#1070 Chris Ruden Talks A Lot

Welcome back to the show Chris. Chris Ruden returns for his third chat with Scott.

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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 1070 of the Juicebox Podcast.

Today on the podcast, a returning returning guest, Chris Rutan is here for his third episode of The Juicebox Podcast. And Chris and I are going to talk about talking, there's going to be so much talking about talking that we'll just talk and talk and talk about talking all during this episode. 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 for becoming bold with insulin. Please don't forget to subscribe or follow the podcast and the audio app that you're listening in right now. And if you use the link, drink ag one.com/juice box to get started with ag one. Well, you'll get one full year supply of vitamin D and five free travel packs for free with your first order. Drink ag one.com/juicebox And don't forget to check out the diabetes Pro Tip series that begins at episode 1000 and runs to Episode 1026. If you're looking for community find the Juicebox Podcast private Facebook group, I promise you will love it. This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by Dexcom dexcom.com/juicebox. Get the same CGM that Arden is wearing at dexcom.com/juicebox. The show is also sponsored today by cozy Earth. And I guess it's not a surprise to anybody at this point. I am wearing cozy Earth clothing right now. And people are texting me that might be a surprise to you. I've got the pullover on and one of the joggers too. I've been sitting here all day making this podcast. I mean, honestly, I've been sitting here for the better part of nine hours doing podcast work. And I've been doing it in my cozy Earth joggers and sweatshirt, it's fantastic. And you can actually do the same thing I did when I bought these. I use the offer code juicebox at checkout, and I save 40% off of my entire order at cozy earth.com. And they have way more than joggers and sweatpants. Go check them out.

Chris Ruden 2:28
Hey guys, my name is Chris Rutan. And I'm a speaker, a speaker with type one diabetes. I've been speaking around the world for years, you might have heard me on other podcast episodes. Also world record holding power lifter, and donut connoisseur. So I'm excited to be on today and talking to you guys about any which way we go.

Scott Benner 2:49
Chris, I think because you've been on so many times. That's kind of where I want to start. Meaning that when I met you, I mean, you and I were doing like similar speaking engagements. And but you really went after it in a different way. And I mean, I don't touch what you do. And I was wondering how you how you kind of built yourself to where people would say, Hey, this is a guy want to have come to my events, I want to know about that whole process.

Chris Ruden 3:20
That's a really good point, though, because we both started and obviously you took a different direction. And I took a different direction. But we will started speaking in the diabetes space. And that's I did 30 Plus events in the diabetes space before I ever touched another event outside of that space. And I think it took a lot for me to understand that diabetes was just the topical thing that I wanted to talk about because diabetes conceptually is you know, it's a problem that we have to solve on a daily basis. And there's no finish line for that solution. It's a day by day process. So I think it's a testament of the fact that you've had me on multiple times. Just like taking insulin multiple times doing these blood sugar checks multiple times. It's not just a one and done type thing, you need consistent commitment to solving the problem. And once you solve the problem, another one does pop up. That's not a negative thing. I just found that with diabetes, that was the catalyst for me to get into speaking. And I was like, Man, if I could talk about diabetes and beating their blood sugar's on a minute by minute basis, and even when you don't beat it, you still beat it because you're learning how to accommodate. What if I took that concept and taught other people to live between the lines, maybe not blood sugar lines, maybe it's their own lines, they have their own factors, whether it's companies or people, so I kind of just questioned it and ran with that question and that developed into a massive business for me and the ability to speak around the world. Yeah, I

Scott Benner 4:46
mean, it's, I don't even know it's laudable. It's not the right word. It's really impressive. Like how you how you went from this, this one specific idea and then realize like my voice like the message I have It applies all over the place.

Chris Ruden 5:01
I think that's vital. That's so important like to understand, you have to understand that like, people box themselves, they're like, Oh, I'm just a diabetic, I don't really have much to say, What do you mean, you don't have much to say you have everything to say you go through something that most people don't go through ever in their life, and you go through it on a minute by minute basis, you have so much to say, and it's your story does matter. And the message behind your story is even more important. So I think a lot of people cut themselves short, when, you know, a lot of people need a message, you might have felt the same way. I'd asked you that back. I know, it's your podcast, but I'm gonna ask you a question. How did you feel when you started your podcast? Like, did you feel unimportant? And how did you manage that shift?

Scott Benner 5:44
Yeah, I think that I knew that what I had to say, worked, because I watched it work in my blog. And I always thought that that's a difficult thing for people to do. Like, I don't I don't think I'm a great writer. Excuse me. Pardon? diabetes. Sorry, I thought my phone was muted. I don't think I'm a great writer. I think I think I write the way I speak. So if you read something that I've written, and then hear me speak later, you'll think, wow, I can definitely tell he wrote that. But I mean, I just, for me, it was a shift in in how the world was working with people just stopped reading. And I was like, Oh, my blogs gonna die. And because I had written a book, and somebody once told me, I was good at speaking to people, I thought, Well, I'll try to make a podcast. And I mean, it was the first diabetes podcasts, like there had been a couple of blog talk radio shows prior to that, that were like, once a week. And if anyone's ever heard them, they were done over like landline phones, they sounded terrible. And it was just the technical while it was the technology that was available at the time. And I think that if I look at why the podcast has grown, a part of me wants to say that I'm just a common sense person. But I apply common sense to diabetes. And at the same time, it's more than that you have the thing to Chris, like, I think if I said to you right now, Oklahoma, grasshoppers, blue sky, Chris, go, you take those three words and turn it into a meaningful 10 minutes. And I think I have that. That's actually

Chris Ruden 7:22
an exercise I do with speakers that I work with. So I'm like working with some speakers. And I give them exercises like that, give me a random word. And we'll build a story about that and pass that will build a story inspiring or sad, or, you know, man, and the whole story or the hero's journey. So that thing you're talking about, obviously, you definitely have, I don't know what it is, you know, is it charisma? Is it commitment to like developing ideas or the creative side? And not everyone has that specific thing, but I would argue that everyone has a thing that they can really lean into. And ours just happen have diabetes as a catalyst for that thing. Yeah.

Scott Benner 8:03
So there's knowledge, right? You have to have some knowledge, obviously, or you have to just be a storyteller. And your topic doesn't need to be knowledgeable. But I find that it's like, when I start talking, it's like opening a rusty faucet. Like I start to go and it drips out. And then there's a moment where I can just crank it all the way open. And my mouth is bypassing my consciousness and going right to what it is I know or feel. I know if that makes sense or not.

Chris Ruden 8:34
No, it does. Because when I speak when I speak, it's the same way. It's like you open your mouth, and you're confident what's going to come out is I mean, it's fueled by passion, and I guess knowledge and prior expertise. But it's really fueled by wanting to help people and believing that what you're saying is helpful.

Scott Benner 8:49
Yeah, I spoke somewhere, two weekends ago, a place by the way that you've spoken at the past, they were very excited when I said I knew you. And I went second on the first day. So it was a three day event. And I went second, I was standing off to the side while this guy was doing a great job. And he was finishing up. And I stand in there. And I'm thinking like, I wonder how I'm going to start talking about this. And I'm not kidding you like two minutes prior to me getting up on stage and somebody's going, this is the guy he's going to talk now. I didn't really know how it was gonna start. Were exactly what I was gonna say. And I heard something in the room. And I thought, well, I'll lean into that to start. I jumped up there. And I was just very honest. And I said, two minutes ago, I didn't know how I was going to start this, but I heard this out in the audience. And I think this is a great place for us to begin. And as I started speaking, they had trouble with the the the IT stuff, so I didn't have a slide show. And everyone's like, Well wait for the slideshow. I'm like, I don't need that slideshow. Like that's, that's for you. I can talk about this, you know, in my sleep. And I don't know how that happens like even on the pod gasps when will I think I'm the best on the podcast? I don't know that I'm not a tiny bit unconscious while I'm talking, if that makes sense. So, oh,

Chris Ruden 10:08
I get that. No, I get that. And it's, you're on kind of like, the best version of autopilot. Because it's not you're not known, you're very much present. But it's just, the confidence exudes out because you believe in what you're doing. And it's just happens to be your like natural skill. I would argue that not everyone is a talented storyteller. by happenstance. You know, even when you get into storytelling, or speaking, you have to learn kind of the art of speaking and how to craft a message, there's a lot of knowledge that you do have to have to properly tell a story effectively. But some people have an actual gift of just speaking and crafting a creative story. Some people are much more logical and will just be matter of fact, and I think both serve their purpose. And having a mix of both is super important, like you said, knowledge but also the thing, that creative thing. I think, if you can have both, you know, especially as a diabetic, it's like, why not use that to your advantage to not only help other people, but to help yourself and your life and everything you're doing past the blood sugars? Yeah,

Scott Benner 11:15
I. So I mentioned a book I wrote earlier, not because I want to tell people that I wrote a book, but because I did it very much by mistake. Somebody in the diabetes space had written a book, it's a popular book, and I wrote a sidebar on it. The author asked me could you write 1000 words on the topic? And I did. And then the publisher came to me and said, we really liked your 1000 words, would you write a book, and I swear to you, Chris, like to say that I was a poor student in high school is, is a vast understatement. And to say that I'm not 100% sure where commas go and sentences is really accurate. But I don't know where that belief. I really, I don't know where belief itself comes from. But they offered it to me and I said, No, I don't want to write a book about diabetes, I want to write about this topic. Here's what I think the book would be about. And anyway, I did it. And after I handed in the manuscript, and the publisher came back to me and said, you know, we could have hired a writer, they wouldn't have done what you did. And it's like, I know you and I'm in your, I feel like I'm in your head, and I can hear you speaking. And it's just wonderful stories. And how did you do this? That's like, I have no idea. I was like, I just did the only thing that occurred to me. It was during those conversations with the publisher, where they said, Why don't you could do some media for the book. And then I started doing that. And they started getting back to me after the interviews and saying, Wow, we're so pleased with this night. I, of course, was the neophyte, I didn't know what I was doing. And so I'm like, I don't understand why you're so like, pleased. And they said, a lot of writers are not good speakers. And I was like, Whoa, that's crazy. I had no idea that somebody could have such a good grasp of something, but not be able to say it out loud. And then I started thinking backwards to people I knew in the diabetes community, like really knowledgeable people who, back in the day companies would like pay to like stand at their tables at events and stuff like that. And I would hear back from the companies, like what a lovely person but stood there like a, like a statue, like, you know, couldn't interact when once it came to be having people in front of them. And I realized that it was somewhat special, to have knowledge of something and to be able to stand up and talk about it. And I thought like, well, if I did this with the book, I wonder if I couldn't do this with diabetes as well. And maybe isn't that what people diabetes need is maybe more storytelling and less bullet points. Do you know what I mean? Now let's talk about the Dexcom g7. The Dexcom g7 is a small and wearable continuous glucose monitoring system. It sends real time glucose readings, to your Dexcom g7 app, or the Dexcom receiver. Use my link dexcom.com forward slash juicebox. To learn more and get started today, you will be able to effortlessly see your glucose levels and where they're headed. This way you'll be able to make better decisions about food, insulin and activity. Once you're able to see the impact that those variables have on blood sugar, you'll begin to make more purposeful decisions and have better outcomes. My daughter has been wearing a Dexcom My daughter has been wearing a Dexcom product for so many years. I don't even remember when she started. But today she wears the Dexcom G seven and it is small and easy. And oh my goodness, are you going to love it dexcom.com forward slash juice box. You can head there now and click on the button that will get you your free benefits check or just hit that other button that says Get Started. When you use my links, you're supporting the production of the podcast dexcom.com forward slash juice But I may have a problem I may have with the Colaco a monkey on my back. I'm now buying cozy Earth clothing at an alarming rate. Honestly, I think any money I'm making off the ad I'm just sending right back to him. This is probably they're probably laughing their heads off over there right now. But anyway, cozy earth.com use the offer code juice box at checkout to save 40%. And to help me pay for my sweatpants, I guess. Whether you're looking for sheets, towels, clothing, scrunchies, or anything in between G socks like you've just go look cozy earth.com Head over there and start your own. I mean, I don't want to call it I have an addiction, but start your own cart full of stuff and save 40% off of it with the offer code juicebox at checkout.

Chris Ruden 15:48
Yes, yes. Oh, man. So like that. That is such a big aspect of when I first started speaking in the diabetes space, and I still have a soft spot for diabetes based events. I still work with some companies, but to be able to tell more of the stories that the human side of things, you know, we have so many good, incredible doctors and diabetes educators, people like Gary shiner, incredible. Like, it's so good. It's so good. But we're still missing the human component A lot of the times and a lot of the companies are missing that human component of how do we draw people in from patient to patient or patient to provider? Like, how do we show that we're human? How do we tell stories because that's what we're missing. And I see that with a lot of major companies and organizations. They're missing the storytelling aspect, which, as humans, as people we have always gathered around a campfire or something to tell stories to connect, and that connection is missing. But people think that they can just hire someone who is pretty or famous, and that will falsely establish the connection. But they quickly learned that is not the case.

Scott Benner 16:59
Yeah, I saw people miss that. A couple of years ago, they started thinking that like Instagram likes were actual influence, and they started paying people to like, pimp stuff. And I was like, that's not gonna work. You know, like, I mean, that person is very attractive. And I'm sure that's why people are clicking on that photo. But I don't know what that's got to do with using like XYZ, you know, for their diabetes. And I think they've gotten away from it. I started funny,

Chris Ruden 17:24
like marketing thing where they're talking about like, oh, you know, there used to be streakers. And they would run through games, and they'd have like marketing messages on their body, they would like write it. So I guess these companies back in the day used to pay people to do wild stuff like that. And what they realized is they had no uptick in conversions are no uptick in views. And they realized that people were were more drawn to the act itself, not what they thought was happening like billboards. It's nice and all but like, there's no connection. Yeah, there is no If anything, it's a distraction from what you thought you were doing. And I saw a big shift in company perspective and messaging after that. I know exactly what you're talking about.

Scott Benner 18:06
Yeah, I spoke at Omni pods national sales meeting one time and I'll comp all companies do this, they bring their salespeople in to one location where they can all get together. And you know, it's a it's a nice event, and they talk business, and I was supposed to speak at the end of it. And there were over 500 people is a big auditorium is probably the most like well produced thing I've ever spoken out. So it was like well lit almost to the point where I couldn't see everybody out in the audit, like when you hear comedians talk about like, I can't see the back row like, yeah, you know, and the idea was to come in, because everybody that works at the company doesn't have diabetes. And can you talk a little bit about why their job is so important. So I did I mean, I flew in I Krishna is like, sometimes you don't get the state places very long. You You feel very, like you're flying your rest up, you try not to look too tired, you go up on stage, you do the thing, and sometimes they dig, put your right leg on a plane again. And anyway, I'm up there, and I'm talking about about 20 minutes into the conversation, I looked down and I recognize that a vast amount of people are crying. And I'm like, I'm sorry, I'm like, I stopped and I looked down. I'm like, are you okay? And she and this woman, she says she's just like, it just hit me what I'm doing. Like the thing I'm selling like, it never kind of occurred to her before. Like it was just the thing is she was selling widgets in her mind. You know what I mean? Like, we make a thing, I sell a thing. This is my job, you know, and to watch her have that connection back to diabetes and to understand more about this widget and what it did. I don't know meant a lot. And I I agree with you. I think it's I think it's a big deal I had I had a management company reach out to me recently. And I don't know if it's ever going to like come together or not these things. I know people sound think that's exciting, but I probably get like 150 emails a year. That sounds really exciting in the first two weeks and then You know, a handful of them kind of flush out, but they were talking about me doing more, less specific speaking specifically about diabetes. And I was wondering how how did you make that leap? Like? So I guess for people who don't know, Chris, like, how would you describe? I don't even know how to put it like, you you have at birth, right you were born with? How do you describe your arm?

Chris Ruden 20:26
Yeah, so I was born with I just say, a physical disability. And I was born with two fingers on my left hand and a shorter left arm. So a congenital birth defect, and I got diabetes at 19. So the majority of my life I, you know, grew up being different, looking different and obviously, feeling different. So that's, that was my situation, I guess you could say. And I think a lot of people think, Oh, the only reason you're doing so well speaking is because you know, this and that it's kind of a cop out. You know, a lot of people have either condition, or a lot of people have something. But we all share the same story. And this is something I share with a lot of my speakers to you, Scott have the exact same story as me. And everyone listening to this has the exact same story as us. You went through some crap, you get over some crap, and there's some more crap coming. That is everyone's story to a tee. Everyone has the exact same story. The question is, how do you tell it in a way that isn't about you, but it's about what people get from your story? Yeah, you know, my first ever mentor, he told me, tell me your story. And I told him this whole sob story. And at the end of it, most people would be like crying or like, Oh, my God, you know, that's amazing. He literally said, so what? And that was like, I've never heard that before. And he said, so what? No one cares about your story. They care about your message. He's like, What is your message? People care about what you can get what they can get from their story. So like, when you do this podcast, it's not just you talking about how good of a podcaster you are. It's literally you interviewing people, and delivering value to people, whether it's education, entertainment, a mix of the two, which usually is people are getting something so the best storytellers in the world, give something they don't just talk about themselves. And I know you know what I'm talking about, especially in the diabetes space, when there's people who just accomplished the feat, and they talk about the feat that they accomplished. And that's it. And that's nice and all but I can't associate with anyone who has done crazy feats. Just like you, Scott probably can't associate with me, or, you know, level with me, I looked at 675 pounds, but you can live with me and understanding the adversity of building something, the struggle, and then coming out on top of that, because you did certain things to make it work. So, conceptually, I took it from diabetes, to okay, how can we deconstruct this and make this into a message? If you had to break down your message? In one sentence or one word? What would it be? I speak on three topics, overcoming adversity, diversity and inclusion and change management. None of those are diabetes. But all of them involve diabetes.

Scott Benner 23:02
Yeah. No, no, I will. So I was just, I kind of brought up your arm because I was impressed when you moved into like, I've seen you speaking to kids with prosthetics before. I guess this is my my story. And I opened up a video one time on your Instagram that made me cry. And I was like, by myself sitting at this desk and just taking a break from editing the podcast for a minute. And I don't know what it was I maybe it's because I know you like like, maybe that was it. But you were having such a, you were just surrounded by these kids. And then just it seemed like there was such a connection. And they seemed so thrilled to see you. And I don't know it just it touched me in a way that I can't I don't know what you said there that day or what you did with them or anything but like this short little clip like really? I thought, well, look at Kristen,

Chris Ruden 23:52
I remember what you're talking about. Because you actually wrote you wrote me that day. Yeah. And it was a kid who had no legs. And I put them on a box. And we're doing everyone else was doing deadlifts. And he was sad because he couldn't do deadlifts because he didn't have legs. So he's kind of like, somber in the corner. I said, What are you doing, man? I was like, why aren't you dead lifting? He's like, I can't I was like, What do you mean? Like, don't you ever say that. And I literally put him on a box. And I attached some hooks to his hands because he had some issues with grabbing. And I taught him how to do pretty much an upper body deadlift. And it started as that. And then it built to this room for the people surrounding this kid hyping him up. And just to watch the kid go from like, knowing he couldn't do something to proving himself wrong. Like that is what I did my entire life. Yeah, you know, so I watched this kid, go through the transformation that took me 17 years, you know, 17 years of hiding my disability. It took diabetes to kind of stop doing that. But I watched him do that. But I was able to take my 17 years and do that and 17 seconds for this Good,

Scott Benner 25:00
I just think to about all the people in the room, and what they take out of it as well. I mean, I sometimes I, I, sometimes I joke and I tell the people that like, my, my job is really to trick you into taking care of yourself. Like, that's sometimes how I think. So, because it's easy to tell people what's right. I mean, I'm a listen, Chris, I'm a person, I know what's right, I can't always accomplish it, right. And so like, diabetes is more immediate, it's, it's not like we're trying to, like, make a big change for ourselves. And it's okay, if it takes five years, like, it's your health, and I want you to get to it quickly. And so I sort of mix the conversations with a little bit of humor, a lot of details, and hopefully, kind of just leave it there for you. So that what you take from it isn't the answer. But it's, it's enough of the answer that you can go home and work on it yourself. And that's kind of guess how it hit me watching the video of you. Like, I kept thinking there are other people there. And they're witnessing this, and they're gonna go home and think, yeah, I mean, that kid did that thing. This guy did this stuff. And there are things I don't do, I bet you I could do them as well. And that because it just spreads so much more quickly. That way. It really does inspire

Chris Ruden 26:21
like it, it causes people to question and this is, you actually were talking about doing a national sales meeting for like, where do you sit on me, but I think I right before I left, because I'm currently on vacation right before I left, I did a national sales meeting for ever since the implantable CGM company, and they, they had all their employees come in, and they pretty much hired me to do a talk on change management, which pretty much has nothing to do with diabetes. But it has everything to do with diabetes, because like we have to monitor and manage how we change throughout the day, blood sugars, moods, everything, you know. And it's crazy to see the ideas that get sparked from being in the room and having the right conversations at the right time, you know, and people take away so much just by being a spectator, in what's going on, whether they're helping another person or whether they're seeing someone be helped. That catalyst for change is something that people listen to as podcasts. And they get from all the time, you're tricking people into taking care of themselves, but you're also motivating them to take care of themselves, you're you're positioning them to make better choices on their own. Because you know, you can't force people to make better choices. You can't do that. But what you can do is put them in a position to listen, you can't sell an empty seat. You can't give someone an idea if their ears are closed, you know, but you invite people to open their ears, you invite people to listen. And you invite people to make the change they know they already want. And now they feel a connection instead of being forced and being defensive. And that's what I do as a

Scott Benner 27:54
speaker. The way I see it is the diabetes is not something that you would I don't care how much you're struggling, or or anything like it just how do you give over like your free time to listening to someone talk about diabetes? Like I don't I can't imagine it right. So instead, I make a podcast that I would listen to. And we talk about diabetes mixed into it. And that way, that's the trick. The trick is that I tricky to actually listening because I mean, who would otherwise who would listen to this. Like it just doesn't make any sense to me. Like I, I have issues. So

Chris Ruden 28:31
it's funny when you say that, though, when you say that I'm like, okay, that's exactly how I connected with those kids over the years, especially in diabetes, when I used to speak like specifically to kids, parents would be Oh, can you connect with my kid, they're really struggling with this. And, you know, I always recommend, obviously, mental health therapy is like extremely important, but they think they think I'm just gonna go talk to their kid about blood sugar, you shouldn't take your insulin, you shouldn't do this, you shouldn't do that. They think I'm gonna be a secondary parent. But what they don't understand is I'm doing exactly what you're saying. I'm like, Hey, what's up, man? What's up? How are you? You know, like, how's your day going? I'm, I'm treating you like a human, not like a patient. I'm literally treating you like a person. We're talking. And we weave in some diabetes stuff here and there. But the most important thing is to understand that like, diabetes is a part of who you are. It's not who you actually are. So why is it that we're pretending that like, everything should be around our common range, and we're so numbers driven that we lose the person happy to gain the perfection and blood sugar that doesn't exist anyways, you know? So I definitely I really identify with what you just said,

Scott Benner 29:37
Yeah, I have a text here from someone, just from today. And he says, Do you have? Do you have specific episodes for people to listen to if they're going to send their kids away, like to an overnight situation or a camp? And I said, No, I don't because for the same thing you just said like because what he thinks is people will have to send their kids to an overnight camp. Maybe he doesn't think this but what they think is, and there's like some sort of an answer, like, I can listen to a story that will tell me step one, step two, step three, and then that'll get me through this situation. But I don't think that's how that works. So what I responded back was, I would start them depending on where they are with their diabetes with the Pro Tip series or the beginning series, so they can understand how to manage their type one, so that when their kid goes away, it's not an issue. Like there's no magic answer for overnights it's, it's pre planning. I love that. Yeah, so and

Chris Ruden 30:33
that's, there is no universal fix to an individual problem. And the problem is people want the shortcut to their specific problem. They want the shortcut to that. And of course, we all do I still serve. But that's what I use Google for, you know, I will Google the most specific problem and solution that I can. But when I want the true answer, it's a concept. Because once you learn a concept off your podcast, from me on stage, or on social media, whatever it is, from your doctor, once you learn the concept, you can apply it to all situations. So instead of saying, How do I best manage blood sugars overnight, when they leave, saying how do I best manage blood sugars in general, and then apply that to everything you do in your life, versus looking for the most specific solution that will only work in a very specific case, and the likelihood of that applying to you is slim to none.

Scott Benner 31:25
This double edged sword, people always want to hear from athletes who have type one. But I find generally speaking, they're sometimes the worst people to ask. And they're having some success, but they don't really know why. It just works for them. And you start asking them about their management. They go I mean, I don't know. Like, I've been fairly famous people on here, who I asked about how they take care of their diabetes, and they don't know how they take care of their diabetes. But then you get a guy like Chris Freeman, who is the guy who says there are no light switch answers, like you can't pop a pill for diabetes, you have to do the work in the beginning, you have to set yourself up for success. And there, there's a great example, there's a guy who's an athlete who actually understands how to put things in order, so that when the time comes, he doesn't have a problem. And if a problem should arise, he's also prepared for that. And that's just uncommon. Like it's hard to find people who can who have the nerve to say to you,

Chris Ruden 32:26
there's no quick fix. Yeah, because it makes people kind of mad. It makes people mad, because you're like, you're in this position of power or notoriety? And you don't have the answer, you know, but I feel like there's so much knowledge and trust and saying, I just I truly don't know, or you have to go to the concept. There is no one answer. Everything has to be qualified. Actually, the only true absolute answer is it depends. You know,

Scott Benner 32:53
it's, it's fantastic. It's also why I enjoyed having you on over the years, too, because you're you're very when you talk about diabetes, you are very much like Chris, you're very much, or excuse me, very much like Chris Freeman, in that you. You're like, look, there's no quick fix here. There's no There's answers, but you need to understand what they are. And there's work to be put in and that kind of stuff. So that attitude I appreciate in general.

Chris Ruden 33:15
And that's the same with YouTube, because you're not you're not very dogmatic about like specific approaches, like so many people can have different approaches high carb, low carb, anything in between, like, what regardless of the type of food or anything, it's the question is like, conceptually, do you know how to manage the lifestyle that you want? That's what I'm going to ask. I have like three basic rules, can you manage it without ruining your life? does it actually work for you? And can you sustain it? Those are my three questions. If you can get all three of those questions answered. Yes. I'm happy with what you're doing. You know, if not, then you just need to tweak some things.

Scott Benner 33:48
I couldn't possibly agree more. Okay, so you so how do you transition to like, what you're doing now? Like, how do you start from I'm acting like, I'm like, How do I do this, but I don't think I want to do this, but I honestly don't think I could do what you do and make the podcast at the same time. I don't know that I could be accomplished all that. But it is interesting that you like Does somebody recognize what you're doing? Do you seek out management? Is that like, how do you like us mentioned a mentor? How do you build your, your business?

Chris Ruden 34:19
So that is definitely it's always a weird question. When someone asked what do I do for a living? It's I say, keynote speaker or speaker and people have these ideas. Like maybe they think I'm doing like Tony Robbins seminars, having people walk on cool. Maybe they think I'm just lecturing at like colleges, but I speak at all kinds of like corporations and nonprofits associations. I've spoken for companies like the American pyrotechnics Association, just like a fireworks convention, all of this stuff, but basically I started in recognizing that I loved speaking on stages. I love telling stories. My first ever talk was for a nonprofit for diabetes, and I fell in love with it. But I knew I could do better. Maybe you had that with your first like podcast and like, you know, it was great. But I think with practice, this can get even better, I can build this, I can optimize this. And I did that I went to like some speaking classes like Toastmasters. And that's all around the world. And I learned the art of speaking. Then I learned the art of storytelling, I started looking up YouTube videos, then I just started like reverse engineering, what are people doing as speakers to make a career like an actual career. And I was like, oh, man, this person is doing that. And this person is charging this much. And this person is talking about a topic that I'm very confident in, I can do that. So I started emulating that. And over the years, I started doing all the work myself. And even to this point, the majority of the work is myself. Now I'm at the point where a lot of leads are inbound. So people want to have me speak, I built myself as like a D list celebrity, just getting press and trying to do as much good as I can, which was luckily recognized. And I established my business from a 360 degree perspective. So as a I hate the word influencer, and we've talked about that before, but having followers on social media, having a solid story, being able to tell it being charismatic, and then giving as much value away, that has built me into when you search my name, you know who I am, what I do. And if you are looking for a speaker, I'm high on your list from a company's perspective.

Scott Benner 36:26
Wow, that's brilliant, actually, how long do you think it took you to accomplish that?

Chris Ruden 36:31
I think it took about three and a half, four years to get to the point where the last two years have been like, astronomically like levels of growth. So if you look at like a chart, you know, it's pretty linear. If not, it dips down a little bit, because you're like, I hate this, this isn't working, this is terrible. It's never gonna work. It's all those like negative things, you tell yourself in your head. And it was pretty linear and low until a certain point, it just like skyrocketed. And all of the work, you know, the day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit. And that is so true. Because I definitely, um, eating the fruit now is great, but I had to put in the work. And that was tough, I did a lot of things, less optimal than I should have. I talked for free a lot, because it was like, Well, my story isn't worth anything, my message isn't worth anything. And until I established my value, I wasn't able to set a boundary on what I was worth, you know. And once I did that, that kind of changed the game for me. But now it's to the point where I'm in the bigger leagues with people. And I speak a lot less frequently. But when I leave an event, the confidence these companies have, they're like we we made the right decision with the speaker, that was the best part. That's one of the most like, genuine compliments I get at events is your talk was the best part of our event. And that is, it's great as an ego boost, yes, but it lets me know what I'm doing is a value, what what I'm giving is recognized and nothing beats that.

Scott Benner 38:01
I had an experience recently where I was at something and there was another person speaking and I watched the room get disinterested with their talk. And that kills. Yeah, people started doing other things getting up to get drinks like that. That

Chris Ruden 38:20
sort of stuff. SPEAKER That's the worst thing ever. Yeah. Horrible, right?

Scott Benner 38:23
And you can see the person feels it's it's deteriorating on them. And I went outside, I snuck out aside so nobody could see me go to call my wife and she's like, how's it gonna go? I'm on next. Just how's the room and I was like, uh, they didn't, they kind of didn't hold on for the last speaker. But my goal is just that just that like, nobody gets up. Nobody, you know, people are interested and engaged in it actually revved me up because I took it as a personal challenge. I'm like, because these people are already now there. Now they kind of have the feeling like maybe this isn't something I'm interested in. And now I'm the second talk. So I went up there with a ton of energy, I was like you like are not going to take your eyes off of what we're doing right now. I got such great feedback afterwards, you know, blending humor into something that nobody sees anything fun about, you know, keeping us engaged, like I got a lot of people stopped me and said, Thank you for making it interesting. And I didn't have the nerve to tell them like you guys made it interesting, because I was like, I turned myself way up when I saw that happening because that's terrible. Like, like you said, like, it's not even ego. It's just, if you're up there and used to look down and people aren't looking. It's it's hard to keep going. You know, you stop trusting. Yeah.

Chris Ruden 39:41
It's not it because your goal to be there is to give something and if they're not in a position to be receiving, like what are you doing up there and as an audience member one you don't want to see the speaker flop because that's uncomfortable for you. You never want to watch someone like struggle. But, you know, the audience is sitting there and they probably been there for a few hours, maybe you know they have a long event ahead of them or they have already had a long event, each chance to talk from a speaker is the chance to reignite them kind of like, give them something. And the one thing that is a non negotiable, for me is effort. As a speaker, as a storyteller, as anyone, if you're doing anything in your life, like, just give the effort when you're doing it, you don't have to give 100% effort all the time to everything you do, like you're making coffee with 100% effort. When you're doing something like that value, giving value 100% effort, nothing less, because people see that and they respond to that, like you turned up your charisma, like you put in the effort that you had to give. Now, luckily, you can probably operate at 90% That's most people's, you know, 150%. But not everyone has that, that luxury, but giving 100% effort is a minimum when you're doing something like

Scott Benner 40:56
that. Yeah. Do you ever wonder if it translates to anything else? Like you're a young guy still like Do you ever think like, what do I do next? Like if this runs its course, what do I do next? I worry about that all the time. Oh,

Chris Ruden 41:09
so that is definitely that's funny that you said that because I've had that midlife crisis like 400 times over, you know, worrying about, oh my god, if the speaker market dries up, we'll COVID The speaker market did dry up. And I had to completely change my direction offering virtual events and all this. But I realized that I've leaned into this storytelling and building a speaker business that's not only lucrative, but very fulfilling that I can teach other people to do this. Now. I have people who are interested in messaging me out of nowhere, saying, Hey, how did you become a speaker? Like, how did you do this? Like, you can actually make money. And when they see that there's like a real career there. Less fulfillment? Like how could you deny that, you know, so now, if the speaker thing ever didn't work, I would teach other people, which I'm already doing now, teaching other people to speak. But that translates to communication and jobs, whether it's communication, relationships, jobs, salesmen, anything, the art of storytelling, the art of communication is priceless. You know, and that's, that is a very evergreen concept and career. Yeah,

Scott Benner 42:17
it's great that it doesn't rest totally on the shoulders of having social media, too, because that's the part of it I least enjoy it. But the part I do enjoy it, you just said it, too. It's so interesting, the parallels. I never imagined I would do something that I'd be good at. And that I would enjoy that would help people. Like it just seems very lucky, like ultra lucky to be in that position. Oh, yeah, you don't I mean, like three, those three

Chris Ruden 42:47
intersecting is very, very slim to none. But I feel like we're in our day and age, we're very lucky that we're in this position to have, you know, technology that allows us to do things like podcast, or speak virtually, or connect virtually. So that the job is like extremely fulfilling, and it's amazing. But a lot of people can start making shifts towards that not everything's going to be a podcast or a stage. You know, storytelling can process many channels and many avenues. You know, the question is, if that's something you want to get into, what is your version of storytelling look like? Because a doctor very much can be a great storyteller. You know, a receptionist can be a great storyteller. A lot of people this, this skill that you have, this skill that I have from stage is transferable to so many avenues of life.

Scott Benner 43:40
Now, there was a time before technology, I was just the I was just the most interesting person at a credit union. And it is, but I don't know that I was doing anything different than I'm doing now. You know, like, at its base level, like I just, when I see people, I'm like, oh, we'll talk. And then you start talking and you like even, you can see, like, what engages people like what did they like? What did they not like? What did they rub up against, but ultimately was valuable for them? Like that's I find a skill two is to know that there are some things that need to be said, that aren't going to be initially received well, but if you deliver it, well, they'll listen to it, and then they'll consider it and then they kind of come back. And I learned a lot of that face to face with people and even honed it for diabetes by helping people one on one. When I just had a blog, like I would let people call me on the phone. I've preferred as many podcasts as I have. I have a couple 100 More that nobody recorded, which were just phone calls with people trying to figure out their life with diabetes. And I remember on one of the calls one time I you know, I hung up and I said to my wife, I'm like, I bet you people would have enjoyed listening to that conversation. And that was kind of one of the first times I thought like maybe I should record them Anyway, it's just and then all the hard work. That's the part I think no one, like, like, could possibly understand. Like, I know this stuff all seems like it just happens like crystal doc, but like, You're a handsome man, Chris, you're in good shape. You stand up in front of people that go, there's a handsome guy, he's good at speaking, he gets to be a speaker. It's not like that. Like,

Chris Ruden 45:21
if only that was it, you know, it's, I

Scott Benner 45:24
remember a time where I was like, I think Chris is like, like, I thought you were hustling. Like, for a while, like, I was like, I don't know, you know, you well enough to be proud of you. But you put irons in every fire, you could find at one point in your life, you're like, I'm gonna make one of these things work for me. And, yeah, it's impressive. It's

Chris Ruden 45:41
one of those things like I was committed to making something work. I'm like, I tell it in my talks, and a few of the talks that I do, I say, like, there has to be more to life than just being disabled, a diabetic, like, there has to be something and like, I say that it hits but like, I really feel it felt that way. I was like, whether it's fitness, which I had a great fitness career, speaking, and the next route will be in addition, like coaching, maybe, I guess, but like, wherever it goes, there is more to life than been the problem, you know, the obstacle, and I read the book by Ryan Holiday called the obstacle is the way and it's about stoic philosophy and stuff. But basically, it's just talking about, like, the obstacle in the way becomes the way. And maybe, you know, I talked too much in school, and I got in trouble for that. Now, that's what I happen to get paid for. So it's crazy how things kind of turn around. Yeah,

Scott Benner 46:32
my dad used to say to me, like, someone's gonna smack you right in the mouth one day, and I was like, I don't think so. I think I could talk my way out of it.

Chris Ruden 46:40
That's fantastic. Oh, my gosh. Okay,

Scott Benner 46:45
so you're doing all this different stuff now. And we're having this conversation today, like people are like, I'm never going to be a public speaker. Like, if you're thinking I'm never going to be a public speaker. Why do I care about this? I think you're missing the point. Like, I think the way to help yourself with your diabetes, or honestly, in a lot of ways is in Chris's and my story about how we ended up in this position, like you can do these things in your everyday life, you don't have to have the goal of being a public speaker or making a podcast, like your your goals are, can be very, very personal, and still very valuable.

Chris Ruden 47:20
We can tie this, we can completely tie this into everything, you know, yeah, you don't have to be a public speaker, you don't have to be a podcaster. Step one is believing that there's possibilities outside of just being sick. There is a life outside of just being diabetic. You know, there is the reclaiming of like WHO YOU ARE WE you're not just, you know, a father of someone with type one, type one, you know, I'm not just a person with type one. I'm Chris, you know, so that's step one. Step two is, I would argue that storytelling and speaking is very important, whether it's in a roomful of one person, you know, like your family, or your friends, or your boss, or anything you want to do, or it's in front of a work meeting, or a nonprofit that you wanted to start or be a part of, or a church group or whatever you're into, the art of communication is extremely important. Let's take that one step further. Storytelling internally kills people. The story you tell yourself about the current situation, either kills you, or helps you survive or helps you thrive? Let's take a blood sugar. You know, Scott, when you hear the number 378, what are some feelings that come up?

Scott Benner 48:27
So for me, they I just go right to we're going to hydrate we're going to correct we're going to maybe try to move around a little bit. Yeah, I go to like, how do you fix solution based

Chris Ruden 48:38
solution based? Yeah. What are what are some of the people that listen to your podcasts? What do you think they feel? Failure?

Scott Benner 48:43
I think failure hits. Yeah, yeah. Okay,

Chris Ruden 48:47
so let's, let's take that 377. What happens if I put the word puppies after that? Do you feel those same things? You don't feel failure, you don't feel anything? You don't feel? You know, you're happy now. Everything, the number changed perspective, and you completely told yourself a different story. So it was never the number itself. It was the story you told yourself about the number that the number was not only bad, but failing. The number was not only bad, but something that is just catastrophic, when in reality, diabetes isn't good. diabetes isn't bad. diabetes just is. And the rest of it is the story you tell yourself. Because then you have a high blood sugar, you just need to take insulin. In reality, that's all you need to do. You don't need to, you know, when you have a flat tire, you don't set the car on fire. You don't need to ruin your entire day your entire life because of a blood sugar that has no emotion aside from the one you attach it.

Scott Benner 49:44
You do live the life you make for yourself. You do f 100% And the way I've boiled it down on the podcast is I tried to tell people you get what you expect. And it's just that there's a million different ways of saying you You know, you're you're in, you're in a situation, the situation isn't your reality. And you have to just Yeah, I love the idea of like, you just tell yourself the right story. And then that's what ends up being. But how do you just class

Chris Ruden 50:15
people? I'm like, Are you? Are you telling yourself a story that predicts you as the winner? Maybe it doesn't have to be personified as a hero. But are you at least telling yourself a story that puts you in a good position? Because if not, you're actively telling yourself a story that puts you in a losing position. Like, you can't be mad at anyone else. But yourself.

Scott Benner 50:36
Right? I, I had an experience last month in April. So not everybody would know this. Because your your business or what you do doesn't like hinge on this. But the internet ebbs and flows. It slows down sometimes. And it picks up sometimes. And it's not always the same every year. It's not, you know, but in April, there was almost and I don't know why people's minds work, like like how this happens, like, but at the beginning of April, I started watching the podcast trend backwards. And it never trends backwards. So it threw me off. And I started, like, looking at it. I was like, like, the first thing that that wanted to enter my mind was, well, this is it. You did it, you kept this thing going for almost nine years. And this is it. It's over like this, you know, six months from now, almost like I was at a casino pulling on a slot machine, I blink, I know, I'm going to lose this money, but I'm just going to pull and pull and eventually it'll all be gone. That was my first thought like, Oh, God, this is it. It's over. And I immediately stopped myself. I was like, that's not the case. Like there's something happening. And it turns out like good weather popped up, right as Easter came. And so people just probably went outside a little more, probably stopped downloading things at the same clip. Now, by the way, I'm down like 10%. And I know people would like laugh at that. But I was in a panic, because this all means so much to me. And then I started, I just refocused myself, I pulled myself out. And I told myself a different story. Like, instead of telling myself like, this thing's over, it's failing. And I'll spiral along with it. I just found a story that worked for me to stay positive. And I said to myself yesterday, Scott, there were more downloads for this podcast than the first year of the podcast, you're fine. This is fine. Even if at all, even if it dropped off 10% and never went back up again. It's still reaching so many people, it's completely

Chris Ruden 52:33
fine. And that's that concept is what everyone needs to understand is the only difference between you spiraling, like you said you started to, to you just carrying on was the story you told yourself. Yeah. And that's what happens, people have this sugar or this situation. And they will literally tell themselves the spiraling Doom story. It's because we tie our success and our happiness to a finite metric of like success or a finish line of success. Like for you, maybe it's a doubt downloads, you know, if your podcast went down 20% I would argue that the success was there, because each episode is a success for what it does for the people who need to hear it. You know, your metric is not total, it is definitely a metric. But the main metric to be proud of is to understand that there are families that are they're better off now, in their personal and just in their lives because of the information they've heard on your podcast, the one that they're not fazed by 10%. Down there, they're in there loving you, because of what you've done for them. You know, it's the same thing with with my stuff. I used to base it off social media likes when I was big into social media, I don't post too much anymore. I used to base it off these like markers of like, if I'm not there, this conditional happiness of if I'm not the best speaker, if I'm not making X amount of money, if if if if if in the second I started to remove those markers and more so say like, okay, when I give this talk, am I doing 100% when I'm when I'm doing this, am I giving my effort, and in my embracing like what I'm doing in the moment, that one paid off so much more in terms of fulfillment. But that's when I saw my success truly go up, is when I took away the stressors of those finite, like finish lines. The

Scott Benner 54:21
other thing I did was I supported myself. So because I I really mean it like it, it hit me hard. First of all, I do know how many people the podcast helps. And if I'm doing a poor job of spreading it, then it feels like Oh, I'm gonna eventually lose this thing. So I recognize this isn't the case, by the way. Like this is an anomaly. I'm okay, so I snap myself out of it a little bit. First thing I do is I go to the private Facebook group and I just scroll through it to see all the people that are doing well because of the Facebook group and because of the podcasts I go, Okay, I'm still having a good impact on people. And then I surrounded myself with like, a couple of people like loved ones like I went to my wife, and I said, I'm very worried about this. And she's like, Scott, don't worry about it like, and she gave her reasons. And Isabel, who helps me with the Facebook group, she's she supported me too. She's like this is it's just, you know, it's just a momentary thing. Anyway, a couple of weeks later, I was intersecting with somebody who I do business with. And I said, Can I ask you a question? Were your numbers down in April. And it's a different business, but still, like, it still needs people coming through the internet. And she goes, yeah, like by 15%, we couldn't figure it out. I said, I saw a dip, too. I think it was just April, like, let's wait and see. And then the first week of May, I did. The podcast was, like, stunningly popular the first week of May. And I thought all these people, they're back. Like, here they are, you know, like, they went off and did something. And now it's growing again. And I don't know that I get through it if I don't change the story. And if I don't surround myself with positivity, and find some support, those are the things I did so and it got me and by the way, I know it sounds like a silly thing. Like oh, Scott's podcast didn't get clicked on as much. But it means more than that to me, for for everybody listening. And by the way, I pay for my kids college with it, and like my electric bill, and things like that. So there's a lot riding on it for people and for me. So it's not just a not just to click on a picture, you know what I mean? Anyway, it's, uh, yeah, it's

Chris Ruden 56:34
what it's what and that's the thing to recognize is, everyone has what's important to them personally, whether it's like you do art or you saying, or you're a CPA or your podcast, or you know, it, we don't knock people for what they value, and you just have to embrace it. But if that's something you value, put all your effort towards and do that. And the whole reason this podcast exists is if we're able to manage our diabetes appropriately, and optimally, we position ourselves to focus on the things that we love with the people, you know,

Scott Benner 57:06
what the other thing I see too, from interviewing, there's a one interview I've done that just sticks in my head over and over again, it's a, like a 28 year old type one. And she'd had it since she was a teen. And she, she reached out, she said, I just I'm a big fan, I want to come on and tell people how much the podcast has helped me. So she and I are having the, you know, a conversation. And I keep thinking, like, we're gonna get to the part at some point where she talks about how like, you know, the podcast taught her to, I don't know, do something with her insulin. And finally, we were having such a good time. We just didn't get to it. And I said, Can you tell me you know, why, how the podcast was helpful to you? And she said, yeah, the community, like, like listening to other people with type one, talk and tell their stories and hearing you interact with them. It's, it really helps me I'm like, Oh, I'm sorry. I said, I thought you were going to come on here to tell me about how you like changed your management, because I don't know. She's like, I know all that stuff. And I was like, but you weren't having success earlier? And she said, Yeah, I knew what to do. I just didn't do it. And I said, why not? And she goes, I don't know. She was I don't know why I didn't do the things that I was that I knew to do that I knew would work. She gets better. What I can tell you is that listening to this podcast every week makes me do it. And I'm like, why? And she was I don't know, I think I just hear other people taking care of themselves. And I want to do the same. It's just, I it floored me, Chris, I have all the things I thought the podcast would do, or hoped it would do. I didn't expect that, you know,

Chris Ruden 58:39
I think that's the best thing to see is like sometimes, what you want originally develops into something like the best monster on its own. We didn't even know the ways that this this helps people. And similar to like my business. I think I'm telling a message. And that's what I want to get across is that message, but some people, there's one word or one sentence that clicks in their head for something that they've been battling with. And now it just gave them a solution. But that's what I love is you're not giving people's answers. You're positioning them to make a change. When you have a job that positions people to make the change. And that's where the fulfillment comes into play. You know, the you are the people, you surround yourself with type stuff. She just started surrounding herself, virtually, with people who were wanting to take better care of themselves, which position her to be in a better mindset to do the stuff she already knew she needed to do. And I love that that's a testament to like, you know, we're, we don't need to just hear the data. It's all that's good stuff. You know, but a lot of us know exactly what we need to do. We just need to be around people who are also doing

Scott Benner 59:48
it. Yeah. No, you need people to step up and to do it. Like you have to. You have to want I don't know how to put this exactly. I go back to the thing the publisher said that a lot of all author's aren't good speakers. And I thought, well, if I am, and I understand this diabetes thing, then the way I told my wife when I started doing it, because she was like, it's, you know, is this going to be okay? Like, you're just sharing how you help Barton with their diabetes, like publicly? And I said, I, yeah, I think it'll be fine when she seemed worried. And I was like, but honestly, like, it just seems wrong, doesn't it? Doesn't it seem wrong to know this? And know how to tell it and not do it? You know, like, not that she was trying to keep me from doing but you have to understand, like, sharing your, like, when I started making this podcast, people in the diabetes committee came after me. They were like, you can't Oh, yeah, I remember. I got jumped. And like, you know, like, you can't do this, you can't tell me about Chris, I got a note the other day, it's nine years later, and I even emailed, it's like, you're gonna kill people sharing how you help your daughter, like, well, I don't think I am. But okay. And, like, so like, so that's still but by the way, if that email comes at the wrong time, it might stop me. So you need people like me who are like AF, and like, just just kind of keep going, you know, yeah. And it's just very valuable. So anybody out there that has that, and you see it now to in different ways, like as the technology changes, and all of a sudden, the other people on Tiktok talking about their diabetes, I'm not going to be on Tiktok curse, you don't it means so good. So if there's a person who figured out how to use Tiktok, to help somebody with diabetes, they're helping a group of people, I was never going to intersect with one way or the other. And so I think that's terrific. And a lot of people try and it doesn't work out for them, I still want more people to try. Like it, you know, like, I just you have to keep finding people where they are. And that's a cliche, right, but you have to find people where they are to help them. You can't drag them into a place, they're not comfortable. I

Chris Ruden 1:01:50
think it starts with your intention to so if you're if your intention is truly just like, I want to be x famous, you know, I want to be Tiktok famous, I want to be podcast famous, I want to be Speaker famous anything, if your goal is to hang out at the finish line without running the race, you just want the medals and you don't want like the process that shows and it shows in the work that you do. And it shows in the the failure rate of these people who start podcasts or start speaking or start whatever they start. And they don't stick to it. Because their intention originally didn't align with what they truly wanted. It was just like a topical, like, I want to be seen as this, I don't want to do that, you know, a lot of people want to be seen as a podcaster. They just don't want to actually do it. And that's understandable. I've had that feeling all the time. You know, like, undoubtedly, I might do something in the future around speaking. But I know my true passion, what I act on is speaking, and that's, that's what I do. And if a million people lined up and said, That's stupid, this isn't gonna work, you should stop, I wouldn't listen. Because I know I have the full belief in that one thing. That's my thing.

Scott Benner 1:02:59
And the people who are disingenuous about it, they make my job harder. And and I'll tell you, one way that happens is that I have had to make rules to make my life manageable, and to keep hucksters off the podcast. But those rules end up sometimes eliminating people who would be really good guests on the podcast. But I'm just I'm here by myself making this whole thing. So I have like, Look, if you're, if you're a coach, like a health coach, I can't have you on because you're in the end, you're selling yourself, if you're, like that kind of stuff. So I get an But meanwhile, I know there are some people who are making their living coaching people about their health, who would be great on the podcast. And it's just, it's difficult for me to figure out who's who. And that's, you know, and then people are like, Well, I'm not like that. I'm like, I don't know how to believe that, like, I get stuck in that situation. So I get that

Chris Ruden 1:03:55
completely. I mean, you have to protect like what you're doing because you're helping these people and you're not creating a platform to advertise from the people you are interviewing, you know, you have a business model to send your kid to college, you know, and you have to protect this endeavor in this endeavor helps lots and lots of people. So this is not a billboard, you know, this is not an opportunity to sell a service. This is an opportunity to share a story. Yeah, that has impact.

Scott Benner 1:04:21
I think of the people listening to the podcast, I'm like, very, I'm very protective of them. So, you know, I take ads, because I mean, I take ads, I try really hard to make sure that I'm advertising for things that I genuinely believe will be helpful to you if you need them. For people who would come in from the outside and see these people is like fish in a barrel, which is what you become, if like if people just start coming on and selling, selling selling all the time. Well, first of all, it wouldn't be interesting and stop listening. But the other thing is that I would be scared that people would be losing their money on stuff like that. Oh, yeah, the model I set up for the podcast. is rooted in the idea that I don't think people should have to pay for good health. And so I get my money from somewhere else, not from the listeners. And that's the I don't know, that's important to me. And so anyway, I love that. Yeah, it just it means a lot to me like you shouldn't, it shouldn't cost you $600 to learn how to Pre-Bolus your meal. You don't I mean, Chris, of course, yes, absolutely. kind of silly. You know, now if you have real trouble with it, and you need somebody to hold your hand through it. And I don't mean that pejoratively. But if you need step by step help, well, then that very well may be worth the $600. But I don't know who's who. And it's, it's just a difficult position to be in. Anyway, why are you on the podcast an hour into it? Why did you come? Are we supposed to talk about something? Or did I? Are we okay?

Chris Ruden 1:05:49
I think I think that's the the main thing, man, it's like, just, I came on this podcast, knowing that our natural conversation just gives people like gems to think about. And when I, when I text you, you're like, oh, just kind of talk about what you talk about on stage. And I was thinking about it. I'm like, Yeah, talk about, you know, change management, and talk about overcoming adversity. And all of that applies to diabetes, but more, there's more to life. You know, diabetes applies to life, but so much more applies to it. So the question is, like, how do you manage that change? How do you manage, you know, developing a life that you find fulfilling with a condition we didn't ask for? And I think we answered that question. You know, you put effort into it, and you stop those limiting beliefs, you change the narrative, you tell yourself a better story, and whether that leads to you becoming a brilliant podcaster, or a speaker, or just a great parent, or a great person with the condition, you know, stories matter. So make sure you're telling yourself the right story.

Scott Benner 1:06:52
Yeah, that's perfect. I really do. I appreciate you coming on, especially while you're away on vacation. I know I don't make it easy to get on this. Yeah,

Chris Ruden 1:06:59
of course, man. Like that was this is, this was definitely not a not an option. So I had set aside time in my vacation and make sure we get any sort of little message out. And the whole episode is not supposed to be like, Oh, my God, this is just an entire fortune cookie of tidbits, you know, that the people who need to hear this and get something from it, I hope that they get what they need. And I hope that they understand that like, this is just opening the door for you to take the step we use got me, we're not taking steps for people, we just position people to take better steps. You

Scott Benner 1:07:35
spoke earlier about like having like the taking classes about like to get to where you want to be. I don't think I've ever said on here before, but I listened to like other podcasts. And sometimes it doesn't matter what the people are, like, I know it's like it can, it can seem like low grade. So there's a guy speaking and a guy podcast and talking to each other about how they made like their way through this thing. At face value, you might think like that wouldn't help you. But I've been taught so much just by listening to two comedians talk about coming up through comedy, or, you know, like an author talking about how they found their way to a publisher, you know, regular person talking about how they got through their adversity or scale their wall that they needed to get over. And I take something from all those conversations even though like, specifically, they have nothing to do with me. Yet their story is, like you said earlier, it's really no different than anybody else's.

Chris Ruden 1:08:33
There's so many tie backs to what we said earlier, you know, you said you people aren't asking you a specific question, like they want a specific answer. But you always give the concept. You know, like, it really depends. And that's, if you look at what we talked about today, you would say I'm not a speaker podcaster, this doesn't apply to me. If that is the case, you have your nose against the wall, and you can't see the bigger picture, because you're too zoomed in. Now he's zoom out, if you back up, and you can see the whole picture, you'll understand that two people, you know, battled the condition in different ways, but have different ways of overcoming that kind of situation and dealing with it on a day to day basis. And it puts you in the position to ask better questions, to tell yourself a better story. That's what I want people to get from this, you know, yes, we're very specific and what we talked about our careers but the concept the overarching concept, look for concepts, not situations

Scott Benner 1:09:30
well in for people listening to the podcast, don't maybe heard what you just said about your nose being against the wall. And it will remind them of when I say sometimes you have to look at your diabetes macro. And sometimes you have to be micro like sometimes you need to be real close to it to see specifically what happened. And sometimes you've got to step back. Yes. See the bigger picture. Oh, that's something

Chris Ruden 1:09:50
I can share. That is the thing that I love that you said that because that's something that was in my last keynote that I gave and I was talking about zooming out but you added to that In the big word you said it's sometimes, because a lot of people will be stuck, zoomed out or stuck zoomed in. Yeah. And you have to understand the vantage point should not be a fixed position. If you have a fixed position, vantage point you are going to miss out on so much in life, whether it's diabetes or not, because you're stuck from one angle, you're only seeing everything from one angle, you put a person on one side of a six and one side to the other six. They'll argue all day, whether it's a nine or a six, you know, it's like, don't argue semantics, just change your vantage point know when to zoom in and know when to zoom out.

Scott Benner 1:10:40
Yeah, actually, it's not a thing I understood until speaking with people about their graphs. And they'll bring you like a three hour Dexcom graph, they'll be like, right here at seven o'clock. What happened? And finally, one day, I was like, I don't know, like, I need to see the 24 hour graph, we don't need to see that, like, the rest of the day was okay. I'm like, Well, you think it was but I might see something different. Like, let's literally zoom out, like, let's look at the last 24 hours. And then that led me to tell people, you know, the macro micro thing, but it also led me to understand better, that what happened before is most likely the culprit for what's happening now, like so infrequently. Yes, the thing that you're watching happen right now. So when frequently that's the problem, like the problem usually came before, which then led me to say to people like insulin you use now is for later, but when you're trying to figure out what went wrong, you think about it that way, but a little backwards, instead of saying, you know, insulin for now is later you say insulin from before is what's happening now. So when you're trying to figure out what happened, it's what happened before. And when you're trying to get ready to stop a problem. It's now is for later, and that is heavy, until you listen to somebody speak about it. And you go oh, no, I understand. That makes sense. It just and I learned that it's just and but even the pulling it all back around thing like I'll pat us both on the back. I don't know, like many people don't get to have conversations like this. But like you and I are basically playing a slow game of tennis right now. Like I'm saying something Oh, yeah. And I give you the ball. And while it's floating towards you, you think, Alright, that's what he said. That makes a lot of sense. I'm gonna say this now. And then we're just we've just been doing that back and forth for the last hour and 15 minutes. Yeah,

Chris Ruden 1:12:25
that's, that's the art of communication. You

Scott Benner 1:12:29
got to listen to what other people are saying, by the way, and not for nothing. But most of your problems, are you you're bad at communicating. I see it online, I see. people's personal relationships. Everywhere else. I'm not great at it personally. Like I I'm much better communicator on this podcast than I am in my real life. And it's, it's because I'm forced to listen because I spend so much time interviewing people I don't know. So if I wasn't really listening to them, I couldn't I couldn't Shepherd a conversation forward. Because I really, I couldn't just like you can't just throw things out and let someone talk and then say the next disjointed thing like it has to be back and forth. Oh, you'd be surprised

Chris Ruden 1:13:11
many people do that among many podcasts. And there's some that I'm just like, you didn't you don't even need me here for this.

Scott Benner 1:13:17
I say the thing I think and then I let you talk and then I say the thing I think and yeah, yeah, that's it. Yeah, I'm not into that. I'd prefer I'd prefer that an hour have three gyms in it, then, you know, me just pontificating and and saying the like, you know, here's the steps from the podcast. I was like, I'm not always selling like, I just, I don't feel that way. Yeah. And I love that. I really love that. Alright, man, I can't thank you enough for doing this. You're you're getting up there on the bid on the podcast, a lot of times list. I appreciate it. Yeah,

Chris Ruden 1:13:49
I appreciate you having me, man. I'm always excited to be a part of it. Because like, every time you'd grown, and every time I know, you're reaching more people, which is great. I'm not selling anything except for an idea of, you know, today, we talked about telling yourself a better story, who knows what it might be in the future. But this concept is evergreen. So this will always be a value this will always be of use. So there's no use and having perfect blood sugars if you don't have great communication inwardly and outwardly. So just keep that in mind for anyone who's listening.

Scott Benner 1:14:20
Thank you. I appreciate it. Chris pulled off for me. Thanks. Yep.

Hope you enjoyed my conversation with Chris Rutan. He is a three time guest on the Juicebox Podcast. We love him every time. I want to thank him and remind you that you can find him at Chris rudan.com. Let's also thank Dexcom makers of the Dexcom G six and Dexcom G seven continuous glucose monitoring systems. dexcom.com/juicebox Get started today. And of course cosy Eat earth.com For all of your comfortables Do not forget to use the offer code juice box at checkout, because you will save 40% When you do. And I don't want to show off but 40% is only 10% away from half off. And 10% is like thinking about money like $1 It's 10 cents, right? But 40% is 40 cents. So every time you spend $1 You save 40 cents when you use the offer code juice box at checkout. I've now spoken past the music. I apologize for that. What's left to say? Check out juicebox podcast.com. Don't forget to subscribe in your podcast apps. Don't please don't forget to check out the private Facebook group Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes, I'm on the Instagram if you care, etc, and so on. Go find Chris. He's got socials as well. And then this is the last bit. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast.

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#1069 Reckless No More

Kamaron has type 1 diabetes and an interesting past.

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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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 1069 of the Juicebox Podcast.

Today I'll be speaking with Cameron he is 31 years old and living with type one diabetes since he was 10. And he's had a bit of a rocky road. Today Cameron comes on the show, and tells us all about it. 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 for becoming bold with insulin. Learn more about comfort at cozy earth.com. Learn more about savings by using the offer code juice box when you check out. Get a free year supply of vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first order of ag one when you use the link, drink ag one.com/juice box, find the private Facebook group Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes, and please subscribe or follow in the audio app you're listening in right now. Subscribing and following in like Spotify Apple podcast Pandora, wherever you listen is a huge boost to the show. I don't normally put a brand new episode out on Thanksgiving. But I put one listener in charge of deciding about today's episode. And she happened to be Canadian. So she chose new episode. This one's for Canada, everywhere else in the world, and people in America hiding from their families. This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by touched by type one touched by type one.org. They're also on Facebook and Instagram. And they are an amazing organization helping people with type one diabetes, they just want you to come by and check them out. Find them on Facebook on Instagram, and it touched by type one.org. The podcast is also sponsored today by the place where Arden gets her diabetes supplies. US med us med.com/juicebox or call 888-721-1514 at the link or at the number you get your free benefits check and you get started with us med

Kamaron 2:19
name's Cameron 31 years old, live in live in Indiana, Pat diabetes for 21 years now. So I know you're you're a big math guy, you could probably figure that out. I was I was 10 years old when I got diagnosed. And it's definitely been a journey to get to where I'm at today.

Scott Benner 2:40
Cameron, if if the country is hinged on people being math guys who can subtract 21 from 31 quickly in their head. I think we're in trouble. But yeah, so you were 10

Kamaron 2:52
I was 10 Yeah.

Scott Benner 2:54
Do you have any brothers and sisters?

Kamaron 2:55
I do. So my parents were never married. So I'm the only the only child that my biological parents have. But then they remarried. And so I have three siblings on my mom's side and three siblings on my dad's side. Wow.

Scott Benner 3:15
With any of them around when you were diagnosed?

Kamaron 3:18
All but one. Okay. All but one.

Scott Benner 3:22
How did you work? How did you work that? Did you go back and forth between houses? Or did you live with? Yeah,

Kamaron 3:27
yeah. So. So I was born in Ohio. I lived there for a seven years, seven years. And they used to live like, literally you could walk to the end of the street and see my dad's house or walk to the industry and see my mom's house. They live really close. I think God spent considerable amount of time in both places. But they I wouldn't say they were the the friendliest with each other. But they definitely co parented well. And my, both my stepmom and my stepdad were both big factors of allowing the smooth transition, I guess. Yeah.

Scott Benner 4:13
How was that getting? Input from so many adults? Like, did you find it? Did you find it valuable? Like hearing, I guess more, more perspectives and, and getting different ideas from people like Did it make you more well rounded?

Kamaron 4:32
Definitely. They're two totally different people. And I knew that when I was with my dad, you know, I was going to be exposed to these types of things and these type of people when I was with my mom, I'd be exposed to something completely different and I wouldn't say one was better or worse than another. But like you said, it definitely helped me and shaping who I am today, my childhood and ultimately why we're here. The care of my Diabetes. Yeah. So

Scott Benner 5:01
well, let's get let's get that's really fascinating, actually. But we'll we'll move forward to your diabetes. So you're diagnosed? Are your parents together at that point? Are you living?

Kamaron 5:11
So no, no, no, they are not.

Scott Benner 5:14
So what do you remember about it anything?

Kamaron 5:18
Oh, man, it's, I feel like it's a funny story. So it was May of 2002, the Harry Potter movie had come out, I think in like, the holiday season like 2001. And I was really on my mom about wanting to go, I pushed her and pushed her like to take us. And it's not that she didn't want to, but she made us earn things that we got. And so she ended up buying the complete book set up until that point, I think it was like, maybe the fourth book or something. And she said, If we read those books, that she would take us to the movie. Well, you know, I was nine at the time. Didn't really, I mean, I'm, let's say, I'm a great student, but reading has just never really been my thing. And so read, she said, Okay, this day, we're gonna go super excited about it. We get to movie theater. And at that time, it was at like the second run. Yeah. You know, like sometimes, once a movie is out for so long, it'll go to another theater where it's kind of like older movies, but not ready to go to DVD yet. DVD. That's how long ago it well,

Scott Benner 6:33
I'm thinking, I don't even know if people understand this. But there used to be second run theaters where they'd like pull you in for a couple of bucks for a ticket and they'd give you a free popcorn. Trying Yeah, that's

Kamaron 6:43
exactly how this that's exactly how this one was. Yeah. So yeah, so we get a bucket of popcorn candy, drink the whole nine yards. movie starts I'm real excited. I've already read the book. So I kind of my mind know how the movie is gonna play out. But Cameron, I lost you five times camera. I

Scott Benner 7:06
lost you. I'm sorry. You knew in your mind how the movie was gonna play out.

Kamaron 7:09
I knew Yeah, of saying. I knew in my mind how the movie was going to play out. But I'm still excited to see it. But in the first 30 minutes of the movie, I get up to the bathroom like four or five times. You know, the first time it's like, you know, understandable second time. My mom's like, geez, like, maybe you shouldn't, you know, she put the drink down. After the third time. She's like, Okay, if you don't want to see the movie, like just say that, you know, you're the one that wanted to come to this. I'm like, Mom, I don't know what's wrong. I just I have to use the bathroom. And it's like full bladder every time. After the fourth time. She's like, okay, let's just get up and go. And I'm upset. Think I start crying? Like my brother's upset with me? Because he's like, man, we waited so long to come see this movie, and you just messed it up for us. And I'm like, I just don't know. Like, I just cannot stop using the bathroom. Think we get home? Mom's like asked me like, you know, do you feel sick or anything? I'm like, no, because at that time, I wasn't really aware of like the symptoms. But my mom, she was a she's a type two diabetic. And she just kind of thought in her mind. Like, you know what, let's just check your blood sugar and see what it is. I'm like, what, what does that mean? My mom's really jokey lady. And she's like, Oh, that's just you know, the the meter be a nice tea saying Hi. How you doing things like that. But I can tell like in in the way she was acting in her in her voice that something was wrong. We wait a little bit, I think like maybe a couple hours. Check it again. Still says hi. And she takes her to the emergency room. And right then and there. They just listing off everything that had happened. They're like, Yeah, we're gonna go ahead and admit you to our peds RPG unit. At that time, they tell me like, you know, you have type

Scott Benner 9:06
cameras to my life camera, and I'm so sorry. They tell you you have type one. And they

Kamaron 9:12
told me I had type one diabetes. My blood sugar 1600. And at that point, I realized like, my life was gonna be changed forever. Wow.

Scott Benner 9:22
1600 Yeah. Oh, geez. That's crazy. How had you lost weight? Like in hindsight, did you say oh, I've lost weight, you know, and

Kamaron 9:33
I've always I've always been on the thin side. You know, outside playing around so you're always drinking water. You've always been a skinny kid. She said that she never really noticed any of that stuff. So yeah, like, I mean, I can't really remember any symptoms before. Going to see Harry Potter. Yeah.

Scott Benner 9:56
In that something. Just all of a sudden it all Just kind of washed over you at once.

Kamaron 10:02
It did. It definitely did. Wow. So

Scott Benner 10:06
you go you go to the hospital or a doctor, I'm sorry, I kind of missed,

Kamaron 10:09
ya know, so I, They admitted me to the hospital. I was there for four days, I think which, after hearing everybody else stories seems like a long time. But from what I can remember what my mom said, she, she said that like it was it took a while to, to kind of get you back to stable. And then like I said, like things just kind of things just kind of changed like guy, you know, they put me on was like human log. And I was trying to wrack my brain, I think it was humulin. But maybe remember, there was a red cap and an orange cap and one was like slow acting, one was fast acting. And so trying to like regulate that trying to try to you know, explain how everything works and everything. Because with my mom having type two, I think all she took was like oral medications. And so the use of insulin wasn't something that she was Uber familiar with. Sure,

Scott Benner 11:11
sure. She didn't know about that at all. Why? Right, right, man, that's crazy. So she obviously start with me, it's 21 years ago, right? So isn't it by the way. So far, the most stunning thing you've said is that 21 years ago was 2001. And you were like talking about the first Harry Potter movie. And I'm like, Oh my God, how old am I? You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah,

Kamaron 11:38
like, whenever I say 20 years ago, I'm still thinking like, 1980s

Scott Benner 11:42
I swear to God, that's exactly how it hits me. So oh my gosh. So how do you? Does your mom help you with management? Or is it something that gets given to you? Everybody who has diabetes has diabetes supplies, but not everybody gets them from us med the way we do us med.com forward slash juicebox or call 888721151 for us med is the number one distributor for FreeStyle Libre systems nationwide. They are the number one specialty distributor for Omni pod dash, the number one fastest growing tandem distributor nationwide. And they always provide 90 days worth of supplies, and fast and free shipping. That's right us med carries everything from insulin pumps to diabetes testing supplies, right up to your latest CGM, like the FreeStyle Libre two, n three, and the Dexcom, G six and seven. They even have Omni pod dash and Omni pod five, they have an A plus rating with the Better Business Bureau and you can reach them at 888-721-1514 or by going to my link us med.com forward slash juicebox. When you contact them, you get your free benefits check. And then if they take your insurance, you're often going and US med takes over 800 private insurers and Medicare nationwide. better service and better care is what US med wants to provide for you. Us med.com forward slash juicebox get your diabetes supplies the same way Arden does from us med links in the show notes links at juicebox podcast.com. To us Med and all the sponsors. When you use my links, you're supporting the show.

Kamaron 13:31
She she definitely she she empowered me to the counting of the carbs and everything. She empowered me to do that stuff. But she her and my dad and my stepdad and my stepmom. They all kind of kept that like, hovering eye on me to make sure that I understood what I was doing. They made sure that I was doing the right thing. So like I said they were very helpful in the in the process of learning and managing, I'd say up until I was in high school.

Scott Benner 14:06
Wow. That's great. Yeah. Did you have good outcomes because of that kind of support?

Kamaron 14:12
I did. Up until high school. Yeah, when they completely gave me rain. And it just it kind of went downhill from there.

Scott Benner 14:20
You stopped paying attention or not

Kamaron 14:23
that I stopped paying attention. But I mean, it was to that point, I was still taking injections. So it was like kind of easier to hide. And it's not ever something I've been embarrassed about. But at the same time not something I'm like just very forthcoming with like, I don't just go tell people, Hey, I'm type one diabetic. Yeah, it was never anything like that. But yeah, when I got to high school, I got put on an insulin pump. I never really wanted an insulin pump. Because I felt like that would just be something to tell people like oh, he has diabetes or he has something wrong then what's that thing sticking out of you? It was just something I was kind of ashamed of. I mean, it sounds terrible, but I was like a shame to have it felt like I was less than. And so once they did kind of like Give me control because I was I wouldn't say I was like a rebel kid but I definitely was very independent in my my thinking and my actions and everything. And so I just be have to be had my endo appointments every three months or whatever. No, I should check my blood sugar every time I eat when I wake up when I go to bed. So, you know, six to eight times a day, I should be checked my sugar. I was lucky if I was check my sugar once. And so then when it came time to go to endo appointment, and my mom's like, Okay, do you have your notebook with all your numbers written down? You know, because there was no gluco or any kind of like, data sharing back then I would just make up numbers. And, you know, I never wanted to make it seem like I was, you know, not in control. So I'd write down that I was having good numbers, well, then my a one C comes back. And it's, you know, 10.5 and they're just like, well, what is going on? Like, there's no way that these numbers match up to a one C? I'm like, Oh, um, oh, maybe just something's wrong with the with the, with the monitor. And so we had to have gone through like seven or eight different monitors. Different, you know, stop using your blood, my fingertips, I start using my forearm and my pom. Things like that.

Scott Benner 16:29
Cameron, while all that's happening? Are you sitting in that office thinking here? I'm not really doing anything like that, girl. Yeah.

Kamaron 16:37
And looking back on it, man, I feel I feel bad about it. Because I know I put my mom through hell trying to figure out what was wrong. I feel like my endo knew. But she didn't want to be, you know, accusatory or anything like that. But I know I put my mom through hell and my dad's kind of just like, Man, this is this is not making sense. I don't know. But, you know, you seem like you're okay. But really, I wasn't. Yeah. So another thing that's kind of, like, ashamed of, but from, like, the age of, let's see, so I got diagnosed when I was 10. From the age of like, 10 to 12. Like, I probably went to bed like at least once a week. And it was because my blood sugar was so high all the time. Sure. And you know, and it before then, like, you know, never had accidents or anything like that. But, you know, it's just something that I hid and so my mom didn't know that that was going on. And it was I think he had she you have known she would have known like, Hey, okay, your blood sugar's aren't right. And the things that you're writing down on this notebook as far as what your blood sugars are, that's, it's not adding up. So let's, let's try to maybe let's rein back your control. Let me get back to kind of take over more control. I think if, if she would have known everything that was kind of going on behind the scenes, you know, had the classic like muscle cramping. Just always felt kind of tired and dry. My eyesight was like, I didn't know them on. Wednesdays, I was like, Oh, my goodness, like I was blind. But yeah, it was a rough. It was a rough four years in high school with with all of this. Wow.

Scott Benner 18:26
And so because the, the impacts of it on your health are slower. And it's not, it's not like immediate, are you thinking you're getting away with something? Are you like, I don't really need to do as much as they're saying, what was it? Or was it not?

Kamaron 18:45
And I think that's why I was I was able to go those four years throughout high school. I'm gonna go to kidney dialysis having to go through dialysis and losing limbs, but that's not going to happen to me. I mean, I'm still able to get out there on the football field and score two touchdowns or be on the basketball court and the score 20 points. Like it wasn't slowing me down at all. So at least what everybody else could see. Now, I knew on the inside that I felt like crap, but you know, I just figured I just pushed through it and didn't seem like it was stopping, you know, not at all. So, okay,

Scott Benner 19:23
yeah, I see. So what, what finally gets you through that?

Kamaron 19:29
The summer of my senior or, I guess, after graduation, of high school, going into my freshman year of high college, I find out that my girlfriend at the time was pregnant. And she you know, I had plans to go off to one school she had plans to go off to another school. And I just I have such a great, like foundation as far as my parents go and even having, you know, like I said, my, my stepdad, my stepmom, I knew that I couldn't be just like somebody who didn't care about their child or, yeah, he's gonna live off with them, and I'll see you twice a year or whenever she comes back from whatever. So we both made an agreement to stay in our hometown. And then once he was born, I kind of just knew like, Man, I, I gotta make it to his high school graduation to his wedding to his children being born. And I gotta do something different. Now, it wasn't like an overnight like realization. But at that time I started, you know, actually checking my blood sugar and seeing like, Damn man, like, your blood sugar is like 300 all the time. And that's, that's not going to get you to where those goals or those milestones that you say you want to be at. And so the birth of my, of my first son definitely changed, or at least put me in the path of like, getting better. Now, I still wasn't exactly doing what I was supposed to be doing. It definitely made me feel like I need to, I need to change something or else I'm not going to make it. Yeah.

Scott Benner 21:17
Tell me how old are you when you're you have your son?

Kamaron 21:21
So I just turned 18. Wow. That's hard. Yeah, like, Forget diabetes. Yeah. So it made me grow up real fast. And like I said, I was very kind of independent in my actions in ways and so I didn't have to move out of my parents house. But I was like, No, I'm going to live, but I'm going to live on my own. I'm gonna get my own apartment, I'm going to take care of this child, I'm going to graduate college, I'm just gonna do it all by myself. It was it was challenging. But like I said, I knew that I had something to live for now. It ended up being for the better

Scott Benner 21:57
camera. It is the most common theme in my conversations with people who are adults who have type one diabetes is that it took like, the concern for someone else, or a relationship of some kind, to make them focus on themselves and pull things together. It's yeah, just the most common theme. It's in

Kamaron 22:18
something else. Yeah. And it's like, to me, it seems like that's a like, man, so you care about somebody else more than yourself. But, I mean, I do care about myself, but I felt like I was managing. So I was like, I don't need to change anything. But then the, like I said, having having the birth of my son, knowing that I need to be around for him. It just, it just gave me that extra push that extra motivation that I needed, because, and I always tell him this, like without him like, I probably wouldn't be alive today. Well,

Scott Benner 22:50
because you think you would have just continued on that path and then gotten into real trouble with your type one?

Kamaron 22:55
Most most? Definitely. I mean, there were times where like, my blood sugar, I check it when I wake up in the morning, and it's 500 and I'm just like, oh, shoot, like, I didn't take any insulin yesterday. So then, I'm like, This sounds terrible. I don't maybe this needs to be like an after dark to, to maybe shield some kids listening or something. But like, I would take like, I will take 30 units of insulin. Oh, dear God, yeah. Yeah. And like I said, that was just how I was doing things and how I was managing my diabetes. But I just felt like, Okay, well, you know, I can just take this insulin, everything will be fine. I had never listened to the Juicebox Podcast I've never really cared about, like, the little things that I could do to make such a difference in my life, not only for my, my physical health, but like for my mental health. And just for like, all the relationships in my life. Because I felt like those kind of were on one edge sometimes because of my up and down with my blood sugar, just you know, it messes with your, your irritability, your mood, your your your focus. And I sometimes I didn't have the the focus and control of myself to, to take to take on the initiative to stop, stop myself from letting my sugar get so high and then doing something dumb like taking a big Bolus of insulin, they let it get so low. And so you know, mess with my mood and irritability sometimes and I was probably it's probably hard to deal with. It's just

Scott Benner 24:32
such a cycle, right? You, you don't manage your blood sugar, your blood sugar gets very high, you stop, you know, you're not making these decisions the way you would if your blood sugar was lower. And now you know, it just snowballs and then eventually the number slaps you in the face and you say, I guess I gotta do something. And then it breaks through all that and then you do another thing that's not safe and then just try to catch it on the backside. I hear a dog I'll say, you know, when they have friends with diabetes that, you know, when people have trouble, like with really low dangerous blood sugars, it's often because of this, it's often because they get into a situation where they just get very aggressive with insulin and then sometimes fall asleep afterwards or things like that. And then they're not there to help themselves. Exactly.

Kamaron 25:19
Yeah, exactly. And that's, that's kind of what was happening. You know, there's a, there's a difference between being bold with insulin, and then being careless and reckless with insulin. And I was definitely doing the latter, you know, wasn't really thinking about the consequences of what was going to happen to me. And

Scott Benner 25:39
got lucky, I guess nothing ever went to wrong. Yeah,

Kamaron 25:43
I mean, I definitely, I had my moments where, you know, like I said, I was living by myself. And you know, my mom would come over to see me or see, see my son, and she knocked on the door. And it's like I can, I can hear that she's knocking, but in my, my body, I just can't get up. And so you know, she used her key open up, and I, here I am on the floor. After my diagnosis, she went to nursing school and got her RN degree. And so she became a lot more aware of things to look for, and how to how to manage things. But, you know, there'll be time to she'd have to call, he'd have to call the EMS service to come out, give me back a D tend to, you know, save my life. And

Scott Benner 26:35
that's scary. Yeah. But

Kamaron 26:39
like I said, it. It helped me going through all of that helped me get to where I am today.

Scott Benner 26:45
Cameron, can I ask you, if at that young age, was it, just you and the baby are with you? Are you with the baby's mom, too? Are you guys married? Or?

Kamaron 26:53
No. So me and my son, and my son's Mom, we were kind of on and off for maybe like, two years after he was born. And then just kind of realized, and I think it kind of goes back to, you know, just my, my instability and my actions and mood and everything. We ended up not being together. So yeah, for like, two and a half, three years. Before I met my now wife. I lived on my own with my with my son.

Scott Benner 27:27
Wow, that's a lot. That's a That's pretty impressive.

Kamaron 27:31
Yeah, in my heart, I don't know if I can allow you to keep doing this. Because not only are you putting yourself at risk, but you're putting this this child at risk to. And me being all machismo and having having a huge ego. I'd be like, Oh, no, I'm fine. I'll take care of it. But luckily for me, this these things would never happen when when I was with my son, because we would, you know, he come stay with me for the weekend or a couple of days throughout the week. And I'd be on top of my game. But then when I wasn't with them. That's kind of when I would slip back into old Cameron ways and not take care of myself the way that I should.

Scott Benner 28:17
Yeah, well, Cameron, I mean, in honesty, you're really just describing an 18 or 19 year old guy, you know, or person and that the application of diabetes to your life. I mean, is obvious. It's unfair, it's unexpected. And you're still going through like a growth and maturation process. You're not finished with it yet. And now you have this serious thing to do. Like, it's easy to say, like, oh, I should have done better I could have or I wasn't, but I mean, I don't know how many 19 year old people, you know, taking anything very seriously. Not a lot. Not a lot. Yeah, right. You know, so you're, you just you just put in a bad situation and a bad time in your life. And it mean to your credit you you pulled yourself together, you know?

Kamaron 29:01
Yeah, but I cannot take all the credit for that. Because like I said, meeting my wife, she definitely had an impact. When I first met her, I was getting better at the management of my diabetes, but I still wasn't doing everything that I was supposed to, but she kind of like put it down like I can't keep seeing you like this because she also had to see me sometimes with those low or high blood sugars and she had to call EMS a few times. But she got me to the point where I could see that like I was really going to lose something great if I didn't take care if I didn't change something and stick with it. It couldn't just be you know, do it a little bit here a little bit there type deal. And yeah, without without her. I definitely wouldn't have the control that I have today.

Scott Benner 29:58
Yeah, well listen, I mean I got that story or I think a lot of guys that story. But, but did you have that that realization of like, why already? Like, I'm not with the mother of my child now because of like, and it's gonna happen again did you see like, oh geez, this is happening again?

Kamaron 30:16
No See because at that time I was only so when I met my wife I was 2021 I didn't have I didn't have the the knowledge that I have now. So like looking back on it like yeah, I'm probably Well, I wouldn't say the only reason but one of the reasons I'm not with my first son's wife, my first son's mother was because of my diabetes, but I mean, now I can say that. But back then I'm just like, oh, no, she's crazy. You know, she doesn't she doesn't realize what she's losing out on. Stop. Just I can't deal with her.

Scott Benner 30:51
Yeah, Cameron, every girl wants the guy laying on the floor uncapable of helping themselves.

Kamaron 30:56
But I realized that I could, I could lose something good. And pretty much from day one. She has been she has been good for me and good to me. So that's

Scott Benner 31:07
excellent. Yeah, you can't beat a good pairing. And I mean, honestly, it just gave me that

Kamaron 31:13
extra. Yeah, extra push the, the thing that I needed to, like, stay consistent with my, with my care and everything that I was doing.

Scott Benner 31:22
Yeah, I mean, it sort of makes sense to because generally speaking, women mature faster than men. And I mean, I needed like, Kelly helped me a lot when I was younger, you know, she was just, she was more like, emotionally mature than I was. And so she can kind of point things out and be like, Ah, that's right. And then you know, then it comes down to someone points something out about you, you're either gonna face it, or run away from it. And like you said, you're like, Well, I really liked this girl. Like, I don't want this to stop. So I'll face what, what, what I'm learning about myself and, and grow from here. It's good stuff. Yeah, it's good stuff. And

Kamaron 32:01
so, so Yeah, and like, I mean, so then you could also thank my wife for leading me to you. Because so I was working at a school with kids who are not the most well behaved, it's an alternative school. So some of these kids should, should have probably been in some kind of juvenile correctional system. But they're given a second chance, they got to go to this alternative school. And these kids realize that, oh, oh, Mr. Cameron, he has this insulin pump in him, or he has this, this tube hanging out of them. And every time it beeps, you know, he stops what he's doing, he'll check it. But if that chord comes out, then he'll leave the classroom, and we'll kind of have free rein to ourself, you know, for 556 minutes. And it happened a couple of times where they, you know, call me over, like, Oh, hey, I need help with whatever worksheet or assignment they were doing. And they would pull out my cord, they pull out my my infusion set. Wow, sounds terrible, but it's to be expected from from choke from kids like this. And she's like, well, not only is that damaging your health, because now you don't have insulin or whatever. She's like that, that cost money. And, you know, insurance was I had insurance, but it wasn't the greatest and so it was a big bill for us to pay every month to get those supplies. And so she, she looked up like alternatives to to insulin pumps, and she found the Omni pod. And I thought like, okay, yeah, that sounds cool. I'll try it or whatever. I got it. It was cool. But I felt like I was missing something. So I start doing some research about like, you know, could I watch a YouTube video and maybe like somebody who had this stuff, and she found the Juicebox Podcast, start listening to this. She listened with me for like, the first couple of months and she's like, you know, this guy says some pretty good stuff. Like maybe you should try to incorporate that into what you do. And the rest from there. I mean, it was only up from there. I have a one C start coming down. was able to finally like to start keeping weight on it. It was it was it was a great. It was a great find by her. And then shortly after I got the dex calm, and things just kind of start clicking. That's fantastic. How

Scott Benner 34:30
long ago was this?

Kamaron 34:31
This was in 2016. Wow, you found the podcast really early? Yes. Back when you were like, before we got to Episode 100

Scott Benner 34:43
Yeah, back when my dogs were barking in the background and stuff. Yeah, I didn't have this great microphone. Wow. That's really boy that's that's interesting. And very, I don't know how to put it like, like while you were explaining her finding the pod cast. And just when you said like, you know, there's things being said here, I think you could incorporate. It's hard for me to imagine, like, still one on one, like, I know I say something in the microphone and a lot of people hear it. But that like it, that's not a, it's not a human thing. Like it's a number, right? Like, oh, it goes to this many devices. But the hear of like, you and your wife having a conversation, and then it leading to value for you, is really gratifying. I don't really know another way to say it. I'm appreciative that you share that with me. Thank you. Yeah, I

Kamaron 35:35
mean, it's, it's great. And I mean, sometimes always asked, like, you know, like, why is Scott not like, in the medical field? Why is he not like, why is he not an endocrinologist, or, you know, a diabetes educator, because half the stuff that I hear from him, I've never heard from endo team, or, you know, and they make you do trainings every time you get a new pump or something like that, like, you know, and, you know, not to not to be little, like your experience or intelligence or anything, but he's no medical professional. So, you know, how was he able to come up with these realizations, and they're not

Scott Benner 36:09
strange thing. Just, it's, you know, I think that the system teaches away. And that's then people get into a professional setting, and they do the thing they were taught, and you're being taught based on old ideas. I can, you know, I can shift in the moment. And I still don't like, don't get me wrong. I never had like an experience and ran right to a microphone or keyboard and said, like, hell, this just like, I wait a while until I think like, this is really consistent. Like, I'm seeing this over and over and over again, this this is, this is the thing that's not letting me down. Now it's a good time to share with people what we're doing. And you know, but then I can pivot. Like, right, like if you, you know, if you're at a hospital right now, working and you're like, yeah, man, I'd love to tell people to Pre-Bolus but they won't let me do that here. There's no way there's no way to make a change. You know,

Kamaron 37:03
to me, this is so mind blowing, because like, if you're not doing that, you're chasing that number. And granted, yes, sometimes there are certain situations where Pre-Bolus thing isn't necessary might even be detrimental. You know, if your blood sugar's 60, before you start eating, well, yeah, maybe you should eat and then take insulin, like in the middle of your meal. But like the term Pre-Bolus, and I even used that, like, when I first met with my, my current endocrinologist, and I use the term Pre-Bolus. He's like, what does that mean? I'm like, great, man, you got all these pictures on your wall? Like you've been doing this for 20 years, and you've never heard the term Pre-Bolus Like, or

Scott Benner 37:44
never, never just considered the idea of matching up the impact of the insulin with like, you know, like with the food that is that? Is that a crazy? A crazy thought.

Kamaron 37:57
So it just, I don't know. And then, like, just the whole idea of, you know, foods, eating differently. Like I said, I've just I've learned, and maybe it's stuff that I knew, but I didn't really know how to put that into practice. But yeah, listen to the podcast just kind of opened up like a whole new whole new way of thinking. And being bold with the insulin on throat like I said, not not being not being reckless with the insulin but being bold, like not being afraid to push that number down. Like, yeah, it's 120. But let's, let's try to get it to 100 Let's try to get it to 90 you like, feel so much better and over the long run, you know, it'll help your your

Scott Benner 38:44
carry, you jumped out there for a second, but I'll just say like, you're back. Yep, I'm

Kamaron 38:50
here. Yeah. Sorry.

Scott Benner 38:53
I used to hear people say that to like, Oh, this guy is saying to be like, careless within sound. I was like, where did you Where did you get that from? I said bold one time was like, just, you know, just be a little bold. That doesn't mean you know, it doesn't mean like your hair on fire and jump off a cliff. It just, it just means don't lay back. And, and then as as I was saying it for longer and longer. I don't hear that anymore. Now that there's a bunch of content up, and people who listen really understand it, you realize that that's no different than any other knee jerk reaction that you see in media anywhere else, like you can hear a snippet of anything anyone says and argue about

Kamaron 39:34
it. Yeah, take it out. It gets taken out of context. 100% Yeah.

Scott Benner 39:38
So now that now that it's up, like and people can listen, they go, okay, I get what he's saying. You know, like, just maybe not be scared would be right,

Kamaron 39:46
because I mean, we're being proactive instead of reactive. And that's, I feel like what helps, what helps lower that a one see what helps get your standard deviation down? You know, because if you're not taking insulin until you're You know, 150, arrow up? By the time it levels back out, you might be at 200. Sure. And then what does that do for the sensation in your, your fingers? Like, and those are things I'm sure nobody wants to lose. So, yeah,

Scott Benner 40:15
right. Like, what what did those deviations, those jumps in those spikes? They're, they're very, they're very harmful to your body. Like every time your blood sugar spikes up and stays up and comes crashing back down. That's hard on you. And it, it's a cumulative effect. If that keeps happening, then things get worse. I mean, you were having real problems when you were younger, and you weren't even doing it that long. And you know, you get bad impacts from it. Exactly. Yeah. No, no kidding out. Yeah. I mean, so Cameron, don't be scared of insulins not a good logo tagline for a T shirt. So I went with both. Don't be snappy.

Kamaron 40:51
I think it sounds it sounds great. Good. Good. I

Scott Benner 40:54
appreciate it. And, and it hit you. Well, you heard something, you thought, well, this makes sense. And then you tried it. Like, I think there are times when people think like, oh, I have to do exactly what that guy says like, I don't think that at all. Like I think of myself as delivering concepts and ideas, and I'm just sharing, and then you take them back in your life and see where they fit or that we're not, you know, right? Because

Kamaron 41:17
I mean, they're I mean, you're like, Yeah, you're, you know, about to hit like 800. You might even pick on past 800 episodes now.

Scott Benner 41:27
Well, from

Kamaron 41:28
where, because sometimes I will get the notification that you posted a new one, and I'll see the title and I'm just like, that doesn't really catch my shot doesn't really catch my attention right now. So I'll listen to it later. Yeah. But, you know, we're, I hear these sometimes I'm just like, oh, maybe that works for them. But for me, and like, in my job. And that's, I guess, maybe something I should mention, here later. With my job, I can't I can't do this, I can't necessarily do that. I can't, I can't always Pre-Bolus Or I can't always eat a low carb meal or, you know, do things like that. So

Scott Benner 42:04
yeah, I get confused when people feel like the thing they heard, like has to be done. But then you look at the medical field, and that is how it's set up. It's like, here are the rules, follow the rules. And then somebody comes

Kamaron 42:16
is no, there is no, no, there are some variables in this. There's,

Scott Benner 42:20
there's 1000s of possibilities. And you need to cherry pick the ones that fit in your life. And, and, and work for you like and there's things that people do that don't work for others, there's sometimes they don't work because they're doing them wrong. And sometimes they don't work because it's not right for them. And that's for you to figure out like, I can't figure that out for you. But what I know is, is that when people go to a doctor's office, and they're given a static set of five rules, what I'm hearing back from people is that does not help me. And I live in unhealthy life. Right. So I say, give everybody all the information that exists. And then let them let them write their own story with it, you know?

Kamaron 43:04
Yeah, but I mean, it does take time, though. Because newly diagnosed, I would never be able to be like, Well, okay, so yeah, my blood sugar is this. But I know, if I've just kind of bumping nudge a little bit, I can get it down without fearing that it's going to get low. Or I can eat a bowl of pasta, that maybe has 80 grams of carbs. And then I could also eat, you know, a steak dinner with some potatoes. And that also has 80 grams of carbs, but that's gonna hit me completely different. Like, you don't have that. You don't have that, that baseline or those life experiences to help kind of guide that. So I can kind of understand why they give the Omega kind of static, like, just do this and see if it works. But I mean, when, you know, you've been going to the same endo for 10 years, and they're giving you the same information. And it's like, whoa, as I need to adjust, you should also be adjusting Oh, yeah, as well. No. And

Scott Benner 44:02
you just, I mean, I don't know how many people I have to talk to who didn't have access to the information. And now I do and things are so much better for them. I mean, you just, you can't hold back information from people. It's that it has to be readily available to them. And then they can I mean, they're adults, they can do what they want to do with it after that. Like it's, you know, and hopefully people have good success like you did, you're doing terrific. It's amazing. I'd like to think so. Are you kidding? What's your emergency now?

Kamaron 44:31
A one C now is 5.4. Which I mean, like, I remember when I looked on the clarity app, and the clarity app said that my agency was going to be like five, six or something. And then I go to the doctor's office, you know, we get my blood work back and it says it's five, four, and I'm just like, so excited. And he's like, Well, you already knew it was gonna be that right? I'm like, Yeah, but five, four. That's that's almost seven holes. points lower than what I was five years ago. And then what I was 10 years ago. And so just the the progress that I'm making, like is always just look back and be like, Man, I've come a long way. Yeah, I've come a long way

Scott Benner 45:14
you have enough history to appreciate the the success that you're having. Right? Yeah,

Kamaron 45:20
I mean, because I can, I can remember times where, you know, I would be I'd leave on a trip, maybe go out of town, somewhere for whatever reason, and forget to bring, forget to bring insulin like, Man, I packed everything else that I needed, but I forgot my insulin, whatever, I'll just, I'll be fine for the weekend without it. And now like, I can't even leave the house without like, Okay, do I have my go bag with me? Do I have my do I have my PDM? Do I have an extra sight? Do I have an extra sensor with me just to, you know, prepare for all that stuff. And without all those bad times I went through before, I might not have the knowledge to or even the wherewithal to think like, let's let's prepare for let's prepare for everything. Not everything. So you can't really and that, but let's be better equipped to handle this thing called diabetes. Yeah,

Scott Benner 46:14
within reason. Like there's there are times when, you know, I see people are like, I'm in another state. And I need a you know, I need an infusion seven, like, how did you get? How did that happen? Yeah, that's

Kamaron 46:25
like when when we're packing, like we just got back from, from a spring break trip. And the first thing that was on my list was diabetes supplies, and not only my academy, my diabetes supplies could just mean having my PDM and an extra site with me. But you're going out of town, like can you know, you're going to be gone for a while, like, why don't you have you know, you might only be gone for a week, but I'm going to take four different. I'm gonna take four sites with me, I'm going to take two sensors with me. And sometimes it might seem excessive, but you never know what might happen. Well,

Scott Benner 46:58
it's better to unpack it at home later or not use it then not have it. And that's not to say

Kamaron 47:03
yeah, that's yeah, that's something I say all the time. And my kids even will repeat after me Dad always says it's better to have it and not need it than needed and not have

Scott Benner 47:11
it. Damn right. I'm pleased when we go on trips with Arne. I mean, I could probably take care of two people who use it on the pod. Right? Because why not like and

Kamaron 47:21
then like, yeah, just seeing sometimes seeing all the posts and things like on the Facebook site and everything and people are, you know, they might be, you know, five hours away from home and say that they need something, I would like to be able to help those people, if ever I could. So that's another reason I never know he might run into and people are kinda more open about it now. So like, you might see somebody's Dexcom like, on the back of their arm and be like, ooh, they have diabetes. And, you know, my wife will be like, Oh, he's gonna go say something to him or whatever. Or

Scott Benner 47:57
he kids think you're corny, Cameron or no?

Kamaron 47:59
Yeah. But sometimes I kind of liked that I liked when people approached me about it. So I would think that maybe this person would like the same. Yeah,

Scott Benner 48:08
no, I think everybody's in a different part of their journey. But I think that it is a mentally and psychologically freeing thing, to not hide your diabetes, and to meet other to meet other people who have type one or type two, I just think it's a, it's terrific, you know, like, it's absolutely can pull you out of that feeling of like, oh, this is just happening to me, and it's not happening to anyone else, it's valuable to know that that's not true. Right

Kamaron 48:38
to have that just that community. And that's one thing, like listening to your podcast, and then joining the private Facebook group, and everything, like hearing some people's stories. It's like, ah, yeah, I remember when that happened to me. And so I'm able to share my experiences sometimes. And, you know, sometimes people are just like, oh, no, I could never do that. And other times people are like, Thank you like, that was I needed to hear that. And it's like, I'm just saying stuff that, you know, I've experienced or maybe even heard from you and your podcasts or maybe from your guest. But, you know, maybe they didn't hear that episode. And so, you know, just being a resource sometimes. is all we need in this diabetes community. Yeah, because it can feel it can feel very lonely sometimes, but it doesn't have to be Yeah,

Scott Benner 49:24
and you could shift. I mean, it's a, it's a pie in the sky idea for me, but, you know, I have a limited time on the planet, and I have a limited, you know, influence in in this space. And I'd like very much to see if I couldn't shift a generation of thinking, and, you know, maybe we get to a point where, you know, instead of you going to your doctor and saying, Hey, what do you think it'd be Pre-Bolus thing for a meal, the doctor going, I don't even know what you're talking about. Like, wouldn't it be great if a generation from now, people came in saw a spike and said, Hey, are you Pre-Bolus In your meals, you know, like, like, let's change how people Think about it, because you're not going to change the system like that. No, that moves too slowly, like, you know, creeks along like an iceberg. So, you know, you need something that's more nimble, that can change with technology. And I just think this is a, this is a golden moment, you know, all these algorithms are going to be delivered to people over the coming years, you're gonna see a lot more six a one sees on people who previously would not have been able to get out of the nines and 10s. If they were lucky,

Kamaron 50:30
and say, it wasn't even imaginable to me before, before the podcast before the Omni pod index calm with the Omnipod, five. Now, you know, before that, I would not even be imaginable to me to be in the fives, like I hear that. And I'm just like, whoa, like you, you take way too much insulin, or that must be because your blood sugar is low all the time? No, it's just because your blood sugar steady.

Scott Benner 50:54
Yeah. And the only reason you thought that, by the way is because you just didn't have the information you needed. Correct? Yeah, that's great. Like I said, just it's information, just keep pumping it out there and people can can do what they can do with it. And you're gonna help overall, like, Are there going to be people who are overwhelmed by it. And they're just like, I don't understand, or I can't make sense of this. They are. And that's unfortunate. And hopefully, we can find ways to help them as well. But those people weren't going to be helped one way or the other. And so you got to you have to look at the goods.

Kamaron 51:25
That's where the community comes in. Yeah. And you know, you feel like it's too much. It's whatever. But I think when you realize that, like, oh, man, they're dealing with it. So why can I?

Scott Benner 51:34
Yeah. So yeah, I find it helpful to know that, like, I don't have a degree in anything, that I couldn't be a doctor. I think that people can sit in their doctor's office and think well, yeah, of course, you can do it. You went to medical school, I, you know, I'm an idiot. Like, if this guy with the podcast is doing it, like Jesus, maybe anybody can, you know, and I actually believe in that. And I and I hope that's what I'm getting across the peoples. I don't know anything. I mean, I know a lot about diabetes, but I don't have any special ability to think about it that you don't have I just, I just know the information. And yeah, and I apply it when it needs to be applied. Listen, Arden's going through a menstrual thing right now she had a big hormonal impact. And she says to me the other day, I'm going to eat a very large bowl of cereal now. I'm like, okay, she's in school, you know. And she gave herself an aggressive Bolus. And it knocked her blood sugar all the way down to 50. And I texted her, I was like, You all right? And she goes, Yeah, I'm fine. She's like, I feel fine. Like, this is going to trust me. She's like, I eat a lot of cereal. And I'm like, Okay. And it's still like, even though she had Pre-Bolus so much that her blood sugar got to like, 50. You know, after she got done eating, her blood sugar still went up to 170 after that. Now, imagine you don't Pre-Bolus that? Oh, yes, in the three, three, hundreds easy for and for hours, and so up to 170. And then she managed it back down, and she was good. And it's just, you know, like, that's an 18 year old kid at college. Right? So and she doesn't listen to my podcasts, you just listen to me drone on in her ear about it. You know? So I generally believe that if you if you just listen, I know there's so many episodes. But if you just listen through this show, I don't see how you don't have an A one C, at least in the high fives or low sixes when it's when it's over.

Kamaron 53:39
I mean, it's not like you're, you're given a kind of rocket science. It's just like, hey, like, did

Scott Benner 53:44
you ever think about this, you're throwing out things that aren't really given to you information that's not, you know, provided when you're first diagnosed, or when you've been struggling with, with, with diabetes for 10 years, you know, because it's not so like you said, it's not. It's not a new age, it's we're not in a generation where the endocrinologist will be willing to kind of step outside of what's in the textbook that maybe was written, yeah, five years ago, it's a privilege to have the information because so few people get it. I don't want to I'm not going to out anybody. But I was asked to privately give my talk to somebody, like there's a 45 minute talk camera I could give that would like, write, you know, write your thoughts about diabetes. And so this person comes and says, Well, you know, you're having so much success helping people with diabetes, what does it tell them? Like get on a private, you know, thing, and I give the talk. And when it's over, the person says, you know, I knew all that already. And so I was kind of dismissed as well. You You're not saying anything special? I thought you're saying something special. You're helping so many people. You just said things I know and I thought Yeah, you know them Lucky, like you're gonna meet like they don't like, everybody's on that same day. Yeah, it doesn't. And isn't that kind of comforting that they don't need rocket science text to figure out their diabetes, they just need these kinds of common ideas and they need to be reinforced, they need to understand when to use them, they have to understand the impacts to their food and how insulin works, that it's not that hard. And I'm very upfront in the podcast, I say all the time. Like, there's not that much to it. You just don't know it, like you'll you can get to it, you know, when you're purely talking about management, not the psychological stuff in the community and all the other stuff that's really valuable. But I was kind of like, I'm not gonna lie, like, I hope they never hear this, because this good person and everything, but I was like, Man, that was, you know, like, I was like, Yeah, I I said, Yes, it's not groundbreaking information, but I'm very good at delivering it to people. And if and that's a special thing, because if it wasn't, then I wouldn't have a popular podcast because people wouldn't need this information. Right, you know, and so anyway, I was off putting to me I was it actually upset me a little bit. Now,

Kamaron 56:07
you definitely put it out there that I feel like it's very digestible. It's fun to listen to. I mean, I listen, this podcast, I'm on my way to work. Sometimes when I'm in the gym working now, you know, just doing stuff around the house, because it's like I can, I can hear it. And sometimes I can really key in on something that you're saying. And other times it's kind of just like a conversations going on in my in my ear. Yeah. So your, your way, your way of delivering is definitely I think one of the driving factors of the success of this of this podcast, I

Scott Benner 56:40
appreciate that very much. I mean, I have people telling me sometimes like, well, I, you know, I'm not good at learning when I'm listening. And I'm like, Yeah, I understand that. That's not for everybody. And they're like, well, you should do it like this, I'm like, I this is how I do it. But I can't just like make another thing for you. Like, I don't know how much time you think I have left, but they're like, you know, make videos. It's like when she like I have to sleep. I don't know what else to tell you to do this. But I think that, I also think that if they kind of just listened without the intention of learning, just to hear it and absorb it, you'd be surprised at how much information would be at your fingertips when you needed it. Even though if I put a piece of paper in front of you, and tested you, you might not be able to answer the questions. I just think there's something to that I listened to some pretty heavy podcasts where people are talking way over my head about things. And I'm sometimes I'm like, I don't even know what that word means. But I get to the end of it. And I have a general understanding of what they were speaking about that. And I think that's, you know, I think that's what this is, you just have to listen long enough to where a problem pops up. And without thinking, you just go, Oh, I know what I'll do here. I'm gonna set a Temp Basal. And, you know, like that kind of stuff. That's when it becomes really valuable when it becomes second nature. Right?

Kamaron 57:56
because it challenges you and I mean, that's the great thing about listening to podcasts on your phone is like, Okay, well, while he's talking about, you know, while he's talking about different different things that go on with diabetes, like let me just Google that. Let me like, oh, okay, that's what that means. And sometimes that's why you're like your little sub series or your, what do you call them? Like defining diabetes to find like defining diabetes, or the variables or anything with that, that those are always really helpful, because sometimes it's like, Okay, I've heard that word before. But what does that actually mean? Yeah, like, is that something I'm Is that something that I'm dealing with? Or, oh, that finally puts a, I can put a word to what I've been experiencing. So now when I go into the doctor's office, and I talk about, you know, like my gut health, or I talk about different hypo or hyper glycaemia things like, you know, it's, I'm giving you I'm giving them words that maybe they don't, they don't have to like will ask 1000 questions. They're like, okay, yeah, you're dealing with this. Okay. Let's try this. Yeah,

Scott Benner 59:04
yeah, you you have the language to speak to them, and not put them in a position where they're trying to figure out like, what the hell's this guy talking about? Right? Yeah, no, it's Listen, it's, it's terrific. I'm actually Jenny and I are getting ready to start another series. We're finishing up the type two series that we did, which I you know, it's interesting camera, like, it was very important to me to put together a type two series. And it hurt me a little bit like my downloads were down because I put type two information into the podcast, but I didn't care. I was like, I think it's going to help people. So I'm making, I'm making

Kamaron 59:39
definitely there's definitely a market for it. Because when I told my mom about the podcast, she was she started listening and she's just like, you know, he talks a lot about type one stuff and you know, it's good because I have a better understanding of what what you're going through what you've been going through, but she's like, it doesn't really help me much. Right. And so then when I did see I can't remember what I remember who your guest was, but you were talking about type two diabetes and the different the different things that they go through. I shared it with her. And she's like, this is what I needed to hear. Yeah, this is I wish that there was more of this. Is there a type two podcast for? Or is there a podcast for type two diabetics? I'm like, Well, I'm sure there is. But it might not be as good as Scott as

Scott Benner 1:00:24
well, we put together this type two series, which I'm really proud of. It's a very honest conversation about, you know, exercise and food, but also the, you know, how medications can help and insulin can help and technology. So a blend of what I think real world impacts, you know, people, but we're getting we're bundling that up and getting done with it. And we're moving on now we're going to do a debunking series, like we're gonna debunk myths about diabetes. Because there are a lot of Yeah, and because it's funny, as some of them are, I start wondering, like, how many people believe this, you know, so, Jenny and I are going to do kind of a shorter episodes about that. And I just, you know, I think that if I'm going to continue to help people and reach them, the podcast just has to stay current, like, it has to be new information. I mean, man, I could lay back and just point to the Pro Tip series and be like, Look, listen to that you're able to see is gonna go down, because it will, you know, but people people want, they also want content, they also want to be entertained. And they and there's a shocking number of people shocking to me, that know how to manage their diabetes, but just want to hear from other people who have type one. You know, and so that even that's terrific. So I don't know, I appreciate it. So you mentioned we're over time, but if you're okay to keep going? Oh, yeah, sure. What is it you do for a living? Now you no longer are children pulling your insulin pumps offering? No,

Kamaron 1:01:52
nope, not that I am actually a firefighter. And I mean, that, that, and it's so fulfilling, could be a whole could could be a whole episode. But just dealing with that, and like the the variables that go into just my everyday shift, we work 24 hour shifts. So, you know, having to deal with that, having to kind of educate my crew members about diabetes and talking, and I'm not making sense. Or if I, you know, I'm sweating a lot, and it's not really hot. So that just doesn't really make sense. They've, they've learned those things, and you know, it, it can be annoying sometimes, because, you know, maybe I'm just sweating, because I just got done.

Scott Benner 1:02:43
Karen, hold on, you broke up for a second. But hey, I'm sorry, you broke up for a second, but I'm assuming what you were telling me was that sometimes you're just sweaty, and people are like, Hey, man, are you alright? Right?

Kamaron 1:02:54
And it's like, no, I'm just hot, or, you know, I have my gear on. So that's why I'm sweating. And I'm working harder than you. That's why I'm sweating. But I mean, they even know, like, the different sounds that come from my phone or from my PDM. Like, up I know that that sound means and it is it's refreshing to know that I don't have to be embarrassed by it. Yeah. I'm very forthcoming now that I have, you know, diabetes. I wasn't in the beginning of my career, because I felt like, I mean, it was even a hassle just to get on the department with my diabetes had to go see a couple of different doctors for them to say like, okay, yeah, he manages it well enough, this will this won't affect his ability to do the job, things like that. It's been good. And then I don't know if I mentioned it, but ever since getting on the comedy, Part Five, and using this algorithm, it's made it to the point where sometimes like, people ask like is your is your is your is your PDM not working today? Because I haven't heard it beep at all. And I'm like, Whoa, look at this line. I mean, it almost looks like a ruler, because it's so straight. Yeah. I'm just like, oh, so that it must be working out really well for you. It's

Scott Benner 1:04:09
amazing. Isn't it amazing to see like a sea of machine do the thing that we talked about in the Pro Tip series? Like take it away? Give a little more like that kind of stuff. It's so wonderful. I mean, it really is. Yeah, and

Kamaron 1:04:21
it's for me, I think what what helped a lot was just the adjustable Basal. The smart AI. It's not called Smart IQ. It's called what

Scott Benner 1:04:31
else? Oh, geez, isn't that funny? I you got it in my head about control like you with with tandem because they Yeah, but smarter. Just they call it

Kamaron 1:04:41
smarter. Just yeah, sorry. Yeah. Because before, you know, I might have been taking like 35 units of Basal insulin every day, which was way too much and now with this, like sometimes I'm at like 18 or 19 units and I'm just like, man, that would have helped that bouncing around a lot. because I'm getting in so much Basal, and it's making blood sugar low so that I'm eating more, which makes my blood sugar high. Whereas now, you know, I could, I could not eat all day, and my blood sugar would still stay in the 90 to 100 range. That's all I can eat. I can eat like a king. And you know what the right with the right Bolus with the right boluses and carb inputs, you know, still stay at a pretty pretty flat line in the on the CGM. So I'll

Scott Benner 1:05:29
tell you that's one of the more fascinating things about an algorithm is you know, to watch art and like I don't know, sleep in one morning and not have eaten for 12 hours. And our blood sugar is just super stable and she doesn't get low. It

Kamaron 1:05:42
is the best feeling in the world to see like that overnight, your blood sugar didn't jump up or drop down like it stayed right where you want it to be. Just looking at that, like I'll even like before my wife wakes up, I'll be like, Hey, babe, look at this. And she, you know, turn over what do you want? But look how straight that line is? Good, good, good for you. Good for you. Now let me go back to sleep. But it's just something I get excited about still on. I've been on it for a year now.

Scott Benner 1:06:11
So not Oh, no, you just you made me like just talking about it. i It makes me want to talk for 20 minutes about the value of being able to fast like not eat, you know, without, without being like, Oh, I'm gonna get low. Like it just I mean, just to get up in the morning. Like if you have to go to a blood test. And it says, Oh, it's a fasting blood sugar. Or, you know, you're not like, Oh, God, well, what am I going to do? Like, what if I have to eat? Like, what if my blood sugar is definitely gonna get low, and then I'm gonna have you know, just that that little bit of anxiety gone. Just the idea that you can sleep and extra

Kamaron 1:06:43
worry about the net. And it just, it frees up so much space in your mind like not saying I don't think about it, but I know that I can. I can be at work and we can be we can be on scene of a fire for you know, five to six hours. And I know that my blood sugar is not going to drop down.

Scott Benner 1:07:01
Or even if I'm sorry, even if you do get low the value of knowing that it's been cutting back basil for like an hour before that. Like it's not like going to be one of those like crazy falling lows. Like all right, I got low, but at least it's not a panic situation. That right?

Kamaron 1:07:17
Yeah, might have dropped down to 70. Which I mean, I can I mean, having having the tighter control now I can feel that. Whereas before it's like my blood sugar would my sugars being in the 203? Hundreds? Yeah. Right. Yeah, sensitivity has gotten gotten a lot better

Scott Benner 1:07:36
and fantastic glucose monitoring algorithms greatest just really, I I'm excited for them becoming more affordable and more available. You know, you might you might really change like, you know, the the world for a lot of people and their health. Just fairly exciting. Oh, yeah. Yeah, cameras. We haven't talked about that we should have. No, this

Kamaron 1:07:59
was this was great conversation. I guess I just, I like to share my story. Because, you know, people see me now and they're just like, man, you. I wouldn't even I wouldn't even know that you have diabetes, like, you know, kind of going into that myth thing that you're talking about, but they're like, you know, you're not a big person or you're not old or, you know, you don't eat like crap. So how do you have diabetes and psycho had type one diabetes? Yeah. Oh, well, how can you do the job then? Because, you know, I have a cousin that has diabetes, and they're, you know, they're not nearly as fit as us. So just, I guess, talking about the growth that I've had in the 21 years, I've had diabetes, I just talking about it makes me feel like proud of myself and grateful for all the people and the technology that has that has come a very long way. Since my since my initial diagnosis is is a great thing. You have a ton

Scott Benner 1:08:52
of perspective for a younger person two, because it

Kamaron 1:08:56
was an old I got an old soul.

Scott Benner 1:08:59
Yeah, well, yeah, I definitely feel that. But you're also like your diagnosis time was interesting. Like, you weren't in the 80s or the early 90s When everything was just kind of like a mess. Like as far as insulin was going and stuff like that. It was still just very much coming together. Like you came into it 2001 You know, there's not quite like, like CGM is aren't there yet. Like there's a couple more years away. There's a pump or two that are that exist. But it just this thing start happening. You're, you're about ready to start taking care of yourself like so. You know, you you while you were struggling 1718 1920 the industry being that and the technology and the insolence we're just really kind of all coalescing and so when you popped up out of your out of your, you know, out of your hole and you're like, I'm ready to take care of myself. There was an offering of things there to help you do that. The podcast insulin pump Um, better insulin CGM. You just like took off with it. You know, like it's really, really cool. Well,

Kamaron 1:10:08
I'd be, I'd be amiss to say, I didn't pop up out of that hole. My wife pulled me out of

Scott Benner 1:10:14
that. Yeah. Okay. That's very nice. So she,

Kamaron 1:10:16
she is definitely a very big factor of, of my care today. And I mean, and I can even sometimes like I'll I'll be annoyed because so I don't need you to text me that my blood sugar's dropping like I get that on my watch, I get that on my phone, I get that on my PDM. Like, I don't need another notification. But she's just like, Okay, I'm just letting you know, because sometimes I know, like, you hear and you think that you're going to be okay. So she, she stays on top of it, she stays on top of me and with me has has allowed me to be where I'm at today. Yeah,

Scott Benner 1:10:56
it's good for to do that. Because it's easy to get pushed off of that. And like, I get your perspective, I really do. But, you know, I could go on forever about the perspective of a person who cares about somebody who's using insulin. Right, you know, like I was in the car. Yeah, I hear

Kamaron 1:11:13
that all the time when you're talking about art. And I'm just like, Man, I kind of feel like art and sometimes like, yeah, I don't need you texting me, like, leave me alone.

Scott Benner 1:11:21
Please, that happened the other day, just the other day. She had a really. So she had a thing where her she tried to make a site last too long. And I texted her, and I was like, listen, just change this pump before you go to class. And she's like, there's 40 units left in this pod. And I'm like, Yeah, but look like look back over the last six hours. Like it's not, it's just not working the way we want it to. And she went out. And she, you know, tried to eat and her you know, cuz she was holding a decent blood sugar, it was holding it like 120. And it was pushing like the algorithm was giving more insulin but couldn't get it down, which is the site's going bad, right? And so, right, so she tries to eat and that 120 goes to 150. And then now it's creeping, and I'm watching it 161 70 She's in class, like, there's nothing she can do. So we're just like pushing as much insulin through it as we can. And then she gets, I think too hopeful and tries to eat one more meal on the pump. And like, bang, like she's just like, 300 like, it just can't hold up to that crappy college food. And so she, you know, doesn't need me to tell her she goes back, she changes her pump. And she makes a you know, a Bolus. But now you're you're in it. Now camera. Now this is going to be two and a half hours to break this 300 and get it back down again. And so she does a really great job of doing all that. But I'm in the car when it breaks. And I don't know if like when it breaks is that idea that like translates to everybody. But if you have a CGM, like it's a sticky, high, it's a sticky, high, and then all of a sudden, you're like, oh, here it comes. And you're, you know, she's falling double arrows down. Yeah, like, and so I texted her, I'm like, Hey, and she doesn't answer me because she sees the text and goes, Yeah, I know. But I don't know. She knows. And now and I'm in the car. So I called her and she, like, denied the call, and I and she's like, Stop, I know. And I said, Listen, that's cool. And, but I'm in the car, and I can't look. And I know that this isn't, like perfect for you. But I can't drive a half an hour and look up and find out you're dead. Like, I can't live with that, like I need, I need to tell you this. And you know, and, and I believe in you. I know you're taking care of it. And I don't think you're ignoring it. But what if I don't know? What if you just missed it? And then I don't say something? Like that's the part that I don't know that people would diabetes can appreciate. Because they're not on the other side of it. Like, I can't, I can't be the one not to say something if you know, if something bad's gonna happen, like, that's the other. So

Kamaron 1:13:54
she always says she's like, I'd rather annoy you and you stay alive than for me to just say like, Oh, he's got it, and then get a call that, you know, you bought you bottomed out somewhere. Yeah,

Scott Benner 1:14:03
no, please, I'm not gonna I listen, I tell her. I'm like, I love you. I'm just trying to help. I just, you know, I want you to be safe. I believe in you. I know, you've got this. But you know, this is a situation that calls for a little redundancy. And I think she understands it later. It's just in the moment. i It must be so and I can't I can't imagine it must be so irritating in the moment, you know, for you.

Kamaron 1:14:30
It is. And I feel like maybe you could talk to your friends at Dexcom. And just say like, you know, maybe in the follow app, we can put like a chat feature where you can, you know, put a thumbs up like you see that it's dropping low so that you like the person knows who's following you that, Hey, I see this. I've acknowledged it. I'm good.

Scott Benner 1:14:48
It'd be great, wouldn't it just to like be able to like go into the app and just touch something that says I'm aware that this is happening so the people who are following you right just are like, Oh, they know. I know. pleased that said it would be I think that'd be a really great idea. That's just

Kamaron 1:15:03
just a one of my many ideas that I think would make the user interface better. I mean, I can I get that this to save your life? So yeah, and that's and that's what those people who are following you, I think, you know, when they reach out to you because they see that, hey, your blood sugars like double arrow down and you're at, you know, 140 like, maybe you should do something or, you know, your blood sugar has been at 250 for two hours now, like, are you going to take some insulin?

Scott Benner 1:15:35
Right, right. Yeah, going back to Arden cereal story, like the vibe from her was, I can't possibly die. You have no idea how much the cereal is in me right now. And then that's her perspective. Like, she's like, I know, I'm okay. Right? Because

Kamaron 1:15:52
you don't you don't see that you don't see what she's eating. So all you see is the number in the direction of that arrow and it's just like, Oh, I got to do something.

Scott Benner 1:16:01
I enough uncertainty. That's just it's unnerving. You know, and so you need someone to say I know where I got it. And it takes away a lot of the stress on the other side. Well, anyway, I mean, I don't I don't see that changing much. That dynamic seems pretty set in stone and rather human. So anyway, but it's all for the better. Yeah. Oh, my God, please. You have, like, you know, but some people don't know some people are newer to this, the worst CGM their whole life and never know diabetes without it. It ragdolls you when you can't say it. Like you just feel like you're being thrown around some days when you're blind. And there's still plenty of people living without CGM. And they still know that feeling. So that sucks, really does.

Kamaron 1:16:45
I hate when like, you know, at the doctor's office, they'll tell you like, oh, well, you got to, let's wait six months before we talk about putting you on a pump. It's like, well, if the technology is there, like, let's just go ahead and give it to him now. Like, why would why make them suffer to deal with that. But at the same time, I think having that time where I didn't have a CGM, and I didn't have an omni pod, like, it allows me to appreciate like, Man, I got a really good thing here. And like, how was that? How was I surviving before?

Scott Benner 1:17:17
Yeah, well, I agree with that. But you get to have that perspective, because you made it through it. And there, you know what I mean, there are plenty of people who get told like no to an insulin pump, and never go back and never ask again. And they they end up going down a much different path. So like, Yeah, I agree with you. Like, there's part of me that says, Just give it to everybody. Like, what are you doing? There's part of me that appreciates that the struggle builds understanding. I always just kind of default to the idea of like, what about the people who struggle and never come out of it? Like, would it have been better just to slap an algorithm on him? Right, yeah, we

Kamaron 1:17:52
don't always have to learn the hard way. thing, right.

Scott Benner 1:17:57
That might be generational. I don't think my kids think of it that way. Like I don't, I don't need to be hitting the head to learn something. Right. But we'll say, oh, man, it's great. I enjoy talking to you very much camera. I appreciate what to do this.

Kamaron 1:18:07
This was good man. I'd like I said, just just hearing your voice in the in the headphones here. It's like, Man, am I listen to a podcast? No, I'm actually talking to him. So it's good. And just to kind of share my thoughts and hear your opinions about it. It's very valuable.

Scott Benner 1:18:23
I'm glad Thank you. I just listened when I realized how long you've been listen, I like I parked right up. I was like, I can't let this guy down.

Kamaron 1:18:30
I gotta come. I'd say I'm, I'm one of the OGS when it comes to this Juicebox Podcast.

Scott Benner 1:18:35
No kidding. You really are. I appreciate that very much. I'm in I'm being serious to like, I know, everybody can't listen to every episode. Like that's not my intention. I mean, I think if you look like I try to spread things through through one week, where, you know, there's might be a couple things there you're interested in, you might want to listen to all of them, but you, you should at least find something that would would engage you and that you would enjoy. So I'm you know, I'm aware of that. But yeah, I

Kamaron 1:19:03
mean, you use I think your title, your titles of things, you know, definitely sparked interest. Sometimes I'm just like, wait, what, what, what does that have to do? Or, you know, what does that have to do with diabetes? Like, we're that kind of sounds like provocative, like, I'm curious to find out. And then I think it's also kind of like, a marketing genius tool that you use, where you don't give a lot of description in like the podcast, you might give like one sentence and then your, your list of ads or whatever. So it's like, well, I guess I gotta listen to this. So thanks. See, and then once you once you're in it for 20 minutes, you're like, Whoa, this isn't the most exciting, but I'm still gonna listen because I'm already I'm already in it now. So yeah,

Scott Benner 1:19:44
and eventually, even people who you have nothing in common with, I find eventually say something that you're just like, Hmm, I never thought of it that way. And, you know, like, I think that's kind of valuable sometimes is to listen to people that have nothing to do with you. And I I mean, don't get me wrong, like, there's plenty people I interview and I think like I could have done without hearing this I like, but then every time I have that thought, I hear from a bunch of people who are like, I love that app. There's one I have in mind from this year, I got done it and I was like, am I even gonna play this? Like, like, I just I thought, God, this, I thought it sucked. But I really did. And then I added it back. And I thought, no, someone's gonna like this. And I put it up and my God that I get a lot of good feedback about it. And I don't know until you know, yeah, I couldn't even have imagined. Like, if you gave me one that I for sure knew I could have just been like, I'm just going to pretend I lost this one. Like it would it would have been that episode. Man. Did people get back to me? I loved her. This was great. I really, I was like, oh, okay, cool, like, so I don't try to judge any more what I think people enjoy or want to hear like, I just I tried to put it all out there and let them find it. But my point to you was that I appreciate you sticking with it for this long. Because it really is. I know I say it sometimes. But you have no idea. Like this is an absolute full time job. Like I wake up in the morning, I start doing something for this podcast, and there are many nights, I don't stop till nine o'clock at night. And if the podcast didn't have ads, then I couldn't do that. And then the podcast wouldn't exist. And you know, it's because of how people support the show. It's because they listened to it because they drive big numbers to it. That, you know, a certain percentage of those people are like, I could use some sheets, or I do want an omni pod. And yeah, and enough of those people use those links to bring those advertisers back. And those advertisers allow me to get up in the morning and focus on making a podcast for people who have diabetes. So it's really I mean,

Kamaron 1:21:48
those ads, they definitely work because like when I first started listening, all I had was the Omni pod. And then I started listening and I was like this Dexcom thing kind of sounds cool. I should try that out. Yeah, I went to went to the link that you had and one of the show notes and like got into it. And then like once I had it I understood like man, yeah, this is a great tool to have. So and I mean, and like you were saying, you do this so much. Like, even when I think like me, Okay, I've got this thing really down. I listened to a pot. I listened to an episode. I'm just like, Oh, okay. Yeah, that's, that's an interesting take on that. Like I should. I should try that. Yeah, it's helpful.

Scott Benner 1:22:30
I appreciate it very much. I really do.

Kamaron 1:22:32
I did have one question. I did have one question for you though. I don't know if he lets go edit this out. But with the so when I'm listening to the podcast, like I subscribed,

Scott Benner 1:22:43
you broke up Cameron, hold on a second.

Kamaron 1:22:47
But you always talk column downloads? Oh, I know that you can download the episode but I just listened to it is that how is that helping or hurting you're hurting your numbers or anything? Exact

Scott Benner 1:22:56
same thing. So I think the the download just comes from back in the day to listen to a podcast you actually had to download onto your device. And so now we stream most people stream their their their content, right? Okay, so a download or a stream to me is the same thing. It's a it's it's a delivered episode.

Kamaron 1:23:18
Yeah, cuz I was feeling bad one day, I was like, oh, man, I don't I don't download these episodes. Like I just click on it and it starts playing and I feel like if I listened to it all the way through then it counts as it does it should count towards his towards his metrics. But no, it absolutely does. I mean, if you've maybe I'll go through and just start letting letting all these podcasts that didn't listen to play through or maybe I have to click download on all of them. Well, just so you know, Scott can get his numbers. This is the

Scott Benner 1:23:43
level of of, of interest I want from people listening. Thank you very much. But no, it's if you listen to a show, like technically, you've you're downloading it slowly as you stream it, it's just not being saved. So it's all the same. It's all the metrics just, it's listen and listen through. So, you know, I can see, like, I can actually see where people stay till where they drop off. It's interesting, you know, it's very interesting. My listen through rate is really high. And I'm proud of that, like, more people out of every 100 than our normal for podcasts. actually listen to the entire episode, which is really cool. And, and I appreciate it very much. Yeah, no, thank you. You can I'll leave this and I appreciate you caring very much.

Kamaron 1:24:33
All right. Cool. Yeah, man. It was great. I like this.

Scott Benner 1:24:37
I appreciate it. Tell your wife I said. Hello. Sounds like she she saved your life. That's pretty cool. How many kids? Hey, how many kids do you have in total now?

Kamaron 1:24:47
I have three have three sons three boys. Wow.

Scott Benner 1:24:51
Wow. Do they have any autoimmune or do you have any other autoimmune stuff, Cameron?

Kamaron 1:24:55
Nope. I do not know. And I was here you asked this question to people and they're just like, Well, no. I don't but then I have this or I know I have that and I'm like, Well, that's an autoimmune disease.

Scott Benner 1:25:06
That's why I ask because I don't think people know most of the time like no, I don't have any autoimmune stuff. I do have been a Lago like Wait. Okay, hold on.

Kamaron 1:25:15
But, but yeah, no, no, none of my boys do. There was a time where I thought that my middle son, he would we do that we did the trial net thing and came back that, you know, he was he was good. Didn't have any of the markers or anything.

Scott Benner 1:25:34
That's great. I'm glad. So far. Good. Good. I'm glad. I hope everybody stays that way. Anyway, thank you very much. Can you hold on for a second for me? Sure, thanks.

Want to thank Cameron for coming on the show and sharing his story. And I'd also like to thank us met not just for getting me art and supplies quickly and easily, but for sponsoring the show us med.com/juice box or call 888-721-1514 Get your diabetes supplies from us met. Please don't forget to check out touched by type one.org and find them on Instagram and Facebook and give them a follow. They really are helping people with type one diabetes in a unique and special way. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and that app

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#1068 Turkey Tutorial Remastered

Prepare for Thanksgiving—or any day—with Scott as he applies all the core principles of the podcast to this potentially anxiety-producing holiday. He discusses tried-and-true concepts like being bold with insulin, bumping and nudging, using increased temp basals and extended boluses to provide a “blanket” of insulin to help make the grazing and unusual mix of food associated with the day easier. Episode first aired on November 21, 2017 as episode 139.

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.

+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

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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, welcome to episode 1068 of the Juicebox Podcast

Today's episode is quick and to the point. It's called Turkey tutorial. This episode is a mainstay on the podcast if you're new to the show, you might not know it. If you've heard it before you're in for a treat because the audio has been completely Remastered. This episode first dropped on November 21st 2017. What you're getting is a quick kind of, it's a pep talk, and it's a pep talk for how to Bolus on a day full of food. I put it up around Thanksgiving, for obvious reasons, but the truth is, what you hear inside will work for you every day. 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. If you're looking to save 40% off of your sheets and towels and other comfortables use the offer code juice box at checkout at cozy earth.com. And don't forget to check out all of the sponsors. Right there in the show notes of your podcast player where juicebox podcast.com.

This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the Omni pod five, Omni pod.com/juice box, my daughter has been wearing an omni pod every day since she was four years old, she is now 19. And I am completely comfortable saying to you that you should go and learn more about Omni pod five, or the Omni pod dash at Omni pod.com/juice box where the same insulin pump that my daughter wears, check out Omni pod. Just gonna go through a couple of ideas, talk about them very briefly. And then I'm going to ready? Let's jump right in. When I'm making insulin decisions. For Arden, I have a bunch of tenants to some basic concepts that I consider each time. So I'm going to mention one of them. I'm gonna talk about it for a little bit. Here's the first one, do you find yourself being accepting of high glucose levels higher than you want them to be because you're afraid of insulin, I understand if that's how you feel. But you need to get over that you have to get past that part until you dispense with your fear and stop looking at a 200 and going well. 200 is not bad. 150 is not too bad. At least it's not 250 until you can stop doing that your own head, it's going to be difficult to move on. So you have to dispense with the fear. Fear and diabetes do not go hand in hand unless you let them. Insulin is like fire in as much as it should be respected but not feared. It's a simple concept. Sometimes it's hard to bring into practice. Don't be afraid Be bold. You'd much rather have a lower blood sugar to deal with than a higher blood sugar to deal with, especially on Thanksgiving. I mean, wouldn't you rather have a 60 than a 260? Right? Wouldn't you rather be fighting with a 70 Diagonal down that might need a little more food, especially on a day when there's so much food around the house anyway, then a 270 Diagonal up. You don't want to be fighting with a 300. That's sort of how a day like Thanksgiving gets ruined, you get a blood sugar up and now the anxiety, the guilt and the insulin in your Bolus and eventually you crack the 300 all sudden it's crashing down. You'd much rather just overdo it a little bit with insulin, and then just have to stop a little bit of a low. The next thing you need to consider is action time. How long does your insulin take to begin working? And how does that affect your blood glucose you need to understand that you're never going to be able to balance the insulin the carbs together if you don't understand how the insulin works, when the insulin goes in how long until it starts moving my blood sugar. This is incredibly important to understand and very easy to figure out. Whatever your blood sugar is right now, if it's 150 and you haven't had insulin for a few hours, give yourself some insulin. When do you see it start to move, do a little testing little trial and error figure it out once you understand how long it takes for the insulin to begin working. That is a key building block for the rest of what you're going to do. Okay, next big thing. Big part. Here we go. When your blood glucose levels are high, you've likely miss timed, miscalculated or combination of the both your insulin exactly the same if your blood sugar is low. You have Miss timed, miscalculated, or possibly a combination of those two. You've lost the balance between carbs and insulin. But there's no great secret about why your blood sugar's high. We sometimes can get caught up in the whys like Is it because of my pump is old or maybe my insulin tool. Do you see people all the time going through all the myriad of things? Why is my kids blood sugar 250 I can't figure it out, here's why you don't have enough insulin. The reason you don't have enough insulin really isn't important in the moment more insulin, it's something to understand in a bigger way, because it has applications throughout diabetes. If your blood sugar's high, you haven't used enough insulin. And if your blood sugar's low, you've used too much insulin. Now, maybe that's a balance between the timing and the amount. But still, it's a basic concept that will hold true over and over again, here's a simple rule of thumb I use all the time it cannot be overstated. Trust yourself, and what your experiences with diabetes have taught you. Very simple. It's a convoluted sentence that makes the point, you have to believe that what you know is going to happen is going to happen. If I Bolus this much I know this is going to happen if he eats that, but I don't give him insulin until he's done, I know this is going to happen, you have to trust that you know what's going to happen is going to happen. And then you need to do something to stop it from happening. Here's another one that's very important, especially on Thanksgiving. Don't confuse carb counting with carb understanding. Because not all carbs are created equal. You can't just say, well, that's 30 carbs, it's going to do this, it needs this much insulin, that's not true. 30 carbs of one food may affect your blood sugar much differently than 30 carbs of another food, it is much better for you to look and say that's two slices of bread. I know when two slices of bread are consumed, it requires this much insulin. Forget that two slices of bread are five carbs less if it's that kind of bread or five carbs more for that kind of how much insulin is it going to take for those slices of bread? When you look at a pile of stuffing? How many pieces of bread are there? How much insulin is that going to take? Don't worry about the count or the amount of the weight? Worry about what you know what happened last time when he ate the sandwich? How much insulin did it take, let's say I looked at a food and I thought I can lower my carbs. I said that's five units of insulin. Then I gave the five units of insulin, I did a reasonable Pre-Bolus. And still, my blood sugar ended up at 250. And I had to do three more units to bring it back down to where I wanted it. Well, if it took five units up front and three units to bring it back, you probably needed eight units of insulin. Give it all up front, get rid of the spike. If you really time the Pre-Bolus Well, we're gonna talk about Pre-Bolus in a minute. But if you're really time that Pre-Bolus Well, maybe you don't need the full eight, maybe it's only seven. These numbers are specious. They're not specific to you. But you need to figure that part out. I use this much, then this happened. So I needed this much more. I probably needed that whole amount up front. That's the rule. I can tell you that I Bolus the amount that I think is correct. I really never count carbs. I never worry about what my insulin to carb ratio is tell me, I worry about what I historically know that food is going to require. Same thing with a high blood sugar. I see a high blood sugar that stuck and I need to Bolus for I don't worry about what the pump says. I worry about what works. Okay, Basal rates for those of you who are pumping. If you find yourself bolusing all the time, your Basal rates are probably not correct. You should not need the Bolus just to keep a blood sugar where you want it. Don't be afraid to adjust your Basal rates even temporarily. Well, let's use Thanksgiving is an example. If there's going to be more food, the food is going to be more consistent than usual on Thanksgiving, increase your basil by how much? I don't know. I can't tell you you can figure that out. But I can tell you that when I make adjustments to Arden's Basal rates, I usually move them 30% of the time. I'm just going to jump in here for just a moment. Omni pod.com/juice box Omni pod is sponsoring this episode of the podcast. And they'd love it. If you'd go check out the new Omni pod five, or the Omni pod dash at my link, Omni pod.com/juice box tubeless insulin pumping. It's the way it's meant to be. Go check it out and get started today. There are links in the show notes and links at juicebox podcast.com to Omni pod and all the sponsors. When you click on these links, you're supporting the production of the podcast. When she has a growth spurt. I'm starting to Bolus too much to keep blood sugar's where I want them. I raised her basil rate I raise it by 30%. See what happens. So you can use temporary basil on days where you're going to be really food heavy. I think on Thanksgiving. I'm going to talk about what our day is going to be like at the end but I'm going to start setting Temp Basal for Arden right away in the morning. Managing type one diabetes is all about understanding the limitations of manmade insulin, having the nerve to be bold when you're using it. And most importantly, acting first. When you wait for diabetes to attack you. You will always be on the Defense Act don't react. I'd rather Bolus and have something happen, then at least I can say, Okay, I did this and that happened next time. I'll do this. It brings up a very simple formula for diabetes. It's the it's the E equals MC were of the Juicebox Podcast, I Bolus to half a unit, the blood sugar moved 40 points, I wanted it to move at points. So next time I'll Bolus a unit, I Bolus 10 units, but my blood sugar still went up to 150. Maybe next time, I'll do this much. I did this, this happen, I wanted this to happen. Next time, I'll do this, the E equals MC squared of the Juicebox Podcast. Okay, let's

talk about Pre-Bolus thing and the tug of war of the carbs and the insulin, I want you to picture a tug of war between the carbohydrates and your insulin, in the middle of the rope is a flag. Now, unlike most tug of wars, the goal isn't for one side to win, the goal is for both sides, the pole and the flag to never move from the center. That is the balance of your blood sugar, that flag, if you start eating, when your blood sugar is 180, you're going to be high, there's not a lot you can do about it unless you're credibly aggressive with with insulin at the time. And that's maybe hard for some of you to do. So give yourself a chance at these meals and Pre-Bolus. Now, I can't tell you how much of a Pre-Bolus is right? But we did talk earlier about understanding how your insulin works. Get that understanding of yourself, can I give myself insulin, 15 minutes before I eat, can I give it to myself? 10 minutes, 20 minutes, it differs for everybody. But what you want to happen when the food starts affecting your body, you need the insulin to already be working. So that while the carbs are pulling up on your blood sugar, the insolent is pulling down, and they're fighting and they're pulling on that tug of war rope but they're not winning, no one's winning, because no one got a head start, you give one of them a head start, that's going to be the side that wins. If the carbs pull first, then they're always going to be winning and you're gonna have a hard time to get back into that game unless you add so much insulin that eventually you all go crashing the other way you don't want that. If the insulin pulls too soon before the carbs start working, you're gonna get really low and you don't want that either. You want the insulin and the carbohydrates to pull at the same time. And the most important thing is they need to stop pulling at the same time. A low after a meal just means that you had insulin left in your body after the carbs were gone. A high after a meal means you had carbs left in your body after the insulin was gone. It's all about the timing. Remember what I said if your blood sugar's high, you've either miscalculated or mis timed and if your blood sugar's low, you've either miscalculated or you've missed time, a significant Pre-Bolus one that allows the insulin to be working when the food starts working, is key. If you want to stop a spike at a mealtime, that's it. Now if you didn't stop the spike, don't just wave your hands ago, I got it wrong. You see a blood sugar that's going up, attack it, especially if you have a Dexcom CGM stop the arrow. But I mean, with a big carb heavy meal like this, your kid eats test again and a half an hour see where you're at. If you're 200 a half an hour after a meal, you miscalculated or miss time, you may need more insulin, how much more is up to you. But you want to stop that rise and get it back where you want to without overtraining. And that is really one of the last points. You can't over treat. You can't over treat a low you can't panic and pack in the whole refrigerator for a low and you can't panic and packing too much insulin for high or you will be up and down all day long. It's about bumping and nudging your blood sugar if you have a Dexcom. Think of that line on your CGM graph is something you're just trying to nudge just up and down like a little video game. Just try not to leave the lines. And if you're testing, and you don't have a CGM test frequently and bump and nudge and bump and nudge, keep pushing that blood sugar back to where you want and expect good things for yourself. Set a goal for yourself of around 100 have around 80 of around 90, because often you get what you expect, especially with a CGM. Please move your tolerance lines to a lower spot. You don't want a high tolerance on your CGM of 200. It's too late by then pull it 130 react upfront. Remember what we said you're either going to attack or be attacked, you would much rather act first. So axial 130 Diagonal up, bump it with a little bit of insulin, see a 70 Diagonal down, bump it with a tiny bit of carbs. Or maybe you can even stop a 90 day going down by just restricting your Basal for a little bit. You'd much rather do little bumps than giant corrections. As someone once said high blood sugars cause low blood sugars because you're sending so much insulin and you're bound to get a low later. When you bump and you nudge they're just these tiny little corrections. They don't really have the opportunity to push you too far one way or the other. So on Thanksgiving morning we're going to wake up we're going to fall one of my wife's family traditions of having cinnamon buns. Now I'm going to get up a little bit before my daughter to make sure that her blood sugar is nice and low and steady so that when I Pre-Bolus for these cinnamon buns, I have a good starting point for the day. There is nothing more important than a good starting point. After that there's going to be food around the house all day I'm going to be using Temp Basal rates increased I will stop them and start them as need be when it's time for them. meal, I am going to look at the plate, I'm going to do my best to decide how much insulin this is going to take. And I am going to Pre-Bolus. I'm going to be bold when I Pre-Bolus. And I'm going to try to time the food in my daughter with the insulin beginning to work to get that tug of war that we talked about. If I miss, either with too much insulin or too little insulin, I'm going to make small adjustments. And I'm going to keep on top of it during the day, it's going to take a little bit of effort, but not a lot. And I'll tell you what, it's way better than having blood sugars all day that make you feel sick to your stomach, that give your kids a foggy feeling that make them have a terrible time and give you the guilt that you know you don't want. And if you're an adult living with type one diabetes, trust me, it's much easier to pay attention up front to make the small decisions that give you good outcomes than it is to be stuck thinking about this all day long. Towards the end of the day, we'll do our best when the pie comes out and the ice cream and all that to keep ahead of it. And if she gets a little low at some point, we'll add a fast acting card where it's necessary, because it is far easier to stop a low or falling blood sugar than it is to affect the high one. But I'm not going to let this day be ruined by the fear and the anxiety and high blood sugars. I don't think you should either. Please remember that nothing you heard today is advice, medical or otherwise, I wish you a ton of luck and success on Thanksgiving. I hope that being bold helps you. And if you're listening after Thanksgiving, these things that I do. I do them every day of the year, not just on Thanksgiving. I just thought today would be a really nice day to say Happy Thanksgiving. Here's some of the things we've been talking about in the last 138 episodes, the Juicebox Podcast, please if you're just finding this episode, now go back and listen, there are hundreds literally, of conversations with people just like you. We talked about type one diabetes, what it's like to live with it, what it's like to try to management. These kinds of tips and tricks are scattered throughout every episode. I think you'll love them. So that episode was Wow, November 21 2017, and episode 139. There are now over 1000 episodes of the podcast. Actually a number of the episodes are grouped together so they're easier for you to find you can go to juicebox podcast.com. And kind of look at these with me if you want or you can go in the private Facebook group Juicebox Podcast, type one diabetes, and go up into the feature tab. They're listed there as well. But we have the diabetes Pro Tip series. Now that's also recently remastered and runs between Episode 1001 1026. But there's also the diabetes variable series mental wellness type two diabetes Pro Tip series how we eat defining thyroid defining diabetes bold beginnings algorithm pumping after dark. Ask Scott and Jenny and much more. You just want to talk about the management, the nuts and bolts of diabetes. Everything you need is right here at the Juicebox Podcast. If you're new to the show and you'd like to hear more, please subscribe or follow in a podcast app like Spotify or Apple podcasts. If you don't know about those apps, you can also find a list of them at juicebox podcast.com.

I'd like to thank you for coming and I also want to thank Omni pod for sponsoring this episode of The Juicebox Podcast Omni pod.com/juice box find out more about the honoree pod five or the Omni pod dash and use my link to get started today. I also want to thank everyone who shares the podcast with other people and remind you to check out the private Facebook group Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes and of course, happy Thanksgiving or whatever meal you're using this episode for. I hope you have a good one. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast.

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Please support the sponsors

The Juicebox Podcast is a free show, but if you'd like to support the podcast directly, you can make a gift here. Recent donations were used to pay for podcast hosting fees. Thank you to all who have sent 5, 10 and 20 dollars!

Donate