Scott Benner 9/14/23 Scott Benner 9/14/23

#998 Diabetes Myths: The Doctor Knows Best

A brand new series examining the myths surrounding diabetes.

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

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends and welcome to episode 998 of the Juicebox Podcast.

Today on the Juicebox Podcast Jenny Smith returns for another myth episode today's is like super sized compared to some of the other myth episodes. Maybe that's because we're tackling the myth that your doctor knows best. If after this is over, you'd like to hire Jenny Smith. She works at integrated diabetes.com. Please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. We're becoming bold with insulin. If you're looking for an omni pod, check out Omni pod.com forward slash juice box. If you'd like to start drinking ag one you can get five free travel packs in the year supply of vitamin D with your first order at AG one.com forward slash juice box. And you can wear the same joggers I do sleep on the same sheets Well, not exactly the same. They all come from cozy earth.com is what I mean I guess. Anyway, you can get those sheets and joggers and bath towels and everything else for 40% off when you use the offer code juicebox at checkout at cozy earth.com.

Today's episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by touched by type one, they'd like you to check them out on Facebook and Instagram and it touched by type one.org. The podcast is also sponsored by Dexcom, makers of the Dexcom G seven ng six continuous glucose monitoring system. My daughter is currently wearing the G seven and it's terrific small, easy to wear. You almost don't notice it's there. That's a rhyme dexcom.com forward slash Juicebox Podcast is also sponsored today by us med. That's the place where Arden gets her G sevens from and her on the pods and a lot of other stuff. U S med.com forward slash juicebox head over there now. Get your free benefits check and get started today. If you don't like you don't like using the internet. You can always use the phone 888-721-1514 Get started with us med tech. Yay. All right, I hit record. Hey, Jenny, welcome back to the diabetes myth series. Yay. Are you

Jennifer Smith, CDE 2:39
I'm fine. How are you?

Scott Benner 2:40
Good. Oh, I'm good. It's Friday. So it is a good day. Yeah, yes. Yes. Friday is a good day. So we're gonna tackle this one today. Your healthcare professional knows best.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 2:52
That's Oh, that's a fun one. Yeah.

Scott Benner 2:55
And it is supported here by so much feedback from people. And now didn't come the way I expected. So you're basically in this episode going to hear a lot of people's stories about interactions they've had with medical professionals. And then you and I will banter about voila. While we move from story to story. That makes sense. Fabulous. Yes. All right.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 3:19
This should be fun. Well, yeah. Okay. Coffee today.

Scott Benner 3:24
I'm drinking water with what did you tell me to put my water? Oh, the electrolyte? I did that.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 3:30
Oh, good job. Do you like them?

Scott Benner 3:32
Yeah, they're terrific. Actually can put a little flavor in the water makes everything better? It does with the new which one? Did you go

Jennifer Smith, CDE 3:39
in there? And you you and yes, I did.

Scott Benner 3:41
Yeah. So put the water and I drop in a tablet? Fizzy and go. Fabulous. Okay, so I'm going to point out some obvious ones here based on the feedback. Apparently, a lot of our dentists and I doctors fancy themselves diabetes professionals. So the endless things here. My eye doctor asked my daughter has she checked her blood sugar today. Because Jenny's laughing already. I was like wait, well, first of all, we have a CGM. And she checks her blood sugar all the time. She has type one diabetes. And that that was it. He didn't know what they were talking about. Just write her diabetes and said Did you check your blood sugar today? Yes, that's

Jennifer Smith, CDE 4:36
I, I feel like where it kind of stems from is the fact that they know they they have questions that they have to ask. Right. And they're on a typical intake form. This being one of them that coincides with a diagnosis that is on their medical history right And so they have to ask a question about which they really don't have good education at all. Because they are in a dentist or an eye doctor, or even potentially like a podiatrist, they're in a field that is very narrow. And so they know a lot, thankfully about what you're there for. Right? But on a baseline, they know that with diabetes, you should check your blood sugar. They may not even know very much about the medication that you take. I mean, I've had doctors, which I've only gone to once and I've been like, you're fired? Did you take your insulin today? We're really did I take my insulin today? That's

Scott Benner 5:47
the one Yeah, like so that's just so I think that's the obvious. Tell, I'm talking to a person who doesn't know what they're talking about. But another person makes the point that while I'm at a an appointment, and the doctor, the nurse, the somebody has no clear idea what they're talking about. My kid keeps looking at me like, you like, why are we here? Like, yeah, like, you know, why are we listening to this person who doesn't understand all of this stuff that I know, a lady said that, um, they were in the ER, and people started flooding in and treating the kid like a sideshow to look at his decks calm and look at his pump. And they're like, Oh, look at this. Like they had never seen it before. It was magical to them. And then the kids response was, he shouldn't these be the people who know what this stuff is. But no, and it's not like one story, Jenny, it like goes on and on and on. I can't tell you how many comments sound like this. My dentist, firmly lectured my three year old and told her to never drink juice because it's bad for her teeth. And he knew she was diabetic. Well, first of all, you can't really lecture a three year old.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 7:08
No weird decision.

Scott Benner 7:11
But But then, like, clearly the

Jennifer Smith, CDE 7:13
dentist also does not know Child Development very well, either. Yes.

Scott Benner 7:17
So then they describe look, the kids got diabetes, sometimes her blood sugar gets low. And we have to drink juice because they get in a dangerous situation. But then blank stares, because then there's no next thing to say like they're programmed. Don't drink juice. Don't use gummy bears, like like, these are the things my dentist will tell you the same thing over and over again, don't don't chew like potato chips, because they're dry and they get stuck in your teeth. Like bright gummy bears. sugar all over your teeth, it gets stuck, blah, blah. Yep. But then once you say, well, I need that stuff, then they don't know what to say. After that.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 7:51
They're more comments. And I think that's that's the frustration really is that they have a comment to share. Because they know from again, they're very narrow, narrow field of focus, that extra food or excess food, especially sugary types of foods or carbohydrate rich types of foods that gets stuck and may not get brushed off. Sure. Yeah. Can that create dental problems? Absolutely, it can. But to go the distance that dentists then should be able to say, Okay, if you need to treat this way, I recommend doing this. If at night, you have to treat with sugar. Try to treat with juice and have your child take a drink of water and swish it around in their mouth if possible at night, right? That's

Scott Benner 8:40
what there should be steps you don't think they should say, Oh, you have to give sugar to stop low blood sugars. Isn't his diabetes under control? Oh, you don't think that's what they should have said? Because that's the next one. Right? This dentist told the person stop using Skittles. Give your daughter something healthy. And she's like, so what am I supposed to do at three o'clock in the morning? Exactly. Yeah, what am I what am I what am I supposed to do?

Jennifer Smith, CDE 9:12
I think what it honestly boils down to is again, the general public including people who we think of as being well educated right have advanced degrees have advanced medical type of degree is it boils down to the even them not having a basic idea whether it's type one or type two, from a dental perspective. At some point someone may need to use sugar. Right? So they should have an understanding that if they know the impact of sugar on the teeth for this population of people, why do you should have an extra explanation to what to do?

Scott Benner 9:53
Well, this person was told the dentist told me my old dentist told me you're an adult And you should know better than to have a snack or drink juice at night. And then went on to say that diabetics don't actually have to monitor their glucose at night. Because, because and this is a quote, that's not a thing. Well,

Jennifer Smith, CDE 10:17
clearly that was their old dentist. Now, I don't know if they mean old as an age. We got rid of this.

Scott Benner 10:25
Yeah, after we stopped going to that dentist, but the being serious. The responses here about dentists and eye doctors go on and on and on. And I do listen, my expectation is this eye doctors especially. They're thinking type two, they've been trained to look for problems in your eyes, right? Yes. And their expectation a lot like when I talked to emergency room workers, is that a lot of the people that they see, don't have great agencies and stability. And so it, it's always the, the example I always use is that my friend is a police officer. And through the course of his day, most of the people he meets are trying to get over on him one way or the other. And that he noticed that was slipping into the way he was thinking in his private life and had to like stop himself, because he just expected everyone was lying to him. And I think that's what happens. I think they expect that. Instead of saying, Well, I work in a hospital. So I'm going to see sick people. You know, they say, well, these people are here because they have diabetes, not because their diabetes isn't managed, well managed. Yeah. But because they have it in general. So let me jump to the to this one. Hold on a second. Where is it? Sorry, there's so much here.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 11:45
But this was this one must have like yellow highlighting around? Well, I'm

Scott Benner 11:49
jumping over hang out for you. I'm literally jumping over all the repetitions, my seven year old was yelled at by her dentist. And then I was told that you need to call her doctor and regulate her numbers.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 12:03
And that's a way to get you to come back to the dentist.

Scott Benner 12:06
Well, that's where that leads into all of these comments from people that the amount of people who have been asked, Are you stable? Are you regulated? Are you that that language right there in all different kinds of settings?

Jennifer Smith, CDE 12:21
And we can even go back to some of the other myths where that was also stated, whether it's how do you deal with comments coming from people that are just outright they're stupid? I'm sorry, I hate that word. But they are stupid comments, right? So it kind of goes back to the idea that at some point, you should know enough to be able to have this quote unquote, regulated or stabilized. And I don't know how to break that. I don't know how to break that idea that at some point, it'll all just work itself out. And you won't have to deal with lows or high blood sugars, or, you know, any of the stuff that clearly these medical professionals think is possible. Yeah.

Scott Benner 13:08
No, it's tough. I mean, this is going to lead really well. People don't know who are listening. But when you and I are done recording the myth series, we're going to move on to some stuff for for doctors. And so I think this is I might hold on to something he's actually so we can go back around that would be fabulous. Yeah, it just, it really is interesting to see this feedback from people. And the older, what I'm seeing here is the older people are, the longer they've lived with diabetes, the more of these experiences they've had. And the it just doesn't stop. Like you're too old to have type one. You're too thin to have type one. Like all of that stuff just keeps happening. You don't have type one diabetes, you were diagnosed in your 50s.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 13:53
Or it's been a dentist told somebody Oh,

Scott Benner 13:55
no, this is now we're getting into doctors. Oh, yeah. This woman was told that the worst thing that she said ever happened to her was the doctor told her that she has a progressive disease and it will get worse. Like she's going to deteriorate is what she was told. And that's not that long ago, by the way. This was told to her. Yeah.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 14:19
And this is where I feel like as an educator, I truly feel so sad. That that I wish that I could just announce like a big announcement that every single person could hear. Let's take Can you please keep your comments and really do your learning before you make a comment about something right. It's where I wish that I could go to conferences and speak to you know, medical groups or dental boards or these these groups of medical professionals who clearly are not getting it right and then are coming with comments to those who are actually living the day to day grind of life with diabetes again, regardless of what type it is, I'd like to be able to just stand up and be like, Look, can you please get your information, right? Don't use, don't flap your lips, unless you actually know what you're gonna say.

Scott Benner 15:23
Listen, I was invited to talk at one of those things. And when I told them, what I wanted to talk about was how I've been able to communicate with people about diabetes, and help them they told me that I wasn't a doctor, and I couldn't talk about that. So if you didn't have the credentials, I could come in and be like a, like a famous person and just say, blah, blah, blah, blah, and fill a room for them. But they didn't want me to say anything real. So I didn't go. So great. Yeah, I so I don't know how you get there, the gatekeepers? They are Yeah, so they're absolutely even if you could get in there and he started talking, you might get a tomato in the face, and you'd be out of there in five seconds. Anyway, get down, I

Jennifer Smith, CDE 16:00
wouldn't take honestly, I would be happy to take tomatoes as long as I could stay on the stage and just talk and be real. And say, you need to learn, you need to learn from real examples of what the people coming to you for help are talking to you about. And again, especially for the practitioners who are more the very centered type of, you know, practice, like, again, a dentist or an eye doctor where you may know enough that diabetes can have impact on this part of your body. But before you ask questions that are just coming from a form that you have to read off and checkboxes on Ask them in a way that actually makes

Scott Benner 16:51
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here's a very specific answer. This woman is a 35 year plus type one. She said she goes to a regular doctor or to a dentist. She has gingivitis the doctor with no access to her medical records, no knowledge of her time and range or agency or anything else says, Well, you know take control of your diabetes can prevent this. It just that's the only thing they said to him. So she went to another physician kind of figured out once the doctor said that didn't have access. Like they just kind of talking about this. So she went to a woman's health provider and it turns out she gets something called menstrual gingivitis. Oh, and okay, who would even know, right? You know what I mean? But but the first guy told her do better. And this won't happen. And if she would have left with that in her head, then she would have spent the rest of her life torturing yourself all by the way, already with a great agency and time and rich everything would have tortured herself, not gotten this issue, figured out and spent her whole life like flailing with this I I very much like take that too. When my wife went to endocrinologist for years with what was clearly hypothyroid, seven months and they would look at her tests and go you don't have that because your TSH isn't high enough. It's in range, they would say. And then seven years she struggles until finally we learned enough to push a doctor to do something. Right.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 23:12
Right. And if this was a I mean, just obviously singling out this one particular example, this dentist then clearly didn't know enough even in his own practice setting to be able to say, Well, sure you have diabetes. But again, another question. How are you managing and then this person could have come back and said, I manage really well. My agency is here. I mean, my dentist actually asked me what my ear one a one C is which is great, right? But she could have come back and said it's here. I do really well. I manage my diabetes really well and then the dentist could have said his knowledge base should have been to understand that menstrual gingivitis could have been an issue.

Scott Benner 23:59
Well, maybe it's you will so we do the same thing like I lead with Arden's a one says this she is it's been like this for years she's incredibly well managed, like get past that because a lot of these things are like every doctor I go to blames my diabetes for no matter what it is the you know, and this here's an interesting one friend of mine has type one for years. She moves needs new Endo, gets the new Endo. The endo insists that she has type two and not type one diabetes and tries to like manhandle her into getting off of insulin. I don't even know how not to laugh, like so she's the type one for years. And someone you've just met goes looks at a piece of paper No, you don't have type one diabetes and didn't want to give her scripts I don't know what this is

Jennifer Smith, CDE 24:56
it the ones that you like run out of the room like oh my Gotta like I gotta go, almost announcing to the waiting room full of people do not see this person, right. That's how you honestly feel I had one example of that when we first moved to the DC area, I went to see a primary care just to get new prescriptions before I could get into my Endo. Like two months later or something, right? This primary care doctor had to look in, like a pharmacy manual to figure out how to write the script for my insulin. And then was still confused. And I ended up telling them how to write my prescription. This is, I mean, in general, even primary care. should know the basics of insulin prescribing.

Scott Benner 25:48
Yeah, I Arden's first. Oh, God, she really is gonna listen back to this one day and be like, What the hell, but her first ever OB appointment I was at. And like the intake nurse. We couldn't. We couldn't find a way to describe to her that insulin wasn't a thing she took, like once a day. Like I just I'm like, listen, there's Basal insulin. And there's no it just was a she. I just I stopped. I was like, write down whatever you want. I don't even care. Because we're not

Jennifer Smith, CDE 26:20
here for this. We're only here for hormonal menstruation needs gynecology. That's what we're here.

Scott Benner 26:27
And then you know, what ends up happening later is that a person who actually understands looks at it, if you get lucky, and they go, why is it like this? And I just said it lady, the lady that was talking to me earlier, she just wasn't getting it. So I let it go. You know, what am I supposed to do? A lot of the you need to regulate her numbers has has he leveled out yet. That's a big one. My daughter was in the emergency room waiting to be discharged. So they're in there for a non diabetes thing. And I asked the nurse, can I get a juice because my daughter's getting low. The nurse laughed, laughed, and then said quote, no juice for you. You're diabetic. So the lady has to then explain to an ER nurse. Yes, she's diabetic, she has insulin, she's had too much of it, her blood sugar is getting low, I need the juice to save her. And that that had to be explained before it can be brought in. Again, a lot of this also

Jennifer Smith, CDE 27:23
is it makes me think of the reason that a lot of people with diabetes and or a medic, another medical condition that isn't necessarily well understood. In general. It sometimes feels like you have to put on a coat of armor, to like stand up and be able to stand up for yourself. Right? And to address these comments that are so hurtful isn't the right word, but they are it's like you have to defend yourself against stupidity.

Scott Benner 28:03
I think it's exhausting. I think it's hurtful. It's hurtful in that it's exhausting. Like you're just like, oh again, is this gonna happen again? Like okay, and then you gotta rally and you be like, okay, so juice and you know, but the whole time you have to be thinking you are a nurse in an EMR. Like, you can't possibly not understand what I'm saying, like I get when my mother in law brings the wrong thing. When I say Arden is low, I don't understand what a nurse says you can't have juice because you have diabetes. All right here, this one is from a doctor. They kept telling this person it's okay. If your son's blood sugar spikes to 400 as long as it comes back down.

Unknown Speaker 28:46
I've heard this many times. Yeah.

Scott Benner 28:50
Now she's having a remembrance of this time the kids blood sugar goes to 432. And because they gave him like pizza and stuff that they didn't even understand how to manage yet. The kid flies up over 400 She's upset. So she's calling the nurse. And the nurse is you know, at the the the Windows Office is telling her like you don't do anything. Just wait. And hours and hours and hours go by and they're waiting and waiting. And she's no she's doing the wrong thing. And it's making her upset. And the doctor's office is telling them no. Like, yeah, just No, you don't don't Bolus again, you have to wait. You put the insulin and it's going to work, right? I mean, some of the bread and butter this podcast is talking about bolusing for fat and protein. Like people love those episodes, because it is obviously a thing that nobody tells you about work. I mean, in this example, they just don't even understand. A school nurse told this woman her child did not need to Pre-Bolus because another child in the school has diabetes, and they don't Pre-Bolus

Jennifer Smith, CDE 29:54
Because and that's the only example that this person that this nurse in the school has and says, Well, it works for this person, this must be the standard of care. So this is what we're going to use.

Scott Benner 30:06
More importantly, had she met the Pre-Bolus ng family first, then when the non Pre-Bolus ng family would have said we don't Pre-Bolus She would have been Oh, no, you have to? Because the other person I know already does it. Like that's literally, that's just stupidity, that's not being able to work. Well, that's also

Jennifer Smith, CDE 30:23
like saying, Well, you have this condition, you should be using this medication. Right? It's not a person to person, we very much obviously know that it's very different. So person to person, even with type one diabetes in a school child, this child might be using this type of a system in which this type of strategy is necessary. This child might be completely different. So strategies need to be very individualized.

Scott Benner 30:56
Well, I went through this with Arden in school. When I I called the nurse's office one day and I said, Hey, art, and she was she was still really young. And I was like, Arden needs to come down and get insulin. You know, I texted her, and she told me what her blood sugar was. It's too high. It's like 200. And I needed you to push it down. And she goes, We're not going to do that. And I said, why not? She goes, there's like four or five kids in the school. We don't do that for any of them. And I so where I am, I don't know what's wrong with me why I'm wired the way I am. But I was like, Listen, I don't give a crap what those other families are okay, with. It's meaningless to me if they want their kids to walk around with high blood sugars, that God bless, like, that's fine. My daughter does this not doing a thing? Because other people are doing it? Are you out of your mind? Like what kind of like, there's no common sense, whatsoever. But But even after, but to their credit, after I explained it, she's like, okay, but like, why was that the first thing she said? Like, why can't people think is is my problem? Like? Like, I already heard this from somewhere else. So that's the rule, because you heard it first. Like, I don't I don't get that. I really don't. There's a comment here that's not attached to a story that I just want to read. I wonder if the people who tell us these lies, would follow those rules if they had type one diabetes themselves?

Jennifer Smith, CDE 32:20
Well, and that's a it's a great because quite honestly, even if they learned a little bit about type one diabetes, they would change their tune very, very quickly. I think it also makes people I know myself, as I think about it, in going into any new health care provider, someone I've not seen before, as I said before, I sort of on a subconscious level, I know that there's going to be explanation that I have to bring in that I feel really frustrated about that I have to provide this almost this education session in just like a two minute conversation, to get them to understand that. Please, please don't offer me information. I don't need your information, like I'm here for this. Please give me this. I will tell you this about myself, I will answer it for you. And we will go on our merry way as

Scott Benner 33:21
well. And look how sad that is. So you know how to take care of your diabetes, so you don't need them. But other people need them. And what they're getting from them is not just wrong, sometimes. But awesome. Opposite here. Here's an opposite. I was having a hospital stay. The resident told me, I will need less insulin because I'm bedridden. So less activity. Not that's opposite. They're likely going to need more insulin for being. Right. I mean, maybe not exactly. But the idea that it's definitely going to be less because you're not moving around is countered.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 33:57
And the fact that they're there for a hospital stay is probably a stressor, right? It's not like you're bedridden at Disneyworld, and like enjoying Mickey Mouse breakfast, right?

Scott Benner 34:09
Also, by the way, there could be there's always variables, here's one that jumps in my head. If you're a person who's not well hydrated, and you use a lot more insulin cuz you're not well hydrated, then I sit you in a bed and I put an IV in your arm and hydrate the hell out of you. Your insulin might work better. And you might have a different so maybe that's what there's who knows, but it's just that person knew that's not right.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 34:29
But there, I think there was no explanation. And so I think that's another piece behind all of this is that there's no explanation for some of the silly comments that end up coming out. And you are the person with diabetes or the caregiver, you know, a child or somebody you're left thinking, how could they think this like what am I supposed to do with this nonsense information that you're talking about?

Scott Benner 34:56
Or isn't it even more shocking to hear than a person Somebody's told you have to have type two diabetes, because you're older, but that person who told him that is a neurologist, like, isn't there? I mean, am I? Am I the only one who hears neurologists and thinks you must be a pretty bright person? You don't I mean, would like the capacity to remember a lot of things and correct? Yes. This person says, I hate having a lazy Doctor Who decides that anything else wrong with me, has to be my diabetes. And then the response is, if you lower your agency, this is This one's interesting. If you lower your agency, your osteo, arthritis in your hand will go away. You had a abscess in your tooth, because your diabetes is uncontrolled. That's why you need a root canal and antibiotics because your diabetes is not managed well. Then this one is fascinating. And by the way, the amount of people who then said this happened to them was mind numbing. They had rotator cuff problem, okay. But because they had diabetes, they told them, they had frozen shoulder, okay. And then they put them through vigorous exercise, frozen shoulder exercises, on their chewed up rotator cuff that had nothing to do with frozen shoulder. The amount of people in one sub thread that talked about this happening to them is mine.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 36:25
So literally, they didn't have frozen shoulder, which is no potential complication of that it is yes. But they actually didn't have frozen shoulder. They were told that they did. When it was really more of another issue.

Scott Benner 36:38
They all had rotator cuff tears, and it was nothing. But there's four people here saying that they all had rotator cuff tears. Their doctor said, Oh, you have diabetes, this is frozen shoulder. And then they get I don't know how people know, like they they want to break up the chair that the What am I thinking? Right? Yeah. And so they they're they do these, like, if you've ever had a torn rotator cough, which I have had. So I have thankfully, I have a good feeling about this. It's incredibly painful. And moving your arm makes it a lot worse. So this one lady did it for a year. A year. And then finally the doctor was like, oh, let's take an image. Oh, you're

Jennifer Smith, CDE 37:24
doing image to be good, like fright? I don't know. Yes. Yeah, I would think so. Like if you're gonna die or anything. I mean, you don't write

Scott Benner 37:34
I guess you. But that's this is what people talk about over and over again. And they see the diabetes first. And then they have mind runs to that those ideas that I always like, you know, you see people online talk all the time. The phrase, are you like real person sick? Like, like, I don't feel well? Are you real person sick? Do you have a cold? Or is this your diabetes? Like, like, you know, like, that's the thing people say. And I think that's an example of the doctor just skipping over a real person's stick and going right to Will you have diabetes, so this must be that. That's it. My this, this conversation about the shoulder thing goes on forever. Oh, here, here, in the same vein, I went to the ER with sepsis. This is a serious thing. But they told me to go away control my glucose levels, and I'll be better. So they, so they didn't, she had sepsis. They didn't take time to realize she was septic. They just tested her blood sugar and told her that was the problem. And it was probably high because she had sepsis. Well, she said, I do believe that it's because I had sepsis that my blood sugar was high. And then she ran into a woman in the waiting room. And that person said, I just saw someone die of this last year on

Jennifer Smith, CDE 38:57
something you put one that's

Scott Benner 39:00
yeah. I'm not laughing at this absence. Everyone knows.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 39:05
I wish what I honestly wish I could honestly which clearly it would be so illegal to do. All these people are like, don't go to this establishment. This doctor did this. Clearly we can't do that. But I mean, really, wouldn't you want a list of all the all the people that clearly are not good to go?

Scott Benner 39:25
You're saying like the way you can google sex offenders. They come up on a Mac? Yeah, yeah, I get what you're saying. Oh, sorry. No, no, no, I did. Yeah. Okay. Please don't post your dash. Yeah, I don't think we're supposed to do that. Like I'm not calling. A nurse in a hospital said would you like some honey in your tea? I know you have diabetes, so you can't have sugar. But since honey is natural, it won't affect your blood sugar.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 39:54
That's another good one. What kind of actually makes me think of the Skittles comment that you said earlier like Can't you find something healthier than Skittles? Okay, sure. How about I try raisins. They're just as sticky and gluey as a Skittle is right. sugar is sugar on the teeth. So whether it's a healthier option, or a completely like, created product in some food lab, some place, sugar that's gonna stick to your teeth that you're not going to brush away is still sugars Good.

Scott Benner 40:27
Well, this, this is another one that got a lot of responses, the honey thing happens to people a lot. Like, oh, just use honey, it's natural. That thing. This person said, I was going through the grocery store line. And my bagger kept complimenting me on my health, healthy food choices, but then got to my Truvia and told me I have to put this back and get honey. Because that would be better for me. And she's like, well, I have diabetes, so I'm right. Not and they're like, give it this is a chemical. And yeah, no, I don't is

Jennifer Smith, CDE 41:05
the amount of people I think that again, want to give what they think is going to be helpful information. Because out of the goodness of their heart. They just Oh, I know, I know this thing. I totally want to share this thing with you with no knowledge of what you or somebody else is living with or dealing with. They just, they just want to spew there.

Scott Benner 41:34
Yeah, yeah. All right. I already I already told you this one. Here's one. This is this is more generalized. How many people are told that, quote unquote, tight management is not possible without it being a huge mental load? I think that's, yeah, that happens a lot. Right? Like so. So people are told, don't take that good care of yourself. Because it must be upsetting to you to have to focus on it like that. So is that? Are they trying to say? Trade, mental health, for

Jennifer Smith, CDE 42:08
physical health? What it sounds like, overall,

Scott Benner 42:12
so I'll be happier as I'm dying. It No, that won't happen. When you're dying, you definitely won't be happy. So. So hold on. So I get the ISO, I guess I get the high level idea. Yes. Like don't tax yourself too much. But if, but when I see this, sent to me, it's very frequently by people who will later tell you I'm not taxed by it. Like I figured it out. I'm doing well. Maybe once these the five, and then they go to a doctor's office. And they're told, stop. Like, I want your agency higher. Those words come out of people's mouths a lot. Yes.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 42:47
Yeah. And I think there is, I mean, the mental component of managing? Absolutely. Could it become overwhelming if you really are over the top in, like, consistently, like, click, click, click, click, click, I gotta see, I have to see I have to look, I have to do this, I have to adjust this, I have to do this, blah, blah, blah. And you never really do learn how to get to that. I don't want to use the word stable. But that place of just knowing for the most part where

Scott Benner 43:16
your decisions, your decisions lead to stuff that doesn't read, constantly bumped around.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 43:21
Yeah, so the mental load can definitely be considerable. But for somebody to say trade, the mental part of it for happiness with less management, by no means is going to make you happier.

Scott Benner 43:37
Also, wouldn't you start off by asking, do you find this too taxing Right? Right. Yeah. Because maybe the person will go yes, actually, it is. But but for the people go, No, I'm good. Like, thanks. Like, you just are assuming that because my numbers are lower than other people's, that I must be putting a ton of effort into it. Oh, that is what it is. Okay. Yeah. Let's see how it was that one. And that, that leads into my my spouse also thinks that I'm micromanaging things. And then they call me a control freak. And but the person says, But I'm less stressed now than I was before. Right? Because I'm seeing blood sugar's mainly between 80 and 130. My mom told me that I was being too hyper about this. My son's endo is good because he has type one himself, but still, the nurses are not helpful. Isn't isn't that interesting? Right, like you, the doctor knows. And somehow the staff doesn't know.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 44:41
And I think there's a different level of understanding there. To a degree. I've also always thought that nurses or the other support clinical staff within an endocrinology practice, they really should be well schooled. In that particular medical condition, right. And so I think that's where a little bit of that lack might come in. Maybe you do have a really awesome Endo, or nurse practitioner or PA who does get the diabetes part of it the way that they should. But the support staff may not. And it's frustrating. I know.

Scott Benner 45:27
My neighbor is a nurse and told me quote, at least you'll never be fat. Oh. Is that? I don't know. Is it easy to be a nurse? What is happening? i It seems like something that would be difficult to accomplish.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 45:43
And easy. I mean, no, there's a lot of schooling that goes into being a nurse. I,

Scott Benner 45:49
yes. I don't even want to dig into that. Because I don't even understand what that means, like type ones. Oh, she just means type twos.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 45:58
I don't know even what that means. Oh, God,

Scott Benner 46:00
I don't even know how to pick that one apart. I went to pick up my prescription and the pharmacist told me, No one needs to check their blood sugar eight to 10 times a day for test strips, and then went on to say I doubt your insurance companies even going to approve such a crazy amount of test strips. Crazy amount. You're crazy.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 46:20
I had, I actually had this as a personal experience at my pharmacy. I did. And I really did. I wrote a letter to that I wrote a letter to the company. I was so angry. I was I had gotten to pick up my test strips. And my order is for a good number of test strips, right? Even though I have a CGM, right, who knows about the zombie apocalypse? Right? Standing kind of outside of the area where they're filling, and there's an open window and like the pharmacy techs and the pharmacist can have discussion. And this pharmacy tech was looking at my order. I know it was my order, because I was the only one there. And the specifics of the order for the number of tests a day. She actually said something to the degree of what this comment is that knowing that I was there and that I could hear she was like, what kind of person why would you even need to check your blood sugar this many times a day. That just seems outrageous. And I was to Yuming I was so angry and I was like, keep it together Jenny. I was like this is going to their corporate office. I was so so angry about just the comment. And so I wrote a letter and I got a really good I got a really nice letter back. And whether it's that this person doesn't work the same shifts or whatever, I've never seen this person there again. Whether it's got let go or had significant discussion or whatever it was, but I was I was fuming mad.

Scott Benner 48:06
Do you think the nurse was let go Who told someone their three year old didn't need a snack because the pump was going to stop the load from happening. The adults said there was a lot of insulin on board left. They told me that I was over managing him didn't know what I was talking about and the pump take care that pump takes care of everything. So

Jennifer Smith, CDE 48:27
literally this person was refusing to provide a treatment to hell.

Scott Benner 48:32
Yeah, we're, we're gonna end up here with some after this one, we're gonna end up with some school nurse stuff. So but you have to hear this one. My son had his first seizure from diabetes from a low when he was nine years old. To complicate things we had been doing karate the night before. And I was afraid that maybe he had his head too hard being thrown. They live in a rural area, and they went to the emergency room after giving him glucagon during the seizure. The ER doc had already been eyeing me because I'm a large bodied person, and I was getting judgmental looks. Then the CT scans came back. And I guess they were clear that they were they were clear. And the doctor said the CT scans are clear. And then quote if you guys just stay clear of the MooMoo burgers this won't happen again. Oh. And then while he was saying that, he was tracing Oh my god. I don't usually get thrown off by

Speaker 2 49:30
oh my gosh, I just thrown off Uber

Scott Benner 49:33
well while the ER doctor said if you guys just stay clear of the moo moo burgers this won't happen again. He was using his finger to trace her form in front of her oh wow, that threw me off. He walked out before I could muster up how to explain to him that one obesity doesn't cause type one diabetes and children. That to my child is actually adopted. And that fast food doesn't cause seizures. Oh, yeah, he still works at the hospital. She said she had to go back and wood and refuse to Sam. Oh my god. And she did she did write a letter to. Anyway, I actually made me upset

Jennifer Smith, CDE 50:18
makes I'm so sorry to that person. If I know I always tell people like when I'm working with, you know, people on Zoom, obviously. And sometimes there's a very, like emotional conversation. Sometimes people just get teary eyed and like, I wish I could give you a hug.

Scott Benner 50:34
I'm so sorry. That one threw me off except that like, I get that pins in my chest. I think I got I think I was mad. That was really something. Okay, so the school nurse, either get a good one or you don't? I don't know another way to say really are some really great ones. And oh, my god, there are Yeah, no, no, there, there absolutely are we and we ended up having good ones. I've heard of school nurses who have bought iPads with their own money to follow tax comps, things like that. But this person points out, you're going to get told by the school that the school nurse is trained to handle the problem. And that really might not be the case. So advocate, I don't

Jennifer Smith, CDE 51:17
think might is that marry, it may very well not be the case, you will very likely have to go in and educate in your individual nature of need. Because even if the school nurse has had experience with a type one, like you said before, in that example, which astounds me, no one will need the same management.

Scott Benner 51:44
And you might get this one who called the mom to say her sixth grader was on a trip with a school and they had a low blood sugar. But don't worry, they made sure he did not have any candy because they know diabetics cannot have sugar.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 51:58
Oh, I'd be in the car. Drive to wherever my child, my child. Oh, wait, hold by gets scarier especially like a child who really is old enough and knows better. would likely have something on their person and would likely know well enough to be like, Look, I'm going to treat this, I don't care what you're saying, I'm going to do what I need to do. But for a very small child, or one that doesn't really know quite yet what to do on their own. You are leaving it to the power of this nurse to help.

Scott Benner 52:34
Yeah, no, I mean, listen, there's a bigger conversation here, you have to educate them, you have to go to a meeting before school starts, you really have to lay the whole thing out, you know, put your intentions upfront how you want to manage it, what your expectations are of them. It's a it's a very delicate,

Jennifer Smith, CDE 52:51
I think I've seen often too, especially since school is really coming up for a lot of people, I see the discussion about five oh fours and all of the different plans and, and everything in what I've seen work the best, quite honestly, is a what I call a decision matrix. It's like an if this then this type of scenario. Very well bulleted, very easy to read in the moment in the need. So that you really can drive those points forward in an easy way. And then they

Scott Benner 53:23
will learn well, it won't take long to learn it after that. This one's a random one. I was diagnosed with type one and couldn't see an endo for the first year. But the doctor I was seeing kept giving me advice about how I could eat so that I could get off of insulin.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 53:37
Oh, thank goodness for that doctor. Yes, I'd like to talk to that doctor. Maybe he can teach me how to eat so I can

Scott Benner 53:45
Yeah, maybe you could get rid of why? Why is she bogarting this doctor who has all the great information. This is a long one I'm going to kind of synopsize a little bit because I think it makes a point. This person said that they were diagnosed for less than 90 days. And they got no note nothing like no information because happens to adults all the time. I know people like to say all the time, it's so hard for a kid to be diagnosed, it's hard for an adult to be diagnosed because they're like, here's insulin, good luck. And you know that that's it, this person found the podcast and this is not me just like trying to say something nice about possible but taught themselves what to do. And then use that information moving forward to shape how they were being managed by the doctor. Like by having like, information and knowing what you want. She was able to say look what I've accomplished. This is how I accomplished it. I'd like to keep doing it like this. And then what you don't know will happen but I trust me I know what's going to happen is the doctor is going to be relieved that they don't because I mean you've just heard these stories forever. They're gonna be like finally one of them I'm not going to mess up and like and then they can they're going to be thrilled to help correct

Jennifer Smith, CDE 54:57
so and help and me Maybe if you really get to have a good doctor there, maybe there will be very willing to ask you questions so that they can also learn more and help someone else who doesn't have the knowledge that you brought in, right? Maybe if they're really good doctor, you know, I also think that the doctors are like, thank goodness, this one's gonna help my ratings go up.

Scott Benner 55:24
Somebody's gonna look like me. They're gonna

Jennifer Smith, CDE 55:26
show that I actually know what I'm talking.

Scott Benner 55:30
So do you have a couple of minutes to just rapid fire through some miscellaneous ones at the end? Yeah, I've got about five minutes. I don't know what this one means. My 10 year old was getting her annual labs for celiac and thyroid, the phlebotomist said, at least you know, she won't grow up to be a junkie. Don't know what that means. Listen, I don't know. I was told by my doctor not to feed my son too much rice, because that will make him get diabetes.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 55:57
And this person already had diabetes.

Scott Benner 56:02
I don't know. I. So this is the stuff that people said that they hear. It's just diabetes. It happens because of diabetes. You need to get off of that stuff. Referring to insulin, insulin. All of my health thought problems are blamed on being diabetic. At one point, this person had a brain bleed. And they were telling them that this their blood sugar is why they have a headache. That on this made me curse. I am sorry, that was I know that they have to label me as uncontrolled for insurance reasons. But I worked so hard. And it really feels like a slap in the face. Yeah. So this person sees their chart and they say uncontrol Also, we didn't get into this. But I think a lot of this maybe we should find a place to get into this in the podcast, but the ADA still say and seven right for an agency. I think that's part of the problem, too. Let's see. I've been told that I can't do things because I have diabetes. Oh, you're a one C so good. Are you sure you even have diabetes? Oh, no, not

Jennifer Smith, CDE 57:15
it's all gone. Now that I got my a one C at this 5.2 level? Clearly I no longer have to do anything. Any. Hallelujah. I fixed it. Yeah.

Scott Benner 57:27
This person said they had a video of their kid online and they had on a pump. And a conspiracy theorist told them that they were turning the child into an antenna. That was interesting. I don't like hearing the word diabeetus. Cuz I don't think it's funny. I was once told I had asked if I had cancer because I saw my pod. That's actually I guess people would know that I know this because of my mom. There's a chemo drug Yes. That you're supposed to get for like 24 hours after. And they put it in and on the pod. It's not. I mean, on the pod insolate makes them you know,

Jennifer Smith, CDE 58:04
I've seen the commercials. With the rare amount of television. I see. Okay, once I saw, I was like, really? They're using the pods for something else. That's amazing. Yeah.

Scott Benner 58:16
I was called a drain on the healthcare system by a doctor. Yeah, wow. I don't know. I can't do much more of this. This is like this goes on and on and on forever. Like this. This is pages and pages of responses from people. This is just

Jennifer Smith, CDE 58:34
I mean, it goes back. I think it was probably within the first one or two of the myths that we did something about comments. You know what not and I said, you even my kindergartener has learned the whole Zipit locket put it in your stomach. Come on, just don't speak. If you're going to come out with something that's absurd. Just leave think first.

Scott Benner 59:02
Yeah, being I've been told I'm a helicopter mom for taking good care of my child's health. Okay, and I'm going to end on this one. Because this

Unknown Speaker 59:09
one, this is the end all of them.

Scott Benner 59:12
I mean, in my mind, it kinda is. And honestly, I can't keep scrolling like it goes on for freaking ever. Although Hold on. When you're nine years old, and you have a low blood sugar and your Dad Hey into a course to fix it. Oh, hold on. Here's what I'm ending on. A nurse told me a nurse who has diabetes. Type one told me another diabetes person. I run better on high octane. I leave my blood sugar high. Okay, there you go. Good luck, everybody.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 59:56
Oh, I don't even I don't know a comment for that. Other than that. I clearly should not be hopefully a diabetes nurse specialist because that's,

Scott Benner 1:00:07
yeah, this one wasn't a doctor, but I once told a friend I was pregnant and they said, I didn't think diabetics were allowed to get pregnant.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 1:00:14
Yeah, I've heard that more often than I need to, especially with the year that we are in currently and all the technology we have and what we know about that.

Scott Benner 1:00:24
Yep. Okay, Jenny, we've done it.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 1:00:28
I wish you know, I was like, smiling and happy and beginning.

Scott Benner 1:00:33
I know, we were all like, it's Friday. All right, I think it's obligatory to say, not every doctor doesn't know what they're talking about.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 1:00:42
100% There are really good physicians are really good nurses. They're really good health practitioners out there that really do what they are aiming to do for the benefit of the people that they're working with. Absolutely. But this clearly demonstrates

Scott Benner 1:01:00
that it exists in and there's more than a little bit of it and it's my intention to present it to you to say that if this any of this stuff or something like this has happened to you, you have to go get a better doctor. Yeah, absolutely. That's really why I'm putting this here. So I hope everybody enjoyed people's stories of ridiculousness, but thank you have a good

Jennifer Smith, CDE 1:01:21
weekend. You too.

Scott Benner 1:01:30
Always happy to have Jenny here. Don't forget she said integrated diabetes.com Speaking of being happy dexcom.com forward slash juice box, check out your blood sugar's in real time on your iPhone or Android. We're gonna thank us Med and remind you that at us med.com forward slash juice box, you can get your free benefits check and get going right away with us med or you can call them at 888-721-1514 Well, this was episode 998. Tomorrow is 999. With Arden it's her third appearance on the show. And then at episode 1000. The diabetes Pro Tip series is back and it's remastered sounds better than ever. Download them all and have them in your player for when you need them. If you are 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. This series is made up of 24 episodes. And it begins that 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 featured tab. The private Facebook group has over 40,000 members. There are conversations happening right now and 24 hours a day that you'd be incredibly interested in. So don't wait. So don't wait. Check out the bold beginning series today and get started on your journey. Episode 698 defines the bull 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 so Ben 76 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

#997 Oh, Canada

Roisin's child has type 1 diabetes and celiac.

You can always listen to the Juicebox Podcast here but the cool kids use: Apple Podcasts/iOS - Spotify - Amazon Music - Google Play/Android - Radio Public, Amazon Alexa or wherever they get audio.

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Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, and welcome to episode 997 of the Juicebox Podcast.

Today I'll be speaking with Rasheem. She is the mother of a child with type one diabetes and celiac, they are from Canada. And my note to myself says that I go on some sort of a rant during this episode about people not doing their job. So that'll be fun. 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 or becoming bold with insulin. You can drink ag one with my link drink ag one.com forward slash juice box. First time orders through the link get five free travel packs and a year's worth of vitamin D with their first order. You can save 40% off at cosy earth.com With my offer code juicebox that's off of everything. And of course if you're looking for Dexcom on the pod us med G Bo Capo pan are all the sponsors. The links in the show notes are a great way to support the podcast links in the show notes links at juicebox podcast.com. And don't forget to check out the private Facebook group it's absolutely free has 41,000 members Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes links also in the show notes this episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored. You hear that thunder? Can you hear that? Hold on. Oh, Scotty is in trouble. I better do this quick. This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by Omni pod makers of the Omni pod five and the Omni pod dash. Learn more Get started today at Omni pod.com forward slash juice box when you use my link, you're supporting the show. The podcast is also sponsored today by the Contour Next One blood glucose meter contour next.com forward slash juice box. The meters are available right there on the website actually the test strips as well. The reason you might care about that is because the contour brand of meters and strips may very well be cheaper in cash, like over the counter out of your pocket than they are through your insurance. Check it out at contour next one.com forward slash juicebox.

Roisin 2:32
My name is Ray machine. And I live in Canada. And I have two kids who are six and eight and my eight year old. I'll use his first name David. He has type one diabetes and celiac disease. He got the celiac diagnosis in February 2020, like a couple of weeks before the world shut down for COVID. And then he got the T one D diagnosis literally a year and three days ago. So January 2022.

Scott Benner 3:03
Thank God you said your name. Because yes, I know. Not spelled like that at all. No,

Roisin 3:09
that's that's that's Gaelic for you.

Scott Benner 3:12
Say it one more time for me. Rasheem got it? Yeah, I'm never going to look at where it's typed out in front of me. I'm just confused here. I mean, what's the most common mispronunciation rows? I

Roisin 3:28
get Roizen reason a lot. And I also answer to reason. Because if you change the O to an A is that that was a fun thing to grow up with in Canada.

Scott Benner 3:41
I'm just a pair of reading glasses away from calling you rays. And aren't I? There you go. Yeah. And in Canada. And you were born and raised?

Roisin 3:52
No, I was born in Ireland. But I moved here when I was six years old. So I'm Canadian at this point, essentially.

Scott Benner 3:58
Well, I was gonna say you're you don't have almost nothing accent. Yeah, yeah. So I thought maybe just that you were born there. But I mean, six is pretty young. So yeah. Okay, well, that explains all the autoimmune stuff. And

Roisin 4:13
yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Scott Benner 4:16
I don't know if we can move the sun towards that part of the world or something. But I

Roisin 4:20
think I don't know. We need some help. I don't know. If we could

Scott Benner 4:23
maybe in a couple of centuries. Wouldn't be going like this. Maybe. Okay, so how about in your family line? Any other autoimmune stuff? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. We

Roisin 4:33
got a few. So on my dad's side is aunt we believe she had celiac disease. But like this was a million years ago and I don't know what they would have even called it celiac disease. But she lived on a farm in rural Ireland and had to like ship special flour in to bake with because she couldn't eat regular flour. So we think that was celiac. And then his uncle had type one diabetes, but he died in the 80s before I was born, so I don't know how he managed it. And then my mom has celiac disease, but she wasn't diagnosed until her 40s When I was about 20. And I never knew of the connection to type one diabetes. But then when my son started having some like abdominal problems when he was five, my brain just kind of went, Oh, celiac, I should get them tested for that. And I called up the doctor and she was like, oh, it's probably not like, you're probably being a hypochondriac, but fine, fine, we'll test them. And then she called me back a few days later, and she was like, his numbers are off the charts. It's definitely celiac. You got to go gluten free right away. So that's, that's how that went?

Scott Benner 5:51
Well, I mean, honestly, good job. figuring it out so quickly, and not ignoring things that were obvious which a lot of us do.

Roisin 6:00
Yeah, well, if my mom wasn't celiac, I never would have. I never would have thought of it or known about it or whatever. So

Scott Benner 6:07
well, yeah, I know. But I've spoken to enough people whose like, siblings have diabetes. They're like, I didn't realize I had diabetes for Yeah, yeah. So it's interesting how your, your mind will want to lead you away from things you don't want to happen, you know? So

Roisin 6:22
absolutely. Yeah. And actually, I only found out recently, I had something when I was a kid called hen. Hanok shanling Pure pura. And I always knew I'd had it when I was a toddler. My parents have told me that it was in the hospital and stuff. I only found out recently that that is autoimmune. So I had something autoimmune, but I didn't realize until literally two or three weeks ago that it was autoimmune.

Scott Benner 6:47
So you made that up, right? What is that again?

Roisin 6:50
No, I know. It's that called hanok. It's h e n o c h and then Sean Lean is SDHONL e i n. Pure pura I got it. P U RP. You are You got it? Yeah, it's a IGA vasculitis. So it's an auto immune response. I had the mumps when I was just just before it turned two. And that was my auto immune response. But I didn't know my parents didn't know like I told them recently that that was autoimmune. And they were like, Oh, gee, nobody told us that. So don't even knew maybe they didn't know back then it was autoimmune because this this would have been like 1984 or something. You know,

Scott Benner 7:30
did they ever call it spring fever? I've never heard that. No, a disorder causing inflammation and bleeding in the small blood vessels. I don't even want to try to hanok I mean, what's the word the middle there's two dots over now affects the small blood vessels of the skin, joints, intestines and kidneys. It's most common before age seven, but can affect anyone symptoms include reddish purple spots on the lower extremities, swollen and sore joints, abdominal pain, and bloody urine. It's often often treated with steroids. Do you remember having it?

Roisin 8:07
No, it was like it was before my second birthday. Before I turned to

Scott Benner 8:12
my parents. Do you remember that? Yeah,

Roisin 8:14
exactly. My parents said basically, one morning like I was the kind of kid who used to come and wake them up at 5am every day. And one morning, they woke up and it was like seven and I hadn't woken them up yet. And they came to my room and I was just sitting there and they're like, What are you okay, like, what's wrong with you? And I was just like, oh, I can't walk. Like I can't walk anymore. And it because it causes it can cause like arthritis and stuff. Yeah. So I basically hurt too much to walk. But you know, being too I was just kind of like, oh, I guess I guess I can't walk today.

Scott Benner 8:43
Yeah, you guys can't spell and I can't walk. So there we go. Oh my gosh, how long was that lasts for?

Roisin 8:52
I think it was in the hospital a couple of weeks. No kidding. Yeah. I mean, back then they kept people in the hospital way longer to so. I don't know. But, you know, once it resolved, it was done and I never thought about it. You know, nobody ever really thought about it again. It's just like a funny family story. That time rushing couldn't walk for a few weeks

Scott Benner 9:12
is everyone remember the hilarious time the baby couldn't stand up? And it's your second and it's autoimmune?

Roisin 9:22
Yeah. About that. Yeah. Okay. I literally found that out. Like since Christmas. I found that out. And it blew my mind because I always figured the auto immune had skipped me and gone to my son. And then I found that it was like, oh, no, it's it's a direct link. There we go.

Scott Benner 9:38
Well, we're gonna add that to the list. I'm doing a series of a master list. Yes, we're doing a short series of other autoimmune issues. Nice. Just that an explanation. They literally might be, you know, 10 minute conversation, right. But yeah, just you know, as people come on, the more common ones are or become obvious like I used to hear like mobile thyroid and type one. And that's it. And then, you know, through the podcast, it was celiac as well. And then, you know, like, now I'm starting to hear more people talk about like, depression, bipolar stuff like that. And right, just thought like, I wonder what else people have that they would never relate back to this inflammation and autoimmune correctly anyway. Well, in you've had never had any other issues. No, about that. No. All right. So your son, David, he's diagnosed celiac first? Yes. And it's two years before stomach stomach pain, you recognize that take him to the doctor. That's that? And do you think after that, oh, he's gonna get more autoimmune stuff? Or does your brain not work that way?

At some point on your diabetes journey, a person gave you a blood glucose meter. Did they say to you, hey, this is a great blood glucose meter. It's one of the most accurate ones that they ever made. No, no, no one said that. Did they say, by the way, there are other blood glucose meters, you might want to look into it. I'm just gonna give you this one because I haven't here in the drawer. Nope, it doesn't say that either. They just gave it to you. And you thought, Well, this must be my blood glucose meter, because the doctor gave it to me. But there are many meters. And they're not all made equally. You deserve an accurate, well made and easy to use blood glucose meter, you deserve the Contour. Next One. The Contour. Next One is my favorite blood glucose meter. I know that's a strange thing to say. But we've used a number of them over the years. And this one is my favorite. Why? Bright light for use at night, the screen super easy to read. It's manageable. And by that I mean it's a good size. It's not too big. It's not too small. And I love the way it fits in my hand. It's sort of because of the shape which you'll see it contour next.com forward slash juicebox almost feels like you're holding up like a pen in your hand. I don't know how to put it exactly. You'll see when you get to the website. But the Contour Next One blood glucose meter is incredibly accurate. But you might be worried Scott all this accuracy. Is it more expensive? Am I going to be paying a bunch more money? I don't think so. Actually, if you go to contour next one.com forward slash juice box. You can actually buy it right now at a number of online venues. Walmart, Amazon, Walgreens, CVS, the list goes on and on target Rite Aid. And so when you get to my link, check it out. Because you might be able to save time and money buying contour next products from the convenience of your home. What am I saying? Well, I'm saying that it's possible that this meter and the test strips could be cheaper in cash than you're paying right now through your insurance company for an inferior product. How crazy is that? You owe it to yourself to be using the best equipment that you can. And there's no reason not to check out the Contour Next One blood glucose meter contour next one.com Ford slash juice box. My daughter Arden has been wearing an omni pod since she was four years old. And she is now 19 That is every day wearing an omni pod for the last 15 years. I think what we love most about the pod is that it doesn't have any tubing. But I don't know is that the thing you love most about it? You don't have to take it off to swim or bave you can leave it on for activity and exercise. It's small. I don't eat. I mean, it's so easy to put on. Right to fill it and to put it on. It's just it takes us no time at all. Yeah, I guess it's hard to figure out what my favorite thing about Omni pod is. I guess I'll just say that my daughter loves it. It's easy, and it's worked for her. For so many years. It's just such a friend at all this Omni pod.com Ford slash juice box you can check your coverage there for your insurance. Or take a test drive right? Would you like a free trial of the Omni pod? You can do that there as well. Then you can just get started Omni pod.com forward slash juicebox. Now you have a decision to make. Do you want the Omni pod dash, which is an insulin pump where you make all the decisions? Or do you want the Omni pod five now the only part five is the first and only tubeless automated insulin delivery system to integrate with a Dexcom G six and it's available for people with type one diabetes ages two years and older. It features smart adjust technology, and it's going to help you to protect against highs and lows both day and night. That's an algorithm based system making decisions about insulin given it and taking it away. It's pretty damn cool. Omni pod.com forward slash juice box links in the show notes links at juicebox podcast.com When you use Those legs, you're supporting the production of the podcast and helping to keep it free and plentiful.

Roisin 15:09
No, I had no idea the links, but I have to like I had we had an amazing gastroenterologist. We spent a year sort of on the program at our local kids hospital with gastroenterology, you know, when we went every few months and checked his levels and made sure we were managing the gluten free diet and that kind of thing. And then literally like a year later, we did really well his numbers were off the charts. At at first is number they give you like a value greater than value. So his numbers were at 4975, like greater than huge. And then a year later, his numbers were at 21. And basically, they want you to get it to 20 or lower. So we were doing great. But the last thing she said to us before she sort of discharged us to self care. She was like, Oh, by the way, there's a link to type one diabetes. So if you ever noticed a, b and c, make sure you check on that. And I just kind of went oh yeah, whatever. Okay.

Scott Benner 16:07
Just beat celiac disease. So I'm just gonna leave. Yeah, in triumph if you don't mind. Yeah,

Roisin 16:11
exactly. Exactly. Yeah, all

Scott Benner 16:15
this was handled with just diet, right? Like you got from that big number to that smaller number through diet. How difficult or not difficult was it for David to make those adjustments.

Roisin 16:26
So he was only five, which I think helped I, you know, I hear about people getting diagnosed celiac when they're like 14 or 15. And they've had a life of eating, you know, Domino's Pizza, or whatever. And I think that's different, that five years still sort of micromanaging their diet. And also that was like, That was literally a few weeks before the big COVID locked down. So we and where we live, we had some of the strictest lockdown policies anywhere. We basically spent the next two years like preparing all his food. Yeah, so that kind of really helped. He was a pretty he's a superstar about it. Like, once we found the few staples for him, we found you know, some breads that he liked some cookies that he likes some cereal that he liked. We all just um, I like to cook and stuff anyway. So I was always, you know, making meals from scratch and that kind of thing anyway, other than eating out? I didn't find it. I don't find it much of a challenge.

Scott Benner 17:20
Okay. Did the whole family adjust, or

Roisin 17:25
we're kind of I would say we're probably 80 to 90% Gluten Free at home. I changed. We don't we only have gluten free pasta. We only buy gluten free snack foods. We eat a lot of Whole Foods anyway, like just fruit, vegetables, cheese, meat, that kind of thing. He has his own bread and his own toaster. We do have gluten bread in the house, just because I have six and eight year old boys who never stop eating bread. And his loaves of bread are $6 plus a loaf. You know, there's a few little things like that, that we do have gluten in but for the most part, we're pretty gluten free. I would say

Scott Benner 18:01
Yeah. How's the healthcare system in? I don't know, like, just generally speaking, but part of Canada, you were in Ontario. Okay. There's so interesting. Like, there be some people in some parts of Canada who are like, you know, I needed to go to the doctor and it took nine months for me to get an appointment. And then there are some people who have stories like yours, like, oh, the doctor, bah, bah, bang, bang, bang, you know, like, it's, it's super interesting, but it's by province, right? Like, that's how the

Roisin 18:29
province and even even region like Ontario is kind of, we're kind of a weird province because we have some of the most populous cities in Canada. But then the northern parts of Ontario are like very rural and very sort of, you won't have the same access to services and stuff. So I'm lucky I live in a major city. You know, the children's hospitals a half hour drive for us. And I'm lucky that we have a family doctor have a long standing family doctor. Now there's like a big doctor shortage. So if you don't have one, it's really hard to get on a caseload somewhere.

Scott Benner 19:01
Yeah, yeah, we took away the we took away the possibilities for doctors to be rich and a lot of greedy people were like, I don't want to be doctors anymore.

Roisin 19:10
Yeah, and I think the pandemic is just burned out a lot of them too. And they've gotten out of out of the practice or gone to places where they can make more money.

Scott Benner 19:19
Fascinating isn't like, I don't have a job where I can just go like, I'll just go me to go do something else now. I wonder what that's like, I don't wanna do this anymore. Like not that maybe they didn't have a good reason. I'm just saying like, Oh, yeah, an amazing ability to be able to like, I'm just gonna go do something else now. Like,

Roisin 19:35
I'm gonna pick up and leave now. Yeah,

Scott Benner 19:37
I had somebody asked me the other day like, you know, if the podcast like just collapsed, would you start another one? I was like, you know, I was like, This is a once in a lifetime thing that this work delegate just you don't just go make another one. And people are like, Oh, okay, well, we'll make that one to your next one. We'll make that one popular too. I'm like, it doesn't work that way, you know, but yeah, like that. It does sound nice. Though like, I don't want to be a doctor anymore, I'm gonna do something else. Anyway, the reason I asked about that is because once David's diagnosed with type one, I'm wondering if they went right into fast acting, you know, insulin with?

Roisin 20:15
Yeah, no, that's like I have that on my list of things I want to talk about.

Scott Benner 20:20
So what's the first sign of type one? And when you saw it, did you think oh, that nurse jinxed us?

Roisin 20:27
Yeah, maybe. No he. So school was shut down for COVID at the time when his symptoms started coming up, which, like, in a way was a blessing because I was with him 24/7. And so I really got to, I saw the progression, you know, he was doing online school at the time, and I'm a stay at home parents. So like I was supervising him and my other kid, they were, you know, in different rooms on their iPad, and I was making sure they had snacks and drinks and they were paying attention to their teachers and all of that. And he started like, going to the bathroom all the time, and refilling his water bottle all the time. And my husband and I were just like, David, get back to class. Like, we know virtual class is boring, but like, you have to do it, just do it. So stop, stop trying to get out of it every five minutes for a drink of water or a bathroom break. And that's all we thought it was at first. And then he was also just eating like, ridiculous amounts. And he's always been a big eater. But like, I started taking pictures of his plates and sending them to my friends and being like, Haha, growing boys, look what he can eat. He's only seven. And then you know, a couple little things started clicking. And I remember that conversation, I'd had it discharged with the celiac. And I was like, oh, no, like, this can't No, this can't be it. And then I actually I have one of my best friends. Her daughter has type one, her daughter who's the same age as my son. But she was diagnosed at four. And I was texting her and I was like, I don't know, what do you think? And she was like, why don't you just come over and use my glucometer? And you know, like, It's probably nothing. But we'll check. And then you'll know. And I was like, yeah, yeah, let's do that. So I brought him over one Saturday morning. He just had pancakes and maple syrup. And we practice finger and it just read Hi. And my friend and her husband, they both kind of got tears in their eyes and just looked at me and we're like, yeah, we gotta go to the hospital. And that was that. Yeah,

Scott Benner 22:27
to get that maple syrup right out of a tree or to buy in a store?

Roisin 22:30
No, I am not very handy that way. I'm straight from the grocery store.

Scott Benner 22:37
Oh my gosh, it's it's hard to hear that. Or I guess. Like I put myself in your position. But it it must have been difficult to see them get upset.

Roisin 22:48
It was Yeah. Yeah, they both. Yeah, they both tear it up right away. And I was just like, oh, gosh, I know. You know, I'd seen my friend go through it. So I knew it was hard. But you don't know how hard until it's you?

Scott Benner 23:02
Yeah, I was just gonna say that. I was gonna ask the question like, did you? Do you look back now and have more context for the sadness that they had? Or did you? Oh, my

Roisin 23:10
God, like, a couple of weeks later, I messaged her. And I was like, I'm so sorry. I wasn't there for you more like, I'm so sorry. I didn't come and like, I don't know what I could have done, like cleaned your whole house and done all your laundry and taking care of your other child. I'm so sorry. I didn't do that for you. Because now. Now I get it.

Scott Benner 23:28
Yeah. Well now. Because now you're looking at your laundry. And you're

Roisin 23:33
like, I need someone to come do this for me because I was up all night with a low blood sugar. You know,

Scott Benner 23:37
I remember. I remember the moment. I'm so much older now. But I remember the moment when you make that decision in your head. You're like, okay, laundry is not always going to go from the hamper, through the system and right back into drawers. And we're all going to be okay with that. Yeah, exactly. We're all just gonna be okay with that. My wife have enough clothes. My wife fought the longest. She's like, they can't lay around like this. I was like, Oh, I don't know what's gonna happen to happen. Yeah, come up here and do it yourself if you want, but that's about it. Exactly. So David getting a second diagnosis him differently than the first one.

Roisin 24:17
You know, in a way, I think having two years of knowing he had celiac and something that was different than most people in his life, that it almost like laid the groundwork for diabetes. Like he said something in the hospital ER that just like it broke my heart. It was the cutest thing. The doctor sort of said something to him like, like when he was being diagnosed with type one. Like, oh, are you okay? David? Like how do you feel about this? He's like, Well, now now I have to find a cure for celiac and type one diabetes. I was just like, like my heart broke, you know to hear him say that but it was very cute.

Scott Benner 24:56
Does he wants to do something scientific.

Roisin 24:59
Oh, I don't think you know, I think he could do what he wanted he just played Roblox and Minecraft all day but he's got lots of interest yeah

Scott Benner 25:08
don't worry I watched my 22 year old son break up with baseball in his head this year and it was took a while yeah so just between you and me he'll never hear this does he have a scientific mind so far you don't think so?

Roisin 25:21
Oh yeah no he's He's pretty good at science and math and stuff I think if we want if he wanted to go that way probably good all right,

Scott Benner 25:28
well then let's put him on it I don't know what we're busy with this Roblox is that what it's called Roblox? ROBLOX Yeah, we did I make something else up or no did actually exist? Yeah,

Roisin 25:40
it's it. Don't Don't even bother. It's you don't need to know. Consider yourself lucky that you're not exposed to the world of Roblox.

Scott Benner 25:51
Listen, I just again to show my age. I was Rolie polie. Olie bear in the Big Blue House. The Little Einsteins, like this is the stuff my kids saw on television when they were younger. Something called out of the box, where these two people who appeared to be captives of the television production crew were forced to sing with children. And oh, I always assumed they didn't want to be there. I thought oh, I guess they're paying them. But they they look like captives to me. Like they were just overperforming the big faces and oh, God, no, I'm gonna wonder about that all day. All right, I don't want to talk about that. I could sing the song. It's ridiculous.

Roisin 26:37
Oh, yeah, that stuff sticks with you forever.

Scott Benner 26:39
Yeah, I'm there. I'm not singing the song in case you wonder. But I so in your note to me, you you wrote a lot.

Roisin 26:46
Yeah, I was like a mess when I wrote that. I think

Scott Benner 26:51
I always love when people are like, I don't know, what I wrote was in a daze. You know, it's, um, you know, some people will come on and joke like, well, I, you know, I'm recording now, six months after I signed up. And yeah, and I'm always like, honestly, for some of you newer diagnosed people, I think that's too soon. Like, I've put people off longer at times, because of their state of mind. And I've been, you know, once you've been through this a little more raunchy, come back. But describe that, like, when you reached out, why did you reach out and what felt like the imperative,

Roisin 27:22
I think I was just like, I was grieving, like, a lot. You know, like, sort of the loss of the life that you think you're gonna have for your kid. And I didn't know about anything, you know, like, like most people like type one diabetes, and you had something to do with injections, and insulin and sugar. And I don't know, I thought people with diabetes just sort of gave their selves four shots a day, every six hours and went on with their life. Like, I had no idea. And when you start to learn that, oh, no, it's so so, so much more than that. It's just very, I think I was overwhelmed. I was super overwhelmed. Yeah, I'm somebody who like, really likes to, if I do something, I want to do it. Well, otherwise, I'm not going to do it. And I don't really have any choice in this matter. I have to do it. So I have to do it. Well, you know what I mean? And I think yeah, I was just really overwhelmed. Probably.

Scott Benner 28:12
You wanted to share it with someone or you wanted to get answers or you had,

Roisin 28:18
what do you think? Maybe just shouting at the universe? I don't know. Oh, I've tried to get Yeah, I don't know, get help get get comfort, get solidarity. And then I think also, I'd been listening to you a little bit and just sort of being like, how do I get to the point where you are. And like, I realize, even you know, I'm one year in now. And you're I don't know how many years you are with Arden, like 16 or 17 or something. It's a, it's apples to oranges. You can't really compare it. But I think at that time, it was just like, Okay, I need to get to where Scott is, and I need to get there by next week. So how do I do that?

Scott Benner 28:54
Well, I can help you speed up a little bit. But I don't think I can give you the whole 60. Although I guess the podcast is getting to be quite a compendium maybe one day. Yeah, we'll figure out how to do it. But yeah, I mean, I mean, Arden was to she's 18 now. So 16 years, I get I know the feeling of of, like wanting all the information at once. But the truth is, is like, you know, you get to that the same way. I mean, what's the saying about how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice? Exactly. So I think it's a very similar situation. People don't like to think of it that way. Which is why I usually talk about like, you know, you have to have these experiences over and over again and really take something from them and, you know, so you can move on to the next one with some like firm understanding. And it's hard to hear, like, yeah, in the day, you know what I mean? Like when the day's moves so slowly. And then next day, you don't feel like you've made any progress over the day before.

Roisin 29:53
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But I like I've been having a lot of feelings about that the last week or so because It was David's one year diagnosis date this past Sunday, just a couple of days ago. And so like, a year out now, I'm kind of able to like, like, what was I doing last January last February, like, wow, like we have come so far. You know, we're still not perfect. It's progress, not perfection, learning new things all the time, of course, but like, I wish I could have gone back to me a year ago. And then like, a year from now, you're gonna have such a better handle on this. Like, you won't, you won't be panicking every day. I always

Scott Benner 30:32
like struggle with how to like, get that across to somebody. Like Like, yeah, one day, he. So how do you feel about the thing that I say that diabetes doesn't get easier, but you get so much better at it that some days it kind of feels easy? Yeah. 100%? Yeah, yeah, that's the vibe, like so you're doing this difficult thing. But you're so skilled at some point that, that feelings gone like so have you lost that horrible feeling in your gut,

Roisin 30:57
you know, there's still moments, the biggest thing I struggle with with him right now is like, he's an eight year old boy who has zero predictability in his activity levels. So like, he can go from lying on the couch, to sprinting around the house and do the same thing four times in an hour. And we're on MDI. So like, there's no messing around with the Basal rates or anything like that. So like, it's one thing when he's in the house with me, I can be like, David, like, stop zooming around the house and have a have a little juice. But then when I know he's doing that at recess at school, and I'm watching the Dexcom, and I'm like, Oh, I guess he's sprinting around the playground. You know? Like, those are the moments that are hard for sure.

Scott Benner 31:40
I, you know, I just You didn't say you had a horrible feeling in your stomach. I just assumed you did. So yeah. It's a, it's really something else. Hey, quick sidenote, the two actors from out of the box I've now looked into. Yes. And they did nothing ever after the show. Which

Roisin 32:00
maybe they did hate it.

Scott Benner 32:02
And it ran for six years. They did like 70 Some episodes of this children's show. I found the woman Vivian on Instagram. And I'm not calling her out. It's just so sad. She doesn't even have 5000 followers on Instagram. And she's doing like, there's like, you remember what episode this happened? And I'm like, Oh, you're not really talking to anybody. But okay. The other guy, Tony, if anyone listened. Now, I just feel at this point. Like I owe it to people to go over this. Tony apparently has done nothing professional either. So, you know,

Roisin 32:35
I just I just googled it and the image generates some kind of memory in me. Does it feel like I've seen it before? Yeah, it's what was it? 998 to 2004. So yeah, okay. The feeling one in 82. Well, yeah,

Scott Benner 32:49
the feeling it brings up inside of me. Machine is. I don't know if you ever heard this phrase, dude, chill. Because that's how I used to feel. When I saw it. I was like, I can't believe we're doing this. I feel douchey. Yeah. So just real quick, and then we'll get back to your story. The phrase, Deus chill doesn't hit you, right? You're not old enough? No, isn't that amazing? It's an urban, it means an exclamation, calling attention to an embarrassment of someone who has brought ill consequence on themselves. That's how I felt for those people I watched.

Roisin 33:26
They call it like, cringe now. cringe. Yeah. Are you? I'm 4010 years

Scott Benner 33:34
younger than me. And that, I find that incredibly interesting. Okay, so you have I guess we're gonna get to this part, right? You're in Canada. So you get type one diabetes? Do they give you insulin from 1980? Or do they give you insulin?

Roisin 33:49
Absolutely. Absolutely. At the ER, and our diagnosis was like our his diagnosis was, we were in the ER for a total of four hours. We did not stay overnight. We didn't have any big intense it was he walked in, he walked out. And with a bag of supplies where it was like here go keep your child alive. Or like Okay, I'll try. And we got mph and humor log to start and we were told how many carbs to eat per meal and we had a sliding scale and a little we had this little card it was like if if his blood sugar's above this add this much if it's below this add the takeaway this month. Sure. Whatever and, and I hated it. I absolutely hated it. I found it pretty useless.

Scott Benner 34:37
How long did you do it before you push back?

Roisin 34:41
A few weeks. I started I started listening to the podcasts really early. Like literally, there was a teacher at my kids school who steps son is type one and somebody I know whose husband was type one. And within the first couple of weeks, they had both reached out to me and said You gotta listen to the juicebox Okay, and they started Listening to a few things, and hearing about carb ratios and stuff. I was like, well, well, yeah, like, that makes sense. Can I have one of those please? So we were we were doing everything virtually because of COVID. Also, so I'm emailing the team being like, Can you teach us a carb ratio, please? They're like, well, I don't know. It's a pretty complex thing. And I'm like, no, like, my husband and I are pretty smart. We know what a ratio is. I know how to carb count. I had fried way prior to all this, probably like 2019 2021 21. I put myself on a keto diet. And I was like, strict strict about it. So like, I knew how to count carbs. That wasn't, I already knew how many grams of carbs were in an apple or a handful of blueberries or whatever else. Like, I just knew that stuff. I don't need this sliding scale. This is useless to me. But we got we got the carb ratio a few weeks in and that definitely help.

Scott Benner 35:55
Can I ask that they really said it was complicated?

Roisin 35:58
Yeah, yeah. I think that's like, I don't know, I think that's one of my themes. I shouldn't put words in their mouth. I don't, I can't remember if they actually use the word complicated or not. But my husband and I have felt from the get go that, like, they're always sort of holding back what they want to give you and teach you, because they don't know if you have the capacity for it. And I kind of get it because they're dealing with people from all areas of life. But I wish there was a way for them to look at certain people and be like, Oh, we can probably speed this up for you guys. Because we were ready for that.

Scott Benner 36:33
Yeah. I mean, I know I've talked about this. But I don't I don't I don't know if I sound. I don't know, like I might do I sound erudite when I say this, but I mean, is it really that hard to count carbs? Like it's on the package?

Roisin 36:48
I mean, I guess it's just like one more thing on top of everything else. Maybe they're just trying not to overwhelm you. But

Scott Benner 36:54
how early induced? Was it? When you were asking? And they were like,

Roisin 36:59
maybe two or three weeks? I can't remember. We like we have to push them to get a carb ratio.

Scott Benner 37:06
I have an episode, where you could make your

Roisin 37:08
own. Yeah, I hadn't gotten there.

Scott Benner 37:11
It just went out a couple weeks ago. I apologize for Shane for not making the podcast fast enough for you. I really did let you down. I apologize. Oh, that's interesting. So you got it from them. And you had to you basically had to vouch for Dave to make you take a 10 like a 10 question IQ quiz just real quick, or did they just give it and let you do it?

Roisin 37:34
No, they Well, it was we're doing this on Zoom call. And so they're sort of they start explaining it to us. And I was like, Yeah, I get it. 30 grams of carbs, one 250. And he gets two units. I got it. And they're like, Oh, okay. You know, like we demonstrated pretty quickly that like, we could do this. So I think once they sort of realized that they were happy enough to go through it with us, but I don't know. It's just I felt like they were like gatekeeping a lot at the beginning. Yeah.

Scott Benner 38:00
Did you hear anyone yell over their shoulder? Oh, oh, we got a smart one here or something like that? No. I'm just teasing. I'm sure people in Canada don't talk like that. So. Okay, so you got to that. And that made it easier for you? I would imagine. Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. Was he not? honeymooning at all looking back?

Roisin 38:24
Um, I don't think he ever had what I see some people call their honeymoon like for for him his honeymoon was more in my opinion, like cyclical. Like we would just he always he needed insulin for every card from the get go. Like that was just the way it was. But then every so often, and it was more frequent at first and you know, less frequent as we've gone through the year. He has these days where it's like, Oh, your pancreas is working today. And we have a little joke. We'll just be like, Oh, Mr. Pancreas turned on today. I guess. I guess we'll just be careful today. And maybe we'll go for ice cream later, you know? Yeah, exactly, exactly. We'll just watch the CGM and see what happens. And at first, it would be like, you know, every couple of weeks, he might have two to four days like that. And then, you know, then it was every four weeks, then every six weeks. And now the last time I can remember this happening was the beginning of December. He had, it was maybe not even 24 hours, but just where we just could not keep his levels up and he wasn't sick. And he wasn't, you know, he wasn't running a marathon. He wasn't doing anything spectacularly different. It was just like, every time he'd eat blood sugar would go up and hit maybe like not I have a conversion table here. His blood sugar might hit like a 140. Yeah. And then without insulin, come right back down on his own. And he'd start going low and we'd have to give him more.

Scott Benner 39:49
And do you find that a lot of celiac friendly foods are higher in carbs?

Roisin 39:54
Well see, that's the interesting thing. I see people talk about that all the time, but he had his diet, his celiac diagnosis. Just two years before type one diabetes, so I have no experience bolusing for wheat and gluten full foods. So I don't know what the difference is.

Scott Benner 40:09
Do you have any trouble? bolusing for them? No,

Roisin 40:11
I don't think so. Like I see I see people all the time say it's harder, but I don't know anything different. Maybe it is harder. I don't know how he would his blood sugar would react with wheat. So I can't really say if it's harder or the same or easier or whatever. And I don't find it an issue like I don't think the gluten free is an issue.

Scott Benner 40:34
Good. That's great if you do not use a lot of prepackaged gluten free foods.

Roisin 40:38
I wouldn't say we don't use a lot. We do like eat chips and we have a gluten free pizza we buy from Costco he likes and granola bars and gluten free Oreos like he has all those things but all like we're a moderation family and we were like that before type one diabetes came into our life. So you know, he might get one or two Oreos, not a whole sleep. Right?

Scott Benner 41:01
I'm embarrassed but that Costco pizza. It's in the green and white box. Yeah, it is really good. Yeah.

Roisin 41:06
It's really good. Everyone. I've served it to likes it.

Scott Benner 41:09
It's it's still frozen pizza, but it's somehow I don't know. It's enjoyable. Yeah, it might make it in my mind not as pizza, but for whatever it is. If you gave it its own food category. I like

Roisin 41:22
to call it a flatbread or something. Yeah,

Scott Benner 41:23
that's good. I am a little embarrassed. You said the Costco pizza is like I know that pizza.

Roisin 41:30
Every everybody likes it. Everybody likes this gluten free pizza. Yeah,

Scott Benner 41:33
you're so nice. I felt so silly. Saying it for some reason. Oh my god. Okay, so and he's MDI still, is that right? Yes, yeah.

Roisin 41:43
Which is like another bone, I have to pick with the medical system. Because we want a pump. We've wanted a pump since like two months in. But the way it works here is the government will help will cover the pump for us. But you have to be MDI for a year. So that's great. But you know, his diagnosis date has passed, and he's still MDI and he's on a pump start waitlist. And we only got put on the pump start waitlist after we passed a little test in October, November. I mean, we could have passed that test last spring. So why didn't they give us the test last spring? And then we could be on a pump by now. And

Scott Benner 42:23
did you ask did you ask to do it earlier? And they told you no. Or just you just went with it? Oh,

Roisin 42:28
we we've been saying since you know, after the initial diagnosis, shock, you know, maybe the first couple months, we've been saying we want a pump. We want a pump as soon as possible. Please get off the pump. We want a pump. What do we have to do to get a pump?

Scott Benner 42:43
They said wait a year, and then on the magical year date? They were like, Okay, now get in the line, basically. Yeah, yeah, exactly. But first, smarty pants, you have to pass this test, by the way,

Roisin 42:54
and it was it was like, What is a carbohydrate? Why do you have to cover carbohydrates with insulin? How many slices of bread that your child eats? Yeah, it was just like, if I feel like if I didn't know that stuff, I would have killed them by now.

Scott Benner 43:11
Everyone. Why society doesn't lunge forward constantly. You know, you're always like, Why did things take so long? Yes, exactly. Here's one of your answers.

Roisin 43:21
You said something. And it was an early episode, because like I sort of started at the beginning about it was like speed limits on roads. And it was like, yeah, like most of us could could drive a lot faster and be fine. But because there's some people who can't we got to, we got to slow it down for everyone. We all do this. That's kind of how I felt.

Scott Benner 43:41
Yeah, I mean, I guess I'm laughing because maybe someone couldn't pass the test and our carbohydrates and everything, but I guess I'm laughing more because it's the expectation, like, why do we set our expectations? So, you know, like, like, like, imagine somewhere, somebody got down, they sat in a room and like, we have to come up with a test to make sure that it's okay for people to go from MDI to pumping now, let's Yeah, let go the idea that that's probably not necessary, but okay. Somebody's decided they have to make a test. And then that ends up being the test. Yeah, yeah. You're sitting there looking at it thinking this is an incredible waste of time and effort.

Roisin 44:19
Yes, yes. I 100% did.

Scott Benner 44:23
Oh, no. Put me in charge. I'll fix.

Roisin 44:28
Fix fix everything.

Scott Benner 44:29
My first day is king, I will take away the test to get the why will at least make it valuable so that when you answer the question, I can tell if you'd be able to use a pump or not.

Roisin 44:38
Sure. Yeah, talk about like Basal rates or something. It'd be like, do they do they understand this concept, but no,

Scott Benner 44:46
a whole diabetes and MDI, how would you not understand what a car does and how you've been doing it already?

Roisin 44:54
Exactly.

Scott Benner 44:56
Wow. You know, Can I say something please? Office, why not? Right? Go for it. Yeah, there are days when I wonder why I'm successful. And then there are days when I think I'm not really beating out many people. Yeah. I mean, like, yeah, I feel bad. Like I sent my son off into the world. And he just like, Do you have any like, words of wisdom here? And I said, Yeah, you've probably already got like, 80% of the people be just, you know, yeah, go. Like, you'll get no room with 10 people. And you'll, you'll realize, like, some people don't care. Some people don't try. Some people don't I don't even think it's because they don't have it in them. Like sometimes, like everybody's symptoms, people are just content. Like, that's how that list makes me feel like that, that tests like somebody sat down with diabetes, carbs. Yeah, you know, ask those questions. And I did the thing. I made the test like I was supposed to. And now, God knows how many years later, and how many people they've tortured with that stupid test to get somebody?

Roisin 45:59
Oh, yeah, it felt really old fashioned. Really old fashioned. Yeah,

Scott Benner 46:02
don't Yeah, everyone keep not trying. I enjoy doing well. I mean, you don't I mean, like,

Roisin 46:08
like, it takes a little easier. Yeah. Listen,

Scott Benner 46:11
if four of you tried harder, I might be done. You don't? I mean, like, I've Eltek I'm so special. I'm just working hard. Like, just Yeah, I don't know. It's just, it's frustrating. You're like, why are we talking about this, but I'm very frustrated.

Roisin 46:27
This is how I fell for a whole year.

Scott Benner 46:29
I think it's because my mom's in the hospital right now. And you know, I appreciate that. But as you're going through and working through the problems, you recognize that if you don't help, they're going to follow some bullet list. And she'll either be okay, or she won't. And they're not very hard, you know?

Roisin 46:49
Yeah, you have to advocate you have to, like if having having a child with medical conditions has made me learn anything, it's, you have to advocate. The other thing is, I was gonna bring this up, too. I want to know if you've ever heard of this. David actually had a couple major seizures before he was diagnosed with anything autoimmune. And like it, he was at four years old, and at five years old, and then the celiac came at seven. Obviously, he had celiac before them, we just didn't know. But I can't you know, there's something in my brain. I can't help but wonder if those seizures were related to upcoming autoimmune problems? Because the doctors could never find a reason for them

Scott Benner 47:31
to be experiencing a memory loss after them. No, no, I

Roisin 47:35
wouldn't say so. Like he couldn't remember the actual period of the seizure. But you remember just before and just after?

Scott Benner 47:41
Interesting. I don't know. I mean, I'm being perfectly honest with you. I'm not sure.

Roisin 47:46
Yeah, I just wasn't sure if that's something you'd heard people say before? Or

Scott Benner 47:50
did it like a blood sugar low? Or was it something

Roisin 47:55
I don't like? I assume they checked his blood sugar levels. But this was way before diabetes was part of our life. So like, both times, we took them to the ER, obviously. And they ran whatever tests they run, and he had MRI and EGS. And all you know, all kinds of things and no discernible cause ever found. But like, I don't know, I don't have that. I don't know any other kids who had grand mal seizures at four or five and two autoimmune diseases at sub five and seven.

Scott Benner 48:25
Yeah, I heard about one little girl who couldn't walk once. But that's that's the only part of the story. Yeah,

Roisin 48:29
that's a different story. And it was pretty funny.

Scott Benner 48:31
I wish I would say, I love that your family just turned that into like, like a fun tale about the time the baby couldn't walk.

Roisin 48:40
I don't think it was fun at the time. No, like, no. My parents credit. I think they were very upset at the time. But you know, 20 years later, they're able to laugh about it.

Scott Benner 48:49
Are your parents, your first your first generation so your parents weren't born in? They were both born in Ireland. Yeah. So this happened to you in Ireland? Yes. They probably just picked you up. And they were like, this one's broken. I know. It's so funny. You're telling a story from like the 70s and 80s. And I'm acting like it's 1800.

Roisin 49:12
Yes. No, no, they had hospitals and

Scott Benner 49:17
I'm sorry. Give me I made myself laugh. And whatever's left from my COVID from nine months ago is still in there somewhere. Yeah. I'm gonna I'm gonna circle back to something for a second because I'm sure I'm still irritated. And if I don't let it go, we won't be able to move forward. All right. What does it mean to advocate for yourself? I Googled this. Self Advocacy means you are able to tell people about your thoughts and feelings. You were able to ask for what you need and one, you know your rights and you speak up for your rights. You are able to make choices and decisions that affect your life and take responsibility for the choices you make. All I hear when I read That is the people you're going to intersect may very well not do the things they're supposed to do. So you're gonna have to make them. Am I wrong? Or is that?

Roisin 50:09
No, I think you're right. I but I do think a lot of it comes down to at least here like the hospital staff being overworked, like, the backlogs are just really intense. Everybody has too many patients and not enough time and all of that kind of stuff. So and like, funding just gets cut year by year. It's like, Oh, let's see where are we can chisel off a little bit more, you know. And you're constantly asked to do more with less. So if you're, it's the squeaky wheel gets the grease, if you're not the one calling and emailing and asking the questions and pushing the deadlines and blah, blah, blah, then you're the one who just sort of sits at the bottom of the waitlist for things. See,

Scott Benner 50:54
I hear you. And I agree. And yeah, what I think is, if I took my car to have new tires put on it, and there was a really long line, and they gave me the car back without all the lug nuts on it. What I go, Oh my God, they're very overworked. Like,

Roisin 51:10
no, we don't like we don't pay for healthcare here. Right? Like, that's not coming out of my pocket, huh? Yeah, like, whereas if I go to a mechanic, I'm handing them $1,000 somebody's

Scott Benner 51:22
paying them though, right?

Roisin 51:24
Oh, yeah, I know. And taxes are high and all of that. And we do, you know, you try to get your voice voice heard through your political decisions and that kind of thing. But yeah, you're not signing the paycheck.

Scott Benner 51:37
I think I'm more upset with people and their, their lack of desire in their chosen professions. Sometimes, and I don't just mean medical, like, I don't know, I'm all over the place today. But like, I'm picturing some guy tending his herd of cattle in South America with a stick. And I'm thinking like, try harder. You don't I mean, like, like, we've modernized everything, to the point where we're the things we complain about are, are sometimes interesting. And, and people I know, I know, everybody's not doing what they want. But I don't know, like, I'll put it on myself for a second, I had a lot of jobs I didn't want. And I got paid crap for them. Like, honestly, like, I made $4.50 an hour to work in a sheetmetal shop. If anybody thinks like I, I sprung out of my car and bounced to the door every morning for that job. You know, it wasn't a lot of fun. I wasn't compensated enough to even live barely, it was absolutely no fun. I got injured all the time. But we still went in there and worked our asses off every day. And we were under staffed and underpaid. And it was an unsafe work environment. And I never would have thought to say any of those things, anybody. I just went, I did that job. And in my mind, I thought, I'm going to do this, but I don't want to do this forever. So I'm gonna find a way to do something else. Right, you know, and I don't, I don't know, no one ever gave me a job or offered me a job or helped me I just, I kept clawing my way up a rickety ladder. And yeah, and then I hear like, I don't know, I have to ask what you're saying. I'm so pissed. I don't know why. How did you make the upset? Alright, I'm gonna let it go. Because it's unfair to you. But everybody work harder. There are just care a little bit once in a while. You don't mean like, somebody comes in and says something to you. Like, I know you're busy, but try to see them for their problem. They're there for help. And you're and you're and you're representing yourself as someone who's going to help them. So help them or don't quit, leave, you know, like, take,

Roisin 53:48
I have to say like, in their defense, everyone we've dealt with has been really nice. Like, you know, I haven't actually encountered anyone who's like a straight up jerk or has given me bad info unnecessarily or whatever. It's just, yeah, just the gatekeeping and the slowdowns. And that's, that's the part that drives me nuts.

Scott Benner 54:09
I know, you didn't say any of the things I said, by the way. I'm not putting a record. For the record. I'm not putting any of that on you. You just got me upset. Because Because I'm watching people like, I don't know, I feel like at this point, I'm talking to people who are representing themselves in my mother's situation, for example, as learned people, and the response you get back from them is just borderline that. I don't know. It might be this. Okay. Do you need me to guess if it's like, like, like,

Roisin 54:42
why don't you get on Google for you?

Scott Benner 54:44
Why don't you tell me what you think it might be? Wow. Wow. No answer. No ideas. You want to try something? Okay. All right. Well, should we just go hit her with a shovel? Like like I need like, what is it like Like, seriously, like, are you gonna help? Or are we all just gonna make noises until you can move on to somebody else make or somebody else's problem? And anyway, I, by the way, I generally speaking have a lot more hope for people than I sound like I do right now. But I'm, I'm past

Roisin 55:17
alright, you must I don't think you'd have this podcast if you didn't Yeah, but somebody's

Scott Benner 55:20
gotta say it once in a while, right? Yeah, just do something. I don't know. All right. Let's see I'm looking through your list looking for something that won't make me upset. What else did you want to talk about? I'm gonna ask you, I'm gonna stop. I'm gonna stop involving myself.

Roisin 55:40
I think the only other thing like that I really found challenging and that so much of the support groups and stuff, including your your own your Facebook group, it's it's American, which makes sense. You guys have a lot of people. But then here in Canada, at least in Ontario, we don't have school nurses. Yeah. So the whole school piece of the puzzle for young diabetics is just like, that's a totally different story. Like I see people like, I'm so mad at my nurse she gave my son is injection five minutes too late, and his blood sugar showed up and like, you have someone to give your kid a shot. That's amazing. Like, wish I had that. You know, he's he's self injecting at school this year. At diagnosis, we were offered mph, because they don't have people to give shots at schools. So that's why all the kids here be being given the 1970s insulin, because there's no one to go give them a shot for lunch.

Scott Benner 56:41
Yeah, I had a lot of conversations before I figured that out. Like, I can't be like, why are they doing this in Canada, and then it hit me they want them to get through the day without needing help. Exactly.

Roisin 56:53
But we hate I hated mph, he was on it for a few months until I like learned and demanded something else. And he would just have to be his blood sugar levels would have to be so high not to crash. Once the peak came in. Like you'd have to be up at like, look at my chart somewhere around like a 220 or something. Because if not, the MPH would start peaking. And he'd be he'd be down at a 50. Yeah, in no time flat. You know what I mean? So unfortunately, there's a lot of little kids in Ontario. I can't speak to other provinces, who I mean, maybe the mph, everybody's different. Maybe it works better for some people, but who are just riding at these high levels all day long, just so that they don't crash when the MPH sets. Yeah, and that. Yeah, really pissed me off.

Scott Benner 57:45
I bet would have made me upset as well. Are you using a CGM? I'm sorry, I forgot. Yeah, he's got a Dexcom Dexcom. So you're seeing it coming. And then how does he handle it? Does he contact you?

Roisin 57:57
Well, we have sort of a set. You know, he has a set mealtimes. It's kind of an annoying schedule they have in the school board here. They call it a balanced day. They don't have they don't have a lunch per se they have to equal meals throughout the day. So he has he goes to school for 830 in the morning. He has gym for 40 minutes. Then he has class for a bit then he gets a shot at 1015 eats at 1030 has 25 minutes of recess after that. Then more class than a shot at 1pm eats at 115 recess again after that and then more class and then he's done at three. So it's just like, physical activity and insulin and carbs all day long.

Scott Benner 58:43
Yeah. You know what I mean? How well you know his schedule. I don't miss that. I don't miss that.

Roisin 58:48
Yeah, yeah, you have to right

Scott Benner 58:51
yeah, no, I just I can remember walking around being like well at one o'clock this is gonna happen. She's doing this. Yeah, exactly. Now I really have to just pay attention for the next 45 minutes because this is the end of gym class. Exactly. Yeah. God Yeah, I don't miss that.

Roisin 59:05
Yeah, no, it's uh it's well that's it the mental toll of all that like the I people because I like I said I'm a stay at home parent people are like, what do you do all day? Like I'm I'm a pancreas. That's what I do all day. Like

Scott Benner 59:19
I did it in person. And now I know how to do it virtually. So yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's a It's taxing for sure. You he has a

Roisin 59:31
phone and we text I got that idea from you. Like, you know, we just text all day long. If I see him going a little too low. He has a phone and two blood glucose tabs and a belt around his waist. And you know if I think he's going too low, I'll call him to have one of those. He obviously has snacks and stuff in the classroom too. But just so he has something on his person that he can just quickly take something and keep focusing on school.

Scott Benner 59:55
Yeah. Well, that's, I mean, that that's what worked for us. You know, constant, that constant is the wrong word like immediate access to contact is, is really what I mean, we weren't constantly we're barely connected to each other throughout the day. But when you needed to be when you need to be, there was no pause. Or and you didn't have to exactly have to wait for another person. And that was exactly yeah, a big deal.

Roisin 1:00:20
Yes, because last year, we did it. I mean, then he was young. He was in Grade Two, when he was diagnosed last year, we did it more through the school office, and like going to call the school office every time your kid needs a Dex tab, we call them Dex tabs, dextrose tabs. That's kind of a pain for everyone. And so it's a lot better this year.

Scott Benner 1:00:40
I'm glad that you cleared up that their decks, dexterous tabs, because like, I'd be like, these people just putting decks in front of everything because they love the Dexcom so much. This is our decks.

Roisin 1:00:52
Yeah, there's a brand brand of the tablets here called decks for and so that's, that's what we use.

Scott Benner 1:00:58
I see. Does he hate them like them? No, he loves them, though.

Roisin 1:01:03
He will ask for them. Sometimes he does it soccer last night and he needed a couple. I thought it's like, Can I have one more? It's like, no. This is because you need it. It's not just for trees.

Scott Benner 1:01:15
So weird little kids. Stop it.

Roisin 1:01:20
Oh, we got some hot chocolate flavored ones recently. He loves those. Yeah, there's all kinds of great flavor.

Scott Benner 1:01:28
I'm gonna look this up. Is that a Canadian thing? Or is that everywhere? Yeah, it's called

Roisin 1:01:31
Dex four. And then it was hot chocolate flavor. It might have even been chocolate and marshmallow. I can't remember.

Scott Benner 1:01:37
chocolate marshmallow tablets. There you go. See? This is what I'm talking about. Somebody at this company is working hard. Right?

Roisin 1:01:43
Yeah. There you go. You're sick of the fruit punch flavor. They need something else. I

Scott Benner 1:01:49
got up one day and there was like, I bet yeah, I can make these things tastes like chocolate marshmallows. Let's try harder boys or girls, by the way, everyone. Everyone works there. But yeah, like, Ah, all right. See? See how much happier that made me just thank you

Roisin 1:02:03
for saying. I'm so glad I was able to say something that made you happy.

Scott Benner 1:02:08
You said that. I'm like, they're so much trying. That's a good thing. Yeah. Oh, my gosh, yeah. I I was like earlier this close to a rabbit hole about you know, 100 years ago, what people had to do to stay alive. I'm like, What am I?

God, Oh, my God. Okay. So first of all, I appreciate you doing this. And, and, and having this conversation talking about the things you're talking about? I do have a question going back to the celiac? Sure. I felt like I got away from it too quickly. You may have heard last year, someone get very upset with me. When I was talking to a gentleman whose child had recently been diagnosed with celiac, or already had type one, and the father was really in the middle of a mourning for what the kid couldn't eat anymore. And he got fixated on like, what if my, my child goes to a birthday party, and they can't have like a cupcake? And I said, it's like, Is this a real problem? Like, is your kid always at birthday parties? Like you don't even like it? And key times a year, right? And the child, by the way, you know, has celiac, but doesn't have any physical signs of it. And I, during this conversation said, Well, I don't know maybe you could just let the kid have a cupcake until you figure the whole thing out. And I was I was approached by a couple of people who said that, you know, celiac is much more can be much more serious than that. Even if you don't have symptoms, it could lead to other very serious problems. And yeah, I wonder how much that's in your head that even if you owe 100%?

Roisin 1:03:54
Yeah. Like all the time, like I said, my mom's celiac too. And she has been for the last 20 years. So like, it's not new for me. But yeah, we're very careful about cross contamination and stuff. I don't. He doesn't ever get like a pass from celiac. I mean, the difference with David is he gets very sick if he eats it. So he doesn't want to, you know, see if he went and had a slice of regular pizza, you'd be sick all night. So just that that doesn't appeal to him.

Scott Benner 1:04:24
sick, sick. pain, stomach, bathroom.

Roisin 1:04:28
Pain, pain and pain and bowel movements. Yeah, not nausea. I know. Some people get like a nausea component. He hasn't gotten that. He says it feels like somebody has been punching them in the gut.

Scott Benner 1:04:39
Do they? Do they warn you that not adhering to the diet could lead to other issues? Oh, absolutely.

Roisin 1:04:46
Yeah, there's various conditions and cancers and all kinds of scary things. I actually met a woman this past summer who she was only diagnosed celiac recently, and she was poor. I lay around my age, maybe a little younger, like 3738. And she had struggled to conceive for years and worked with fertility doctors and all kinds of things. And then she finally had a doctor checker for celiac disease, and she was positive and switched to a gluten free diet. And a year later, she was able to get pregnant naturally. Like, you know, I know that's an anecdote, but she firmly believed and this doctor firmly believed that it really affected her fertility.

Scott Benner 1:05:27
Yeah. Just all that inflammation. Yeah, yeah, I know, it's a word that just gets thrown around all over the place. But, I mean, it really does seem like it's the core of what's wrong with a lot of people that I speak to, in one way or another, and that you look back all those like, such a long time ago, like steroids were were invented. And, you know, like, you get a steroid pack when you're, you know, I don't know, you're ill you have an illness or something like that. They were invented so long ago, I read this thing I wish I knew were about prednisone. But back when it was invented, they thought they had, they thought they had just cured everything that was wrong with people. Oh, wow. Yeah. And it wasn't until obviously, they found out that, you know, taking it for extended periods of time causes different problems. But that idea is back in the I think in the 30s right there. I mean, the person won a Nobel Prize for it. Excuse me, cortisone was identified in the 30s. Prednisone was developed in the 50s. Okay. And, yeah, they talked about back then they, they thought they, they they cured what ill people were so excited about it. And you know, it's all about inflammation. And it's just, I don't know, it's, it sucks causes everything. Yeah, it sucks it listen, it made your little baby legs not work for a while. And there we go. And all this other stuff your son stomach to hurt if What if he has a you know, if we

Roisin 1:07:03
use like a toaster, like that has had wheat bread in it, and we put a piece of gluten free bread in it. He will feel sick. He'll he'll hurt afterwards.

Scott Benner 1:07:11
That's amazing. And it's happened by mistake. So it's not, you know, yeah,

Roisin 1:07:15
it has, you know, like that the hardest part of celiac is eating out or eating other people's homes at home. It like, honestly, barely bothers me. Because I know what I'm doing. But you know, even if you go to a very well meaning family member's home, and they've made a gluten free dinner for you. Maybe they don't know that somebody scooped some of the butter out with a knife that had been used to spread on a piece of gluten bread. Sure. And they've gone and put that in the mashed potatoes now. And now you eat the mashed potatoes and you feel sick.

Scott Benner 1:07:48
God, that's crazy. I mean, it's not crazy. Yeah. But it is, you know? Wow.

Roisin 1:07:53
Yeah. So that that's the heart. To me. That's the hardest part of celiac. And I see some people especially I find people who get the celiac diagnosis after diabetes, like when they've sort of already got diabetes managed. And then they get the celiac disease diagnosis. They a lot of people say if they could cure one, they'd pick celiac over diabetes.

Scott Benner 1:08:13
Fascinating how often people don't pick diabetes when they have multiple issues, actually,

Roisin 1:08:18
yeah, I would pick diabetes in a heartbeat. Yeah, I just I always say celiacs never kept me up at night.

Scott Benner 1:08:25
Right. I can sleep as long as we stay gluten free. I was editing an episode I just made with someone who has MS. And connective tissue disorder and all these other things. And I asked like, you know which one and but boy, it didn't take long. She's like the connective tissue disorder. I'd like to get rid of that. Yeah. Interesting. Anyway, it's just I love those different perspectives like people. Yeah, yeah. People who have real perspective about things who are able to, I don't know, you even have it like you're, you're measured. Were you measured like this before all this started happening? Do you know what I mean? You're no, you're you're an even thinker. Speaker. You haven't gotten too high or too low while we're talking? You're probably sure Yeah, yeah, your paste. Like you're not you haven't gotten access. I just edited one. The other day that I mean, the introduction for it might be Hi, this is me and this other person, you won't hear me again till the end. I tried a couple of times, and I couldn't stop her. Like I really felt like I was running backwards, holding onto a bull's head. And the person was making sense and, like, coherent and thoughtful, but just like shot out of a cannon. And right, yeah, you're just like you're talking about upsetting things. And you're at this level. I got upset and you stayed at this. Like it's really I didn't know if you

Roisin 1:09:53
got brought to this. Yeah, I guess I'm not a very emotional person. No, but that's the Irish thing, right? No, no, it's Originally, anyway,

Scott Benner 1:10:02
am I am I generalizing? Or is everyone in your family?

Roisin 1:10:05
Right? Yeah, you might be right. Well, I've got, yeah, I don't want to put anyone on the spot. Some people are more emotional than others in my family.

Scott Benner 1:10:15
I joke about my wife all the time. Like, I'm just like, I'm upset about something. And she's like, Oh Jesus, okay. But, you know, you said a minute ago about, you know, the hardest part about celiac. What's the hardest part about type one?

Roisin 1:10:36
I mean, I hate the injections. I absolutely, like a year of MDI, when you're trying to have tight control. Like my poor kid. His little arms are full of bruises. I hate I hate every time I feel a needle pierces skin, you know, I just something inside me breaks every time I feel that. Yeah, I don't know. I guess just the worry. The constant worry that like a high or low not, you know, not so much a high I don't like highs, obviously. But if he's high for a few hours when he's away from me, we'll deal with it. But the he could just have this medical low emergency without me there to take care of it just Yeah. just breaks my heart.

Scott Benner 1:11:13
Yeah, it's frightening.

Roisin 1:11:14
I know. Yeah. Yeah. I know. And he, he just has for him. It's the activity lows. Like if we just kept them inside all day. It's not too bad. But he's really good at sports. And he loves to play sports. And I love that about him. But he just could be running around and look at my list. Again. He could be like at like a 54 and sprinting around the school. And I'm like, dude, I'll call him. I'll be like, David, you need to chill. And he's like, No, I don't want him. You have to right now sit down and put one of your hot chocolate deck stabs in your mouth and chill for a minute, you know?

Scott Benner 1:11:52
Yeah. I mean, anyone that hears you talk can't I don't know how you could not be sad. Like, basically what you said is because of these two issues, if we just stayed in our house and didn't move around very much everything would be fine. Yeah. I don't want you to think we live that way. No, really? I don't I don't hear that you do? No, no, no, not a lot. But

Roisin 1:12:15
no, there is a part of me that wishes I could put them in a bubble. And just take care of him forever. But like, I know that my issue, not his. Yeah. So I have to like put myself outside the bubble. And you know, he does. He does soccer. He does ice skating. We travel we go to Florida every year, we're hopefully going to do a Europe trip this year. We paddleboard all summer long like we don't we don't keep them in a bubble even though probably if I really? It would make my life easier if I could.

Scott Benner 1:12:49
No, no, I hear you. Obviously, you're not going to live that way. Yeah, but somebody ends up doing it. You know? Yeah, that's that. So I'm gonna ends up getting overwhelmed and thinking, if I just limit all of these, these exterior issues, I'll be okay. And then they they end up doing that.

Roisin 1:13:09
So yeah, you can sort of see how like someone with bad anxiety or whatever would go down that path. And it could be really dark. Yeah, for sure.

Scott Benner 1:13:17
Well, all I'm left is to ask you if you can access your, your old way of speaking and the oh gosh, no, you can't though, right? You sound so like, your, your your, your accent is so vanilla. Like I don't even know how to like, Yeah, somewhere like you don't I mean, like, I don't know that you're Canadian?

Roisin 1:13:39
Well, that's what I think Canadian sound like at least, Ontario. Ontario wins. I guess I should say urban Ontario wins. I think the rural ones can have a bit of a Twain or something. But I find the Ontario accent really? pretty flat.

Scott Benner 1:13:54
Yeah, it's great. Listen, I liked it. I'm just saying that I missed the things that usually happen when I talk to people from Canada. You know?

Roisin 1:14:05
Maybe it's because my parents are Irish. I don't know. Maybe like I haven't quite as like, absorbed as much of the Canadian isms. I don't know you

Scott Benner 1:14:13
didn't draw out an A or anything? Yes. You know No. Didn't say yeah, at the end of one sentence not of one sentence is a bit of a letdown machine. I'm not gonna

Roisin 1:14:24
it's not a thing we do. Yeah.

Scott Benner 1:14:25
It's the like, oh, are ya like after it's like Minnesota Wisconsin. Canada like that A at the end of look at you Ontario. Special.

Roisin 1:14:42
All right. Yeah, that's me. Oh, my gosh.

Scott Benner 1:14:44
All right. Is there anything we didn't talk about? We should have?

Roisin 1:14:47
No, I think I think it's good.

Scott Benner 1:14:49
Did I let you down by losing my mind to the middle or were you okay?

Roisin 1:14:53
No, it's okay. I fully expected a Scott ramped at some point.

Scott Benner 1:14:58
I just I really do appreciate Thank you. I feel very seen by that. Count that comment from you so much. All right, well, thank you so much. Oh, hold on one second for me. Okay.

Roisin 1:15:11
Sure. Thanks a lot.

Unknown Speaker 1:15:12
Yeah

Scott Benner 1:15:18
huge thanks to machine for coming on the store coming on the store. Where does that show podcast? What was I gonna say? Huge thanks to Rashid for coming on the podcast and sharing her story was I shouldn't maybe I was saying share before, but who knows. I also want to thank Omni pod, the makers of the Omni pod dash and Omni pod five and remind you that at my link, Omni pod.com forward slash juice box all can be completed. We're also going to think the contour next gen blood glucose meter. Arden's been using a contour meter forever and ever. I actually just changed the battery on hers the other day, so that she could go off to college with a brand new battery in her contour meter contour next.com forward slash juice box. Don't forget to check out the private Facebook group Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes. A diabetes diagnosis comes with a lot of new terminology. And that's why I've created the defining diabetes series. These are short episodes, where Jenny Smith and I go over all of the terms that you're going to hear living with diabetes, and some of them that you might not hear every day, from the very simple Bolus up to feed on the floor. Don't know the difference between hypo and hyper will explain it to you. These are short episodes, they are not boring. They're fun, and they're informative. It's not just us reading to you out of the dictionary, we take the time to chat about all of these different words. Maybe you don't know what a cool small respiration is, you will when you're done. Ever heard of glycemic index and load haven't doesn't matter. You will know after you listen to the defining diabetes series. Now, how do you find it, you go to juicebox podcast.com up top to the menu and click on defining diabetes. You'll be able to listen right there in your browser. Or you'll see the full list of the episodes and be able to go into an audio app like Apple podcasts or Spotify and listen to them at your pace. Download them into your phone and listen when you can. The defining diabetes series is made up of 51 short episodes. That will fast forward your knowledge of diabetes terminology

#996 Clothespin Artist

Chellis has had type 1 diabetes for three decades, she also has psoriatic arthritis.

+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, and welcome to episode 996 of the Juicebox Podcast.

Today, I'll be speaking with chalice. She's had type one diabetes for three decades. She also has psoriatic arthritis and a very interesting life story. If you're a member of the private Facebook group, you may know chalice as the person who made the Christmas tree ornaments out of clothespins last year that are replicas of me. It's like my close pin action figure. Little way I have mine hanging here. It's one of the only tchotchkes I have on my desk. If you don't know the word tchotchke. I can't help you. While you're listening today, please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. We're becoming bold with insulin. You can start using ag one today at my link drink ag one.com forward slash juice box when you do you'll get five free travel packs, and a year supply of vitamin D with your first order. You can order sheets and clothing and towels and all kinds of comfy stuff at cozy earth.com use the offer code juicebox at checkout to save 40% off of your entire order

this episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the contour next gen blood glucose meter contour next.com forward slash juicebox that's a place where you can buy a meter right now. Get yourself some test strips or just learn more contour next.com forward slash juice boxes incredibly accurate and easy to use meter. My daughter has been using them for years. The podcast is also sponsored today by us med us med.com forward slash juice box now us med is the place where Arden gets her diabetes supplies from and so can you from on the pods the T Slim's decks coms li berets and so much more US med.com forward slash juice box or call 888-721-1514 To get your free benefits check and get started today with us med.

Chellis 2:23
My name is Chalice. I have had type one diabetes for 30. Over 30 years. I was diagnosed in 1992. I was 13 at the time, and I have grown up since then. I am married. I have two kids, teenagers. We live in New Hampshire. Which I love. It's beautiful. I brag about our state all the time. And yeah.

Scott Benner 2:53
Well, first of all, please tell your parent or your parents with a smile. Yes, thank them for me for giving you a weird name but spelling it the way it sounds. Right. I really appreciate that.

Chellis 3:06
People want to make it so complicated. I actually I love my name. Now I was named after my grandfather. So you can thank him. He is no longer with us. But and yeah, I mean it. People try to make it all sorts of things. And it's really,

Scott Benner 3:22
I recorded with Rasheem yesterday whose parents did not spell her name anything like it sounds. And, and then tell us the next day. I wonder who's tomorrow? Oh, I'm looking tomorrow. So because of because I tried to give myself off the first two weeks of January, which I definitely won't do again. I am recording three times tomorrow. Oh god with Laura Mallory and Howard. Oh, oh, all bellboy. Alright, so that's good. And you were saying earlier? Let me just make sure I got this right. You've grown up since you were 13. I have Oh, wow. Okay,

Chellis 4:04
well, sort of.

Scott Benner 4:09
Any other type one in your family?

Chellis 4:12
None. Other autoimmune. Yes. My mom and myself actually. We have psoriatic arthritis. That sounds fun. Yeah, she she has she's she has it pretty. I mean, I don't know. I hate that. Like it's not bad, but she's had it for you know, her whole adult life and it was pretty severe at times where like she would go in for treatments and stuff and a mind. pretty mild case, I think but I still have it and it's also autoimmune. And there might be some thyroid stuff with my sisters. We'll probably get into this but I have quite a few sisters. We're a little blended family. So but biologically, we're all six of us from the same mom. So Oh,

Scott Benner 5:00
You don't hear that that way. Usually.

Chellis 5:02
I know. Well.

Scott Benner 5:04
Alright, hold on. I just got so excited. I don't know what's wrong with me. Your father the was your father the first father? Yes. Okay, good for you way to get in OG. Thanks. Yeah. Did he bail or die?

Chellis 5:20
No. They divorced. It was mutual. Okay. That's what they say. Yeah. So they divorced when I was four. I have an older sister. She's two years old, two years older than me. So it was the two of us. They divorced when I was four, but they both remarried. By the time I was five. There's a lot here.

Scott Benner 5:44
How old were they when they got married?

Chellis 5:47
Oh, they were young. Too young, too young. I want to say my mom was like, 19 My dad's a few years older than her. Probably he was like, 24

Scott Benner 5:58
I don't I don't listen. Were they pregnant when they got married?

Chellis 6:01
I think so. Yeah. My mom. Verify that. But yeah.

Scott Benner 6:08
And this is 40. How many years ago they get married?

Chellis 6:13

No. 7676.

Scott Benner 6:20
Impressive. Yeah. Yeah. Really? Live in like it's now in 76. Is your mom like a real baller? Was she her like her whole life?

Chellis 6:32
Like, pretty,

Scott Benner 6:33
you know what I mean? Like? Yeah, it was.

Chellis 6:38
Listen, it was they lived in a very small town in New Hampshire. What does that have to do with it? It's just you know, Pete, that's what people did say what

Scott Benner 6:47
you mean, there's nothing to do the New Hampshire except that sex? Is that what you want to say? I don't I can't say that. I'm going to look up the New Hampshire state motto right now. Live for your die live for your die. Oh, it's not we have condoms, but no one uses them.

Chellis 7:02
But live for your die is pretty much the same thing.

Scott Benner 7:05
Oh, I guess you're right. Maybe people are misunderstanding that.

Chellis 7:12
You can interpret it? A lot of ways. Yeah.

Scott Benner 7:15
Well, I see how your mom and dad interpreted it. I think they interpreted it in a Pontiac.

Chellis 7:24
Oh, I love to ask my dad. But he drove.

Scott Benner 7:26
I know what he was driving in that party. I don't think it was the car. So. Okay. So your parents, your parents, like have a baby and they're like, I hate you. And she's like, I hate you too. And they're like, gone. And then they went and married their highschool sweethearts. What did they do? No. So

Chellis 7:42
okay, where are they find someone else that fast? Um, well, that those are interesting stories to one I know more, a little bit more about than the other, but my dad was an alcoholic. So that's, you know, that was kind of like, that was serious as a child. No, like, during their, you know, teenage years into their marriage. So, and it was pretty severe. I mean, he had a problem. He, you know, he really, it was pretty traumatizing. Those are, you know, like, my first memories of him coming home. And, and it wasn't good at what it was pretty bad. But I mean, you know, I'm fine talking about it's not. These are, you know, kind of open subjects around here and our fam No,

Scott Benner 8:26
no, you sound like a party. Like already in seven minutes. You've told me way more about your life and you should have.

Chellis 8:34
Well, you know what, though it like does tie into the diabetes, because I think there's a lot of like, coping skills that came from that that then affected how I handled my diabetes.

Scott Benner 8:48
Okay. All right. If you want to be serious, we should go ahead. No, that's fine.

Chellis 8:54
I knew he would unpack it eventually. Anyway, because I've heard you on the podcast, he like z, you know, hone in on it. And like, so I'm just, you know, just getting ahead.

Scott Benner 9:04
I appreciate that. I should teach a class of this. Honestly, I don't know how. I don't know how he would teach it to people. But you have to be really interested in fine details. Yeah. And you have to let your mind here's, listen. Here's a little tip for the young kids. Because your whole generation doesn't want to generalize. But you should because most of the time, you're going to be right.

Chellis 9:26
Don't stereotype but it took

Scott Benner 9:28
me 30 seconds. I was like, Were your parents Young. We're like, yes. How did you already pregnant? Yeah, so Okay, so well, that sucks. So did your dad ever get a hold of that? Or did he live his whole life with it?

Chellis 9:42
No, right away, like as soon as the threat of not, you know, being able to be in our lives because of it. He got together. And so, by the time he remarried, she will really helped him with that and was a huge support. And she, you know, helped him get sober and he hasn't had a drink since I was five years old. So we're coming up on almost 40 years.

Scott Benner 10:11
I know, this is a long way to ask this question. You probably don't know the answer. But do you think that hurt your mom that he didn't pull it together for her?

Chellis 10:18
I'm sure. Yeah. And I think there's there had been so much, you know, kind of damage already that it wasn't going to be fixed, like recoverable. Yeah. So and, you know, she was wanting to have more kids anyway, and my dad didn't, and that was part of it, too. And he was, you know, he was happy with just the two and

Scott Benner 10:40
I was in my early 20s. And my wife was telling me she went down six kids, I might start drinking. You know, maybe we're blaming him and we shouldn't be so. Like, I don't know how I'm gonna pay for that. Was your dad like independently wealthy when he was? No, no. Yeah, I wait a bit upset.

Chellis 10:59
We want what I was like, What

Scott Benner 11:01
is she saying? This was more fun in the car. i Let's go. Yeah.

Chellis 11:08
It was all fun and games.

Scott Benner 11:10
Yeah. Now we're in an apartment. I think we should slow down. Your mom's like, your mom's like, I want to make an army. An army of achy girls. Oh, my goodness. All right. I've been doing this too long psoriatic arthritis is like I'm like, Oh, is that all? sounds horrible, by the way. So what is what is the arthritis like for you? And look at that segue?

Chellis 11:37
Um, it is the arthritis part isn't it's not so much the arthritis that flares up every once in a while. Where, you know, my joints will hurt like in my hands, but I had a like a knee flare up. But it really is the skin. Oh, no kidding. Yeah, the psoriasis the in my scalp, but just like, a erupts? And if you know, I'm on something for it, which is pretty much kept it away. But if I'm not on, you know, some sort of, I forget what they're called. But

Scott Benner 12:09
are you taking injectable for it? Or what do you do? Yeah, yep. Cuz you're just gonna say you're injecting something and you forget what it's called. That's a type one right there. You know, the type of drugs those are, like, I knew you knew the brand name. You just didn't remember the technical term. Whatever you put in front of me, I'll inject it. It doesn't matter.

Chellis 12:32
I take this stuff and aplomb. It's supposed to help when

Scott Benner 12:36
I hear good things about it. What is this stuff called?

Chellis 12:42
cosentyx

Scott Benner 12:43
cosentyx? Who names these things?

Chellis 12:45
I don't know. I don't know.

Scott Benner 12:48
I mean, oh, my and look at the spelling on this. This makes less sense and your name?

Speaker 1 12:54
cosentyx. Alright, so you. How often do you inject it? That's like a once a month. You do it at home? And you have to go to an office? No, I just do it. Yeah. And that keeps the flares down on your scalp. So it's managing the psoriasis for you. And what about the joint pain? Same?

Chellis 13:13
I haven't had any issues with that. No kidding. What

Scott Benner 13:16
are the reasons I wouldn't want to take cosentyx Did they tell you?

Chellis 13:20
I think it's like, you know, you shouldn't take it if you're already sick. Like that kind of stuff. It's like an immune suppressant.

Scott Benner 13:27
It says it's safe and effective for at least five years. How long have you been on it?

Chellis 13:31
Only one was on embroil before and that stopped working well. So

Scott Benner 13:38
Gotcha. That sucks. I'm sorry. Yeah, no,

Chellis 13:41
I mean, it's just like, Okay, I got the autoimmune jackpot in the family.

Scott Benner 13:46
What did you hate? Was that happened to you when you were younger?

Chellis 13:49
No, that's that's been a fairly, like in the last. I don't know, six or seven years.

Scott Benner 13:55
You had kids or not? Or laughter? Yeah. That's a raw deal. By the way, making a baby seriously uses up something. Let's be

Chellis 14:05
No. changes your whole body? Yes. It's

Scott Benner 14:09
not right. It's absolutely not right. It means listen, if there's a grand design, and I think this point of view proves that there isn't if there was, why would it use up the mom? Right? And why like why? Why would the sexy part go away for the ladies when you know, that's the only thing keeping the guy working? I mean, I'm not kidding. I think it's I think it's a poor design at best.

Chellis 14:39
Share this with somebody

Scott Benner 14:43
you want me to share with somebody? No,

Chellis 14:44
I mean, like, you know, spread this spread the wealth here a little bit like shouldn't just be one, you know, let's have the guy take some of this burden.

Scott Benner 14:53
Yeah, right. Oh, I see what you're saying. Like babies should be able to come out of boys too. Yeah, well, that would be more fair. I'll tell you that much. I mean, I like when my wife says it, like I just gas lighter. And I'm like, it wasn't that bad, but it looked terrible. It seemed horrible, you know? And I was privately the whole time thinking like, Thank God, I don't have to do this. Thank God, that's not me. Oh, my God, just really, really upsetting and, and then everybody's crying afterwards because they're happy. And I'm like, Are they happy? Are they just like, I can't believe my wives. They'll look we just happen

Chellis 15:29
to be alive. Seriously, they survived.

Speaker 1 15:33
Again, it's unfair. If you put me in charge. I don't know who's in charge. They could put me in charge. If you did, I'd spread it out. Just like you said, Make everybody do it once. You know, that's No, I don't know where I'd put a vagina. But I'm sure it would fit on my thigh or something it would work out if we tried hard enough.

Scott Benner 15:54
Okay, on your head, under your hair, can you see it through your hair,

Chellis 15:59
you can sometimes see it like if it it'll sometimes come like below the hairline. And like, behind my ears like that area of my scalp. And I had it a couple other places like, you know, random spot on my arm or you know, that kind of thing. But pain that's gone. No, just embarrassing, annoying, annoying and embarrassing. Yeah. Just incredibly itchy. And like I you know, so if I, you know, it's like biting your fingernails. It's like, I'm like, pretty, you know, I consider myself an anxious person. And that's what I go to is just like, I'd like, you know, go out, go to my scalp if it was itchy like, and then it would just kind of progress from there. So

Scott Benner 16:45
have you ever tried something for the anxiety? And does that hold the psoriasis back? Or? No,

Chellis 16:51
it was. That's, that's funny. So I do take something for it. And it has it is a combination of the scalp getting better. And the anxiety medication I think is just like, made that so that it's not a thing. I think to go after, you know, so

Scott Benner 17:09
I was gonna guess anxiety later. Because I don't want to tell you why. Because I don't want to make you self conscious. You may tell you later. You're like, Oh my God. What have I done? I don't know. What

Chellis 17:22
did I say?

Scott Benner 17:23
It's not what you said. It's your speech pattern. Oh, you like you? Through words? It's almost like your brain won't let you get the word out. Oh, interesting. Yeah, like like it's almost like your brains like they're probably a better idea here. Or I shouldn't be saying this. Although you have no filter about the other stuff. Fascinating and I'm trying to match your energy but I gotta be honest with you. It's kicking my ass. I'm gonna have to slow down a little. Oh, really? Yeah, you have great my slow No, no, you have like you have like, I'm just gonna say I think I understand how your dad got your mom pregnant. Are you in your mama like? I'm going to tell you about one of the better decisions I made. 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Chellis 22:59
Dare you? Oh, I love you.

Scott Benner 23:05
Does she is she a little anxious? Does it come across like overbearing?

Chellis 23:11
Yes. I love you Mom, I love you. I love you. At times, yes. Like asking us a year in advance like what our Thanksgiving plans are.

Scott Benner 23:25
My wife has asked me every day for two weeks that make a hotel reservation for three months. I was like Are you afraid? Oh, it's all won't be there. And it's not funny, like Well, that's not true. We are laughing pretty hard. It's funny, but it's not funny. Like personally when you stop and think about like I tried to think about what that must feel like yes to in January start thinking like what like we have to plan for thanks. Like Thanksgiving. Like what Kelly asked me something the other night, I was like, I could be dead by then let us not think about that right now. October. Like, she's like, What are you doing in October? It's January when October. They don't know. She's like, Well, I'm gonna go to this thing. And I'm like, is that like nine months from now? Right? She's like, Yeah, and I'm like, have you looked at me? I'm unhealthy. I don't feel like it's a good idea to plan that far out ahead. You know, like, what if?

Chellis 24:23
And I totally understand. I mean, it's, you know, now it's like, we're all you know, all our kids are adults. We're all like, have families and she wants us all, you know, she wants to see everybody and like, you know, but even when I was a kid and so we would go back and forth between my dad's in her house and like switch off, you know, holidays but like, something might come up where oh, this person is going to be at dad's house. I want to be there for Christmas and like, you know, so I think that was always like, that was always the thing with her.

Scott Benner 24:51
I understand. And it Listen, it's gotta be a lot of stress. She made how many kids you have six. All right, was that we just had almost had with just two guys.

Chellis 25:01
Yes. Yes. And so they're both still married to the same people that they remarried

Scott Benner 25:09
your parents get along? Um, yeah, I imagine they do.

Chellis 25:15
Yeah. I I'm, I've been very fortunate as far as that goes, they, you know, they, they knew the reasons why it didn't work, but we're still able to, you know, make it work for us.

Scott Benner 25:28
Are you here to say that the secret to a happy marriage is a quick divorce.

Chellis 25:33
And just boulard is sad. And then

Scott Benner 25:35
be like, I never really had any time to really hate them. It's great. I still remember the stuff I liked about them. That's nice. Yeah, what a message of hope. Nice job.

Chellis 25:45
But it's fun. It's funny, because, you know, we're, even though it's like my mom will. Or my, my stepsister will comment on you know, things that like my sister, my other my sister on my other side, it's so confusing. Sorry. Like, my half sister, my younger sister, like they know each other, they, you know, bend to family functions and like, so it's kind of, you know, both sides are very, like, just, you know,

Scott Benner 26:11
if I was the child of the second dad, when I met your father, I'd think Oh, my God, I was almost like that. I seriously would. I'd think like, if they just stuck together, I wouldn't be me. I'd be some version of whatever my sisters are. I would be fascinated by that.

Chellis 26:29
Oh, it is fascinating. Like, because they could not be more different personality wise, my dad and my stepdad. And so I'm always like,

Scott Benner 26:38
what? Yeah, oh, your mom went to Jesus. And teetotal, I would imagine when she flipped the switch, right? Or something like that.

Chellis 26:45
Not quite, but just very, like straight arrow. Oh, like,

Scott Benner 26:50
Oh, I'm sorry. You're in New Hampshire. Not Jesus. Like, you know. Yeah. Something that far. Yeah. Something woodsy or something? Okay, so, would you say that? I guess you had the psoriatic came after the type one, the type one was 13. So tell me about Do you remember your diagnosis at all?

Chellis 27:12
Oh, yeah. Yeah. It was. So I, I will also say that 13 I always contend this. So I, I sometimes write a blog too, about, you know, my diabetes and sat on the blog a few times. I think like, that's probably the worst age I can think of to get diagnosed with this as also a young female, like not wanting to be different or anything like that. But up to that point, I had some sort of like respiratory virus, like a couple months prior to my diagnosis. I remember going out to a restaurant with one of my friends because we had gone down to something at her sister's college and I was drinking these free refills it kudos like nobody's business. And it was like regular soda. Like in hindsight, oh, my god, I just, I couldn't get it. I couldn't drink enough. The last kind of major thing I remember I was out with my dad and my sister. And we were, we had gotten something at McDonald's or Burger King or something, we get in drinks. And they went in the store. I said, I want to stay in the car. I don't feel really, really that great. I had sucked down my drink. And I was drinking like half of my sister's drink by the time she got back in the car. And she was like, so mad at me like he drank my drink. But I'm like, I was like, I'm sorry. Like, I'm so thirsty. And then the following week, I just was like, I was literally bumping into walls. I was my vision was blurry. I was waking up in the middle of the night with Charley horses, because I was probably dehydrated at that point. So they brought me in to the doctor to our regular doctor. And he said, I'm going to do a bunch of tests, I'm going to test for mono. And then I looked at the sheet on the way home in the car, and it said, like glucose or whatever. And we didn't get results. He was gonna have to call us with them. And then I remember the phone call, because we had to like, he's like, you gotta get into Boston right now.

Scott Benner 29:08
Because New Hampshire doesn't have a hospital.

Chellis 29:11
Well, so at the time I was living. I lived with my dad, actually, after my parents got divorced. Like, a couple years after that, I told my mom, I wanted to move down to my dad's house. And so I lived down there with them with my stepmother and my dad. And so he was my, you know, primary, like parents. So they were the ones that like, kind of all through this whole, you know, diagnosis and then subsequent years. It was them. So, I mean, my dad was always a crazy driver, but he just remember like, Oh my God, he's going really fast. Like he just drove so fast into the city to get me to the hospital.

Scott Benner 29:51
When I was taking Kelly to the hospital to have our first kid to have cold. She's like, you can slow down a little bit. What she's like they're like speed bumps on The throat you're not even acting like they're here, like, well, you're gonna have a baby. She's like, I'm gonna have it in the car. If you hit a speed bump like that again, I was like, okay, so but I was nervous myself. I understand. I'm sorry. You're, I'm jumping around. But yeah, I don't care. Why did you move with your dad?

Chellis 30:17
I always always always felt close to my dad. I was like always riding by his side and never wanted to leave his side when I go down there that we had like an every other weekend kind of arrangement up to that point. Sunday morning, I would wake up and start crying, because I just didn't want to leave. And I my mom at that point had had my next youngest sister was pregnant with the next sister. It kind of felt like okay, like, she's moving on, you know, in. I felt a little lost in the shuffle. I remember actually like thinking that when I was that old, and I'd go down to my dad's and I have two stepbrothers and a stepsister from my stepmother. And I mean, it was like, I was like, the center of attention down there, you know, like little sister, and they were much older than me. And it just felt so much more

Scott Benner 31:17
about you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,

Chellis 31:21
yeah. And I remember, you know, saying to my mom, I want to live with that. And I mean, from like, as a mom now, I don't really like we've talked about it here and there. But like, I don't know how she heard that. And also turned around and said, you know, after discussing it with my dad, of course, said yes. You know,

Scott Benner 31:42
so she handled it well. In my election. Yeah. She held it in. She didn't be like, you.

Chellis 31:52
You ungrateful

Scott Benner 31:54
you're old. Get out. Start walking. It's that direction. Like, no, I mean, were she was she crushed or in? Doesn't that bring up questions for you? Like, why isn't she upset that you want to leave?

Chellis 32:06
No, I mean, I think if I knew was hard, hard decision. I knew it wasn't going to be like something easy. Yeah. Even then, you know. And I talked to my sister about this, you know, a lot, because she stayed. And, you know, even if she wanted to come with me, she felt like she needed to stay.

Scott Benner 32:30
Yeah. The the initial ask, puts everyone in a position. Yeah. Right. You're now leaving them. And now your sister has to take sides. And if she if she leaves, too, she's taking your side? Not your mom's like not real. I mean,

Chellis 32:44
no, no, no, like, legions or whatever you want to call it? You know, and you feel

Scott Benner 32:48
like your mom's moving on from her previous life. And you're part of that life. Right. So did it feel like she was moving away from you?

Chellis 32:56
Oh, yeah. Yeah, it felt like, like, I don't know. We were like, This is not true. And I know this, but like that. Oh, that was a mess up like, Oh, that was like a miss. Now, but like, she didn't she wanted this new. You know? Yeah, this this life.

Scott Benner 33:15
I did this thing. It didn't work out. Now. I'm gonna go do this thing. Which is way better for me. Yeah, and you're a part of the thing that didn't work out. Yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah, like a do over. The over? Yeah, yeah, you're the you're the thing I throw away. After I like I start my drawing. And that's not right. Hold on a second. It can at least I think I just call it off something I need. But, um, but yeah, and not that that's really what was happening. But

Chellis 33:50
no, kid. Yeah, yeah. And I just really it was my closest with my dad. I mean, I like I remember one time I was down there with him and that we were going to the dump and I'm like, I'm going with you and and to the point where like, he tried to like get out of the truck to like put the put the trash in the you know, big dumpster thing. And I was like, running after him. You almost shut the door on me because he was like, I didn't want to leave his side of the dog.

Scott Benner 34:21
Yeah. Hey, explain that for the rest of us who have our garbage picked up at our house?

Chellis 34:28
The transfer station?

Scott Benner 34:29
You have to take your trash somewhere. Yes, there's no we did not. Not anymore. But there's no state taxes that if that happens, right? Because what am I paying for? Exactly if

Chellis 34:38
Oh, there's still state taxes in Massachusetts, or you're

Scott Benner 34:41
supposed to live die or, or live free or something?

Chellis 34:47
different worlds. You wouldn't even believe it.

Scott Benner 34:50
If someone said to me, I have to take my garbage somewhere. I go. No, I'm not doing that. Yeah, I'm not doing that. I I'm not I'm not I'm just not like someone better come take it goes into your car. In the truck. Yeah, well, what if you don't have a truck? What if 1984 What if I'm driving a Datsun? What do I do with it then? Trunk? But that's where my stuff is? No. Oh my god. That's horrifying. That's the worst thing you've said so far since we first. I mean your mom bailing on you emotionally and your dad drinking his way out to a new wife and your head on fire with itching and scabs, and I'm like you had to do what was your garbage? Unbelievable. Oh, my goodness, I'm not making up my disdain for what you've said, by the way. And I by the way, I crumpled up an invoice from a Sensia the people who make the Contour Next One blood glucose meter, I might lead them to suddenly. Oops. Just trying to make a point. Let me just say contour next. one.com forward slash juicebox. Thank you. Anyway, did you know what a Sensia makes the Contour? Next One? I bet you didn't.

Chellis 36:09
I did. Because it wasn't a podcast. Oh,

Scott Benner 36:11
thank you. And did you hear that a Sensia those ads aren't too expensive. Now, by the way, they never said sorry. I'm so afraid someone's gonna actually listen to this thing one time. get me in trouble. I want to bitch about somebody else's podcast so bad, but I just hold it in. Because I'll sound like a horror if I say what I want to say. Nevertheless, please stop ripping me off. Okay, now we're just gonna keep moving on now. So you're with your dad, and you're diagnosed he flies from the dump to the hospital. Does the hospital have to take their garbage to the dump? Boston? No, not in Boston. Okay. By the way, city way to go earlier for the New Hampshire travel Council the way you painted a picture of the fine cuisine at the pizzeria who know that was really something. Sure that's gonna be bringing all the people to the study refills. Sorry, so little left of my COVID cough there. I apologize. Okay, so is he expecting this? Is anyone expecting this?

Chellis 37:23
Oh, no, like shock shock. And now

Scott Benner 37:27
you have a mom trying to help you with it as far as your dad? Yes.

Chellis 37:31
And I mean, they, it was 1992. So, oh, my god, like the, you know, information was spotty at best. As far as, like, take this do this, it was a lot of like feeding the insulin, I was, you know, clear to cloudy like those, you know, mixing the insulins, and, uh, but a total shock. And also it was stressful, because I can't remember if this was before or after, but it must have been close to the diagnosis, but my dad got laid off that year. And so I don't know what the insurance situation was between my dad and my mom and who, you know, whose insurance I was covered under. But I remember overhearing a conversation about Cobra and having to pay out of pocket for stuff. And so I was so worried, like, Oh, my God, like, now I'm causing more stress, because my dad doesn't have a job. And I just got diagnosed with this thing that's expensive. So I definitely had an awareness of that. I also, I think, this goes back to me moving down there, but I think I was like, I always wanted to, like, you know, be the daughter that didn't cause a problem or like, you know, you know, I make the make this decision, like, make people happy that they made this decision, you know, like, not regret it. Like, oh, you know, like, so a lot of that was in the, you know, doing good in school and that kind of stuff. And like, perfectionist like stuff came in with that. And so with the diabetes that you know, kind of all just, you know, came.

Scott Benner 39:19
Charles, can I ask you a question? Yeah. Are you the person that made the Christmas ornament with me? Yes. Oh, my God. I just figured that out. Now.

Chellis 39:26
I almost said something at the beginning. I'm like, I'm the ornament lady.

Scott Benner 39:30
Oh my god. So let's walk through that before we talk about your type one because we're gonna talk about fatigue and burnout. I know people are like, can you get to a topic? Just calm down? The lady's got a screwed up life. We want to hear about it. Okay. So sorry, your life's fine.

Chellis 39:49
Everybody has a story. You're fine. It's

Scott Benner 39:52
fine. Okay. Sorry, I don't know what's wrong today. It's the end of a long weekend. I think I have to still record three work times. So much I'll be one of them's about Tide Pool, which time someone hears this will be six months ago, but the Tide Pool app was, I think, cleared by the FDA. I forget exactly what the word is. And I want to interview them so that my interview is up before anybody else's. So I hustle around for stuff like that. Anyway, so there's this moment, it's a weirdness for me, you'll understand. In the private Facebook group, a person turns out it's Charles is like, Hey, I made this and it's a closed pin. And felt these are your mediums. Am I right? Yes, yes. Christmas ornament of me in a bowl with insulin t shirt holding like a Dexcom or something.

Chellis 40:45
It's like your phone. Like it's your it's the Dexcom app on like an iPhone.

Scott Benner 40:49
Thank you look at you. You're like, no, that's not what it is. It's a phone. I'll tell you exactly. What are you hard on it? Okay. And it's, first of all, I love that because it makes me look thin. That's the first thing. Because, you know, close pins are straight. Finally, this is the way I was supposed to like could have added some bulk. But no, if you would have either deleted your post. I just want to be clear about that. I would have been like, ladies trying to make me look fat on a closed, I would have just clicked right. So I got I got caught in this situation. Because when you're moderating a Facebook page, you can't let people sell things on it, because it just turns into a swap meet. And I that would ruin what it is. Right? Yeah. So no matter what, and there are times it's tough. There are people like, you know, my house burned down. Oh, right. You know, and I want to put up a thing and I'm like, you can't like this can't turn into a can't turn into this, you know? Yeah. And I don't let anybody sell anything. You put that up. And I was like, yes, she could sell that. That's

Chellis 41:47
That's why I asked you first because I was like, This is so hard. So I do know, I just wanted people to see it at first and then people like I want one.

Scott Benner 41:57
First of all, I guarantee you sold more than you've ever sold in your life. Right? Like are these? Am I wrong?

Chellis 42:03
No. I made like eight and then I had to make more.

Scott Benner 42:07
I have mine is hanging in front of me right now from like a light thing that's behind my monitor. Right now. I'm facing away from me. I don't know why don't be shy Scott Turner. Hola. It's just It's adorable. And and I, you sent me one. Actually, that was funny. Like for a while I was like if you're going to offer to send me one because this is getting strange. I don't want to have to buy it. And so you sent me one was just very nice. And it comes out of the box. It comes out of the box, and I hold it up. And I think it was Arden who said Oh what the fuck is that?

Chellis 42:44
wanted to know what Arden's reaction

Scott Benner 42:46
was my son, then everyone mocked me on mercifully, it went on for a while, my son went down that road of like, this lady is gonna kill you, you know, she's gonna find you, and she's gonna stab you in the face. And then we don't decorate our Christmas tree with ornaments anymore. We used to, we used to be people who are like just every ornament we ever had, like, when when the kids were little like, it looked like it's just a terrible looking tree. And one day, a few years ago, Arden was like, Can we like make the tree look nice? And that was hurtful, you know? And my wife's like, what do you want to do? And she went out and bought this fat, Red Garland. And I think two different color balls and she's like, just wrap it with the garland and then hang the balls in the thing. And, and that was it. That's all that happens. Now we're not allowed to do anything else, because that's what the tree suppose looks like now. But I still hung mine on the tree. Nice. Oh, I was the only ornament. I also took a lot of crap for that, too. So these things have

Chellis 43:48
taken on a life of their own. The whole ornament, like the whole Etsy, like, I mean, my whole whatever. It's blown up. And I love it. I I'm so I'm a creative person. But there's something about, like, I'll do a couple craft shows a year, which is like, I mean, whatever. But it's more like me seeing people's reactions to what I made. I'm always like, we just like sit there and laugh at them. And like that, to me is like worth whatever time it takes me to make it or whatever. You know,

Scott Benner 44:22
first of all, being serious. I was touched. Because I was standing around. There were people in our home. It was Christmas. My mom's there. Excuse me, not my mom, my brother's there and my sister in law's there. We'd already jettison my mom to Wisconsin. And and we have people over. And my brother goes, what is that? And I said, Oh, it's an ornament. Someone who listens to the show set me and his wife goes, why? And I said a person who listens to the podcast, sent this to me and she's like, give me that and she's looking at it. I think it was the first time that they Like, when people listen to that podcast

Chellis 45:04
and and do something, they're looking

Scott Benner 45:06
at me different. My brother's like, go over this with me. And I'm like, Okay, you think my youngest brother? And so like we're talking about it, and he goes, so it's like, it really reaches people. And I was like, yeah. And he goes through they like you. And I was like, why just this hurt when we're talking about it. But, but no, it was like a nice moment. So the thing the ornament really did for me was it allowed my immediate family to mock me on mercifully so I really appreciate that. But if I had a conversation, like for the first time with my brother, my sister in law about like what I do, oh my god, yeah, so it's nice. It brought us together for a couple minutes. It was very nice.

Chellis 45:45
And I don't know if this is jumping ahead. But it also, like for me, it was like, I wanted you to know how much this podcast meant to me like, so it was like, you know, it reciprocated you know, in a different way. But I was so grateful for the podcast, and being able to find this body of work that just has resonated with me so much.

Scott Benner 46:12
Thank you so much. Yeah, I believe that when you say it, if a couple of months ago, I would have ended up bound and covered and fell. I would have thought and a glue gun. Yeah, this is this is the plot. Drama. But

Chellis 46:28
yeah, I wasn't cakepops I promised I wouldn't send you cake. I didn't

Scott Benner 46:32
know if this was going to be a Dexter thing or a nice thing. It ended up being i There's a part of me that thought I was gonna be in a clean room. You know what I mean? Like, here's how that and that's fine. Well, so anyway, being serious, like it was it was really lovely. And I appreciate it very much. And it's it was it was a pleasure to let you tell other people about them. And but it was weird, because like, I think everybody on the Facebook group understood they were like, he doesn't let people sell anything in here. What are you gonna do about it? Can you imagine if you saw this, and I was like, Lady fuck off. Oh my god. Why is he so mean? I put a smile on the on the clothes. I should have put a little frown. And um, yes, I had no recourse, I guess.

Chellis 47:19
No, it's like, You're damned if you do damned if you don't.

Scott Benner 47:23
I was not damaged at all. It was just like, there would have been no way for me to say no, I felt like a human being I guess I would have

Chellis 47:30
reached out to me though to say like, I just you know, bought it. Like, there's there's other Scott's hanging on other people's trees from here on out? Like, isn't that weird to you like, but in a good way.

Scott Benner 47:43
It's all weird to me the whole thing you have to there's a suspension? Have you ever heard a suspension of disbelief? They taught Yeah, you go to a movie, you gotta like pretend like it's possible to fly through space and shoot like Chewbacca and stuff. And that exists a little bit when you're making the podcast. Yeah, like, you have to suspend the idea that, that it's happening that right now. Like, like right now. Okay, Charles, somebody is gardening and listening to this. But we recorded it six months ago. And, and I'm, I don't have any notes in front of me. I mean, I think it's kind of clear that 30 minutes in I was like, Are you the lady that made the ornament. So, you know, I don't know what we're going to talk about. I had no idea about your parents, or that I'd spent 15 minutes being like, please explain to me the lives of alcoholic 20 year olds who get married when they're pregnant. Like you don't I mean, like, I didn't know any of that was going to happen. And like, yesterday, when I was recording, I was in the middle of doing some stuff with my mom's health. And I had been let down by a couple of doctors. And this person I was recording with started talking about some of the troubles they had with their diabetes stuff. And I just kind of went off for like, 10 minutes. Like, yeah, just pissed at. And I said, I know I said something that I'm going to regret later. And I'm just gonna repeat it here. So I, I said something about, like, I think I think I said, there are days I wonder how I'm successful at what I do. And then there's days I look at everybody else. And I realize oh, it's not that hard to beat them. And, and, and that's a mean, terrible thing to say. But I was in context of watching doctors, just so not take their job seriously in regards to my mom. And I just I'm like, Why can't people just work hard? Like, like, you've got the job to do it. I do this job. I break my ass making this thing. Right, right. Like, just kind of like, if it's not what you want to be doing right now. That's not my fault. It's not my mom's fault. You know, like, it's 2023. And somehow the Internet has turned doctors into people who go look at you and go, What would you like to do? What would I like to do? And why? You don't know me? More than me and Google great. Like, like, and so I got really upset.

Chellis 50:06
You know, what's frustrating to me, though about people not doing their job or doing, doing a good job at their job, is that when they're part of their job is working with people. It's one thing if you're doing like data entry, right? And you're, you know, it's going to affect maybe like some outcome of the company, but not a person necessarily. But when you're directly talking to people, or like, in my profession, I'm a teacher. I mean, I, my whole point is to connect with my students not, you know, enter data or their you know, what their grade is. And that's like, the last thing I worry about, right? Is that when, when that's part of your job, and you can't even do that, well, it's like, what are you doing here?

Scott Benner 50:55
They're dragging my mom to testing that she doesn't need. Yeah. And they're telling us scary things. Like my mom's got an infection. She's right. She's a little spacey now from the infection, and it's clearing up and everyday, you see, you're getting better. And one day, they said, Well, you know, like, she's had cancer. So we just want to do some images to make sure I'm like, or like, that's fine. Do that. Like, let's make sure her cancer is not back. Right. And it's not, by the way, and, and she's coming out of the CT scan. And some technician says, I think she just had a seizure. She's at, she's in the middle of a crisis, and she got a faraway stare on her face for five minutes. And now we spend the next four days dragging around the hospitals to get these different scans. And we're all like, she didn't have a seizure. Like everyone's saying, I'm like, Look at this, this is what's happening to her. Here's what happens when this happens. It completely explains this. You know what I mean? And then I'm like, in a couple of days, if you clear her infection, she's going to be better. And, and they're like, Well, we think she had seizures. I'm like, my mom's had a seizure disorder, her whole life, whatever you see in her brain is from 50 years ago, and explainable. Yeah. And, and so instead of doing the obvious thing, they did the thing that they could build Medicare for, I imagine, and drug her literally Drugger, from hospital to hospital to because they're like, We don't have the machine here. I'm like, oh, that's hilarious. But my 80 year old mom and a bus driver across Wisconsin, that's terrific. And you know, and then of course, as the day is passed, my mom starts getting better, because the infection is clearing up, like we all said, as predicted. Yeah. And then the guy says, Well, what do you want to do? And I thought, I told you what I wanted to do four days ago, and you didn't get it. And now that we've all made a guess, $150,000 off of my mom, like, like, you know, and now now it's up to me. And I was like, are you I'm not even there. It's, you're a doctor. But yeah, do better than this. Yeah, you know. And, anyway, I got very upset while I was recording with somebody else. I apologize. I apologize to all of you. I'm not doing better than you. Because I'm working harder. I was just very mad. And I don't even know if I'm doing better than anyone else. I just mean, I'm successful at this thing I'm doing. Yeah. And I just imagined that part of that is to do with hard work. And you know, in the time when sometimes you don't feel like working hard, and you just do it anyway. Like, for instance, have you did you enjoy the G voc hypo pen episode where I explained the hypo pen? Did you hear that one by any chance? I did not. Well, if you go back and listen to it, you'll remember that while I was doing it, I had 100. And like one degree fever, and I was reading in a pile. You'll never know when you heard it. I sat here and I held myself together. And I did was supposed to do. The least the doctor could do was like, I mean, why don't you check Google? Why am I in charge? You know what I mean? Anyway, so this is unfair to you. I apologize. So. So fatigue and burnout was a big part of what you wrote about, you know, you've had diabetes for 30 years. And you you said you have ways to combat these to combat these things. And I was wondering what you've learned over that time?

Chellis 54:15
Yeah. It's funny, like, I, I have to catch myself because it feels like it's been more of a struggle than not over these 30 years. But I'm wondering if that's not actually true, where the struggle parts seem just more overwhelming than all of the things that I have actually been successful at with my diabetes, because I've done so much. But usually, it's like, around a goal, like, oh, I want to run a half marathon. So I've got to, you know, get my diabetes together in order to do that, you know, kind of idea, but I almost wonder if, like my default or maybe, I don't know, I think the major thing that I've learned it because when I think back on the times that I've been most successful with my diabetes is when I'm connected to myself or with some diabetes community. Like when I was pregnant, I had this online group of moms, oh my god, we were in a forum, it was like, you know, these old before Facebook, you know, these old Delphi forums and we all were doing, you know, trying to do this and have diabetes and get pregnant and have babies and I make connections with some of those women that I still am, you know, in contact with, you know, it's kind of switched over to Facebook, but I wouldn't have been able to get through that without that community. Or when, you know, I ran reach the beach, it was like a Ragnar like relay. And we were in a van with it was a, you know, JDRF team, and the van was full of people with type one. So it was like, you know, we all went and got all the, you know, low snacks together, and like, didn't have to, like, explain, like, you got to pull the van over. Like, it was just, you know, it was so empowering for me to see other people doing this and being successful at it, and or just, you know, doing it to, alongside what I was trying to do, and I think, you know, trying to set those goals for myself is good. But I think that's where the podcast came in, because so last year, I hit my 30th anniversary, diversity, whatever. And it was April 8. And I usually when I hit those, I'm like, All right, awesome, good job, or like, you know, write a blog post. It's like what I've learned over the 25 years, and it's sort of like a, you know, go me good job for some reason. And I don't know if it was just like, build up from COVID stuff, like, just, you know, how I was remote teaching, that was a whole other thing. Like, I was burned out, like in general. And I hit that 30th anniversary, and I didn't have that same like, rah, rah, I was actually like, This is exhausting. I'm just getting tired of this. 30 years is a long time to do anything. Like I started thinking like, people retire when they're, you know, when they've gone 30 years. Like, you know, like, it's, this is a long ass time to do this. And it felt more like defeat than anything else. And I just by rolled, I was just in a hole. I mean, probably. I mean, it was bad. I wasn't taking care of mice. I just was like, I'm not I'm, I just want to be done with this for a while. And I'd felt that before. And I go through periods of you know, kind of spiraling or sabotaging or whatever. And it was really the podcast that that pulled me out of a. And I don't remember, I think it was, so I was on a, like a type one running Facebook group. And somebody had asked, like, what do you guys listen to when you're running? And that was one of the things that like, all these people were like, You gotta listen to the Juicebox Podcast podcast. And I started listening to it. And I just sort of like cherry picked. I was drawn to the after dark episodes, actually. Because that was like, I don't know why it was so like, oh my god, I can't believe that. Like someone's talking about this stuff like, and how the diabetes could factor into it. And it was like, Whoa, I was so blown away that like, this was not a taboo thing, or any of them it didn't matter, and also the mental health stuff that episodes with Erica, and just so good for me. And I think the thing about the podcast is that like before, I'd have to like, Okay, I'm gonna do this, you know, race and find people that are in a similar situation as me and then the race is over. And I'm like, Okay, now what? With the podcast, it's just like, it's this perfect passive way for me to stay connected. Like, I don't even like I see on the Facebook group all the time. People are like, I'm almost there all the episodes and like, they want to, I mean, their kids are newly diagnosed, they want to just like, you know, take all the information that they can and like, binge it and I'm like, no, no, I'll it's all there for me like a waiting, you know, so when I need it, it's just there.

Scott Benner 59:24
Yeah, that's really interesting. Because So, okay, so having a goal is the best thing is the best thing for you.

Chellis 59:33
Yeah, I think the most direct kind of like to pull me out of it. Yeah. Is to be like, Okay, this is what you're gonna do. You have to do X, Y, and Z in order to get there and then I can slowly kind of get back to that.

Scott Benner 59:46
And and is there anything about the 30th like in your realization that things sometimes don't even last this long? That made it feel like you had gotten to the end, except somebody told you to keep going. You don't I mean, like, it almost feels like somebody set up a race for you. And you ran through the tape at the end. And they were like, keep going, it's not over. Yeah. You're like, but my feet hurt, I'm done now. And they were like, No, you're not keep going.

Chellis 1:00:18
Yeah. And it's like this, you know, I've, I've heard other people's stories on the podcast is like, almost like this club of, of us, you know, that are in this range of how how long we've had it. And when we were also diagnosed, and like, you know, learning curve wise, as far as like technology coming in and adapting to that, and, and old habits and old information that's either irrelevant or wrong, and trying to, you know, kind of navigate through all of that and make it so that it does make sense, because that was my frustration for so long as that none of this made sense, you know, the things that the doctors were telling me to do. And then when my blood sugar would be 400. Anyway, I was like, Whoa,

Scott Benner 1:01:03
yeah. Well, there's so many things changing. And the one thing that doesn't change is the day you were diagnosed. And and where you jumped into the story. Yeah, you know, and, and it's very hard to stay flexible. And, you know, I mean, almost elastic, right? Like you, you need to be able to do today, what you need to do to the best of your ability and to the best of what's available. And then you need to be able to stay flexible enough to look up one day and go. Well, everyone's doing that now. Yeah, they're talking about a one sees like two points lower than mine. And I gotta go find out what that is right now. And that's hard, because you still have to take care of yourself in that day. And it's it's not easy, and then it just never ends. Yeah. And I think about that for Arden, too. There are days when she's just like, doing our homework aid happened yesterday. She's I'm like texting, I'm like, I need you to calibrate your Dexcom. And she just didn't answer me. And you know, later, I was like, Hey, I don't love your your pump site. I don't think it's doing what we want it to do. Or the Dexcom is not calibrated. Right, we need to figure out which one did not answer me. And then I talked to her later in the day, and she was just head down doing our homework all afternoon. She just wanted to I think she just didn't have enough time to think about everything she had to think about. Yeah, yeah. And she gave away the diabetes for a couple of hours to do it. Yep. And if I brought it up, she was like, I'm not You can't get me to think about this right now.

Chellis 1:02:37
And that's where it has to be like, uh, you know, just for that, you know, that timeframe. Like, okay, I did that. And now I have to get back to it. Whereas with me, sometimes that would then snowball into like, Nope, that's, it's still more important. It's still, you know, these 10 Other things are still more important. And then I'd go to, you know, I go down a rabbit hole, where I, I'm the variable, like, I had this realization, listening to the podcast, you know, I used to just put all the, put all of it on the diabetes, like the diabetes is, you know, doesn't do the same thing every day, you know, it's this, it's that it's unpredictable. And it's really me, I'm the variable, you know, I'm the one who gets in my own way that, you know, will create difficult, I just make it harder, and I don't, I'm not really entirely sure why I do that. Whether it like validates the struggle for me or something, I don't know, I don't really know. But where the diabetes is, what it is, it's the information and what you do with it, and that's the variable part and all the other, you know, stuff external things that obviously come into it and exercise and you know, all the those things, but it's, it's not the diabetes, it's, it's me, or it's the person with it, you know, as far as what they're bringing into each of those days, and whether they're able to, you know, kind of say, like, I need to do this homework right now. Or I need to grade these papers right now, then I'm going to check my blood sugar. I mean,

Scott Benner 1:04:17
well, I mean, this is not different, by the way for other parts of life. People ignore it, right? But right, so we're task oriented animals, and we need things to do. And when you stop having things to do, or things become so commonplace, that it doesn't feel like you're completing a task. You become like rudderless. Almost Yeah, and it and you can spiral. It's, you know, as crazy as it sounds. The reason a lot of the social media is so popular, right? And I don't know if you've like watched some of the documentaries, but scrolling and liking. It actually makes Do you feel like you've accomplished something? Yeah, no kidding. It hits that center of your brain that says I did a thing. I opened up my app. And I completed it. I went through my feed. I, I judge things checked on people checked on people. I made sure the world still okay, whatever crazy thing your brain tells you about that? Yeah. And but anyways, like scroll, scroll, tap, tap, scroll, scroll, tap, tap. That makes you feel like you did something. Yeah. And it gives you the same feeling as if you would have went out worked a full day made a bunch of money and took care of your family.

Chellis 1:05:32
Yes, yeah. Yeah. Well, and it's funny, because So currently, I'm sitting here. Not at work, because I and I did post about this, but I broke my leg on Christmas Eve.

Scott Benner 1:05:45
I'll just do that, for course go into the dump. I'm just kidding. No.

Chellis 1:05:50
I wish that would be a better story. I just fell off a step stool

Scott Benner 1:05:55
over sorry. So sorry. step stool, you can

Chellis 1:06:00
oh my god, right. It's like two steps. It's embarrassing.

Scott Benner 1:06:02
I'm not gonna lie. Did you lie to the doctor, I would have said something like that, well, I would just put it in my, by the way, if you don't know my wife, and I definitely would have pointed to my wife and been like, she hit me and I fell. Oh, my wife cut herself on a mandolin once the doctor said what happened? And she said defense.

Chellis 1:06:30
I wish I wish it was a better story. But it's forced me to literally have to sit here. And I am not a sedentary person. And I you know, I'm very active even you know, I mean, I teach but then I'm like walking, you know, when I get home or I'm running or I'm, you know, my husband and I walk on the trails around our house every weekend. And you know, so I'm literally having to sit here and not have anything to do but stare at my like, so my blood sugar's have been amazing. This is I like micro adjusting all day.

Scott Benner 1:07:08
Turn into your own algorithm. Yeah, no, no, no. Like, this is the early part of the podcast when the guy was like, you could just set a Temp Basal and do that.

Chellis 1:07:18
But it's, it's really been eye opening for me, like forcing me to not have any of those things to have to do. I can't drive my kids to where they need to go. I can't be the taxi. I you know, I'm literally just sitting here.

Scott Benner 1:07:36
How long do you have to be like that? So I needed surgery.

Chellis 1:07:39
I broke it in three places. Oh my god. Oh, yeah. It

Scott Benner 1:07:43
was the step stool next to a hill like what do you

Chellis 1:07:46
it was my tile floor I think had something to do with it. But this is so gross. So when I fell, I was like saying goodbye to my daughter. She was going down the stairs and we're gonna go get Starbucks and come home. And so I said goodbye. And then I went to go. Like, just, I felt like I flew in the air or something. But the way I landed when I rolled over to look, my foot was going

Scott Benner 1:08:09
the wrong way. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. And I

Chellis 1:08:12
looked at it for like a split second I and she turned around she saw it. I mean, so because at first I was like, did I imagine that? And she was like, No, your foot was sideways. So I in my mind, like willed it somehow to like, move back. Because I said that's not right. It needs to go back. And when I did that, I just heard crunching. Oh my god. Yeah. So

Scott Benner 1:08:37
we come out. Dad's alcoholism. I didn't realize oh my god. Oh, I

Chellis 1:08:42
knew I needed surgery. Yeah.

Scott Benner 1:08:45
Yes. Thank How bad was that? Did your brain like block the pain? Or were you

Chellis 1:08:49
Oh, I thought I was gonna pass out. i Oh my God, it was just like searing. Like nothing I'd ever experienced,

Scott Benner 1:08:58
sliced my whole hand open one time. And like, I'm looking at those scars. Still, it goes from halfway down my thumb all the way into the base of my palm. And it was deep. And I did it at work. And I was working with a childhood friend's brother. And while I waited for the ambulance, I remember saying to him, Jim, I need to put my head on your chest. Oh my god, don't let me pass out in front of these people. And he's like, Hey, you'll be okay. And I was like, I don't think I'm gonna be okay. It hurt so bad. Yeah, yeah, I feel free. That's terrible. Did you ruin the Starbucks run? Am I correct? Oh, yeah, that was that was a question how you got a bunch of um, caffeinated teenagers, right? Yeah.

Chellis 1:09:41
My dad was here. Oh, God, I scared him so bad.

Scott Benner 1:09:45
Oh my god. Oh, and so surgery pins like

Chellis 1:09:49
three screws, three screws and a plate.

Scott Benner 1:09:52
Did they say that that was uncommon. What happened to

Chellis 1:09:57
so from what I understand by law Lateral breaks are pretty common when you fall like that but tri lateral what I did is not so I'm not sure I think it had to do with me like you know the dislocation when I put it back Yeah, I broke more than was already

Scott Benner 1:10:16
enough so are you got to be able to go back to running ever Are you gonna need to figure something else to keep you from plunging down the rabbit hole of despair so ironic

Chellis 1:10:25
for Christmas this year my husband got me a peloton off marketplace I was so excited. Like so excited. I already done it a few times I dumped that morning even so I think I'm going to be doing a lot of peloton which is fine with me. I think I was really like I was kind of getting fatigued with the running to burnt out you know, whatever. So I did ask though, because eventually I do want to do what I kind of set out to do originally which was eventually run Boston, which is like huge, right? And I do I think still eventually want to do that. I mean, she the doctor was like you know you you'd certainly can it's just you know listening to your body and how willing you are to you know risk reinjury doing that and I'm gonna be totally freaked out about that

Scott Benner 1:11:16
you have to get strong and yeah, a lot of other things. You should make a Christmas ornament for yourself with a like a crooked leg

Chellis 1:11:24
dislocated

Scott Benner 1:11:26
I don't know why you didn't do that that's really no no pun intended on the missed that but it was a misstep Have you not to do that while you're sitting around? Like you on the floor with the stool like off to the side and your leg is going in six directions would have been genius. I'm sorry, out there to counsel you. Oh my god, bro.

Chellis 1:11:48
I'm always taking ideas.

Scott Benner 1:11:49
Oh, and then then make your dad like staring and hard and all your kids and like make like a manger scene.

Chellis 1:11:57
Christmas and just like it's like a relief like whatever.

Scott Benner 1:12:01
You just hang it up every year. Like Like, seriously, you're like, I I'm onto something Christmas Eve 2022 As a matter of fact, you should allow people to commission you to make up moments of their life and clothes. They can hang on they're curious. I think we can expand your business is a good idea. Sure. Yes. The tide of the dog farted and everybody blamed mom and there's like little ornaments depicting it and people get tell stories around the truth. Oh my god. Anyway, I didn't even know they made a wooden clothespins anymore until you sent me that I was like,

Chellis 1:12:37
no, no, it's and it's also the ones that I'm using. They're this they're discontinued so I imagine will happen after that. Yeah, I need to find another buy dryer

Scott Benner 1:12:46
sensors humidity and runs until it's done.

Chellis 1:12:52
No need for these anymore.

Scott Benner 1:12:54
My neighbor still hangs her sheets. Oh, ice.

Chellis 1:12:57
I love the smell of that. We have a clothesline at our cottage and I just I love drawing.

Scott Benner 1:13:02
Because she's cheap. I think I hope she doesn't listen to this. I think she's cute. Imagine if she listens. I think her husband I take the whole thing back. I meant on the other side. Don't worry. It's not you.

Chellis 1:13:12
You the other lady that no one knows.

Scott Benner 1:13:16
Except for the lady with the chocolate balls. And this lady is fine. No one knows who it is. You're fine. Can you imagine? If someone knocks on my door one day and was like I hang loose sheets up because I like the way they feel the air dry. You slip up. Not cheap. larious I was listening to a really big podcast the other day. Like, let me be clear. This podcast downloads in the 96th percentile. All podcasts. Okay, there are only 4% of podcasts that do better than mine. But 2% of them make me look like I have a hobby. Okay. And so on one of those. I heard a host talking about like their kids friend, and it wasn't pleasant. And I'm like, Oh, aren't they gonna know that them? I was stunned. Like it stopped me in my tracks. I'm like that that lady you're talking about? She knows she knows it's her. You're calling her crazy. I'm not saying she's not crazy. But I'm saying she now knows that you everyone and like mentally none of us know who she is. It's just her. And probably five or six other people live in the neighborhood. But the point. The point is, I was really thrown by that. It was one of those moments where you wanted to look up and go, do you mean to say that right now? Like earlier when I said I'm cessful because I work harder than other people. Like I should definitely take that out.

Speaker 1 1:14:52
And um, but it was like one of those moments where I was like, oh my god, like I don't think you're supposed to do that. You know? So anyway, Frequently out, but no, you should do that. You should you should let people give you like life moments. You can get them in clothes pin art. Yeah. But be honest. Once your legs fixed, you're gonna get moving again in no time for that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. How did that do? Did it pay? Make a mortgage payment for your anything? Or did the clothespins not come through? Should I have asked for a cut?

Chellis 1:15:22
No, Id I gave half the proceeds I made a donation to where

Scott Benner 1:15:26
to me? Yes. Oh hell I use that money on good stuff. Don't worry. Thank you. Did you? Oh, I do remember that. Look at you. You're like you don't remember that. Why did I give you ever goddamn money? No, I do remember. Sorry. I bought Christmas presents with it. I'm not gonna lie. Oh, good. And move my kids through. I don't think I should say my kids live. I just made them. But my son had to move pretty far away. And we helped him get started and stuff like that. So you know, thank you very much. I appreciate it. Because it was honestly one of the sweetest things anyone's ever done that I had been made fun of for. So my I wish you should make. Here's an idea. Make an ornament of me holding an ornament ornament of me. While my family stands around me pointing laughing and being funny to me in general. That would be so easy to do that. Oh, seriously, that would be it. Like just send me a tiny ornament. I'll put in the hand of this one or whatever. However you doing a bigger one? Maybe I don't know how you handle it. And, and just everyone looking at me. Somewhere between like, What in the hell is happening

Chellis 1:16:35
there? Like open mouth? Like just a little like, Yep, yeah, you're gonna get

Scott Benner 1:16:39
killed. There's one of those faces in there. And then the other one was like, This is embarrassing. And I'm like, No, it's not. It's lovely. Then they're like, No, it's not weird, weird and stop acting like it's nice. But I was I was actually, I'm not gonna lie. At first. I was like, I don't know how to feel about this.

Chellis 1:17:00
I know. Like, I was like, Okay, this is this could go either way.

Scott Benner 1:17:04
Well, I mean, it went both ways. I was sort of like your parents. Part of me went one direction and part of me and the other. I was she get points for that joke. Seriously, is there not a bell that should ring when I'm horrible and funny at the same time? But But no, seriously, it was it was. It was at first it was I don't want to call it off putting it was odd. And then I was like, this really is very nice. Because I put myself in your shoes. Finally I did what Jesus says to do. I thought this is a person who feels such a wonderful like attachment to what I've done that they're trying to say thank you. And and this is the way they're doing it. And that's wonderful. And I hung it right on my Christmas tree. So thank you very much. Thank you. I appreciate it. I seriously do. I know we've I don't even know what this has been like.

Chellis 1:17:54
It's gone all over the place.

Scott Benner 1:17:56
Somehow we actually covered that you're supposed to work hard at things. keeps you focused, and it helps you be healthy. Yeah, but I don't think we came right out and said you should take that from this. You should take from this. That your lovely. New Hampshire needs a better trash system. I yeah, I wanted to yell at a doctor but installed instead just yelled at machine while he was recording with a poor woman did nothing. I wasn't really mad. It was like I was waiting for her to go like I'm not the doctor. Yeah, why are you yelling at me? And then, and then I made myself look bad. I know I did that for sure. But but I seriously think if the takeaway from this episode, isn't that, oh my god, they still make clothes pins. You have to have a goal. Like always, not just like big goals that take years to get to but you should have some daily goals, you should have some weekly goals should have some monthly goals. You should make them attainable. Yeah. Because your brain likes it when you do good things.

Chellis 1:19:00
It's like when you write down on the to do list like something you know, you've already gotten to so you can check it off.

Scott Benner 1:19:06
That's insane. Do you do that? Yes. Oh, tell us I'm sorry. So you're saying to me, Hey, let me be clear. Let me be clear momentum. You're making it you're making it to do list. And you realize that just recently, in the last six hours, you've accomplished one of the things that you would have put on the to do list had it not been done already. So you write it down and then draw a line through it. Yep. I'm gonna guess that's more common than I want to believe. I'll think of something

Chellis 1:19:34
that I did. And like, just added to the list and like, Oh, yep, I did that. Check it off.

Scott Benner 1:19:40
That's pretty dope, if anyone's doing. If anyone's doing that. I think you should stop. But I think it's the same thing as the scrolling. Like, seriously, it's and you did just say it a minute ago. Like it's hard not to make fun of what you just said. But it does give you some momentum. It does. Like I'm not little bit, just a tiny net. Yeah, I got something done. I could probably do this thing next. Yeah, yeah, I mean, I have a list in front of me right now. And I'm looking at it. I'm like, I don't want to do any of that. And I have a big list on my wall, you will know my whiteboard says right now. Make a series about oh, you know what? Alright, that'll be done. By the time this comes out. I don't need those people ripping me off. Make a type two series with Jenny. Oh, nice. Make an auto immune series that defining autoimmune series. We have a list online from the people in the Facebook group. There are way more autoimmune diseases that people have than you would imagine. I'm going to do a real quick like defining series about all of them. I've got to follow up with an insulin manufacturer that might want to buy ads. I need to schedule Jenny, on the podcast, I have decided to put up best of episodes, we're going to do that for a little while to see how it works. I'm thinking of trademarking bold with insulin and Juicebox Podcast, yes, I am thinking of getting the rights to my book so that I can give it away to people digitally. And I know people are like, you don't have the rights to your own book I don't. And cozy Earth is a new advertiser, and I have been sleeping on their sheets, and keeping notes about how they are so that I can talk about them in ADS. And they're lovely, big ticket items I have, and I have to build a big one. So here. I'm thrilled that athletic greens is an advertiser on the podcast, but they want you to bill every month. And it's just like, oh my god, like just can you just give me six months in a row or something

Chellis 1:21:41
like that? I'm getting some inner workings. You know, the business side, this

Scott Benner 1:21:45
is how it goes. I just I'm like, Oh, by the way, can you imagine this is my complaint. Like, I have to send a digital invoice 12 times this year. I really don't want to. But I'm just so busy. Oh, you know what else I did? Last night, I've been talking to young artists about revamping the look of the podcast. And I've talked to a few. And I had a conversation with one last night that I I'm really hopeful about like I've gotten some nice submissions from people. And they haven't quite jived with how I feel yet. But I have a good feeling about this next one. So I'm trying to give a young artist some exposure. And that's pretty much what my whiteboard looks like. And now I can I can erase here it says sounds like cello. That's how I remembered that's how I remembered your name in the beginning. That's pretty much it. And there's a note here from Arden, do you need to stretch go hug my dog? Because she wrote that before she she misses her dog. I'm in charge of hugging the dog because she had to go to college. Nice. Yeah, she abandoned those dogs. That's how they feel. Yeah. Not just like your parents. And so I'm sorry, I don't know. You're so well adjusted. Why is that? Oh, are you or am I wrong? Oh, yeah, you really seem like you are actually.

Chellis 1:23:09
I think I think it's because of all that though, where it was bad. But it resulted in such good things. Like, I have these amazing sisters. I have these amazing, you know, I had my stepbrothers and have all of these, like wonderful relationships that I would never have had had all of that bad stuff not happen. And, you know, they say the daughters with their dads on pedestals, and you know, they shouldn't or whatever. But I mean, my dad changed his entire life around so that he could be in ours, you know? Yeah. And I take those things away from the bad stuff.

Scott Benner 1:23:50
You give any credence to the idea that you've been through so much stuff that everything seems a little easier now?

Chellis 1:23:58
Yes, yeah. And it's all like perspective. And I also this actually brings up one of the things I wanted to make sure I said, but So, the craziest thing happened, my best friend from high school. She lives in Florida. She's lived in Florida since college. And so we we just rarely rarely see each other. But she is just that, you know, person that it doesn't matter how long you know, we go without talking to each other. And her middle daughter, Jane was diagnosed last year with type one diabetes. Oh my god. Crazy, right? Like, oh my God, that's why we were in that we were putting that study hall together in high school, so that I could go through all of these experiences. And I said this to her like, I you know it I started crying because I was like, oh my god, it's now it's wisdom. It's not just like my struggles or you know, the things that you know, have always caused problems you know, for my diabetes it now it's is actual wisdom that can help somebody that I am so close to. And I know that she listens to the podcast. So hello. Oh, wow, that's really wonderful. But oh my god, like, for me, that was one of those moments that was like, That's why to go through,

Scott Benner 1:25:18
it makes you that it makes it feel very valuable for you.

Chellis 1:25:22
It's very validating so that it's not just this thing that has caused, you know, stress or anxiety or whatever.

Scott Benner 1:25:30
I think as much as she jokes about it, I think Arden feels that way a little bit about the podcast, too.

Chellis 1:25:36
Yeah, like, I mean, you know, of course, like this thing that her dad does, right? Like, and teenage daughters with their dads as always, I've got I've got one of those here in this house.

Scott Benner 1:25:48
teenage daughter, or someone's dad.

Chellis 1:25:52
No, yeah. And her dad. But it's so it's, you know, it's always that kind of, like, you know, he takes so this is this kind of assembler. Like, he does all the stats for her basketball team. Right, keeps all the stats and sends them to their coach, you know, so, at first it was kind of like, like, can you like back off a little bit? Now? I think she appreciates it. Because like, other people are like, Hey, I saw my sads you know, because it's from his spreadsheet, you know, so it's actually like, is valuable. But at first she wants to like, you know,

Scott Benner 1:26:23
yeah, no, I understand. I just think dad does. I think it's just I think, you know, kind of getting back to having, you know, a friend's child diagnosed, it makes it feel like not such a arbitrary thing anymore. Because you're helped because you're helping somebody else.

Chellis 1:26:42
Yeah, like, not just how did i What happened? How did this happen? You know, kind of like, if so random, you know, no one, no one in my family, you know, so it felt so it didn't feel arbitrary. It felt you know, or even just the my care felt arbitrary for so long, like, and then oh, okay, now, now I can channel it into

Scott Benner 1:27:01
Yeah, it has a purpose. Yeah, yeah, everyone could do that. By the way, you can do it online, or you can do it. I mean, you can do it. You can come on the podcast, you can find somebody in real life, there's when you help others, it just it sounds hokey. But when you help other people, it's, it helps you probably more than it helps them

Chellis 1:27:21
so well. Yeah. And it's also opened up so many conversations for me with my students leave it, you know, not even just about the diabetes, but just, you know, that obviously helps if I end up having you know, someone with it. I think it's like comforting for their parents to know that, you know, they have a teacher who is you know, knows what's going on, you know, but even just something that you might struggle with, or understanding that, you know, you might not even I mean, how would my students even know, unless they hear like, my pump beeping, and I usually tell them, you know, you hear these random noises coming from my body, it's probably that, but just having, it's, it really has opened up a dialogue with my students where then they'll say, you know, oh, this happened to me, or I'm really struggling with this. And it's, that's been invaluable. And I think my understanding of, you know, people going through things that aren't necessarily like, obvious to people and just, you know, kind of erring on the side of, you know, maybe they are struggling with something that I'm not aware of, yeah,

Scott Benner 1:28:23
it's valuable in parenting, too. If you try, if you don't try so hard to look bulletproof, and you seem like a real person, then your kids can see you like a person, and then they don't feel so bad when something odd happens to them.

Chellis 1:28:36
Yeah. And I mean, I've, that's something that, you know, my kids are, they've just grown up with it and awareness of, you know, mom's blood sugar. And, you know, even with me struggling with it, I think that they maybe not to the you know, understand the full extent of how much it feels like I struggled with it, but I remember just my blood sugar was so high. We were like out trying to Christmas shop or something and I couldn't get it down, I couldn't get it down. And then I was having all these side issues and my daughter was only like three years old at the time, she's sitting in the backseat. And I was just like, parked in the parking lot just like trying to collect myself and she said is diabetes hard sometimes and I just like started crying like has this three rolled? No, you know what to say? Or you know, just like and that you know, okay, like, even if this feels like this is impossible right now I'm even in that it's teaching my kids you know, something you know, you can struggle with it and still get through it and move forward.

Scott Benner 1:29:39
I don't know if I should we call this episode foibles. Or nobody used the word by the way, but just think of it like we're talking. Do you know the word? Yes. Okay, thank you. I'm

Chellis 1:29:49
an English teacher.

Scott Benner 1:29:50
It's a good word. Live Free or break. Free or title long but we'll see what was the kind of break calm?

Chellis 1:30:04
trilateral.

Scott Benner 1:30:08
Down. Maybe it's a trilateral close been there? I'll figure it out. Don't worry. Did you see today's? Oh, it's it's the kuko barrel laugh or something like, oh, I can't even say.

Chellis 1:30:24
Cool. And like, a lot of times, I'll just pick the episode. But hola Jason, for example, just based on the title. So I mean, I have no idea what it's about. But I want you know, don't judge a book. Right, but why it's covered. That's not even true.

Scott Benner 1:30:38
Well, what did you think butthole adjacent was going to be when you pick that? I mean, what's, what does it mean? Vagina balls, right? Yeah, right. That's what you're thinking. So

Chellis 1:30:52
I am like potty humor. Like, my kids are always like, you What is wrong with you?

Scott Benner 1:30:56
No, you're terrific. Are you kidding me? I had such a good time. I don't know. I couldn't even care less what we talked about. It's such a nice time talking to you. The kuko borrow the Cuca Burro laughs Is today's episode. It's 835. Because I was talking to a lovely woman named Anne, I think. And she lives in Brisbane, which I think they say like Brisbane. Yeah. And the entire time we spoke these birds were outside of her house laughing.

Chellis 1:31:24
Oh my god, it's an actual thing. To Cabarrus. It's in the old country like that song.

Scott Benner 1:31:29
Apparently, I just somebody online today was like, Oh, great. Now this ear worms back in my life. About About excuse me, I say bang around on the desk, about about a song which I didn't know the song at all. I just know that there became a moment where I realized if I'm gonna keep talking to this lady, we just have to pretend that Bert is not like cackling outside of her house. And it was really, it was lovely. By the way, I had a great time talking to her. But I've never had a bad time talking to anybody. I don't think I enjoy. I enjoy. And

Chellis 1:32:03
I'll say that too, about listening is that I think like when I start to realize like, Oh, this is a parent with a child, I keep listening because it ends up like, even though that's not my experience as a parent. With a child. I don't even know how to do that. But it's still I still get something out of every episode, because they are just stories, you know, their people's experiences. And usually somewhere in there, there's something that I can relate to. Even if it's not my exact, you know, same experience. Listen,

Scott Benner 1:32:36
I think that these conversations are are terrific. And I don't think they need to be. I mean, I mean, I'll just I'll just say here, like the there are other diabetes podcasts. And within reason, nobody, I shouldn't say it like that. Hold on What I want to say, I don't think they get very many downloads. And that's fine. Like, if it's helping one person, I think it's amazing. And I genuinely mean that. But I don't think they're achieving mass appeal. Because they, and I'm guessing because I actually haven't heard them. I've listened to like, a couple of seconds of each one of them. And I listen to my brain tells me to go like stop, I have a very low tolerance for things that I don't find entertaining. And so anyway, sorry, I did this thing a little while ago where I looked up other diabetes podcasts and realize that there had been so many of them since I started by I had the first one. Like there was one guy, I don't want to his name. His last name was rose, what was his first name? He had a blog talk show for like a year maybe. If anybody remembers blog talk radio. Tony, Tony Rose was his name. Tony had this great show. And he doesn't, you know, he stopped doing it years ago. I did it once while I was selling my book. And then there was another one, like, I don't know if people remember. BlogTalkRadio is like you called someone on the phone. And then it gave you like, it recorded it. And then there was a link later where you could listen back to it. And the audio was terrible. And so I was not the first person these these people did this first and these two different ones that I was aware of. But after I started my podcast, there were a lot of diabetes podcasts. They started popping up about the time I started getting ads. And I think people were just like, oh, there's money to be made here. And then coaching came along and now everybody tries to make a podcast to pump up their coaching business.

Chellis 1:34:36
See, I don't I mean, the thing is, is that I want to feel like I relate to the content. A couple of them I've tried, but it's I just love that you start these conversations and you don't they just go where they go. Yeah, man, it's not rehearsed and it's, you know, not scripted. And

Scott Benner 1:34:54
yeah, that's what I was gonna say if you want to do better actually try being real and see how that goes. Yeah, sounds

Chellis 1:35:00
like you're having a dialogue, you're not just like saying the things that you wanted to say,

Scott Benner 1:35:05
and you're holding all the thoughts you're having, that everyone else is having, like, No, not for nothing. But, you know, like, you call it, you can call it whatever you want. I don't know what modern society calls it, but you start telling the story about your parents. And I'm like, Oh, that's interesting. And it's not usually something people ask people about. Usually, you would say, My parents divorced when I was young, and I'll go, Oh, I'm sorry. And then we'd move on. That's what most people do. And instead, I'm like, how did that happen? You know? Yeah. And then you got honest, because, you know, that's the expectation. And then the whole conversation was that way. And then, you know, even the idea that it didn't go in any order, right? Like, you know, you said something that made me think of something else, we went in that direction, and then I'll get it, I'll get an email for somebody like you have ADHD. I don't have ADHD. I'm just good at having conversations. If you are having conversations, like it's a military march, you might want to try relaxing. So anyway, alright, here's the last thing we're gonna do. And then we're gonna go turning up the volume on my computer. And

Kookaburra, you want to know something weird about me? I did not do that in the episode about the cuckoo.

But everybody else would have not me talking to the artist, and he's like, Well, what way do you want to go for the podcast? I'm like, don't use any diabetes symbols or any juice boxes. He goes, what I'm like, I don't want to do that. I was like, You figured out a way to make it visually interesting. But we're not like ham fisted ly putting up pictures of vials and needles and stuff like that. I'm like, I'm not doing that, ya know? And he was like, okay, like, try harder. Don't do it. He's like, Alright, I'm in. I was like, Good. Get to work. Actually, kid was really nice. Sorry. I actually told him. He was like a real artist. He's like, we're gonna have to have meetings. I was like, well record them. And he's like, why am I cool? Record them. I was like, because if the art comes down, it's really good. I'll run I'll throw up a bonus episode. And I'll be like, Look, this is the process. I went through the artists hire the guy, you know? And he's like, Well, that's so nice. Thank you. When I sit down of course, like why why would I not try to help you? You know? Yeah. So anyway. All right. We'll stop now. And then I'll tell you something really, really, really petty about a podcast. Okay. Okay. All right, hold on.

I can't thank cellist enough for coming on the show and sharing her story with us. I also would like to thank you s Med and remind you to go to us med.com forward slash juice box or call 888-721-1514 To get your free benefits check and to get started today with us med the podcast today of course. Of course the podcast was also sponsored today by contour next gen. Oh, the contour next gen blood glucose meter contour next.com forward slash juice box easy to use bright light super accurate. There's no reason not to check out the contour line of meters. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast. If you're enjoying the Juicebox Podcast, please tell someone else about it. Or go into your podcast app. Leave a five star rating and a thoughtful review of the show so other people can find out what you like about it.