Scott Benner 9/1/23 Scott Benner 9/1/23

#989 Pecking Order

Kevin is 52 years old and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 45 years old.

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Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends and welcome to episode 989 of the Juicebox Podcast.

Today on the show, I was speaking with Kevin, he's a 52 year old. Kevin is 52 diagnosed at 45 with adult onset type one diabetes, and he tested negative for antibodies. And that's something Okay, he's healthy guy a hiker. He's blindsided by the diagnosis. He also has Raynaud's. And he farms his own chickens and pigs for food. I love this episode Kevin's terrific, you're gonna love it too. Arden calls in the middle of it. Don't think you hear her voice. What else? No, 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, or becoming bold with insulin. Don't forget to go to contour next.com forward slash juice box to get one of those contour meters and Second Chance test strips. use the offer code juicebox at checkout at cozy earth.com to save 40% off your entire order. And please find the private Facebook group for the Juicebox Podcast Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes on Facebook

this episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by us med you can get your diabetes supplies the same way we do from us med get your free benefits check now by calling 888-721-1514 Or go to us med.com. Forward slash juice box once again, that's us med.com forward slash juice box or 888-721-1514 Get your diabetes supplies the way we do from us med.

Kevin 2:04
My name is Kevin, I am an adult onset type one diabetic. I am antibody negative by a number of different tests. And a longtime listener first time caller.

Scott Benner 2:19
I don't think anybody's ever said that before. Well, okay, Kevin. So wait a minute. So how old were you when you were diagnosed?

Kevin 2:25
45

Scott Benner 2:26
Holy No.

Kevin 2:28
52 this year?

Scott Benner 2:30
Really? You look terrific. Well,

Kevin 2:33
thank you. Absolutely. I told the doctor, they had the wrong guy.

Scott Benner 2:38
I met you don't look like you're 52 or anywhere near and actually. But it is the it's the blessing of your hair staying dark. Yes, it really is. I have it to

Kevin 2:47
having a full head of IT. Yeah, lucky.

Scott Benner 2:51
People look at you. And they're like, What do you like? 40? And I'm like, Yeah, that's right. I'm 40.

Kevin 2:55
I'll take it.

Scott Benner 2:57
No problem. Sounds good to me. So you were born a year before I was. Okay. So what did you mean, you don't have any anybody's How have you been tested.

Kevin 3:06
So I don't remember the details it was seven years ago. But I remember having the standard antibody test. And I was antibody negative, which meant there were no antibodies present at the time of my diagnosis. The doctor or the endo said, Hey, there's another test that's more sensitive or more accurate or something. And I had that run. And that came back antibody negative again, and I want to say maybe a year later, they did it again just to check and see if anything had shown up.

Scott Benner 3:40
But they're very confident you're a type one.

Kevin 3:43
Yeah, body produces. You know, I had a little bit of a honeymoon period for a couple of years, but my body produces below the minimum recordable amount of insulin on the what is it the creatine test or whatever they do?

Scott Benner 3:56
See peptide. Yeah, sorry. Creatine, are you lifting for bulk as well? No. I'm not either. Was there any indication that something like this could have happened as far as like family history goes?

Kevin 4:11
I gotta tell you this really blindsided me and, and it's one of the reasons I wanted to come on the show because I felt so adrift and lost and clueless. So I really have no family history, a paternal great grandfather had what they called the sugars back, you know, at the turn of the last century. Yeah, right. Right. And that's the close and I have I have a cousin. That's a type one diabetic, but he has been since he was a kid. But other than that, like I've always been a really active person. I've always eaten better than most people. I know. I'm not like a food Nazi. But I always ate three squares. I always ate from the three food groups, right and I tend to be a runner hiker biker kind of person. I'm not you know triathlete obsessive person but I get my kicks and really enjoy staying active. I take the stairs two at a time I park as far away as I can walk everywhere. So

Scott Benner 5:11
at 45 Is it fair to say you hadn't been sick in your life much?

Kevin 5:15
Not with anything like this, I started getting some exercise induced asthma and my 30s and a little bit of Raynaud's because I'm an old Ice Climber. And I had froze my hands a couple of times. So two auto immune kind of things started popping up in my 30s. So yeah, this really hit me like a ton of bricks. I have no family history. I'm not like a soda or a junk food guy. Yeah, stay inactive. It was kind of crazy.

Scott Benner 5:42
And it's your I can tell by the way you're talking about your connection, like mentally to diabetes is around, like health and what you consume until this happens to you. And now I assume you think like, wow, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's autoimmune. So how about other autoimmune stuff in your family? Thyroid, celiac, stuff like that. So there is

Kevin 6:07
nothing, I think. I think there's a couple Yeah, my brother. No, my brother's good. My mom, I think has a slightly underactive thyroid, but that didn't happen until later in life for her.

Scott Benner 6:22
Did they ever tell her if hers was autoimmune? Do they call it Hashimotos?

Kevin 6:26
They did not know Hashimotos. And I don't remember her ever talking about it. Okay. I mean, the only the only the only other thing I could say is my dad got Alzheimer's, and I've heard that called diabetes type three, right? It's sort of an insulin resistance to the brain. I don't know how much that plays into things. Yeah. I

Scott Benner 6:46
mean, I've heard about it talked. I've heard about it talked about, like an inflammation issue too. So yeah, or so. It's there. It's just it's hard to see really. Now do you have children?

Kevin 6:58
I do. I'm proud dad for oh, my gosh.

Scott Benner 7:01
Well, your penis works on. All right. So

Kevin 7:06
well, if the first three were adopted,

Scott Benner 7:07
Oh, okay. Never. I'm sorry. I'm gonna be nevermind.

Kevin 7:13
It wasn't me. So they tell me but that's all right. That's

Scott Benner 7:15
interesting. You adopted three and then and then had one? Surprise Yeah. Oh, so it wasn't happening. You guys know what

Kevin 7:25
it was? And we kept getting pregnant, but it would never stick, honestly. And it was it was a tough road. And we thought we would always adopt but then we decided we need to adopt because we really wanted to be parents. You

Scott Benner 7:37
Oh, well. First of all, let me apologize for my snarky remark.

Kevin 7:42
It's funny. I get a kick out of it. That easy assumption to make right now. Yeah.

Scott Benner 7:46
Wow. That's interesting. So how old are your kids?

Kevin 7:49
I have the youngest is about to turn 11. I have twins that are 16. And my oldest just turned 18.

Scott Benner 7:57
Wow. Are the 18 is the 18 year old and the twins. Are they related? No, no. Okay. No. But the twins are definitely related.

Kevin 8:07
I'm just That's right. Our oldest was international adoption, and our twins were domestic adoption.

Scott Benner 8:14
Okay. Now, do you have your youngest tested for anybody's Have you thought about that? No. No. Okay. So I mean,

Kevin 8:23
we're, he's kind of young, we're certainly aware of it. And I think it's my wife works in the healthcare industry. She's a primary care kind of person, provider. And so I know she watches us, you know, health wise for all that kind of testing and so on. She's a big believer in early diagnosis.

Scott Benner 8:45
See you you mentioned at the beginning, then feeling adrift after all this happened. So I would like to hear about that.

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Kevin 11:28
Yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, for for about a year or so I just felt amazingly low energy which wasn't like me. Like I said, I tend to be a pretty high energy kind of go get him guy. excitable and all that. And I, I didn't know what was going on. We my wife would tell me I don't understand. You never want to do anything. You just want to sit on the couch. And I just remember being like, you know, maybe this is what people mean about getting old. This must be what the 40s is finally hitting me or you know what people talked about when once you turn 30 It's all downhill. I didn't know what people meant. Yeah. And, and so I started getting leg cramps, right? The billet waking me up at night, and I've run. I've paced people and ultra marathons in the desert. I know what leg cramps are. And I tried treating them with my normal little tricks have electrolytes and I'm always real good about hydrating and stuff. And they didn't go away after three, four weeks or waking me up. And I wake up in the morning feeling like I sprinted Hills all night long. I'm like, What is this? Yeah, and I went to the doc and they pulled some blood and they said, Wow, you know, your sodium is a little high. Your potassium is a little low or whatever, but they're within range. And, and what's crazy is your blood sugar. Your you got a 12.2 a one C? Oh my gosh. Yeah. And you need to go see the endocrinologist tomorrow?

Scott Benner 12:59
Yeah. Well, it's interesting. When you're a kid, they send you to the ER, and when you're an adult, they're like, just go find a doctor. Well, yeah,

Kevin 13:07
clearly if my once he was at high, had some high blood sugar for a little while. Yeah, you know, then things started making sense. You know, and initially, I was diagnosed as a type two because I wasn't antibody negative. And then I couldn't get like a CGM. I couldn't get a pump, and all that kind of stuff. So I changed then those and it did hit me hard, though. It was like what, you know, what did I do? I immediately thought I must have done something. Right. started trying to think about, you know, the hereditary side of things. Is it in my family somewhere that I haven't discovered? And that's when I heard about my great grandfather, but it was really. So I came home that night, the next day from the endocrinologist and I told my kids and I said, Hey, you know, this is weird, but I promise you pull up a chair and watch the movie, because I'm gonna kick diabetes ass. Alright, this is a challenge that I can manage, and, and overcome. So let's, you know, it's gonna be different for me, but then I remember for a while it would bug me like when the grandparents would give the kids the basket a candy when they showed up at their house. I'd be like, ah, what are they doing? And I grew up with like a scratch baking. Mom who worked in a third generation bakery, right? Miss my baked goods. And my wife's family was a they supply industrial bakeries. They ran a trucking company, right? She grew up baking and just she didn't get I tried to solve it. You know, nutritionally, I was like, Man, I'm gonna, I think I started on like, 12 units a day of like long acting insulin, and I do a little bit of meal time.

Scott Benner 14:57
That was the beginning. And you were where you are. limiting carbs,

Kevin 15:01
not not being they told you eat 30 grams a meal or something, I think is what I was told, right? I didn't, I knew enough about nutrition to understand what carbs were and what foods had them. I didn't understand sort of glycemic index and all that jazz. The way I do now,

Scott Benner 15:19
okay, when you sat the kids down, was it you just wanted to project? Like, don't worry about this? Or were you? Were you projecting it to them? Or were you projecting it for yourself? Like you don't? I mean, like,

Kevin 15:31
Yeah, good question. You know, honestly, with, with the three older kids being adopted, I didn't want them to feel like another parental figure was not going to be there in their life. And I think you're right part of it was also for me that I needed to kind of throw out the challenge and rise to the occasion.

Scott Benner 15:55
So how do you do? I mean, I don't know what kind of direction you got from your physician. But was it enough to get you going?

Kevin 16:04
Yeah, yeah. I mean, they taught me enough for the basics. And I wasn't getting the results I liked. I was like, Oh, this is kind of all over the map. I don't know how to do this. And I hadn't heard your podcast. Yeah. I was very sheepish about insulin. I was I was convinced that pump companies were, you know that the pharmaceutical industry did not have my best interests at heart, and that they were out there to just sell insulin and make a ton of money. And I still believe that to a certain extent. But I'm not quite as cynical about it. And, and so I was trying to minimize my insulin intake. And I started, I think I use the Zone Diet, because I heard that was a diet built to stabilize your endocrine system. And that was just like, always doing math always, like tons of nutritional research at every meal. It was arduous. So after about three or four months, keto had sort of started catching on, and I'm like, Oh, this is the answer. Why am I pouring gas on the fire? Okay, why don't I let the fire burn, but I don't need to add fuel to it. So I tried that. And that was cool. But that that was the hard part. Right? I never, that's when I started feeling really isolated, honestly. Because it was really this is, you know, six years ago, right? keto was was sort of a little bit of a blog thing. But it wasn't what it is nowadays. You couldn't find keto products at Costco or right. Yeah, you know, the supermarket or anything and, and I remember my wife looking at me, like you are crazy, and my endo telling me you know, you can't fast you're a diabetic you need to eat and it was just like, Man, this is bizarre.

Scott Benner 17:39
Yeah, definitely fast. That's yeah, I mean, if your insulin,

Kevin 17:43
you gotta know how you got to know how to do it, you can't give yourself insulin like you're going to eat. And then that's not the way I like to play.

Scott Benner 17:54
Take him. And you just said something that made me like, made me think about something I'd never thought about before. That, as an adult, you might look up and think, Oh, I see. Now I have diabetes, and the man is going to take advantage of me. And they're going to sell me their insulin and their pumps. And they're this and that. And I never, that's makes a lot of sense. And yet never occurred to me before that that would be a situation. But when you said it, I just thought I can see how someone would think that.

Kevin 18:25
I'll tell you a year into it. I was like, the ADEA is broken, modern endocrinology is broken, I can't believe they're telling me, this is such a terrible disease to have, feel bad for yourself, eat what you want, covered with insulin. And give you very little guidance around how to do that, right, like your podcast, not trying to plug you but I have to give you credit where credit is due. And it really helped me understand the basics of Pre-Bolus ng, it gave me the courage to be a little bold with insulin because you're like, man, unless you really mess up and give yourself like 50 units, you can always save yourself with a juice box. Right?

Scott Benner 19:06
Well, it just was pretty cool. No, I appreciate that. I think it's interesting that established lines of communication, establishment lines of communication, we'll say the first part that like, don't you worry, you just do whatever you like, don't change your life, like you can handle this with insulin, but then there's no second part that says, and this is how that happens. You know, they just they just say you can do it. And then knowing full well, by the way that most people are going to fail at it. When they're trying in the beginning. They don't know enough about it. Their settings are probably wrong. Like they're just they're too new at it to get it right. So you tell somebody, don't worry about it. You don't have to change anything about your diet. Just use insulin, but we're not going to tell you how to use insulin, then you have a failure and then there's a pathway you decide it's a fork in the road. Well, I'm either going to limit my carbs because that didn't work or I'm going I need to keep eating the way I was eating and just assume that well, this is just diabetes, my blood sugar is going to be high. It's just it's it's just interesting that they're willing to say so much of the first part of that statement, but not give you the rest of it. You don't I mean,

Kevin 20:12
yeah, I agree. It's, it's sort of a minimalist approach to the care that it takes to manage it. Well, they

Scott Benner 20:21
give you half the information. And it's the half that will hurt you if you don't understand the second half. But it won't hurt you right now to hurt you later. So that's not on them. But they won't tell you but they won't tell you how to Pre-Bolus. Because if you do it wrong and get really low, well, then you're gonna go back and say, well, the you know, this, these people told me to do this. And look what ended up happening to me. It's, it's half assed at best. So yeah, well, I'm glad it helps. So how do you find a podcast?

Kevin 20:48
Yeah, that's a good question. I can't remember where I heard about you guys, probably through Facebook or something. Okay. I honestly don't remember. I was listening to a lot of podcasts and stuff back then I might have heard your name through something else or a web search?

Scott Benner 21:05
What made you look for? I mean, what what roadblock Did you hit that you thought, well, I have to go find other people on Facebook or something like that.

Kevin 21:14
I live in a pretty rural part of the Northeast, I'll say, and, and so like, sounds like in our local system, there's a type two support group, you could join through the hospital. But there was really nothing for type ones. I didn't know any type ones. I felt totally like, Man, how do you do this? And I'm sort of a thirst for knowledge, kind of eternal student, mindset person. And so I was always hungry for knowledge, and figured out you know, that this is, I'm new at this, I gotta figure this out. I want to get better. You know, within six months, I think I had my one C down to five and a half. Well, and I generally, for the most part, keep it below six, right? Yeah. If I look at time and range stuff, I'm usually as far as the ADA standards. I'm I'm usually 90% range

Scott Benner 22:06
between 70 and 180.

Kevin 22:08
Yeah, exactly. And it takes a lot of work and vigilance. And it's like a part time job, you don't get a day off of the way I kind of see it. It's also made me a much healthier person. I'm super, super, you know, concerned with, I raise all my own meat. We Yeah, we raised our own pork chicken in Turkey. We have layer hens that give us eggs. And that's kind of fun. So I pay a lot of it's ate a lot of meat and vegetables, I still avoid carbs. I don't eat starchy vegetables are not much in the way of sugar. And I have to tell you in grains,

Scott Benner 22:49
I'm forever confused about how things come together. Yesterday, my interview was with a woman who owns a farm in Washington State. And, you know, cattle, pigs, chickens. And as she's saying that to me, I thought, Oh, that was interesting. No one's ever said that to me before. And 24 hours later, you're like, Well, you know, like, we raised our own poultry. I'm like, wait, what? How was that possible?

Kevin 23:16
Chicken are quick and easy. They're about 10 1011 weeks, and they're done. The pigs are about six months. I've never done beef because I don't. I'm pretty active in the winter. I love to snowboard. And when you want to grow beef big, you have to winter them and I don't want to spend my time mucking out stalls and taking care of

Scott Benner 23:33
doing all the big animals. Have you always done that? Like what else

Kevin 23:37
is new? Where I grew up in like the Metro New York area? I'm what you call a hobby farmer. I'm a Flatlander that moved to the mountains. And it's been about 10 years.

Scott Benner 23:47
Wow, that's crazy. So did you see when kids in the city and you moved everybody?

Kevin 23:53
We Yeah, we lived actually out in Utah for a while in the desert because there are bigger mountains out there and more snow and fun stuff and rock climbing and all that we moved back east to get closer to grandparents that we couldn't get to relocate. Right you spend all your disposable income visiting family and not vacationing, right? It's a different, right. So you came bearing fruit. So we came back and we're foodies. I'm married to. I'm married to a French Canadian, right? I'm Italian. It's like foods or religion in our house. And so I was at a friend's house and we had this chicken dinner. I was like, Damn, it's the best chicken I've ever had. Right? And it wasn't like the actual recipe. It was like, Man, this is like, tender, juicy and flavorful. And he's like, Yeah, we grow it. I'm like what? And he wasn't from like a farming background or anything. And I was like, wow, so I figured it out

Scott Benner 24:50
right now. My father would tell me that his dad worked at a place where at the end of the week, this is a long time ago. Obviously you if you were Well, that we your bonus was a live chicken on Friday. Wow. So my, my grandfather, who I'd never met would apparently come home, he tossed the chicken over the fence, like into the yard, and my grandmother would come out. And you know, these are not butcher it, they, she'd ring. She'd wring its neck and pluck it and make it. You know, my dad would tell me that, and we were just far enough removed. Like, I'm your age, I'd be like, I don't know what you're saying, man. Like, that's crazy. But it was like a regular part of his life. And so,

Kevin 25:34
I don't I do the butchering. I don't do the slaughtering. I hire a couple of people. I did slaughter my own pigs once or twice. It's a lot of work, honestly. And I'd rather be doing other things. So

Scott Benner 25:44
yeah, well, that's interesting. So you live in a place where you can have somebody come to your property to do it, or do you take the animals to them?

Kevin 25:51
You can do it either way. But I have people come to us and just take care of it.

Scott Benner 25:55
I'm fascinated by that. Okay. Alright, so how are you managing? What are you are using a pump? Um, yeah.

Kevin 26:02
So you know, thanks to you. Honestly, I found looping. Oh, no kidding. So I became a looper with the old Riley link with the little screw cap covers on him. Yeah. And then, so so that's what got me into the pumps, I found a diabetic educator that convinced me she's like, you might even be able to cut your insulin down with a pump. Because the long acting might, you know, my honeymoon was waning with the insulin production. So I started using this at the same time I found looping. So I'm like, I'm gonna do this. And all together. I got looping. And by then I the new, the new endo situation I was in, had classified me as a type one. She's like, you're just not producing insulin. So you might as well, I'm just gonna say you're type one. You're really a one and a half. Right?

Scott Benner 26:50
Did they use the word Lada? Yeah, they

Kevin 26:53
did. But yeah, so I've been looping ever since I'm on an orange link now. And I am just, I've been sort of off the reservation for a while, as far as looping goes for information. And I just realized, I got the email that the arrows is going away at the end of the year, they're not going to make it or whatever anymore. And I just learned that the what is it the dash, right means you don't need to carry the Reilly link or the orange line,

Scott Benner 27:22
you could you could get dash pods and loop three, and you'd be you'd be able to do it. That's what Arden's doing now.

Kevin 27:28
And I haven't updated my loop so long, because my, my Mac laptop got so old, it won't update to the new operating

Scott Benner 27:36
system. That way, you're gonna have to pack up the wagon and go into town and find another one.

Kevin 27:40
I have to well, you could I guess you could force update your Mac, it may run a little slower. But I've found that like I actually again, thanks to you, I hired Integrated diabetes to teach me how to use and set up my link. Really Riley in my looping because I didn't want to deal with it. I'm like, got too much going on. And for young kids and just life going crazy.

Scott Benner 28:04
And it was working. And it's working. Right. So yeah, it's

Kevin 28:07
working. Working. Great. Working. Great. Good. So I'm going to switch to the new loop three and the dash system and not have to carry the link around which will be nice. Yeah. And see how that goes. You know,

Scott Benner 28:20
you know, it's interesting, because you have a, you have a slower way of talking. So you're drawing me into your pace. And it's giving me more time to think about what you're saying. And this is probably more than you care about, about what's going on in my head. But there's a reason I'm telling you. I don't normally spend time thinking, oh, there's a guy and he has four kids and a wife, and he raises his own chickens. And his health is where it is partially because of something the podcast did. It's too heavy to think about. So I usually just roll through it. But I don't know there's something about the conversation with you that's allowing me to slow down and feel it and I'm having a much more like emotional response to what you're saying than I usually do. I'm usually just like, ah, yeah, that's great. Good for you. And we're happy. We're glad glad it helped, you know, I don't know what it is. Maybe also, I don't usually do video. So like looking at you is obvious, but like humanizing you more. And you know, yeah. And I'm and I'm sitting here and I'm like, Oh my gosh, like I did a thing and this guy's life is better. And it's just very it's I don't know how he's, I guess the only thing is I'm coming up with like, I'm having my having trouble. Like, you'd think that would be something I got past this is like the ninth year I've been doing this but

Kevin 29:38
yeah, I know. I look at a guy like you. I can remember hearing I think your podcasts I don't know, five years ago or whatever. When I started looping and you were like, I want to your taglines back then was like, I need you guys to do this so that I can stop doing this podcast. I forget exactly what you were saying. But

Scott Benner 29:58
well, yeah, you guys I'll figure it out, then I could stop doing this. And, but then more and more people came, you know, close to 300 people a week join the Facebook group. And they're just, it's just new people constantly, like coming in the podcast, it leapt up this, it's pretty consistent the way it happens, like you get a Well, not everybody does. But I get a surge in December. And then I get a leap in January. And so every year, it jumps up. But I swear to you that in 2023, I saw an increase of like, 3000 downloads a day, which is significant, you know what I mean? Like, just a Yeah, because I think what happens is, I think the end of the year comes in, everybody kind of gets into the holidays. And they say to themselves, like, I'm gonna like when the New Year hits the calendars a big part of how people help take care of themselves, which I know is obvious, because there's new year's resolutions. I never really believed in that till I saw how the podcast grows and where it grows. It's pretty interesting.

Kevin 31:01
I think, honestly, that's a historical thing. Right? Looking back, even even before New Year's resolutions, were saying, I think there were just celebrations at the end of the year that created feasts. Yeah, yeah. And there was tough times of the year when people were scrounging

Scott Benner 31:18
it's like, Hey, we got through, now it starts again. Now it's time for me to address things. So anyway, long way of saying, I don't see how I can possibly stop making the podcast. Apparently, I'm gonna have to make it, you know, right up until the end. But I enjoy it a lot. So that's fine. And we do find new things to talk about, like, I got a little behind on content for Jenny. So Jenny, and I are we're making a new series. So I don't want to start putting it out till I have enough of it where I know I won't miss a week. Right? So so I didn't have like a management kind of episode this week. And I contacted Erica, she's the therapist that comes on who has type one? And I said, Hey, can you come on and talk about guilt and shame. I have this post in the Facebook group where people have been really open about how they've experienced that, let's go through those. And so we recorded that yesterday, I put it up last night, which is not the norm for me. And this morning, there's a gentleman in there talking about like a revelation he had from listening to that, and it's just Oh, it's just very interesting to see that you're there are other ways to help people with diabetes that aren't necessarily, you know, Pre-Bolus thing and that kind of stuff.

Kevin 32:28
You know, I have to tell you, bringing up guilt and shame that I was certainly full of that, right? Because you feel like you're failing on your mission. If you throw yourself out there to your kids, I'm gonna take care of this and then you're not getting the results you want or you don't know what to expect. Right? I'll tell you one of the biggest things that helped me was stumbling into that diatribe organization. Sure. Right, and that Adam Brown had put that book out for free the variables book right yeah. Oh my word that so many so many pieces to that. I felt like how is every endo in the world not handing people this book? When you go in Bright's, why am I getting that silly food values book? I first get diagnosed

Scott Benner 33:19
he took him It took me a minute to come up with it. But Adam's book is called bright spots and landmines. That's right, right. And he's a type one he's been on the program he wrote the book and diatribe distributes it for free. I think

Kevin 33:32
they used to be amazed if they still didn't think you had to pay like four bucks for shipping on what did it I'm looking at right now. Really helpful. You know,

Scott Benner 33:41
free PDF on Amazon for six bucks Kindle for to listen to an audiobook audiobook free on diatribe or purchase it on Audible Amazon or iTunes. You they I mean are obviously motivated to just put it in people's hands. A same thing for Canadians, UK, Australia. There's links here diatribe.org gets right at the top.

Kevin 34:01
Yeah, that and reading, you know, just read them on their daily or whatever, their weekly email, there's always good inspiration that they've put out. But that book, more than anything, I think really helped me deal with some guilt and shame issues around it. That's excellent.

Scott Benner 34:16
Yeah, he loved to know that. That organization is run by some really smart people.

Kevin 34:22
I emailed him and thanked him and I even got like a list. I was like, I'm gonna try and help you put your book out there. I mean, do I can build email campaigns email and though offices and tell them about this resource. I you know, I started evangelizing it as best as I could.

Scott Benner 34:39
That's lovely. What do you do for a living like what kind of

Kevin 34:42
work? I am a corporate recruiter. Okay.

Scott Benner 34:45
So, you know,

Kevin 34:46
I was I was an old traveling sales reps in the outdoor industry for a long time. And when when the family started getting bigger, I needed to get off the road and I found recruiting

Scott Benner 34:57
so you know how to reach people digitally, and Yeah, it's not as easy as people think. No.

Kevin 35:05
It's usually a numbers game. There's a little bit of persuasion.

Scott Benner 35:09
Yeah. Yeah, with luck. I get cold emails all day long about everything. And there are we

Kevin 35:18
all we all do this you live in a cave for that life. I want

Scott Benner 35:21
to be on your podcast, I want to, I'm a coach, I have this, I have this, I want to sell it like I gotta get on. Do you? Can you? Can I have an ad? Can I do this? Here's what I want to sell. Like, it. Just it's and my point is that there are moments when I'm deleting No, man, I'm like, I feel bad for these people. Like, I know how hard they're trying and then and but you're just like, well, this isn't right. I don't even have time to tell them that. And then if you do tell them that they take that as like, like a crack in the doors. Then they come back and they sell you again. I'm like, Oh, God, I was just trying to be polite. Alright, I'll stop that. But no, that's so did you have any luck doing that like contacting officers didn't

Kevin 36:00
get far down the road. I was in between jobs on I had reached out to and I didn't get too far. I mean, with with all the all the endo people I brushed up against I think they were really excited about it. They had heard about it but didn't, you know, like you they get assaulted with a million promotional approaches people come here to hear my dear My take on it. And what a difference it made to me was was really I think

Scott Benner 36:32
it's personal. Yeah. i People say to me all the time, like you should get the Pro Tip series or the bulb beginning series and the like doctors hands on, like, you've you know how to do that. Go ahead and do that. I think I've come away understanding is that you mentioned, it's a bit of a numbers game. And you know, I believe in the rule of 10s. Now that I have a podcast a lot, you know, you've got to reach 100 people to get 10 people to click to get one person like that, I believe in more than anything, but also just that things are are spread most effectively by real people telling another person about it. It's just, it's just the way it works. So I don't think there's a shortcut where I think everybody would be everybody's business would be amazing. And everybody would be rich if there was a shortcut to spreading information. So anyway,

Kevin 37:15
yeah, absolutely. Well, I have to say another thing that brought me huge comfort was when I first got the CGM. I remember after like a week with that thing, I got a Dexcom. I think it was a G five, then I can't remember. And I'm on the sixth now. And I was just like, why isn't everybody given one of these upon diagnosis? This is the most educational piece of equipment in the world. Like it's almost, I was pricking my finger like 10 and 12 times a day. It's like you're creating biohazard blood, like, you know, like, this is disgusting. Who wants to be near me? Right? Like, this is crazy. And you know, I'm just trying to figure out what, what makes my stuff go up or down or sideways? Yeah,

Scott Benner 38:02
yeah, the finger sticks are like when you need an accurate number. There's nothing better than an accurate meter. But sure, you're just sticking throughout the day, you're trying to imagine what a puzzle looks like, and you've got 10 of the 100 pieces of it. And it just, it just ends up being more confusing. Right? You know, because then you see, shadows, you're like, why don't I was 180 here, and I'm 70 over here. And then you make assumptions about what happened in between? And you really have no idea. So yeah, it's tough. Well, I mean, cost is obviously, and the way the healthcare system set up, right, but I think you're right, like just from an intellectual perspective, like, somebody should say to you, oh, my God, you have diabetes, this meter that you attach to your body, this glucose monitor, and that should be the conversation right there. It's going to show you what's happening. And over time, we're going to learn how food and insulin impacts you. And we're gonna make adjustments based on this information. Nothing more important than this. And instead, it's anything but so, you know, for most people.

Kevin 39:03
Yeah. I mean, it proves to me like when I don't get enough sleep, how much more insulin resistant I was, I was suspicious of that. I had heard about it, but then you see the numbers and you can Are you and there are days that I'm stressed. I have a lot going on or whatever, right? Yeah. times in my life. When I'm more stressed out, I can easily track the insulin resistance. I'm like, oh, yeah, look at that. I gotta hit it harder.

Scott Benner 39:26
I think it's interesting for people to hear it spoken about, simply that way to just the idea of, like, you know, I don't know what happened. You know, you hear people say all the time, like, I did the same thing I did yesterday, and now today is different, but they don't see everything. Like for instance, yesterday, I slept eight hours and today I slept five hours or today, I'm afraid that you know, we're all gonna go broke and die because I can't afford that. Um, you know, work is stressful and you know, all the stuff that comes with it. And then you see a 40 point rise in your blood sugar. And, you know, I don't bet See, it's brilliant. Why are you able to figure all this out? Like, what is it about how your brain works that leads you to making these like leaps, and then trusting them because I think other people see this stuff, but they don't. Sometimes they don't put it into practice, or they don't believe it. I don't know the way to say that exactly.

Kevin 40:17
My wife told me early on, and the longer I've sort of been saddled and been a type one, I get, she said, You know, I don't think you understand how lucky you are. You've got resources, right? I'm not eternally wealthy, but I'm a middle class guy, and I've got decent insurance, and I'll pay the piper for the rest of it. And then I understand, I've always been sort of a closet nutritionist, and I've always been sort of a little bit fascinated by that. And I've always been into my lifestyle. As far as being active. One of those continual improvement, kind of, nothing's ever good enough personality. You're always trying to problem solve and make something 1% Better somehow or another?

Scott Benner 41:05
Yeah. Well, I think that for me, it's, I'm obviously was motivated by my daughter's health, but at the same at the same time, I'm not good at just like, well, I guess this is good enough. Like, I don't I don't have a, I don't think I have a mechanism that stops me and just says, you know, sit down now it's okay. You know, we

Kevin 41:25
could take the next year off. Yeah, we

Scott Benner 41:27
got three quarters of the way there. Let it be.

Kevin 41:30
I've touched a million people I skip, skip it. I just mean

Scott Benner 41:33
even in like in her in her personal life, like, you know, you have a problem and you get like, oh, like when I saw the a one see when she was little, almost touched nine. And then we got it from eight to seven. Like I didn't see seven ago I did it. I was like, Well, were six. And then, you know, when I saw six, I was like, well, where's five? Right? Obviously, what we're doing is working like, let's just keep tightening the screws and see what you know, see what we can make happen here. Whereas I think, Amy, you mentioned you know, like institutions, the other you know, recently too, like if an institution tells you a sevens okay, then you get to a seven you go good. I'm done. Yeah, that's it. You know,

Kevin 42:11
another thing that I had a big influence on me was I bumped into that Dr. Bernstein book, I forget the title of it, right. But he's a guy that sort of instilled in me, you know what? I might be type one. But I have every right and every ability to normalize my blood sugar. Right? Like, there's never been a better time. There's so much technology. I mean, there's ice cream that tastes like ice cream. Chocolate that tastes like chocolate. The sweeteners are better, right? Like, the technology can inform you, it can take care of you while you're asleep. I mean, there's so many, but I was like, I believe diabetics can normalize their blood sugar. Some of us it's harder than others, for sure. But it can be done. Right. You know, that's kind of my mission. Well, I'll

Scott Benner 43:02
tell you, early on making the podcast what, what I felt like I saw more than anything, was that I had to get the information to people. And they needed to hear it without hitting some sort of a roadblock that would make them say, we'll forget this. You don't I mean, like, and I hear and I chose the idea of understand how to use insulin, and you could probably Bolus for almost anything that is does not mean I think you should like eat a half a gallon of ice cream tonight when you're like I'm gonna have an after dinner snack. Like I don't eat does not mean that I think you should have nachos and burgers and you know, fry it and live and live off of it. Yeah, and live off it constantly. I think what it what it means to me in my heart is you have a burger, like an throw some fries with it. That's great. Not every day like like, you know, like once in a while. And so I think I got, I think in some people's minds, I was the guy saying, eat whatever you want. And here's how you Bolus for it. Which is what I'm saying.

Kevin 44:06
That wasn't that wasn't your tenant though. No, no, no, it was just

Scott Benner 44:09
understand how to use insulin. But some people take it as well. I can eat whatever I want. And you can by the way, but there are going to be there's retribution coming if you decide to eat in an unhealthy way constantly. And so when people I think there are some people listening to podcasts, who would have heard you say, Oh, I read Dr. Bernstein's book or probably thought like, oh, Scott's probably gonna say something that I don't give it. Like, if you want to eat low carb. I think that's, that's amazing. You know what I mean? Like, whatever works for you. But let's not lie to ourselves about what's working. That's all. Like, if it's working, it's working. But, you know, if you're, if you eat a giant pancake at IHOP and your blood sugar's 350 for five hours afterwards, then that's not working.

Kevin 44:52
You know, it wasn't because he didn't sleep last night. Yeah, right, right.

Scott Benner 44:55
And don't get me wrong. I can Bolus for IHOP I don't know when the last Some I've been there is but like, I could figure it out. And maybe maybe everyone else could to just don't settle for less than healthy and use some sort of excuse to make it okay.

Kevin 45:13
Yeah, I'm with you. What I figured out from sort of your messaging was you kept it so sort of elegantly simple was like, it's timing and amount. Right? If you read Adam Brown's book landmines, right, there's a million he's got whatever 42 factors affect blood sugar, which is great for inquiring minds want to know that. But when you simplify it, the two things, right? Most people can digest that they can figure out alright, well, I take a little more I take a little less, or I take it earlier. Alright, take it later. Yeah. What what do I do when I do take it later earlier? Kind of, it's my

Scott Benner 45:53
expectation that you can't just say, like, I'm sure that I could sit down and come up with a list of things. And if you did all of these things, you would have considered every possibility, but that's just not how this works. You know, they mean, like, can you imagine like unfurling like a, like a scroll at the, oh, you know, what this could be? I did have a cold last week, like, you know, you're getting so,

Kevin 46:17
right, right, you'd have some giant matrix of different influences on your blood sugar, right? So

Scott Benner 46:23
you put the things into the podcast, and so that hopefully, people sort of pick them up, almost unknowingly. And so that when they get into a situation, maybe it occurs to them, and they go, oh, you know what this could be I'm not hydrated, or like, you know, whatever, it ends up being like, I don't know, I'm stressed out, or blah, blah, blah. I just, I want to say, I want to say the things enough times, in enough different ways that as many people as possible have an opportunity to absorb it come away with something that will help them. So I don't know. Hopefully, that helps. Because you've said a couple of things in your conversation, that I was like, oh, that's important. And I hope people hear that. But I mean, if I if I got you, if I got a hold of you, and I said, Hey, Kevin, just come on for five minutes. Tell me all the important things, you know, you wouldn't write couldn't do the conversations, what leads to it? You know, so, anyway, how do I let's say I want to have a chicken and I want it to give me eggs. Is that the thing I can accomplish in my life?

Kevin 47:23
Easy. It's easy. It's so strange, right? So get this chickens are born with every egg they're ever gonna lay. It's all about how quick you squeeze it out of them. No kidding. They need a certain amount of daylight to do it. Okay, right. So if I don't have where I live is pretty far north. And so if I don't have enough daylight hours, I have to put a light source on farm. And it doesn't take much. There's you know, like even Hank Williams said, Oh, my cells, backyard. You know, backyard coops you could build a coop no bigger than a dog house. You know, each chicken lays roughly an egg a day and they're good for three to five years as far as mine.

Scott Benner 48:01
My neighbors aren't going to hate me. Not unless

Kevin 48:04
you unless you have like 20 or 50 of them, right? They don't smell that bad. They'll scratch around your lawn. We have a bunch of dogs. We love animals. We have three dogs, and three cats. They eat all the insects like we basically stopped getting fleas and ticks.

Scott Benner 48:19
No kidding. Kevin, what

Kevin 48:20
about ticks especially? Yeah,

Scott Benner 48:21
Arden's calling me and she's got to go to urgent care for something. Give me a second. I apologize. Hold on. Hey, how are you? I am but I'm paused. What do you need? There's a church across the street, apparently, where you can park. You might have to go around a big block and come back again. Just keep Alright, so put it back in your nav and follow it again. Okay, and there's no street parking. Then let's find the church address for you. Because maybe that'll help you get to it. Okay, and there's a church there and you can't just turn into it. To take your time. Okay. All right. All right. I'll be done recording probably like 20 minutes. Okay. Go get checked in. By. Sorry, Arden has. She's an art school. And she's been drawing for like a week straight. And she woke up yesterday and her neck was really stiff and her shoulder was stiff. And she's like, it was bad, but it was okay. And she's like this morning I woke up and it feels like there's a rock in my shoulder and I can't turn my head and we're like, alright, well, you might need like a muscle relaxers, something like that to help you out. So this is her going to urgent care for the first time on her own. And she's not good at street parking. So she's like, there's no street parking. I can't turn my head and the place across the street. They said we could park at the church I can't figure out how to get into and then just all of a sudden she goes oh wait, I'm in. I almost killed everybody. But I'm in here now. I'm like okay, she's having it now.

Kevin 49:54
It is it is beautiful to hear your little tales. I almost feel Like I've heard her grow up a little bit listening to the podcast for years. Right? And that's strange having an 18 year old, I totally get it. Yeah, it's they call you and they're like, What do I do?

Scott Benner 50:11
And it's this morning, the text comes this morning, Hey, are you guys awake? And I said, I am. Are you checking on us? And she goes, Oh, my neck hurts. And we're like, in that feeling, Kevin, like, she's, like, 13 hours away. She's like, you know, I know she can handle this, like, she'll be okay. But she's never had to before. So she's working that out too. And, and that, that horrible feeling of like, Oh, if I was there, I can help her. And so, you know, I've just been trying to walk her through it. And I actually had a moment this morning where I thought, I felt kind of grateful. Like, it's interesting. I have no, I have no religious background, but I'll talk. Like, you'll, you'll hear me talk and think that I must. But I felt really grateful this morning that just all this technology existed in regards to like communication, like how quickly we were able to talk to each other. And then, you know, if texting wasn't adequate, we could look at each other. And like, you know, it's just really, it's a big deal. Like, because it 15 years ago, my parents would have said, or excuse me, all those years ago, when I was Arden's age, my parents would have been like, I don't know, figure it out. Right? I don't know what to tell you. Get an Amen. Now. It's like, oh, do this. There's a place up the street, you can go,

Kevin 51:25
let me look on Google Maps, I see that green sign over there on the right, exactly the Street View, and

Scott Benner 51:31
she goes, but that they don't take insurance. I said, that's fine, just pay cash, and we'll submit it to the insurance later. And even that, like being able to say that is a big deal. You know, so, anyway, she's gonna be fine, but it's,

Kevin 51:45
it's like they need they need to figure some stuff out.

Scott Benner 51:49
Oh, 100% Oh, my God, that one, cuz that's the other side of all this is that this stuff can make everything so easy. That nobody knows how to like, get into a scrap and, you know, throw some hands with life and get through it. You know, it's been very good. I was even happy. I miss my son a lot. But I'm happy that he moved out because he's, he's having experiences and figuring things out,

Kevin 52:12
spread his wings and learn how to fly on his own. So

Scott Benner 52:15
what it is right now speaking of learning how to fly the chicken won't fly away. So that I don't know worry about but I do need a offense.

Kevin 52:22
Yep, you need a fence dairy, your fence needs to be about four feet high. I wouldn't put a rail on top of it because they'd like to perch and they'll fly up to the rail, okay. And they scratch around and they pack all the stuff eight little leafy green things and they eat little critters. And they fertilize, right, so you'll have beautiful green grass.

Scott Benner 52:42
That's it. And I get a free egg. Once did that. Yeah, that's right. That's right. All right. I'll do it. It's fun. What do I buy a chicken? Chickens are us that's not a thing, right? Does Amazon have them?

Kevin 52:52
There are places that mail order the chicks, you have to raise them or you go to like, if you Google feed store, I don't know where you live in. more rural areas have feed stores. If you have tractor supplies near you. That kind of store typically has like spring chicks that they sell. And they're only a couple of bucks each and you buy a little. You buy a bag of feed for them and you have a water and that's it. You feed water and make sure they got a heat lamp when they're little for a couple of weeks. And they

Scott Benner 53:21
can live in the cold in the winter and all that. Yeah, they don't need a living room or carpets or anything like that.

Kevin 53:28
No, though. I have a wood chip floor for them. They live in a barn. That's amazing. All right. Yeah. You gotta get your eggs sooner. Right? If it's gonna be below zero, you better go pick those eggs up before dinner. They're gonna free solid because they stopped laying on them. And then they go to roost.

Scott Benner 53:45
Oh, no kidding. And they're gonna like pull out their feathers and go crazy ever because I don't know what to do. If that happens.

Kevin 53:51
I don't keep roosters. roosters are the bosses. They tend to create what they call a pecking order. And they'll pick the less desirable ones. So I just keep a bunch of females around and just that's how we do it

Scott Benner 54:07
just occurred to me. I know what Tractor Supply is because of Yellowstone. Do you watch Yellowstone? Cool? I do not. They do not. Tractor Supply seems to be the biggest add supporter of Yellowstone. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, that's interesting. Because you said Tractor Supply. And I'm like, I know what that is. But why don't I know what that is? Alright, it's fun. So Kevin, is there anything we haven't talked about that we should have?

Kevin 54:30
I don't know. I think we covered a lot of ground. I was just like I said, really grateful for what what you've done and shared with the world and how much it's made a difference to me and I just wanted to be part of that. Give back a little bit.

Scott Benner 54:43
It was very kind of you. I appreciate it. I find it in the end. Most people want to come on and just to spread what they've learned or what they've been through. And it's just it's really valuable. So I appreciate you taking the time to do it. Thank you.

Kevin 54:55
You bet, man. You bet. Hold on one sec. Thanks again.

Scott Benner 54:57
Oh, no, it's my good work is my My pleasure. Hold on one second.

About Kevin coming on and giving us that great interview. Thank you so much, Kevin. And thank you, us med for sponsoring this episode of The Juicebox Podcast once again 888-721-1514 or us med.com. Forward slash juicebox. Whether you use the phone number or the link, you're going to reach people. We're waiting for you Juicebox Podcast listeners to contact them. Don't let them just sit there wallboard. 888-721-1514. For us med.com forward slash juice box. If you're interested in what's going to happen on episode 1000s of the podcast, stay tuned.

I've been using an editor for the podcast recently. It just got so far behind and I found the perfect fit with a really professional, great person, somebody who's involved with type one diabetes, and just a great fit does wonderful work. Anyway, I was talking to rob one day. And I said, Is there anything you could do about the horrifying audio in some of the Pro Tip series actually, like the first 15 or 20 episodes are kind of janky. And Rob did an amazing job on them. So for Episode 1000, we're going to rerelease the Pro Tip series, the diabetes Pro Tip series from the Juicebox Podcast, starting in Episode 1000. And I'm gonna put them out in order 1001 23456 all the way up, there's 26 of them. Now I know what you're thinking, Scott, you're gonna release the podcast 26 days in a row like that. I'm not. But I do want to keep the episodes together, numerically. So what I'm going to do is starting with Episode 1000, I think for the first week, you'll get the first four or five episodes of The Pro Tip series depending on how the calendar lines up. And then when we get to the weekend, I'm going to put out all of the episodes over the weekend. So if we get out, you know, the first four then the next 21 are going to come like every couple of hours over the weekend, fill up your podcast player, you can listen to them or don't listen to them. But the idea is that in the future when people are trying to find them, and we're referencing where they are, there'll be together episode 1000 Episode 1026 Is the diabetes Pro Tip series. Anyway, the audio is way way improved. It's Rob's a magician. I think you're gonna love it. If you've listened to the Pro Tip series already. I'll tell you what listening through again, is never a bad idea. I listen to them. Sometimes. They remind me about stuff. And if there's a person in your life who you've been thinking about telling about the podcast, this might be a really terrific time to introduce them. Once there was a time when I just told people if you want a low and stable a one C, just listen to the Juicebox Podcast. But as the years went on, and the podcast episodes grew, it became more and more difficult for people to listen to everyone. So I made the diabetes Pro Tip series. This series is with me and Jenny Smith. Jenny is a Certified diabetes Care and Education Specialist. She's also a registered and licensed dietitian and a type one herself for over 30 years and I of course, am the father of a child who was diagnosed at age two in 2006. The Pro Tip series begins at episode 210 with an episode called newly diagnosed are starting over and from there all about MDI Pre-Bolus Singh insulin pumping, pumping and nudging variables exercise illness, injury surgeries glucagon long term health bumping and nudging how to explain type one, two, your family postpartum honeymoon transitioning all about insulin Temp Basal. These are all different episodes, setting your Basal insulin, fat and protein pregnancy, the glycemic index and load and so much more like female hormones and weight loss. Head now to juicebox podcast.com. Go up in the menu at the top and click on diabetes pro tip. Or if you're in the private Facebook group, there's a list of these episodes right in the feature tab. Find out how I helped keep my daughter's a one C between five two and six two for the last 10 years without diet restrictions. If you have type two or prediabetes that type two diabetes Pro Tip series from the Juicebox Podcast is exactly what you're looking for. Do you have a friend or a family member who is struggling to understand their type two and how to manage it? This series is for them seven episodes to get you on track and up to speed. Episode 860 series intro 864 guilt and shame episode eight six Denine medical team 874 fuelling plan, Episode 880 diabetes technology episode 85 GLP ones metformin and insulin and an episode 889 We talk about movement. This episode is with me and Jenny Smith. Of course, you know Jenny is a Certified diabetes Care and Education Specialist. She's a registered and licensed dietitian and Jenny has had type one diabetes for over 30 years. Too many people don't understand their type two diabetes, and this series aims to fix that. Share it with a friend or get started today. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast.

#988 Diabetes Myths: You Have the Bad Kind

A brand new series examining the myths surrounding diabetes.

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

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, and welcome to episode 988 of the Juicebox Podcast.

Jenny Smith and I are back today with another diabetes myth episode today we're going to discuss the myth that there's a good and bad kind of diabetes. 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 healthcare plan or becoming bold with insulin. If you'd like to hire Jenny, she works at integrated diabetes.com Set diabetes for 35 years she's a dietician a CTE, she's wonderful, you'll hear integrated diabetes.com Speaking of good deals, use my link drink ag one.com forward slash juice box. And when you do, your first order will come with a free year supply of vitamin D, and five free travel packs of 81. You can use the offer code juice box at checkout at cozy earth.com to save 40% off of your entire order. And if you go to us med.com forward slash juicebox you'll be getting a special link just for Juicebox Podcast listeners. And you can get started with us med Alright, let's get to the show shall we?

This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by touched by type one. Now touched by type one is a fantastic organization helping people with type one diabetes. And their big event is coming up on September 16. I will be speaking a number of times that day at the event as will Jenny touched by type one.org. And I believe there are still tickets available. The tickets by the way are completely free. Touched by type one.org. Head over there now. Get some seeds come out and says today's podcast is also sponsored by the contour next gen blood glucose meter contour next.com forward slash juicebox. Get yourself an accurate meter. Get yourself the contour next gen. Jenny Hey, how are you?

Jennifer Smith, CDE 2:20
I'm great. How are you?

Scott Benner 2:21
I'm ready to do another diabetes myth. This one is that you have the bad type. Oh, okay, let's figure out what this means.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 2:31
I'd also like to know what the good type is. Oh, great. I'll take that guy.

Scott Benner 2:35
I think the good type is the opposite of the bad type. There you go. Isn't it fascinating how people want to compare things? Right? It's everything is a comparison, if you have this kind of diabetes, and that person has that kind of diabetes, one of them must be better than the other one. Let's figure out which, by the way, I'm going to skip to the end for you. And neither of them are gonna type it. But let's find out what because you

Jennifer Smith, CDE 3:01
have to choose I guarantee 100% of people would be like, No, I'm not gonna choose either. Thank you for giving me an option. Yeah, I

Scott Benner 3:09
don't want either of them. Thank you. Okay, people ask me all the time. Do I have the good diabetes or the bad diabetes? And the next person says, so type one. Is that the good one or the bad one. So now people with diabetes are like, Well, which one do I? I didn't know. Okay, now. Oh, you're a type one. That's the bad kind, right? Because you can't have sugar. I could never do that. I hate needles. That's a whole quote from somebody.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 3:41
That one just drives me especially when it comes from. I've had a lot of parents who have actually brought that up, you know, where a friend or somebody has said, Well, you know, good for you. I'm so glad that you can do that. I totally, I couldn't take that needle. Or I, I couldn't do that to my child. I'm like, Well, you know what, you worked really hard, hard to have this wonderful little person in life. I guarantee that if they said that you had to like jam a needle into the kid's brain every day to live. You would do it. Yeah. Yeah. Right. I mean, you would

Scott Benner 4:14
do exactly what everyone else does go into a private room, go like this for a second. And then walk out and do it. Like and then Shaklee shuts your mouth and get going. My boss said to me, Oh, you have the bad kind of diabetes. And this person is a type one. And they said the first thing that popped in my head was Oh, I thought I had the good guy. And he goes I'm just kidding. But that's a thing somebody like just felt comfortable saying to them. When I was misdiagnosed as a type two, the doctor said at least it's not the bad kind.

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Jennifer Smith, CDE 7:01
And I wonder if that comes from comes from the idea that maybe type two is still seen as the potential of lifestyle management where it doesn't include medication or injections or pomp or what appears to be more work than someone with type, right type one versus type two. But we know enough today to say that both of them can be very difficult to navigate. Both of them include really hard things to learn about managing and navigating this kind of medication versus that kind, you know, food and life variables, they cross over from type one to type two. So again, we all know there's not one good and one bad type. But

Scott Benner 7:56
I'll say this too. And this is where it becomes really dangerous. If these are physicians saying this to you, then their expectation is if I'm sussing through all this correctly, if you don't have to take insulin, then it's better. Except I just got done editing an episode that's going to go up soon with a type two, it's going to just be called type two stories, Nancy, and in and Nancy is 58. And she's had type two for a very long time. And what we figured out while we were talking was that if a decade or more ago, someone would have given Nancy insulin, her life would have been significantly better. Right? Probably and and just her story went that way, right? But if a doctor is thinking, that whole thing, like if you're not shooting insulin, it's not as bad, then that's why I think at times, you get the idea from people that using insulin is giving up when you have type two. Like don't give up and use insulin. Do another sit up, have another watercress salad, you know, like, like, be miserable for another year, don't lose any weight and have your a one C not go anywhere. And then I'll just tell you it's diet and exercise when it's over. All right. Yeah, I think that's maybe the biggest problem that comes out of this that I mean, besides saying to somebody, Oh, do you have the good kind or the like, can you imagine going up to somebody and saying cancer? Did you get the good one or the bad one? Like no, it's cancer. Thanks. Yeah.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 9:19
It's almost it's that's not a terrible comparison. Because as we know, today, there are many cancers that are more likely respond to treatment and more likely to definitely, completely, you know, deal with and navigate and you end up on the other side without cancer any longer, right. And then there are cancers that are more difficult, but if you look at the broad scope of cancer, like cancer is crap.

Scott Benner 9:46
Yeah. The way I feel like it's like if I had a car if you and I were in a car together and we had an accident, and I broke my leg into places and you broke your arm in one place, would someone stick their head in the car and go Oh, you got the good brake and He got a bad break. I mean, we're all we're all in the same goddamn car accident. Again, this is terrible, thank you, it doesn't need to be judged against itself, which is, which is really over and over again, what pops up in some of these episodes is just people's desire to make something bigger than the other thing faster than the other thing worse than the other thing like it just play, I gotta look into that. Is there like a real like, psychological thing that people? Why do people want to make comparisons all the time, I'm sorry, you talk like,

Jennifer Smith, CDE 10:29
Oh, I was actually going to say use, you just mentioned the mental component. And I was going to bring up the fact that what they're looking at from an outside perspective of not having lived with it, is the idea that again, type two may look, quote unquote easier, because they see less technology in use, they see less rules, so to speak in management, than somebody who has the pump or the insulin pen or the injections to do or you see them doing a finger stick or whatever it might be. But the mental management of diabetes in general, is not easier in either capacity. It's not easier in either case. Right? So I think that's a misunderstanding, again, from the general public of easy versus hard. diabetes is a struggle.

Scott Benner 11:25
Yeah. Well, listen, my brother has type two diabetes. And until recently, he has been doing everything a doctor has been telling him and it's not going anywhere for him. And it's been incredibly frustrating, and difficult, and all the things that you would consider. I mean, you could apply to type one, like I've heard people with type one, say the same things that he said, Just because he doesn't need insulin, or I don't know, he can't get low, you know, it doesn't mean that it's not a horrible struggle for for somebody else. Right, by the way here that I'm going to, I'll talk to Erica about this and one of the Mental Health ones, because I think that this comparison thing, it needs to be looked into a little bit. So I mean, not that it's, you know, a great surprise. But, you know, there's a lot of research here from psychological institutions about why people compare themselves and other things to each other. And

Jennifer Smith, CDE 12:18
I think that would be a great conversation with her. Honestly,

Scott Benner 12:21
I'm gonna do that. Anyway. Neither of you have the bad kind of diabetes. And both of you had the bad kind of diabetes. I mean, like you, if you're just pregnant, if you just get gestational for a few months, and you make a baby and boom, it goes away. Right? Did you not have a bad kind of diabetes?

Jennifer Smith, CDE 12:43
100% 100%, you had a kind, that still meant that your pregnancy experience was shifted in a way that it would not have done. So for that duration of time, you had a lot more to navigate and take care of does that make it the better kind? Because technically, for the majority of women, it does go away. Post delivery? Yes. Again, just a it's just a crappy thing to say to somebody. Just don't say it. What was your

Scott Benner 13:15
lips? You and I talked before we started recording, I'm gonna fold in something we said into here. Sure. So we were talking about you know, people having different issues and finding fixes for them, maybe a supplement or something that they could take that really helped them. And we started kind of philosophizing between each other about why some people bemoan that, oh, I have to take this every day now. And why some people think, Oh, my God, I found an answer to my problem. Right, like, and so I think that's kind of like that mindset is important to add into this episode, because you have diabetes, type one type two, lot of just it doesn't matter. You have diabetes, to think of it in any way, shape, or form as the bad kind, I think is, is not good for you

Jennifer Smith, CDE 14:08
know, from a mental standpoint. No, it always makes you feel like as you said, I take a supplement to help with this problem. Oh, my gosh, I have to take the supplement. My My opinion is, gosh, I take supplements for things. I'm glad I found something that works. I'm like, great. I'll take the supplement exam to deal with whatever this was, right?

Scott Benner 14:28
Because the the alternative is to say, and you and I, we talked about this earlier, like I don't know where this idea comes from. But people expect perfection. They expect these they expect things to work the way they were promised. God knows who's promised that to them. Right? But like there's this expectation of there's a pristine kind of health and if I don't have that it's something's been stolen from me and everyone else has it. But I mean, how long do you have to pay attention that nobody has it? Like, everyone's body is not perfect. And so yours. Yes, diabetes is like, I'm not trying to minimize what diabetes says, obviously. And it's a lot and it can be difficult. But if you can find the answers to it, I think the next kindest thing you can do to yourself, is to stop saying good or bad in your head. Just absolutely, yeah, this is my graduation. And this is how we take care of it.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 15:20
And I think, you know, we talked previously, too, about the idea of a pump fixing everything, right. And I think unfortunately, sometimes the idea that that idea of perfection, may start from some clinical professional, being able to say, hey, you know, let's look at starting a pump, because this will take care of this, this and this, their perspective is lacking the day to day with what it really takes to have diabetes and navigate it. Yes, a pump may help. It may make things more positive and a little bit easier and whatnot, but it's not going to be perfect. So I think that needs to also be understood in terms of there is, there's nothing that's perfect.

Scott Benner 16:08
Yeah, I guess I'm gonna take I was joking earlier, I'm just gonna take it back. You don't have the good time. You don't have the bad kind. You have diabetes. This is what it requires. You are, I think, lucky enough to live in this time. Because, you know, you don't have to go back 100 years, it's 100 years ago, this would have just killed you. You wouldn't be alive. 110 years ago, my daughter wouldn't exist. All these people listening wouldn't exist. And now you do. It's insane. Yeah, I mean, it's, it's really, it's a wonderful gift to live in this time. If your pancreas is gonna stop working so far in history.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 16:42
Right now is the time for that to happen. Yeah. And obviously, hopefully it doesn't. But if it does, yes, absolutely.

Scott Benner 16:48
And I think it's hard to keep that in mind. Sometimes when you think, well, this isn't what I expected, or what I wanted. And it's not a you know, it's not perfect, but you're, you're alive, and you know, you're functioning and you have every opportunity. And I know that the big stuff is the doesn't get explained correctly by some people's doctors, and they struggle, but that's why we put all this here. So hopefully, that doesn't happen to us, you know, as few people as possible. I didn't mean to bum us out at the end here because No, the bad kind is. I mean, what people say is so ridiculous. It almost borderlines on funny. So anyway, I appreciate you doing this with me,

Jennifer Smith, CDE 17:24
of course yes.

Scott Benner 17:34
I want to thank Jenny for coming on the show today and remind you that she works at integrated diabetes.com. And of course, let's thank touched by type one, not just for the good work they do. But for sponsoring the Juicebox Podcast you really should even if you're not coming out to the event, go check out what they're up to at touched by type one.org and find them on Facebook and Instagram. Lastly, I'd like to thank the Contour Next One contour next one.com forward slash very informative page. easy to navigate. To find out more make your purchase right

if you were a loved one has been diagnosed with type one diabetes. The bold beginnings series from the Juicebox Podcast is a terrific place to begin listening. In this series, Jenny Smith and I will go over the questions most often asked at the beginning of type one. Jenny is a certified diabetes care and education specialist who is also a registered and licensed dietitian and Jenny has had type one diabetes for 35 years. My name is Scott Benner and I am the father of a child who has type one diabetes. Our daughter Arden was diagnosed in 2006 at the age of two. I believe that at the core of diabetes management, understanding how insulin works, and how food and other variables impact your system is of the utmost importance. The bold beginning series will lead you down the path of understanding. The series is made up of 24 episodes, and it begins at episode 698. In your podcast, or audio player. I'll list those episodes at the end of this to listen, you can go to juicebox podcast.com. Go up to the menu at the top and choose bold beginnings. Or go into any audio app like Apple podcasts, or Spotify. And then find the episodes that correspond with the series. Those lists again are at Juicebox Podcast up in the menu or if you're in the private Facebook group in the feature tab. The private Facebook group has over 40,000 members. There are conversations happening right now and 24 hours a day. You'd be incredibly interested in. So don't wait. So don't wait. Check out the bowl beginning series today and get started on your journey. Episode 698 defines the bowl beginning series 702, honeymooning, 706 adult diagnosis 711 and 712 go over diabetes terminologies. In Episode 715, we talked about fear of insulin in 719 the 1515 rule, Episode 723 long acting insulin 727 target range 731 food choices 735 Pre-Bolus 739 carbs 743 stacking 747 flexibility in Episode 751 We discussed school in Episode 755 Exercise 759 guilt, fears hope and expectations. In episode 763 of the bowl beginning series. We talk about community 772 journaling 776 technology and medical supplies. Episode Seven at treating low blood glucose episode 784. Dealing with insurance 788 talking to your family and episode 805 illness and ketone management. Check it out it will change your life. When you support the Juicebox Podcast by clicking on the advertisers links, you are helping to keep the show free and plentiful. I am certainly not asking you to buy something that you don't want. But if you're going to buy something, or use the device from one of the advertisers, getting your purchases set up through my links is incredibly helpful. So if you have the desire or the need, please consider using Juicebox Podcast links to make your purchases

#987 Glucagon Story: Aimee

Aimee's girls have type 1 diabetes and she has used glucagon. This is her story.

+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, welcome back to another episode of The Juicebox Podcast

My guest today is Amy. She is the mother of two young children with type one diabetes. And she's here today to share her glucagon stories. 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 are becoming bold with insulin. This show is sponsored today by the glucagon that my daughter carries G voc hypo Penn. Find out more at G voc glucagon.com. Forward slash juicebox. When you have diabetes and use insulin, low blood sugar can happen when you don't expect it. GE voc hypo pen is a ready to use glucagon option that can treat very low blood sugar in adults and kids with diabetes ages two and above. Find out more go to G voc glucagon.com forward slash juicebox visit GE voc glucagon.com/risk.

GE voc is a prescription injection for the treatment of very low blood sugar in adults and kids with diabetes ages two and above. Do not use if you have a specific type of adrenal or pancreatic tumor, starvation, chronic low blood sugar or allergy to evoke High Blood Pressure hyperglycemia and serious skin rashes can occur. Call your doctor or get medical help right away. If you have a serious allergic reaction including rash, difficulty breathing or low blood pressure, visit G voc glucagon.com/risk for more information.

Aimee 2:04
My name is Amy and I am the mother of Zoey and Riley, who are three and five years old. They are both type one diabetics. And yeah, glad to be here today.

Scott Benner 2:15
Thank you. I'm I'm very pleased that you were able to do this. So thank you. Okay, so Amy. Have you used glucagon with both of your children just one of them.

Aimee 2:28
So only Riley has had to use G voc before we did have a little bit of a scare with Zoey after we had done it for Riley. But we were a little bit more experienced at that point. So we could kind of tell that she didn't. She was a little bit out of the woods by the point that we were thinking about using it. So only Riley has used it so far. Riley's how old she is five right now. She was three years old when we used it.

Speaker 3 2:53
And so he's held today. And so he's three right now.

Aimee 2:56
And she was diagnosed at 17 months old.

Scott Benner 3:00
Okay, all right. So my first question is when your first child was diagnosed, how was glucagon explained to you if at all,

Aimee 3:13
Riley was diagnosed and then so he was diagnosed 14 days later, it was like a whole thing. For Riley, we were immediately given g voc and it was basically explained to us as use this, she is, excuse me use this if she goes unconscious from a low blood glucose. It's not something that's very common to happen, but you need to know how to use it. When Zoey was diagnosed, two weeks later, we were actually given the Lilly, the old red box kit, which is the syringe and vial that you have to mix. And immediately we were like, why did we not get the same thing for both and then it was explained to us that you had to be a certain age. And we were able to switch her over to G voc after she got a little older. Yeah, so she was 17 months old and she was diagnosed and we were able to switch her to G voc when she turned two. She gets a little bit it was a little bit before because it was actually by her weight. But the FDA approval is ages two and up for for the whole hypopyon

Scott Benner 4:07
Gotcha. So she got Riley got Jeeva pypo Ben and then you got the red box for Zoe but then when she was wait appropriate age appropriate slash age appropriate she moved to Chico hypo pen to Okay, exactly. Yeah. So then what? And but but still, the idea is, you're told if she passes out, hit her with this.

Aimee 4:33
Yeah. Which I knew a little bit better than that only because I have experienced with my sister. She was diagnosed when I was like six years old. She was 11. So I kind of knew that, that you can use it before you actually like you actually pass out that you should actually use it when you're exhibiting like extreme severe low symptoms. So like that drunkenness sort of like behavior and a loss of consciousness not being able to eat to keep yourself From getting that low, so we had a little bit of a primer going into it. But at the hospital, that is what they told us.

Scott Benner 5:07
Did the hospital know that you had prior knowledge of diabetes from your sibling?

Aimee 5:13
I think some of the staff did. I can't remember if the person, the nurse, who explained it to us are the diabetes educator who explained it to us because we had two different educators throughout our state. So I don't know if the second person actually was familiar. But I know that there were some things that we were kind of told, okay, well, your kid, your other kid was just in here two weeks ago. So we know that you've already gotten all this information, and they just kind of gave us like, the highlights, you know, by the time that the weight was in there.

Scott Benner 5:40
Okay. Did you feel comfortable leaving the hospital that you understood it?

Aimee 5:46
Yeah, I was definitely like, I hope I never have to use this. And we weren't given any training with like, any kind of demo pen or anything when we were in the hospital for voc specifically, which was kind of weird to me, because it's kind of like they make you practice all the injections and the finger poking and all that stuff before you, you're able to leave, why wouldn't they train you also on how to use this life saving thing that is supposed to keep you from essentially, you know, going into a coma or dying? God forbid? Yeah. So that was kind of weird to me. But again, like, since I kind of knew how things worked, and I'm just a very, like, I'm a very, like, I'm gonna go on the internet, and I'm gonna YouTube it. And I'm going to seek other people's experiences. Because I feel like, just in general, with diabetes and other conditions that medical professionals kind of give you. They give you what's in the book, what they're told to give you, but they don't really always have like, functional experience using it. So yeah, I definitely went online and just kind of looked up other people using it and things like that to kind of familiarize myself.

Scott Benner 6:47
Well, great. I'm glad you did that. And when did it come in handy? What what led up to you needing to use it with Riley?

Aimee 6:55
So Riley was diagnosed in April 2021. We were about seven months into diagnosis when she she had been on she had just gotten on Omnipod dash over the summer. And she was still honeymooning, like super hard. So she was super sensitive to insulin one day and not so sensitive the other days, actually very resistant. And so we have been having a bout of like, really big resistance with her in that week. And then she ended up having a pump failure that morning. So she shot up to like way over 400 for like one of the first time since she had been diagnosed. So we went ahead and you know, we we used her active sensitivity, her correction factor that had been adjusted that week for the insulin resistance that she was experiencing. And sure enough, because that's how everything works. Her pancreas decided to show up at the same time, and she basically got what we what we later realized was like a double correction because we corrected and then her pancreas was already starting to try to bring that down as well because she was still honing honeymooning. So yeah, she had really aggressive correction. And then she just started dropping like, the fastest that we have ever seen her drop. And she started kind of slurring her words, she was getting kind of wobbly, again, like that sort of description that they give you when someone is like disoriented or drunk and very out of it. At the point where she started not responding to like, questions, not even like nodding or saying yes or no. And she wouldn't drink any more juice. We were like, Okay, we're three juices into this. She's still like, dropping really fast. And we had started giving her juice like in the two hundreds to kind of anticipate that she was going to have this big drop, because you were seeing the fastball. Yeah, so we had her on Dexcom already at that point, too, since she was on the pump. And so she went from like, well over 400 to like 300 and a matter of maybe like 15 or 20 minutes like her. And this was on Nova log, which is not really an ultra quick acting insulin, we were like, Okay, well, this is a big correction, but we'll have time to catch her if, you know, but again, what we didn't know was she was already getting insulin probably from being in honeymoon from her pump, or her pancreas showing her

Scott Benner 9:09
or her body was like don't worry, I can get it this time. Yeah. I so wish I could call your little, your little section of this three drink minimum. But

Aimee 9:21
that's how we felt we were like, Okay, this is this is a lot of juice boxes. I mean, just a little bit. Again, she was three years old. So just like the tiniest bit of juice would normally bring her up within like, I'm not even kidding, like five or 10 minutes, she would be up like 100 points. So when we realize okay, we're like two and a half three juice boxes and she's still dropping her finger stick is still showing us that she's like, like, just dropping like 3040 points. Like, at a time it was crazy.

Scott Benner 9:50
Where we're in that process. Are you starting to think? Where's the glucagon?

Aimee 9:56
So it was it was somewhere between again like The third juice box and then realizing like okay, she's actually not acting herself now. She's normally like, really bubbly crazy running around. And she was just kind of slumped over on the couch, just like really quiet, staring at a wall. Like not even paying attention to the TV or anything like that. And it all happened like super fast, which is kind of like the most crazy thing about it. She just went from like, normal self to, again, just like a shell of herself sitting on the couch. And just, we were trying to like ask her Hey, like, you know, are you feeling okay? We just gave you a lot of juice is because your tummy hurt. Because we knew that that was also something that could happen. Obviously, we're pumping her full of juice. And she was just kind of like not responding. Yeah. So I said, Okay, well, let's go grab that evoke. And by the time that we grabbed it, that was like already holding her. And I quickly looked over the instructions, because I had kind of seen it before. And again, like I looked everything up online. But always in that moment, you're kind of like, okay, your hands are a little shaky, because you've never had to actually do this before. So I just looked over the instructions, and it's literally right on the package. It's the greatest thing. It's, it's like four or five little boxes right on the package that tell you step one, step two, step three. And it was super easy. I read them out to dad that grab that evoke, and pop the cap off, pushed it against her skin, held it for the five seconds, you can literally see the medication going in. So you don't have to like, like, I have an epi pen and with my epi pen, I kind of like hold it there extra long because I'm never sure if it all went in. But with the little windows evoke it's they make it super easy. The the window will show the medication going through and then it'll turn red when it's all done. Yep. Oh, it's I don't know if it's like kosher to say this or not. But it's literally like idiot proof. Like you just you just jabbed it against your skin. And it does it does what it does.

Scott Benner 11:54
I'll check with the attorneys. I'm not sure if you're allowed to call it or not. But if you are, we're definitely leaving this pardon. I know it's talking about I've had the trainer pen. I've used it a million times just to look at it. It is it is explanatory. It feels explanatory. While you're doing it like you it feels like without the instructions, you could still figure it out. Yeah. And honestly,

Aimee 12:17
because she was so little, and I know this doesn't apply to everybody. But she was she was three years old, three years old are still scared of, or nervous around needles and things like that. And I was just imagining like, Okay, if I had to use like the old kit, this would be like a needle she's never seen before, a process she's never like gone through. It was something that I think would have made the whole situation just a lot more stressful and even more scary than it already is. When you're at that point.

Scott Benner 12:43
It's also not near your face. And it's, you know, it's something that can happen. She wouldn't even maybe could even not notice that you were doing it while it was happening.

Aimee 12:52
Yeah, like afterwards, she was like, Oh, I asked her because I was curious how it felt. And I asked her and she said it, it felt like a Dex calm. But when the Dexcom hits like a soft spot that you're like a nerve or something. So it's like a little bit more of a sting than a Dexcom insertion. So I don't know if that helped that she had that to compare it to or not. But my sister has also used it. And she's also said that it's very similar, it does sting a little bit more. But it happens so quick. And you're not in control of having to like push down on a plunger or anything. So if you're doing this to yourself, and you're like afraid of needles yourself or anything, it's literally something that you can just kind of take a deep breath, close your eyes, and just do it without having to put too much thought into it. Yeah.

Scott Benner 13:36
How long did it take for her to kind of come up again and and act herself.

Aimee 13:42
It was like instant. We checked her at like five minutes because we were concerned that we might have to use a second one because we know that sometimes the first one doesn't always dump enough glucose into your system. So we just started checking her at like five minutes. It's supposed to take about 15 minutes to work, but by five minutes, she was already up at like 80 to like 100 from 42. She was 42 when we actually administered it. Yeah,

Scott Benner 14:08
but more importantly than the number you were you were addressing symptoms like you said shell of himself not responding to commands like that kind of stuff.

Aimee 14:17
Yeah, like she was already like, Oh, what's that called? Like? Like talking to us and inquiring about the experience she had just gone through within like 10 or 15 minutes?

Scott Benner 14:28
Yeah, just her brain just shutting off because the glucose leaving our system. It's crazy. It's crazy, isn't it? Isn't it crazy that glucose is like the gas that makes your engine run? And yeah, you need enough but not too much. Not too little like geez All right. G voc hypo pan has no visible needle, and is a premixed auto injector of glucagon for treatment of very low blood sugar in adults and kids with diabetes ages two and above. Find out more go to Jeeva glucagon.com forward slash juicebox G voc shouldn't be used in patients with insulinoma or phaeochromocytoma. Visit G voc glucagon.com/risk.

Aimee 15:10
Yeah, it's it's pretty insane. And it's exactly what you described it, she literally looked like she was running out of gas like she, she was just like coasting along the highway, like this super high VG. And then all of a sudden somebody hit the brakes. And she's just like sputtering down the road, like stalling out. And then we use G voc. And there comes like, she's coming back up to like, a normal speed. And the thing that impressed me the most about it was like, she didn't have like, the complete opposite, like this dramatic, like really uncomfortable rebound. She wasn't like, from 42 to like, 400. Again, she came up and she came up quickly, but she came up, like, smoothly, I don't know if that makes sense.

Scott Benner 15:52
That's fortunate. I mean, the body is an amazing thing, right? Like you're shutting off, the glucose is leaving your system, and it starts to shut, what it what it thinks of is like, systems down, you don't need to stay alive. It keeps paying keeps taking things away from you. Trying to keep that little bit of glucose that's left keeping your heart going and your brain going. It's fascinating. You know what I mean? Like, you're amazing how it works, how how desirous your body is to keep going is really something else. Okay, so did you call 911.

Aimee 16:26
So we actually did not call 911. By the time that my husband was already like administering it, I was already on the phone with our Endo. All of this took place in 2021. So we're pretty still like heavy in the pandemic. And I'm terrified to go to the hospital with like a diabetic kid at this point if we can avoid it. So I got on the phone with our Endo, and they stayed on the phone with us for like 20 or 30 minutes, as we were checking her glucose coming up. And then they even spoke with her to make sure that she was like back to her the right cognitive level and everything. And they felt really comfortable since since we knew that the cause was like this pump failure. And then, you know, her honeymooning plus our correction, it wasn't like just this out of the nowhere thing. They were very comfortable with like, Okay, we'll check in with you again in two hours. And if she's good, then we'll just stay home, because it's going to be a lot worse if she ends up getting COVID This was before the vaccinations and all that stuff. So diabetes and COVID was would not have been a good mix. That's

Scott Benner 17:24
amazing. I, I'm glad it worked out so well for you. Was it in your mind right then to say, hey, we need another prescription for G voc hypo pen? I

Aimee 17:34
Yeah. Actually, I mentioned it to them. And I was like, I'm gonna email you like not today, but probably sometime this week. And we're gonna get in touch with our rep for the area for G voc. And we did exactly that. And they were able to get us a trainer pen as well. So now everywhere that the kids go when they have like, you know, family that they haven't stayed with before and things like that. They have their trainer pen, and the first thing that they do is whip that thing out. And they're like, this is how you use a G voc and this is when you need to use it.

Scott Benner 18:03
I use that same trainer pen, not yours. Of course I have my own. But I use my own trainer pen to show Arden's roommates in college. So yeah,

Aimee 18:12
no, it's fantastic. I was actually surprised that we don't. I mean, I guess they don't want to get one with every prescription. But it should be something that you can that endocrinologist are able to give to their patients especially like at the diagnosis onset, there's nothing like having it like in your hands and being able to feel it, touch it and practice it. Like even just a couple of times before you leave the hospital at your office. You're in those office or even at home. I've had like I mentioned before, I have an epi pen. And the first thing that they gave me when I got my initial prescription was they gave me a trainer pen. So I was a little bit surprised.

Scott Benner 18:46
Yeah, that's a great idea. I will bring that up to somebody. Because in my mind, it takes away the anxiety because you actually get to do the whole process without it actually giving you you know, anything? Of course yeah. So you can it really does you just do it a couple of times you till you think well, this is simple. You know, like okay, take off the cap, click Wait, click again, the window clears like it turns a color. So I know it's gone in like bang, this is this is it. And then after a while, that feeling you had which is interesting, right? Because you open that package up and you're like, Well, let me just make sure we read the instructions one time. Yeah, it can't get it keeps you because you also don't want it to go wrong. You're like, I've got this thing here. It needs to work. Now. I I'm telling Amy I don't know how many people can appreciate that story. But I've my daughter had a seizure when she was like little like, I don't know, three years old, maybe two or three years old. And it's a a test of your adult notice. It really is. Yeah, like because your brains just like just going like cursing it's just like and you're trying you're trying very Hard not to like panic. And there's this feeling like I have to do this thing right now, or this is going to be really bad. And it's a, you see people in a scenario that you've never probably seen a person in before, like that faraway look, or a seat or seizing, you know, like, these things are shocking when you see them. And you don't have time to be shocked. And you definitely don't have time to, you know, be working like Dr. Frankenstein drawing things up and etc. Like being able to pull that pen off and be like, click, click, click bang, that's really valuable. So I've said it before. You know, I was super excited when Chivo came out. And I went after them. I was like, This is it, my daughter's finally gonna get to carry glucagon that I think people could use. You know, it's been, and it's just interesting to hear how it worked for you. I appreciate you sharing this with me.

Aimee 20:58
Yeah, I do want to mention too, that it also. So obviously, I was my husband and I were the ones administering it to Riley. But it makes it so easy that number one a person who is the diabetic person themselves and feeling this way. It makes it foolproof, like they can do this to themselves without like you said, having to fumble with a vial and a syringe and all that stuff. When you're, like you said, your brain is literally shutting down and you can't think about all of these steps. But also it makes it really accessible to the general public. Because I feel like I had never really thought of it this way before. But most people know what an epi pen is and how to use it. At least the basic steps. And this is a real diabetic Emerton like this is a real emergency for a diabetic person that is literally on par with what a person in anaphylactic shock goes through. And I don't understand why we don't have more education and more accessibility around glucagon and just revoke this auto injector that literally anybody who's never had any experience with diabetes, or needles or anything like that could administer this to somebody if they were educated, know what it was for and when to use it in an emergency situation.

Scott Benner 22:06
I agree with you. That is definitely something that needs to be talked about more. It's why I'm making this episode. I've had too many experiences and too many conversations, where it's painfully obvious that many people are living with type one, or helping someone with type one. And they don't know the first thing about this. And I sometimes think it's because a doctor doesn't explain it. I sometimes think it's because you think oh, this is never really going to happen. But it doesn't take long to learn. And

Aimee 22:37
even amongst like diabetics and stuff, my sister was diabetic for 27 years when we were prescribed Evoque she saw us use it oh Riley and she immediately switched over from the old from the, you know, the box kit with the syringe and the vial because she was like, this is something I can do to myself. Yep. And she ended up using it two months later, she ended up actually having to use it. And she was like, wow, I could not imagine drawing a syringe and vial in this situation, I literally would have just, I was alone. And I would have been unconscious by the time that anybody like realized that I needed this.

Scott Benner 23:07
Well, I just recorded another I'm doing these all in one day, the short recordings. The one I did earlier this morning, young girl like 2122 years old. By the time she's like in her 40s She's drinking like sodas trying to like get her blood sugar to come up. She's finger sticking. When she finger sticks. And she's 28 She thinks she's at work. And she thinks I should go home. Like, that's where her brain was. She's like, you know, poem safe, I'll go home. And she ends up passing out and you know, in people who were at her job, give her glucagon. And then the emergency response comes and gives it to her again, twice, I think. But my point is, is that when she really needed it herself, her brain was lying to her. Like it was It wasn't yelling, no get your glucagon out. Also, the instruction she got from doctors was so basic and maybe subpar that it wasn't in her mind, like her mind went to the thing that it thought would help her. I want it to be in people's minds that the thing that your brain thinks, oh, do this now is get that Pannon do this thing. You know. So anyway, I appreciate you sharing this very much. I think it's gonna help a lot of people.

Aimee 24:23
Thank you so much for letting us share of course.

Scott Benner 24:29
It doesn't matter if you're a newly diagnosed person in their 20s a parent of someone living with type one diabetes, or someone who's been living with type one forever. If you're using insulin, G voc glucagon wants to remind you to check the expiration dates on your glucagon and if they're expired, contact your physician immediately for replacements. Don't be without glucagon in the moment that you need it. Have it where you are on your person in your home, at school, at your job, or when you Traveling. Emergencies don't announce themselves. That's why you need to be prepared. Parents of children, this is a perfect time. You're going to end up back at the endos office before the new school year to get your orders in line for the school nurse. Don't forget to ask them about G voc glucagon. If you'd like to learn more about G voc hypo Penn episode 789 is with Jenny Smith and I we discussed the important things you need to know about CI voc. This episode is absolutely terrific to teach you or other people in your life how to use G voc hypo Penn School Nurses, your best friend anybody you're around who might be in a position to help you or your child if the need should arise. GVL Capo penne is the first glucagon auto injector that treats very low blood sugars in people with diabetes ages two and above. Low blood sugar also called hypoglycemia occurs when your blood sugar gets below 70 milligrams per deciliter. When this happens, you can consume sugary foods or drinks to bring your blood sugar back up. There are many reasons why you may have low blood sugar including taking too much insulin, the amount and timing of physical activity and unexpected changes to your schedule. Very low blood sugar or severe hypoglycemia occurs when your blood sugar gets so low that you need help to bring it back up. It is an emergency situation that needs to be treated immediately. If your hyperglycemia is left untreated, it can quickly and unexpectedly progress to severe hypoglycemia. Severe hypoglycemia is potentially life threatening and can lead to loss of consciousness, seizure, coma, or even death. If you experienced any of the following administering glucagon is the next step. You've tried eating or drinking but it's not working. You're unable to eat or drink. You feel like you might pass out or if you have passed out or are having a seizure. I'm just gonna leave you with this. My daughter carries G voc hypo pen with her constantly. It is always on her person. There is another pen in her bedside table. When she goes to college, there is one on her person and one on her bedside table. Everyone in her life knows how to use G voc hypo pen, her roommates, her friends and family members both extended and within our home Jeeva. Glucagon is a sponsor of this podcast because it is the glucagon that my daughter carries, not the other way around. You understand. We carry G Vogue and then I found the company and said if you guys want to be advertisers, I'd love to spread the word. I personally find that G voc hypo pen is the easiest to carry glucagon option that I've ever seen in the entire time my daughter has had type one diabetes. This may seem odd, but I was genuinely excited when we got G voc hypo pen the first time putting G voc hyperopia my daughter's bag gave me a sense of relief that I had not had since she was diagnosed. Ask your physician today about G voc glucagon or go to G voc glucagon.com forward slash juicebox.

If you have a glucagon story that you'd like to share with me on the Juicebox Podcast contact me through juicebox podcast.com Or on the Facebook page Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes. Find out more about Chivo Capo pen at G Vogue glucagon.com Ford slash juicebox you spell that GVOKEGLUCAGon.com/juicebox.

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