Scott Benner 5/27/25 Scott Benner 5/27/25

#1533 Multiple Wars on Multiple Fronts

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Die-hard fan Sabrina joins the fight across algorithms, skeptics, and influencers to amplify diabetes truths through the podcast.

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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
Welcome back, friends. You are listening to the Juicebox Podcast.

Sabrina 0:15
Hi, my name is Sabrina. I am 33 years old, and I have had type one diabetes for 27 years.

Scott Benner 0:23
If you're looking for community around type one diabetes, check out the Juicebox Podcast. Private Facebook group. Juicebox Podcast, type one diabetes, but everybody is welcome. Type one type two, gestational loved ones. It doesn't matter to me if you're impacted by diabetes, and you're looking for support, comfort or community, check out Juicebox Podcast. Type one diabetes on Facebook. It's medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the Dexcom g7 the same CGM that my daughter wears. Check it out now at dexcom.com/juicebox, this episode is sponsored by the tandem Moby system, which is powered by tandems, newest algorithm control iq plus technology. Tandem Moby has a predictive algorithm that helps prevent highs and lows, and is now available for ages two and up. Learn more and get started today at tandem diabetes.com/juicebox

Sabrina 1:31
Hi. My name is Sabrina. I am 33 years old, and I have had type one diabetes for 27

Scott Benner 1:37
years. 27 years, wow, were you like six?

Sabrina 1:40
I was, yeah, good math.

Scott Benner 1:42
Oh, I don't know. It's a seven, three goes to 10, and then you're, it's not that hard. We were doing that the other day in what were you doing? We were playing a game, the hell's, I think it's a board game. Was called worst case scenario, which was fun. Like ever you picked five random cards, you laid them out, they had, like, horrible things, like on them, like swim with sharks to, like, just crazy stuff. And then you had to rate them one through five, and then the other players had to guess how you would rate them. It was fun, and fun, yeah, it's a good time. So you keep score, like, you know, and you know, have a bunch of rounds. So by the time you're done, like, you have a four, you have a three, you have a five, you have a two, like, everything. And we're like, trying to, like, meanwhile, it's like, it's my like, who even cares who won, right? But we're adding up the score. And I was like, Can I have that? Because they were like, writing it out. One person was like, let me get a calculator, like, this kind of thing. And I just took the paper. I am not known as a math wizard in my home. And so, like, I just took the paper, and I was like, four, 610, 313, eight, and I just added the line of numbers up very quickly. And I everyone looked at me like, what's going on? I was like, Oh, this is, like, the one math thing I can do. I was like, I can add a ton of like, random numbers together visually. And they were like, Oh, we didn't think you had any math skills whatsoever.

Sabrina 3:06
Gotta love your family.

Scott Benner 3:08
They were stunned. And like, one of them looked at me, and I was like, Do you feel compelled to check the answer? And my son goes a little. I was like, listen, it's like, the one thing I can do. So he says, I don't understand. Why are you so good at that? And I told him, it's be it's how I used to cover for not understanding multiplication when I was little interesting. Yeah. So I didn't know my times tables. Do they teach you? You're 33 year old.

Sabrina 3:35
I learned my time stables. Yeah,

Scott Benner 3:37
yeah. We had this guy. He's probably dead now. His name was sagola. That was his last name, and he was a horrible little man, very mean. And every Friday would give you a simple times table quiz with 100 on. There was 100 questions, and they were rapid fire, and I would get 70 of them. I think I would get the ones and the twos right. I want to be clear, this was like fourth grade. So my point is, I should have been able to do like, three times six, and I was so bad at it. And then what everyone you got wrong, you had to go home over the weekend and write it out 10 times. So I'd get 70 wrong and have to sit down all and write out 700 multiplication problems. Did

Sabrina 4:23
you just do that multiplication 70 times? Yes, thank

Scott Benner 4:27
you. I did. I'm proud

Sabrina 4:29
of you. Scott, no,

Scott Benner 4:30
thank you. But the thing is, Sabrina and to Mr. Segola is ghost, if it can hear this, that did not help me. I taught myself out of necessity to do simple multiplication. This is super embarrassing. Oh God, here we go. I failed Algebra in sixth or seventh grade, and had to go to summer school to make up the credit, which is horrifying. I had to sit down and teach myself the one through 10 times table so I could get through that class. That's when I taught and I taught it to myself in, like, an afternoon. Anyway, his thing didn't work. But now I can randomly, like, look at a string of numbers and be like, seven, four, that's 11, and I don't know, like, it's the one thing I can do. This is not important. This is really just to get you comfortable and relaxed. Because you said you were nervous. How are you doing now? Oh, I'm okay. Good, good, good. Tell people how much you love me. I

Sabrina 5:22
have listened to every single episode of the podcast. I am a mega fan. Oh

Scott Benner 5:27
my gosh, Sabrina, thank you. This is wonderful. When did you begin to listen?

Sabrina 5:31
I listened in 2020, so starting COVID, I got a new job and had a lot of time where I was working, but also wanted some auditory stimulation. Looked out to try to find something that was entertaining and would not just be brain rot, so I looked for a diabetes podcast. Of course, your search engine optimization is great. Thank you. Listen to your podcast. Started at the beginning because I have weird podcast tendencies where I don't like to start in the middle and just kept listening like a crazy person. Do you know,

Scott Benner 6:12
if I thought there was a way to fix it, I would make the first episode, not the first episode. You know

Sabrina 6:18
what? I skipped the first episode. Yeah. So I lied to you. I did not listen to every episode of the podcast. Oh,

Scott Benner 6:23
no. Then it feels like this is over our little conversation. Well, that's really, first of all, I want to say something, because I am definitely going to make T shirts that say, would you say? How'd you say? Not brain rot, like whatever, however you said, That was perfect. I thought that's a t shirt. That's like, the best review I've ever gotten, entertaining. Not brain rot. I was like, good enough, but that's really, it's lovely. I would have no way to expect that. I mean, honestly, I mean, you listen to me better than people who love me. So I don't know how to put this exactly like that seems like a lot to me, and I really appreciate,

Sabrina 6:57
yeah, I'm sorry for embarrassing. No, no, it's

Scott Benner 6:59
not. It's not, it's it's nice. I mean, the podcast really just exists because people stop reading. Really, is it? Like, I swear to you? Like, as I watched blogging disappearing, I had this overwhelming feeling like, Oh, I get like, notes, and this helps people, and now it won't help anybody anymore. And I thought that sucks. And I have this thing I know that, like, people, like, jive with that's it really like. And I was just looking for another way to get it out there. As you know, media was changing so and then COVID. Thank God for COVID. You never would have found me right? I'm just kidding about the fact. I mean, it had,

Sabrina 7:38
it had a lot of negatives and it had a lot of positives. And it's just, it's the way of life. You know, you take the good with the

Scott Benner 7:45
bad. I think another t shirt would be five positive things from COVID, then you get to fill it in with a marker. That'd be a fun t shirt for people. I just thought not going to restaurants anymore was the best part of it, because of how much money I

Sabrina 7:58
saved, yeah, but I started doing takeout, more digital. Yeah, I cooked

Scott Benner 8:03
so much, and now it's that weird time in winter where I've given up on cooking. Does that happen to you? Like, these are times of year where you're just like, I'm probably not gonna cook anything this week.

Sabrina 8:13
No, I try to be disciplined and cook a couple meals a week, at

Scott Benner 8:19
least. Good for you. Now, I looked up the other day and I thought, I'm failing as a husband and a father, because I was just like, there's leftovers there. They're like, what is it? I'm like, it's like, pasta and chicken. Just heat it up. You'll be fine. People look so disappointed. I was like, I already ate mine, so you're screwed. What makes you want to come on the podcast? I

Sabrina 8:39
just like, I said, I'm a mega fan. I've been listening for so long, it just felt like that was the next step in my mega fan journey. I sound like a crazy person. No,

Scott Benner 8:50
sounding crazy. This is good for me. Are you going to stop listening after this? Is like this, no, because I'll hang up right now. Like I don't. I need the I need the downloads. I need. I need the consistency from some of you guys. I'm going to ask you about your diabetes because I feel like people would expect that. I'll just tell you first that. I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining. The hamster wheel you're on when you make something like this is insane. You just can't stop and you have to find a way to be competitive with it, because it is a lot of work. Like the conversation part of it This is simple. Like, I do this every day, honestly, about every day, like I have a conversation with somebody. I love it. I think it's awesome. If I think if nobody was listening, I would do it right. So that part's not It's not tough making enough money to pay an editor. That's tough making enough money to pay for computers. That's tough making enough money that your wife doesn't go let's stop pretending you're a podcaster. That part is just never ending, like I'm gonna finish with you today, and then I've gotta go. There are two companies that want new ads, and they don't send you. Scurry. Trips. They say, look, take what you know about us and our stuff. And here are some talking points that we'd like to be involved in the conver in this, you know, one minute conversation. Now sit down and try to and so I have to sit down and like, I have to make four ads today, is what I'm telling you. It's going to eat up like, three hours of my life. I'm not complaining. It's way better than what I used to do for work. But then I'm going to send them to them, and they're going to listen, and they're going to go, Oh, our lawyer said you can't say the before this word. And I go, Oh, okay. And we didn't really like the way you said this. And I'm like, Oh, you don't like the word. And go, No, you didn't. We don't like your tone, my tone. You're about to hear more tone, and then that'll go back and forth for a couple of weeks. And then one day they'll just be like, okay, they're done. I'm like, Okay, awesome. And then, you know, we'll send them off to rob, and Rob will insert them and and then there's meetings with PR people, which are sometimes feel endless, because they have their goals. And you're like, I am not putting that person on the podcast. Like, I like, it's nice that you think this is a story people care about. I don't think anybody cares about this. Like, so now you're the gatekeeper, and now people are mad at you and, like, and then you get a note from somebody, how come you're not looking more into whatever their pet idea about diabetes is? Like, now it's suddenly my fault that the thing they care about doesn't get amplified more. And I'm like, I'm just doing what I think is interesting anyway. All of that stuff is exhausting. And then that feeling of like you're on a list, you have to stay at the top of that list. If you don't stay at the top of that list, then this happens, and that happens. You got to get more people to follow and listen. And that is endless. And I hate it. I just want to be clear. I just want to be really clear. I hate it this. It was so much more fun. I guess I'm not complaining that it's not as much fun. It was just so much more fun to make the thing, put it out and have people just listen or not listen and kind of not care anyway. I said all that because people like you who listen and actually turn the thing on every day and, like, check it out. It's such a big thing for me. Like, the base of fans that do that is the thing that makes all of this, like, actually work. So anyway, thank you very much, as I think what I was getting at, but I had to complain first, because I think it's in my nature. And, yeah, yeah. Also, it's a podcast. You're six years old. What do you like in first grade when you're diagnosed?

Sabrina 12:20
I was in kindergarten. I missed the last four days of kindergarten. Yeah, the best time they had a party, they had cake. I did not get to partake in that

Scott Benner 12:32
you were in the hospital. I was in the hospital. How did it come on? Do you remember any of it? Or is it stories through your parents? That you

Sabrina 12:39
know, it's stories through my parents. I think my mom caught it really quickly. She said I was, I didn't drink a lot of fluid normally, but I would, you know, throw back a glass of water juice and ask for more. I wasn't wetting the bed normally. And I started to, you know, diabetes, things, yeah. And she took me to the doctor and checked me out of school, and the next thing I remember, I was headed to the hospital.

Scott Benner 13:07
She knew diabetes right away, or she just knew something was wrong.

Sabrina 13:12
I'm not sure she has she has an interesting background. She worked, she had a lot of odd jobs, so she has got a degree in biology, so she has that medical scientific background, so I think she may have just known something was wrong, but she may have known diabetes. Is

Scott Benner 13:32
there any other diabetes in the family? I asked,

Sabrina 13:35
and she said that she had some cousins, but she thought it was on, like, married into the family, but no one that was super closely related.

Scott Benner 13:45
Okay, and how about you? At this point? Do you have anything else going on? I have thyroid issues.

Sabrina 13:50
Of course, we have a lot of thyroid issues in the family. Like all of the women on my mom's side have some sort of sort of thyroid issue. I don't think anyone's tested to see if it's autoimmune or Hashimotos. But feel like, feel like, if everyone has it, maybe there's something going on there. You don't

Scott Benner 14:08
think it's just random that nine of you got, like, a thyroid problem. Probably not random. It's funny. Do you know a lot of the people who have the thyroid issues? Because I'm going to ask, like, a more generalized question, if you do this episode is sponsored by tandem Diabetes Care, and today I'm going to tell you about tandems, newest pump and algorithm, the tandem mobi system with control iq plus technology features auto Bolus which can cover missed meal boluses and help prevent hyperglycemia. It has a dedicated sleep activity setting and is controlled from your personal iPhone. Tandem will help you to check your benefits today through my link, tandem diabetes.com/juicebox, this is going to help you to get started with tandem, smallest pump yet that's powered by its best algorithm ever control iq plus technology helps to keep blood sugars in range by. Predicting glucose levels 30 minutes ahead, and it adjusts insulin accordingly. You can wear the tandem Moby in a number of ways. Wear it on body with a patch like adhesive sleeve that is sold separately. Clip it discreetly to your clothing or slip it into your pocket head. Now to my link, tandem diabetes.com/juicebox, to check out your benefits and get started today, you can manage diabetes confidently with the powerfully simple Dexcom g7 dexcom.com/juicebox the Dexcom g7 is the CGM that my daughter is wearing. The g7 is a simple CGM system that delivers real time glucose numbers to your smartphone or smart watch. The g7 is made for all types of diabetes, type one and type two, but also people experiencing gestational diabetes. The Dexcom g7 can help you spend more time in range, which is proven to lower a 1c The more time you spend in range, the better and healthier you feel. And with the Dexcom clarity app, you can track your glucose trends, and the app will also provide you with a projected a 1c in as little as two weeks. If you're looking for clarity around your diabetes, you're looking for Dexcom, dexcom.com/juicebox when you use my link, you're supporting the podcast, dexcom.com/juicebox, head over there now.

Sabrina 16:27
So my grandma had it. She has passed. She lived to 100 she she's been gone for a couple years now, so I knew her pretty well. My mom has thyroid issues, and I'm close with my mom, so maybe I can answer your

Scott Benner 16:41
question. Okay, okay, so Mike, I guess my question is, is, does it manifest similarly for everybody, or does everybody else have a different complaint?

Sabrina 16:49
I think it manifests pretty so we all have trouble losing weight. Okay, that's the big one. Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. And and then other issues My sister has, PCOS. I think I might have PCOS as well, but in order to test for that, they'd have to take me off of birth control, which I think is helping with the PCOS. So we're just never going to know. How

Scott Benner 17:14
long have you been on the birth control

Sabrina 17:16
for a while, 10 years I had, we're going to talk about my period wonderful. I had pretty horrific periods as a teenager. I would just get really, really, really sick. I would get like, hot flashes, like not able to exist as a human being. Being on birth control made that a lot easier.

Scott Benner 17:42
Anything else, acne, mood swingy, anything like that. Oh,

Sabrina 17:46
I'm sure I was mood swingy. If you ask my my mom or my sister, I'm sure they would tell you that, and then acne, but I don't know if it was, it wasn't like terrible acne, probably just like regular teenage acne, but it did seem pretty cyclical. Gotcha?

Scott Benner 18:03
Yeah. And so you got on the birth control so early that you probably have it's, it's working for the if you have PCOS, it feels, it feels like it's working for it, yeah. What does your sister do?

Sabrina 18:15
She was on birth control. She also had some difficulty getting pregnant, but she has two beautiful children. She's got my niece and my nephew, nice, but had had trouble getting pregnant because of the PCOS Gotcha.

Scott Benner 18:32
Well, I mean, listen, all this conversation has taught me so far is that thyroid issues let you live till you're 100 so that's what I heard, seriously, right? 100 100 Do other people in your family live? Are long lived? Or was she the one? I

Sabrina 18:47
think so. There's so much space between the generations.

Scott Benner 18:53
It's would you want to live to 100 Sabrina

Sabrina 18:56
depends on the quality of life. She had a pretty good quality of life. She was still getting around and, you know, able to live, I wouldn't. I wouldn't want to live to 100 if I was confined to a bed or something like that.

Scott Benner 19:08
Yeah, it all sounds good until you're staring at a wall, I imagine, and then it's

Sabrina 19:14
like you have no idea who you are or who your family is. And, yeah, that that

Scott Benner 19:18
sounds terrible. Yeah. I want the kind of like live to 100 that I imagine from science fiction movies, right, right, where I'm still dashing. And although I didn't shave this morning, and I looked in the mirror and I thought, I think there's more gray in my beard than there was, like six months ago that I found upsetting. Oh, well, whatever. What was I gonna do? Live forever. Apparently, not only billionaires get to pretend they're gonna live forever. Have you seen the creepy guy? Oh god, I'm outing myself now. There was a creepy guy on the Kardashian show recently who thinks he's going to live like longer, and he's doing like, all this stuff. He was so weird. Did you see it? Oh no. First of all, good. I think it's very good. And I want to tell you that I didn't see it, because. I watched the Kardashian show. I saw it because Arden said, Hey, do you want to see something hilarious? And I was like, Sure. And then she I'm gonna find the guy's name. He's like, one of those guys that got, like, super rich. And then he's like, You know what I'll do? I'll try to figure out how to live forever. And so he's like, he looks bizarre. Watch my googling skills. Kardashian show, rich guy

Sabrina 20:29
live forever. Awesome. All

Scott Benner 20:33
right, let's see. Brian Johnson, What a boring name. It's even spelled with a Y, which I think is wrong, billionaire biohacker, Brian Johnson, he looks creepy. Did you find him that fast? I did young people and the Internet, right? Like, I mean, he's an older guy. He's in awesome shape. Like, I'm not gonna say that, but there's something, doesn't it look a little, I don't know. I don't wanna like, he looks weird.

Sabrina 21:02
He looks like a data from Star Trek,

Scott Benner 21:06
right? Yeah. And now Kim's gonna try to live forever. And I just want to say I don't wish bill on anybody, but I don't think we need Kim Kardashian forever. I feel like there's other people, yeah, that could hang out longer, but this is just between you and I, nobody else listening? Would God, I, you know how often I forget people are listening while I'm talking. I guess now, like, my brains I go, there's 50 people out there. Is like, he wished Kim Kardashian would die. I'm like, I didn't say that, just that

Sabrina 21:36
she doesn't need to live forever. I don't think, I don't think anyone needs to live forever. Isn't it?

Scott Benner 21:40
Something like, let us talk about that for a second. If you were gonna live forever, you'd have to be frozen in a certain point in time in your existence, right? Like, because I don't need nine year old me living forever, that would be ridiculous, right? You know, I don't wanna get to the point where I'm, like, too old to move live forever. Like, I think there's a version of you that would be healthy enough and know enough that there'd be value in you being around longer. Does that make sense? Yeah, you know I'm saying because, like, you're gonna learn things. Sabrina, Have you learned anything yet? I mean, you're only 33

Sabrina 22:14
I mean, I went to college. There

Scott Benner 22:15
you go. I'm saying, like, the big life things like, you're gonna start putting like, it doesn't actually happen till you're in your mid 40s. I hate to say it, it didn't for me. At least, I just became a person, like, five years ago, is what I'm saying. You start seeing big picture stuff, and then I think those people, like, before they get old and crotchety, but right about the time it all starts to make sense. It'd be cool if a few of those could hang out longer, I think, is what I'm saying. We could randomize it right on, yeah? Like, a, like, a lottery, yeah, I'm not looking to be the guy. You know what? I mean. I'm just saying, like, I think I might be past that point too. By the way,

Sabrina 22:48
would you want to live forever by yourself? Like, wouldn't you want a companion with you? Oh,

Scott Benner 22:54
I'm sorry, in your forever, I can't, like, get another girlfriend if Kelly goes, Oh, got another girl.

Sabrina 22:59
Well, Kelly doesn't listen to this. So, I mean, I guess you can,

Scott Benner 23:03
by the way, the other night, I said something, and I was like, Holy crap. I'm like, you really don't listen to the podcast, do you? She's like, I've heard every episode with Arden. And I'm like, Yeah, three of them. Well, yeah. And I was like, what was the conversation? Oh, you're not the same in real life as you are on the podcast. And I went, Well, yeah, duh. Like, I do know I'm being recorded, like, right? Like, it is a better version of at least a shinier version of me. Like, not, but it's still me. She goes, Yeah, maybe. And I said, What about in this episode, or this one? I realized, like, is actually kind of a sad moment. Sabrina, you don't mind me sharing it with you. I've made a lot of personal growth making this podcast for over a decade. Yeah, I could tell, yeah, right. And I realize my wife's not aware of are you, like, with somebody, or, like, married, or any of that stuff.

Sabrina 23:52
I am. I've been with my partner for 10 years. Oh, that makes me sound. My boyfriend for 10 years.

Scott Benner 23:58
My partner. How do you think it made you sound when you said, partner?

Sabrina 24:01
You know how it made me sound.

Scott Benner 24:04
So are you noticing it yet, like you've changed, but they see you as a person they knew before? Oh,

Sabrina 24:11
that's a great question. No, I feel like, I feel like we've, we've developed together. Like we've, we've both changed. I guess I I see that. I see him sometimes as the way he was, and I have to remind myself that's he's grown and developed and is improving as a person.

Scott Benner 24:31
Yeah, I have said to my wife before, I was like, you are talking to 24 year old me right now. Like, I that is not I don't think about that that way any longer. And she looks at me like you're full but, but now I realize, because she doesn't listen to the podcast anyway. I mean, I would be ridiculous to listen to it. I'd be worried if she listened to it. I have to say, I just think there's downsides to her not hearing some of it,

Sabrina 24:57
like an episode here and there would be nice.

Scott Benner 24:59
I mean. Know, they're not moments where you're like, This guy is really thoughtful. There are, yeah, they're not like, that frequent, but like, but every once in a while you're like, hey, that was a good point. Or, you know what I mean, or like, Okay, what's your favorite part of the podcast? Is it conversation stuff? Is it diabetes? Stuff? You like when I talk to Erica and I try to stretch my understanding of things. Where's your sweet spot?

Sabrina 25:22
Where's my sweet spot? Well, I love Jenny, but I don't know that I love the management stuff the most. Like, it's not brain rot, if I go back to that, I do like the conversations. I don't love every conversation, but I listen to all of them. You've made the point before, like every episode has something that there's

Scott Benner 25:42
something in each one. Uh huh. People are like, well, we're 25 minutes into this one. Is there going to be a point in this one? Soon there will be, don't worry, yeah, I hope so. Yeah, don't worry. I'll get to it. It's just interesting to talk to somebody who's actually heard the whole thing, except for Adam Lasher,

Sabrina 25:57
yeah, needs or you're really putting me out there as the crazy person, I promise I'm not going to be the one that shows up at your house to kill you. Oh, thank

Scott Benner 26:07
you. I appreciate that. I do know if that happened, instead of helping me, I'd hear my son go. Told you, yeah. Oh for sure being I knew this was going to happen. Okay, so you like the conversations. So this is interesting. I have recorded episodes of this podcast that me. For me personally, I'm like, I don't like this. I still get people who like it. So I come to teach myself, like, you know, what I like is not what everybody likes first. I mean, it's not that I didn't know that. But like, when you're doing the podcast, it's hard to, like, wrap your head around like, there's one that sticks in my head. I would not give you any details about it, but we got done, and I thought, let me delete this and pretend something happened. And I lost it. I really just, I hated it. I

Sabrina 26:51
wonder if it's the same episode. I think it is. You've mentioned it a couple times. It was

Scott Benner 26:55
laborious for me to get through. And the person was lovely and thoughtful and, like, everything, but between, like, just her speech pattern, and I don't know, like, how she I just didn't jive with her at all. Like, it just felt like the worst date I'd ever been on in my life. Oh, yikes. I put it out anyway, and I can't tell you how many people wrote about how much they enjoyed it. And that's when I stopped worrying about that stuff. I was like, All right, there's something for everybody so, and there's some people you got to drag it out of a little more. And there's times I'm too chatty. There's times I don't talk enough. Those aren't as frequent. Anyway, it's just, it's, it's something like, I feel like you're like, my biographer. Thank you. Yeah, no, no, why do you why does it feel embarrassing?

Sabrina 27:43
I don't know you are embarrassed, right? Maybe just confused, like, how I'm how I'm your biographer?

Scott Benner 27:52
Well, because you've heard more about you've listened, Yeah,

Sabrina 27:55
cuz you're like, my, my research patient, yeah,

Scott Benner 27:59
more like that, yeah. Like you could write a paper on me.

Sabrina 28:03
I probably could probably be pretty good paper.

Scott Benner 28:06
Do you think you This is interesting? Here's my last question before we find out about your diving Do you think the things that you would say about me would be accurate? Or do you think that it's skewed because you're listening to a podcast, you know

Sabrina 28:21
what? I think it's probably skewed. You said it yourself. You're still you, but you're like a curated version of you. You know, listening to the podcast, you do feel like a real person. I don't feel like you're a super curated version of you, like a Instagram influencer, but you're going to be careful about what you say and how you present yourself, and you're the one presenting yourself so you can say whatever you want. Do

Scott Benner 28:47
you think I'm more or less liberal or conservative than I sound? Oh, wait, stop here. Do I seem liberal or conservative to you?

Sabrina 28:56
You seem pretty in the middle, but maybe a little more liberal. Okay,

Scott Benner 29:01
do you think I'm more or less so than you think I am? Hmm, this is so interesting.

Sabrina 29:09
It is interesting. Maybe more so more

Scott Benner 29:13
liberal than you think,

Sabrina 29:16
than I seem. No, I mean, I think I have you pegged down. I think I know exactly who you are, Scott

Scott Benner 29:22
I am, so go ahead. Who am I then go, go, Sabrina, go looking

Sabrina 29:26
at like, people, like, I don't know you're Who are you

Scott Benner 29:31
interesting, right? Like, I believe myself to be incredibly down the middle. I think you are as well. Yeah, I'm socially liberal,

Sabrina 29:42
yes, I would say that as well, right? I

Scott Benner 29:45
am a little physically conservative. I would probably say that as well. I'm really careful with money and stuff like that, so. But I have a weird line, like, Do you know what I mean? Like, there's the reasons i. Did or didn't vote for somebody, for example, are very basic, like, somebody said something or, you know, and I was like, that's a bridge too far for me. Like, and now I can't do that, sure, and even if some of your ideas, I'm like, Oh, I think that's rock solid. Oh, my God, but that was too far. Yeah. Now what I find interesting about podcasting is because this is a podcast about diabetes, and I have no need to talk about politics on it, and I don't want this to be a political podcast, and I'm not a particularly political person, but once I just said that thing. Now, conservative people think that a liberal candidate said something that was too far for me, and liberal people think a conservative candidate said something

Sabrina 30:41
that was too far from me. Yeah, they project themselves onto you. Yeah, that's the interesting part of all this. That's got to be a weird to live with. It is like

Scott Benner 30:51
you could guess and maybe get me right, because there's not that many versions of you know how your politics go, but I think that most people, if they like me, then they ascribe how they feel to what I'm saying. That is what I think happens. I think that's how actually, podcasts are comforting for people.

Sabrina 31:09
Yeah, that's a great point. I feel like you're pretty live and let live like you don't want to be in other people's business.

Scott Benner 31:16
I really don't think we should be telling people how to do things. I agree, yeah, so I just haven't seen it go well so far, yeah, like, the one time it goes well, I would like somebody to point to it, but for the most part, people are who they are and telling them that they shouldn't be or that they shouldn't think or feel or have a and I think that goes both ways. Like, generally speaking, I don't think there are deplorable people, and I don't think there are super, like, crazy, like, you know, I wouldn't, I wouldn't say that about somebody, and I wouldn't see somebody have a thought and think that, and just the same way as, like, I'm not running around yelling, like, I don't know, whatever the opposite version of that is, like, Are you super woke lunatic or something like that? I do think there are edges

Sabrina 31:56
right

Scott Benner 31:58
bell curve, obviously, if you look at, are you in the Facebook group, I am okay. So if you look at how Facebook, the Facebook algorithm, Yaks you up to get you upset, to keep you in the algorithm. Like, the same thing is happening to you with soda commercials, with politics, with everything else. Like, right? Like, they, they, they. That sounds so sounds so ominous. They know most of us are here in the middle, like living in something like my brother said to me the other day. He goes, You know, I wish there'd be a third party that we could vote for that they called common sense. He's like, I think that would be really popular. And and I was like, Yeah, I hear what you're saying, right? So I think that they know we, most of us, live in common sense, and that's why they throw the fringe at us, to piss you off, keep you in the conversation, keep you on the team. Yeah,

Sabrina 32:53
there's also, like tribalism, where you want to belong to a certain team or a certain ideology, and they force you into that box.

Scott Benner 33:03
Yeah, and people want to be on the winning side a lot, so, or whatever they they assume is the winning side. It's why. Like watching people, my beloved Philadelphia Eagles, won the Super Bowl this year. They also lost it two years ago. And I can't tell you that three hours after each of those Super Bowls ended, that I felt any differently? Do

Sabrina 33:26
you know what I mean? Yeah, it was

Scott Benner 33:28
fun, and I had a good time, like watching the season, and at the end, one was disappointing and one wasn't disappointing. But I don't feel like a winner now because of it or like I don't think I accomplished anything. I don't I don't have those feelings, and I don't discount people who who feel that way, but at the same time, like it makes you much more easily manipulated. I guess, because you feel so strongly about something, not a bad thing, it's just somebody else is going to take advantage of it anyway. You don't know me, if you're listening, but you do, like, I'm not being dishonest about anything. That makes sense.

Sabrina 34:07
It does all right, cool. We know this little slice of your life, yeah,

Scott Benner 34:11
no, sure. And if we hung out, there's a complete possibility, Sabrina, if you and I went out to dinner that two hours into it, you'd be like, This is awesome. I love this guy. It's exactly what I thought was happening. And then there's an also a possibility the two hours ended, you'd be like, Oh, Scott said, but it would all depend on what random thing that I believe, that you don't believe, that comes out during our conversation. You know what I mean? At the end of this, the last year of the podcast, we'll stop talking about diabetes, and I'll just talk about what I think about the world. I'll just blow the whole thing up at the end. Oh, geez, horrible people like it used to help people with diabetes, but then he said some very strange things about car imports, and it was weird. Anyway, six years old, you get diagnosed, and you're going. Start living your life, right, like so this a long time ago. Are you just one or two shots a day back then? Yeah,

Sabrina 35:06
I was on the clear and cloudys at NPH and regular, 7030 at some point, which I think is just the mixed version of NPH and regular when Lantus came out, I went on to Lantus. I think that was like 2000 something, and then I got an insulin pump in 2005 I got the Animus, not the Animus ping, because it wasn't out yet, but I did get the Animus ping later. They had a pink pump, so that was pretty cool.

Scott Benner 35:36
Do you have the Cosmo at any point? It didn't,

Sabrina 35:39
no, look at you. I had, I had some friends that had the Cosmo. Though people love that pump. I think that pump had an adaptive correction factor, because when you get higher, you're more insulin resistant. So it would, it would give you more and I really wish that someone would do

Scott Benner 35:56
that again. Uh huh, yeah. You mean, like, Why does my algorithm shut my basal off and keep making the same correction Bolus? It's not moving my blood sugar? Yeah.

Sabrina 36:06
I sit it get to 200 and then just flat line at 200 like, come on,

Scott Benner 36:11
I know. And then the marketing's like, it'll come down eventually, and I'm like, yo Seven hours later,

Sabrina 36:17
yeah. And it'll come tumbling down, and then

Scott Benner 36:20
I'm gonna have to eat a crappy ice cream cone out of my freezer or whatever garbage is laying around to stop the drop. Uh huh. You know, I, I agree, like I, I think if it got more aggressive early on, it would break that high blood sugar sooner, and have, I would imagine less chance of seeing a low later. Have to remind

Sabrina 36:41
myself, we're still in the early stages of these algorithms, and they're just going to get better. But right now, it's a little frustrating. Yeah,

Scott Benner 36:48
no, they have, they have pain points for sure, and all of them have them. It's funny because in marketing, and at this point, I think every pump company advertises on the podcast. So God bless you all, and thank you very much. I think you're doing a great job. But like all of their marketing ignores whatever it is their thing doesn't do, which I understand, but, like my thought always is, why not? As the people making the device, shouldn't you go to the marketing team and say, what is it you hear from people, like, because that's the thing we should, like, turn a screw on. You know what? I mean? Like, like, well, that's the thing we should be working on. Like, so whether you're Omnipod or Medtronic or tandem or here's a little look into what I got going on this week, Sabrina, the twist pump, or anything like that. Like, whether you're any of those pumps, like, once you start hearing back from people like, your thing doesn't do this. Like, I would think that R D would want to know that, because that's the thing you would think they'd be working on. But, I mean, I don't know. I don't run a business. So anyway, and so which pump are using now? Using the T slim control IQ, do you think about getting the Moby ever, or do you like the T slim? It's

Sabrina 37:56
a great question, because it's the same algorithm. It's just a smaller pump. I've been on the T slum for 10 years now, using control IQ, but I'm using it in sleep mode. So instead of, I don't know if you know this, instead of giving the correction boluses, it increases the basal quicker and more aggressively. I think that works a little better for me, because I'm tuned into if I if I'm going high, I can make my own correction. It's, you know, isn't

Scott Benner 38:26
it funny with stuff like that? Because you can get somebody on here and be like, don't just live in sleep mode. That's not okay. And then you get people who are like, No, that's how it works best for me. Like, I in the end, again, like everything else, I just think, if that's what works for you, then awesome, right? Yeah, yeah. Like, and do what you're gonna do when you're growing up. Is there a time in your life that you can pinpoint as easier or harder? Were there, like, seasons of your life that you were like, God, diabetes made this worse or no,

Sabrina 38:54
you know what? No, I was thinking about this lot, a lot going into the podcast, like, what is my diabetes story, and I couldn't really find anything. I was like, Scott's a pro. He'll pull it out of me. But I didn't have a story. Nobody

Scott Benner 39:08
bullied you. You didn't like you, didn't think a guy said no, thank you at some point because of it, like you didn't have any of those moments. How

Sabrina 39:17
many of those moments? You know, I went off to college and forgot to give injections or didn't didn't care about my diabetes. That didn't happen to me. My mom would tell you that I was, you know, 30 years old. As a six year old, I was very mature, mature kid.

Scott Benner 39:35
Do you think that came from the diabetes, or do you think that's who you were? Or did it happen so early? You can't, you can't know,

Sabrina 39:41
yeah, that's a great question. I think it had some sort of impact. I do think I'm probably that is who I am. But when you're given so much responsibility with diabetes as a kid like that, just kind of shapes

Scott Benner 39:56
who you are. Yeah, you didn't burn out ever.

Sabrina 39:59
No. Not in a way where I wasn't taking my insulin or checking my blood sugar. You know, back before Dexcom, you weren't constantly tuned into your blood sugar, so you'd check, you know, four or five times a day, or maybe more, if you're really curious about it, I was always checking and always giving insulin in college, I did have a little bit looser control. But, you know, I never had an eight, a, 1c, I think my highest was 8.5 and that was around the time where I was not checking as frequently, you know, not pre bolusing, maybe not bolusing until, oops, I forgot to Bolus and bolusing way after the meal. Yeah,

Scott Benner 40:43
so there are times when you are less focused on it, but you never gave up on it. Yes, that's the idea. Okay. Did you ever feel like giving up on it? But you didn't. Yes, what do you think stopped you?

Sabrina 40:56
I think it was just like, this is something that you have to do, and that's not something that you can give away.

Scott Benner 41:02
So you stayed what? What would what would Erica say? You stayed present? Is that what you would say, like you say present. And what am I thinking of here that I want to say to you, that I don't want to say I'm helping a person with their finances right now, I am, in fact, the person who people come to in their in my regular life. It's not always pleasant, but sometimes it is right to younger person, it's gotten themselves into some credit card debt, and at one point in the conversation, they said, I said, How did it get to this point? And they said, well, they kept sending me, like, emails that said my credit line had been increased. And I was like, So you kept spending more money? And then there was no answer. And like, I keep trying to figure out, like, I don't think it's ignorance this person's not dumb. Like, I feel like they just willfully ignored the part where that wasn't a good idea. And, like, and now I'm wondering about the diabetes part of it, like, of that idea, like, do you get burned out? It's like, geez, I wish I didn't have to do this, but you're just unwilling to ignore it. Do you know what I mean?

Sabrina 42:11
Yeah, I think that's a pretty accurate description. Like, I wish I didn't have to do this, but I do, so I'm going to trudge forward.

Scott Benner 42:19
It's like, as simple as, like, I'm not willing to kick the can down the road. Is that too old of a saying at this point? Do you have any idea what that means? No, I do. Okay, good, awesome. Because I'm starting to get worried that some of my references just aren't making sense at all anymore. I'm trying to keep up. I saw Mickey 17 this weekend.

Sabrina 42:36
Oh, how is that? Um, good. That's a glowing review there. SCOTT Yeah, it

Scott Benner 42:44
wasn't what I expected it to be, okay, but in some ways it was. It had somewhat of a modern fifth element vibe to it, okay. Ever see fifth element? No?

Sabrina 42:55
Bruce Willis, yeah, I had Mila Jovic,

Scott Benner 42:59
right, yeah, her husband's like, a French auteur or something like that. It had a little bit of that vibe. It danced a line between sci fi and comic book II, and it didn't have as many laughs as I think I thought it was going to I thought it was going to be more like, yeah,

Sabrina 43:17
it does look like it would be a comedy. It's not

Scott Benner 43:21
Oh, although there are a couple of, like, really good laughs in it, but it was one of those things where I laughed out loud in a theater that no one else laughed, oh, except for my daughter, who's like, artists like, Well, I wasn't gonna laugh out loud, but that was funny. But it like, like, made me cackle. And then I realized, like, no one else thought it was that funny. I also laughed at the very first title screen because the production company was called Plan B, and I just laughed immediately. And I was like, there's no one else. No, okay, never mind. I don't know. I might be childish, but, like, honestly, the movie starts, the screen goes black, it gets up, it says Plan B, and I go, look, oh my god. I'm like, nine years old. I'm laughing because of, like, a pill like, this is such a ridiculous thing, which, by the way, is not connected to anything funny at all. So, no, no, it's horrifying, actually, but like, yet it made me laugh out loud. So anyway, I probably laughed like, three times during the film when everybody else was like, Why are you laughing? It had undertones of comedy. Would I watch it again? No, never. But I'm also get, I'm also getting old Sabrina, and then you gotta watch The Goonies. See, you guys gotta stop talking about that, because I, I got a text from somebody the other day, like, randomly that said, have you seen the Goonies yet? I was like, What in the hell is that? But,

Sabrina 44:40
you know, the easy solution to this is just to watch the Goonies.

Scott Benner 44:43
Listen, here's my expectation on the Goonies and anything else around that time. I also have not seen Animal House, by the way. I just want to point that out. I feel like, if I was back then and I saw it, I'd probably be like, this Goonies thing is awesome, but now I think the folklore around it, it's built up too much. It's waste. Stronger than the movie is going to be, right? And now I've got 30 years or more of seeing much, I mean, let's be honest, much more well constructed films, and it's just going to look like somebody's student film from 1975 if I turn it on,

Sabrina 45:15
right? No, I think it holds up. Jesus Christ.

Scott Benner 45:18
Am I going to have to watch the Goonies. It's a bunch of kids that go underground, and there's an ogre. That's what I know is that about, right? It's like a treasure hunt. Okay, all right, fine. I mean, you know, I

Sabrina 45:31
don't believe this conversation is going to make you watch The Goonies. No,

Scott Benner 45:34
I don't think you're going to see Mickey 17 anytime soon, either. I mean, listen, I've never seen the godfather. I haven't either. Yeah, like, there's movies that people are like, Oh, my God, this. Like, I haven't seen that one time I looked at it's over three hours long. Like I'm an adult. Can't give three hours away. You know what I mean? I don't know. You think you might have kids ever or no, it seems like you're not going to. Oh, why would you say that? I know your vibe Interesting. Yeah, your vibe is like, you have a fun, quiet vibe, like me, yeah? Like, it's nice, but like it doesn't feel like you're like, oh, you know what? I want to get off this train and make a baby.

Sabrina 46:14
Yeah, I'm not interested in having kids. I know it.

Scott Benner 46:17
Yeah? Podcasters, they know things, weird things, and it's not really very important, and the world really could go on without this conversation, but like, I do have some skills. Have you always felt that way? No, and

Sabrina 46:31
I don't know what changed and why. I no longer want to have kids, but I just not interested. Yeah,

Scott Benner 46:39
no kidding. It's funny when I said it, and your response was, why do you think that I first thought, Oh, I missed the mark, and she's mad at me.

Sabrina 46:46
No, I just wanted to get your opinion before I did you and that you were right.

Scott Benner 46:51
Yeah. No, no, now I realize you're like, God damn, this is upsetting. How does he know that? No, it's

Sabrina 46:55
amazing. You're You're very good at at getting people.

Scott Benner 47:00
I think that we make a mistake by not generalizing more. Oh, I just, Oh, my God, oh, hold on a second. I'm gonna talk about generalizing. I'm gonna tell you about something else. The thing that, like for 20 years, society has been telling me, Don't generalize. And I'm like, I'm not generalizing. But there are a lot of through lines like, I think it would be weird to ignore them. You just seem like you're happy with who you are. And then I coupled that with your age and the fact that you don't seem pressured to marry the boy, and I just thought, I think she's just living a life over there, like, that's how it felt to me. Yeah,

Sabrina 47:34
and my concern is getting older and not having someone to take care of me, but I'm just trying to get real in real good graces with my niece and nephew, and hope that they want to make sure I'm not in a home being abused. Listen,

Scott Benner 47:49
if you believe any number of tech billionaires, you just need to save up about $15,000 and you can get a robot so you're gonna be fine. We trust the robots. No, it's gonna definitely. Here's an example of something that I'm not actually going to tell you. But the thing, the dumbest thing that popped into my head to say, I would not say out loud right now. So there is a version of me you don't know, because I was like, No, that robot's just gonna and then I thought, don't say that. I like, whatever it is that came from the same circuit that made me laugh when the production company was called Plan B, I was just like, That's so dumb. So apparently I cover my mouth when I laugh while I'm recording. You don't know it, but, like, I got a text yesterday from Rob, from the guy that edits the podcast. He was like, Hey, man, sometimes when you like, burst out laughing, do you cover your mouth? And I had like that, like, Are there cameras in here feeling, you know what I mean? I was like, Yo, man, what do you know about me? And I said, No, I do sometimes. And he goes, Okay, I can hear it. And I was like, is it messing up the audio? I can stop. But he goes, No, no. He's like, I he's like, I run a chain of filters on you. It fixes it. I was like, Oh, thanks. I appreciate it. He's really worth the money. Actually, he's really good. I get demure, even though no one's looking at me. Yeah.

Sabrina 49:12
Are you insecure about your smile? Oh, for sure. Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

Scott Benner 49:18
I have canines. Gotcha. Yeah. You remember, before we started recording, we talked about True Blood. Yeah, I would not need makeup to be on that show. I don't think I really like pronounced canine teeth. I don't

Sabrina 49:33
know that's kind of cool. My boyfriend has has pronounced canine teeth too well.

Scott Benner 49:37
If I had a magic wand Sabrina, they wouldn't be here anymore, just so, you know, I make them square, like the rest are, I guess teeth aren't square. But you know what? I mean, can you imagine if I made them square? People, like, he's got, like, a lot of rectangles in his mouth, and two squares is very strange.

Sabrina 49:50
I don't think you would, uh, you'd like that. You'd be like a horse, actually,

Scott Benner 49:55
if I had a I mean, what would you do with a magic wand? Would you get rid of your. Diabetes?

Sabrina 50:01
Think so? Yeah. I mean, why not? Like, wouldn't that make my life easier? Moving forward, a handful

Scott Benner 50:09
of years ago, I asked this question out loud online, and I was surprised by the response of people who said that they wouldn't know who they were without diabetes.

Sabrina 50:18
I mean, diabetes is a part of me, but it's not who I am. I

Scott Benner 50:22
mean, I would get rid of it immediately. Yeah, I wouldn't even let me just go on a limb and all you young kids will. I wouldn't even ask garden. I'd be like, Hey, I don't know if you noticed your diabetes went away five minutes ago. I found a magic wand, you know, but I could always put it back if she was upset, I guess, yeah, I mean, that it seems obvious to me, but I don't live with it personally. So I've had a lot of people say that I didn't understand their perspective, if I'm being honest, but it was very consistent through a portion of people. I mean, I

Sabrina 50:56
guess it is like a large part of my life, and has shaped my personality and developed who I am as a person, but changing it moving forward isn't going to change who I am. Yeah, it might change who I will be, but who says that's not for the best?

Scott Benner 51:16
You're walking down the beach, you find genie's lamp. You rub the lamp, the genie comes out and says, you have three wishes. Do you know what you're going to wish for? No, really, I think that's a mistake. Sabrina,

Sabrina 51:26
yeah, I know, you know. I just, I

Scott Benner 51:29
really think you should put some fun.

Sabrina 51:32
What is the likelihood of that happening? Well,

Scott Benner 51:34
it's very low, but I guarantee you, when it happens and you end up, I always think of it for myself, like I thought I need to be ahead of this, because there's no way it's going to happen, but I know if it happens, and I don't think of it, I'm going to be really tall, handsome and have a huge and I think I don't want to go that route with my only three wishes. Anyway. Feel the same way about the magic wand, like if I had a magic wand and it was like super magic, and it actually worked, I would first protect all of my living relatives, and then I would start making decisions. And I have to tell you, I think one of the things I would do first is get this little bit of flower pot mold out of my my chameleons cage. It's a tiny little bit in the corner, and I can't make it go away. And I really think that it's, it's really bothering me, if I'm being honest, and I think I would, I would handle that first, then probably go out in the world Fix the big things. What are the big things in diabetes? Like, what if you could just adjust it a little bit? Like, what's one thing that just if that one aspect of it went away, the whole thing would get better? It's

Sabrina 52:35
hard dealing with the variables, how you can do the same thing, the same way, but because the variables are different, you have a different outcome.

Scott Benner 52:47
The insecurity stuff, if it was just more knowable, yeah, okay, it's not the device changes,

Sabrina 52:54
no, because I think the device, if things were more knowable, you'd be able to use the device more effectively.

Scott Benner 53:01
You don't mind being poked. No, okay, no one's ever bullied. You? Did you have a really good self like, is your self esteem always been good? I don't know about that. Did you work on it? Yeah, okay, because it's good now, right? And it comes and goes, Really, yeah, what can make it? Wayne, I don't know.

Sabrina 53:22
Just some days I don't feel well, we're going down therapy road here.

Scott Benner 53:27
Scott, you bought a headset for this. We're not stopping in an

Sabrina 53:30
hour. Am I delightful? Listen, I saw your

Scott Benner 53:35
note. You hold on. I'll make a decision at the end. Okay?

Sabrina 53:40
Self esteem I don't know. I try to self esteem comes from within. It's hard to shut out other people's opinions, but I try to do it interesting

Scott Benner 53:51
that like people you know,

Sabrina 53:55
like boy, people I know, people I don't know. Really, I don't give a about people I don't know. Yeah, I'm not there yet. Yeah, I'm

Scott Benner 54:02
having such a personal journey with this right now, and I'm really coming out on top and very proud of myself. But other little stuff, like, I can get crushed by, like, I have a text here with Isabelle. Can I share this? I can probably share this. She's listening right now and going it depends on which text. Let me, let me take a look here last night. This is very boring, so 10 seconds, Apple changed their algorithm for podcasts again. No, you know, because you listen and it's taken away some of the fun that I have making the podcast right, like the competitive part of me, and it doesn't change anything about you guys, or what you hear, or you know what I'm producing, or how valuable it is for anybody, like it's background stuff, and it's taken away a thing that I love about making the podcast. So I was talking about that out loud, and. Isabelle was like, you know, you really do need that to be replaced. And like, she was like, I can't believe how much you seem to miss, like, the competitive part of it. She's like, we need something that, like, fills that for you. Anyway we're going along. And this conversation is going back and forth, and she mentions that she really liked the episode that came out yesterday. And I said, see that even make here, I'm gonna read it. I said, See even this is making me sad. It really was a good episode. I wish more people heard it. Is that ego death? Yeah. Okay, yeah. So like she's giving me a compliment about the episode, and all I hear is I didn't do a good enough job of reaching people, but when the algorithm was different, I knew I was doing a good job and I could build on what I did the day before. And I had a feeling that I was progressing. I had a feeling that I was winning. I had a feeling that what I was doing was valuable, and so that even when things on bad days or whatever, it didn't matter because I knew I was reaching more people, more people were being entertained or helped or whatever. And like it felt it all felt valuable. And now that doesn't work exactly the same way anymore. And it's like, anyway, the point of telling you all that is that I was okay while we were texting, and then all the sudden I wasn't and like and like, I feel like that's what you're saying with like, you know, like, I because you seem like a confident person to me. Thank you. Yeah, no, you seem very like, sure of yourself and and comfortable with who you are and all that stuff, which is awesome, but like to hear a person who sounds like you say, I don't know. Sometimes my self confidence just wanes, and I don't know why I had that same feeling during that text. I was like, I know I'm doing a good job. I know what this thing is. And then all of a sudden, something was said to me, and I was like, oh, except I'm a loser, and I'm not doing a very good job at all.

Sabrina 56:56
Yeah, it's wild too, because it was not negative feedback. She said, You were doing a great job, and the episode was really good, and then you just take it and flip it,

Scott Benner 57:06
yeah. And I told her that because we're friends, and she said, I actually almost didn't say that to you, because I knew how it would make you feel. We really do know each other well, so she knows you well, yeah. And I don't want her not to say that, like, if that's any and I and I do need to hear it, because the truth is, is that I make enough of these that, like, you know, I don't always know what they are, and that's such an odd thing, like, probably for people to hear. But like, I am, I said this a million times. I am the last person to ask about the podcast. Like, this is just how it comes out of me. I don't know what it is, if that makes sense, it does. It could be one thing for you and something for somebody else listening. I could have said something earlier that made someone laugh and made somebody else disgusted with me. Like, I guarantee that every episode ends with someone going, I'm not listening to this anymore. Every episode ends with people going, oh my god, I love this. I'm gonna subscribe so I don't like how am I supposed to know what the hell it is, you know? So anyway, all right, diabetes and get the pumps. All right. In college, you were on a pump. I was and you took a full course load. I unfairly know that you were involved in an extracurricular activity, right? Didn't you blow into something?

Sabrina 58:19
Yeah, I played trombone in the marching band.

Scott Benner 58:21
Can you still trombone? Is that? What? How you what? How do you say? Do you say? Play trombone. Yeah, play trombone. Okay. Is that a thing you can do, like, recreationally, without the rest of the band. You can

Sabrina 58:32
it's a little weird to play on your own. I haven't picked up my horn in a while. You have

Scott Benner 58:39
not picked up your horn in a while. I have not. How long has it been since you've been since you've been out of college? 10 years, 11 years, this boy that you're allowing to clean the carpets and empty the dishwasher sometimes, has he ever seen you play the trombone? That's

Sabrina 58:52
a great question. So we went to the same high school and I played trombone in high school. So yes, he's probably seen me play trombone, but we weren't really friends in high school. Okay,

Scott Benner 59:06
so if you, for example, on weekends or evenings or sometime when he was out of the house and you weren't there, practiced up a little bit, got tight again, oiled that thing up, and then one day, just came out of the bedroom playing the trombone, it would freak him out.

Sabrina 59:21
I think he would be very excited about it. He knows I've played trombone. He's a musician. Yeah. He's, like, you could be at a ska band. Like, I don't know

Scott Benner 59:33
about that. Well, that seems like a lot, but I just,

Sabrina 59:39
I think if anyone just walked out of the bedroom playing a trombone, that would freak anyone out. That's

Scott Benner 59:44
what I'm saying. Like out of nowhere, like, imagine he's five episodes into season three of white lotus, and thinking to himself, this feels like it's not going anywhere. Okay? I don't mean to say that. That's where I was last night at about 10pm and then you just come crashing around the corner. Where, like, I think it would, like, it might scare the living hell out of him.

Sabrina 1:00:03
I mean, yeah, it's a loud instrument. I'm

Scott Benner 1:00:06
down. If you do that, would you write? It just feels like a tick tock video. To me, I feel like you're about to be very popular online, is all I'm saying. Oh, geez. Would you even want that you're in your 30s? What? How does that seem to you like when people are putting so much effort into being like a thing in an app?

Sabrina 1:00:26
Yeah, I don't think I'd want that. I like my privacy. I'd like the resources that come with fame, like the money and being able to afford a house, the attention I don't I don't think I

Scott Benner 1:00:38
want that. Wouldn't want the attention. I have to tell you that there are some people obviously making, like, piles of money, doing stuff like that, right? But I don't think it's long lived. I think you're probably right. And I keep saying to my like, you know, as my kids have been growing up, and they'd be like, Look at this guy. He's like, like, my son's like, there's this guy that gambles on Twitch. And I'm like, what he goes he used to be like, I guess he maybe still is. Like, he's he plays Call of Duty like, this is a grown man who plays Call of Duty eight hours a day and makes a lot of money, right? And then at some point, like these offshore casinos realized that, like, he's got a big following, so they bring him to the casino, and he streams from the casino while he's playing, like, you know, some digital jackpot games or something like that, and they seed him with money, and then he's making these outlandish bets. And because he's got so much monies, when he's starting, he can't lose, really, like he can lose, but like, he's gonna hit big once in a while, you know what I mean. And it keeps people in there, and it's incredibly popular. And I think, like, how long can that go for now? For him, it's been going for a while. So maybe there's an argument that whether this is right or wrong, like, he's got a business plan here, and it's working for some kid who just catches a trend, like, right like, what's the like, the doji trends right now. Do you know any of these, like, from the doji songs? No, I'm old. Yeah, well, I'm old too. But, yeah, we have kids. I'm trapped in this because I have children and because I have to be online. But like, there's, like, different dance trends and stuff like that. And they come and go, and some people get oddly popular, but a million views on tick tocks, not as much money as you think it is. And so if you get a little popular doing that, and make, I don't know, 50 grand this year making tick tocks, and think like, wow, that's a lot more money than I would make at my other job. You know, then it's not going to go forever. And I always, I always tell people like, go back six months or a year and find the most popular person in your feed and go see where they are now. Like, because it's over already, because the algorithm just churns them up and spits them out and wants to give you new stuff all the time. But I think people see it as a business plan, and that's frightening to me a little bit. It's so weird

Sabrina 1:02:57
hearing asking kids what they want to do to when they grow up and they're like, I want to be an influencer, like, that feels icky to me.

Scott Benner 1:03:04
I hate that word, and I'm going to tell you that you can make a full argument that I am an influencer, but, like, I would never call myself that, and I don't think of it that way.

Sabrina 1:03:13
Yeah, and my biography of you, I wouldn't paint you in that picture. Thank you. And

Scott Benner 1:03:17
at the same time, like, I think one of my greatest accomplishments, beyond helping people with diabetes, is continuing to do it like, in this ecosystem, it is built to kill you. I am not letting it kill me, like, existentially. I mean, like, I mean literally. Like, it wants you to go away so someone else can fill your void, right? It's trying to get rid of you. And I just like, I don't know, like, I just won't let that happen. So that is, that is probably my fight, which is so ridiculous, because the day this ends, I'm gonna look back and think how much of my effort did I spend stopping the algorithm from making me

Sabrina 1:03:55
meaningless? There's a, there's, I think

Scott Benner 1:03:58
there's a movie in there that would be better than Mickey 17.

Sabrina 1:04:01
I want to be honest.

Scott Benner 1:04:05
You mean like there's this unforeseen force that is trying to stop me from helping people and making a living. It like every day it's trying to stop me. And I don't mean like I'm not being like bombastic, like I'm fighting multiple wars on multiple fronts of this unseen thing that is trying to make the Juicebox Podcast not exist anymore. And

Sabrina 1:04:29
that's sad, because it's not a regular podcast that's just for entertainment. It is helping people. I've

Scott Benner 1:04:35
had this thought, like, where I was, like, if not a magic wand thought, because obviously I'd, you know, just be very tall when it was over. I've wanted to go like, find Mark Zuckerberg and just go like, hey, my group is helping people. Would it be okay if they just saw my posts? Would that be all right if, when I posted, hey, there's an episode out today that I think you might be interested in that it was served to more than 1500 of the 60,000 active members in the group. I. Could I just get that please? Like, I don't want to be huge. Like, I don't even know the I could be huge. There's only, there's not even that many people that have type one diabetes in the world. Do you know what I mean? Like, right, right? I would like it if people knew it existed, and then they could decide if they cared about it or not. Like, but the fight to get it to them is insane. Actually, I have a meeting on Thursday, luckily, with a very kind person who does that stuff for a living, who happens to have diabetes and listen to the podcast, because I think they saw me online say, like, I feel like I can't, I can't fight this anymore. Like I'm willing to pick up a gun I don't know which way to shoot. Do you know what I mean? And and so I think she knows which way to shoot, and she's nice enough to give me some of her time to try to help me with it. But, like, It just shouldn't be this hard. Anyway. I didn't mean to complain. Do I, from your perspective, does the podcast seem like any of that, or is that a thing that you don't realize? Seem like, what? Sorry that it's difficult to, like, get it to you. I'm

Sabrina 1:06:03
a mega fan, so you're listening. Yeah, I'll seek it out. No matter what, you'll go find it. Yeah, yeah. I do see the post on Facebook of the new episodes that came out so, but I'm one of the 1500 people it gets to, yeah,

Scott Benner 1:06:18
it's really interesting. It's like, anyway, again, I don't think every I don't think that my words are deserving of being like, you know what I mean, like, I don't have any like, weird feelings like that. I'm just like, when you make a thing, did it like, well, let me ask you, did it help you at all with your health, or was your health Okay? And you found it for different

Sabrina 1:06:36
reasons? It did help me. You know, my a 1c, been in the five. I think my last one was 6.2 but that was right after Christmas. It was good. It wasn't quite that good before the podcast.

Scott Benner 1:06:51
So are you one of those people who's having that, like connected Halo from it, like you're staying connected to diabetes somehow, so you're paying more attention to

Sabrina 1:06:58
it? I think, I think that's what it's doing for me. Okay, yeah, I had somebody explain

Scott Benner 1:07:03
that to me more recently, and it wasn't an idea that I was able to wrap my head around exactly because, again, I don't have type one. But I think she told me I already knew what to do. Because I was like, You know what I mean? Like, I think she said something. I was like, Oh, the pro tips helped you. And she's like, No, I knew how to do all that already. And I was like, Oh, okay. There was a moment where I was like, Don't be crestfall and keep talking. And I was like, Okay. And then she started to explain that to me. She's like, I just think it keeps me connected to it enough that it's not omni present in my mind, but it's enough in the front of my mind that I take good care of it. And then I was like, okay, that's awesome. Does that make it more or less in your consciousness. Does that make sense? Yeah,

Sabrina 1:07:45
it's so it's like, under the surface, but I'm not constantly thinking about diabetes, right? So if that is what you're getting at, yeah,

Scott Benner 1:07:53
yeah. So it's more like music at the dentist office, good music at the dentist office, but, but like, it's there, but you're not focused on it, but it is doing something for you. Yeah, that's a good, good way to put it. Okay, I was not

Sabrina 1:08:04
really thinking about it, but it is always in the back of your mind, but not in the way that you're like, Ah, it's not like

Scott Benner 1:08:11
someone's screaming at you, Sabrina, you didn't Bolus. You're not doing a good job. Like you, like you know you have to try harder. It's just more like enough to it's like breathing maybe,

Sabrina 1:08:21
yeah, well, like you don't have to think about brushing your teeth. Like, yeah, it's getting to the point where you don't have to think about pre bolusing. It just is a thing that you do

Scott Benner 1:08:31
sort of happens. That's awesome. That is my goal, by the way. I said, this is somebody the other day. I was explaining something. I told you I was helping somebody with money, right? And I was explaining my ideas about how to, like, you know, get ahead, stay ahead. Why it's important, like, all this stuff. And as I was talking, I thought if anyone in this room listened to my podcast, they'd realize that this is how I talk about diabetes, too. And then I was like, Oh God, I talk about everything like this. I wonder if that comes through in the podcast that, like, my life ideas are just, I've just applied my life ideas to diabetes. Yeah, it totally does. Does it okay?

Sabrina 1:09:08
Or at least my biographer perspective of you, it's

Scott Benner 1:09:12
all just seems like life seems pretty simple to me, like, beyond the things you can't control, like, You mean, like if your leg fell off or get hit by a car or something like that, or what happened to Arden yesterday? There's no way she would want me to say this, but, but she fell off a chair. She fell off a chair. Oh, she wasn't funny. I just want to say I had to run, all right, listen, we had a doorknob break. I had to run out and get a doorknob. I come back, you know, with a doorknob in my hand, you know, the middle of the day, because, like, we literally couldn't get out of the house. So I'm like, Okay, I come back. She's sitting at the table. We have kind of, like a kitchen table that's a little higher, so you almost, you're up on like, bench chairs or a little higher, right? She's got her head down. And I'm like. Did this kid fall asleep on the table like that doesn't happen anymore. I was like, what's going on? So I'm like, bringing in the doorknob, and I'm opening it up and everything. And I'm like, John, now I'm trying to be quiet because I'm like, apparently somebody's napping on the kitchen table. And then she suddenly picks her head up and she's crying. And I go, I come over to my garden, what's wrong? And she goes, I fell off the chair. And I was like, and I'm like, I don't understand. And she goes, I don't either. And I'm like, wait, wait. I'm like, were you like, back on two legs? Forward on two No. I'm like, she goes, the puppy came over and jumped on the chair. I'm like, he's not big enough to knock the chair over. She goes, I know, I don't know what happened. She's like, but I came crashing down on my tailbone, and my hand hit the floor, and she's like, in pain, like, you know, and I was like, oh god, that's so horrible. I don't know why I told you that. Oh, my God. Why did I tell you that?

Sabrina 1:10:51
Yeah, I don't know. I

Scott Benner 1:10:53
had a thought I was getting to and now I don't know how, why I was trying to get to it. I think I started feeling bad in the middle for telling you the story where she fell out of the chair. Anyway, she fell off a chair. And I'll get back to the rest of it somehow. Oh, I know how I said, I think life is generally easy, except for the stuff you don't expect, like falling off of a chair, like, when, like, you know, and it's funny, because as I looked at her, I thought when I left here 25 minutes ago, she was fine, and I came back and she's hurt and crying, and I and I actually, it actually made me think, like, how lucky you are not to have a car accident when you go outside, or have, like, one of those things that, like, one second it's not there, and then the next second, everything about everything changes. Does that make sense? Yeah, we're not promised tomorrow. Arden falling off the chair made me think about that for 20 minutes while he was replacing a doorknob. Replacing a doorknob, like and how like something so simple could just my big worry is that I'll get 10 seconds to think about it before it happens to me, and that I'll regret that it's happening. Does that make sense? It does. Yeah, if I get taken out, I do not want to see it coming. Is what I is what I've decided, because I know that I'll just be so angry at myself in the 10 seconds before the tree falls on me for being there in that

Sabrina 1:12:06
moment. Yeah, thinking about what you should have done differently. Yeah, seriously. Like, I

Scott Benner 1:12:11
know that. I know that'll happen to me if that happens anyway, besides the variables that you can't control, like, there are some pretty common sense decisions you can make day to day, and you don't even have to make them constantly. You can slip up and be human and everything. But there's some pretty like, basic consistencies that, if you set them up, life goes pretty well, like, you know. And I think, I just think diabetes is the same. I agree. Yeah, that's all. You have a pretty uneventful life with it, huh? Yeah, that's maybe, like, the nicest thing you could say to somebody.

Sabrina 1:12:45
Yeah, it continues that way. Oh,

Scott Benner 1:12:49
I hope that for you as well. Did you have like, being diagnosed so long ago? Was it like common for you to have like, nine a one season everybody told you were doing great, or was that not your thing, even back then,

Sabrina 1:13:04
no, like I said, my highest a, 1c I went through all of my records was eight and a half, and that was in college. I did have some like seven A, one CS where they said I was doing a great job, which, I mean, I was, but I feel like I could have been given better direction to do better.

Scott Benner 1:13:22
Do you think they thought that? Or do you think, like, do you think that was the marching orders of the time, and they thought, No, you're doing great. It's a seven. ADA says seven, it's a seven, it's all good. Or do you think they knew it wasn't good and they were just being rah rah with you?

Sabrina 1:13:34
I think it was the marching orders at the time. I think that was probably the best day one see, they saw

Scott Benner 1:13:39
in a week. Yeah? Like, yeah, you were probably exciting to them.

Sabrina 1:13:43
Yeah? Like, oh, this is easy. She's doing a good job. Relatively speaking,

Scott Benner 1:13:47
we don't have big expectations for you to have any complications. It sounds like you've been doing well the whole time,

Sabrina 1:13:54
yeah, but you never know, but falling off a cheer moment could happen.

Scott Benner 1:13:57
So does that have, do you have those thoughts? Like, do you ever think, like, you know, do you foreshadow like that? Like, God, I'm gonna, am I gonna wake up one day and like, you know, have something ridiculous wrong with me all of a sudden?

Sabrina 1:14:07
No, Scott, worry is a waste of imagination. Oh,

Scott Benner 1:14:11
gosh, are you just parroting me? Or do you actually believe that?

Sabrina 1:14:15
No, it's a great, a great concept, but I am parroting you.

Scott Benner 1:14:18
Okay, you know, when I say that in my own home, I get mocked. I just want to say,

Sabrina 1:14:23
I'm sorry. It's such a great concept, because I do have those moments where I start worrying, and instead of going down that path, I go, No, worry is a waste of imagination. Why worry about this and build this up in my head now, when it might not even happen, yeah, or, or go through it twice. Like, what's the fun in

Scott Benner 1:14:44
that? Right, right. Let's say it is gonna happen now. I'm gonna do it now when it's not happening, and then do it later when it is happening. Awesome. There's such a difference between being prepared and worrying. Like, you can't, you can't prepare for things you don't know are gonna come. People will be willing to sit around and, like, wring their hands and go, I know 10 years from now I'm gonna have neuropathy, or, like, something's gonna happen. And like button, they're worried, worried, and they put all that effort into that. But if you said to them, like, Hey, I think if you just listen to these 10 episodes of the podcast, it might help you do better, they go, I don't have time for that, and say, like, hey, you know, listen, I know it's hard, but if you Pre Bolus your big you know, your meals, like you're gonna much better. I don't have time for that. And I'm like, Oh, I'm sorry. Like, I don't know where to go from there. When that happens, you know what I mean? Do you see it online? It's not overwhelming. Like, there are times where people are like, you know, I'm like, you know, I'll say, look, I think this episode would help you with that, I don't listen to podcasts like

Sabrina 1:15:43
it's wild to me, but people in the Facebook group don't listen to the podcast

Scott Benner 1:15:47
wild. I mean, I hear you see, it's Wilder to me that somebody would say, hey, the answer to your question is in this 60 minute recording. And they'll say, I don't listen to podcasts. I don't understand what you're saying. Like,

Sabrina 1:16:02
you don't have to listen to the whole thing just the one episode. Also, how about

Scott Benner 1:16:06
you don't get to choose how the answer to your question exists in the world. Like, you know, you mean, like, it would be like if I was falling, and you were falling next to me, and we were falling from like, 70,000 feet, and you came up to me and said, hey, here I have a parachute. Put this on, pull the cord, and you will float to the ground. And I said to you, I don't parachute. You got a jet pack over there? I'm more of a jet pack. Girl. You're here asking people, what's your best advice? And someone says, my best advice is the exact answer to the exact thing you're saying is in this 60 minute recording that someone is offering to you for free, and you say, I don't listen to podcasts. Awesome. I don't know how to help that person. I'm like And now I hear people who tell me, I don't learn well through audio to them. I think I've so here's one, here's one of these situations where somebody's gonna think I'm a dick when this is over. That's fine, okay? Like I get that some people's brains aren't wired that way, like I do, because there's things I can't learn in other ways. But I also think their expectations are a little skewed. I think they think they're supposed to listen to the audio and then understand everything about it when it's over. But that's not how it works, not at all. Right? I think they're like, zero sum thinkers, like, I'm gonna do this, then this is gonna happen. And I think they think, well, I listened to one and I didn't understand how to, like, Bolus for fat and protein at the end of it. So I don't do well listening. You have to listen to all 1500 it's a vibe, right? But, yeah, no, but Sabrina, like you laughed because, I mean, honestly, like you seem like a reasonable person who's listened to 1500 hours of a podcast, which makes you seem less reasonable. But you're, you're not kidding, though, right?

Sabrina 1:17:53
You don't pick up everything from one episode. It's, it builds on itself. Yeah? You pick up little crumbs from each one. Sometimes that same crumb is in four different episodes, and it doesn't click the first one or the second one, it clicks after the fourth one

Scott Benner 1:18:08
again, like everything else. Like, you know what I mean? Like, if that's how it worked, then on the first day of school, we could just have somebody sit down in front of you and tell you all the things you need to know, and then you could leave, and it would be over, because you'd know them all, but that's just you'd know your multiplication tables. Well, you'd think that guy, What a prick. I can picture him in my head, by the way, other people love them, which really upset me. Don't worry, my fifth grade teacher was much nicer. I got a nice repeat reprieve here, there. Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I started thinking about, like my last day of second grade because my teacher hated me second grade. Try to imagine that she hated me so much that I was brought we all came into the room, we did attendance, we did the Pledge of Allegiance, and on the last day of school, she put me in the hall and left me there for eight hours. Whoa, like two o'clock in the afternoon she came out and she just goes, MR. Benner, you and I didn't get along. And I was like seven or eight, I went, No, we didn't. And she let me lean there for two more hours, then I went home. Is that abuse? Maybe nowadays it is for sure, yeah, I could have sued somebody in 2026 the 70s, the 70s, she was just like, Hmm, let me just remind you, you might have fought, but I won. And I was like, huh, fair enough. So she leaned my ass in that hall from 735 in the morning until the end of the day. Oh, my God, I'll never forget that lovely woman. I really liked her. We just didn't get along. Mrs. Nelson. She's got to be dead,

Sabrina 1:19:48
crazy second grade teacher was Mrs. Nelson. Stop it, no, really, probably not the same woman. I'm

Scott Benner 1:19:56
gonna guess no, because I'm 20 years older than you, but she was also. She was older? Yeah, my lady was, she was in her late Well, you know what? It's funny. I don't know. I saw a picture of my father in law the other day. He was younger than I am now in the photo, and he looks 20 years older than me. Yeah, isn't that wild? It really is. So I don't know how old she was. I'm here thinking she was 70. She was probably like 56 I really did like her, like we got along right until we were in that, like, you're in control, like, that part of our relationship, we did not do well. She did not like me. Sorry, there's people listening right now. Or like, I don't like you either. You're still listening. But my a one thing is rock solid, so I guess keep going jackass. But you know, back to that idea of, like, I mean, what's another way to put it? Like, it's people going, you're making it about yourself, but I don't know it's a podcast, like, I'm better at making the podcast today than I was five years ago. It's not because I read a book about making podcasts, right? Like, I'm better at everything that I spend a lot of time involved in, and I think the diabetes is the same, and it's a humble opinion, but I humbly like present to you that I think the podcast is maybe the least objectionable way to stay involved in something you really don't want to be talking about that ends up giving you a really great benefit on the back end,

Sabrina 1:21:18
are you preaching to The choir? Scott, all right, it's a really passive experience, like I listen while I'm cooking dinner. So it's not like I'm sitting down and studying the podcast, like I'm right and like I said before, it's enjoyable. Maybe no one else likes your sense of humor, but

Scott Benner 1:21:35
I'm delightful, as far as I can tell. I agree. Did you see how I teach you there? Yeah, you did. Yeah. Okay. Sabrina's incoming message to me is, I said, What do you hope to talk about on the podcast? I really am just hoping to be delightful. I told you I didn't have a plan coming in. I don't have a particular theme in mind. I'm open to talking about most things. What's something you're not open to talking

Sabrina 1:21:57
about? I don't know. Oh, really, there's not a thing that pops

Scott Benner 1:22:01
into your mind. You don't have to tell me what it is, but is there a thing that pops into your mind? I wouldn't talk about this, probably, but you don't know what it is. No, I don't

Sabrina 1:22:10
have anything specific interesting.

Scott Benner 1:22:12
Nothing popped into your head. So you're not really embarrassed about anything in your life too big.

Sabrina 1:22:18
I feel like I lived a pretty good life, and I'm pretty open and honest,

Scott Benner 1:22:21
that was like, maybe the best answer anybody's ever given. You know what I mean? Like, because that's a simple question. Because I go, what don't you want to talk about? And then I prompt you to think of the thing that you're scared of or embarrassed by, and nothing popped into your head. Yeah,

Sabrina 1:22:36
I think I wouldn't know it until we walked face first into it, and be like, ooh, Scott, let's not talk about

Scott Benner 1:22:41
that. Oh, so there is a thing you just it just doesn't come to

Sabrina 1:22:44
you. I don't know. Why are you so even I don't know,

Scott Benner 1:22:50
since you were a little kid, like, you had like a vibe of, like, what did your mom say? Like you were 30 when you were five, or something like that. Like, yep, is she like that? Or your dad?

Sabrina 1:22:59
I think so I don't know. My dad is an engineer, and my mom, like I said, she had she's more artistic. She has a lot of crazy backgrounds. She drove an ambulance for a while, she worked in a dentist office. She's done anything and everything. It's funny because I find myself translating between the two of them, because engineers speak in their own particular language. So I feel like I've kind of taken a little bit from each of

Scott Benner 1:23:25
them. Do you ever have to explain them to each other? Yes, all the time. Yeah, my kids are like, You guys do not know. He's like, You don't know how to like, like, my wife and I are so different, huh? Like I'm talking and I'm I, I'm sometimes looking at her and thinking, she does not know what I'm saying. Yeah?

Sabrina 1:23:42
Like, my dad will say something, and my mom will get confused and agitated. And I'm like, That is not what He means to say. What he means to say is this, and my dad's like, yes, so

Scott Benner 1:23:52
your dad's a little more engineering, and your mom's a little more hippie. I wouldn't say hippie, but, yeah, adventurous, artistic, creative, artistic, creative, and you're a blend of them, or you're more her, I'm a blend of them, interesting, and you and so you talk mom and you, you speak dad, yes, but they don't speak it to each other. And it

Sabrina 1:24:12
works well for me, because I can translate at work like the technical side to the non technical people.

Scott Benner 1:24:18
Oh, okay, yeah, that is a good, that's a great skill to have. It is, yeah, you must have liked when Sam came on, the general manager of the Phillies, and even unfold, yeah, yeah, he's got that. Like, he played baseball for a decade, but he went to, you know, he's, he's got a, like, an econ degree, like, so it was his job to, like, explain the those metrics for the baseball players, like, about, like, Moneyball, yeah, Moneyball stuff. And then he goes back and he talks to them about it. But in baseball talk,

Sabrina 1:24:50
yeah, yeah, that's exactly how I feel at work. It's

Scott Benner 1:24:55
a cool job. Actually, the Phillies should be lauded. This is not to go down a side road, but you. They wanted Sam, apparently, wanted Sam to do something else. They sent him back to school. So he's off, like literally learning something else, to come back to the team and help. I wish I could get him back on he's, I think he's a little too he's a little too successful now to get on a podcast, maybe, but that would be interesting to hear about what they're doing with him. Okay, so do your parents ever help with the diabetes as you're growing up, or is it just you

Sabrina 1:25:26
as I'm growing up? Definitely now, not so much. My mom would pack my lunch for me growing up, and she would write down the carb counts of everything, kind of like you did with Arden. But before texting was a thing. Yeah. So if I didn't want to eat my sandwich. I knew I could take out those 30 carbs.

Scott Benner 1:25:44
Does she know anything about it? Modern day or not? Really, a great question.

Sabrina 1:25:48
I sometimes I try to talk to them about diabetes things, and I can just see that it, it doesn't relate to them anymore, that they do try to keep abreast of things. You

Scott Benner 1:25:58
think it makes them sad to think of you as having diabetes. Never really thought about that. Like, is it hard to talk about? Because it reminds like, because, I mean, listen, you're very even keeled, like you seem like you're living a great life. Your a 1c is nice and low. You're not struggling with your diabetes that anybody can see. I'm sure you have struggles. So, like, maybe when it comes up, I wonder if they just I wonder if it makes them sad.

Sabrina 1:26:19
I think they do a good job of not letting that show if that's how they feel, but I could imagine that there's some sadness there. I

Scott Benner 1:26:28
let myself down as a parent. The other night, Arden was sharing something that's difficult for her, and it made me cry, and I cried in front of her, and I felt bad for crying in front of her, because I don't want her to think that her life makes me sad, yeah,

Sabrina 1:26:42
but I think it's good to show some emotion and have that connection, yeah. It's

Scott Benner 1:26:47
just, I felt like, you know, that thing everybody feels who's listening, but I was just like, in the moment, I was just so sad that she had, you know, that she has autoimmune issues. Honestly, that's really what it was about.

Sabrina 1:27:02
But it's that falling off a cheer thing, just something that happens that you gotta get back up and keep going, Yeah, and

Scott Benner 1:27:11
she does. She does a good job of it. Like, you know, just like you like, talking about, like, I don't know, like, it was there, but I did it, you know. Like, I think she's got that vibe, for sure. I

Sabrina 1:27:21
think she's got it even more than I do. I don't think she thinks about diabetes almost at all. It's

Scott Benner 1:27:26
tough because, like, when, when I try to explain something to her, she's like, Yeah, and I'm like, You really need to know this. I'm like, Do you know why you're taking that tablet right now? She's like, Ah. I'm like, I could I just explain it to you? Like, I think it's really important. It is interesting, because I think the vibes important, and I think that her general understanding grows as time goes forward. She's not lost, she doesn't not understand her diabetes. But like, there's things about like, she just some stuff. She just doesn't want to hear about some stuff. She's like, Look, I know I'm supposed to take this pill every day. Like, I take it, like, leave me alone. And then like, you know, if you know, I don't know, I look over and I'm like, Hey, you're all right. Like, you look tired. I have been tired for a couple days. And I'll say, like, you know, Are you, are you taking your thyroid meds every day, dad? And I'm like, I mean, just say no. If, like, instead of dad, like, you know, maybe like, I'm like, and then I'll say, like, look, it's just really important, because that pill might be the reason why you're not feeling well today, you know, or like, you know, you said your stomach hurt. You're tired. Your stomach hurt. You haven't taken your thyroid meds for a day or two. Like that could, like, be one of the reasons, you know, it's almost like a bridge too far for her. Sometimes she's just like, I know, but I don't want to know if that makes

Sabrina 1:28:38
sense. It It does, and it's, it's nice to have that every once in a while, when you have someone in the background that can take care of, you get get a little break.

Scott Benner 1:28:47
It's funny, because that's what I think, too. But it's not how it comes off sometimes, like, sometimes it comes off like, leave me alone. But I think what it means is, Thank God you're paying attention this, because I'm not right now, and I'm almost embarrassed that I'm not, you know, I think I don't know that's a lot of supposition on my part, but nevertheless, okay, Sabrina, is there anything we didn't talk about that we should have?

Sabrina 1:29:09
I don't think so. Like I said, I didn't have much of a plan coming in, and just figured we'd see how things go.

Scott Benner 1:29:16
And did I let you down? Because it's possible that I did. No, not at all. Oh, awesome. Thank you. I felt myself being chattier today, but this is probably not something everybody listening cares about. But like, I don't get to talk to a lot of people who have literally listened to the entire podcast.

Sabrina 1:29:32
That's wild to me too. How are these people coming on the podcast that happened that aren't listeners? There are

Scott Benner 1:29:38
sometimes people come on. They're like, I don't know who you are,

Sabrina 1:29:40
yeah, that's wild. How did you get here? How does anybody get here? That's a good question.

Scott Benner 1:29:47
So you're constantly wondering, Hmm, how much of this can I say? I was in a meeting the other day with an advertiser, and I usually just talk to this person, but they brought more of like, a marketing like, numbers person on, yeah. And they started talking about, like, you know, when you bring in a new listener, and like, do you have metrics on how long they stick, or how long they stay, and if you lose them, how to get them back? And she started going into all this stuff that. I was like, she learned this in college. And I was like, No, I don't do any of that. I said, first of all, I don't think of the people that way. And she goes, well, she's like, how are you maintaining this popularity? And I was like, I just get up every day and I think, like, what do these people need? And then I just try to give it to them. And I was like, and I think that works. And then they tell other, each other about the podcast, and then it grows. And she looked back at me, like, I can't count that or write it on a spreadsheet. Like, like, that was the vibe I got back from her, like, it's cool that it's working, but how do I write it down? And I was like, I don't think it's important to write down. You know what? I mean? Like, it works, like, but just let it work. And they're not listeners. If they start listening and they don't like it, I'm not going to chase them down. Like, through, is that what you want? Like, you want me to get, like, an email list and ping them and like, I'm like, I'm not doing all that. Like I'm like, they'll find it. So I told her, I was like, I've had people tell me I started listening. I didn't have time for it. I hated you, whatever. I came back six months later, and now I love it. I'm like, just like, it needs to be all on its own time, you know. But she wanted it to be quantifiable. It's really interesting. Yeah,

Sabrina 1:31:24
I don't think you're you are quantifiable. Yeah, I just and you are the podcast. Thank

Scott Benner 1:31:30
you. And at the same time, I was like, I don't understand when people see something working, and then they go, You know what this needs? It needs. How I think about it? Yeah. I'm like, there's a lot of podcasts out there that have people like you behind them, and they don't do well, there's a reason for that, you know, like I had more recently, I had an advertiser come to me recently and say, We want to change the ads to say more like this. And I said in a meeting, because I'm a brave person, I don't know why you would do that. The ads work fine. They get clicks that you want. Why would we change them? And I realized during the course of the call is that they brought a new person in, and that person was trying to put their stamp on things. Okay, so I do exactly what they asked me to do, and I changed their ads. And two months later, I get an email from that person, and she goes, Hey, the ads are not performing as well as they used to. And I thought I actually, while I was reading the email, I thought, Oh, good. She's going to tell me to put back the old ads. We're

Sabrina 1:32:32
going to buy less ads now.

Scott Benner 1:32:35
And I went, what she goes, I think we're overwhelming people with the message. And I just took a deep breath, and I was like, What do I do here? Like, do I say the truth and, like, ruin this relationship, right? Or do? And I just responded back, and I was like, Listen, you asked me to change the ads. I changed the ads. Now the ads aren't working as well anymore, because I was being honest in the ads before, and now you have me saying marketing speak stuff, and I was like, and people are not relating to it anymore, and for that reason, you're not selling as money. I'm not gonna say what it is right now. Why don't we just go back to the way it was, where I honestly spoke about the thing and gave my actual opinion of it. And she goes, No, I think we should just get fewer. And I was like, Okay, what? Okay? Like, but that, to me, was like, the other thing, like, tell me what it is like so that I can make it make sense to me. I'm like, you don't need it to make sense to you. It just works. Like, let it work. And if

Sabrina 1:33:41
it ain't broke, don't fix it. I mean, right,

Scott Benner 1:33:43
what do we call in your episode? This is tough.

Sabrina 1:33:46
We call it Scott's biographer. We call it brain rot. Oh, don't call it brain. Wow,

Scott Benner 1:33:53
that would be bad. Because also no apostrophes. There's the thing you don't know, like, I don't put apostrophes in the titles of the show. Okay, we'll figure it out later. I don't know this is gonna be one of these where, like, I'll get notes back from Robin, who'll be, like, I would call it this, this, or this. You said this, you said this, you said this. That's it. Otherwise, I don't know what to call this one, which is usually good, just means it was a nice, like, lingering conversation, which is, by the way, if for everyone listening, you may or may not agree, this is how I think of a podcast, like the conversation I had with you, Sabrina, I this is how every one of them would go if I if I had my way, they'd be longer and kind of meandering and follow thoughts and stuff like that. This is how I think of a podcast, when I think of it and, God bless. Kevin Smith, who made a fantastic podcast for years and taught me how to podcast so Sabrina, you were delightful today. Thank you so much. Well. Thank you, Scott. Hold

Sabrina 1:34:51
on one second for me, sure you.

Scott Benner 1:35:00
Today's episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the Dexcom g7 and the Dexcom g7 warms up in just 30 minutes. Check it out now at dexcom.com/juicebox the podcast you just enjoyed was sponsored by tandem diabetes care. Learn more about tandems, newest automated insulin delivery system, tandem Moby, with control iq plus technology at tandem diabetes.com/juicebox there are links in the show notes and links at Juicebox podcast.com. Hey, thanks for listening all the way to the end. I really appreciate your loyalty and listenership. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast. My diabetes Pro Tip series is about cutting through the clutter of diabetes management to give you the straightforward, practical insights that truly make a difference, this series is all about mastering the fundamentals, whether it's the basics of insulin dosing adjustments or everyday management strategies that will empower you to take control. I'm joined by Jenny Smith, who is a diabetes educator with over 35 years of personal experience, and we break down complex concepts into simple, actionable tips. The Diabetes Pro Tip series runs between Episode 1001 1025 in your podcast player, where you can listen to it at Juicebox podcast.com, by going up into the menu, Hey, what's up? Everybody? If you've noticed that the podcast sounds better and you're thinking like, how does that happen? What you're hearing is Rob at wrong way recording doing his magic to these files. So if you want him to do his magic to you wrong way recording.com. You got a podcast. You want somebody to edit it. You want rob you.

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Scott Benner 5/26/25 Scott Benner 5/26/25

#1532 Couch Potato Summer

Zuzka tackles a lethargic “couch-potato” summer, guiding her 14-year-old son’s diabetes and motivation.

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

Zuzka 0:15
Hi, my name is zuska, and I'm a mom of type one diabetic. If

Scott Benner 0:23
this is your first time listening to the Juicebox Podcast and you'd like to hear more, download Apple podcasts or Spotify, really, any audio app at all, look for the Juicebox Podcast and follow or subscribe. We put out new content every day that you'll enjoy. Want to learn more about your diabetes management, go to Juicebox podcast.com up in the menu and look for bold Beginnings The Diabetes Pro Tip series and much more. This podcast is full of collections and series of information that will help you to live better with insulin. Please don't forget that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan or becoming bold with insulin.

Today's episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the ever since 365 the one year where CGM that's one insertion a year, that's it. And here's a little bonus for you. How about there's no limit on how many friends and family you can share your data with with the ever since now, app no limits. Ever since this episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by Medtronic diabetes and their mini med 780 G system designed to help ease the burden of diabetes management, imagine fewer worries about Miss boluses or miscalculated carbs thanks to meal detection technology and automatic correction doses. Learn more and get started today at Medtronic diabetes.com/juicebox

Zuzka 2:00
Hi. My name is zuska, and I'm a mom of type one diabetic zuska.

Scott Benner 2:07
That's how I say it. Yes, that's how you say it, because it sounds like it has a lot of S's, but when I look at it, it doesn't have any.

Zuzka 2:14
It doesn't it's because z is in front of k. So in my language, the Z pronunciation changes to us. No kidding. What language is that? It's Slovakia. So, like my legal name is Susanna, but people did like me, call me zuska. So I just introduced myself as zuska in United States, and that's what I go by. Awesome,

Scott Benner 2:38
awesome. Well, zoo Scott, it's nice to meet you, although Nice to meet you. Thank you. I got the feeling when we started talking before we recorded, that you must listen to the podcast because you You paused in the middle of the sentence and said, What did you say? It's so strange.

Zuzka 2:51
Yes, because I it felt like I'm listening to podcasts, not like talking to you in a real person, you know, in real time. Because I was like, I should just be quiet and just keep on listening. That'd be an awesome,

Scott Benner 3:03
uh, escalation of the technology. If you could just pick a podcast and it would talk directly to you. That'd be that'd be pretty great. Yeah, yeah, I'll work on that. And you said you have a child who has type one? Yes, I have a son. How old is he? He is 1414. How old was he when he was diagnosed? He was a little after his eighth birthday. Okay, so it's been a while, Six years. Six

Zuzka 3:26
years. We just celebrated February 25 Oh, wow. Other children. I have other daughter, and she has no autoimmune diseases as of right now, knocking on the wood.

Scott Benner 3:38
I'll knock on it with you. Don't worry. Your son has anything besides type one, or is that? That it?

Zuzka 3:43
About a year ago, he got diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Okay, how's that going? I think it's fine. We got the numbers down. I insisted on testing every year because of the podcast, because they were going to do it only every two years, and that's how we found out.

Scott Benner 4:02
So as he's growing, you'll be able to keep an eye on medication adjustments. Yeah, that's awesome. That's a good idea. What were his symptoms? How did you realize he had thyroid issues?

Zuzka 4:11
Now, looking back, he was just like a couch potato all summer. And I'm like, it's like, is that him turning into teenager? Like, why he's just laying around all the time, like, not wanting to do anything, yeah. And then we got him tested. And whatever that test was, it was 13.

Scott Benner 4:28
Oh, gosh, yeah, no, that's a that's pretty significant, yeah. So, like,

Zuzka 4:33
the end, I was like, we're not, like, waiting for a mail order. You need to go to the pharmacy right now and get it and get his double dose and get him going.

Scott Benner 4:41
Good, good. That's Oh, so you have a good Endo, it sounds like I believe I do. Yeah, that sounds like it, and

Zuzka 4:47
she also does. Now, when I have from podcasts, she pretty much does what I ask her to do. So that's

Scott Benner 4:53
helpful. You dropped out for a second. But when you come with information from the podcast, she just accepts it. Yes, oh. Right? I'm finally getting a little bit of respect.

Zuzka 5:02
Yeah, I like, you know, I learned stuff and I'm thinking, and that's why I, like, insisted on the, you know, Tiger testing and all of that, and she's all good, and she always gives us praises, but because I know how much better we can be based on a podcast, I'm like, never happy. Where

Scott Benner 5:20
are you at now that you're that you're good, but not happy?

Zuzka 5:23
So we have been with a one to six and under, but we're learning more independence. So his last one was 6.4

Scott Benner 5:32
Yeah. I mean, Arden's, you know, in college and and we're constantly, you know, giving away more and more focus. I wouldn't say that we have a lot to do with her diabetes most days. And she's not rocking a five, seven or anything like that, you know, like so it's, um, I mean, the truth is, is that if I just took her stuff from her, which is not a thing I would do, but if I just took all of her stuff from her, I'd have her a 1c back, like that in a week, and yeah, she's still just figuring the whole thing out, and that's a big part of it, really. You know, being able to have the tools and understand the job is one thing, but then how to blend that job into your life is a different thing. So yeah, and

Zuzka 6:13
I think that's what kind of, I mean, we probably got into, like, how he got diagnosed and stuff, but like, that's our biggest struggle right now.

Scott Benner 6:22
No, I would imagine his age, and he's had it for a while. He's probably sick of it by now, too. Oh yeah, he's in a burnout. Tell me about his diagnosis. What were your first signs? Thinker?

Zuzka 6:32
So I was like, thinking how I'm gonna say this. And because you always ask, like, were you surprised, you know? And I mean, generally speaking, I was surprised. But when we were like, in the middle of it, I was telling the doctor he has diabetes, he had a cold, just like everybody else, and then he was just acting strange. He's starting to wet his bed, you know, and drinking a lot. And then I remember one time he came out of the shower, I'm like, Oh my gosh, I can see a ribs. Like, that's weird. And then I was talking to my friends, like, Hey, have the kids, you know, lost weight. And they're like, Yeah, but like, you know, we go forever annual once a year, so you don't really know how much they lost. Like, it can go up and down as they go through the growth spurts. One of the significant was like, one time he woke up in the morning and he ran from his bed by this thing, and he's like, my heart is beating so fast, so fast. I need to drink. I need to drink. I need to drink. I'm like, something's wrong with my kid. And I took him to the clinic here they check his blood sugar. It was 92 and at that point, I was calling for about a month. I think I would call my pediatrician, like, twice a week, like something's wrong with my kid, like something is like, I know something is wrong. And I even said, like, I think he has diabetes. And she's like, there's no way he has diabetes because of that 92 blood sugar, right at that one time, you know, I was like, then at this point, I was like, well, let's just hope he is UTI. Let's just hope that's it. I went to the clinic. I remember, I picked him up from school, and I said, Well, we'll be right back. It's just like 10 minutes appointment. They finger prick him, and the reader said, too high to read. Wow. And I I look at that lady that was doing it, and I'm like, what that means? And she's like, well, I might be broken. Let's just see. Let's do it one more time. And he did it again. At that point, she walked out of the room. She's like, I just have to check on something. And then the doctor came in and she asked, So do you have any history of diabetes in your family?

Scott Benner 8:41
Yeah, through everyone's stories, the I just have to go check on something. Means I have to go tell the doctor your kid has diabetes.

Zuzka 8:48
Yeah, yeah. I feel like so I live on the island by water from the mainland, so we had to take ferry, and there was no ferry going to the mainland at its that point, and my husband is captain. So I just remember they're like, telling us, telling me, like, Okay, you have to go to the ER, you cannot go to urgent care. They will be waiting for you. We call the Children's Hospital, Go call your husband. And I remember calling my husband and saying, What are you doing? And it's like, well, parking the boat like the big ferry. And I said, Wow, we have to go back on it. You have to run an extra trip, yeah?

Scott Benner 9:26
Keep it running. We're gonna keep it. Keep it running, just for us, though. Nice private tour. Yeah, yes,

Zuzka 9:31
yes. So we did that. I remember the other ferry captain is like, Hey buddy, do you want a cookie? So he had one last cookie before insulin on the ferry ride. And it took us, I mean, maybe four, five hours to get to the ER, because it's, you know, it's like to get to the ferry, we had to get, grab our stuff. Then it's 30 minutes ride, and it's another hour at least, you know, all of that. It was quite a while before we got to, er, this is

Scott Benner 9:58
good. We're gonna have to take a. Side, a little left turn here for a second. So where are you right now? Where do you live? I

Zuzka 10:03
live on Washington Island. Oh

Scott Benner 10:07
so you're up in the northwest, yes.

Zuzka 10:10
Oh so, I don't know if you remember one time I posted on Facebook a picture of a house on the ferry. Yes, that's my house that came across water. Yes, we do all the ice fishing that you hate. You know that, like no people more dear than people, that's us. That's me.

Scott Benner 10:28
I don't hate it, I just think it sounds very frightening and sign of silly. That's all only because it's not warm. I know, yeah. Oh, that's so interesting, because at one point you just said, my husband's the captain. I was like, Is that, like, a weird, like relationship thing, or is that his job? I wonder. We're equal

Zuzka 10:46
partners in this relationship. Very captain. He's

Scott Benner 10:50
a furry captain. He's not the captain of you. I got

Zuzka 10:52
it absolutely not. Do

Scott Benner 10:55
you ever talk to your son about that? Does he remember that whole thing? Or was he kind of out of it at that point. Today's episode is sponsored by Medtronic diabetes, who is making life with diabetes easier with the mini med 780 G system. The mini med 780 G automated insulin delivery system anticipates, adjusts and corrects every five minutes. Real world results show people achieving up to 80% time and range with recommended settings without increasing lows. But of course, Individual results may vary. The 780 G works around the clock, so you can focus on what matters. Have you heard about Medtronic extended infusion set? It's the first and only infusion set labeled for up to a seven day wear. This feature is repeatedly asked for and Medtronic has delivered. 97% of people using the 780 G reported that they could manage their diabetes without major disruptions of sleep. They felt more free to eat what they wanted, and they felt less stress with fewer alarms and alerts you can't beat that learn more about how you can spend less time and effort managing your diabetes by visiting Medtronic diabetes.com/juicebox Today's episode is sponsored by a long term CGM. It's going to help you to stay on top of your glucose readings the ever since 365 I'm talking, of course, about the world's first and only CGM that lasts for one year, one year, one CGM. Are you tired of those other CGM, the ones that give you all those problems that you didn't expect, knocking them off, false alerts not lasting as long as they're supposed to. If you're tired of those constant frustrations, use my link ever since cgm.com/juicebox to learn more about the ever since 365 some of you may be able to experience the ever since 365 for as low as $199 for a full year at my link, you'll find those details and can learn about eligibility ever since cgm.com/juicebox

Zuzka 13:01
check it out. I don't think he remembers much. I remember just because it's very small ERD that we went to, like, literally every, every time the doctor came to our room, he said, I'm waiting for the Children's Hospital. I'm waiting for a phone call. I called the children's hospital like he wasn't doing anything on his own. And I just remember like, seeing him so skinny there. But my son likes the attention. So I think at that point he wasn't looking at it at something like horrific. He likes all the attention. Yeah, he's over that now, but at that point, you know, he wasn't like, upset or anything I

Scott Benner 13:41
got you I'm so glad that you live where you live, because I didn't want to. I'm sitting here, like, testing my geography in my head, and I'm thinking, I think Slovakia is landlocked. I'm like, What is she talking about? And

Zuzka 13:53
not anymore, you know,

Scott Benner 13:56
like, I don't think that's an island. And I started thinking, like, do I have to check like, I don't want to check myself. I'm pretty sure that's right.

Zuzka 14:02
No, I live United States, exactly. I was born in Czechoslovakia, which is now Slovakia. Yeah,

Scott Benner 14:07
it's actually, did it split into two? Is it like, Yep, it's like, chechia and Slovakia. Now, is that how it works?

Zuzka 14:14
Czech Republic and Slovakia? Czech Republic, okay, all right, split in peace. Gotcha.

Scott Benner 14:19
I've had a surprising number of people on this podcast from that part of the world. It's really interesting. How did you, how did you find the podcast? Then,

Zuzka 14:26
when he was diagnosed, I just needed a break from life, so I started to take walks every day. Like I would just tell my husband, like when he was diagnosed, it was, it was so hard. Like we would take, we would take turns who's going to the garage and cry, because you have to keep it together for the kids. And I just needed a break. So I like, I would go and just walk up and down the road, and I, you know, I would just like, look for you. Diabetes podcast, something to listen to and learn from. And I kept going back to you, because it's most conversational, and it's not just about the knowledge about diabetes. For me, a lot of it is just being within people that are going through the same thing? Yeah, no, well,

Scott Benner 15:22
I'm glad, I'm glad you found it. I know there are plenty of people who like the like the small sips or the bold beginning stuff, and I like making it, but at the same time, like, I really don't think the podcast would have endured if it was just all that. No, I just think it needs to be, you know, conversational is a nice way to put it, but it needs to be entertaining too, to some degree, you know, like, or why would you why would you flip it back on again? And

Zuzka 15:44
you don't want to feel alone, like I feel as a parents or diabetes, like you feel so alone because people just don't understand. Yeah, no, I know. So hearing someone going through the same thing and and coming on the other side better. It just so helpful. Yeah, it's just so helpful. Well, you've been

Scott Benner 16:03
listening for six years. Can I ask a question, then, because you're a great person to ask this up. Is it helpful too, that it's more light hearted, that it's not so, like, even when we're having conversations, it's not super serious and sad 100%

Zuzka 16:16
I just don't want to, like, listen to your podcast every day and cry, you know, I I want I have to keep on living my son has to keep on living my husband like we all have to keep on living, yeah, so it like I wouldn't listen to it if it's a Debbie Downer, no, I agree all the time. Okay, that's good. I remember when I joined the Facebook, I think it has 4000 people. Oh, yeah, I got it. Like, I remember you like making a big deal, like, we have 4000 members. And I don't know how many 1000 you have right now. 59,000

Scott Benner 16:50
this morning. There you go. Yeah, you know, it's funny. It got to a point where I like making posts that are, like, celebratory, you know. And my wife says to me one time she goes, I don't know if this feels celebratory anymore, if it feels like you're rubbing it into somebody. And I was like, What are you talking I'm like, What are you talking about? She's like, you were just like, we have 50,000 she's like, you know, I think we all get it. It's growing. And I thought, Oh, that's not how I think about I just think of it as, like, look, it's, you know, it's getting bigger, and there's more people here. We're helping more people. And she goes, Yeah, I might cut back on the celebratory post. Maybe she goes, maybe just every 10,000 at this point. I was like, you

Zuzka 17:24
know, she always keeps you in check, but I think that's something you should be proud of. It's more of us in this community connected, you know, before you know, the Facebook and all the social media, we weren't that connected. Like, I don't know, in person, any other mom that I can, like, talk to on daily basis, Yeah, no kidding, the more people you connect, the better for us. Yeah, who are in it? I

Scott Benner 17:52
agree. And also, some people come and go. I'm honored that you've listened for six years. But I don't think everybody does that like I think at some point people are like, Okay, I feel comfortable now, and we know how to do it. And you know, I'm gonna go do something else, which I understand, although I do see a lot of people come back and they'll say, I knew what I was doing. It was going great, but I got unfocused, and now I'm back again, listening, and my a 1c is coming back down. My variability is getting better. There's something about being connected to it. I think that helps people

Zuzka 18:21
as well. Yeah, yeah. Well, and like, when, when my son goes to college, I will go and listen to the episode about getting ready for college that you just

Scott Benner 18:30
right, yeah. Oh, that little series, that was good series. Even like adding more people, it's funny because there's a, there's a small subsection of people online who get mad if somebody asks a question that's been asked already, but I genuinely believe that that's the part of the goal of the group is to be there when someone asks, you know, a day one or a first year question that you've maybe heard asked 15 times, but you and you know the answer to that's perfect, because you know the answer, Like, you know, we just need a couple people. Or

Zuzka 19:03
maybe I needed a reminder. Yeah, maybe I knew it right, and I just put it on a back burner, yeah? And now I need to be reminded again. Yep, no,

Scott Benner 19:12
it's very valuable. I can't believe that I was able to keep it like, the vibe in there the same as it grew. That's the thing. I can't believe that that we accomplished. It's, it's, it's usually those groups get too big, and they get unwielding, and you kind of lose control of them, and then they just burn themselves out. But this is just continuing to go so, very, very cool.

Zuzka 19:31
There are people diagnosed every day, yeah? So every day you have those people desperate for community and information. Yeah, no,

Scott Benner 19:39
I agree. He's diagnosed. I'd like to hear a little bit about how you started off with management. Is, was it pens? They give you a pump? Do you have a CGM? How did all that work?

Zuzka 19:48
So after the ER, we've been in the ER for like, four hours or something, and then the doctor goes, like, so we have a 730 appointment in a two. Children's Hospitals, so now you can go to the hotel. So they just let us go sleep in a hotel, and then we have, like, the full day education, and we were on pens, Lantis and Humalog, silly advice. I remember giving my son a shot, and I did such a bad job that he started to trading on his own because I did such a bad job. It's like, I'm doing this on my own. I'm not letting you do that again.

Scott Benner 20:31
Is that a hack? You just really mess up the one time? And the kid's like, I'll do it, never mind,

Zuzka 20:36
take it as you will. But like, I remember it was like, I didn't know better. And it was, like, almost, like I stabbed him, like, if I had knife in my hand and I

Scott Benner 20:46
stabbed him with the pen, yeah, you really I, like, lunged, yes, like,

Zuzka 20:50
they didn't give me orange before to practice.

Scott Benner 20:54
I think I've made every mistake in the books. Like, doing it, like, I've gone on on the wrong angle, I've gone too slow, you know, like, there's a lot I don't know. I'm glad we don't do many of them, to be perfectly honest.

Zuzka 21:08
So we did that, and I think in about whenever next and the appointment. So in three months, I was on the phone with Dexcom, and then we got Dexcom.

Scott Benner 21:19
Yeah, it's important to go quickly. Made a big difference, I imagine, yes, yeah, you didn't manage for long without it, I guess, yes, yeah, but,

Zuzka 21:28
but, you know, two sides of a coin, it's like, it's great that you have Dexcom and you don't have the finger prick, but then you have this unbelievable amount of data that you can obsess about, you know, having all this I'm definitely glad I don't want to live without Dexcom. Did

Scott Benner 21:47
you get past that feeling? You still feel overwhelmed? I

Zuzka 21:51
don't know. I just heard my accent so bad and I said that. I just don't know the balance between, like, keeping his physical health good, or his mental health and our relationship, you know, like, I don't want to, and I'm trying really hard not to react to every number you know, or when he's high, like, oh, trust Him that He gave himself insulin and let it sit there for A minute, because it takes a minute to start going down, or Dexcom to catch on. So real learning six years in,

Scott Benner 22:28
still learning. You know, it's funny, I think a lot about how to communicate that to people, and I think so far through conversations the best way, because I don't know a way to sit down and say those things. You have to wait. Sometimes you have to see what's going to happen. You can't overreact. Like, it's easy to say, but like, the feeling while you're in it is difficult to ignore,

Zuzka 22:49
yeah, because if it doesn't start going down, they're like, Oh crap. Doodles, I just, you know, wasted 20 minutes. He could have insulin in him. Yeah, no.

Scott Benner 22:58
And then you have that feeling, especially at nighttime, when you're like, I'd like to go to sleep at some point. Or, you know, we're trying to go outside and do something, or like you're trying to get to that number for a real reason. Does it still feel like, Oh, he's being hurt, health wise, by this, or is it more about like not having to manage it? Like, what are you trying to escape? When you're trying to escape

Zuzka 23:19
that number? I am trying to escape bad numbers being his normal. Like, you know how that, like, slowly that, like, oh, 150 is okay, one eight is okay. Two is 200 is okay, and then it's your normal. I'm trying to escape that, but we are trying to teach him independence, and I'm trying to let go, and I'm trying to have a good relationship with him, and I'm trying him not to develop a bad relationship with food. Yeah, there's like, so many things to think it about. And I wish there was, like, if you do a, then it's B, you know, but there's just that and like you just never know. It's like 1000 decision, yeah, every day I

Scott Benner 24:07
have to tell you, I it's probably not very comforting for you, but I still feel exactly like that. Yeah, that's not comforting at all. Yeah. So those concerns and the desires I have, those exact ones, and I'd have to say that Arden's biggest impediment is, is the waiting. Like, she still waits to do things, and she's not yet seeing the value in like, if I do it now, it'll be less effort than doing it later.

Zuzka 24:37
Yeah, that part, there's so many times I told my son, like, if you just take the 10 he's an Omnipod if, well, if you just take 10 seconds to give yourself insulin, then we don't have to deal with it for three hours after, because it takes a minute if you get high. And he always, when he gets high, he knows that's bad, so then he crushes himself, and then he's too low. I always. Kind of like, you know, if you get high, you're gonna get low, yeah, because you're gonna crash it, because it's hard to catch it, the fast drop when you're super high, going low.

Scott Benner 25:08
Listen, Arden is 20, and I just recently told her, You got lower. She got too low to ignore at 4am right? And I said that happened because you didn't change the pod the day before, when I said, I think now's the time to change the pod. And she looked at me like crossways, you know, and and I said, you left on a site that wasn't working, and so you kept pushing a bunch of insulin through it, and it wasn't being effective, but that insulin was still going in there, and it was gonna, it was gonna catch up eventually. You know what I mean, like, it was gonna, your body was gonna use, and it happens overnight. And I said, if you just would have put a new pod on that pod would have been very effective. The number would have come down sooner, with less insulin, then there wouldn't have been all that insulin sitting around. And then you don't have this, like, late and low overnight. She finally got too low at four, but she was getting low throughout the night. Like you could see her just drifting down and down and down. And she's using trio, so she's got an algorithm going. And you know, that thing was trying to stop that drop for like four hours. It had taken her basal away at like midnight, and she just kept dropping steadily midnight, right till four o'clock, when it just, you know, it wouldn't, it wouldn't catch alarms obviously went off, and we were like, okay, took care of it. Like, it wasn't something, like, a big deal compared to that. But then we were awake and, like, she fell back asleep pretty quickly, but I stayed up for 15 more minutes to make sure, you know, and then that suddenly it's 430 and you're like, Oh, God, am I awake? And I said, anyway, all this is fixed. If 12 hours ago, we would have done something different, and you we wouldn't have had to go through all this. And there'll be people who are like, Oh, she's 20. She should know. Or like, I just still think that's young. The real meaning of it's just not, it's not getting to her yet. It will one day, like I've spoken to a number of people who, you know, who've grown up with diabetes, and you get to a certain age, and it's like everything else in life, you go, Oh, okay, I see this is important, but you got to stay healthy till you get to it.

Zuzka 27:08
So I have a question for you. So you told her you should change your path, right? And she didn't do it, yes, right? So then what? Like you just let you just let it go, like, tell me what I should do, and my son doesn't listen to me.

Scott Benner 27:25
That's my growth period, right there. Then I go, okay, she's 20. I told her, she understands why I've communicated it pretty well. She seems irritated. I don't think she's going to do it. Now, what am I going to do? Am I going to make myself crazy for the next 10 hours? Or are we just going to let this be the teaching moment that it is and it moves on? I'm comfortable with it being the teaching moment that it is, because for us, a bad outcome is a six, five, a, 1c if she was ignoring it and her a 1c was nine, I would probably treat it differently, but it's not killing her to have this learning experience, so I let her have it. I probably think of it exactly the same as if, I guess if I said to a kid like, Don't smoke weed, and they were like, I tried weed, I'd be like, Okay, I guess that's like, you know, but if it was like, Don't try heroin, and they're like, No, I'm going to I guess I'd step up and be like, Okay, well, I guess we found my line. Yeah, I think that whether it's diabetes or just regular life, no one learns by being told, actually, you told me you like the podcast because it's conversational. Like, right? Like, if I sat down and just hammered a bunch of ideas at you, you might be resistant to it. I think parenting is the same. Honestly, if you really listen closely to the podcast, I really just apply how I think about life to diabetes. That's all I'm doing, you know, so it's not killing her in the moment. So she's gonna be high, not feel as good as she could. Get low overnight, have that experience, and one day she's gonna, it's gonna happen, and she's gonna think, you know, I should just change that stupid pump. So,

Zuzka 29:05
you know, there was, there was so many times over last six years that I'm looking at Dexcom reading and I'm like, Oh, my God, he's about to have a seizure, you know? And that's like, crazy. I think I'm losing years of my life from the stress of it, and it's, you know for sure, it's not good for him either. So I, like, I don't know how far I can let that independence go at this point. I mean, he's still very young, although, like, let me try. You know, I can do it. I can do it. He makes mistakes, and sometimes they are big mistakes. Or his new thing is he he closes Dexcom app so I can't see his numbers. Oh, that's not okay, because he can see it on the Omnipod five app. Yeah, you know, and that it's just really. Hard and really not okay, right? And also like he's, so I told you, like he's, he's burned out, so every alarm, every pee, bothers him, yeah? So he just, like, he shuts it off so I don't have to listen to that. And he's like, I'm fine, Mom, I'm fine. I'm like, You're not fine. You're 39 Yeah?

Scott Benner 30:19
Okay, yeah, they think I'm fine. Covers every blood sugar and situation between just about to have a seizure and 500 I'm fine. Everything's fine. Yes, listen, I understand, like, psychologically, where it comes from. I would say this, like, if he wants to try to do it on his own, it's awesome, but he needs to know what the tools do. He can't say to you, look, I've got the whole toolbox here. Leave me alone. I know what to do, and then grab a wrench when he needs a hammer. You can't just ignorantly go forward not knowing what you're doing. If he has some ideas to try to enact, I would say, Look, you want to do it on your own. That's great. Here are the things you need to do, like these are the things. Go ahead and do them, but you don't just get to wildly guess about what to do and make yourself super low or, you know, and, and when it goes wrong, shutting off the Dexcom. So I doesn't, so I don't know. That's not an answer, no.

Zuzka 31:10
Well, and the other thing, if you super high or super low, you're not really your best self, right? How do I know you're making the right decision? Because he his personality changes, sure when he's high or when he's low, and

Scott Benner 31:24
that person's trying to make decisions that they already didn't understand. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Zuzka 31:29
I know it's very, very hard. People look at my son and he's very healthy, and the work that goes into it Sure, and don't see him when he's super high or super low, and how it affects him. You know, I think that sometimes people because he wasn't in coma, he wasn't in a hospital overnight, he never has a seizure. Knock on wood, people don't understand how bad and how quickly this can get. Yeah, they just think it's easy because you look okay, yes, yeah, because we look okay. And he has, you know, he has his Dexcom, and he has his bump, and I am so glad that nothing bad has happened, yeah, of course, you know. But then, because nothing bad has happened, people don't understand the seriousness of it. When you

Scott Benner 32:20
say people don't understand, do you think he's one of those people who doesn't understand, or you just mean outside people, I don't know if he wants to understand. I think that's a powerful insight, honestly, because I've had those feelings sometimes when you start to explain something to art and she goes, I don't want to know about this. It's not about, like, having a seizure or something. It's even just like, hey, what does this pill do? Or, Why am I doing this? Or, like, can you start explaining it? I think, I think there's part of her that's like, look, I don't want to understand why this is so important, because I'm going to realize I have to do it. You know what? I mean,

Zuzka 32:50
yeah, yeah. When he got diagnosed with hypothyroidism, that's what he said, is like, just another part of my body not working, yeah, you know? And that's sad. And I tried to tell him, like everybody has his burdens, like this is not going to go away. I almost feel like no one ever sat me down and said, zuska, your son has diabetes. It was like, Well, it kind of looks like it. And I almost feel like I'm still waiting for this big meltdown to let all these emotions out of me, but I'm realizing, because diabetes is not going away, that I just have to live with them at all times. Yeah, have

Scott Benner 33:32
you tried torturing the captain that might make you feel better

Zuzka 33:36
daily basis?

Scott Benner 33:37
Okay? Well, if that's not working, I don't know what to do. My wife seems to really excel at it. So I I like when you talk to other women when they're not involved in your life, they'll say things like, well, they know that they can say that to you, because you'll take it and you won't stop loving them. And I'm like, I don't that doesn't make me feel

Zuzka 33:59
better. Well, she's stick around for all these years, she's not gonna leave you now, you know, I don't

Scott Benner 34:04
know if we want to test that, but okay, well, yeah, no, I again, I think that was really, is really something you just said there about like you're not sure what he really wants to know. I think that's probably something people could really resonate with. You can't make it too real for me, because then, how do I shut my Dexcom alarm off when I can't take it anymore? You know? How do you escape an impossible situation when it's an impossible situation? Yeah,

Zuzka 34:31
I wish he would understand that if be if we are proactive, that we would spend so much less time on diabetes, and we would avoid so many like, bad feelings.

Scott Benner 34:44
Step out of diabetes for a second. Think about all of the things that you see going on in the world. Could we not say that about all of them? You don't even mean if people just put a little effort in now instead of later, they'd see or if they just didn't. Eat this instead of that, then this wouldn't have like the problem you're having, or that anyone's having. It's not diabetes specific. It's a human problem. If it wasn't diabetes and it didn't feel so omnipresent, and it didn't feel so important to living, you'd be having this issue with him about something different, because this is issues that people have,

Zuzka 35:24
if that makes sense. I mean, his biggest issue is the biggest issue, whatever that is for every kid. Yeah, you know, for every child, it's just, you know, if, if we can go back to this, like you being life coach on some of these episodes, like sometimes in the middle of the night, you know, like he's 181 90, and I'm thinking, shall I get up and give him insulin or not? You know, because then I, like, once I'm awake, it takes me an hour to fall back to sleep. Like I'm trying not to be the lazy mom, you know, take care of my kids, or if needed, like, wake him up, if something you know, needs to happen, and then I'm like, Well, if I wake him up in the middle of the night, he's not going to fall back to sleep, then he's going to have a bad day the next day, because he's going to be, you know, so tired. And I just don't know where the balance is again, because based of the knowledge that we have, you know, from Jenny and you you know, we can do so good. But if I push every little thing that I know, number one, it might not even working, work as well as I think, because I'm not him, you know. But number two, he would hate me because I'm just taking care of his diabetes, but I don't want our relationship to be just about diabetes, so sometimes I choose to let diabetes go because I don't want to get into another fight with him about diabetes, because our relationship has to be about more than just diabetes. Of

Scott Benner 37:07
course, yeah, I find myself often thinking there's something to be done here, but I don't want Arden to think I don't trust her, yeah, or I don't want her to feel like she doesn't know what she's doing, like I'd almost rather her have a less than perfect outcome, but feel good about it than me to step up and be like, Oh, that's awesome. But if we just did this, then this would be like, better. I try to avoid that, although I would say overnight, the other night, we were making adjustments to insulin. Didn't get them quite right. So overnight, she started rising the system. Couldn't get ahead of it, and I think when she got the 140 and still had, like, a diagonal up arrow, I it was, I mean, she was definitely asleep, I walked into her room and I made a Bolus and and went back to bed, because I think it was going to end. It was a very specific situation, and we had made an adjustment. I was like, Oh, this adjustment is not going to be right for overnight. It's not going to work. It's not going to work. Then it's two o'clock in the morning, and this thing's going to go 141 60, maybe level out at 180 and then the algorithm is going to fight with it for four hours. And then, you know, if she tries to sleep in in the morning past seven o'clock, then her new settings are going to come on. It's going to make her low. And like, I just was like, I'm just going to go Bolus this. So, I mean, I did that. I didn't tell her honestly. I don't know. You know how when, like, everybody else is watching television, and you're doing a load of laundry and you're like, I'm helping them, they don't care. Nobody appreciates this, like, but it really does need to get done. Like, I kind of looked at it that way. I guess

Zuzka 38:36
we trying to get him well, he wants his independence. Also. I don't like him having fun by him at night, because I don't know if he's just on it playing games, and he needs to sleep. So we've been going back and forth over last couple of months. I even get him a sugar pixel in his room, and then he just unplugs it because it wakes him up. So for now, we're trying to do like on the weekends, he can have his phone by him at night and take care of it. And on weeks like school night, it stays with me at night. But during the weekends, the rule is, if I have to come downstairs and take care of your diabetes, the phone goes back with me and it's with me for a week.

Scott Benner 39:24
Yeah, the phone's a tough one. I'll tell you it is. Yeah, because it is, it's not just a phone, obviously, almost the last thing it is is a phone. I tried to explain to you, like, I'd like you to hold your phone to your ear, and you're like, I don't know. I probably never do that. Even it's so much more, like, it's a, it's, obviously, it's a portal out into the world to everything, you know, and kids are probably not going to choose to do something really awesome with it, but they could, like, he could be watching a nature documentary. He could be watching that Daredevil show on Marvel right now is very good, like he, you know, he could listen. He's 14, you know, I'm saying he could be doing other stuff with it. It's. Tough, because you're not just leaving the controller to his insulin pump with him. You're leaving a portal to the world with him. Yeah, yeah. And they don't have the, listen, I'm 53 I barely have the wherewithal to put it down sometimes. Like, you know, how's he gonna do it? You

Zuzka 40:14
know, you always said, like, I hardly think about diabetes. That's true. I always tell people like, all I think about is diabetes, but I'm so sick of talking about diabetes, except this one hour with you, I'm very happy to I love the diabetes community around Juicebox, because they're like, people like me, and I struggle because sometimes I want to tell people, like, in the morning, like, oh my gosh, we had such a bad night. Like, I tell them sometimes, but I don't tell them all the time, but in a same time, I'm like, I don't want to tell them because I don't want them, like, not to have my son over for a play date or a sleepover, or if he's dating your daughter, you're going to be like, Well, don't date him, because, you know, he's so much work, yeah? Like, it's just,

Scott Benner 41:04
it's hard. No, I know. I know, yeah. Well, then use the group for that. Just go into the group and be like, I had a really bad night. I needed to tell somebody, and I don't feel comfortable saying it in my real life. So here it is, and you'll find 25 other people probably had a bad night too. They'll commiserate with you,

Zuzka 41:21
you know, oh for sure. Like, there's sometimes when people, and I did it too, like, you post at three in the morning, like, hey, blah, blah, blah, it's happening. Anybody out, you know, up and they're like, Oh yeah, me too. You know, it's not going great. I remember, for people around diabetes, like, not directly related. When my son got diagnosed, like I thought no one would ever have him for play dates, because it's like so much work and I would have to explain everything. And I remember one of my friends being like, Oh yeah, we'll totally have him over. And that was so meaningful to me, yeah, like, that meant award to me, because at that moment, I didn't know that that can happen. Like, you know, one CIGA diagnosed. Now it's normal. Now he goes, but, like, it was so hard first to be like, he's gonna go and be in a care of someone else. Will they be okay with it having, you know, kid with diabetes in their household, knowing the risk and are willing to do if something needs to happen. You know? Yeah,

Scott Benner 42:27
I'll tell you the thing that breaks my heart still and now that Arden is older, like, trust me, I had all the concerns when she was younger, because there was, by the way, there was a family who said, like, she can't stay here overnight. I've also had people like, one guy, one Father. He said, I got in the morning and came over to pick her up. And I said, How was it? He goes, Oh, it was perfect. Everything was great. I'm like, You look terrible. He goes, I wasn't able to sleep. He sat up all night worried about her bloodstream, but he still did it and invited her back. And what a good guy. Yeah, right. And I've had people say, like, I'm sorry. She just can't stay here. It's just people who were overwhelmed or not interested, or whatever they you know, just it's not fun for them, and so they don't want to whatever. But nowadays, as she's older, if I had, like, the equivalent of that horrible feeling, I think, is that, I mean, Arden does. She's on the internet, like, don't get me wrong, but she's not very, she's not super involved in this. So Arden is a really, really pretty girl, and she's a lovely person and smart, and, you know, she's a great personality. She's a really great package of, you know, of a person. And sometimes I'll hear her joke about things like, you know, like, oh, you know, she meets a boy or something. And like, it's something like, oh, we'll see, like, you know, how much of me he can take. But she doesn't mean her personality or she means, like, her troubles, you know, having to take a pill for this or that, or a shot, or, you know, insulin, that kind of thing. It's funny because I watch her navigated not differently than all the young women that I've that I've had interviewed, like, you know, in their teens and then their 20s and and even talking to married women who have type one like, I can see her like, naturally doing the things that I've heard other thoughtful, smart women do. Don't tell too much at first, but don't hide it, like all that stuff. She met a boy recently. She came home the other night. They were, you know, they watched, they were watching a movie. And she came home the other night, and he brought her back and dropped her off, but she told him, I have to go back now, like, I have to change one of my devices. And she didn't, like, tell him more, like she had to swap her Dexcom out. She didn't tell him more. She didn't say what it was, just, you know, I have a, like, one of my devices I have to change. She said. About an hour after he dropped her off, he texted her and asked, did that all go okay? Like he didn't know enough about it to ask, like, a pointed question, but he checked in with her, and that was a moment where I thought, like she told us about it. So I thought, Okay, that's good. This is a thing that happened that she's comfortable with. So, yeah. I try not to be heartbroken about it, because she seems like she's navigating it. Yeah, you know, it's different. She's a little older.

Zuzka 45:07
Can I ask you one more question about Arden? Yeah, of course. So I remember how old was Arden, when she went to Disneyland and you had like a nurse going with her? Do I remember it correctly

Scott Benner 45:19
High School, yeah, she was a senior in high school. They did a senior trip to Disney, and there was a nurse there for everybody. But this nurse reached, we were able to reach out to her and get her Oh, God, I'm making you're making me. Remember this. She came in one night to give Arden a juice in the hotel room, and Arden texted me and was like, This lady's like, shoving the juice on my face. I already had shoes. That was her senior year of high school.

Zuzka 45:45
Okay, so tell me, how did you get from if my daughter wants to go to Disneyland in her senior year, she needs a nurse to she's going to college, and there's no one. I mean, I know her roommates have Dexcom, like, my son wants to go on, like, overnight trips, and I'm like, Well, you can go because there has to be someone. So I will have to go with you, or your dad will have to go with you, because, you know, so how, how did that process? Because it's within a year, right from her senior year to her first year of college, yeah. So,

Scott Benner 46:20
I mean, I guess the first thing is, is that the school was providing a nurse for everybody. Okay, you know, so they were there. It's not like, I was like, you send a nurse, or my kid can't go. There was a nurse. So we utilized it.

Zuzka 46:30
So you, you wouldn't if that wasn't for the nurse, would you specifically ask for one? How would you deal with it?

Scott Benner 46:37
I would have found a different way. I think the answer to your question is, is that you have two choices? You can stand still or move forward, and you can only move forward with the spaces that are provided. So when we have to move forward, I look around me for my resources and I make the best of what I have, but we're not going to stop moving forward. Does that make sense? Tell me more. No, listen, if you're trying to send your 14 year old away for a week without somebody there, I understand you not wanting to be on him. I understand you saying, look, at this point, buddy, you don't know what you're doing well enough to avoid lows. You get low sometimes, and it's in the middle of the night. This is not a this is a safety issue. It has nothing to do with our trust for you or whatever, we're just not at that point yet. But if he was 17, and he could take care of it, and you could, you know, look in the face three guys that were going to be in a room with him and say, Listen to me, you guys are going to be gone for four days. No one lets him die, you understand? And here are the things we're going to do. Then I would say, between that, and then, you know, having find my iPhones, you could, like, send a, like, a loud noise to wake somebody up. I used that a couple of times in Arden's freshman year of college. I just looked around me for what was available, and I MacGyvered it into that. Is that a reference? People are gonna know shoot? Probably I won't. MacGyver was a television show in the 80s. Oh, I know. MacGyver. Okay, we're a guy took for everything, or make it two out of everything he could make something out of anything, right? So, like, you know, like, so she's going to college, or not, not letting her go to college. This is this new situation. You're going to get roommates, but you don't know who they are. They can be drunk, high, or, you know, checked out, or in a, you know, in a boys room overnight, they might not even be there. So you just look around for what's around you, and you adapt it to the situation and put yourself in the safest and, you know, make sure there's redundancies. It's not just like, Oh, I'll do this if she gets low and there's no second step. Like, you had different steps. And there are nights that you'll, like, sit in your bed and think you're gonna have a heart attack while you're waiting for somebody to answer, and then you just come to realize that if that doesn't work, then you're gonna call 911, and then there's another system in place and another system in place, and hopefully it's enough. But the alternative is, is that that kid lives in your house the rest of his life and has a really weird life, and you don't want that either.

Zuzka 48:59
Yeah, that's not allowed, yeah, so we just tried it for the first time. Well, so number one, we are in a different situation, because, again, we are separated by water. Even at two o'clock in the morning, I can just go and drive somewhere three hours, right, if he needs me. So we tried it for the first time. Me and my husband went off the island and we let him stay at home. We had his cousin, thank goodness, stay with him. And of course, he got too high, then he got too low, then he got annoyed by alarms, so he shut off his Dexcom app. Yeah, so me and my husband in a hotel, and three in the morning we're like, what we do, what we do? Like, do we wake up this cousin, and then at some point we did have to call the cousin and said, I'm she because she was in a house, because we needed a secondary phone, you know, say another person there, and she had to go find him. Of course, he was funny, like, I had Juicebox. I'm like, why couldn't juice answer the phone call, text me. Back something. So I'm not here sitting on the bed with my husband for two hours, like, is he having a seizure, and no one's around him.

Scott Benner 50:07
I'm fine. Well, that's nice. Well, me and the captain just had a stroke, so, and I didn't mean that like that, yeah, calling my husband a captain. Well, you called him that. I mean now to me, he's the captain. You're Tenille. We're moving along. I

Zuzka 50:20
am very proud of him, as long as we know that he's not captain of my life. Yeah, no, I

Scott Benner 50:26
understand, yeah. Out in the world, he's a respected man in your home. He's an idiot. I got it. Don't worry. I know it's gone. Okay,

Zuzka 50:33
my son is 14. By the time he's 17, he will grow immature. I will grow immature as a family. We will grow immature, and we will be able to go through this process to let him go to

Scott Benner 50:47
college. Yeah. I mean, you're probably going to need some weed too, because you're not going to calm down. I don't think this guy, it sounds to me like you've got a lot of that mom thing in you. It's not good. Well, I love him. No, I know. I know. Don't get me wrong. I don't mean, like, loving him and being worried is bad. I mean, like, the the anxiety piece is tough, the overbearing, yeah, it's terrible. Like, it's, I don't know, like, what nature did. I mean, I guess, honestly, I look at boys and I look at girls, and if nature making me feel horrible, well, no, if nature didn't do this to you, ladies, we'd all be dead already, because guys, because your son's an example. Guys would be like, It's fine. Don't worry about it. It's fine. Don't worry about it. Right into a volcano. Look at every story a guy tells you, I was a mess. I was doing this, I was doing that. You know, I met this girl. She got me straight. It's how it works. I don't know if anybody's

Zuzka 51:37
paying attention. That was the best thing that happened to her. No,

Scott Benner 51:41
no, yeah, I would have died in a road rage incident years ago if I hadn't met Kelly or something like that. But at the same time, like whatever that switch is, it's unfair to you guys that it doesn't have a dimmer because whether it's a baby six months old choking on a little bit of formula, or a 25 year old out on a date. You guys have the same level of, oh my god. Everything's going wrong. We're all gonna die. I have to stop it. I know that the best I've come up with is to say, hey, you should calm down. But I don't think that works. Really. That doesn't work very well. So I don't, I don't do that anymore.

Zuzka 52:19
It's like, no, don't make me calm down. You come up on my level of anxiety. Join me. I was just

Scott Benner 52:25
kidding. Any man who says calm down out loud is gonna lose his testicles. I don't think it's a good idea at all. Obviously, you don't just tell a person who's upset to calm down. But like, what I'm saying is, is that, from my perspective, I'm not having the same response. I don't even know how to interact with her when she feels that way, because I'm like, This is not what I'm doing, and it's not even this. Wouldn't even occur to me to do this, but I think I've learned over the years, it's not occurring to her to do it. It's just happening to her, like she just gets jacked up like that. That alarm goes off overnight. My wife gets a cortisol spike. She wakes right up. She's she's ready to fight a war, and I'm like, Hey, our blood sugar just dipped under 70. Calm down, like it's okay. I don't know what you do. I mean, I think for your sanity, I think you should probably keep working on giving him better a better idea of how those tools work, because when he can make more measured decisions, he's going to have better outcomes, and you're not going to be put in that situation as frequently, which isn't going to put him in dangerous situations. I almost feel like that's the conversation. Like, I know you want to be more in control. I want that for you as well. At the moment, you know, sometimes we're doing really great, and sometimes we're not. I think there's just a few more things you need to learn once you have those things, those tools in your tool belt, like, I think you're going to be great at this. I'm excited for you to go out and live your life and spend the night somewhere without, you know, without me and dad and but we got to get you to that point wishing it isn't going to make it true. We're going to have to do a little bit of work here to

Zuzka 53:56
get to it. Yeah, I was a really bound after that one night. I told them, I'm like, what a wasted opportunity. Like you fought for this opportunity to be left overnight, and you completely wasted it, you know, like there's so little that you could have done just answer your phone. Okay, I have one last

Scott Benner 54:15
let me just say this though, maybe a little less Eastern block in that response there. You know what I mean, just a little less, you're like, back home, we'd throw you out in the snow, and if you didn't die, then you were okay.

Zuzka 54:31
All right, one more question, because I know you're gonna be like, Oh, we had the hour we're done. Hey,

Scott Benner 54:35
by the way, I want to say that's Rob's fault

Zuzka 54:40
and all the money he's charging you, I know. No,

Scott Benner 54:42
no, listen, he's very, he's a very, an awesome editor, and he's a very fair person. When it was just me editing, I just like, I would talk forever, and I'd be like, whatever. Like, if people want to listen to for 90 minutes, they can listen for 90 if they shut off an hour. Like, I don't care. But I do pay somebody by how they edit now, and I am much more kind. Magnus and elvit. So like, if you like that the episodes are a little shorter now, then you can thank Rob, and if you wish they were longer, it's Rob's fault, wrong way recording.com. If you're looking for an editor. But go ahead. What's your question?

Zuzka 55:12
Okay, one more question. So what is she now 22 No,

Scott Benner 55:16
she's 20. She'll be 21 this summer. 20. Okay. Never

Zuzka 55:19
mind. Is she starting to see how much you have been doing for her in life, or she's still like, like, no, like, that's automatic. There might like, is there a way that San will see that someone like, oh my gosh, she my mom was a nudge, like she was just caring, trying hard.

Scott Benner 55:38
Oh, I see. Okay, legacy. We're worried about your legacy here. Okay, of course, I would say that Arden's in the spot now where she still believes that I have unnecessarily put too much effort into her. I don't think she's gonna get to the part you're talking about till mid to late 20s, and I base that on other conversations I've had with people in their mid to late 20s. I don't think this has anything to do with Arden and I or this situation. I really do think it just has to do again, with like, people and how our brains work. And I think that it's, it's interesting and and I understand people who would say like, oh, you know that person's 20 they're 22 they should know. But there's really great research that says your brain is still forming into your mid 20s. There's great research that says that young people benefit greatly by help with their diabetes up until like, 25 years old, like help from their parents. So that's very beneficial. When I go back and interview people who are older, who fought their parents tooth and nail through that time. They'll tell you when they're 2728 29 and 30. I wish I wouldn't have given my parents so much hassle. I wish I would have listened more. I did need help. I didn't realize it at the time. So I think we're in the right now. We're in the I did need help. I didn't realize it at the time part. And I think that if we can continue to have a reasonable relationship the way we are right now, and trust me, not, every day is great. We were, like, Arden and I were yelling at each other about something tangentially diabetes related, 48 hours ago, like, you know, that

Zuzka 57:15
makes me feel so much better, yeah, 100%

Scott Benner 57:17
like, I mean, like, and we were almost in a, like, an we have a very similar personality, so we were almost like in a screaming match at one point, like it stems from all the stuff that you've gone through and all the stuff that I've shared on here coming to a boiling point. I'm trying to assert this as needed and necessary. She's trying to assert her independence. It's all very important to do. I mean, I even think the argument is important to have. But you know, the next day, we're not fighting still, like we're reasonable and everything. And I just think we're in that part right now where she still thinks either I don't know how she feels about it, whether she doesn't feel like she deserves or needs the attention, or maybe she just doesn't want it, like, I don't know, like, you know, in that soup somewhere. I think that if we stay on the course we're on, and keep making reasonable decisions, and I back off when it's not absolutely necessary. And she steps up when she's able to that. She'll continue to mature. She'll get to a point like we all do, where you look back and you go, Oh my god, I broke my mom's balls on this, and I didn't need to.

Zuzka 58:15
And I don't even need my son to realize that, like, you know, I was horrible. I just need him to understand that I am not this horrible, overbearing person, like I am just trying my hardest between raising him to be a functional human being and not hurting himself, health wise, with diabetes, with a long term complication,

Scott Benner 58:37
yeah, no, and that's completely reasonable, but you're in an unwinnable situation,

Zuzka 58:42
yeah, yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, yeah, I can win, yeah? Because you

Scott Benner 58:45
have all of the you have all the challenges of raising a person mixed with all of the challenges of not taking care of diabetes well and hypothyroidism on top of yeah and that for fun, just because there wasn't enough to do. So you have all those things mixed together. You are you're making the best of a not perfect situation. And the truth is, you know, when you see those people online who are diagnosed and they're they have this initial knee jerk reaction like this just changed our lives. Nothing's going to be the same anymore. Here's the secret that's true, right? Like but you have to adapt to it. You have to continue to do the best you can with the cards you're dealt, like that's that's what not giving up is, because it's not going to go away. It's not going to go away, it's not going to change, and the implications on all sides aren't going to change. It's not going to stop being medically a medical disaster if you don't take care of yourself. Kids aren't going to stop not listening to their parents. Cinnamon is not going to cure it. Cinnamon is not going to get it. I mean, we tried, it didn't work. So, like, this is it? This is why I have, over the years, talked about the way astronauts think, because an astronaut is taught to address the next thing that's trying to kill them. Because everything's trying to kill them, and so you can't fight all the things at once. You fight the thing that's in your face that is currently trying to kill you, that is not a fun way to live. And while I don't believe diabetes is a situation where everything is trying to kill you constantly, I do think that attacking it from that position is valuable of I'm going to deal with the thing right now that is the most present and most necessary to deal with. I'm not going to think about the rest of it because, yes, I'm dealing with this thing right now. And is there another thing that's going to try to get us 10 steps away? It is, but it doesn't help me to think about that right now.

Zuzka 1:00:36
And sometimes the mental health is more important than physical right like, sometimes we have to choose to back off right and let them make mistakes, to learn.

Scott Benner 1:00:46
Listen, there's a diabetes version of a Saturday night where you eat ice cream and potato chips, right, right, where you're just like, I've had a week. This is a disaster. I'm gonna put the worst TV show on I can find eat a pint of ice cream, and then I'm gonna wash it down with a Dorito. And this is not a good decision for me. I shouldn't be doing this, but I don't really have another way out, right? Some people get into that situation and they drink, that's not a good decision. Some people get in that situation and they get high, that's not a great decision either. But sometimes people just get to a point where they need to do something, and if they don't do it, they're gonna snap. Yeah? And that's the thing I'm talking about. Like, snapping is not an option. So no, you gotta bend. Giving up is not an option. Yeah, I don't think you're a big American football person, but sometimes you gotta play a little prevent defense, little bend, but don't break. Every play can't be I can't give up a yard. You can't put that pressure on yourself because, because the other side is going to win sometimes, and if, if your goal is always perfection, then every time the other side moves, even if it's just a yard, you're going to feel like I failed. So once in a while, you say to yourself, on this next play, we're going to let them get four yards, and I'm going to rest a little, and then I'm going to come back and smack them in the teeth, and we'll put an end to it here. And that's, I just think that sometimes that's what life is, and sometimes that's what diabetes is. Because again, you know what I'm thinking? What's that

Zuzka 1:02:10
I'm thinking, like, thank God he's using football, not baseball, because going into it, I'm like, I have no idea about baseball. Like, he's gonna say something about baseball, like, comparison, and then I'm not gonna, you're

Scott Benner 1:02:22
not gonna know it. No. I mean, listen, I can, I can do it in baseball, and a little bit, yeah, no, I can. I can do it in baseball if you want, but it would have been more about, like, walking a batter and then, like, just it felt more natural. Understand, I honestly think football is the more natural, like explanation to another, yeah, if I grew up on the other side of the world. Again, I think soccer is a is a great sometimes you just got to let people run themselves out. You know what? I mean? Like, it's, yeah, you you can't constantly be in a battle of perfection. It just doesn't work. So, you know, you keep playing the game. You give a little, you take a little, you give, you take, you go back and forth, and you just try to be on the right side of the score when it's over. That's, I think that's all life is, honestly.

Zuzka 1:03:03
You know what I don't do on Fridays afternoon. Fun fact, what's on parent? That's my break. That's

Scott Benner 1:03:10
your ice cream and Doritos. You're like, it's Friday, yes, try not to kill yourself. Goodbye.

Zuzka 1:03:14
Friday after school, me and kids. I'm like, whatever. Get yourself dinner. Find yourself something. We all on our own, doing our own thing. I don't parent as long as they don't die. We're good Friday this afternoon. Listen,

Scott Benner 1:03:27
we're just a couple of generations behind. That's how I was. Like, that was my entire life. Like, my wife will tell a story that during the summer, I don't think it's a story. She thinks, like, Oh, I think my mom would love it if people heard this. She said, during the summer, we got up, we got dressed, we ate. My mom literally pushed us out the door and locked it behind us. And it was come back at dinner like you go take care of yourself today and come back at dinner.

Zuzka 1:03:52
That was the 70s. I know, I don't know how my parents did it. Like no cell phone, like, you know, come back home with the street lights turn on. Yeah, right. You know kind of deal. My

Scott Benner 1:04:03
parents didn't know where I was ever, never, and you're here doing just fine. I'd also, I didn't have a portal to the world in my pocket, like so you could only, you know, you could only plunder what you could walk to, and there wasn't much near you. A lot of my childhood is just wasting time, just going around, kicking a ball around, throwing a ball around, talking to people, walking. How much of your life was spent walking to someone's house to see if they were home alive? Yeah, and then they weren't home and they had to walk back. There's two hours a shot, yeah, and you're tired, so you really can't get into much. I mean, the worst thing that we could do as kids is shoplift, seriously, like, there really wasn't much to do if you were going to get into trouble. I don't know. It's a different world. So also, I think it's possible that our access to the world has made people more neurotic, too. Oh, for sure. Yeah, yeah. You

Zuzka 1:04:56
feel like with Dexcom. You like having Dexcom, but it's like all these days. Yeah, sure,

Scott Benner 1:05:00
right. When you hear that somebody 16 states away, you know, lit a car dealership on fire, you think, Oh, that could happen here. And, like, I mean, it's not going to happen there. It happened there. It's not going to happen all over the place. Like, you know, there's bad weather in Texas. They don't have electricity. That makes you nervous. You know what? I mean, like, that kind of stuff. You didn't know about stuff like that before. That before. You just didn't know, like, you knew about big things, and sometimes you didn't know about them for weeks or months until after they happened, and the nightly news was, like, not even a thing. Like, most people didn't even watch it. But now it doesn't stop. Like, right? It does not stop no matter what side of like, any idea you're on, from the littlest thing, like how to make bread, to what's going on in politics, like in everything in between, you have access to 1000 opinions, and they're all jacking you up because they want you to like and subscribe so like, you know You're being you're just being ratcheted up to 1000 every digital touch point you have in your life.

Zuzka 1:06:04
Yes. So people want me anxious, obviously, yes.

Scott Benner 1:06:09
So you'll go back and check again. This is very simple. Like, that's why the news is scary. Like, even in the 80s, like, you know, they'd always tell you something scary that was going on where you lived, so that you'll come back next week to see if you're safe or next day to see if you're safe. It's all marketing. Everything is marketing. You're being marketed to constantly. It's for your time. They want your time. They want your attention. Because the longer you stay in their thing, the more they can charge for ads. That's all this is if you just put your phone down, you'd feel better if you stopped watching the news. The world wouldn't change one little bit. You don't actually have any impact over it. The world wouldn't change one little bit, and you would feel better. Doesn't matter who's your congressman or the president or what's happening in the world. The world is going to do what it's going to do, and you and your house, you don't have a lot of impact on it. So it'll make you feel better, but it's not going to actually do anything. You know what? I mean? I was sitting in traffic the other day, and I saw a woman give a guy in a Tesla the finger, and it was clearly just because he was driving a Tesla, not because they weren't doing anything, right? And I thought, Oh, my God, that does that woman think she's making a political statement? I was like, that's you bet she is, yeah. And I thought, That's so interesting. And then I look closer and I realized the guy in the Tesla didn't see her giving him the finger like it never had. I'm watching the whole thing, like from across the intersection. This is fascinating. So she's now performatively giving him the finger because he doesn't see it. I thought, Oh, she feels like she's done something. Yeah, she felt better about herself. Yeah. I was like, That's fascinating. I was like, she thinks she's making the world a better place. And I was like, That guy that Tesla looks like, it's six years old. People at that a long time ago, you didn't even, I'm like, this is all fascinating. My thought for her was, very simply, if she put her phone down, she'd be happier. That's what I thought when I saw that happening. She should really get off of her social media algorithm. It's making her crazy. That guy was just, he's the guy. He's just trying to go to work, you know what I mean? So anyway, yeah, put your phone down, you'll feel better. Thanks. You're very welcome. I appreciate you doing I appreciate you doing this with me. Very much. Thank you, Scott. If only we could have found a way to refer to you as Tenille. At some point, we could have called this episode captain, and Tenille would have been awesome, but I don't get that one, but oh, it's an old singing group from the from the 70s. Don't look it up. Wasn't

Zuzka 1:08:37
living in America like offending me right

Scott Benner 1:08:41
now. It's just word play, Captain, no, please don't look it up. It's not worth looking into. Now I have to no please that well, that's gonna be a big waste of five minutes of your life. No. Couch potato. It is, yeah, whatever you say, couch potato, Summer, yeah, I think it fits. Okay. All right, that's what we're gonna do. Hold on one second for me. Okay?

Zuzka 1:09:02
You Are

Scott Benner 1:09:05
you tired of getting a rash from your CGM adhesive give the ever sense 365, a try, ever since cgm.com/juicebox, beautiful silicon that they use it changes every day, keeps it fresh. Not only that, you only have to change the sensor once a year. So I mean, that's better. Thanks for tuning in today, and thanks to Medtronic diabetes for sponsoring this episode. We've been talking about Medtronic mini med 780 G system today, an automated insulin delivery system that helps make diabetes management easier day and night, whether it's their meal detection technology or the Medtronic extended infusion set, it all comes together to simplify life with diabetes. Go find out more at my link, Medtronic diabetes.com/juicebox the podcast contains so many different series and collections of information that it can be difficult to find. Them in your traditional podcast app. Sometimes, that's why they're also collected at Juicebox podcast.com, go up to the top. There's a menu right there. Click on series, defining diabetes. Bold beginnings, the pro tip. Series, small sips, Omnipod, five ask Scott and Jenny, mental wellness, fat and protein, defining thyroid, after dark, diabetes, variables, Grand Rounds, cold, wind, pregnancy, type two diabetes, GLP, meds, the math behind diabetes, diabetes myths and so much more. You have to go check it out. It's all there. I'm waiting for you, and it's absolutely free. Juicebox podcast.com, okay, well, here we are at the end of the episode. You're still with me. Thank you. I really do appreciate that. What else could you do for me? Why don't you tell a friend about the show or leave a five star review? Maybe you could make sure you're following or subscribed in your podcast app, go to YouTube and follow me, or Instagram. Tiktok. Oh gosh, here's one. Make sure you're following the podcast in the private Facebook group, as well as the public Facebook page you don't want to miss, please. You not know about the private group. You have to join the private group. As of this recording, it has 51,000 members in it. They're active, talking about diabetes, whatever you need to know. There's a conversation happening in there right now, and I'm there all the time. Tag me. I'll say hi. The episode you just heard was professionally edited by wrong way recording, wrong wayrecording.com. You.