that? I said, would I do that? I said, I would punch my mom in the face. For a certain amount of money, the amount of money. I said, I'd let her know when I'd split it with her and everything. You know what I mean? I'd still be like, Mom, listen, bear down. Because rules of engagement million bucks. Come on, Mom, I gotta give you I gotta give you a couple knuckles that are far heavier. By the way, if it was a million dollars, I wouldn't even tell her. Yeah. I just I just punch her. And when she woke up, I'd be like, hey, we'll go we got a million dollars. But it was not a million dollars in case you're wondering.
Heather 1:21:43
But it was shoot I got you gotta shoot was enough
Scott Benner 1:21:45
money that I thought, well, this helps support the podcast. Yeah, you know, and that's the goal. Like the goal is just funny. I put it up online. I said, Would you guys mind if I did this, like just trying to get some feedback from people and everybody was lovely. And mostly they were like, did go for it. One person said, I wouldn't mind if you did it if you donated the money. And I was like, do this my job. Like I said, Do I come to your work and say, Hey, let me see your paycheck. give that away? Which
Heather 1:22:15
you don't know, I earn a living. Yeah,
Scott Benner 1:22:17
yeah. And I get the inference. Like you're making money off of diabetes, which, I mean, I guess you could say that, but I feel like I'm helping people with diabetes and giving them information for free, but whatever. And, um, but But I saw the point. And I just thought like, well, who does it? Like, who does he work for? Because he worked for a sneaker company. Like, should I say, hey, once you get paid should give all the money? Those kids, it's those sneakers together? Yeah, we're like, What? Are we all gonna just start giving our money away? Heather, what do you do? Go find people who need teeth and give your money away to them? Because you're making money off of dentistry? I'm like, kind of thinking is that?
Heather 1:22:56
Yeah, that's a ask backwards if you
Scott Benner 1:22:58
give it away. If I give it away. I'm not doing it. I got a limited amount of time, man. Yeah. I started thinking like, is everyone not out there trying to make money every day like to feed themselves? Am I the only one is yeah, you are?
Heather 1:23:12
You are Scott, the rest of us are just out here for free. And
Scott Benner 1:23:17
I'm just like, Oh, what am I the bad person? Everybody else is just out there. Like, oh, I'll just give away my time for everybody for free. And you have any idea how hard it is to make this podcast? You? Yeah, that's I was really. I let it go pretty quickly. Because I was like, I understand that. I understand. Like the I mean, the idea. But yeah, but my gut reaction was like, you're trying to work in here.
Heather 1:23:46
Listen to like, it's that episode, like what does it what does it do to you, man? I
Scott Benner 1:23:51
just was like, I was unbelievable. I don't know not unbelievable. With Do you understand what I mean? Like it was yes, it was off putting for a second not the idea of giving money to charity. But the idea that my money that I earn shouldn't be mine. But the money you earn is yours. And I'm like, Okay, I don't know. It's Listen, for people who might not believe this, because this sounds like I'm just dicking around with Heather for an hour and a half. But my entire day, every day. Like like the way you go to work at eight in the morning and come home at five in the afternoon, my entire day, every day and often on the weekends and in the evenings is spent in one way or another making this podcast. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So if I can find a way to make money off of it, maybe just say, good for you. Yeah, yeah. And let's be done with it. Anyway, this sends the part of the story where Scott pitches about nothing. Heather, is there anything we have not talked about that you wanted to?
Heather 1:24:53
Um, I think I just wanted to tell you a really great story I had recently with our local hospital
Scott Benner 1:24:59
It's gonna be better than you bumping into your own boobs and finding a medical problem. I
Heather 1:25:04
don't know if it's gonna be better, but I don't know. Anyway, so a couple months ago, I foolishly forgot to pick up insulin from the pharmacy. And of course, it was a pod changing day. And of course, it's 1030 at night. So we don't have 24 hour pharmacies here. They all close at 10 o'clock. So I was like, like, my pods already been beeping at me for like, two, like, I already got the two hour notification two hours ago, like, you know, so I'm like, Okay, so like, I got six hours before this thing starts screaming, and then I don't have any insulin, and I don't know what I'm gonna do. So I'm like, oh, I'll just like, I'll just call the ER and see if they'll give me insulin because, like, if they don't, then I need to figure out how I'm gonna get hold my pharmacist. Right, right, right. Um, so I call and I get put through to this nurse. And he was very nice. I was like, Listen, I'm a type one diabetic. I were an insulin pump. I'm out of insulin, and I need to replace my pump. And he was like, Oh, okay. What is what does that entail? And I was like, entails me getting insulin, and I don't have any. So if I come down to the hospital, like, I'll wait in the waiting room, I don't care. I realized that there could be people dying. Like, I realized I'm not priority one. But like, I'll wait. And then like, Would you guys give me 80 units? Because I just need 80 units to fill the pod. Yeah. Can
Scott Benner 1:26:37
you hear me? Yeah, yeah.
Heather 1:26:39
He was like, Oh, I don't know. Let me I don't really understand diabetes. Let me just go ask another coworker, Kevin. And I was like, great, Kevin, Kevin's gonna know what's up. He goes, and he asks Kevin, and I can hear it. Like, he's clearly holding the phone away. And he's talking to Kevin from a distance, and I can hear the conversation. And Kevin's like, we'll just tell her not to drink a juice. And I was like, Oh, Sweet Jesus. So he comes back on the phone, and he's like, listen, me, I've talked to Kevin, and we think that you're going to be okay. And I was like, okay, but like, you realize that, like, in six hours, I'm not going to have any insulin in my body. And I am diabetic. And they were like, Yeah, we just think if you just don't have a snack or anything, and you just like, wait until the pharmacy opens, they all open at 9am. And I was like, again, so you just Just so we're clear. You want me to go eight hours without any insulin like you think that that's a good idea. And he was like, Yeah, I mean, if you really feel like you need to come. I was like, Yeah, I'll be there in five.
Scott Benner 1:27:45
What position did Kevin and his friend hold on when you got there? They were orderlies. They were cleaning the floor. What was going on? Oh,
Heather 1:27:52
they were nurses in the nursing station in the back. Gotcha.
Scott Benner 1:27:56
Yeah, type one diabetes. Do you think they were clear about that?
Heather 1:27:59
I don't know. I just don't think that they thought. Like, I was like really clear about how like, I would have zero insulin and they were just like, well just don't eat and I was like, yeah, it doesn't matter if I eat or not like,
Scott Benner 1:28:13
you're gonna see me one way or the other tonight. By the way, either. You're gonna give me insulin now or give it to me later when I'm in the Yeah. So
Heather 1:28:19
I like I get to the hospital. And I go to like, check on it in and triage. And I get this lovely lady. And she's like, What can I help you with? And I'm like, I just called and heard from Kevin. And I told her the situation. She was like, so wait, all you're asking me for is insulin. And I was like, yeah, and she's like, I don't really understand how insulin pumps work. Could you explain it to me? So I explained it to her. And she was like, I'll be back. So she like goes to the back. She talks to whatever doctors on staff. And he also doesn't want to give me insulin. He's like, No, oh, and they also weren't sure that they would have enough insulin. And I was like, first of all.
Scott Benner 1:28:56
They weren't sure if they had enough for just for you. Or they're saying if you took 80 Everyone said
Heather 1:29:01
that if I took 80 units of insulin, there wouldn't be they didn't think that they even had 80 units. And I was like, believe me you have 80 units and they were like no I don't think and I was like yeah, do you do I know you do
Scott Benner 1:29:12
this this message is provided to you by the travel Council of Yellowknife.
Heather 1:29:19
Someone come on, they want
Scott Benner 1:29:21
you to know that if you go there, you're going to get at best dubious health care.
Heather 1:29:26
Yeah, so she anyways, she was great. She went back there. He didn't want to give me any insulin and she was like, listen, either we give this woman insulin now or she's gonna be back here in three hours when her pod dies, and in an ambulance and we have to give her insulin then so why don't we just you know, take this one. Like, this is easy enough. She can do it herself. Let me grab a vial of insulin. And he like begrudgingly gave it to her, like annoyed about it and like gave it to her.
Scott Benner 1:29:51
The mayor of yellows knife looks like she's like 15 years old, by the way. Oh yeah. Rebecca AlTi you know? Yeah,
Heather 1:29:59
this is how small All y'all know,
Scott Benner 1:30:01
the place you are. There aren't less there are fewer than 20,000 people living there. Yeah. Wow. Do you like go to you like you might? Like no Rebecca from like the grocery store kind of Oh yes. No, no kidding. Oh yeah. Interesting. 57 degrees there right now by the way, and humid. Yeah. Cold, humid, small. nurses don't understand what insulin does. Yeah, it's great place great place. What's the house cost? $35 What are we doing?
Heather 1:30:35
Stupid expensive. Really?
Scott Benner 1:30:37
I have to overpay.
Heather 1:30:38
There. We just bought our house that we live in and we paid $400,000 And it's a two bed two bathroom and it's a modular home. So most houses up here are like trailers but they're not trailers. Yep. Love to hear your series serious. Yeah, I'm 100% serious. Don't think like trailer trash like a trailer.
Scott Benner 1:31:00
I know what you mean. Yeah. I gotta pay $4,000 No offense to live in Yellowknife?
Heather 1:31:06
I know. Are you serious? No.
Scott Benner 1:31:10
How close am I to where Santa Claus lives at that point.
Heather 1:31:13
I mean, he's about four, four hour flight, I'd say.
Scott Benner 1:31:18
Uh huh. Uh huh. I'm not even kidding. By the way. Neither.
Heather 1:31:25
I think it's like a to get to the Arctic Circle from here. It's like
Scott Benner 1:31:28
700 miles. Take surprise. Yes, the this is driving it would take me 47 hours to drive from Yellowknife to the North Pole. Oh, yeah.
Heather 1:31:37
Because you gotta go like back into like B you have to drive down into like BC and then like, go back up through the Yukon and come it's a weird. There's a lot of like, direct route that goes straight through.
Scott Benner 1:31:48
There's a lot of origin never going to hear me say on my map. My Google Maps. The Yukon, by the way. All right. This is insane. Heather, can I ask you a question? Yes, please. Why don't you move?
Heather 1:32:02
The money is really good up here. Really? Yeah, you're paid really unpaid. Really? Well, my my. The owner of my dental clinic is like, he's the most amazing man. And he pays us all very well.
Scott Benner 1:32:16
I don't understand anything you're saying. Yeah, it's amazing. It's the
Heather 1:32:20
money Scott the money. He's keeping
Scott Benner 1:32:21
you in Yellowknife? Yeah, yeah. Because I don't mean this pejoratively, but you're doing like billing and paperwork in a dentist office. Yep. And you own a $400,000 home? Yeah. That doesn't sound right. I don't know why. But it is there a movie theater?
Heather 1:32:44
Yeah, but like it's no Cineplex or whatever you guys have done there. It's pretty sad.
Scott Benner 1:32:52
Do I get to see the lights if I live there? Yes. Yes. That sounds nice. Yeah, so
Heather 1:32:59
like we have we get the 24 hour daylight in the summer. But we don't get full darkness luckily and Yellowknife so we do get like a four hour window usually in the winter where the sun is up.
Scott Benner 1:33:15
Wait is that maddening? After a while?
Heather 1:33:18
Um, I don't find it. I find it like a you get tired in the winter. My boyfriend really struggles with the, with the darkness and the light he like has a hard time adjusting every time. Is he from there? No, he's all he's from the he's from BC to British
Unknown Speaker 1:33:36
Columbia. Yeah, he followed you there.
Heather 1:33:39
Yeah, well, we met here in Yellowknife. He was working up here. And then he went back and then I convinced him
Scott Benner 1:33:44
convinced him How did you not want it? No, nevermind. I have a short list of things you'd have to do to get me to move. And none of them are something I can repeat here on the podcast. Yeah. All right. Well, I think we're done Heather. That was terrific. Thank you.
I want to thank Heather for coming on the show. And I'd like to thank us med for sponsoring this episode us med.com forward slash juice box, or call 888-721-1514 and of course cozy earth.com use the offer code juice box at checkout to save 35% There's more I wanted to say here but in complete honesty, this file got corrupted and I just spent the last three and a half hours of my life getting it fixed. So I'm fried. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back again very soon. If this doesn't kill me with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast.
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#937 Fastidious
Jason has type 1 diabetes and uses T-Slim.
You can always listen to the Juicebox Podcast here but the cool kids use: Apple Podcasts/iOS - Spotify - Amazon Music - Google Play/Android - iHeart Radio - Radio Public, Amazon Alexa or wherever they get audio.
+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
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 friends, and welcome to episode 937 of the Juicebox Podcast
Jason has type one diabetes, he's an adult, he's having great success on control IQ but he doesn't really completely understand why you go over his settings have conversations. He eventually sent me a note where I'm going to don't forget to read his note into the end and he switched on the pod five and I was having a great time. Boom, boom, what are we going to call this one? Is very amenable. Festivus call it Festivus. While you're wondering why I'm calling it that, 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 health care plan. We're becoming bold with insulin, save 35% off the most comfy sheets towels and sportswear I guess like joggers and stuff like that. Yeah, that I've ever worn. Cozy earth.com Go there, load up your cart, put in the offer code juice box at checkout and you'll save 35% off your entire order
this episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by two devices that my daughter has been using forever. The first one, the Dexcom CGM right now Arden's wearing the Dexcom G seven but you can get the G six two at my link dexcom.com forward slash juice box and orange juice the Omni pod dash right now. But this podcast episode, since it's sponsored by Omni pod, I'm going to tell you that you can get the Omni pod dash or the Omni pod five at Omni pod.com forward slash juice box use the devices that Arden has been using since she was a little tiny kid.
Jason 2:08
Hi, my name is Jason. I'm 46 years old. And I was diagnosed type one, three years
Scott Benner 2:17
ago, three years ago when you were 43. Wow. Any any reason to think you would have diabetes like a parent or someone else in your family has it?
Jason 2:28
I had a great uncle that had it. But other than that, no, no, no diabetes. I've got one of those. on mute. I guess it was unusual. But now it's sounding more normal that it's the same kind of diagnosis that a lot of older people are getting. In April to third 2013 I was diagnosed as type two. I had a one C of 8.1. And I had all the normal symptoms. I was losing weight, I was thirsty was getting up to pee all the time at night, four or five times at night. And I went in and I said oh, you're tight to
Scott Benner 3:11
give you medication from there. What do they do? Yes,
Jason 3:15
they started me on Metformin. And then a month later, my agency was down to 5.4. I had started exercising and eating better. And they took me off Metformin. And then I think three months later, they put me back on Metformin. And somewhere in that six year time span, they added insulin. I was taking over long. I was checking my blood sugar four times a day. And they got me a sliding scale that I still have a copy of I kept of how much insulin we give it meals. And then they put me on Invokana as well.
Scott Benner 3:56
Just you were misdiagnosed as a type two for six years. By a general practitioner.
Jason 4:05
I worked for a city and we have a city clinic. And I went in there. And they were the ones that tested me and the doctor at the clinic actually said you have one of the antibody markers, but you don't have to so you're type two.
Scott Benner 4:24
You work for a city. That's the first time anybody's ever said it that way to me before.
Jason 4:29
Yes, I work for a city. I'm a senior chemist at a wastewater treatment
Scott Benner 4:32
plant. Oh, no kidding. Oh, yeah. Jason, you probably shouldn't have told me that. I have a lot of questions about water trough.
Jason 4:42
I got to hear you say water.
Scott Benner 4:44
Yes, you did. And it's gonna happen again. So let me I'll divert for just one second. The picture we all see online from New York City have a giant ball of fat in the sewer. Is that real? Yes. Okay. All right. So do you You put enzymes in the water to break up the fat? Or how do you handle that?
Jason 5:06
Well, I don't do any of that I work in the lab and they bring us samples and we test them and give them their data. And then they go out and do whatever they do.
Scott Benner 5:17
But do they do? Like, how do you handle something like that? Like, I guess let me re ask the question then based more on your on your perspective. What are you looking for? And why are you looking for it?
Jason 5:34
We're cleaning out the the water that comes through the sewer, so that we can clean it up enough to pump it back into a river.
Scott Benner 5:43
Okay. And what are you taking out of it? Like what what happens when the population uses it that it needs to be cleaned? I know medications I remember reading a story about somewhere near Oh, Wisconsin, or Chicago or something where there was so much Metformin in the water, it was starting to impact wildlife. And that they said was because the population was using so much that it was passing through in their waist. Is that kind of how that works? Oh, yeah. Wow. That's weird. It makes so much sense. And yes, and yet, I don't think anyone would ever consider it. So you need to clean it also good.
Jason 6:25
They also can find COVID and wastewater and track it
Scott Benner 6:29
that way. You can tell how, how much a virus is in a particular place. Is that may I ask Jason, does that come through the Poopoo? Or the PP are both? Both? Both? Interesting. Oh, my goodness. And then we want it it's one of the marvelous things about this country, isn't it? The way we can provide clean drinking water and and usable water for people? It's, it's a marvel of like society, I think, I don't know. Nobody thinks about it here. I wouldn't imagine but this many people, this much the volume of water that must get used? I think it's I think it's marvelous like that it works that way. I imagine it doesn't feel magical to you anymore, but it does. Not so much. You don't you don't feel like you're involved in a, in an amazing process. I do. Just to you know, Jason, between you and I think what you're doing and the people you do it with? It's, it's pretty amazing. So anyway, all right. So you've done this your whole life? Or is this a like, how do you apply a chemistry degree?
Jason 7:39
I've been doing it for 17 years. I originally got it who read environmental science, he just wanted to help the environment and stumbled on this job.
Scott Benner 7:49
Nice. It's, it's I think it's definitely important work that I don't think anybody pays attention to. So I do. I'm constantly amazed by it, just so you know. And I'm very careful. Like if I fill up a container to give, you know, my dog's water, and there's a little bit left in it, I will go out of my way to put it in a plant or somewhere like I would never consider going back to the sink and just dumping it out again. I don't know I'm, I'm I don't know why it strikes me that way. I don't know what someone said to me when I was younger, but I don't know. I think it's amazing. Alright, forget all that. They tell you your type your type two for six years, you're living on Metformin, eventually, obviously, you're not type two, so they have to start adding insulin. How do you and then you have a doctor tell you you have a marker for type one, but that still doesn't move it so how do you end up figuring out you are
Jason 8:53
going into the city clinic I can't remember now if I was sick or had an injury, but I went in and he's like, Hey, we haven't done bloodwork in a while. Let's do let's take let's take some blood work and see how you're doing. And so when they took my blood work, I was 7.1 Okay, and I was still losing weight. I was down 260 pounds. I think
Scott Benner 9:21
how much weight had you lost in total?
Jason 9:25
Over the six years I'm five nine I think I went from around 200 to 160
Scott Benner 9:32
do you think 160 Is the correct weight for your frame or were you too small?
Jason 9:38
Oh my wife is telling me obviously skinny Okay.
Scott Benner 9:41
When she just might be a chubby chaser Jason I don't know about health wise not your wife proclivities, you know, I'm saying but, but you felt undersized. Okay. So so you're you're wasting away but slowly and you're using enough insulin I guess to Do you think it's Lada? Do you think it was a slow onset? Or do you think you were like full on type one, and you were just using enough insulin to help yourself?
Jason 10:10
I asked my CDE back in June. And she said, You know, I don't really know. But it doesn't really matter. You hear type one now and you need insulin now. So
Scott Benner 10:22
your CD was your CD was deflecting Jason
Jason 10:27
actually didn't know all that whole backstory. So he wasn't involved in that.
Scott Benner 10:32
It reminds me of when Cole was born, and he came out and the doctor held him and I was going to cut the umbilical cord, and there was a knot tied into the umbilical cord, like tight. And I pointed to the knot, and I said, Is this a problem? And he held call up an extra inch and went, apparently not. And then I. And I was like, that's not a real answer to my question. So anyway. Okay. So once you figure out your type one, how does management switch?
Jason 11:06
I started to go see an endo. I saw an endo. And I guess November and I walked out with the libre. And I went back. Well, I mean, obviously, they put me on long lasting and short acting, MDI, okay, and they said, come back in January, I came back. And they're like, You should start thinking about getting a pump. Is that something you think you want to do? And I said, Well, I've never really thought about it. And I said, Sure, why not? Let's get a pump. And I started pumping in February of 2020.
Scott Benner 11:46
Okay, so can you tell me a little bit from a psychological perspective? What was it like to go into that office thinking you had type two diabetes, and probably being like, you know, the way people think about type two all the time, it's like, you know, lose weight, it'll get better. And you've lost a significant amount of weight to the point where you think there's something wrong with that. And it hasn't made an impact on it. So you have this thing you believe you're doing the things they tell you, it's getting worse, not better. And then someone just does the Presto change along you and tells you that no, it's not this. It's that. Is that hard to swallow? Or were you able to just roll with it?
Jason 12:27
I mean, I've never looked into type one. I didn't know a lot about it. I didn't know anything about it. It was kind of a shock. And what's funny is the the doctor was like, Oh, this is good news. You have the good diabetes now. And I'm like, that doesn't sound right. How can I don't think anyone can be
Scott Benner 12:47
good. Exactly. There's not a good version. Yeah.
Jason 12:57
I told my dad that on the way home, I talked to him on the phone and he's a doctor. He's like, No, that iPhone is not the good version.
Scott Benner 13:03
Did your dad say? You got the bad kind of a doctor?
Jason 13:10
I'm sure he was thinking that.
Scott Benner 13:11
What kind of physician is your father? He's an OB, Jin. Oh, okay. No kidding.
Jason 13:19
Yeah, he was a originally he was a naval doctor. And
Scott Benner 13:24
then he moved down to the Medina. Thank you,
Jason 13:29
man. Thank you, man.
Scott Benner 13:32
Jason, I gotta tell you something. We can stop now. If you want. He moved from the navel to the vagina. Um, good. I don't think it's gonna get better than that. You know what I mean? Man, I was really proud of that. Just uh, you're all aware. Yeah. I'm sorry, crack myself up. Okay, so. So you, you leave for the libre, you go to MDI. I love how they asked you. Do you think you want to pump as if you have any idea what any of that means? Or, you know, like, why not? You don't I mean, man, like, why wouldn't somebody say to you, hey, an insulin pumps an option. Here are some benefits of an insulin pump. What do you think about what I've just said, instead of going, Hey, you want an insulin pump? I know you don't know what it is or what it does or any reason why you would want it but it's now on you to decide. But you went with the idea. Right? Once you did go with the idea you decided to do it. Yeah,
Jason 14:35
sure. Let's let's try it out. I mean,
Scott Benner 14:38
Jason, you're incredibly easy to get along with why is that? A part of the country? You're from? Texas. Like northern southern east west.
Jason 14:49
I grew up in South Texas, but now I'm in Dallas.
Scott Benner 14:52
Okay. You just you're very amenable through the story with with not with me. You're very difficult with majors but no, no, I'm just kidding. You're very, you're very amenable, like in the conversation with the physician. And even earlier before when people aren't going to hear that we had some trouble technically getting set up, you. You err on the side of like contrition during the thing, even though you weren't doing anything wrong. So it's interesting. But so you start pumping, how long does it take for you? Or did you ever get things under control?
Jason 15:28
The interesting thing was I was the first patient in the office to start control like you.
Scott Benner 15:33
Really? How long ago?
Jason 15:37
2020 Right before COVID I snuck in an appointment before COVID started looking
Scott Benner 15:41
to really hit. And is that is control like you the thing that brought things around for you like how were you doing prior to that?
Jason 15:53
You mean, between my diagnosis and
Scott Benner 15:55
then? Well, between the time somebody hands you needles and said you have type one. And when you got a pump? How long was that time?
Jason 16:04
That was from that state, November 1 to February 12. I went from a 7.1
Scott Benner 16:16
to a six, just on MDI and then you move to a pump very soon after a few months after I gotcha. Okay, did the pump then make another I would imagine another adjustment to your outcomes.
Jason 16:32
I stayed. On January, I was six. April, I was 6.3. And then, in August, I was 4.8. I remember I was sitting on the field watching my kids practice soccer. And I was looking at Facebook and I was in a diabetes
group. Someone's mentioned that Juicebox Podcast, and I was like, Well, I'm almost done with the podcast and listen to I don't have anything else to listen to well get the juice box and try and see what that's about.
Scott Benner 17:12
And now you realize you'll never get done with this because I make too much content you'll you won't be able to finish.
Jason 17:18
You keep me entertained at work.
Scott Benner 17:20
I'm doing my best. Oh, am I helping to support the cleaning of water? This makes me feel very good. Yeah, of course you are. How do you listen? The liquid that you drink that comes out of the faucet? What do you call it? Water water. When I say it like that? Am I saying what you're saying water? Does that sound like though? See, it's hard to tell, isn't it? So when I say Yeah, I hear you say water. Are you hearing me say it correctly when I do that? Say it again? Water. That's normal. Okay, and when I say water, you hear like WT t er. Yeah, gotcha. Hey, when you're watching your son play soccer. Are you thinking I wish this kid was playing football or baseball? Be honest with Jason.
Jason 18:14
I'm not I don't want him to get a head injury. And I find baseball born.
Scott Benner 18:19
That soccer ball could hurt though. You get that worked in your head. It's not good. I'm telling you. Maybe field hockey. That's for girls. Even that. Even that balls hard badminton? Nobody's getting hurt. And badminton. I bet.
Jason 18:32
Well, now he's switched over to taekwondo. So
Scott Benner 18:34
oh, oh, that's interesting. Good for him. All right. So you found the podcast? did? I mean, listen, I want to try to take, I'm gonna take credit for your 4.8 and one see if I can. But if I can't, like, how are you accomplishing that?
Jason 18:52
Before listening to your podcast, nobody had ever mentioned Pre-Bolus. That's just check your blood sugar. Give your insulin and start eating.
Scott Benner 19:03
What are you eating? Jason? What's your diet?
Jason 19:08
I eat just a normal American diet. No restrictions.
Scott Benner 19:13
Get out of here. So you're using you're using a fast acting insulin in a pump. You have a CGM. You're using control IQ. So you must have moved from libre to Dexcom. At some point, is that right? Yes. Okay, so you have a Dexcom G six, you have control IQ. You'll learn how to Pre-Bolus and you have a sub five a one C and describe to me what an American diet is to you like what are a handful of things you've eaten this week?
Jason 19:39
Let's see. Well, last night was just grilled chicken corn on the cob and a salad but the night before I made pizza. We've had tacos as we spaghetti. We do a lot of grilling and smoking. Because we're in Texas. That's what we do. There's
Scott Benner 20:01
no drawing with your with your smoking. Those aren't wet rubs in Texas. They're dry rubs, right? Yeah. Right. But you're, you're taking in carbs? Do you avoid processed foods completely?
Jason 20:19
Um, I don't eat a whole lot of processed foods. I'll eat chips. But I say no restrictions, but I don't really have a sweet tooth. I don't eat like cookies or candy or cakes. Okay. But I didn't stop my want to eat, I'll eat it. Chinese food.
Scott Benner 20:41
How many carbs do you think you take in a day?
Jason 20:46
Hmm. It's hard to say because I kind of quit counting carbs. I kind of do like you. I just looked at the plate. And I'm like, Well, that's about 10 units of insulin.
Scott Benner 20:59
Wow. Why are you so good at this? Maybe? Jason, maybe you do have the good kind of diabetes. But No, but seriously, why do you think you're doing? Like, I mean, I guess I should ask first. Are you having a lot of lows? No, no, you don't have hours at a time where you're 65? You don't do something about it? Nothing like that? No,
Jason 21:25
no, I actually actually looked at my clarity report before coming on here is no that the endo wants the range set at 70 to 180. So that's what I declared. He said I was 94% in range with like, 2% low. And point 2% very low.
Scott Benner 21:45
what's your what's your What was your percentage High and High means over 180 In this scenario, but
Jason 21:51
let me see if I can pull that up. Would you because I'm
Scott Benner 21:53
fascinated.
Jason 21:54
High as 2.7% Very high 0.2.
Scott Benner 22:00
Holy hell. What? Huh?
Jason 22:04
My average glucose is 109. power efficient 25.7. Standard deviation play
Scott Benner 22:12
your deviations pretty good. And everything's good. Alright, so, Jason, I mean, you're three years at this. Can you contextualize for me why you're having the outcomes you're having?
Jason 22:27
I think I just pay proactive on it. If I'm gonna eat a high carb meal, I'll change my Basal rate. I'll double it from point seven, five 1.5. And I'll leave it there for till it peaks and starts coming down. You know, and I just make corrections. If I get over. My alarm is set for 140. So if I hear it, I start looking. Do I need to make an adjustment to why did I miss on my basil? Am I going to need more? You ever had to stay on top of
Scott Benner 23:05
it? Yeah, that's what I was gonna say you're you're ahead of it. And if it tries to get ahead of you, you jump on top of it. Push it back again. That's it. Yep. You know, Well, I'm glad about that. But you know, not everyone listens to Jason, which is why you're freaking me out a little bit. So, in a very good way. Don't get me wrong. You're not a Cowboys fan. Sorry. Yes, we are. I don't know how we
Jason 23:30
were more college fans. Oh, perfect.
Scott Benner 23:33
Let's not mention the Cowboys. Okay. I've learned growing up in Philadelphia, that Eagles fans believe that the Cowboys are their bitter rival but the Cowboys don't feel that way about the Eagles sack true.
Jason 23:53
No, I think. I don't know. Like I said I'm not the hugest Cowboy fan.
I know we don't like the Eagles. We think our people down here think the Eagles fans are awful.
Scott Benner 24:05
I'm an Eagles fan. Jason, what do you think? Wow. You being awful. Thank you. It's perfect. Although, let me tell you a story that might change your mind. Then we're gonna go back to your your management
I just got nervous because I forget what story I told to highlight. Anyway. I guess we'll find out together in a second. But first, Omni pod.com forward slash juicebox at my link, you can get the Omni pod dash or the Omni pod five. Now, all the AMI pods are tubeless they're all delightful. They're all just that little thing you just put on no tubing, nothing to be tethered to no reason why you can't just jump like in the lake or in a pool or your tub. Right? You don't have to take it off first. Anyway That's maybe just the tiniest little bit of why we love the AMI pod in our house. But here's the thing, there's two Omni pods, you can get the dash. If you just want to make all the decisions yourself, like put in your settings, then you know, you're like, Well, I'm gonna put in this many carbs and you know, my blood sugar is going up, I'll make an adjustment that's going down and make an adjustment. But if you get the AMI pod five, when it's coupled with a Dexcom, G six, you have an algorithm that's making insulin decisions for you. Yes, you still tell it, I'm gonna have this many carbs. But then man, it starts making decisions by itself. It's pretty amazing. Omni pod.com forward slash juicebox. It's at least worth you checking out use the links, please, it helps support the podcast, you can type them in a browser or click on them in the show notes of your podcast player or at juicebox podcast.com. As long as you get the my link, you're supporting the show, whether you're interested in Omni pod, are ready to buy Omni pod.com forward slash juice box. Now another link to please just treat exactly the same dexcom.com forward slash juice box Dexcom, G six and Dexcom G seven both available there. Arden is rockin the g7. Right now she loves it. But she wore the G six for years. And it was fantastic. So whatever you're looking for, whether it's a G six, or the G seven, head to dexcom.com, forward slash juicebox. To check it out, you're going to be able to see your blood sugar in real time. Its speed and direction. That's like, is it going up? Is it going down? Is it going up? Three points a minute, two points a minute. Is it 98? Next time it takes a reading? Is it 110? Is it 70 It shows you right on your smartphone, Android or iPhone or on the Dexcom receiver. I don't want to call it magical because I think I'm not allowed to. But it's amazing. And I love it. And if you came to my house and tried to take it, I'd get a stick and beat you back out the door. dexcom.com forward slash juice box you can't have origins Dexcom you can't ever Omni pod. But you can get your own use the links support the show. That was slick when I was like he can't have hers. Like I set that whole thing up. Like can't come to my house and take my daughter's stuff, but you could get it. Anyway, I was pretty impressed with myself as I do those things on the fly and don't pre write them. Support the podcast, please, by supporting the sponsors. I'm not saying go by Dexcom if you don't want one, but if you're gonna get one, please use my legs. Thank you so much. Let's get back to Jason and whatever horrible story I'm about to tell.
I grew up being taught to like, yell and scream at sporting events, right? I'm not I'm not a big yeller and screamer anymore. And I can look back in hindsight and see that I don't that, you know, athletes are not people who you get to yell at just because they're, you know, being paid to play a game in front of you. However, when I was much younger, I don't know exactly how young, my early 20s Maybe we were at a Phillies game and a visiting team. I think it was the Cardinals and I want to say that the guy was Lance Berkman, but hold on. And let me check. And anyway, this guy was playing left field. Was it Lance Berkman? Yeah, I think it was. I apologize the LANSON in advance if he ever hears this. I don't imagine he will. He had recently lost a lot of weight and in honesty look terrific. He's coming out of left field. We're at the Phillies game. And so he's coming down the third base line, I'm sitting on a third baseline. And, you know, sometimes at a sporting event for reasons that you can't figure out like just all the sound dies, like nobody makes noise for a minute. So it's dead silent. And I yell Lance, Lance, and he looks up. And I said, You look better fat. And he I don't know why I said that. Again, I was the young man. And he like he looked up. I feel bad telling the story. He looked up like, oh, look, somebody's calling my name. I will wave and as he was getting ready to gesture, I said what I said and his hands in his head just went forward and he just slumped down into the dugout, and then an entire section of the stadium burst out into laughter as if the best thing that ever happened just happened. And I in the moment, was incredibly proud of myself. And now 30 years later, or however long ago it was now actually I might be dating myself. I have no idea when it was it was the end of his career, I believe. I feel I feel badly for doing that. So our Phillies and Eagle those fans bad people. All I can tell you for sure is that 300 People thought that Lance Berkman story was hilarious. So, maybe we are. So anyway, Jason, I, here's what I'll tell you about Philly. If you're walking down the street in Philadelphia, when I was growing up, and you tripped and you fell, everyone would laugh at you. And then they would all make sure you're okay and help you. That's, that's how I think of Philadelphia. Like, you're not gonna get out, you're not gonna get away with anything, but no one's gonna leave you behind. So, there's something about sarcasm, and picking it people you love that seems intrinsic to this area. I don't know why that is. Anyway, Landsberg was a perfectly fine guy. And I don't, I'm sure I was happy for his health changes. I just thought of the first bizarre, hurtful thing that I could think of and blurting it out loud. And I couldn't begin to tell you why. Anyway, all right. What do you think Jason in my bag? I know. You think Landsberg would like me?
Jason 31:12
I think if he heard the story, if he remembered it, he might think it's funny now looking back, but
Scott Benner 31:18
I don't know. Jason, I have to tell you if he remembers that. It would be one of the proudest things I've ever accomplished. I would go places and tell people anyway. So you're you said I said it's such a strange turn. But okay, so you're using insulin? You're on this control like you. Are you consistently under five or was that just a fluke?
Jason 31:44
I looking back, five is the highest I've ever been. In August, I was five. But we went on three vacations this summer. And I had COVID like two weeks before that appointment. So
Scott Benner 32:02
Jason, this is a verified agency from a lab or this is like your app telling you this?
Jason 32:07
No, this is from the CDE I've I've kept all those little stickers they print out when they do a want to see
Scott Benner 32:12
wow and in for for your money. This is about understanding the timing of insulin and staying ahead of arise and nothing else. Yeah. Are you are you maniacal about it like you would never let a high blood sugar go.
Jason 32:38
I don't I don't know if I'd say maniacal but you know if it gets the 180 I'm pretty mad.
Scott Benner 32:44
I wasn't proud of the word when I pulled it. Jason just so you know, I think my my internal thesaurus let me down. I was I think I was gonna say Festivus. And then I thought that's not a word people use.
Jason 32:58
I was picturing someone staring at their just looking at it like with mean eyes like, I'm going to do something.
Scott Benner 33:08
Well, I think I meant half of that. But not the mean part. Just the just just the intensity of not letting it go. You know, fastidious was the right word. I shouldn't have been embarrassed that. I knew that word. I should have just one word. Yeah. Okay. Weird spelling by the way. But great word. FAS T ID IO us. fastidious, it's a great word means showing or demanding excessive delicacy or care. I'm not I'm not embarrassed by my. But I actually I dumbed myself down just then Jason. I don't usually do that. Why did I do that? Is it because you're from Texas? I'll figure it out. As I don't want to be using fancy words when we're talking about Texas and barbecue and yelling Atlanta. Fancy words to hey, how bizarre is it that I'm the guy who yelled you looked better fat at Lance Berkman. But I thought I knew and use Sidious. And I'm a paradox, Jason. We're not going to people know what paradox is right? I don't have to define that. We're good. So we got that. Yeah. So what made you want to come on the podcast?
Jason 34:29
I guess just to share my story. I don't know. I think every podcast has got something valuable. And then I thought maybe I could add something to it. My goal was to come on if I was diabetic for a year, but then I waited around and then wants to do schedule it. It's pushed out so far.
Scott Benner 34:53
I'm amazed every day when there's somebody on the line when I push the button, Jason. I'm like this person signed up to do this six months ago. I had a lady sign up the other day. It's September 2022. Right now. And I got an email that said that this person just chose August 23 2023 as their recording date. Wow. Almost a year. Yeah. And I was like, Huh. And then I'll record with them. And I'll put, it'll take me six months to put up. But I tell that story because it makes the, it makes the advertisers very comfortable because they know there's content. So you were going to do it under after a year, then you sat on the idea for a little bit. And then by the time you did it, it takes as long as it does to get on. Do you think you've learned anything in that time? Like, how much different? Are you as a person with diabetes right now than you would have been two years ago, for example?
Jason 35:49
I think I've gotten better at, you know, taking out doses for meals for sure. Like, you know, he kind of eat the same things over and over again. And you can look at it and say, well, six units wasn't enough last time. Let's try seven or seven was too much last time. Let's try backing it down a little bit and see what happens.
Scott Benner 36:11
Are you incredibly active? No,
Jason 36:15
no, I think my activities probably aren't working. That's about it.
Scott Benner 36:19
No kidding. Did you put a bunch of did you put much of that weight on after you were diagnosed? correctly? Put it back I've come back to
Jason 36:27
- And I'm just kind of hovering right at 180.
Scott Benner 36:31
So you're probably in a very healthy weight right now for your size. In your mind. Yeah. Your wife happy again?
Jason 36:37
Probably I could. I could probably lose five or 10 pounds but okay.
Scott Benner 36:41
Is your wife happy again? I know she wants something to grab onto. Yeah, she's happy I'm still here. Is that how you measure your marriage whether or not she makes you leave? That's how I measure my Jason That's why I was asking. Oh my god. I don't I'm amused by the idea of your wife being like once you put some weight back on, get that thing shaken for me again. But I'm also used by the idea of saying it to you because it seems so out of character for you. That I feel like it makes you uncomfortable. I think my Lance Berkman things coming back Jason off the stop that. So okay, so you're back at a good weight. There's nothing Jason I can't tell you like this is crazy. Like, you don't have you're not incredibly active. You're You're swagging your meals by going I think it's about this much insulin, you are eating repetitively. So you're learning and getting better and better and better. I mean, you're past the age where I imagine you'd be having any weird hormonal shifts. So you're not seeing an impact there. You're not a woman, you're not having a menstrual cycle, like nothing like that's happening. It almost feels like this is as easy for you as someone could hope for.
Jason 38:09
Yeah, I, you know, I feel bad for the kids who have it and who go through puberty and their fight and all those changes. You know, that seems like it's a lot rougher. And for me it just kinda it's just another thing to do during the day.
Scott Benner 38:27
Yeah, it's really it's super interesting. So what about like, I don't know Are you do you take any supplements do you? Like I'm trying to figure out something you might be doing that other people aren't doing that we wouldn't maybe initially attached to this.
Jason 38:43
Now I don't think any other medicine except insulin.
Scott Benner 38:46
No kidding. I don't know what to say even you what's your what's your like lineage? What's your background? Western European mud. That's got it. English, Irish, Swedish. English Honors. So you even have a blend of European and you that's, that leans towards people who I see it. How about other autoimmune is there? Do you have any other autoimmune issues? Do your kids your family members?
Jason 39:20
No. Not as not as far as I know. No one's ever said anything about thyroid or celiac Hashimoto, or just in your ear bipolar.
Scott Benner 39:31
You're a unicorn Jason. Very interesting. How many you have kids? How many kids?
Jason 39:42
I have one kid. He's seven will be eight and December.
Scott Benner 39:45
Are you thinking of more or is one where we're stopping?
Jason 39:50
One and done?
Scott Benner 39:51
I agree with this. Yeah, I mean, you've run the risk of him being like a snotty little brat when he's older but you can knock that out of him and in his early 20s Probably But but but I, oh, smart because also college very expensive. Yeah.
Jason 40:09
We went through a lot of IVF to get the one and
Scott Benner 40:12
Oh, I see we
Jason 40:13
tried a couple times after and then just didn't never take so
Scott Benner 40:18
interesting. So while you were Oh, he seven. So you were trying to have a baby while you had diabetes? Yes. Wasn't what did you ever wonder if that was the cause? Like, were you ever concerned? And did you look into it from your perspective versus hers?
Jason 40:37
Oh, no, it was all her
Scott Benner 40:43
it was very directly like that. I was everything. Sperm perfect. It was. So well. That's tough. So your wife went through a lot then to have your your son? Yes,
Jason 40:55
it was very emotional. Very rough on us on her.
Scott Benner 41:00
Yeah, no, I imagined terrible. I'm sorry that she had to go through that. I'm glad it worked out for you. And I understand why you wouldn't be up for it again. So you, you're your own condom. Basically, Jason, you don't even have to worry about it. You know, it's gonna happen, right? Like, you'll be 52 And she'll come into the room and be like, I'm pregnant. You're gonna be like, no, no, no, no. She'll think that
Jason 41:23
would be well, that would be something else. Yeah,
Scott Benner 41:26
you gotta be careful. Jason. Are you being careful? Oh, that's it. No, I'm gonna take that as a no. Jason. Okay. It's,
Jason 41:38
there's an issue with two stuff. So it's not possible.
Scott Benner 41:42
You really okay. It really It can't happen. All right, right. All right. Listen, if it ever happens, please call me back. Please be like, so Scott. Listen. We went to a wedding. Then after the wedding, we went home, acted like kids for a couple of hours. And I don't know. I don't because if you ever heard of people like I noticed it's not the same thing. But people have had like their Oh, I can't think of the name of vasectomy. I almost said there. I almost said their balls clip. But mastectomy? And then they you'll hear about it like it going back or something? I've
Jason 42:21
I've heard those stories before. Yeah, terrible stories. JSON. They're
Scott Benner 42:25
terrible. Like a horror movie. Seriously? Wow. All right. Well, listen, let's that'd be is there anything you want to talk about that? I don't know to bring up because I'm baffled by you. I don't even I'm not 100% sure where to go with this?
Jason 42:43
Oh, yeah, I was kind of wondering if we wouldn't go anywhere with it. Because I didn't know what how this conversation was gonna go.
Scott Benner 42:50
Thank you. You're flipping me out. So like, it's I mean, I guess Tell me a little bit about, you know what, let me let me dig for a second. So your, your hunt 180 pounds, you're in your you're in your 40s? What's your Basal set?
Jason 43:11
Well, I just, I just listened to your on the pod series. And I heard that your Basal should be 40 to 50%. And I'm using less space on that. But I bumped it to point nine.
Scott Benner 43:24
Well, that's on on the pod five on the pod five, when you're first setting it up is desirous of your basil Bolus being pretty balanced, that it makes the learning process smoother. And I and you know, to dig into that a little more. I think people often get to the right, the right result the wrong way. Meaning maybe their Basal is very low when they're over bolusing food and corrections to stay above it are there Basil is too high, and they're eating to feed the basil like that kind of stuff. And so not that it's some sort of rule that it's 5050. But for reasons that are explained in the on the pod five episodes, which people should feel free to go try. They when you're starting on the pod five, having your settings near 5050 is advantageous. So but where were you at? Tell me I'm sorry, you were at point seven, five now and you moved at 2.9? Did you then change your carb ratio or your correction factor or anything like that? No, I didn't see you got stronger with your Basal but didn't change insulin to carb or your correction factor and you're not getting low? Correct. You're just keeping so where do you sit stable away from food and BOCES?
Jason 44:51
Oh 100 Arlington.
Scott Benner 44:55
Okay. And the point nine is the 100 110 where we Were we sitting prior to that? And were you seeing control IQ was consistently giving you insulin. And now you've made up for that with the Basal
Jason 45:09
control IQ. Yeah, it's taken away my Basal even though I had it set at point seven, five A lot of times it would look like it was point three an hour.
Scott Benner 45:18
Then why did you move at 2.9?
Jason 45:21
I don't know I listened to you.
Scott Benner 45:24
Just like our slides. Just just you might be like, just like dumb luck in this this diabetes thing? Who knows? But,
Jason 45:31
well, I I've gotten no advice from my CDE they don't they don't. They never look at my settings. They never told me to adjust anything. And they're just like, hey, you're doing great. New prescriptions have family. What's going on in your life?
Scott Benner 45:44
How's the family? I heard that kid stop playing soccer. God bless. Soccer cannot be a sport people love in Texas. Am I right?
Jason 45:55
There's a lot of soccer players. I mean, not played for eight years. When I was a kid.
Scott Benner 45:59
Oh, no kidding. Oh, that I'm misinformed. I think of I think of Texas as a place where everybody plays football in high school and everyone lives and dies with that might be because I watched that TV show. Oh God. Now I'm realizing Friday lights, which I did enjoy. I don't think I've ever seen the movie though. That who cares? Alright, so what are you what's your? Alright, so what's your correction, your insulin to carb ratio for meals?
Jason 46:30
Oh, gosh, let me look at even if
my correction is one 254. My carb ratio is one to 10.
Scott Benner 46:48
One to 10. One unit moves, you're 54 points, point nine Basal. All of a sudden? Do you find that to be right? Do you ever go out of automation and try your settings to see if they work? No, I've never done that. Interesting. But you notice that it's taking basil away most of the time? Yeah. Do you eat frequently throughout the day?
Jason 47:21
Just three meals a
Scott Benner 47:22
day, you're a three meal person. So So you Bolus your meal? And is that when you see it take basil away? Or is it taking basil away? Even? Overnight? Or?
Jason 47:36
Yeah, I don't take it away overnight.
Scott Benner 47:43
Because the weight control IQ works, it is it is utilizing the Basal rate that you put in there. So whatever you tell it, it's deciding. I'll take some of this away, I'll leave it where he put it, or I'll add to it. And you were at point seven, and it's taking it away. You made it point nine it's still taking it away. Is there ever any time on your graph where you're actually using the point nine? Yeah, right now, you are right now okay. Because there's part of me that wonders if your Basal like I see you're trying to get lower like stability? I did you consider making the the correction factor stronger, instead of the Basal stronger? Have you ever tried that?
Jason 48:37
No, but now that you've mentioned that, I probably will give that a shot.
Scott Benner 48:41
Again, you're very amenable. And so so let's tell people for real quickly. Nothing in here that Juicebox Podcast should be considered advisement or otherwise, I'm just talking out loud. So like if so did moving your Basal up lower your the place where you said stable or no? It would? I don't think it did. That's what I'm asking
Jason 49:02
now. It's still
Scott Benner 49:05
it's still the 101 10 Yeah, pretty much. So my thought is because you're not spiking it meals, right?
Jason 49:15
Everybody goes up, I go up. I mean, sometimes see. lunch yesterday, I hit 182.
Scott Benner 49:23
Okay, how long for how long until you were back down again? And did you have to correct it yourself?
Jason 49:30
Yeah, I did add some corrections. That was I think that was fat and protein though, because the rise came
Scott Benner 49:37
later again, while later we don't want to count that and I know everybody's blood sugar goes up when they eat but for the most part, it sounds like you're more of a 140 person. Okay, which I'm comfortable with. Not that you care what I think but so. Yeah, I mean, I don't know if I don't put the Basal back to where it was. and try making your sensitivity. Would you say it was one to 54? Like, move it to like, oh, no, I'm just I, you know, where would you move? It's 50
Jason 50:15
I don't know, I've never moved it before. Yeah,
Scott Benner 50:17
I might just move it a couple points and see what happens, like, make it 52. And see, and see if that starts bringing down that, that stability. And if it does, then keep nudging it one at a time, until you get to where you want to be. And pay attention to what the algorithms doing with the Basal like the in a perfect scenario, that you have chosen a Basal amount that the algorithm does not need to frequently take away from or add to that would be an indication that it's well set. And then you're giving the algorithm the ability to be more aggressive by making the the sensitivity stronger. And you know, the lower the number, the stronger the number, right. Yeah, okay, so and then, I mean, I I'd make very small adjustments to that to see what happens. And then if you start and then see if that doesn't also impact your meals. And then if that's amazing, though, Jason like your See, you might be see you can't really over Basal, though, because you have an algorithm. So, so you're where are you? How are you fixing? I think you need less insulin than you think you do. What's your total daily insulin? Can you pull that? I'm gonna get a calculator while you do that. By get a calculator, I mean, I'm going to open up an app on my computer that's a calculator
the lady that left the review the other day that said my interviews don't have enough diabetes in it. She's gonna love this. And also this is for her Jason cover years. There. Okay, now. He just talked to her about being a stripper. It was interesting. Okay. Jason cleans. Wait, hold on water. Water. Jason cleans water, which is I can't say that makes me feel uncomfortable. All right, go get your total daily insulin, making some notes here.
Jason 52:35
Where's that average? It's usually about 3035 a day.
Scott Benner 52:42
30 to 35.
Jason 52:45
On a 30 day average. 35.61 units a day.
Scott Benner 52:54
Alright, so we're gonna go with 35. And then tell me this. You eat about three meals a day. What's your total Bolus a day meal Bolus? Average? Does it show you that should right 23. All right. So then Jason, we have as OJ said, when he was running up the highway a problem because think about this, okay. If your total if your total daily insulin is 35, and your average meal, insulin is 23, that means 35 minus 23 is 12. Okay, and if you divide that by 24, that means your Basal is would be about point five an hour. And you were at point seven, and it was taking it away. So I would write all my settings down first of all, Jason, because I don't want to mess you up. Right? But I would wonder if you made your basil first of all point five an hour. I don't expect you would notice any difference in your care at all. You're just not. And then from there. How much of the of the rest of the insulin so your meal insulin is about 23 What about correction insulin? Can you see your corrections?
Jason 54:30
I just actually didn't have screen. Correction when good or did it go? 0.15. So I guess that's the correction Bolus that control IQ is given
Scott Benner 54:49
well then let's think of it this way. How frequently do you go into the pump and add insulin once a day to the tune of a couple of units not even mighty, point five or one. Okay, so pretty, not a lot, not a lot of corrections going on. Yeah, I think I would probably make your Basal point five an hour, and then watch it for six hours, I'm amazed, I'm assuming you're not going to see anything changed because the algorithm has been taking your basil away to begin with. And then I would probably, I would probably give you a little more insulin sensitivity power, and see if that doesn't make your stability lower. That would be kind of my first step there. And not by a lot like not 54 to 44 or something like that. I might go 54 to 52. Watch it for a few hours, see what happens. You know, if you notice a little bit of a decrease, then I I'd ride it for a little bit to see if it's, you know, consistent. And then if it is make a decision if it you know, 51 would be better. But you think one unit moves you 54 Does one unit does one unit move you 54. And you're always automation, right? So you're not sure.
Jason 56:26
You know, as we're talking through all this and working through all this, I should tell you that Tuesday, I just got approved for Omni pot size.
Scott Benner 56:33
Well, that's Listen, that's good. Because you're very, if you're going to try it, you're you're very consistent with the 35 units a day, as your total daily insulin on the pod five cares a lot about total daily insulin. And so if you do 35, I'm just going to split it in half 17 and a half divided by 24. Ah, that'll put your Basal at point seven. So, if you do start on the pod five, I would tell it, I would first of all, figure out what your insulin sensitivity is, right? Now you can get that straight. But if your total daily insulin is about 35, when you set up on the pod five, I would tell it that your Basal is point seven an hour. Okay, and that'll that'll be at 5050. That gives it the best chance to do its thing. But I think there's no harm in figuring out this other stuff for you. Because I think that it's possible that once you go down to maybe around point five an hour for Basal, and get your insulin sensitivity straight, you'd probably be able to shut off control IQ and sit in manual mode and be pretty stable. And then the only thing left to do if that's the case would be to look at your insulin to carb ratio. And see if there's any any space in that at all, one way or the other. Because you know, you want to you want to spike as little as possible without ever experiencing a low later. So, you know, like I just made, we just changed Arden's insulin to carb ratio last night from like, it's gotten weaker, since she's gone off the birth control pills, which I haven't talked about on the show yet, but I think we took it from like 5.5 to 5.3 Last night, like moved it very, very, just a little bit. Because I was noticing or I was noticing the algorithm, she's looping at this point. And I was noticing the algorithm working too hard after her meals. So I was like, let me get some of the insulin out of the, you know, out of the hands of the algorithm and into the carb ratio. Yeah, dude, I would do that. I would try it, then I would try it and manual and see if you stay stable. And that's it. But then and the other thing is I'd write all this down. Because if it gets wonky, you can always just put your settings back and say, Oh, the thing that guy said didn't work. You know? That sounds Does that all make sense? Or have I been unclear about anything?
Jason 59:13
No, it makes sense. It makes sense to me. I mean, I've just never had anyone really talk to me about it. Walk me through it?
Scott Benner 59:21
Well, I think it's, I think it's interesting to do. And I think it's, I think it's necessary, especially moving forward where more and more people are going to use CTRL IQ and on the pod five and whatever Medtronic puts out next. People are going to be using them. And it's not a fear of mine, but it's a concern of mine, that we're going to get farther and farther away from people who actually understand their insulin. And they're leaning on the algorithm so hard that they don't know what they're talking about. I mean, like you're such an interesting story because you have an agency around five I have. And other than the things you do, which are amazing, you know, Pre-Bolus stay on top of high blood sugars, which is a lot of it. You don't really know why you're having this success. You're having the algorithms doing it for you. Yeah, the algorithms doing it. Yeah, yeah. Hey, listen, I don't. Why are you switching pumps? If you're having such good success with control IQ?
Jason 1:00:25
You know, just because Omnipod five learns, and control like, he doesn't learn. And honestly, when I reached out to Omnipod, I was just trying to see if a if I was eligible for it. And I never talked to anybody. I finally got a phone call on Tuesday. They're like, Hey, we got it together. We're ready to ship it to you. I'm like, what?
Scott Benner 1:00:50
That faster?
Jason 1:00:51
Yeah, you know, I always thought that, what from what I've heard, you have to be on a pump for four years. But I haven't been on a pump for four years now. And so the warranty ends up expiring.
Scott Benner 1:01:02
I believe. If you listen to my ads from the pod five, you will hear me say something like, Hold on, let me pull up my ad reads. On the pod five. Yes, I read a line that says this. I'm sorry for all of you who sometimes I make it up. But you know, on the pod five is also available through the pharmacy, which means you can get started without the four year Durable Medical Equipment contract that comes with most insulin pumps, even if you're currently in warranty with another system. So that's something I say during the ad. So that's why you were able to switch is my guess. Hey, for legal reasons, just to cover my butt here. Jason, can you just let me say something real quick. For full safety and risk information, a list of compatible phones as well as clinical trial claims data on Omnipod. Five, you can go to omnipod.com forward slash juice box even though this isn't an ad, I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing wrong. Anybody. So there's my there's my legalese. Okay, well, okay. So how are we going to figure out, you got to email me in a couple days and tell me if this worked. And I'll add like a little like, I'll add your email to the end of the episode. Okay, would you do that?
Jason 1:02:20
So as soon as I when I get it, and I've used it for a little while and let you know how it's going?
Scott Benner 1:02:24
Well, no, I was thinking about the changes to the control IQ. I'd love to know how that goes. Yeah, yeah. Thank you. Yeah, I would really appreciate that. Just because I'd love to either, you know, I'd love for there to be a gap here. And some music play. And then people hear me go. Alright, Jason wrote in, he's like, Hey, your settings messed me up completely. Or, you know, like this worked or that didn't, or I ended up doing this or that, like, I'd love to hear the end of it. So your deficit is not going to go up for a while. So if you have an answer in a few days to a week or so I'd love to know what it is. Sure, sure. I'll do that. Thank you. I really appreciate it. All right. Is there anything else you want to talk about?
Jason 1:03:06
Oh, man. No, I can't really think of anything. I think we've covered it.
Scott Benner 1:03:11
Thank you.
Jason 1:03:13
I think we've done a good job here.
Scott Benner 1:03:15
I appreciate that. Thank you. I appreciate you coming on and sharing. And I mean, it's, it's funny, because I think that people could listen to this and think Jason is just like locking into this, it just works. But what I hear is, algorithms are really valuable. And so much so that you're living a fairly unencumbered life with an amazing agency. Like to me, you're the holy grail of this conversation like this is because what I think is, if you weren't great about Pre-Bolus thing, obviously your agency would be higher, you'd have more spikes they last longer, etc. But I mean, how much worse could it get? You're at a five a one C or lower? You could, you know, I don't know, like I can, I don't know there are going to be people who don't know how to do any of this, who still might end up with sixes, mid sixes are seven a one sees for somebody who previously could have very well been in the nine to the 10s. It's an astonishing improvement for someone's health. And I think you're proving it out by your story. That they can be valuable for anybody. And if you're willing to put in extra work like you're doing, which, by the way, I mean, how much it's not that much extra work, I don't imagine right Pre-Bolus Singh, etc.
Jason 1:04:41
No, no, I mean, you just glance down at your screen. Look in 30 seconds that takes about some even that.
Scott Benner 1:04:48
Jason, you've got the attitude that I think would make Jenny very happy and you're making me happy. Yeah, seriously because, you know, it's so easy to You hear I heard somebody talking about the other day like, I have trouble this, this person said, I have trouble hearing the beeping and willing myself to do something about it. And you don't? That's not you at all, is it?
Jason 1:05:16
No, you've got to be willing to do something about it. I mean, if it's beeping, it's beeping for a reason either. Fan ignore you
Scott Benner 1:05:23
have to fix it. Yeah. What is it about your personality? Do you think that leads you to that?
Jason 1:05:31
I guess that's just how I'm wired. Yeah,
Scott Benner 1:05:33
it's no, there's no answer to these questions. It's they're fascinated to hear spoken out and talk through. But I because I agree with you, I hear the beeping. And I think we'll do something now. And then we won't have to worry about it later. But a lot of people hear it and go, Oh, I'll get to it. And then their blood sugar goes 131 4151 80. And they're like, Oh, I can't believe this. My blood sugar is a mess. And they make a big Bolus they get low later than they're upset about that. And all I can think is, you could have just done something three hours ago that would have required such a small amount of insulin, there's no way you would have gotten low afterwards, and you wouldn't have this higher blood sugar. And that just makes sense to me, and I understand doesn't make sense to everybody or that everybody's not wired the same way. But I do like them hearing that. If they were more. I don't want to say proactive, although I guess that's I was gonna say proactive. Was my head. Yeah, yeah. But it's it right. If you're more proactive, it takes less time, and comes with less hassle than putting it off and then having to deal with it later. And I guess if that makes
Jason 1:06:38
easier to fix, it's easier to fix a 140 than it is to fix a 180 or 200.
Scott Benner 1:06:43
Jason, you really believe that the stuff I say on this podcast, and it's working for you? I do. Thank you. I appreciate you sharing that. I mean, it really, it's validating for me, so thank you.
Jason 1:06:56
I will say though, that if you're Disneyland or Disney world chasing around a seven year old, you probably don't need to Pre-Bolus
Scott Benner 1:07:04
Right, right. Well, that's a good point a bag of Skittles. Are your variables very similar every day?
Jason 1:07:13
Yeah, usually. Okay.
Scott Benner 1:07:14
So when you so interesting, so you go over to Disney. Your blood sugar starts to fall.
Jason 1:07:21
Yeah, we walk 12 miles in that one day we were there from when the gates open. And we left at like 1030 at night.
Scott Benner 1:07:29
How did you handle it with your blood sugar's just were you just kind of offsetting with candy.
Jason 1:07:34
Skittles, Skittles, one scale equals one card. So
Scott Benner 1:07:38
were you on control? Did you consider going to exercise mode? You know that. If I'm not with you, you're lost. I I'm gonna have to I'm gonna have to come down there, get in your pocket. And we're going to talk some more. Yeah, I wouldn't be interested. Like I don't not interested enough for you to spend countless 1000s of dollars to go back to Disney again. But if you're in a situation like that, again, I'd be super interested if exercise mode would have helped you.
Jason 1:08:08
Oh, we went skiing a couple years ago. And I did use exercise mode for that. That worked out pretty well.
Scott Benner 1:08:13
Interesting. That's great. Well, listen, man. You're doing terrific. Nobody needs to tell you anything. So but but if you do it, and please don't feel any pressure. But if you do make little bump around changes, I'd love to hear how they went. I will I promise, I appreciate that, hey, keep cleaning the water. I will such a big deal. Chasing the hallmark of a great society is is functioning sewer and the delivery of clean water. It's, it's, it's it's the basis of everything. Really,
Jason 1:08:52
I'll tell you something that you probably never thought of and your listeners probably have never thought of. If you live on a river, trace that river up to another town and think those people have already drank this water and picked it out. And now we're drinking it.
Scott Benner 1:09:07
I remember the first time my kids said something about that the toilet goes somewhere different than the sink and I said no it doesn't. There's just one pipe in the bathroom in the basement. It all goes down into that pipe. And they were just like frozen. They're like what I mean seriously like, what a what an accomplishment to take wastewater and turn it into drinkable water. It's an it's a massive it's a massive accomplishment of humanity. It really is. What What's the is there a river somewhere in China Hold on a second, where they make blue jeans nearby and the river runs blue. Have you ever seen that? Let me see if I'm making that up or not?
Jason 1:10:04
I have not heard that. I wouldn't be surprised, but I'm not up on my Chinese news.
Scott Benner 1:10:12
Why? Why Jason? Are you busy with that? Having a kid and everything and? Yeah. So these stories are mostly from like 10 years ago, so but yeah, I guess you can like from from space, taking a photo you can actually see the darkness the blue that comes down this river into a body of water. Is that an actuary? When that happens? Look at me. Yes, you were estuary. Very good, Jason. You're paying attention in college. Sometimes I was saying an actuary somebody who like deals with like, managing uncertainty. Listen, nobody listening knew but you. estuary the tidal mouth of a large river where the tide meets the string. All right. Well, everybody can go look that up on their own. Jason, thank you for doing this. I appreciate it very much.
Jason 1:11:14
You sure thank you for having me on. I enjoyed it.
Scott Benner 1:11:17
As my pleasure really was. I want to thank Jason for coming on and sharing his story. I want to thank Jason for coming on and sharing his story and I want to thank Omni pod and Dexcom for sponsoring the episode dexcom.com forward slash juice box and Omni pod.com forward slash juice box go yourself a Dexcom G seven a Dexcom G six Omnipod five or an Omnipod dash. Get your gear as they glow up? Is that what the kids call it? glow up your Gear game Dexcom and Omnipod. Thank you so much for listening. If you hang on for a minute, I'm going to read Jason's email for you. Don't forget to check out the private Facebook group Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes and don't judge all Philly fans by me.
All right, talk about transparency and honesty. Let me read you Jason's email. There's two emails, actually. The first one said, Hey, Scott, I tried to make any adjustments to my Susa might cease. I was like, to my T slim that you suggested. But they didn't really work out for me. The new Basal rates wouldn't hold me steady. And I would just continue to creep up. But thank you for the suggestions. I started the only pod five last Thursday so far. Blah, blah, blah, it goes on and on Omnipod trainer, they changed his Basal rates, blah, blah, blah. And here's the follow up. This is
since a few months after that email I just read through sorry, while I was counting months in my head. Jason says again. Hey, Scott, Friday, I went to the editor to get my first day one see since being on on the pod five, and it was 5.2 with a standard deviation of 27 and 93% and range. I mean, let's go up from five on the T slim, but the time period was over Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and a week long trip. So I'm not disappointed. We made a few adjustments at this past. We made a few adjustments this past weekend. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. The lack of tubing not having to take it off or showering and not having to change it. Thank you for everything you do. All right. That's uh, that's it. I'm done. I have to be honest with you. I am tired and I gotta stop. So I hope you're enjoying the podcast. It's late at night here when I'm doing these ads and bumpers and everything. And Scotty got asleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow.
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#936 888-ASK-SCOTT
Stephanie has type 1 diabetes and so many stories that should have gone the other way.
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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 friends, and welcome to episode 936 of the Juicebox Podcast in a second, I'm gonna try something a little different
normally about now I jump in and say, Hey, on this episode of The Juicebox Podcast, I'll be speaking with Stephanie Scott type one and I give you the whole kind of rundown of it. Instead of doing that today, I'm going to play for you the recording I made after Stephanie and I got finished. It's there to remind me about what the podcast episodes about. I know that's weird, but I don't edit them in whole months after they're recorded. So sometimes I need a reminder. Stephanie is an adult with type one diabetes. She had a tough upbringing didn't pay much attention to her blood sugar's ended up losing her vision. In one eye, she lost a breast to a pierced nipple that got infected. And she's just a ton of fun tells great stories. We're going to call the episode. Ask Scott or 888 ask Scott or something like that. Anyway, that's what today's episode is about, I might start doing that more frequently. Well, I gotta tell you real quick 35% off your entire order at cozy earth.com use the offer code juice box at checkout. Free five travel packs and a year's supply of vitamin D with your first order of 81 from Athletic Greens athletic greens.com forward slash juice box, and I'm gonna run out of time but better health.com forward slash juice box save 10% off your first month of therapy. This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the contour next gen blood glucose meter. It's a blood glucose meter kids. What do you need from it? You need to work well have a bright light and be super accurate. That's what you want. Right? Easy to hold easy to handle easy to use. Condor man concert next.com forward slash juicebox. No, no reason to keep looking. I found it for you. You know what this episode is also sponsored by touched by type one touched by type one.org. Go there, find out all about what they've got going on, including the big event coming up with me in September. Check them out. Touched by type one.org. If you ever wanted to listen to a guy, talk in person who you listen to talk in your ears. This is a great opportunity. We are recording. And you go ahead. Go ahead. Well, you're saying Stephanie was like cutting you off like you were getting ready to go. You're excited to start? Oh, okay. Okay, go ahead.
Stephanie 2:36
I'm Stephanie. I've had diabetes for 27 years. And I found your podcast about a year ago. And I'm pretty obsessed with the information and content that I've listened to so far.
Scott Benner 2:50
That's what we like to hear. Stephanie. Okay. Not the part about you having diabetes. Can you imagine?
Stephanie 2:56
I know. Right. I love hearing you have diabetes.
Scott Benner 2:59
Yeah, that part. I didn't enjoy it all. But that the fact that the podcast is helping you is cool. 27 years ago is this is gonna be easy. So it's 2022. So we just take 22 right off your 27. We're left with five then we subtract. We take 2000 and subtract five. And then you were diagnosed in 1995. Yeah. And at that time, you were how old? I was six, six. That makes you 31. And you're gone. Now I'm here. Oh, did you not answer me? Were you screw with me?
Stephanie 3:33
No, I was. I was sick. And I've had diabetes for 27 years. So I'm actually 34
Scott Benner 3:44
Oh, I said 25 and was 27. Alright, so my listening skills suck. But my math was very good. Yes, yeah. All right. Well, I'm going with that. See how I high side of it right away. I was like, Maybe I can't listen. But my mouth My mouth was still correct. If you go with the
Stephanie 4:03
like, Wait, I don't think I'm 21 I don't think I'm 31.
Scott Benner 4:07
So the long pause I thought was your bit I thought was a bad internet connection. Because in the beginning, you had one before we started and but what was really happening is you were like, am I 31? I'm 31 I don't think I should say, Did you did you? Were you thinking like, Should I say something or do I just let it go?
Stephanie 4:28
It's like, you know if he wants to make me 31 I'll be 31
Scott Benner 4:32
can't cheat life just because I'm bad. But listening. So alright, so you're you're trying to tell me you're 33
Stephanie 4:37
I'm 34 Yeah. 34 Okay, so
Scott Benner 4:39
you're 34 years old diabetes for quite some time. And are you married? Do you have children anything like that?
Stephanie 4:47
I am married and I have one son, he's seven.
Scott Benner 4:51
Okay. And he's seven. And I've had him tested through trial net. He doesn't have any Barker's. Well, that's exciting, because when you signed up to come on you were you hadn't done it yet. Right?
Stephanie 5:07
Right. I had the kit, and he didn't want me to do it. And he finally let me do it. And it was very dramatic and dramatic. And I should have taken him to a lab.
Scott Benner 5:18
Wait a minute. Dramatic and dramatic. How was it dramatic?
Stephanie 5:22
So, did have you ever done it at home?
Scott Benner 5:27
TrialNet Yeah. Oh, no. But I've done I've done a test to see what your blood type is. And that, that looked like a murder scene. By the time we were all Yes,
Stephanie 5:40
yes. So do that on a six year old because he just turned seven in July. So I had to fill like that full two with blood from his finger. I owed him ice cream, like every night for a week.
Scott Benner 5:54
Was he panicking? Or was he okay?
Stephanie 5:56
No, he was just like, why are you taking so much of my blood?
Scott Benner 6:01
Do you think? Do you think you were gonna leave him with enough maybe?
Stephanie 6:06
Because I've tested his blood sugar up until that point a bazillion times? Because you know, because I was like six when I was diagnosed. And so it was just like that little itty bitty bit of blood. And so that's what he thought he was getting. And then I'm like pumping blood from his finger. He's like, this is not okay.
Scott Benner 6:25
I've been lied to I've This is it? Well, good news. He doesn't have he doesn't have any of the markers for type one law.
Stephanie 6:32
Nope. He didn't have any. Oh, that's great.
Scott Benner 6:36
But you did when you were diagnosed at six, were there any other autoimmune issues in your family?
Stephanie 6:43
Not that I knew of. I have a very limited knowledge of my family's history. So I know my mom, and my siblings, and an aunt and a grandma. And that's about it. Though,
Scott Benner 7:01
okay. You just don't know. You don't know a lot of people in your life or you don't in your family.
Stephanie 7:06
So I never met my dad. He died of ALS about three years ago, apparently. So I don't know anybody from that side. And then my mom's dad died when she was seven. So I don't really know anybody from her dad's side. And she's got one sister that way that I know of on her from her mom's side. And then she has lupus but she was diagnosed after I was diagnosed with diabetes.
Scott Benner 7:36
I see. Your mom was diagnosed with lupus at a later age. Yes. Interesting. Okay, do you have any other autoimmune stuff?
Stephanie 7:45
I have celiac?
Scott Benner 7:47
Celiac? Right. I assume when you were first diagnosed, it was needles and
Stephanie 7:56
little NPH. And regular. Yeah.
Scott Benner 7:58
Did you even have a meter?
Stephanie 7:59
I did. It did have a meter. It was the big drop. Like, basically murder scene again, you know, to get the blood. It changed pretty quickly, though.
Scott Benner 8:13
You're right on the cusp. Around that time? Yeah.
Stephanie 8:16
Yeah, it changed from the like the paper almost like strips to the ones that like suck the blood up off your finger pretty quickly, if I remember correctly.
Scott Benner 8:27
Gotcha. Okay. How do you remember growing up a diabetes?
Stephanie 8:34
I did really well starting out. You know, food scales. The handy color coded book that they send you home with this many of each food group for each meal. You have to eat it.
Scott Benner 8:47
Are you doing the exchange diet? Yeah. Okay. Yep. So by by you were good at it. You were following the rules? Yeah. What was your mom helping you with that? I imagine we're six right? Yeah,
Stephanie 9:00
yeah. So they would help me with my food. And sometimes they would even have to like leave before I would leave for school and they dropped my insulin and everything for me before I leave.
Scott Benner 9:10
And like send you with a syringe that was already ready to go.
Stephanie 9:14
Like sit on the set on the table until I got up and gave myself my shot and ate what they had already made for me got on the bus. Oh,
Scott Benner 9:22
but they weren't home anymore. Like they would leave for
Stephanie 9:24
work just before I'd get on the bus sometimes and have to do that. I see. I see. Yeah, that's interesting. It didn't last for very long though.
Scott Benner 9:34
them getting up and making you breakfast didn't last very long. Yeah, like
Stephanie 9:37
carb counting came in and like, I got old enough to where they thought I could have control I guess.
Scott Benner 9:43
Oh, I see. Okay, I thought you were like they got bored of helping me and they're like, forget this.
Stephanie 9:48
Like now you've got this. Yeah, you're fine. It wasn't so much. I'm bored of doing this. Like I think you've got this. I know you're 10
Scott Benner 9:57
But you were and you were carb counting at 10 years old.
Stephanie 10:00
Yeah, I feel like it was it was pretty early on, they switched over to the carb counting. And then I went to chemo log from regular and NPH and they finally started letting me carb count. The pump came out early on, but it was a fight to get it. One endo would say, you know you have good enough control you don't need the pump and then another then you know my blood sugar's would go crazy because I'm like I'm getting that pump and then the next minute it would be like your blood sugar is out of control. You can't have the pump. And my mom moved. My mom and I moved a lot when I was younger as are like, all over the country. And my mom finally took a job working in a doctor's office. And she convinced her doctor to write me a prescription even though he was not my doctor for the pump and got me the pump.
Scott Benner 10:56
Wait, hold on a second. Why are you moving around the country so much?
Stephanie 11:01
Oh my gosh, I hope my mom doesn't listen to
Scott Benner 11:04
I listen. She's not gonna listen if you don't tell her how would she know how old your mom?
Stephanie 11:10
My mom, and I should know that.
Scott Benner 11:15
Oh, you were so sure about how old you are. But now look.
Stephanie 11:18
She was born in 69 I can tell you that. Oh
Scott Benner 11:21
7980 992 1009 2019 2021 to do your mom is weighed 53 Yes. Oh, wait a minute. It's definitely is your mom have you when she was 12?
Stephanie 11:37
No, she was 19. I'm 19 years older than her. Okay,
Scott Benner 11:40
by the way, anything under 25 is 12 That's all okay. Yeah, young I bet. Yes, very young. We
Stephanie 11:46
grew up together.
Scott Benner 11:47
Okay, so Okay, so your mom was 19 when she had you? And you were moving around because she was
Stephanie 11:54
she's a gypsy? No, not really. That's what I tell everybody and that's why she gets mad.
Scott Benner 11:58
Oh, well. Wait,
Stephanie 12:00
hold on. She just likes to move.
Scott Benner 12:01
Okay, but she's not she's not I don't or gypsies like uh, are they even
Stephanie 12:07
know she says like gypsies don't take baths so she doesn't like to me to tell people that she was a gypsy
Scott Benner 12:11
I don't know that that's true. First of all, I don't know if that's true either malign people for at first like like at first let's make sure we're right before we move on, I'm just what I was gonna say. No, I
Stephanie 12:21
don't know. But I always tell people that she's a gypsy because the Gypsy has moved around the country a lot and have really free lives and I think it's cool and she doesn't
Scott Benner 12:29
Alright, so first I'm gonna Google is gypsy a bad word?
Stephanie 12:33
All right. Let's see. We're gonna have to see if you have to edit this whole section.
Scott Benner 12:36
I know so far. You're the only one that said it. Honestly, I'm completely in the clear. Gypsy is commonly used to describe the Romania people are Oh MA and I but the term carries many negative connotations and as derivative carries even more like oh getting gypped is one meaning like the fraud or why being chipped hurts the Roma more than it hurts you. That's not what I meant. No, no, no, I know. We might have to take this out for your protection. I mean, if they're willing to relocate they're willing to come after you I would imagine. So I've I know it's a word I grew up with then I didn't think of it as like a slur but we either Yeah, well, you're from like you live in the middle of nowhere you don't know better one way or the other.
Stephanie 13:35
I guess it doesn't matter that I'm well cultured and lived in like 13 states in my life.
Scott Benner 13:39
Now you're dodging meth heads right now right?
Stephanie 13:43
Oh my gosh. Listen, I live in my I live in my shell. My husband is homeschool that i i only associate with the people that I choose do there are probably lots of methods that I choose not to met to associate with.
Scott Benner 14:01
Really interesting. Okay, well, listen, it's definitely look I'm not the end all be all of decision making. But I say spend a couple of minutes googling gypsy make sure you're comfortable with it. And for your next time your story. I just figured your mom was like an assassin or a stripper, but I wasn't sure which. No comment. Oh my god, your mom was a stripper. No, I'm not saying anything. Wait. Your mom used to kill people? Stephanie. Oh,
Stephanie 14:29
I'm almost never killed anyone. Oh,
Scott Benner 14:31
she's a stripper. I got it. Okay. There's nothing wrong with that, by the way. No, no. How do I get that? Are you at all impressed? Stephanie.
Stephanie 14:40
I'm actually very impressed. Yeah, I'm super good. Listen, she didn't move around the country because of that. She's actually very, very, very high up in like the professional world. Now. She just was like, yeah, she just like took about and decided to have some fun and then yeah,
Scott Benner 14:58
your mom's got better stories than You probably how many times do you left home alone overnight? Did this ever happen?
Stephanie 15:05
Listen, I'm the oldest of five. So I was the one left in charge.
Scott Benner 15:10
Oh, your mom had five kids? Yeah. Oh, oh, no kidding. And you're the oldest? Yep. Oh, so you like mom went to work? And then you stayed with the kids.
Stephanie 15:20
I help mom with the kids a lot. Yeah,
Scott Benner 15:23
no kidding. Oh, that's, that's an interesting way to do you find that they think of you as a parent.
Stephanie 15:29
Some of them yes.
Scott Benner 15:32
I've traveled with that with my brother sometimes. So
Stephanie 15:35
for for, you know, for the early years. They're like they're not mom kept telling me what to do. But now like later on, they're like still calling you for the same things that you would think you would call a mom for. But they call both of us. So it's like instead of calling mom and dad they call mom and sister
Scott Benner 15:52
right? Hey, what was your mom specially up top or down bottom? You know, I don't know. Like think of her did she was she big and round in one of those places.
Stephanie 16:04
My mom is well rounded.
Scott Benner 16:07
I'm gonna take that as up top and down bottom. All right, so very blessed. I think we should spend the rest of this hour me just trying to figure out things about your life because of what you've already told me in the first 12 minutes to see how much of it I still don't even get it all. Yeah. All right. Well tell me all right. Okay. So why did you want to come on the podcast?
Stephanie 16:34
Um, well, when I first started listening, I emailed you right away. I was like, oh, I need to be on this podcast, because these stories are great, but I have better ones. And then I kept listening. I was like, I don't know. Maybe not. Maybe I just want to get on and just talk because, God, it seems cool. And I have some cool stories.
Scott Benner 16:52
Well, listen, we don't have to judge your stories against the other ones. But if you're gonna dump me up, when I asked if your mom's a stripper, then the stories are not gonna be good. But that's a phrase, where do I where's that from? Dummy up? That's from all in the family. Is that from How old are you? There's no way you know, that reference? 34. I'm pretty sure. So all in the family was a television show. Yes. And I think I'm, I know, here it is. I'm right. That's insane. How do I remember that? So I think so. Carroll O'Connor was like the, he was he was the father of his family. Right. And he was very hard on his wife. Like, really like she was ditzy. And he called her DOM and stuff like that. Like, trust me. There's no way this TV show would would make it today. But I remember the phrase dummy up and it's from that. Wow, that's weird. Anyway, no one cares about that. But me but I was stunted that came out of my mouth just now. Anyway, okay, so you have stories. We're not going to judge your stories against other people's stories. You have to tell me the story. She can't get in the middle and leave out the fun parts. Like your mom. Like you don't I mean, like your mom was like chesty and had a big ass. Like don't like, tell us that part. That's the part we want to know. So okay, well, sorry, these diabetes stories.
Stephanie 18:21
Medical stories in general. Yeah.
Scott Benner 18:23
Give them to me. Let's do it. Well, Stephanie, are you nervous?
Stephanie 18:34
I don't know what you I don't even know where to start.
Scott Benner 18:37
Are you nervous, though? Let's get to that. No, you're not nervous. Okay. All right. So you're diagnosed with type one you are overseeing? Well, not at that point, unless your brothers and sisters are 6543216. So you've got any siblings that your diagnosis?
Stephanie 18:54
Oh, yeah. Okay, I have. I have a brother that's a year and a half younger than me, a brother that is four years younger than me. And then my sister was born the year that I was diagnosed. Wow.
Scott Benner 19:09
Okay, so there was already four of you around this time. So your mom has to figure out this diabetes thing. She harangue a doctor into giving her a prescription for a pump at some point, which is Yeah, fascinating. And no, right. Also, we're all wondering how your mom got the doctor to do it now. Yeah, she's definitely now you're thinking it too.
Stephanie 19:32
You know what, that was not okay.
Scott Benner 19:35
Put that thought in your head before we got going. I mean, if I was in a bad situation, Stephanie and I had to throw it to do so. Because, you know, if I, if I had to throw a handle to a guy to get a real pump, I probably would, you know, I'm just saying alright, so you got this
Stephanie 19:58
out that my mom wouldn't do for me, so I'm not I I'm not going to even put anything pastor.
Scott Benner 20:02
Listen, if I'm sure what she did was she asked, and the guy was like, Yeah, sure. And just no more. Like,
Stephanie 20:11
twice and she does not I can't even believe she worked in a doctor's office. So I was like already, like a sacrifice she made. As soon as she got that pump prescription. Like she quit.
Scott Benner 20:23
Oh, your mom's free spirit for sure. Yeah, even if 53 Is she still?
Stephanie 20:32
She just moved back finally from Texas for three years. Like she's still moving all over?
Scott Benner 20:39
Yeah. Does she ever on tick tock account? This is how we'll judge her. No, no, no. Tick tock. Are you afraid she's going to try it? No, she uses
Stephanie 20:47
indeed like social media.
Scott Benner 20:49
Oh, she's made a big shift. She's a completely different person now. No,
Stephanie 20:56
but she's still always been super professional. Even when she when she went and had her find out the strip club. She was still had like a full time day job. Professional.
Scott Benner 21:06
Okay. Okay. Yeah. Alright, so a professional. So how was it going? Because it's a different life growing up where you're kind of overseeing your brothers and sisters, because I had to do it. And I know it's not, it's not a great way to grow up for you. And it's a bit of a shame for them. But in some families, it's just, it's what you have to do. So. So you're growing up with that? Are you struggling for yourself? Or are you just doing mph and regular, like for so many years, that you're not paying very close attention, you're just doing the shots, the way you're supposed to eat the food the way you're supposed to.
Stephanie 21:38
I did that for a few years. And then I went to the sliding scales with the human log. I went to diabetes camp a couple of times. So I kind of stayed up for a little bit. Like with the newer stuff. I definitely disconnected from from anybody else with diabetes from a very long time. Basically, I was getting just my information from my endo when I went every three months. But I've always made my own adjustments and stuff. But, you know, for a long time, probably up until the last five years, I just thought, oh, seven. That's what I need for my agency. That's my goal.
Scott Benner 22:36
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Stephanie 25:41
Yeah, just keep it around a seven. And I was doing good. Because that's what we were told early on. And I didn't stay up to date with anything and doctors never say anything. If you're at a seven they don't say that's bad. You know?
Scott Benner 25:57
Yeah. Okay, so how long do you think that went on for? Give me a frame of time where you were just living like that? Seven ACA once. He was good. Nobody was questioning anything, etc. Like a number of years near life. Money 20 years. Okay.
Stephanie 26:20
But I mean, I didn't, there was there was a definite time in there where I didn't even care what my currency was. I I was out of control, probably from about 15 to 24.
Scott Benner 26:37
How so? I didn't
Stephanie 26:41
I didn't know what my blood sugar was. I just wouldn't ask for not like, oh, I will I'll go whole day without testing. Like, I'll go a whole year without testing. There was times I couldn't even tell you where a meter was.
Scott Benner 26:54
Were you using insulin?
Stephanie 26:56
Yeah, I wore my pump.
Scott Benner 27:01
So what did you do? You just the ran your to the pump ran your Basal rate. And then you just like swagged meals? Yeah. And you don't so you never knew where you were, but you still went and got a onesies done?
Stephanie 27:18
Well, endos won't write prescriptions unless you've been in their office and the last. Some of them are six months or 12 months.
Scott Benner 27:27
Okay, so you would go because you wanted to keep going. So you wanted the script. But you didn't want it enough to put more effort into it than the amount you're putting in? Or was this something were you? Were you consciously trying to avoid diabetes? Were you giving up like, what, what's the mindset there?
Stephanie 27:47
I don't know. I think it started really like, even before I got the pump, like I could figure out tricks to make my meter say what I wanted it to say. Like there were certain meters back then that if you lick the back of the test strip before you tested, you'd end up with a perfect number.
Scott Benner 28:08
Lick the back of the test strip, or you tested?
Stephanie 28:10
How do you ask me how I figured that out?
Scott Benner 28:13
Was it diabetes camp? Because that's where sometimes people say they learned, yeah, most of their bad stuff, because there were so many kids around and they could share that stuff with each other. Right? Interesting.
Stephanie 28:25
No diabetes camp, I probably had the best control while I was at diabetes camp every year or for like three years in a row that I went.
Scott Benner 28:32
So you had a sort of an opposite experience there. Was it good.
Stephanie 28:36
I feel like when my my parents gave me the control is when I lost the control. When that's when I lost the control of my diabetes was that when they put it in my hands,
Scott Benner 28:47
what was that? Tell me Tell me though, how that transition happened? Was it just like, Hey, Stephanie, we're gonna let you do this now. And then we never talked about it again. Was it like a thoughtful transfer? Or how did that happen? No, it
Stephanie 29:01
was like, I don't remember exactly when it happened. I just remember, it was on me. And then they were like threads like, Oh, if you don't start testing your blood sugar, we're gonna start giving your shots again, and I left the hospital like giving my own shots. So then it'd be like two weeks of me doing what I needed to do so that they didn't give me my shots. And then
Scott Benner 29:28
everybody forgot about it. And then it just Yeah, yeah. Okay. You know, I know. You mean people. Yeah, people are right. Yeah, exactly. Make sure yeah. Okay, that's it. I'm gonna
Stephanie 29:42
do this while you're thinking about it. And then as soon as you stop thinking about it, I'll go back to what I was doing before
Scott Benner 29:46
and they didn't check back in on you.
Stephanie 29:48
Right. It'd be like leading up to and then coming out of endo appointments basically would when they would come down on me.
Scott Benner 29:57
So when they were gonna get pressure, they pressured you
Stephanie 30:00
Exactly. Walking out of the endo with a 12, a one C and the doctors around them, so they're going to be on me.
Scott Benner 30:07
And then that's it, then we go our separate ways on the idea. Right? Okay. So you don't take care of yourself for years, like right at all? And do you look back now I see damage from that or what you're taking i have
Stephanie 30:22
i damage what? I'm completely blind in one eye. And then during pregnancy with my son, they were able to save one of my eyes. The retinas started to detach, but they were able to say but, and I have fairly good vision in that eye. But my peripherals are pretty crappy.
Scott Benner 30:43
Stephanie, during your pregnancy, you almost lost the vision, your second eye.
Stephanie 30:48
I didn't know that I was losing either vision. I didn't know I was losing vision at all. Okay, I went for my pregnancy, they make you go when you're pregnant to test your eyes, even when you don't have diabetes. So I went for that because I did everything right leading up to and during my pregnancy. And when I went the doctor comes in came in the room and he's like, I am referring you to a eye surgeon? He goes, if you don't go and have this done, you won't see your your son born.
Scott Benner 31:23
Wow. Well, that's serious. Yeah.
Stephanie 31:28
But to have eye surgery during while I was pregnant.
Scott Benner 31:32
was when that when you go into that surgery, is there a possibility? You're gonna come out of it? And it's not going to work?
Stephanie 31:40
They didn't make it sound like it. They sounded like one of my eyes. They sounded like there was nothing they could do for but the other one, they were fairly certain they could help me.
Scott Benner 31:50
Or is this is your vision, your only issue at the moment? Yeah. Okay. So secondly, so you Yeah, really? So 20 years? Do you think you went like that for 20? Solid years?
Stephanie 32:06
No. Believing that seven was a good agency for 20 years, I I was in good control. Until I was probably about 15. I even when they handed it to me, I tried until I was about 15. And then I kind of just didn't, from 15 to about 24. So about nine years probably.
Scott Benner 32:29
Can you tell me what pushes you away from trying? Is it? Is it just the demanding nature of it? Is it that you weren't having success is that you just didn't want to? Do you have any feelings for why?
Stephanie 32:43
Ah, I'm like thinking and looking back. I don't think like in the moment, I thought this but I feel like it was a one thing that was mine that I could like go home, I guess because I had to help with my siblings. I had to help put the house in the food. I had to get myself to school, I had to do all those things. And stupidly, I was like, Well, I don't have to do this. And I'm kind of sick of it anyways.
Scott Benner 33:11
Yeah, it feels like the one thing you can give away. Right? Right. It's bandwidth, then it's just right. You had too many responsibilities for your age your situation. Yeah. Okay. That's what I think it was. It's not gonna kill you right away. So it doesn't seem
Stephanie 33:29
Oh, yeah. Yeah. And my mom tried every, like, nursing homes, making me go to talk to the diabetics that lost therapy or lost their vision or, and their 80 or 90 and unlike Yeah, that's not going to help me.
Scott Benner 33:45
So, let me ask you a question. If I could have come and found 15 or 16 year old Stephanie. And I was like, Hey, Stephanie, I'm from the future. And, and somehow you can blame me because I had a ray gun with me and a spaceship. And you're like, alright, this guy might really be from the future. And I said, you are going to be blind in one of your eyes. If you don't stop this right now. Do you think that would have moved you?
Stephanie 34:10
Maybe, no, I don't know.
Scott Benner 34:12
Yeah. There's no way to know I guess. There's not you know, there are times Stephanie, that when I make this podcast, I think it's really about being a human being masked and what it's like to have diabetes,
Stephanie 34:25
right. Unfortunately, we just have very real and in your face consequences like I don't know, I guess everything in life is a real and in your face consequence.
Scott Benner 34:39
Yeah, but you can't something's you can't trace back. You don't I mean, like you can, it's easy for you to say, here's the problem I have with my vision. That's because of you know, what happened with my blood sugar when I was younger, boom, like I you know, right. You can see the line through it. But yeah, you know, when you I don't know when you're when you're 60 years old, and you're in the emergency Room? Because I don't know, you don't I mean, like if diverticulitis you don't think oh, well this is because how my parents taught me to eat when I was 10. You don't I mean, right, but it might be. And yeah, we just don't we're not able to see the lines between all the other stuff sometimes.
Stephanie 35:18
I'll say I'm a lot healthier than almost anybody else because of my diabetes, though.
Scott Benner 35:23
Because you find my time. When did when did the switch flip for you? Like, when did you go, I can't keep doing this.
Stephanie 35:35
24 I was 24. And I had just gotten out of a bad relationship and move back with my mom. And realize that, you know, our, yeah, 24 hours, almost a quarter of a century old and I couldn't even take care of myself. And some people have, you know, like my mom had, I was five at that point in my mom's life. me she had my brother and my third, my second brother. I couldn't even take care of myself. It seemed like,
Scott Benner 36:09
what? So what does that mean? When you're, when you're 24? You have to figure your budget. Are you okay? All right. Okay, well, you're 24 years old, and you you look up one day, and you go, Oh, my God, I have no agency over my life whatsoever. I'm not making decisions, things aren't happening. I'm not moving in a meaningful direction. My health is poor. Like all that stuff. How do you? What do you say,
Stephanie 36:32
you know, it's crazy. That was like, I knew how to do it. Like, it's not like I had to, like, go back through diabetes training, or, like, do a ton of research or try to figure it out. Like, I was like, Oh, I'm gonna start taking care of myself and went to the gym, a, you know, healthier foods, and adjusted my own pump, and got my own self under control. Because like, that was like the crappiest part about it. Like I knew what I was supposed to be doing the whole time. Like, I stayed up to date with the knowledge and everything that I needed to do. And just wasn't doing it.
Scott Benner 37:15
Yeah. Yeah, I guess then the, the reality hits, and then the frustration comes, right. The idea of like, oh, yeah, why didn't I just do this before?
Stephanie 37:27
Yeah. It's actually so much easier. Yeah,
Scott Benner 37:31
I know. I keep saying that. But I don't think people listen, it's okay. I'm doing my, I mean, even in real life, it's, you know, how I don't know how often you can say to somebody, look, a couple of minutes worth of effort here saves hours of pain later. And they're just like, Yeah, okay, and then they don't do it. So it's everybody. It's not just me or
Stephanie 37:54
No, I have a really good friend, and she has a 21 year old son, that's diabetic. He was diagnosed when he was like, 14. And she wouldn't get him a pump early on. And now he's over the age of 18. And I'm like, I wish you would have got a pump. I wish you would have federal pump when he was 14, because now he's struggling with like, he's doing the same things. I was doing it 19 But with no pump.
Scott Benner 38:23
Yeah. Does it make you feel like this is gonna happen to him, too.
Stephanie 38:27
I'm like, can't convince them. And she finally convinced them to get like a CGM.
Scott Benner 38:33
Good. That's good. Yeah. So 10 years ago, you go home, you realize that your mom was raising 16 kids when she was your age. You're like, Mom, I can't remember the Bolus for my meal. And she's like, shut up. But so you pull it together at that point, you go you work out, you pull it together, and is it just a different trajectory? Right from there.
Stephanie 39:01
Then so then I was still under the impression that you know, seven was a good one, see? So I got it down easily to the 6.9. That had been raised range. And I had met my now husband, and a funny story. He didn't want to get married because his life skills class in college told him that a typical wedding costs like, I don't know, like 15,000 or $20,000. I can't remember how much he told me. I just remember laughing and saying, Okay. I'm like, okay, that's fine. But having a kid was okay. Was the funny part. And I was like, oh, because this kid is definitely not going to cost us that much in the first year.
Scott Benner 39:57
Once you become an adult, you have to be understand Think of the idea that if you're going to live in a modern society, money is going to come in one window and go right out. The next one
Stephanie 40:07
is gonna get spent on something. Yeah, yeah, it's,
Scott Benner 40:11
that's the only thing that's gonna happen. That's the only thing I can tell you for sure is I'm going to make money. And I'm going to, I'm going to spend it. And that's it. Like, sometimes I'll, I'll get a check for something. And my kids will be like, Oh, what are you going to do that? I'm like, I'm gonna put in the bank and then send it to somebody, like, What are you talking about? What am I gonna do with it? What do you think? What do you what do you think happens? Oh, money? Wow. Because that was because of the way my job works. I get, I only get paid like twice a year. So I get money for ads. And like, every six months, basically. Yeah, so the checks are larger than you're used to seeing, but they're also for six months. Right? And the kids are just like, what are you gonna do with that? I was like, I'm gonna pay for your college. I'm gonna keep I'm gonna keep the lights on in the house. Like, what do you think is happening right now, I like that your husband was like, if we can just say although I have to admit. My sister in law, when she got married. She was like the youngest of my wife side. And my I remember my father in law saying, If you skip this wedding, I'll give you this amount of money you can put into a house. And she was like, That's ridiculous. I want a wedding, blah, blah. And I remember years later her saying I should have took that money. And skip the big wedding. So everyone's had a point. But I don't know. Money's hard to pile up. You know what I mean? Right. Yeah. So Alright, so now you're, you're married? Did you actually get married? Just do it on the cheap or did you?
Stephanie 41:38
Oh, we. We got pregnant. So I've
Scott Benner 41:43
been pregnant. Do I get pregnant? Yeah, it was fine.
Stephanie 41:48
No. We I am missing a fallopian tube. I had a grapefruit sized tumor removed within it. It took a Flowbee into with it. And so I thought, Oh, we're probably going to take a while to get pregnant. Who knows? There might be fertility issues, all this. And so we start saving. We're gonna move. We lived in Memphis, Tennessee at the time, it was like, we're gonna move to the coast. We'll start we'll start trying to have a kid. And
Scott Benner 42:24
we got pregnant right away two seconds.
Stephanie 42:27
But yeah, yeah, like we just thought about it. And then they're like, Oh, you want a baby. Okay.
Scott Benner 42:33
You did that wrong. You're supposed to make that last that part's supposed to last a little. But wait a minute. You just You just skipped over. I had a tumor. So what are what are you whatever you're banging stop. That's definitely make me. As soon as you started talking about cancer, you started banging something. Oh, did you know that?
Stephanie 42:57
It wasn't cancerous. Thank goodness, oh, it was a tumor that wasn't cancer. So when I was 21. We went out on the lake. And like, I got super dehydrated, I stuck my pump. And the glovebox on the boat when I was like tubing, and then put it back on and then went home and went to bed. And that insulin likely was dead. So I woke up with like really high blood sugars. And I was vomiting and I tried to get it down and couldn't get it down, which is unusual. I normally could get it down myself. So I went to the hospital. I was DKA hooked up to pump to all the IVs and everything to get that taken care of. But when the doctor came in to check on me, they like pressed on my stomach when we're like doing exam, and I like came out of the bed. And the doctor sent me for ultrasound and oh my gosh, 21 is crazy. Does that mean for an ultrasound and they're like, Oh, you have a tumor on what they thought it was on my ovary or near my ovary? You're gonna have to have surgery to have that removed. I said I have a flight that's leaving in four days. Can we schedule that for after? And the doctors like I I'd like to do it. But I guess like, I mean, I don't really it's your choice. It's like, yeah, we'll schedule that for after
Scott Benner 44:43
Where were you going?
Stephanie 44:46
Myrtle Beach
Scott Benner 44:47
for vacation? Yeah. Stephanie.
Stephanie 44:51
For the fourth of July. Definitely
Scott Benner 44:52
you make decisions like a girl that raised herself. What do you think of that?
Stephanie 45:00
So I went on my vacation and came back and they thought it was like the size of an egg. And they like, bring me all this paperwork before surgery, they're like, I just need you to sign that. If we're in there, and we need to take everything that we can. I was like, No, I'm sorry, I'm not gonna sign that.
Scott Benner 45:20
Would they want to take?
Stephanie 45:21
Like, if they needed to, like, take my ovaries or my uterus or anything, they wanted me to sign that they could thing that they could. So you said no. Like, no, you can wake me up and let me know what's happening. So I have time to process. Okay, like, that would be two surgeries. It was like, I don't care. I'm 21. You can't just take all my woman parts.
Scott Benner 45:40
Yeah, pick all my lady bits and everything. My mom's
Stephanie 45:43
like, what, like, what are you going to do? And I was like, I don't know. We'll figure it out. Because I had like, in my blood, I had like, some tumor markers. Like that would show an indicate that maybe it was cancerous. Okay. Hello, like, well, I want time to process. Like your wild.
Scott Benner 46:09
Like, listen, you go shake your ass. I'll do this. All right, just calm down. So, so they get in there. And thankfully, they didn't need to take a lot,
Stephanie 46:18
right? Yeah, they took they did take my fallopian two. It was completely embedded like that it was growing. There would have been no saving it. So it's like a grapefruit size. And it was it encompasses my entire Philippian tube. So to say the amount of times that I've woken up at a hospital or whatever and heard that like I'm one in a million I, at this point, I'm just like, Yeah, I know. I get it.
Scott Benner 46:53
Well, DKA, right. I mean, weirdly, the dka shows the tumor. Yeah. And then the tumor takes
Stephanie 47:01
away probably couldn't get it down myself. They said
Scott Benner 47:05
probably couldn't get what down yourself. Like my blood sugars and stuff. Really? Well, what would that have to do? Because the tumor didn't grow that day? You'd had it for a while. Right?
Stephanie 47:14
Well, they said I went from egg to grapefruit size in a matter of two weeks. Whoa. So whatever it was, was pretty quick.
Scott Benner 47:23
Stephanie. G jeez. Okay. All right. Well, then that makes sense. You know, it's funny, my mom who had a bunch of cancer removed last year, hers her fasting blood sugars. They were treating her like a type two. And her fasting blood sugars have been better since they removed her cancer. Oh, that's good. I've always wondered about that. I remember, you think like, you're gonna ask a doctor, but I don't know. I don't want to say anything.
Stephanie 47:54
I know. The doctor said when I came back and they did remove and I came doing everything. They're like, you're really lucky that that tumor didn't twist, like flip at all. And like, because it was the fallopian tube. So it could have like twisted it could have caused like, a lot of problems and pain.
Scott Benner 48:12
No, I'm glad. Okay, so you get to you go on vacation. And then you come back and you take care of that. Okay. All right. And what happens after that? Like, where does life go after this? You're gonna have a baby now.
Stephanie 48:32
Yeah, so we got pregnant really quickly. I didn't think we would. And we didn't make it to the coast. So I'm still in the Midwest. We moved back to Indiana. Were my family well my brother was and my A onesies are not as low as what they should have been. But I didn't know that then. Even my endo didn't even tell me. I was like low sixes. She's like your your diabetes shouldn't be an issue for your pregnancy. Your a onesies are low enough that you should have no complications. Just like every time I went in, just giving me a pat on the back and telling me how wonderful I'm doing. And then I went for the anatomy scan for my son. And he had a congenital heart condition they found in utero.
Scott Benner 49:38
Well, how pregnant were you when you learned that?
Stephanie 49:42
24 weeks.
Scott Benner 49:45
That's That's six months. Yep. Yeah, I just did that on my fingers. You don't have to be mean. So at six months,
Stephanie 49:58
I live with a guy that does Adam is sleep. He has a Bachelors of Science in mathematics. So I always feel dumb with math, so don't feel bad.
Scott Benner 50:06
Oh, listen, he thought that 15 grand was gonna save everything. So, you know? I don't know what he knows. But smart. book smarts. Yeah. Well, you've got the other side of it. Right? You could? Yeah, we'll give you the street side. Let him take care of the book side. But so what do you do in a situation like that? When you find that out? I don't know what happens then. With a heart defect when you learn about it.
Stephanie 50:34
What what did I do? Or what what I mean,
Scott Benner 50:37
what you did was, I'm assuming cry. But what did they do medically? What were what did you?
Stephanie 50:42
So I, they found out that his he had transposition of the greater bowels, which basically meant that when he was born, that the unvaccinated oxygenated blood would be pumping through his body instead of the oxygenated blood. Really? So? Yeah. So about a week old, they had to do open heart surgery on him to switch it.
Scott Benner 51:10
Oh, my gosh. So they just kind of like, like, I'm not a doctor, obviously. But they just like, pulled the hoses off and flipped them and stuck them back on again, like that kind of thing.
Stephanie 51:19
Yeah, basically. So at a week, he had to be put, like on the bypass machine, so that they could pull his heart out and literally switch all the arteries and veins on the right side of his heart to the left and vice versa.
Scott Benner 51:35
Oh, my gosh, so scary. Yeah. Yeah. How old? Was he a week? A week? Did you think he was gonna die?
Stephanie 51:47
When they first told me everything, yeah. But then they like, sat me down and told me the statistics and the odds and it made you feel? Yeah, they made you feel more comfortable. Yeah.
Scott Benner 52:02
And then is there any, like lasting effects from that and his life now?
Stephanie 52:08
No, no medications. He goes, he was going to the cardiologist every year, but they just gave him the past last year to go three. Because everything looks good.
Scott Benner 52:21
And it's just, it's just a birth defect, right? They don't give you any reason why they think it happens.
Stephanie 52:28
One, it's like a 0.001% chance for it to happen. But if you do enough research, you will find that it is more common and diabetic mothers. So the six point threes and the six point fours. Though the doctor said they were good, and they're not necessarily terrible. Now, after doing more research, and listening to your podcast, and like the pregnancy episodes and stuff, obviously, that's not the control. Yeah, that you would really need for no. complication.
Scott Benner 53:14
Right. I thought you were gonna say that it was more common in people who had been around glitter. So, but this makes more sense. Yeah, I don't know how to. There's a common argument that happens online, where people say, Hey, I read research that says that an A one C of whatever they the number is, is okay. And there's no benefit in having it lower than that. And they they come to me, even though I say it's definitely at the beginning of every episode. I very clearly say, not a doctor, not advice. Don't know what I'm talking about. Don't come to me for anything, right. But they still come to me. What are the benefits of keeping it lower than like, I don't know. I said, it just makes sense to me. I don't know if I'm right. But you know, if a person who doesn't have diabetes, they wouldn't see us in the high fours. And yours is that seven? That seems like more to me. And more seems like sugar content and sugar content seems like possible problems. And I don't know, I don't I mean, this is my common sense. And nothing else not based. And they're like, well, we want to see studies and well, you go for the study. I'm just guessing. Yeah, I'm gonna keep my daughter's blood sugar as low and stable as I can while you go look for your, whatever it is, which I'm assuming they just want to make them feel better. Like, like, it's not like they're gonna go Oh, I found something and said it should be five and a half. I guess I'll do it right now. Like I don't know what the arguments about it's not even an argument like the discussion. I don't know what it's about like, like, Are you saying you don't want to be lower because it's, you can't do it. It's hard. It's difficult or you don't know how like I understand that. Are you saying it's because you just don't want to put the effort into it? I even kind of after interviewing enough people definitely I understand that people feel Know that way too. But then why do you why are you looking into it? And the only thing I can think is that they just want that they feel guilty or they're worried and they just want it to go away. Or I mean, maybe some of them just want to make a change, because oh, if you just tell me for sure this has to happen, but I don't know who you're looking to for that information. You don't I mean, like, yeah, I don't even know like, how long what is the ADA recommendation right now? That thing moves like every 6.5 Is that where they're at now? Yeah. I'm gonna look I know how to Google I'm gonna figure the whole thing out for us right now blood glucose recommendations. Didn't did it in I found a link I've clicked on a one see they're calling a normal a one C 5.7 or lower pre diabetes they're calling 5.7 to six for diabetes are gone six, five and higher. Is this just diabetes in general? Right. Like they're not saying types. fasting glucose is oral tolerance tests. What is pre diabetes? Yeah, this is this is type two. All right, my googling. Let me type type one next to it. This gets us in a little better situation for what we want to know.
A peak, postprandial capillary plasma glucose of under 180 is appropriate for most people with diabetes. Although an ideal target for non is 140. You see, this is pretty much what I figured out on my own. I didn't need somebody to write Yeah, I didn't need somebody to tell me this. Hello. I wore a CGM. And I looked and I had to eat my face off to make my blood sugar go to 140. Right. And then yeah, and it came back in a little while. I once got it to 160. But I ate like a half a pizza. And then I put sugar on top of it. I was like, let me see what this looks like, you know, and I did not I was not having a good time. By the way. I was like, Alright, let me see what this does. But I was trying to figure it out for Arten. Like, like, what is it I should be shooting for? Exactly. Yeah. And that's why I think of like, you know, 140. Okay, but it should come back and get level without getting low. We're, you know, probably doing something wrong. I think of 180 is high. That's how I think of it. But yeah, if you're telling people you know, I can't believe I can't just find this, by the way, like this should be pretty easy to shouldn't be easy. Right? Hold on a second. Let's start over again. Stephanie Dennett, type one diabetes recommended. Well, a lot of stuff comes up and yet they recommend it doesn't it? recommended a one. How is it possible that I've now less than 7%? A one and I don't have to see it.
Stephanie 58:07
The goal for most adults with diabetes isn't a Wednesday that is less than 7%.
Scott Benner 58:12
Alright, it's definitely no reason to show off. It just popped up for me too. Okay. The American diet you're looking at what I'm looking at the American diabetes Association generally recommends the A once the bill levels below 7% or an average glucose level of 150 fours. All right. Yeah. But that number used to be higher. And in a couple of years, when the technology gets more widespread, I bet you they push it down again. Right? Because they don't want to go telling the whole world Hey, you gotta be keeping a number that you have no knowledge or technology to help to keep? You know, I'm saying so I understand why they move it down slowly. I don't understand why people looking at it. I don't know how you can look at that. And say seven. But what's the a one C of a person who doesn't have diabetes? Like why is Why are my goals different now because I have diabetes, I can maybe I won't reach my goals. Maybe there'll be difficult to reach or any number of problems getting to them. But I don't understand why that changes the target. You see what I'm saying? And you do see what I'm saying because you even though you're a nice person, and you're you're not real combative, like you don't get upset while we're talking. But you're pissed right? And how long somebody told you seven was okay. Yeah, yeah.
Stephanie 59:29
It's even more upsetting that like I still see the same endo and i She does have a very flexible mind and she does support me manipulating my palm for getting my A once the below six like she's never yelled at me for too long over a Wednesday. It would have really been helpful to hear that. You know, a 6.3 isn't great. her pregnancy.
Scott Benner 1:00:01
Yeah, there's no reason to lie to people. Like I think it's okay to say to yourself I don't think this person can do this. Or but they should still know what the goal is like. Do you really mean like, why would a doctor get to decide that you don't get the you don't get to have the right information? Yeah, what are they saving you from? Exactly like being nervous about it or sad or like okay, but you're nervous or sad now? Like, I mean, you haven't set it out? Right? I
Stephanie 1:00:32
I didn't even I didn't have a CGM when I was pregnant.
Scott Benner 1:00:37
Yeah, so you don't even know what your
Stephanie 1:00:39
maybe late pregnancy? Or right after I had my son I got the key for and but I was pregnant, my blood shirt or my finger and test my blood sugar 1215 times a day during pregnancy?
Scott Benner 1:01:00
Yeah, I don't know. I don't know another way to do it without a CGM.
Stephanie 1:01:03
Yeah, so and I was getting to that low six range. I don't know if I if I heard that low. Sixes weren't good enough. And I was already testing myself 15 times a day, I could have brought it down. You still
Scott Benner 1:01:19
think you could have done better? You know, like,
Stephanie 1:01:23
I was in the low hundreds, you know, and in the 90s, low hundreds. And in the low sixes and I, but I was being told I was doing fine. But if I was testing that much, it would have just taken a little bit more insulin to bring it lower. You know, I
Scott Benner 1:01:40
mean, no, I do. Yeah. Are you okay? By the way, I heard your alarm.
Stephanie 1:01:43
Yeah, I'm good. My I wear the tandem right now. And it doesn't let me it doesn't let me shut the alarms off for 70 Oh, that's not like me being 70
Scott Benner 1:01:57
Is that what's your blood sugar's right now?
Stephanie 1:01:59
Yeah, I'm at like, 68. So like, all my phone, my alarms are at 65. That's why my phone's not like yelling.
Scott Benner 1:02:06
Do you want to do something? Are you okay? No, I'm good. All right. No one's ever passed out on the podcast. I would like to keep that going. Please. I don't want you to be in the first one. Because I have to tell you if it happened, I would definitely run the podcast as you should. As long as you were alive when it was my
Stephanie 1:02:24
husband's gonna walk in the door any minute. And he that's another story. But he'll, he will debug me. So it's your life. But then he hit me with a heartbroken the other day. Wait, you've used the Jeeva hypopyon. One. I've had diabetes for 27 years. I have been glucagon one time and it was in the past week. And I can't believe like it. Like leading up to my recording. That's what I was thinking when he told me like when I came to and like actually had time to think about it and everything. I'm like, oh, man, if this makes, if this makes my podcast episode, that'd be funny.
Scott Benner 1:03:01
Hold on a second. So first of all, let me just say that my regulatory training, you guys don't know how many meetings I have to sit through to make ads for you. Like where I hear like, you can't say this. Don't say it that way. Don't say this. You can't make claims about this. You can't use this word. You can't use that word, your package insert. Oh, one of the things I'm not allowed to say I just said but it's not the ad. So it's not bad. But I am not allowed to call it the Jeeva hypo pen. Oh, I have to call it g voc hypo pin. Oh, I don't know why. Interesting, but I know I'm not allowed in an ad. I cannot put the word thought before the words G vocab open.
Stephanie 1:03:40
So how many times have you had to read? Oh, no, I'm
Scott Benner 1:03:43
good at it now. Like I I can say it in your sleep at this point. I've been brainwashed. Now. I know how to. Never say it. But I was in a meeting with them the other day, because we're gonna do this cool episode, where Jenny and I talked about how to use the hypo Ben, right. And so during the meeting, I sent it on purpose. And I was just like, you're watching everybody's face. They all were like, hey, and I was like, oh, whoa, I shouldn't have said sorry. And they're like, yeah, like, Don't worry, I know. It's okay. And I was trying to liven up the meeting. I just tried to make this boring part of my life better. And so I at the end of the meeting, I said I will take any of you out to dinner who will sit down and explain to me why I can't use the word VA before G vocab open. And this one guy goes I'll take the dinner and he goes but the explanation is not fulfilling and I was like alright, nevermind then. I don't want to find that. I don't want to know I just won't say it. But I want to know about this. So you got how low did you get?
Stephanie 1:04:44
Um I was showing low on my my Dexcom my husband did not test my blood sugar because He was probably freaking out too much.
Scott Benner 1:05:02
Were you conscious?
Stephanie 1:05:04
I was. He said, I was conscious. I'm very chatty. There's nothing I won't talk about. And he was asking me a question. And I would just stare at him. So, he knew there was obviously something wrong, right? So he grabbed my phone and he was like, I'm gonna, I had already asked for juice. Okay. I'm just gonna tell you, I don't know how this happened. And maybe possibly a pump malfunction, because nothing else makes sense. I went to bed without changing my cartridge when I knew I should have and I forgot. Okay. And so my pump started yelling at me at like, four 20 something in the morning, my husband gets up at 430. And I was like, okay. I'll have him. Set me up a cartridge and hand me a set. I'll do this right in bed. I'm not getting out of bed at 430 in the morning. Okay, so his alarm went off. And I was like, Hey, take my pump. No, yeah, I was like, I went to go into my pump to set up my cartridge. And it was dead. It was yelling at me because it was dying. Not because it was almost out of insulin. I was like, Okay, it's all right. I'm still not getting out of bed here. Take my pump. plug this in for me. When you bring it back before you leave for work. I need a set. And he's like, okay. Like, you know, that's what I want to do at 430 in the morning to me.
Scott Benner 1:06:41
Yeah, this sounds great. Thank you. So he takes for the you're using control IQ, right? Yeah. So it has to be charged. Right? Okay. So he took it somewhere to charge it.
Stephanie 1:06:53
It takes my pump to charge it. And he said about 20 minutes later, I called them back there again, and asked him for juice. So he brought me juice and I drank the juice. And he went to go check on me again, and I was unresponsive to him. Like I was
Scott Benner 1:07:16
but you weren't wearing the pump for a while at that point.
Stephanie 1:07:19
Right? So you think I would be going up? And I was sleeping. Okay. And there weren't there's no Bolus history. Anyways,
Scott Benner 1:07:30
well, what am I? Well, if you
Stephanie 1:07:33
can't stand up, I think it was a
Scott Benner 1:07:36
reason wearing it though. I
Stephanie 1:07:40
but I was low. I was low when I gave him my pump.
Scott Benner 1:07:45
So it did so the so the pump died. So when it dies, it can't give you basil even Right? Right? It can't do anything. So it's dead. You're not getting anything. And then you will see here's what I'm gonna say Stephanie. First of all, I'm not there. And I have no idea. But my expectation is, is that if you count on that thing to not give you insulin because it's it can say hey, she's getting low let me take insulin away. And now suddenly it's not working. Is there a way for the insulin in the tubing to still reach you?
Stephanie 1:08:22
I don't know. I don't know. All I know is I didn't it said I did not have very much insulin left. I had like nine units before I went to bed which would have been fine to get me through it about probably about
Scott Benner 1:08:41
like Arden here if I go to bed now and I get up at this time then I'll have enough insulin I can check.
Stephanie 1:08:47
I didn't intentionally do that I was going to change it but I just I took a bath and then did it and I just there is no good reason
Scott Benner 1:08:57
for the night before you you were going to change it you didn't
Stephanie 1:09:00
Yeah, I just didn't so and so when it woke me up like beeping at me I was like dang I didn't change that bed to change it my husband can help me so you thought anyways I ended up low and there's no rhyme or reason why
Scott Benner 1:09:15
right? But so so he let me make sure I understand. He took the pump to get it charged. He comes back you ask him for a juice he gives you the juice you slept the juice down the next time he comes back to bring you the pump back you our guns will not not respond. Yeah. Okay. And then he gets G vo Capo pen and jams on you. Yes, he stabbed me in my way. Well, let's not make him sound bad because they are a sponsor, but I haven't I haven't tried my husband's fault clearly. I have a trainer pen right here. Pop the cap off. Fine scan push down. Yeah, and you're done like that. Yeah. Did it bring you back?
Stephanie 1:09:56
Yeah, I didn't even know he did it.
Scott Benner 1:09:59
How long how long after he popped you with it until you came back.
Stephanie 1:10:03
He said like 10 minutes later I, I will I had gotten up and I like came out to the kitchen. I'm like, why are you not gone for work? And he's like, Ah, I text my boss. And I told him I might be a little bit late because I was gonna stay here and make sure you're okay. And I'm like, I'm fine. Go to work. Like you should go to work and he's like, I glucagon do. And I'm like, why?
Scott Benner 1:10:33
An adverb when the way you just use it. Yeah, yeah. Okay.
Stephanie 1:10:38
I had to glucagon you and I'm like, why? He's like, You were unresponsive. Like, Well, the fact that I don't remember you stabbing me with a needle probably means I probably needed it, but I'm fine. Now. You could probably go.
Scott Benner 1:10:52
Did he test your blood sugar after you did that?
Stephanie 1:10:55
No. I grabbed my phone. And I was like, Thanks for Thanks for like, shoving glucagon in me. I have never been glucagon before. But I'm gonna guess I'm gonna end up at like 300 At some point, right? Okay. He's like, do you need me to stay home? Oh, like, No, I've got this.
Scott Benner 1:11:17
So, alright. It's definitely listen. I usually try not to judge people on the show. But if he thought you needed glucagon, but then didn't check your blood sugar afterwards? What was he doing in that time? Oh, no, he has. He has the follow up. So what did he see? Oh, he was watching your blood sugar come back up from Dexcom. Yeah. Oh, but he didn't call 911.
Stephanie 1:11:39
I know. I told him I was like, I told him when he got home. After work. I was like, just so you know. You won't get me to call 911 or telling me that you need to take me to the ER. But like, if you ever have to glucagon me, I think you're supposed to.
Scott Benner 1:11:59
It's definitely you're making me feel very good about something. Let me tell you what it is right now. But I don't think I'm supposed to be talking about business outside of business. But I'm just gonna say this. G Volker and I are doing this one episode together, right? But it started off as an idea about three episodes or four episodes. Because I said to them, I don't think people understand. Glucagon. I don't, I don't think they understand when they need it. Why they need it, how to use it after they use it. What they should do blah, blah, blah. Like that was my pitch to them. Like I think we should do these episodes together. And I think we're going to but we're starting with this one. Your your description of what just happened? Absolutely. cements my thought. Like,
Stephanie 1:12:43
I know that I'm supposed to go to the ER still. Yeah, but I did not want to go to the ER, yeah. But he didn't know. He told me he said the package said to call 911. And I was like, Okay. He's like, I didn't want you to have to wake up in the hospital or anything. If you were fine. Your blood sugar came up and you were completely coherent. And I was like, Alright, there's a reason. I told him I was like, Do you want to know why it tells you to, like, take me and he's like, sure. I was like, You didn't inject glucose into me. You injected something into my body that triggered my body to release all the glucose stores in it.
Scott Benner 1:13:27
And he doesn't know what I'm saying. Alright, Jeeva Are you listening? I told first of all, I told you I was right. And be yelling. Unbelievable. You are so Stephanie. You were so lucky to be alive. But not for any of the reasons that any of those doctors ever told you.
Stephanie 1:13:49
Is it for this one right now?
Scott Benner 1:13:52
I mean, between your No offense, but between your mom and and, and your husband, and you wake up and go vacation, leave that tumor in there a little longer. Unbelievable. I'm
Stephanie 1:14:07
gonna die or get like a cancer diagnosis. I'm gonna take my beach vacation for Stephanie.
Scott Benner 1:14:12
I have to tell you, I'm gonna I'm gonna shutter the podcast right now. I'm not doing this anymore. Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna set up an 800 number. Okay. And it's gonna be 888 Ask, Scott. That's what I'm doing. I just decided it right now. I'm wasting my life with this podcast. Right? Let me see. Does that work? 888 I'm literally looking this up. 888 ask Scott. All right, it doesn't exist yet. I'm getting it. I'm gonna find out what it takes to get an 800 number. Yeah, and I am and my life is just going to be I'm gonna whip my phone up to my ear. I'll be like, hello. And you'll be like, Hey, Scott. It's definitely my Hey, Stephanie. What's up, and then you'll go I have type one diabetes. If they found a tumor around my fallopian tube, but I want to go on my beach vacation first I go, Stephanie, no, you're gonna go take that right to the hospital and take care of that. Okay? And you go, Okay, I'm sorry. You're right. And then you go and you pay me like $20, something like that. Okay, so that's it. That's what I do like here. And if this existed for years, the phone's gonna go off. I don't care. I get a call. This is this is 30 years ago. Hey, Scott. I was thinking of leaving my kids at home and going and stripping. Well, no, I don't think you should do that. And then I would like I would talk them through that. I ain't gonna make money here. There's a way for me to help people and and make money.
Stephanie 1:15:37
I don't care. By the time she did that. I was like, 16 I was good.
Scott Benner 1:15:40
Yeah, that's fine. Everything was great. You were 16 Completely ignoring your blood sugar and not taking care of yourself at all. Right? Yeah. Okay. No, 888 ask Scott. That's what this episode two
Stephanie 1:15:54
questions shouldn't be. Should I wait, my kids district should be should I still be in control of my child's diabetes? Yeah, well, I would probably talk the whole thing through whether I've told so many parents on on the page. I'm like, and I'm just envious that you're even still like, taking control your kids diabetes.
Scott Benner 1:16:13
I hear that from a lot of adults. They're like, I'm so jealous that you help art and like and so that's interesting. It really is. Alright, you're not gonna die right? Because I'm not gonna let you down like everybody else has. How's your blood sugar now? I am 66 what are what are you going to do? Let's do something.
Stephanie 1:16:34
I'm gonna let my control like you not give me insulin until it comes back up.
Scott Benner 1:16:38
You don't want to just need to gummy bears or something right now to gummy bears. What do you got? You got gummy bears the house
of Skittles. Alright, eat three scales for
me. right angles. My God. And I'm charging you for this one even though you didn't call the number
Stephanie I'm not kidding. I think I've just had a brilliant business idea. I gotta go find out. I gotta go to GoDaddy right now hold on a second while she's getting her Skittles and find out of common sense that calm has taken
somebody owns that. Let's find out what's there?
Stephanie 1:17:30
Are you talking crap? Long gone?
Scott Benner 1:17:32
No, I'm looking up to find out of common sense that calm is available. I think I'm gonna be rich. Common sense is a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to helping all kids thrive in the world of media and technology. Why that ain't helping anybody that's just kids away from movies and our boobs and it which by the way, they don't even make any more way to ruin movies. Woke people. Good job. Okay, seriously. Every movie I saw growing up Stephanie. Yeah, for reasons that I couldn't even tell you. A bare breasted woman ran through one scene. It was just it always happened. And now nothing we're all right, so I can't have common sense.com Let's think of other things to call it
Stephanie 1:18:26
spot.com
Scott Benner 1:18:27
I want to help you think is oh somebody's got help you think.com He's sons of bitches All right, hold on a second. Now I have to find out what help you think that comments tell me when your skills are in help you think that calm is parked? This is what happens when people
Stephanie 1:18:53
I mean didn't do anything with it yeah
Scott Benner 1:18:57
that's what they do they sit on it
Stephanie 1:19:01
and then they try to make buy it from them.
Scott Benner 1:19:03
Yeah, not that this has anything to do with my idea but dummy up.com is also not available.
Unknown Speaker 1:19:09
Oh my God.
Scott Benner 1:19:10
Now if I click on dummy up.com And I don't see a picture of Archie Bunker I'm going to be past one of these is going to be porn by the lake Stephanie.
Stephanie 1:19:21
So it's five clicks away
Scott Benner 1:19:22
dummy up.com also part it's for sale they people just they um they park these sites and then they sell them scumbags. Seriously, trying to make a couple $1,000 Selling dummy up.com Here. Here's here's a here's a little clue for you. No one's gonna do that. Okay, I wanted to make diabetes pro tips.com It didn't. It wasn't available. So I just took the s off and I was like here I'll just call it this since that nobody's gonna send you money because you parked your stupid. Anyway. Alright, I'm going to figure this out. Let's say
Stephanie 1:19:56
one year listeners. One of your listeners bought that
Scott Benner 1:20:00
If you think they're sitting on it, yeah, I want it back thought you'd
Stephanie 1:20:03
buy it from them. That's not happening.
Scott Benner 1:20:05
I want to ask Scott DICOM not available.
Stephanie 1:20:09
When you took the s off and decided to go with diabetes pro tip they probably stopped listening to
Scott Benner 1:20:16
good reading. By the way, Scott Nicholson is a professor of game design and development at Wilfrid Laurier University in Brantford, Ontario. I mean, not for nothing Scott Nicholson, but you're not doing anything with this website. Give it to me, okay. It's Oh, look at that. It's a forward. It's not you son of a bitch Scott. He's got Scott nicholson.com But he's just parked on ask Scott. Give me that. I want that. Scott Nicholson when you eventually find out that I want to ask scott.com Please contact me. I would want this. Seriously, we have to do something. I've listened to your story. I love you. First of all seven. You're delightful. I love you. All right. But you have battled through so much. You've battled through so many thumbs while you're alive? Me neither. It'd be the honestly it's it's it's ponderous. Is everyone living like this?
Stephanie 1:21:21
I doubt it. No, I
Scott Benner 1:21:22
think I think they are. I think so. i There are times you want to hear something that's gonna sound pompous. Let's at least I know it's gonna sound pompous before I say it. So while you're listening, keep that in mind. Okay. There are times I think the podcast is only popular. Because I have a I have a firm grasp of common sense. And people don't sometimes. Is that say I've lived?
Stephanie 1:21:47
I've lived. And I have a ton of comments on.
Scott Benner 1:21:51
Now you do now you know what you're doing? Yeah. What though?
Stephanie 1:21:54
Even back then like, I knew that was dumb. But I just didn't care.
Scott Benner 1:22:00
You didn't stop yourself? Yeah, no. So it's not just common sense. Because I stopped myself. When I think of something. And I'm like a doofus don't do that. You know what I mean? Like, that's not a good idea. We're not going to do that one. Yeah, okay. All right. So it's not just common sense. What else is it then?
Stephanie 1:22:20
I don't know, either impulse control.
Scott Benner 1:22:22
Is it not a? Well, impulse control is possible. I was thinking like, a desire to protect yourself. There's a phrase for that, that I can't think of at the moment, but a sense of self preservation is what I was like. Yes. Yes. Is that not does that not pop into your head? Like, I can't go to Myrtle Beach. Stephanie. You weren't even going anywhere? Good. You know, they mean? So like, so like, not like you're on your way to Cancun or Barbados or something like that. I can I got I got four days in Myrtle Beach. I got my, my deposits in already. So but like, there was no thought like he pressed on that it really hurt. I should take care of that.
Stephanie 1:23:07
Denial. already spent too much time in the hospital. You know what I mean? My knee hurts not even like my largest, like, hospitals day lonely my largest medical story. Yeah. I was 18 and spent 30 days in the hospital and went through like six surgeries.
Scott Benner 1:23:28
So bring that up an hour and 20 minutes into this. What do you mean? How did that happen?
Stephanie 1:23:37
Ah. So when I was 18, I went out with my cousin and we got nipple piercings. Go ahead. And I got necrotizing fasciitis and one of my breasts Stephanie, did
Scott Benner 1:23:54
you lose a? Yep. To a nipple piercing? Yep. Oh my God. Are you serious?
Stephanie 1:24:01
Yeah. 18
Scott Benner 1:24:04
I don't want to chastise you because this is a sad story. But please, if anyone's listening. Bring those up first. We were doing the podcast start with I lost my boob
to a nipple piercing. Don't start with I grew up in Indiana. What are you doing to me, Stephanie? Hi. All right. Hold on a second. First of all, are you okay? Yes. Okay. That's horrible. I'm sorry. How does that happen? Like a dirty needle?
Stephanie 1:24:30
Yeah, not a very clean shop.
Scott Benner 1:24:33
Oh my god. Oh, it's horrible. I'm so sorry. So so how long after you get the piercing did your friend have a problem to
Stephanie 1:24:43
actually she had already had her spear she my cousin was in the military and she already had gotten her spirits and she took me to get mine pierced when she came back to visit for my birthday.
Scott Benner 1:24:53
She feel horrible to this day. We don't even talk that's not okay either. You Yeah, if I'm the one that takes you to the nipple piercing and you lose your breast over it, we have a lifelong commitment to each other now, do you not believe that? I do believe that by the way? I would? I would think so. But I would send you a great gift every year on your birthday. If you know 100% I'd be like, all you're thinking about what do I get? Stephanie? So, so Oh, my gosh, so you go into a hospital? How long after Oh, let me understand it. How long after the piercing? Do you know you have a problem? Two months, two months. And then you go to the doctor, I hope vacation Did you know,
Stephanie 1:25:41
I was at work. And I had called the shop to be clear, I had called the shop and explain what was going on. And they told me that I would be fine to wash it with antibacterial soap and water. So like, I ate tea, and I thought I was doing the right thing. Okay. And it just kept getting more and more sore. So I left work when I was working nights. And I went to the hospital. And they admitted me. And they didn't the first hospital that I went to did not know what was going on. And when they admitted me the next day, I decided I would go ahead and call my mom and I was in the hospital. And so she came up and I don't know is I wasn't I was in the beginning of septic shock. So I don't really remember a whole lot of like what was said, but I know I ended up transferred to a big learning Hospital in Indiana. And the doctor came in and told me, you know, they were gonna have to remove the breast and all the skin and everything. And my mom asked for a second opinion. And the doctor literally looked at us and said that we did not have time for a second opinion.
Scott Benner 1:27:09
Oh my gosh. That's terrible. And so they, they, they, they have to remove enough that they, they're short, it's not going to keep happening to go right down to your chest. Take the whole so do you lose? You lose the gland? Like the whole thing, right? Like, notes everything like a mastectomy. Yes. Okay. And then did you opt to do something with it afterwards? Like do you have an implant?
Stephanie 1:27:37
They move. They made me gain weight and then moved like fat from other parts of my body to my breast.
Scott Benner 1:27:48
Okay. Have you ever had anything done with it? Like, has it been? I don't know what you would do. I'm not sure of the process but like I've seen people have like nipples tattooed on and things like that if you've done anything like I had
Stephanie 1:27:59
the option to do that. But I had been through five surgeries and a year and I'm like, I don't even care.
Scott Benner 1:28:09
Five surgeries just on this one thing. Yeah.
Stephanie 1:28:13
Because I had to have it removed I had to have a skin graft I had to have the surgery to move the fat and tissue and they had I had like drainage tubes and everything and so like by the end of it all when everything was healed they said you can come back in and have a nipple tattooed and I'm like I
Scott Benner 1:28:35
I'm good yeah
Stephanie 1:28:38
I just want I don't care
Scott Benner 1:28:39
what what so I mean Did anybody bring up the your unregulated blood sugar's might have led to poor healing and maybe that's also what happened dirty needle poor healing out of range blood sugars, do you think all that had something to do with it?
Stephanie 1:28:52
I think now looking back that I mean, infection is going to be worse than uncontrolled diabetes but they didn't say anything about it.
Scott Benner 1:29:03
But you did you that was your situation though with your diabetes at that time?
Stephanie 1:29:07
Yeah, at that time I wasn't in very good control. So
Scott Benner 1:29:11
Wow. How did you find the podcast
Why did you find it What were you looking for?
Stephanie 1:29:25
I haven't had any like I up until the past year and a half ish I hadn't been in any like diabetes groups or anything I'm gonna mention something else this is how I found it okay, if I remember now, I somehow Facebook ad came across a mastering diabetes.
Scott Benner 1:29:50
The vegetable people Yeah, the vegans Right, right.
Stephanie 1:29:53
Um, so I listened to that book and their podcast and then like that led to other good Oops. And then it doesn't matter what diabetes group you're in, you'll will see your group tagged. And so I found your group and joined that group and started looking through the posts. And I was like, Oh, this seems like some I'm an information junkie. So like, I constantly have information coming in book podcast, something reading. So like, I'll check this podcast out. And then like, a couple 100 episodes later.
Scott Benner 1:30:37
You stuck with me?
Stephanie 1:30:38
Yeah. If this is the diabetes podcast, I'll stick on mastering diabetes is very fun to listen to.
Scott Benner 1:30:49
Well, yeah, cuz they're not gonna say things like I've said, for the past hour. 25. I have to tell you, there was a moment when I thought, gosh, maybe we should cut out that part about gypsies. That sounds like I don't that's kind of like racy. And now I don't think any of the rest of the episode, if people make it this far, they're not even gonna remember that. It's gonna just be like, I mean, honestly, when I said what I said, after you told me about the piercing, I actually, I thought I was being facetious. I didn't realize you actually lost your breasts. So that was a anyway. Yeah, we'll see. Other people are probably paying attention to what they're saying and trying to be acceptable, which is why it's no fun. I have to tell you, I'm when people come into the podcast group on Facebook, the private one, it asks them, like, where did you hear about it? And the amount of people who are just like, everywhere? Yeah, it's really something. I'm very grateful for that, that people speak about it so well, in so many different places. Me too. Yeah. Well, Stephanie, we're going to just stop right now. Because I'm afraid we're about to find out that you've murdered somebody. You're from another client. I
Stephanie 1:31:59
told you. I told you, I didn't know where to start. That's why I see But you
Speaker 1 1:32:03
couldn't do it. I tried so hard to get these stories out of you. You didn't say and you wouldn't give them up and then you're just like, hey, my, like if I said to you right now, tell me one more story. That's crazier than you lost your bras to a nipple piercing does something pop into your head?
Stephanie 1:32:18
No, that's the craziest one.
Scott Benner 1:32:19
Okay. All right. Jesus. All right. I don't know what I'm calling this one anymore. I was so gonna call it 888. Ask Scott. But now I'm not sure what to do. That's all alright. That's it. I'm done. I'm done with you, Stephanie. I don't know what else to say. Although I do I do want to know if your mom's still hot. But I'm not gonna ask you. And I'm not gonna look, I don't want to find out. But it's just a it's a background question in my head that hasn't gone away since like, an hour ago. That's all Don't Don't tell me.
Stephanie 1:32:54
You're gonna go to my you're gonna go my profile, and you're going to try to find her and good luck.
Scott Benner 1:32:59
I don't have that kind of time. Stephanie. All right. I got to figure out how to get started Scott Nicholson off ask scott.com He's
Stephanie 1:33:08
email him.
Speaker 1 1:33:09
Hey, that's a great idea. Everyone go to ask scott.com And ask this guy to give me his web address is his website. Tom, I need to ask scott.com It belongs to him. Yeah, it's my it should be mine. I mean, not that he's, he seems like a decent guy at all. Like, I'm not saying that.
Scott Benner 1:33:26
I'm just saying.
Stephanie 1:33:27
Yeah, I know. He seems kind and generous, which is why he should give you your website. It's got enough.
Scott Benner 1:33:31
I need my idea. Oh, my goodness. I just went to his YouTube page. Yeah, no, nobody's watching this stuff. I deserve somebody get me. Yes. All right. Make it happen, guys. All right, or 888. Ask Scott. Actually, I didn't look into it. Let's just do that real quick stuff. Me. Let me just go back to godaddy for a second. Can you get one with numbers in it? 888. Ask Scott. Who wasn't available? It is. There you go. All right. I have a lot to think about. Your blood sugar. Okay. I
Stephanie 1:34:13
can't. Yeah, you can't stop the podcast. Oh, well, I
Scott Benner 1:34:17
don't know how I'm gonna have time. You have to do both. Well, then I'm just gonna have to make the podcast while I'm answering calls. There you go. Like in the middle. I'd be like, Hey, can you hold on a second? My phone rang and I'll be like, Hello. Yes. No. Well, then don't eat the nuts. Okay. $20 Goodbye. That's it. Hey, help me with something real quick. Stephanie. I'm supposed to make an eat video for Medtronic diabetes. And I have this balloon here. I'm supposed to bounce while I'm doing something else because balancing diabetes is hard. I'm gonna make the video while we're talking. Okay. Okay. All right. So alright, I've started the video. I am recording the podcast with Stephanie. Stephanie on don't think they can hear you. That's okay. This is the this is the blue balloon challenge. And then I'm supposed to bounce the balloon while I'm doing a day to day chore to show how hard it is to balance diabetes while I'm making a podcast. Honestly, I am now bouncing the balloon. Holy crap. It's not that easy. Okay, hold on a second. All right, I dropped it. Alright. blue balloon challenge. It's a hashtag hashtag blue balloon challenge. guys go check it out and tag bitrock diabetes. Thank you, Stephanie.
Stephanie 1:35:31
Thank you. Yes. You'll
Scott Benner 1:35:32
hear that on my social media later today. This was a I want to say I'm being sincere. I don't know what we talked about. But I had a really good time. Me too. Thank you. Yeah. And I think that's what matters. Also. Take care of your diabetes. And the people listen, oh, you're doing great. You listen to the podcast. Now. I assume you're a one sees terrific.
Stephanie 1:36:00
Yeah. 5.7. Yeah. Or a year now.
Scott Benner 1:36:03
That's Do you want to say anything nice to me about that, or no? Yeah. Thank you. Oh, you're welcome. Really, what's the secret? Pre-Bolus. Pay attention. Don't let your blood sugar stay high. That's pretty much
Stephanie 1:36:17
your threshold lower. Say, Okay. Pre-Bolus and set your threshold lower.
Scott Benner 1:36:23
Right? You want to know if your blood sugar is going up? And then you want to do something about it? Yes. And then you get to keep your vision and your boobs and everything. Oh, that's definitely like a cyborg. You know that. We should make one of those movies again. Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn't worked in enough time. He's he's still alive. He's got to be alive, right? Yeah, for sure. Remember when he had sex with his maid?
Stephanie 1:36:49
Remember when he went into politics?
Scott Benner 1:36:51
He was the governor of California. He didn't go into politics. He was the governor of California. Exactly. But yeah, but he like he thanked us made and made a baby. Did you know that? No. Yeah. He probably got that super sperm. Like your husband works right away. Oh my god. He's 75 Holy crap. I'm old. I am so old. This is the end. If he's 75 I've gotta be honest. 52. And his son thing is, is it Christopher? I think so. He's got a couple. I don't maybe it's Joseph. It'd be Christopher and Patrick are with the with the Kennedy. Mushy Kennedy. You're no help in this conversation. No idea. No, Maria Shriver. Isn't she a Kennedy somehow? Oh, yeah, her grandparents. Rose Kennedy. Joseph, you don't know anything about this. That's the closest we had to royalty in America and you don't even remember them. All right. Well, let's just stop this Stephanie. Because I feel like you and I together are a problem. All right, hold on a second.
I don't know that I can say this vociferous ly enough. Way to go Stephanie. Way to bring the stories. Thank you so much for coming on the show today and sharing. Also let's thank touched by type one and remind you about the big event coming up in September touched by type one.org Or you can find them on Facebook and Instagram. And of course that contour next meet or get them to contour next gen is waiting for you at contour next one.com forward slash juice box. You can buy it right there online if you like or go tell your doctor if you want it or whatever. Anyway, it's pretty long episodes. I'm gonna jump out of here. Don't forget to use the links if you're going to visit the sponsors. It really does help. Don't forget to find their private private Facebook group. That place is amazing. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast.
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