#1820 Orange Julius
Kelly opens up about raising two teens diagnosed with Type 1 at age six. She discusses international living , multiple miscarriages , alarm fatigue , and managing different sibling personalities.
Companies that Support Juicebox
Key Takeaways
- International Travel & Embassies: When traveling overseas with T1D, always carry your supplies on the plane in a medical bag. In emergencies, the US Embassy has an after-hours duty phone to help coordinate local medical care.
- The Mental Toll of Multiple Diagnoses: Having multiple children with T1D can cause severe burnout and alarm fatigue. It's completely valid to seek professional mental health support (like talk therapy or a psychiatrist) to process the trauma and grief associated with these life-altering events.
- Different Personalities Require Different Management: Sibling dynamics play a huge role in diabetes management. What works for an organized, self-driven child might not work for a forgetful teenager, and parents may need to adjust their oversight accordingly.
- The Crucial Role of Pre-Bolusing: Consistently pre-bolusing meals, especially unpredictable school lunches, is one of the most effective ways to prevent massive blood sugar spikes and reduce the compounding effort required to fix highs later.
- Get Ahead and Stay Ahead: A proactive approach to diabetes management—addressing highs promptly, understanding food impacts, and pre-bolusing—ultimately requires less total effort and emotional strain than constantly playing catch-up.
Resources Mentioned
- Juice Cruise 2026: juiceboxpodcast.com/juicecruise
- US Med: usmed.com/juicebox or call (888) 721-1514
- Medtronic Diabetes (MiniMed 780G): medtronicdiabetes.com/juicebox
- Touched by Type 1: touchedbytype1.org
- Eversense 365: eversensecgm.com/juicebox
- Tandem Diabetes Care (Tandem Mobi): tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox
- SugarPixel: customtype1.com/juicebox
- Wrong Way Recording: wrongwayrecording.com
Introduction and Sponsors
Scott BennerWelcome back, friends. You are listening to the Juice Box podcast.
KellyI'm Kelly. I have, two teenagers, and, coincidentally, they were both diagnosed with type one diabetes at the age of six.
Scott BennerHow would you like to share a type one diabetes getaway like no other? Join me on Juice Cruise 2026. You may be asking, what is Juice Cruise? It's a week long cruise designed specifically for people and families living with type one diabetes. It's not just a vacation. It's a chance to relax, connect, and feel understood in a way that is hard to find elsewhere. We're gonna sail out of Miami, and the cruise includes stops in CocoCay, San Juan, Saint Kitts, Nevis aboard the stunning Celebrity Beyond. This ship is chosen for its comfort, accessibility, and exceptional amenities. You're gonna enjoy a welcoming environment surrounded by others who get life with type one diabetes. I'm gonna host diabetes focused conversations and meetups on the days at sea. There's thoughtfully designed spaces, incredible dining, and modern amenities all throughout the celebrity beyond. Your kids can be supervised, there's teen programs so everyone gets time to recharge. Not just the the kids going on vacation, but maybe you get the kickback a little bit too. There's gonna be zero judgment, real connections, and a whole lot of sun and fun on Juice Cruise twenty twenty six. Please come with me. You're going to have a terrific time. You can learn more or set up your deposit at juiceboxpodcast.com/juicecruise. Get ahold of Suzanne at cruise planners. She will take care of everything. Links in the show notes. Links at juiceboxpodcast.com. While you're listening, please remember that nothing you hear on the juice box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan or becoming bold with insulin. Today's podcast is sponsored by US Med, u smed.com/juicebox. You can get your diabetes supplies from the same place that we do, and I'm talking about Dexcom, Libre, Omnipod, Tandem, and so much more. Usmed.com/juicebox or call (888) 721-1514. Today's episode is also sponsored by Medtronic Diabetes, who is making life with diabetes easier with the MiniMed seven eighty g system and their new sensor options, which include the Instinct sensor made by Abbott. Would you like to unleash the full potential of the MiniMed seven eighty g system? You can do that at my link, medtronicdiabetes.com/juicebox.
Living Overseas and a Double Diagnosis
KellyI'm Kelly. I have, two teenagers, and, coincidentally, they were both diagnosed with type one diabetes at the age of six. We are a family of four that has lived overseas for six and a half of the last ten years.
Scott BennerTwo kids. One is how old now? 17?
KellyAlmost 17.
Scott BennerOkay. And when both of them were in their six year old year, they got type one diabetes?
KellyYes. So with Kayla, who is my older, she was diagnosed at six, and we found out right after we realized we were going to be moving to France, the the following year. And so I was able to really enjoy my son not having diabetes for about two years, and it was always a joke. Oh, thank goodness. It was Kayla that had it and not my son, Cooper, and then he got it. And we are right. It was so much better. Kayla took it on really well. Cooper has just always been a challenge with eating and and remembering to dose and all of that.
Scott BennerOkay. Are there other autoimmune issues in your family? Do you or your husband have anything I'm talking about beyond type one diabetes?
KellyNot for my husband or I. My husband's cousin has type one as well as his father, so my my husband's uncle. Oh. They both had type one. And my husband's side, it's also someone has Graves' disease. But my side, the only thing that they've ever really been somewhat concerned about is my dad was exposed to Agent Orange, and they were saying that possibly there's some sort of connection. They haven't found a connection close enough to actually pay for anything.
Scott BennerWell, I'm gonna guess that's about where that'll stop actually, right when they Exactly. Right when the government gets close to going. We might owe him money if we figure out the rest of this. They'll probably stop right around there.
KellyExactly.
Scott BennerHe was in, in Vietnam? Yeah. He was. Why? Is he still alive? Yes. Wow. Gosh.
KellyIt's his birthday actually tomorrow. Oh. He'll be 82.
Scott BennerHappy birthday. That's awesome. Very nice. What agent orange what do you what does he feel like it did to him?
KellyMy dad suffers with, Parkinson's now.
Scott BennerOkay.
KellyAnd so the VA did actually is is taking care of him for that.
Scott BennerOh, well, I guess that's good. Is there an idea that that could have implications to his children and his children's children?
KellyWhat I was told is that it could skip a generation. I haven't looked into too much about it when we found out we were over in France. And I said, oh, great. You know, take a look. But we were you know, it's hard enough to live over there. I had enough struggles, so I didn't look into it. And I don't need extra, frustration.
Scott BennerKelly, you you've said a couple of things that make me feel like maybe this has all been a lot for you. Is that fair?
KellyIt has been.
Scott BennerYeah.
KellyI feel like we've we've been at this for over ten years. I feel the burnout. With with insurance, it gets incredibly difficult. Living overseas can be difficult when you're trying to switch out Libres and you're calling the French system and your French isn't great. When you're going into the pharmacy and they laugh when they ask for your, they call it the carte vitale, and it's a Social Security card, basically. All of the supplies would be completely free, and they like to remind you that every time you're in the system going to to purchase everything. It's been difficult. I I found your podcast when we returned from France back in, I think, 2021. So I started listening, and I listen a lot. And it's still like, if you listen, you'll have your a one c's in the low sixes. We're at, like, six and a half to seven and a half right now.
Scott BennerOkay.
KellySo it's just it's every day is tough with alarms. We get alarm fatigue. And at night, you've got one high, one low, and it just having two is tough.
Scott BennerNo. I would imagine. And they were how far apart in age are they?
KellyThey are about two and a half years apart.
Scott BennerYeah. That's it. So we your first one gets it and is only maybe eight, maybe nine years old by the time your second one has it. Yeah. Then you have a nine year old and a six year old with type one diabetes.
KellyYep.
Scott BennerAnd that was about eight years ago.
KellySo Kayla was in 2015 and Cooper was twenty seventeen.
Scott BennerOkay. And would you say that it had, like, a psychological impact on you? Did you find yourself looking for therapy, or did your stress rise? Were you anxious before and more anxious now? Like, can you describe how it hit you first?
Miscarriage, Trauma, and Mental Health
KellyWhen Kayla was diagnosed, there was a lot of confusion. I really didn't understand the disease that sometimes you need sugar, sometimes you don't need sugar, and there were so many variables. And so I remember at the hospital, they were talking about carb counting, and we actually never really got into carb counting. We knew we did, oh, this is about a few units and went from that because with so many variables, I was I wasn't going to make myself crazy trying to understand this totally, like, foreign thing to me of carbs. So we did that. We tried to make it as low impact as possible, especially when we were once we moved over to France. There's not gonna be any restaurants that have your carb counts. You don't know when you're if you're at a restaurant in France, you don't know when the food's actually gonna be coming. The pre bola scene wasn't wasn't a thing. So we tried to make it, and and we were just MDI and finger pricking
Scott BennerMhmm.
KellyFor seven and a half years. And so we did what we could. Kayla's numbers really hurt. They weren't awful. We were below we were in the seventh pretty much that whole time. When Cooper was diagnosed, we were actually in Italy on vacation, and that one hit extremely hard. I was actually I think I was about seven weeks pregnant at the time. And so when he was diagnosed, it was almost like I was trapped to having a third diabetic. It was like I was getting into this pregnancy without knowing that I had two diabetics and thinking this one could get it much, much earlier than six years old like my my other two. So I was worried that every day would be, is this diaper too full? And just really concerned, and that really screwed me up mentally.
Scott BennerOkay.
KellyFor that time when we were on vacation, I was actually I had I had suffered a few miss two miscarriages prior. So I was actually on progesterone and baby aspirin. They were trying to figure out what was going on with these losses. And so I forgot the the pills when we went to Italy. And so I went to the pharmacy trying to get the prescriptions, and then I contacted my doctor to get that information over to Italy, and then he was diagnosed. I completely forgot about all of that. I never followed up. I never got the pills. It ended up I lost the baby, two weeks after his diagnosis. So mentally, I was a mess. I was worried. First, I was scared about my thoughts of wanting this baby so much and then being so scared and then not wanting the baby and then losing the baby and realizing, you know what? Even if this baby does get diabetes I have two amazing kids right now. It helped make me feel a little better about wanting to grow our family. Mhmm. With that, I ended up trying a few times later. We never figured out what the problem was. It ended up because I had so many other miscarriages. I gave myself some grace on forgetting the progesterone and, aspirin, and I got through the really dark place of knowing that I do want another child that the diabetes is not a reason not to have it for us, but it it took a long time to get through it.
Scott BennerYou know, I've been kinda playing around here in, Google Gemini while you're talking. And like you said, the Veterans Administration doesn't recognize a lot, but there's a lot of, information from the community. And it seems like the things that you're going through are not uncommon for a person whose father was exposed. Severe reproductive issues, infertility, generational miscarriages, autoimmune thyroid disorders, structural abnormalities, babies born with missing limbs, extra digits, webbed toes, congenital heart defects, that kind of stuff. The v again, I think the VA says that that's not connected. But the people living, seem to think it might be. So it's Yeah. That's really something. But but the the rest of it though, the your part of it, that kind of journey you went on from, gosh, do I really like, can I deal with, like, a third kid with type one diabetes? And then, like, actually experiencing a loss and then refiguring how you thought about it. That's a lot to go through and how much time. Like, how long did how long were you pregnant that time?
Sponsor Break
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Processing the Dark Places
KellyI was seven weeks pregnant when he was diagnosed. I lost the baby two weeks later. And so this was the 2017, and it was a very, very dark place.
Scott BennerYeah.
KellyI did actually have, we were at the US embassy, and they do have a psychiatrist there who was incredibly helpful. I had never thought about seeing a psychiatrist before, and he was phenomenal. He helped me through everything. I was very against drugs, trying to get anything. He said it's not a tattoo. You can try it if you don't like it. It's it's not a big deal. He did prescribe me lorazepam, and I only know that because of the the White Lotus season. I I went back, and I I couldn't remember what it was. And I there was such a a scene about her lorazepam.
Scott BennerSo That was the Piper season.
KellyYes. Piper. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I went back and I found it. I I took I think it was, like, during maybe the miscarriage awareness day or something. I knew it was gonna be difficult, so I took one of those. And I it I didn't feel any effects, and so I was like, forget it. I'm not I'm not going to do that. But talk therapy was was incredibly helpful. Having my kids being really great people, I really enjoy them, so that was helpful.
Scott BennerI just wanna be clear. I hate White Lotus, and I've seen every second of it. I hate watching it the same way I hate watch Severance. I just wanna say yes. The entire time
Kellythrough Severance.
Scott BennerI oh, I just I look at Arden. I'm like, why are we watching this? It's terrible. I said that this is bull like, masquerading as high minded art. I was like, I don't I hate this. And then next week, she says, you wanna watch Severance? I'm like, yeah, okay. Let me sit down. I think it's possible. I just enjoy complaining about it. But I feel every time I get done watching White Lotus, I feel like nothing happened. Why am I watching this? It's horrible.
KellyTo agree. Yeah. It it was there's a few great scenes and then that's it. Yeah. But for us, we really we do had just gone to Thailand, so we really enjoyed Oh. Looking at the scenery. And then next season, they're going to, I think, the Alps in France somewhere.
Scott BennerSo told me that.
KellyWe'll be watching it.
Scott BennerI hate myself for watching, and I'm sure I will. No. I really do. I know it's not good. If Mike White is listening, there's no reason he would be. I'm sorry for you, but I just I know that this is not real. Like, this is it's made Walter is it how does it how do you say his name? Goggins? Goggins? How Mhmm. It's made him much too famous.
KellyHe was amazing in, Justice.
Scott BennerYes.
KellyOr no. Justified.
Scott BennerJustified. Justified is awesome.
KellyLoved him.
Scott BennerHe was awesome in justified. Also, gave him a, a sitcom that didn't last very long that I have to say, I think if the writing was a little better, would have really done he was awesome in it. I like the guy a lot, but I'm seeing him in, like, too many commercials now. I mean, I feel good for him, but he looks a little too fit, a little too tan, a little too rich. That's all I'm gonna say. Walter, congratulations. I'm I'm I'm not I'm happy for your success. Let's move on. Did you blame yourself for thinking about, like, oh, maybe I don't wanna be pregnant again? Did you have any of that?
KellyOh, yeah. For for that dark dark period, it I had never thought that I would ever think of terminating a baby. So it was it was probably a week of thinking that. Just a lot of it feeling trapped that I didn't have all the information before I got pregnant.
Scott BennerMhmm.
KellyThen I turned it around while I was still pregnant, and then it didn't continue. So
Scott BennerDo you feel bad for thinking it then?
KellyI felt awful for thinking it. Yeah. But then I kept trying. So it's no it was it was something where I had the feeling. I can honor that feeling, and I no longer feel feel bad about it. I'm happy that I did try
Scott BennerYeah.
KellyAgain. But yeah. So that was it was really hard.
Scott BennerI I mean, if I could say outside of the shock of it happening and the you know, I'm assuming the crazy hormonal rush you get when you're first pregnant and then the rush that must come after the pregnancy, you know, ends, like, that's all gotta be overwhelming. But I don't think that thinking about it is insane at all. Like, I think it's pretty reasonable and rational to wonder. I've got two kids. They both got type one diabetes when they're six. Is this gonna happen again? Is that something we can all live through? I think you might be crazy not to think about that from my from my perspective. So but I can also understand how it would make you feel once it you know, once that happened afterwards. My gosh. Well, I'm sorry you went through that. Do you feel like, can you describe how you feel removed from it, like, a decade? Is it I mean, how do you look back on that time in in hindsight?
KellyThinking about it now, I've definitely turned the corner. For a long time, I couldn't be around babies. I ended up having seven miscarriages. So it was two a year consecutively, basically. And what I really enjoy now is that I real I don't remember due dates. I don't remember really, like, exact dates on when things happened. I know it was a hard time. I remember you know? It's it's a weird thing when babies are triggering.
Scott BennerYeah.
KellyIt's great to really enjoy my family of four. It's great that at this age, we have teenagers and we can go on vacations and really enjoy time. So I try to look at those positives.
Scott BennerYeah. I mean, babies are like Jeeps in the summertime. They're everywhere.
KellyYeah.
Scott BennerAnd, yeah, I guess if you're having a a triggered moment from it, that's terrible. Hey. Can I ask? I hope this doesn't seem insensitive. Why'd you keep trying when it was happening over and over again? Like, what was your mindset around it?
KellyWe kept trying different things. At first, there it was, you know, the normal. And then the next time, we're gonna try progesterone and baby aspirin, and then I forgot the pill. So the next time, I won't forget, and I'll do that. And then the next time, I had actual shots. I forget what it was called. Maybe Lovenox or something. And that actually scared me because it burned so much. It was a shot to my abdomen, and I felt so awful for the kids. And I actually posted in one of the diabetic groups. And I was like, oh my gosh. Are my kids having to feel this burn all the time? So and then the we just kept trying more things. And another thing is we were in France at the time. So I almost felt like had we been home, we would have tried a little harder, like, been a little more aggressive with things. I don't know. But it got to the point where we were going to be moving back to The States. I didn't wanna be pregnant during a move, and it was done.
Scott BennerHow did it impact your husband? Did do you did two of you ever talk about it? Was it I mean, I can't imagine. I don't wanna I wouldn't wanna minimize anybody's experience, but, I mean, your experience and his have to be different, but I would imagine equally devastating. So did you talk about it together, or did you kinda have your own separate feelings?
KellyWhen we were in it, it was very I was so distraught, and I didn't talk to him about his feelings at all. After and through each time, he would always say, we were a team, but, really, I was the decision maker
Scott BennerYeah.
KellyOn it. We've never really gotten too in-depth about it since it's happened.
Scott BennerFrom your perspective, do you think he was doing it because you wanted to?
KellyNo. No. No. No. We were both we had always we're both children of three.
Scott BennerYeah.
KellyAnd we just always like, that was our family. We were com completing our family.
Scott BennerDid the pregnancies last about the same amount of time every time, or was it always different?
KellyYes. And and I guess that also makes it a little bit easier. I never got past ten weeks
Scott BennerOkay.
KellyI think. So it was always, you know, hopeful, but we weren't you know, it it is weird. Like, yep. I'm pregnant again. Okay.
Scott BennerOh, but you're not showing like, it's not No. Like, all the whole physical transformation is not there so much, and that part makes it a little easier to repeat. And and because do doctors also do that thing where they go, just try again? Do they give you that whole thing?
KellyYeah. And one thing that was weird is and maybe it was because we were in France. We never got sonogram pictures. We'd see them, but we never actually had them.
Scott BennerOh, yeah.
KellySo I guess it's a little less tangible.
Scott BennerMaybe they only give them to French people. Perhaps. If they're like, oh, they're American. They can't have it.
KellyAnd one thing is I really wanted to have a baby in the American hospital in France because they talked about how amazing the food was. They are in tuxedos, and I I wanted that experience.
Scott BennerYou're looking for the whole thing.
KellyWell Exactly.
Scott BennerAnd that is I had no idea about that. They're in tuxedos? Yeah. Like, in the delivery wing?
KellyYeah. It's a private hospital. Oh.
Scott BennerYeah. I mean, that does sound fun. But, I mean, now you're it's all these years later. Right? You got a great family and, you know, you're doing well.
Managing Different Sibling Personalities
Scott BennerMe about when you said, oh, we thought when the first one got it, lucky that one will be better at this than the other one. Like, has that all played out the way you expected, or is that not the case?
KellyExact it's exactly how we expected. My daughter, she is much more mindful about when what she's giving when she's giving it. My son, he will forget. He has no concept of a balanced meal. Right now, he is eating his school lunches every day with I think it's pizza, milk, and apples. You get a little fiber with that, but it's just it's it's been tough with him. Trying to text him with corrections has become more and more difficult. With my daughter, now that she is a junior in high school, I'm trying to not text her nearly as much so she has a little more control, and getting ready for college. But he's just he's sometimes he's just a bonehead, and he just doesn't doesn't think about diabetes.
Scott BennerHe take after you and she takes after your husband or vice versa?
KellyIt's it's definitely that. He's more like me, and she's more like him.
Scott BennerAnd does that make it more frustrating or easier to understand?
KellyIt's easier to understand.
Scott BennerOkay. So do you give him a pass more than you should?
KellyMaybe. I'd yeah. I definitely expect more from my daughter than my son. The one thing that I really was impressed with is on day one, he gave himself his first shot at six because he had seen his sister do it.
Scott BennerHe's probably like, I see this all the time. I know what to do.
KellyYeah. Yeah. So he can do the things. He just doesn't know how much or when. A lot of times now he's getting to where he wants to give more insulin so he can get low, so he can snack and have all the treats. So
Scott BennerOh, that's not a great plan.
KellyNo. It's not.
Scott BennerCan we just at least call that pre bolus thing for a snack later instead of getting low so we can eat? Yeah. Yeah. Please. Hey. Listen. I don't wanna be your therapist, but why do you expect more from your daughter than from your son?
KellyI don't have to bug her as much. She has always been very organized, and so I don't need to expect more. She does what she needs to do, and I'm hoping to bring him up to her level.
Scott BennerSo you just know she's going to do it. It's not so much that you want more from her. You just know she has she's together and she has more to give and she puts it towards this effort. Yep. Is that because that's her personality and she's just going to do it, or do you think she's beholden to how she believes you and your husband feel and what you want from her? Is she trying to make you happy?
KellyI think she's self driven.
Scott BennerOkay. And he's just like a boy. He's just a knucklehead.
KellyExactly.
Scott BennerAnd he's got trouble remembering things like you.
KellyMhmm.
Scott BennerAnd do you have ADHD?
KellyI do not.
Scott BennerDo you ever has anyone ever joked with you and said, like, hey. You have ADHD? Like that? No. No?
Scott BennerOkay.
KellyBut perhaps there's there's definitely times when I I get distracted.
Scott BennerMhmm.
KellySo it's possible.
Scott BennerDo you have anxiety?
KellyWell, I didn't used to. I try to be, very go with the flow, but, yeah, it's I think with more moves and, less roots and instability, I have more anxiety.
Scott BennerThat's interesting. What about I wouldn't call you guys transient, but you move probably more than some people. Right?
KellyYes. Yes. So before we had Kayla, we bought a house. We knew it wasn't our forever house, but we didn't expect to ever live overseas. In 2016, we moved over to France. We were there until the 2020. And when we were returning, we didn't want to return to our townhome, so we went to Virginia. For two years, we were there just renting. My kids immediately took to American life. My my son was actually in France longer than he was in America beforehand, but the second he came back, he was all about baseball, soccer, football, and just loved it. And then we had one more move over to Jordan for two years, and so we're back now just trying to find, our forever home. Or and when we say forever home, we're probably thinking just to get it through.
Scott BennerThrough your son through college?
KellyNot even through college. I think we'd even be happy with, high school. High school. But we're just trying to set down some roots. So I think that has been just a little difficult.
Scott BennerOkay. And that brings anxiety because you're always thinking about moving again because you're like, it's just not a lifestyle that sits comfortably with you or it doesn't sit comfortably with you since the kids have diabetes.
KellyIt's almost that we're just always kind of in limbo. Where are we going to live right now? We need to find a place so the kids can maintain stability. When it comes to the kids' diabetes, that's and that pretty much travels with us. Whatever we we need, we can we can do wherever.
Scott BennerOkay.
KellyBecause we were living overseas, travel became pretty simple. We were able to figure out, like, exactly what we needed to bring. A lot of people would bring, you know, three times the amount of of things that they needed. And when you're flying with all of these discount European airlines, you you can't bring a whole lot. So we we try to to be as as light packers as possible Yeah. And, it hasn't been too too difficult.
Alarm Fatigue and the Burden of Nights
Scott BennerMhmm. So to the diabetes now, you're you said, a one c has been six and a half to seven and a half with both the kids?
KellyYeah. Cooper there's been times when Cooper reached eight. It hasn't been for a bit.
Scott BennerWhat do you think causes the rise when it happens?
KellyI think a big one is the the lack of prebola scene as well as the nights. There are times when we'll have alarm fatigue. One will be high, one will be low, and it just gets where every night is daunting. The kids
Scott BennerCan you not put that type a husband onto that problem?
KellyYes. For him, he he needs to sleep more. His job is very demanding, and so I try to take on more. But when he takes it on, it's more we all kinda feel it afterwards. Like, I'm so tired, and I was up all night. We we actually got a sugar pixel recently. I didn't realize that there were different levels of the alarm. I didn't test it. And the first time, the first night, we had it on high, and it it it almost shook the whole house.
Scott BennerIt woke everybody up?
KellyHe was like, if this is happening, we are getting to divorce. He was like, no way am I going to live through this.
Scott BennerHey. Before you guys get divorced, let me just say customtype1.com/juicebox. I make a couple bucks when you buy one through my link.
KellyAnd we did.
Scott BennerYeah. Thank you. I appreciate that. Yes. So your husband is gosh. I hate these conversations. But is he not supportive of the whole thing?
KellyHe's incredibly supportive. Okay. Definitely. We've we've always been very good at being a team, talking about it.
Scott BennerBut your team stay up at night, he's team. I sleep and don't wake me up.
KellyNo. No. He he will definitely do it. Okay. If he gets up, we all hear it. We all hear about it. We we definitely work together on it. I am much more invested. I will read the books and listen to all of your podcasts. I also have more time to do that. What I'm trying to do is when we started, the idea of a 7.5 a one c was what we were aiming for.
Scott BennerSure.
KellyAnd, I mean, we've been at this for a decade. I'm slowly trying to get them to be like, it's your 200 you need to correct. And I would love to get to the point where it's your one fifty. Let's correct. So it's just been hard to get everyone on board to want the tighter control.
Scott BennerCan we talk about that part of it for me, Kelly, please? Because I would like to separate your family and and your life away from the idea. So how do I mean this? Nothing that happens here going forward is punitive. I just really want your opinion. Okay? Your perspective. Does that make sense? Yep. Okay. If I told you that while we were sleeping, lava was coming into the kid's room, would your husband be like, but I gotta sleep? Right? He'd no. He'd say, look. There's there's fire in the house. We gotta go. We gotta I gotta get up. I gotta be doing the thing. He wouldn't complain. He was tired the next day. Like, why do you think people don't see diabetes that way?
KellyI think you would complain about being tired after a lot
Scott Bennerof think you would? He'd be like, can you believe there was lava in the house last night? Had to get up and save us all.
KellyNight. Yes. Yeah. It's it's a tough thing, and I feel like perhaps because we have two to deal with, it just becomes twice as difficult because they aren't perfect at night. And I get it. I I know that a one c's are lowered at night, and so we're working on it. I actually just switched the alarm for the SugarPixel while he's away on a business trip to see if the lower alarm is going to work better. I know it's important.
Scott BennerI know you know it's important. I'm I'm listening to you. And I and by the way, I know he knows it's important. I'm asking, like I'm not talking about you guys right now. I'm asking you to, like, philosophize with me about a bigger idea. Right? Like, I just got done speaking, you know, to a person two days ago who's had diabetes for over thirty years, and they got up in the morning, had three units left in their pump, went to work and knew they had three units left in their pump. And then halfway through the work, they thought, oh, I'll just, like, I won't eat. I'll get through it. And, of course, a couple of hours later, they're out of insulin. And then they can't get home for three hours, then their blood sugar is, like, almost 500. And I was like I'm like, why didn't you bring up, like, more insulin with you or a pump or something? You know? Like, the the supplies say, I thought I'd make it. They know the other side of what happens if they don't. And yet it's not enough to move them to action. And I don't know if it's like maybe it's it's wrong to ask the parent of somebody this question because an adult's gonna tell you, hey. Life happens. It gets in the way. Blah blah blah. But, like, it's, like, there's some pretty significant impacts of that. What I'm imagining is that while that's happening, your guts are retching thinking about your kid's blood sugar being 200 overnight. And so you're try am I right? It's hard to deal with. Right? The knowledge? Yeah.
KellyAt the beginning for a while, I would just stay up until at least two or so. I sleep incredibly soundly. So having alarms, they would need to be loud for me to to wake up. So the way I battled it was I just didn't sleep until after two.
Scott BennerPeople with diabetes complaining about something everyone in the world wants, which is I sleep soundly. Nothing wakes me up. Everyone wants that right, until there's diabetes drop. But I'm saying when you wake up in the morning and realize your kid's blood sugar is one eighty five all night longer, it hurts. Right? I'll speak for myself. Like, it hurts me every time something like that happens.
KellyYeah. Like, oh, there was a fail.
Scott BennerSee, you see it as a failure. I see it as a health thing. Yeah. I understand that I sleep soundly and that sleeping's part of being human. Like, I don't think of it as a failure if I didn't hear the alarm. I think of it as I don't know. Like, I think in my mind, I see my daughter's life as a timeline and I feel like I woke up in the morning to find out that, like, a couple of minutes just came off the back end of it. Yeah. I'm not saying that's true, like, apples to apples, but, like, I'm saying that that's how it makes me feel. Like, oh, we all slept last night, but instead of being 86 when she dies, Arden's gonna be 85 and 362. Like, do know what I mean? Like, that's how it feels to me. I don't know if that's right or not. It's just how it impacts me. I don't understand why other people don't feel that way enough so much so that they are motivated to do something about it. That's the part I can't I can't get straight in my head.
KellyYeah. Well and that's why we are are trying these different things. I would like to give the kids the sugar pixel and try the, vibrating under their pillow to see if that will help. We also just started the sugar mate. The phone actually wakes me up.
Scott BennerOkay.
KellySo that's great for the lows. So we don't have any problems with the lows. But, unfortunately, with that one, the the it's only lows, not highs. We have taken since we came back to The States, we have taken, different approaches to get this handled. I'm hoping at some point, we can get the kids on, Omnipod five. We're struggling with the cost of it right now with our insurance versus what we had overseas. So, right now
Scott BennerWhat's their management right now?
KellyCooper is on the Libre three plus and Dash, and Kayla is on, Dash and g seven.
The Struggle to Pre-Bolus
Scott BennerAnd what happens when they get high overnight? Is it from, a late night meal? Is it a miss on dinner? How are these things that are happening overnight? Like, where do you think they're they're emanating from?
KellyIt could be a mix of everything. We'll have a late night meal. It could be if it's burgers, we know about the the late fat and protein spike. I actually was very excited. We had some tacos the other night, and I knew I was ready for the spike. And I I actually managed it. It was the first time that I actually, like, gave him the right amount, so that was exciting. But then it could be where Cooper is low, and he goes downstairs. I just found out today he he he says he got some milk. Well, then he also got some banana bread that I didn't know about, and then that spikes him. So it's not knowing exactly what he's having.
Scott BennerAnd So, mom, I got a little bit don't worry. I took care of I took care
Kellyof it. Exactly.
Scott BennerBut then didn't tell you about the 40 carb piece of banana bread he took with him.
KellyYes.
Scott BennerYeah. Yeah. And why do you think that is? Does he not know? Does he want not wanna be bothered? Do you think he forget do you think it's literally, like, he just forgets?
KellyI don't think he knows the actual impact of what's going on with it.
Scott BennerAnd if you told him?
KellyOh, yeah. I said, I just noticed. What what did you do here? And he's you said you got milk. What else did you have? Oh, yeah. Well, I did this. I was like, okay.
Scott BennerAnd then you do say, well, we need a bolus for that? Yeah. And he says, leave me alone, old woman. What does he say exactly? Like, do does he ignore you? Why do you not push back? Tell me about that whole interplay.
KellyI don't think he has down knowing how much he needs to give himself for the food that he's eating. We are one thing is he ends up having, like, school lunches every day. Every day, I know at 11:20, he really needs to get his pre bolus in. Mhmm. He forgets, or he'll have it, and it will still spike up. So it's like have five chances of very structured time. We know when he's going to be eating every single day at lunch, and it's still a struggle.
Scott BennerHow about a timer on the phone? What if you called him at that time of day every day?
KellyOh, yeah. I text him. But even when he he does pre bolus, he'll go low and he'll eat, and then it's an immediate spike. I'm it's it's the school lunches. They're
Scott BennerGarbage.
KellyKilling me right now.
Scott BennerYeah. Yeah. Listen. It's again, not punitive. Incredibly hard. I believe this after talking to adults over and over again. It's incredibly hard to remember to pre bolus. It is, for some reason, psychologically difficult to say to yourself, well, I didn't pre bolus, so I'll bolus more here because I'm not pre bolus. I think there's something. I feel like I'm watching Arden, and I'm realizing as she's older, and I'm, like, seeing her interact with this all more as an adult. She doesn't mean to forget. And once she knows she forgets, she doesn't want to feel badly about forgetting. And then there's something simpler about ignoring than addressing. I'm sure there's some very simple psychology around this that I just don't understand. Mhmm. I think that they don't wanna let themselves down. I think they don't wanna feel like they're letting themselves down. I think they don't wanna feel like they're letting other people down. But then you get back to the truth of it, which is you're hungry when you're hungry, and nobody thinks to be hungry before they're hungry. Like, do you know what mean? Like, nobody goes like, oh, I bet you I'm gonna be hungry in a half an hour. I should start thinking about what I'm gonna eat so I can bolus for it in fifteen minutes. Like, that's just not how things work. Right? So you can set up timers to try to remind yourself. But, like, even with, like, with, like, thyroid medication, like, I realized that if Arden misses it for a day, I think she does that thing. You're trying to be perfect at something and perfection obviously doesn't happen, and then people go to a reset. You ever notice when people say I'm gonna start a diet, they say I'm gonna start on Monday? Yeah. There's actually something about that. There's a psychological aspect of that that I don't obviously have any education, so I don't really understand. There's definitely something to that that that strikes a lot of people. And what I think I see happening is that whatever it is that tells you, I will do it on Monday, works on a micro level with this diabetes thing too. Like, oh, I missed that. It's okay. I'll just get it next time.
KellyNext time.
Scott BennerYeah. Except there is never a next time because you miss breakfast, and that messes up lunch, and you then it messes up dinner, and then it messes up overnight, and you wake up high, and then it happens again. Like, there's no reset in there. Like and and so it feels like there's this fairly natural human intricacy that I don't completely understand that's getting in the way of the structured need of diabetes that causes the whole thing to just run off balance a little bit. And I don't know if any of that made sense to anybody else, but that made an incredible amount of sense to me. So
KellyWell, that's good.
Scott BennerYeah. I don't know how to fix that other than set a timer on your phone and pre bullish your meals. Because if you get the first one right, then the second one's more likely to be right, you're less likely to have to treat or eat in the middle, which causes some sort of imbalance again. And, anyway, when that person told me they didn't have insulin for three hours, I said, please never do that again. Like, go to work with another cartridge or whatever your whatever your pump would need so you could switch while you're like, you should always have this with you. And I said, like, look at all of the look at all of the stress and anxiety and high blood sugars and guilt and shame that you've been through over the last six hours now because of this going on more time. Like, are you telling me that this is less effort than bringing up extra pumps to work with you? And if you're sitting here telling me consciously, I know that's not the case, then you need to figure out. You, god, your therapist, whatever. However you're gonna figure it out. Like, why didn't you go with a pump that day? Like, why didn't you take insulin with you if you knew all this was gonna happen and you hate the way it makes it feel? Like, I don't know if it's self flagellation or I don't know, but I find it incredibly interesting. And I was, you know, looking for your input on it as well. So
KellyWhen it comes to the pumps, we have so many such limited amount that for us, we run it until after the eight hours, but I've instilled with them to always have a pen with them.
Scott BennerMhmm.
KellySo they have it. Sometimes they won't one thing I I really do love about Omnipod is that it is so simple to kind of go back and forth. So if they want to have an afternoon without it, then we can give them the pen. We still have a bunch of Tresiba. So there's times when, if they want to go off the pump for a bit, we give them some Tresiba to deal with the long acting. But, yes, for me, having insulin and a backup is a nonnegotiable.
Scott BennerYeah. Because the entirety of the issue between your children, the a one c that they have now and the one you're hoping for them to have for their health and their longevity and everything else, it gets all the human stuff. Right? Like, that's what gets in the way. It's all the just the frailties of people and where people drop the ball. Like, that's the stuff that's causing the issue. Right? Like, if you could get people to bolus when you wanted to, things would go better. Right? Am I right about that?
KellyMost of the time, yes. There there are times that I'm still yeah.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Scott BennerYeah. You're not quite right on everything. But I'm saying, like because I'm telling you right now, if she just said to me, here, take care of this, and I made all the decisions, I'd put her a one c right back where I wanted it. No trouble. It would be right there. And the overnight would be better, but, like, she's the one that has to live with it. She's the one that has to do it. I was in an event recently. It was a couple day event, and they sent me over somebody. There's a lot of people with diabetes at this event, and they sent me over, a person who new newer diagnosed as a person in, like, their late forties and coming out of a honeymoon. And he he says he gives me his pump and he's like, I I just don't like, I don't know what to do. Like, I'm two twenty all the time, you know, blah blah blah. And I just I pulled out my phone. I actually went to my own website. I was like, let's double check your settings. You know? I said, how much do you weigh? And we looked, I said, well, this thing thinks your basal's a little light. And if you're still coming out of a honeymoon like this, you know, the difference between point five an hour, point seven, point eight an hour is a big is a big difference. Think I your basal's a little light. So he said if you, explained my thinking, they changed their basal rate, and I said, okay. I'm like, now you gotta get this blood sugar down. Like, you know, how much do you wanna give to put this blood sugar down? And the person didn't know. So there's a thing I was at all day, and I think I intersected him at I was at a talk I was giving. It was after the talk. I think the talk was at 03:00. So let's say it's, like, 03:00 in the afternoon, and he's really scared. Like, he doesn't know what he's doing, and he's seeing high blood sugars that aren't going away. He doesn't feel well. And I just said, look. Let's do this. If I'm you, I bolus this much. I said, come find me in an hour. Came back in an hour. I said, okay. Let's put in more. Like, I worked his blood sugar down over about three and a half hours. I got it to one ten. Came over to me. I said, how do you feel? He goes, I feel like a little I almost feel like I'm low. And I was like, yeah. I said, you scared, or are you you know, do you actually feel shaky? Kinda couldn't tell, so I gave him a couple of carbs just to kinda make him feel better. And he said, oh, I feel better now. I'm like, good. And, we made a very small bolus. I think we put his blood sugar to, like, 87, 88, and that range is just slightly under 90. And it drifted back up to about a 105, and then, this thing goes on all night. And, you know, 08:00, 09:00, 10:00, every time I walked past him, he hold up his pump. His blood sugar was super stable at that number. And I said, that's good. I feel like, you know, we got you down without making you low. We gave some time for that insulin to get out of you. Feels like your basal's holding it there. I said, you know, if it should drift up on you, put in a little more basal, but I think you've got it. And he said, thank you. It was very appreciative, which is was nice, but not needed. And then the last thing he said to me was like, can you just stay with me and keep doing this? Like, jokingly. And I was like, no. I'm like, you can do it. And, like, know, I explained it to him and everything, but I really did walk away because I haven't been that involved with Arden in a long time. And I really did walk away and think, like, oh, I could still do that for her. Like, could do that. I think I could do it for anybody, honestly. Like, it's just about there's a group of people around afterwards and how did you do that? Because they all you know, a lot of them have diabetes. And I just said, honestly, like, I want it to be more difficult. And I know it sounds boring because I say it over and again, but it's timing, amount, understand the impacts of your food. Don't stare at a high blood sugar too long. I'm like, that's pretty much it. Like, if you just do those things, this is what happens. Know, You the next part of that is is I don't know how to get people to do those things. Like, you know, that's that's the part I don't think we're ever gonna come to a complete answer on anyway.
KellyYeah. I mean, it's a huge shift when you start thinking you correct after two fifty. When you speak with people who really have it figured out, they wouldn't they don't wanna they they don't wanna be over 200 ever.
Scott BennerYeah. Two fifty.
KellyAnd for us, it's like, okay. Well, we're eating, and it's gonna spike. I'm working on stopping the spike. Let's let's round it out. I I think we're we're definitely getting better.
Scott BennerYeah.
KellyBut it's just it it takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of communication knowing exactly what they're eating. I take full responsibility for the nights. I need I need to get those figured out.
Scott BennerIn the end, every bit of this is easier said than done. Okay? But I just find it to be true that you are putting out a lot of effort. I don't mean you. I mean all of you. You're putting out a lot of effort. I think you could use less effort if you put it into a different place. And I do think it probably falls under the heading of, like, you know, work smarter, not harder. Yeah. But you but it's not as easy as that you have to hurdle over the psychological stuff too. Like, all the, like, you know, feeling like you let yourself down or having that body grief that says, do I wish this wasn't my situation? I don't wanna do this. You know, there's a lot more I'm not saying there's not a lot more to it. And I think that everybody you know, I said this over and over again this weekend, and I say it on the podcast all the time. I don't meet people who I think are noncompliant. I think everybody wants to do well. And, there are just different variables and speed bumps that get into people's foot, you know, into their way along the time. But if you wanna just talk about it dispassionately for a second, timing and amount, understand the impacts of your of your food. Don't stare at a high blood sugar and pre bolus. You gotta pre bolus. So, you know, work put in effort now to save yourself a lot of trouble later. And by the way, take out the words that go to diabetes. That's those are pretty good rules for life, to be perfectly honest with you. You know? And in the end, what I I got done saying to everybody, I was just like, look. Get ahead. Stay ahead. Like, get ahead. Stay ahead. Like, I said, jump on diabetes, beat the hell out of it, get it down on the ground, and hold it by the neck, and don't let it back up again. You stay in control of what's going on. Just get ahead of it. Stay ahead of it. So, I mean, that's, again, all easier said than done. But is there anything we haven't talked about that you wanted to? Like, I I did a fair amount of talking. So did we skip anything or anything we missed?
Traveling Internationally with T1D
KellyOne thing I wanted to talk about was our our international experience. Mhmm. For people who are going overseas, I know a lot of times they're asking about carrying their insulin. Everyone should always have a medical bag, an extra free medical bag that has all of their supplies. We moved overseas twice. That means that we brought everything that we owned for our supplies. And, like, mostly, the omni like, the CGMs and the pods and the insulin came on with us. We checked needles and things like that, but those are the things that you can carry on for free. All the insulin for two kids, we were able to get that in, like, one of those lunch boxes that Costco would have that expands.
Scott BennerMhmm.
KellyThat was no issue. Have a medical certificate. You can get through the airports with water. Even in Jordan, every time we had to fight things like that, they weren't familiar with Omnipod, so they would look at those for a very long time. But you just have to to stay firm that, no. This here's the medical certificate. These are things that we need, that you can get through those. We had a medical emergency in Italy when Cooper was diagnosed. A lot of people don't know. I didn't know until we were in France, and there's a duty phone for US embassies. If there's a medical emergency, you can call the US embassy even if it's after hours, and they will help you. When he was diagnosed, we they called the doctor in Florence at the consulate, the US consulate in Florence, and he called the children's hospital. When we got there, they knew we were going to be there. They said, we need to make sure we take great care of you or my boss is going to be very angry or whatever it was. Like, they made sure to help us really well. And you have that option with the embassies. They can help you for things like that.
Scott BennerAnd you don't have to be in the military or anything. It's just being a citizen affords you that. Okay.
KellyAnd and, the employees of US embassies, they have the duty phone for a week. And off hours, they're the ones that will help you through these kind of emergencies.
Scott BennerSo That's good
Kellyto have this, this service that you can use. I was incredibly thankful that we had that. It was, of course, during All Saints Day, and everything was closed, but they still had people to help us. Also, insulin. If you are overseas, lot of times, if for us, our insurance, they covered 90%. So when you're buying the insulin overseas, it's cheaper anyway. Could be cheaper than your co pay. A lot of times, we would actually stock up when we were visiting different countries. That's an option as well. I think
Scott BennerNice.
KellyThat's pretty much it when it comes to overseas stuff.
Scott BennerDo you think you'll ever go back, or do you think you're gonna live here for the foreseeable future?
KellyI think we we want our kids to have a little bit of roots right now. We didn't expect to go back to Jordan, but we really enjoyed having that family time, having the the ability to travel on limited resources, and having the experience to experience cultures completely. Going to these international schools with kids of of all areas of the world, it was really great. But I think for now, we'll be here for at least through high school for Cooper.
Scott BennerOkay. Hey. Do your kids, speak a bunch of languages, or did that not work?
KellyYou'd think they would. Yeah. But
Scott Bennerno. Kelly's like, I thought that was gonna be one of the things that happened. Yeah. How about you? Do you speak any French?
KellyI speak a bit of French. I can get by definitely in a restaurant. Absolutely. I'm really good at that.
Scott BennerDon't
KellyOtherwise, yeah, we we went expecting to be there for three years, added another year, and then COVID added another. So we were there longer than expected. My daughter, she is in French five now. So, yes, she kept with it. My son, he went back to he's doing Spanish, so he didn't. With us, we were in the embassy community. We are going to English speaking schools, so it it wasn't as immersive as, I would have hoped.
Agent Orange and Autoimmune Links
Scott BennerA lot of our native French speakers listen, so don't don't whip out your restaurant French here because they'll they'll definitely I mean, I they'll definitely judge you. Just wanna say. Also, if it didn't really completely fit into this conversation, but if you've had a a parent or a grandparent who was in the Vietnam War, it's really interesting to pick apart Asian orange and autoimmune. I I pulled up a lot of information for myself in case I needed it, which we didn't end up talking about, but it's worth looking into if you're interested in Birth defects, miscarriages, autoimmune issues, the difference between what the VA says is happening and what family groups and people who are living, you know, through this talk about there's a bit of a disparity between, you know, the the official stances from each. There seems to be a fair amount of organizations who are still fighting against this. There's a national birth defect registry, children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance, legislative lobbying. It's it's interesting if you're if it's something you're you wanna know more about. There's a lot it seems like there's a lot of information out there that you could, immerse yourself in. So well, Kelly, thank you. This was awesome, and it's always nice to be treated well by a woman named Kelly. So I can go tell my wife.
KellyI appreciate all that you have to say, so thank you.
Scott BennerThank you for listening too. I mean, I heard you try to tell me a couple of times, and I didn't dig into it with you because it's Monday, and I don't need you to be nice to me today. I'm still waking up. It feels like you listen to the podcast a lot and that you found it valuable, and, I mean, that means a lot to me. Can you just tell me how you found it?
KellyIt was definitely it was the on Facebook groups all the time, and it wasn't until we returned that I had some time off to really get into podcasts. What it's done is change my perspective of things. There are some groups that a lot of complaining and that's diabetes, and yours was very different. It took a while to to get on board with it that, oh, these people all have it figured out. I'll never get there. It's definitely taking a while. But knowing that it can be done and changing your perspective of what is okay for your numbers and that you can get what you think is going to happen. It's it's taking a while, and I keep trying, but I really like hearing all of the different perspectives of everyone.
Scott BennerI'm glad. Tell me what holds you back. Is it expectation? Is it is it complacency because you've been at it so long? Like, what what keeps you from making, like, some big grand shift?
KellyI think one of the reasons is was thinking, oh, I'm going to try I really wanted to try looping, but I'm not technical. It was too overwhelming. And then I was thinking I was holding out for Omnipod five, and now that is out of reach at the moment. Once the kids got on the pump because I was listening to you for probably two years before the kids got on Dash. And the only reason we got on Dash was because people were upgrading to Omnipod five, and they were giving them away. So that was the only thing, and that's it it sucks that it's a lot of it has to do with finances, but that's where we were at.
Scott BennerYeah.
KellyI felt like I could try harder once I had the dash because I know there's talk about, yes, this is same for MDI, but a lot of it is is very geared towards having better control as you can have these like, stopping the the basal is huge. Adding a little bit of insulin for corrections, it allows you to do so much more. So I'm getting there. I feel like with two of them, I don't know where my head's at. I can't focus on just one.
Scott BennerThere's too much going on. Is that how it feels? Like, it there's too much going on to focus on all the things that you need to focus on at the same time.
KellyExactly.
Scott BennerGot it. Okay. Well, I wish you a ton of luck. I don't know what to do about that. Maybe you could grow another head, two more hands
KellyMhmm.
Scott BennerOr something like that. Or, you know, make the boy help more. You could always do that.
KellyNo. He he does a lot. It's just we hear it when he does it.
Scott BennerJust Every just send him outside when he starts complaining. That's all. Just I know. Because I do think that there's probably a barrier here that if you break through it, what you're gonna get to on the other side will be a lot more cruise control y than what you're doing now. Does that make sense? You know?
KellyYeah. I'm I'm just ready for it to all click.
Scott BennerYeah. Hey. Any chance your husband's name is Julius so I can call this agent orange Julius or no?
KellyIt has not.
Scott BennerYou could have lied, Kelly. Okay. Thank you. Don't know I don't know what to
Kellycall this up.
Scott BennerThat's okay. I think I think that's the way we wanna go. And now I don't know what to call this, though, but that's okay. We'll figure it out. Thank you very much for doing this.
KellyTo hearing it.
Scott BennerYeah. I'll figure it out. Don't worry. I really do appreciate your time. Can you hold on one second for me?
KellyYep.
Closing and Outro
Scott BennerI'd like to remind you again about the MiniMed seven eighty g automated insulin delivery system, which, of course, anticipates, adjusts, and corrects every five minutes twenty four seven. It works around the clock so you can focus on what matters. The juice box community knows the importance of using technology to simplify managing diabetes. To learn more about how you can spend less time and effort managing your diabetes, visit my link, medtronicdiabetes.com/juicebox. This episode of the juice box podcast was sponsored by US Med, u s med dot com slash juice box, or call (888) 721-1514. Get started today with US Med. Link's in the show notes. Link's at juiceboxpodcast.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 subscribe 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 wanna miss please, do you not know about the private group? You have to join the private group. As of this recording, it has 74,000 members. 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 Juicebox podcast has been in production since January 2015, and in that time, we have amassed just a fantastic catalog of information for you. The defining diabetes series, also bold beginnings, diabetes pro tips, small sips, fat and protein, algorithm pumping, mental wellness, ask Scott and Jenny, diabetes variables defining thyroid, after dark, the math behind Omnipod five, pregnancy, how we eat, grand rounds, Coldwin, GLP meds, the quick start guide if you wanna get going with the podcast but you don't know where to go. Diabetes myths, there's even a type two diabetes pro tip series. All of this is at juiceboxpodcast.com. Go to the menu, click on series, and they can all be found right there. If you go to juiceboxpodcast.com/lists, you'll get all these great downloadable lists of all the the different series so you can save them on your phone, keep them for later. Every episode is listed along with its episode number. So you can go into Apple Podcasts or your, you know, wherever you listen to your audio, and say you wanna hear episode fourteen sixty nine, steal a one c overnight from the small sip series. You just go to the search bar, type juice box, one word, and then the episode number, fourteen sixty nine. It should be the first return you get. If you have a podcast and you need a fantastic editor, you want Rob from Wrong Way Recording. Listen. Truth be told, I'm, like, 20% smarter when Rob edits me. He takes out all the, like, gaps of time and when I go, and stuff like that. And it just I don't know, man. Like, I listen back and I'm like, why do I sound smarter? And then I remember because I did one smart thing. I hired Rob at wrongwayrecording.com.
#1819 Windy City Independence - Part 2
In part two, Lindsey returns to discuss how people-pleasing impacts her diabetes management , her fierce independence , dating , and why Scott insists she treats her hypothyroidism.
Companies that Support Juicebox
Key Takeaways
- The Burden of People-Pleasing: Many people with Type 1 diabetes mask their true numbers or downplay their struggles to avoid upsetting loved ones, which can compound feelings of burnout.
- Accepting Help is Not Weakness: Fierce independence can create unnecessary barriers. Fighting to put a CGM on with a broken arm rather than asking for help is a symptom of a mindset that needs to be reframed.
- Advocate for Your Thyroid Health: Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's frequently co-occur with T1D. If you have symptoms like brain fog and fatigue, and a TSH over 2.1 (like Lindsey's 4.1), you should firmly ask your doctor about thyroid hormone replacement.
- Live Life on Your Terms: Major life decisions—from attending college to deciding whether or not to have children—should be driven by your own goals and desires, not societal expectations or a desire to please others.
- Podcasting With Purpose: When starting a creative project like a podcast, the best approach is to do it for the love of conversation and documentation, rather than expecting immediate fame or financial success.
Resources Mentioned
- Touched By Type 1: touchedbytype1.org
- Eversense 365: eversensecgm.com/juicebox
- Tandem Diabetes Care (Tandem Mobi): tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox
- US Med: usmed.com/juicebox or call (888) 721-1514
- Juice Cruise 2026: juiceboxpodcast.com/juicecruise
- Juice Box Podcast Episode 413: Thyroid Symptoms Explained
- Juice Box Podcast Private Facebook Group
- Wrong Way Recording: wrongwayrecording.com
Introduction and Sponsors
Scott BennerWelcome back, friends, to another episode of the Juice Box podcast.
LindseyHi. My name's Lindsey, and I've been a type one diabetic for about twelve years now. I'm 25.
Scott BennerThis is part two of a two part episode. Go look at the title. If you don't recognize it, you haven't heard part one yet. It's probably the episode right before this in your podcast player. This episode of the juice box podcast is brought to you by my favorite diabetes organization, touched by type one. Please take a moment to learn more about them at touched by type one dot org on Facebook and Instagram. Touchedbytype1.org. Check out their many programs, their annual conference, awareness campaign, their d box program, dancing for diabetes. They have a dance program for local kids, a golf night, and so much more. Touchedbytype1.org. You're looking to help or you wanna see people helping people with type one, you want touched by type1.org. While you're listening, please remember that nothing you hear on the juice box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan or becoming bold with insulin. I'm having an on body vibe alert. This episode of the Juice Box podcast is sponsored by Eversense three sixty five, the only one year wear CGM. That's one insertion and one CGM a year. One CGM, one year. Not every ten or fourteen days. Ever since cgm.com/juicebox. Today's episode is also sponsored by Tandem Mobi, the impressively small insulin pump. Tandem Mobi features Tandem's newest algorithm, Control IQ Plus technology. It's designed for greater discretion, more freedom, and improved time and range. Learn more and get started today at tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. Lindsay's like, listen. It's on my list. Okay?
LindseyIt's on my list. But
The Burden of People-Pleasing
Scott BennerBut it's an interesting insight from you that you knew that your diabetes was making other people uncomfortable.
LindseyAnd not even, like, in a bad way, but, like, for instance, like, another example would be my parents asking me, how's your sugar? How's your sugar? Like, constantly, I would just say good even if it wasn't because I just didn't wanna talk about it. Or I didn't wanna get I didn't want them to be upset if it was too high or if I was run letting it run too high or letting it go too low or if I had too many lows or too many highs. Like, I just
Scott BennerYou didn't wanna let anybody down?
LindseyYeah. I kinda felt like bad numbers were a reflection of me.
Scott BennerAnd that's not language that you've been taught since then. That is how you felt when you were younger?
LindseyYes.
Scott BennerOkay.
LindseyYes.
Scott BennerYou know what I mean by that. Right? Like, sometimes, like, social media can tell you.
LindseyMhmm.
Scott BennerThe one that sticks to me is people with type one diabetes do a 130 extra things. You know, how many memes did we put that on before everybody just agreed that that was true?
LindseyYeah.
Scott BennerBy the way, I'm not saying they don't make a lot of extra decisions. I'm like, where did the number come from?
LindseyRight.
Scott BennerYou know? So, like, yeah, you think more about stuff and it sucks. And it's pretty constant. I watched yesterday was the first day of school for Arden, and I was downstairs doing my things in the kitchen. And she came down on her way to school, and I could see her stopping and looking around the room. And I didn't say, can I help you or something I can help you with? I just watched her, I realized, like, she was, like she was looking at different things around the room. She's like, do I have juice boxes with me? Do I have low snacks with me? Am I gonna need my an insulin pump change, am I gonna be back soon? Like, I could see her doing all that math before she left the house. And then she grabbed food. I watched her grab a banana. She clearly didn't want. She just grabbed it because I think she was like, I should have this with me. So I'm not saying you don't do a 130 more decisions a day. I'm just saying it's interesting that some one time somebody said they counted them up, and then suddenly everybody agreed on the same thing. Right. And I've seen that happen with other stuff too. So I asked, is that actually your experience, or is it something you that somebody's told you you're experiencing?
LindseyRight.
Scott BennerYeah. Yeah. Well, this is interesting. So the people around you are worried for you. The more attention you draw to it, the more worried you are, the more they speak to you, the more you realize you don't wanna talk about this, the more you're getting attention for things you don't want attention for. Yes. This is gonna be a strange thing. But taking how you feel out of it for a second, those people are still now in a orbit with you. Right? Like, so how can they more thoughtfully take their concern for you and make it actionable without it impacting you that way, or is there just no way for them to accomplish that?
LindseyYou know, I've had this discussion so many times with my parents and, like, my doctor because we had we've talked about it before, this problem that I hate the nagging or constantly, oh, how's your sugar? What's this? What whatever. So when I got my Dexcom and they were able to read my blood sugars, it was phenomenal because they didn't have to ask me anymore. They just looked at my graphs. And I loved that, but also kind of hated it because then they had the access to view it all the time. And if, say, my sugars were high, they were constantly nagging me like, you need to bring your sugar down, or would you eat, or why is it high, or oh, hey. Your sugar's going low. Like, I already don't know.
Scott BennerYeah. This is interesting. So that you fix one problem, but it just reveals a different issue for you.
LindseyYeah. I think, like, my issue is I don't like being told what to do, and I think it all comes down to, like, being in control of my life and, like, proving that I can do this on my own and I can take care of myself. And although, like, my parents and friends, they love me and they just care for me, and that's what they're doing. It's all out of love and care. Yeah. But to me, it would just, for some reason, annoy me. I don't know why, but it would trigger me anytime someone would ask me about my blood sugar or how are you doing with your diabetes. I don't know why. Yeah. And even still to this day, I still kinda like
Scott BennerThat was my next question. You still feel like that now?
LindseyKind of. Like, there'll be a couple times, and I don't know if it's because I think, oh, are they asking me because they think I'm not doing okay? Like, I don't know. I don't know where it comes from, but I still do.
Scott BennerListen. You and my daughter can start a band because no matter what happens, I think that's her initial feeling of, like, why are you insinuating that I can't do this on my own? Yes. She'll say something to me sometimes where, like, I can handle this. And I'm, I stop and I think to myself, like, no one insinuated that you can't handle this. And more importantly, I don't think you can handle it. Like so that feeling right there is just very universal for people. Yes. Like, you know, because I'm certainly I'm well aware of my daughter's ability to take care of herself. And I think she's an incredibly intelligent, thoughtful person who doesn't need my help at all. And so if in the course of a day you know, I'll tell you a great example. It's like we were I think we were all up I was upstairs. She was upstairs, but I think I was cleaning my room and she was cleaning her room. And I could hear I heard a beeping. I was like, oh, she's gonna get low. And I just knew that because we had eaten a few hours before, and then she went into a lot of activity and, like, was doing laundry and running around, and that classically kinda makes her low. And I needed something from downstairs. So I hear the beeping. I walk over to her and I say, hey. I gotta run downstairs for a second. Do you want me to grab you anything while I'm down there? She doesn't even, look at me. She's like, dad, I can take care of myself. And I was like, okay. So I stopped her and I said, I know you can. I was not saying you couldn't. I heard the beeping, and I'm on my way downstairs and I thought you might need something from downstairs. Let me ask. I said, this isn't me taking care of you. This is just a a well timed kindness. You know? And I said, so please please know I I believe you can take care of yourself. I I don't doubt that at all. That's not why I asked. And then I did not get the thing for her, which, by the way, she needed. And then five minutes later, she was downstairs looking for The me being right about that's not the point. Right? Like, the point is is that I don't want her to feel that way. But trust me, I was not coming at her from, like, hey. Let me get you a snack because you screwed this up and you're low now and what you know, like, it wasn't like that, but I bet you that's how it felt.
LindseyI I think it all comes down I don't know if it's the same for your daughter, but for me, I struggle with asking for help even if I need help. So me being the independent person I am, it's like I don't ever wanna ask for help even if I need it. So whenever someone is, like, trying to help, it's almost like I'm like, oh, you don't think I can do it? Or
The Struggle to Ask for Help
Scott BennerHere's my question. Do you know that's ridiculous?
LindseyYes. I do.
Scott BennerOkay. And how old are you?
LindseyI'm 25.
Scott BennerHow long do you expect to live?
LindseyHopefully, you know.
Scott BennerSixty more years, seventy more years. Right? Why can't we stop? Look at me putting this on you. You're 25. I'm like, here, answer the world's problems for me. But why can't you just understand that and stop? Just stop. Why can't I stop the things I can't stop? Why can't you stop, like
LindseyIt's a mental game. It's a mental thing, and I don't know why. I have always been this way. It's not even just diabetes. It could be as little as, like, I will struggle so hard opening something or doing something before I actually ask for help or before someone comes and helps me. Or, like, for instance, I recently broke my arm. Okay?
Scott BennerOkay.
LindseyAnd having a broken arm, I struggled to put my Dexcoms on.
Scott BennerFair.
LindseySo in this instance, I had to ask help from my mom to put my Dexcom on, and I hated it because, one, she hasn't put a Dexcom on my body in I don't know how many years. So one, I'm gonna have to teach her, and I know she's gonna get stressed out about it. Two, I'm asking for help, and then deep down inside, I'm like, well, is there a way I can try to figure out how to do it, like, by myself? And I try to it's like, I'm making it harder for myself when I could literally just tell my mom how to do it, and she could help me and just do it in the future. But
Scott BennerMy grandmother would say, why are you making a mountain out of a molehill?
LindseyExactly.
Scott BennerYes. Yes.
LindseyYeah. I don't know. Yeah. So for instance, just the other day, she came over because my arm is still broken. However, my arm is almost fully healed. I have about, like, a week or two left of my cast. And I've had my cast off after the shower because I I'm to the stage where I could take my cast off
Scott BennerOkay.
LindseyIn the shower. So I had it off for a little bit, knew I was gonna put my Dexcom on, and she was over. And she was like, okay. I'm gonna help you do your Dexcom. For some reason, because she was busy doing something, I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna figure out how to do it. So I do it did it on my other arm, and I figured out how to do it without my cast.
Scott BennerWhat else are you a pain in the ass about, Lindsay?
LindseyYou know what? Maybe you need to get my parents on here. They could tell you.
Scott BennerBut that's it's just interesting example of, like, you did not need to make a barrier for yourself there.
LindseyRight. Yeah.
Scott BennerAnd not only did you do it, it sounds like you were aware that you were doing it while you were doing it.
LindseyI was. And I was like, you know what? But, like, I like to prove to myself too that I can do things. So, like, me, like, putting my Dexcom on, I was like, oh. And I walked out and she's like, what? How'd you put that on your arm? And I was like, I did it myself. And she was like, I I woulda helped you.
Scott BennerLike, you're eight. But don't you know you're a capable person?
LindseyYes.
Scott BennerWhy do you have to keep proving it to yourself?
LindseyI don't know. That that's what I'm trying to figure out too. It's you know, like, see, this is the therapy I need to get into, like, figuring out all my deeper wounds and, like, why I think the way
Scott BennerI do. Don't you find people interesting?
LindseyThey are so interesting.
Scott BennerIf I didn't find everyone so interesting, I don't even think I can make the podcast anymore. Right. I know that some people will find this to be a minutiae, but I am fascinated by this aspect of you. Right? Like, you figured a thing out already. Move on. Yeah. But you're not going to.
LindseyI know. I will I it's not that I'm not trying because there are
Scott BennerWell, I didn't say you weren't trying. I'm saying you're not going to.
LindseyNot necessarily. I'm I'm gonna try. I'm gonna try to be better.
Scott BennerBut I don't think you even need to be better. I think you know what this falls under for me? The category of often, the best thing to do is nothing. Like, you're over managing something that doesn't need attention. Yeah. Your mom's there. You're taking a shower. She's here to help. Awesome. Right? Yeah. Okay. But then what happens? I can do it myself. I don't need help. I don't need anybody. I'm okay. All those feelings. Yeah. The world thinks I can't, but I can.
LindseyYep.
Scott BennerI'm smart. I'm not stupid like everybody says. Is that a line from a movie? I forget what that is. A very old movie if it is. Like, right like, so there's you know, do you ever listen to me talk to Erica?
LindseyI don't know. I'll be honest.
Scott BennerIt's mental health stuff. Right?
LindseyOh, yeah.
Scott BennerShe's a therapist, and, like, she'll explain something and she gets done and often I wanna say, so there's no getting out of this? We're all just just stuck in this the way our brains work and everything.
LindseyMaybe I need to talk to her.
Scott BennerI if I was you, would just stop. I would write on a sticky note, stop, and then hold it in my hand.
LindseyGot it. Just stick it to my forehead and look in the mirror every day.
Scott BennerEvery time you go to do something and you're like, I shouldn't be doing this, you go, oh, yeah. I should stop.
LindseyYeah.
Scott BennerIf it was that easy. You know? Right. So, anyway, thirty five minutes later. So you experienced burnout?
LindseyYes. I experienced burnout, and I still do. And I think it's a like, it's because of this, because I don't ask for help, I try to just do everything myself, which, I mean, like I said, not that I'm not capable and not that I can't do it by myself, but there's certain things in certain moments in diabetes that, you know, it's okay to get help or, you know, it's okay to be burned out from the everyday things that you do.
Scott BennerYeah. Of course. But are you explaining that to me or talking yourself into believing it?
LindseyShoot. I mean, kind of
Scott BennerWhile you're keeping that in your head. Because you have maybe a half a dozen times said that people need help sometimes. But you preface it each time by telling me that it's not that I can't do it myself. Who told you you can't do things?
LindseyI don't know. That's I don't know.
Scott BennerWhat happened that makes you so confused and able to accept the fact that you're a capable person?
LindseyYeah. I I really don't know. I'll be honest. I have no idea where I got, like, this mindset.
Scott BennerIn this conversation, do you know that you've prefaced that so many times?
LindseyYeah. Now now after you've said that to me.
Scott BennerEvery time you stop yourself and you go, it's not that I can't. It's not that I don't know how, but it's okay to accept help. I'm like, who are you talking into this exactly? I don't know.
LindseyI don't know. Now that you say that, now I realize it, but I didn't even know I doing that.
Scott BennerYou're fine. You're lovely. I've seen you. I've seen a picture of you. You're a lovely person. Accept all that and move forward. Yeah. Yeah. I could save you ten years of pain.
LindseyYou're right.
Life Goals and Career Paths
Scott BennerYeah. Because you don't wanna know what's gonna happen? What? Eventually, you're gonna meet a boy you can somewhat tolerate. Okay? And then you're gonna let him have a baby with you. Okay?
LindseyI don't know about that.
Scott BennerTrust me, Lindsay. It's coming.
LindseyI don't know about that.
Scott BennerAnd then you get this kid, and then you're gonna realize that you're wasting all this time on this, and you need to focus on that kid. And then you're just gonna let it all go. And then you're just gonna move forward. I'm telling you, move forward now and enjoy this time, and don't have to make a baby with a boy you can only tolerate to get to it. Just do it now. Live like Valerie, Valerie Harper in that television program, 70. Just be by yourself and wonderful with you and your girlfriends. Yeah. It's gonna be awesome. What are your goals? 25 is an interesting age. Are you out of school? Did you go to school? Are you working? What are you trying to accomplish? Let's talk about the Tandem Mobi insulin pump from today's sponsor, Tandem Diabetes Care. Their newest algorithm, Control IQ Plus technology and the new Tandem Mobi pump offer you unique opportunities to have better control. It's the only system with auto bolus that helps with missed meals and preventing hyperglycemia, the only system with a dedicated sleep setting, and the only system with off or on body wear options. Tandem Mobi gives you more discretion, freedom, and options for how to manage your diabetes. This is their best algorithm ever, and they'd like you to check it out at tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. When you get to my link, you're going to see integrations with Dexcom sensors and a ton of other information that's gonna help you learn about Tandem's tiny pump that's big on control. Tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. The Tandem Mobi system is available for people ages two and up who want an automated delivery system to help them sleep better, wake up in range, and address high blood sugars with auto bolus. When you think of a CGM and all the good that it brings in your life, is the first thing you think about, I love that I have to change it all the time? I love the warm up period every time I have to change it. I love that when I bump into a door frame, sometimes it gets ripped off. I love that the adhesive kinda gets mushy sometimes when I sweat and falls off. No. These are not the things that you love about a CGM. Today's episode of the Juice Box podcast is sponsored by the Eversense three sixty five, the only CGM that you only have to put on once a year and the only CGM that won't give you any of those problems. The Eversense three sixty five is the only one year CGM designed to minimize device frustration. It has exceptional accuracy for one year with almost no false alarms from compression lows while you're sleeping. You can manage your diabetes instead of your CGM with the Eversense three sixty five. Learn more and get started today at eversincecgm.com/juicebox. One year, one CGM.
LindseyI'm out of school. I did go to college after my associate's degree to, like, a university. I was at community college, went to university for a little bit. Then when COVID happened, I decided to drop out during that. I became a bartender server. Now I currently bartend at a sushi and martini lounge that I absolutely love.
Scott BennerAwesome.
LindseyAnd, basically, my goals in life, I just want to live life to the fullest, travel everywhere. Like, that is one of my biggest goals is I want to travel everywhere.
Scott BennerOkay.
LindseyI want to go see everything, do everything. I'm always just interested in trying new things. Goals, you know, this is one of my goals is starting my own podcast because I think it would be so much fun.
Scott BennerOh, you think so? I'll explain that to you in a minute. Go ahead.
LindseyBut, yeah, like, podcast, just, you know, being happy in life. I'd love to move up in my bartending career and maybe become a mixologist of some sort. I'm looking to make a move to Chicago very soon. So, hopefully, I can learn more once I move to the big city.
Scott BennerSo Look at you. You're gonna get off the farm?
LindseyYeah. Basically. I mean, I'm not where I live is just very small town, and I've been here way too long. I'm I just need to experience a change.
Scott BennerIs it more Northern Michigan?
LindseyYeah. I'm, like, in the middle. So, like, Mount Pleasant.
Scott BennerI've heard people from there com complain about it.
LindseyYeah.
Scott BennerYeah. I've also heard people complain about the Southern part of Delaware, the center part of Pennsylvania, the Western part. People complain about wherever they're from. And and, you know, and everybody thinks that, like, you know, a city center is gonna be a big change for you. Maybe it will be. That's lovely. When you went to college, did you go because you wanted to go or because somebody told you you should?
LindseyKind of both. I thought I knew what I wanted to do, and then I I realized I did not know what I wanted to do once I was taking classes. I was going for psychology, and then I wanted to become a psychiatrist. So I thought, Later on, realized, no. I don't wanna do this. However, before I went, I did think I wanted to go, but I was going because it's just the thing to do. It's the thing that everyone's doing after high school. It's the right thing. It's the thing that's gonna make people proud of you.
Scott BennerMhmm. Oh, so you thought people expected you to do it and you wanted them to be happy again?
LindseyYeah.
Scott BennerAre you a people pleaser in general?
LindseyI am. It's something I'm working on.
Scott BennerHow do you work on that?
LindseyJust really thinking before I agree to things or say yes to things. I try to really like, the hardest thing that I deal with as a people pleaser is making time for myself instead of spreading my time thin with Mhmm. All the people I love. That's what I suck at.
Scott BennerNo. Is it possible having diabetes turned you into a people pleaser, or do you think that's always how you are?
LindseyI think I've always been this way.
Scott BennerOkay. Wanna hear something interesting? Yeah. If a 100 students started college today, 62 would finish on time. That's within six years. Sixty two percent. Three percent will finish late in the six to eight year realm. Thirty five percent never finish college. That's a pretty big number. Thirty five percent. Yeah. I wonder if a hundred percent of those thirty five percent would later say to themselves, I never really want like, if they'd start describing it the way you are. Like, oh, I went because I thought I should or, yeah, I was trying to make somebody happier, like, that kind of a thing. Yeah. Because you don't have any world domination goals. It doesn't sound like you want a whole big pile of money. You're not looking for
LindseyNo. Yeah.
Scott BennerYou'd like to see the world, enjoy your life. Yeah. And you love being a bartender.
LindseyI do.
Scott BennerYeah. And the good news
LindseyEnjoy it.
Scott BennerYou know the good news about that? What? The bartender never gets killed.
LindseyHey.
Scott BennerHave you ever seen Desperado?
LindseyI have. Yes.
Scott BennerDamn. Right? And what is Cheech Maringrave? He goes, the bartender never gets killed. And then they they eventually kill him. So, I I guess it's not a hard and fast rule. But why do you love it so much?
LindseyI love it because I get to come into work and talk to people and hear other people's stories. I get to know people. It's a social job. I could never do a job where I'm sitting at a desk or just looking at a screen all day. I need to be up and active and talking to people. And not only that, like, that's just, like, the service part, but, like, making drinks and just getting to be creative, that's always fun. I love anytime a job allows you to be creative. So that's what I really enjoy. The two things that I enjoy most about bartending.
Dating, Relationships, and Independence
Scott BennerWonderful. I'm glad you found something you like so much. Why did you so, effortlessly say, I'm not letting a boy near my baby maker? What is it? You don't like the kids?
LindseyI just I don't have any goals of having kids, if I'm being completely honest.
Scott BennerBecause they suck. Why? Because.
LindseyThey just I don't know. I I guess this is another thing, like, you know, I can barely take care of myself. I don't know how I would take care of another human being.
Scott BennerWhat if you get married and that boy really wants a baby and your people pleaser, like, snaps in and you're like, oh, I mean, he I mean, he does like, he lives here too and he does really want a baby. Like, what happens if that happens? Will you be able to be like, no?
LindseyI have thought about it. Well, only because, like, it is a thing. Like, it's a deal breaker these days. Like, people wanna start families.
Scott BennerYeah.
LindseyI'm 25. You know? There's men my age who are like, alright. I'm ready to settle down and start a family. And then there's others that maybe they don't want a family or they're still figuring it out. But I have always thought, like, oh, I don't want kids. But then I start to think, okay. What if the right person came, and what if I wanted a mini me and a mini him? Like, that'd be so cute, and I would love that. But then when I think of all of the things that come with parenthood, I start to be like, ugh. I don't know. I still I don't think I want it that bad.
Scott BennerIt's wonderful and horrible at the same time, Lindsay.
LindseyYeah.
Scott BennerYeah. Yeah. Who knows? Just be careful because sometimes those hormones, they start hitting you the wrong way. And before you know it, you're doing stuff you didn't even expect to
Lindseydo. Right.
Scott BennerHave you heard those stories about the women who marry guys while they're on birth control, but then go off birth control to learn they didn't like the guy?
LindseyYeah. A little bit.
Scott BennerYeah. Look into it.
LindseyOkay.
Scott BennerYour hormones get a little wonky and tell you what you want. The pill tells your body you're pregnant, and then you start looking for, like, big burly can kill a moose guy.
LindseyYeah.
Scott BennerRight? And then when you're off the thing and you're not pregnant, you realize I don't really like big burly can kill a moose guy jumping in this coal plunge guy. Yeah. I it's not what I was really looking for. Apparently, that happens.
LindseyYeah. You know, I have heard of it, but I should look into it more.
Scott BennerI would. Be careful.
LindseyIt's so funny. Yeah. Yeah. I actually just recently decided to be off birth control. So, like, that that this is I should look it up.
Scott BennerPay attention to what's happening to you. Yeah. I'm only living in this house because my wife got confused and thought she wanted a baby. Thank god. I'd be out of the street. You know what I mean? She would have looked at me like and been like, why am I dating this idiot? And like yeah. But now she got fooled. So Yeah. That's her mistake. Now, and now I have a house.
LindseyYes.
Scott BennerFool me once. Shame on me. Fool me. Can't get fooled again. Too late, though, now. Okay. Alright. So be careful with all that. I like your plan. Are you gonna be by yourself? Are you dating someone?
LindseyI currently am not dating. Mhmm. But I've been single for going on five years now. So I've been single for quite some time.
Scott BennerOn purpose?
LindseyYeah. Actually, yes.
Scott BennerI don't understand your whole generation. Explain it to me.
LindseyFor me, currently, it's not that I'm opposed to getting into a relationship. I will definitely get into the relationship with the right person.
Scott BennerMhmm.
LindseyBut I'm not going to settle for less than I want, and I'm not gonna force a connection if it's not there.
Scott BennerSure.
LindseyI've definitely talked and dated around in these past five years, but just, you know, relationships, things happen and
Scott BennerWhat about the fun parts?
LindseyWhat about The fun parts?
Scott BennerWhat about 01:30AM in a grocery store holding a pint of Ben and Jerry's? You've just had sex three times. You're in a pair of sweatpants, and you're just, like, couldn't go to sleep. So you and him are in the grocery store looking for ice cream.
LindseyNo. You know, that's great. And you have those connections with people, and then sometimes they just end up saying, oh, yeah. That was casual, and I don't want you like that.
Scott BennerIs the cell phone ruining personal relationships? Is the feeling, Lindsay, that I don't have to persevere through real relationship ideas with this person because I can just go find another person, go back to the fun part at the beginning? Do you think that exists because it's simple?
LindseyFor some people, yes. For some people, no.
Scott BennerYeah.
LindseyBecause I do know a lot of people who kind of go through that phase of, like, they're with a person, realize, well, I know I can be with somebody else and just do this all over again and just keep repeating it and, like, it's a cycle, and they go through relationships like
Scott BennerIt's like digital divorce, I think.
LindseyYeah.
Scott BennerYeah. By the way, not that some people shouldn't get divorced. I'm not saying that. But I do sometimes think some people are like, oh, I wanna do the fun part again.
LindseyRight. Yeah. No. I I definitely think that is true, and I think that's valid. However
Scott BennerYou would like a nice relationship, but you just
LindseyI would love a relationship, especially after being single. Like, don't get me wrong. I'm like I said, I'm in independent. So, like, I love my independence.
Scott BennerThere's a new girl in town. Go ahead. Lindsay, tell them. I
Lindseylove my independence, but there's times where I'm like, dang. It would really be nice if I could just have someone here with me hanging out all the time or, you know, I wish I had my person to talk to every single day. Like, I hate the dating apps. I hate the constant meeting someone online or talking to someone online for a little bit and then then just disappearing and then you forget who they even are or how you even have their number in your phone.
Scott BennerWho is this?
LindseyYeah. That's happened a lot.
Scott BennerBoy, I let touch my arm three months ago. It's in the phone book right there. Now I just I can't imagine the whole thing seems terrible.
LindseyIt does. I don't know. I really do feel like this generation, it's hard because everyone is like, well, is there better out there? Can I have better? Like, settling comes to a certain, like, fine line. Are you settling for, like, less than what you deserve and you know that there's more out there, or are you not settling because you just think your perfect person is going to come that matches all of
Scott BennerAnd then that never happens, and then one day it's just you and the cats and cancer. I hear what you're saying.
LindseyYeah. And it's tough because you want to believe, oh, like, my person's out there, And, yeah, they don't need to be perfect. They don't have to have everything on the list.
Scott BennerCan I tell you something? I believe my wife is my soulmate. I also believe there's probably a thousand other ladies out there I could feel that way about.
LindseyTrue. Yeah.
Scott BennerThis is no disrespect to my wife. I'm sure she would say the same thing about me. I'm saying, like, there are other people I've met through my life that I could see my life having gone well with that person too, but something comes up or, you know, it doesn't work out quite right. Just I don't think there's just one person. And I do think that in a world where I could pick my phone up right now and order the silliest thing and it show up at my house, like, without resistance, it'll just be there. I do think that people are willing to believe that there's better coming, and you don't wanna settle because better is coming. Yeah. And I do really think that could make time go by quickly. Yeah. Because I don't think I'm not perfect, and I don't think my wife would tell you that I am. And I'm sure she was with boys or new men before me that, like, she could probably look back now and go, I probably should have given that one a shot instead, and I could tell you the same thing. But, like, that doesn't make my life invalid Mhmm. Or what we did a waste of time. It's so it's wonderful. It's beautiful. You know what I mean? Like, I just think if you guys are waiting for the exact right thing, I think you're out of your mind. I don't think that exists.
LindseyRight. No. I totally agree with that, and I don't. And I don't think there's anybody who's perfect or who's gonna match up to my perfect list of Yeah. Traits that I want in someone. However
Scott BennerYou don't wanna be involved with a bunch of boys who are just gonna jump on you three times and then be like, alright. I'm gonna go do it with somebody else now.
LindseyExactly. And I feel like that's a lot of what's going on
Scott BennerMhmm.
LindseyNow and at my age. However, another thing, I'll be honest, that's another reason why I am so excited to move to a different city. I feel like I know everybody in my small town. Oh. Either I know somebody that's dated them already or slept with them or I've already talked to them and it's already not worked out or whatever. Like, the town is so small that, like, I'm just ready to see and meet new people.
Scott BennerYeah. So You wanna find a bigger pond efficient.
LindseyYeah. Yeah. For sure.
Scott BennerAnd is the job kind of anticlimactic for people? Because a lot of people in a bar situation are looking to hook up. They're not looking to
LindseyYeah. That's where it does get tough. Being a bartender, you meet so many people. But the type of bartending I do, I usually stick to the more, like, classy restaurants, not like the dive bars, but more like fine dining. So most people are going on dates at my bar. They're not really looking.
Scott BennerThey're not leaning across the bar going, hey.
LindseyYeah. Me
Scott Benneryour name. I gotcha. Yep. A lot of problems. Not a lot of answers. You live by yourself?
LindseyI actually live with my sister.
Scott BennerOh. Oh, that's nice. How many other brothers and or sisters do you have?
LindseySo I have two sisters, one twenty three, one that just turned 16, and then I have a younger brother who's about to be 19.
Uncovering Hypothyroidism
Scott BennerWow. Anybody else have autoimmune issues? Type one diabetes, celiac, thyroid?
LindseyNo. Not at all. Nothing?
Scott BennerNothing.
LindseyI will say my father has some thyroid issues, but nothing like
Scott BennerWhat's that mean? Is he moody?
LindseyNo. No. It sounds bad, but I just know he takes a pill for his hypothyroidism.
Scott BennerOkay. So he has Hashimoto's?
LindseyI don't know. I I mean, I assume.
Scott BennerHow often do you guys speak? Do you know each other by first name?
LindseyWe talk a lot. Like, we see each other a lot, but it's bad that, like, I guess I've never really asked him about that. I will say, they told me I have Hashimoto's, but yet I don't take any medication
Scott Bennerfor it. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. First of all, it's not bad that you and your dad don't talk about what a great opportunity for you to get to know each other better. And secondly, you have Hashimoto's, but why don't they have the medication? Do you not have any symptoms? It's Do you wanna go over the symptoms? Do you are you tired even though you've slept?
LindseyI mean, yeah. I think I do have symptoms, but it's weird because I had markers for it on, like, lab results, like, years ago. And then all of a sudden, I didn't.
Scott BennerYour hair falling out?
LindseyI it's occasional. It's not all the time.
Scott BennerDry skin?
LindseyYes.
Scott BennerMhmm. Do you have trouble losing weight?
LindseyYes.
Scott BennerMhmm. Do you need me to keep talking, or do you wanna go get your thyroid checked out?
LindseyI guess, that's what I should do next up.
Scott BennerWhat was your TSH the last time it was checked?
LindseyYou know, if I looked, I could probably look and tell you right now.
Scott BennerDo I need to do this with everybody on the planet? Listen to me. I I'm gonna say it out loud. If your TSH is over 2.1, 2.2, and you have symptoms, those symptoms are listed anywhere, ask the Internet, you probably require a thyroid replacement hormone. It's a tiny little pill you would take in the morning when you wake up, but it's not difficult. It will change your life and make things better.
LindseyYeah.
Scott BennerYes. Are you moody? Do you ever have brain fog?
LindseyBrain fog? Definitely.
Scott BennerOkay. Okay. I I gotta stop doing this with you people. I I I I I can't be in charge of everybody. Okay, Lindsay? You gotta get out there and help yourselves once in a while. Alright. Go to your person, whatever the doctor is. I don't know what you use, endocrinology, and tell them you have these symptoms. List your symptoms. Don't let me tell you what your symptoms are. Okay? You list your symptoms and then ask to have some blood work done. And if your TSH is over, like, 2.1, 2.2, tell them, but still in range. Say, I appreciate that my labs are in range, but I'm having a lot of hypothyroid symptoms. My father has hypothyroidism. You've told me I have Hashimoto's. I already have an autoimmune issue called type one diabetes. Let's try that Synthroid. Run that up the flagpole one time, see who salutes. Get in there.
LindseyI'm so glad we're talking about this because I just pulled it up on my chart. And?
Scott BennerAnd it says the last time, it was 4.1 What is going on? What kind of a witch doctor do you see? I see the Did no one know what the hell is going on? I can't be everywhere, Lindsay. I can't. I can't. I'm trying, but I can't. Okay? Immediately, call your doctor, refer to the lab, tell them the things, tell them you want the Synthroid, tell them to base the first dose on your weight, whatever they do there in their little doctor's office with their calculator, and most of your symptoms are gonna go away.
LindseyOkay.
Scott BennerWeeks to months.
LindseyAlright.
Scott BennerI love this for you.
LindseyYeah. I love this for me too because wow.
Scott BennerYeah. Because who needs all that? Yeah. Like, I thyroid symptoms explained. May I? Extreme fatigue, weight gain, cold sensitivity, constipation. Do you have any of those?
LindseyYes.
Scott BennerExcellent. Dry skin or hair, puffy face, hair loss, hoarseness. Oh, do you have a hoarse voice?
LindseyI don't know.
Scott BennerLindsay, you do. Okay. Muscle weakness. Do you feel weak particularly in your upper arms or thighs?
LindseyNot not necessarily.
Scott BennerYou don't have to have them all. Brain fog, depression, low mood, apathy, lack of interest in activities.
LindseyYeah. Some of those. Yeah.
Scott BennerMhmm. Menstrual change is heavier than normal, irregular periods. Yes. Slow heart rate, joint and muscle pain. Okay. That's okay. Again, you don't have to have them all. That's it. I'm telling you, my god, please.
LindseyThank you so much.
Scott BennerAlright. Episode four thirteen of the podcast if you wanna be talked into it by a physician and not by a guy who has a podcast. Okay? Okay. Alright. Last thing. I I I'm gonna try to be, supportive here. Okay? Mhmm. What did you mean you wanna have a podcast?
Starting a Podcast
LindseyI love talking. I just love talking to people. And I do have a lot of just life stories. Mhmm. And I know a lot of people in my life who have a lot of funny, cool, awesome stories that I just would love to share and just post it somewhere. Not even, like, for other people, but just, like, even for my own friend group. Like, just to us to get it out, talk, or just have it recorded somewhere. Like, I've always thought that'd be so awesome.
Scott BennerI like this idea for you. You see, you're not telling me you wanna quit your job and have a podcast.
LindseyOh, no. Okay. Definitely not quit my job, but I definitely think I should take more out of my day or time block to actually start a podcast because I've been saying it for years. Oh, I think it'd be so fun. I would love to do it. And now that I'm actually talking with you, I'm like, oh my gosh. I could I could actually see myself doing this.
Scott BennerObviously, you're doing great. You're fantastic. And so yeah. So what do you need? You need a microphone? You need a computer? You need a hard drive? That's pretty much it.
LindseyAnd Alright. Good to know.
Scott BennerYou could definitely do it. May I give you my angle for you?
LindseyYes, please.
Scott BennerPeople you met at the bar. Right?
LindseyYes. Yeah.
Scott BennerYou sit down and you talk about people you met at the bar. You have a conversation with those people. Yes. That's a great way to, you know, find a niche.
LindseyAnd Yeah. That would be so fun, actually.
Scott BennerOf Of course. Don't get caught up in you and your friends are so interesting. You're not that interesting. Right. Okay? Keep that in mind. I'll give you a couple little pieces of advice. Nice clean audio is very important. Okay? Nobody's listening to your garbly like somebody's like sounds like they're across the room yelling into a pot. It doesn't need to be video. Okay? If you find it easier to do it that way, no problem, but then you're gonna feel pressured to light it well and it'll look good. And the truth is is ain't nobody looking that much, so don't worry about it. Audio is fine. Okay?
LindseyGot it.
Scott BennerAlright. You're not as interesting as you think you are. I am not as interesting as I think I am, and other people are definitely not as interesting as they think they are. So when you get bored while you're talking, pivot. Okay? Don't let somebody go on and on and on. If you're getting bored, then the audience is getting bored. Makes sense?
LindseyGot it.
Scott BennerYeah. Alright. Ask open ended questions. Let people talk. Have opinions. Don't be embarrassed by your opinions, and just share how you feel. And hopefully, people will enjoy it. And if they do, it'll grow. And if they don't, you'll stop doing it. And if it's just for a small group of people, then right on. Like, that would be cool too. It might be interesting for you, like, to pick a small group of people, interview all of them, and then come back again and expand your conversation with them and see if you could learn. There's so many different things you could do. I love this idea for you.
LindseyThank you. I appreciate your advice.
Scott BennerOh, please. Yeah. Here's the part you don't wanna hear. It's impossible to start a successful podcast. You're not gonna make any money. And, if you keep those things in mind, think you'd have a great time with it. Yeah. It's random that it becomes popular. You can't make it popular is what I'm saying.
LindseyRight.
Scott BennerAlright? And if it does, then it's just a happy accident.
LindseyYeah. And honestly, that's kind of like my whole goal with it is honestly I don't think I would really hope it blows up. Like, cool if it did, that'd be awesome. But if it doesn't, I think it just would be good to just talk and just know that I'm sharing my stories with whoever wants to watch or listen.
Scott BennerThen I think you have the perfect attitude for this.
LindseyThank you.
Scott BennerSeriously, I was afraid you were gonna tell me like, Scott, let me tell you something. I am gonna start this thing up, probably be making $510,000,000 a year in no time. And, you know, I'll probably be pushing out bigger names in the podcast industry. This, call me daddy girl. She'll be gone.
LindseyAlright.
Scott BennerI'll run her right over. No. You there are people in your generation who think they're going to be influencers.
LindseyRight.
Scott BennerThey actually think that's a job. Yep. Yep. That's so silly.
LindseyUnfortunately, it's not.
Scott BennerYou're all gonna end up on OnlyFans. Just stop it.
LindseyOh, no.
Scott BennerNo. And and, Lindsay, we don't want that for you.
LindseyYeah. No. Definitely not.
Outro and Final Thoughts
Scott BennerAlright. Listen. You're awesome. I want you to remember something.
LindseyOkay.
Scott BennerYou're a capable person. You don't need to talk yourself into it over and over again. Okay? Okay. We do things for us, not for other people. Right? So you don't have to make anybody happy. Just live your life.
LindseyMhmm.
Scott BennerYou don't get a lab value of a four. Have somebody tell you of hypothyroidism. Have a bunch of hypothyroidism symptoms and then not do anything about it. That's not okay.
LindseyNot okay.
Scott BennerWhat else are you ignoring in your life?
LindseyProbably my laundry right now, if I'm being so real.
Scott BennerGet right on it. And here and let me talk to boys your age for a second. This Lindsey chick is cool. Do you hear her? You'll be lucky to get this girl to to have a a meal with you. Stop running around trying to have sex with everybody all the time. Maybe get to know somebody, you bunch of idiots. There. That's what I got for those boys.
LindseyI love that. Yeah. My future like, when I go on a date, I'm gonna play that before we go on dates now.
Scott BennerListen, dumbass. You'll be nice. You'll see them, but calm down. Okay? That's how you start, Lindsay. You can tell if they don't get to see them right away just because we drove somewhere. That's not how it works. Okay? Right. Yeah. You'll be nice and real, and I'm nice and real, we have a little connection, and then yeah. Okay. And then, by the way, the first time I bring something up you don't like, it'd be nice if you didn't ghost me. Okay? Like, because you already said six things I don't like about you and I'm still sitting here. Tell them that
Lindseytoo. Yes.
Scott BennerAlright. Lindsay, God bless you. I don't know what's gonna happen.
LindseyYeah. Who knows? You know what? I'm just along for the ride. It was crazy awesomely.
Scott BennerWhat a great attitude. I love you. You're awesome.
LindseyUh-uh. I love you too.
Scott BennerSeriously, I'd introduce you to my son. The two of you would definitely have a baby with diabetes, so I'd be trying to avoid that. Okay? Alright.
LindseyWell, you know what? If your son's cute, give him my number.
Scott BennerListen. You guys are about the same age, and the the ladies do seem to find him attractive.
LindseyOkay. Well Yeah. Yeah. You know what? You might have to email me right after this podcast.
Scott BennerHe's got a good job, Lindsay.
LindseyShoot. What does he do?
Scott BennerI don't wanna say.
LindseyYeah. No. Understandable.
Scott BennerHe's a data engineer. Like, he's a, like, a reliable person.
LindseyOkay. Dang. Now you're gonna start, a speed dating thing on your podcast for your son.
Scott BennerI have to tell you something, though. I don't know. Like, there are, I wanna be vague because this is his personal life, but the very specific kinds of people are attracted to my son.
LindseyOkay. Yeah. What are those specific people?
Scott BennerI don't feel like that's my place to share that.
LindseyOh, okay. Okay.
Scott BennerYeah. I'll tell you when we shut the microphone off.
LindseyYeah. That sounds good.
Scott BennerSay goodbye to the people. You'll find out right now.
LindseyGoodbye.
Scott BennerTouched by Type One sponsored this episode of the Juice Box podcast. Check them out at touchedbytype1.org on Instagram and Facebook. Give them a follow. Go check out what they're doing. They are helping people with type one diabetes in ways you just can't imagine. The podcast episode that you just enjoyed was sponsored by Eversense CGM. They make the Eversense three sixty five. That thing lasts a whole year. One insertion. Every year? Come on. You probably feel like I'm messing with you, but I'm not. Ever since cgm.com/juicebox. Head now to tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox and check out today's sponsor, Tandem Diabetes Care. I think you're gonna find exactly what you're looking for at that link, including a way to sign up and get started with the Tandem Mobi system. 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 juice box podcast. If you're looking for community around type one diabetes, check out the Juice Box Podcast private Facebook group. Juice Box 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 Juice Box podcast, type one diabetes on Facebook. How would you like to share a type one diabetes getaway like no other? Join me on Juice Cruise twenty twenty six. You may be asking, what is Juice Cruise? It's a week long cruise designed specifically for people and families living with type one diabetes. It's not just a vacation. It's a chance to relax, connect, and feel understood in a way that is hard to find elsewhere. We're gonna sail out of Miami, and the cruise includes stops in CocoCay, San Juan, Saint Kitts, and Nevis aboard the stunning Celebrity Beyond. This ship is chosen for its comfort, accessibility, and exceptional amenities. You're gonna enjoy a welcoming environment surrounded by others who get life with type one diabetes. I'm gonna host diabetes focused conversations and meetups on the days at sea. There's thoughtfully designed spaces, incredible dining, and modern amenities all throughout the celebrity beyond. Your kids can be supervised, there's teen programs so everyone gets time to recharge. Not just the the kids going on vacation, but maybe you get the kickback a little bit too. There's gonna be zero judgment, real connections, and a whole lot of sun and fun on juice cruise twenty twenty six. Please come with me. You're going to have a terrific time. You can learn more or set up your deposit at juiceboxpodcast.com/juicecruise. Get ahold of Suzanne at cruise planners. She will take care of everything. Links in the show notes. Links at juiceboxpodcast.com. Have a podcast? Want it to sound fantastic? Wrong way recording.com.
#1818 Windy City Independence - Part 1
Scott shares his Facebook group moderation philosophy before Lindsey discusses her type 1 diagnosis at 14, how body image masked her severe weight loss, and her early diabetes burnout.
No FAQ matches — try natural language like "I'm scared of lows at night"
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Key Takeaways
- Diagnosis Symptoms Can Be Deceiving: Lindsey's initial severe weight loss and thirst at age 14 were masked by a desire to be thinner, highlighting how easily classic Type 1 symptoms can be misunderstood by both the patient and their community.
- The Importance of Early Context: The first 24 to 36 hours post-diagnosis are critical. Lack of proper context or reassurance about what life with Type 1 looks like can cause immense, unnecessary anxiety for the patient and their family.
- Burnout Often Follows the Desire for Independence: Taking on too much diabetes management too quickly (especially as a teen trying to prove independence) can quickly lead to burnout and frustration with the disease.
- The Spotlight Effect: Many teens downplay their diabetes or avoid using visible devices (like pumps or CGMs) because they feel like "everyone is watching," even though, in reality, most people aren't paying close attention.
- Community Moderation Requires Kindness: Online diabetes communities thrive when members remember to engage with empathy. Disagreement is natural, but maintaining a safe, kind environment is essential to keeping the space helpful.
Resources Mentioned
- Juice Box Podcast - Small Sips Series
- US Med: usmed.com/juicebox or call (888) 721-1514
- Eversense 365: eversensecgm.com/juicebox
- Tandem Diabetes Care (Tandem Mobi): tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox
- Juice Cruise 2026: juiceboxpodcast.com/juicecruise
- Wrong Way Recording: wrongwayrecording.com
Introduction and Small Sips
Scott BennerFriends, we're all back together for the next episode of the Juice Box podcast. Welcome.
LindseyHi. My name's Lindsey, and I've been a type one diabetic for about twelve years now. I'm 25.
Scott BennerIf you'd like to hear about diabetes management in easy to take in bits, check out the small sips. That's the series on the Juice Box podcast that listeners are talking about like it's a cheat code. These are perfect little bursts of clarity, one person said. I finally understood things I've heard a 100 times. Short, simple, and somehow exactly what I needed. People say small sips feels like someone pulling up a chair, sliding a cup across the table, and giving you one clean idea at a time. Nothing overwhelming, no fire hose of information, just steady helpful nudges that actually stick. People listen in their car, on walks, or rather actually bolusing anytime that they need a quick shot of perspective. And the reviews, they all say the same thing. Small sips makes diabetes make sense. Search for the Juice Box podcast, small sips, wherever you get audio. Nothing you hear on the Juice Box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan.
Sponsor Messages
Scott BennerThis episode of the JuiceBox podcast is sponsored by US Med, usmed.com/juicebox, or call (888) 721-1514. Get your supplies the same way we do from US Med. Today's episode is also sponsored by the Eversense three sixty five, the one year wear 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 Eversense Now app? No limits. Eversense. The podcast is also sponsored today by the Tandem MOBI system, which is powered by Tandem's newest algorithm, Control IQ Plus technology. Tandem MOBI 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 tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox.
Moderating the Facebook Group
LindseyHi. My name's Lindsey, and I've been a type one diabetic for about twelve years now.
Scott BennerLindsey, how old are you?
LindseyI'm 25.
Scott Benner25. Lindsey, would you like to play a game with me? It's new. I call it help Scott moderate Facebook.
LindseySure. Okay.
Scott BennerAlright. Ready? Drum roll. I'm not sure if I just noticed since my youngest was diagnosed, type one in August, but it feels like more kids are being diagnosed. Now let me just say this. It's always the same. I've been around this forever and ever. Whoever looks up one day, they're like, oh, it feels like this is happening a lot later. I'm hearing about it a lot. Like, sure, you're hearing about it a lot. Your kid was just diagnosed. You're online. The algorithm is feeding you nothing but type one content. Of course, you're hearing about it a lot. Also, you know that thing, Lindsay, when you're out in the world and you see a car that you've never seen before and then suddenly you see them everywhere?
LindseyYep. Exactly.
Scott BennerSame idea. Okay. So this conversation goes very well. First of all, I'm a big fan of letting people talk. I like people right, wrong, or indifferent to be able to speak. Doesn't matter to me. Right? Mhmm. Now here's where this is going to go off the rails very quickly. We all know it's gonna go off the rails very quickly because why? You know why, Lindsay? Let's test you. Why? Well, some people are gonna see this as code for, hey. The COVID's given everybody type one diabetes. So some people are gonna see that as code for, I would like to say that COVID has started type one diabetes, and some people are gonna see this code for, I'd like to say that the COVID vaccine's not necessary. Anyway, it just brings out everyone's crazy.
LindseyRight.
Scott BennerI have no opinion about this one way or the other, Lindsay. I'm just moderating the group. Yes. One person says, oh, I think the same. Also diagnosed in August, I think it's environmental. Yes. Of course, it's environmental. You're being poisoned with type one diabetes by the lead in the paint or the Mhmm. The hooks that your pictures are hung by or what. I I don't know. Also, I don't know that it's not environmental. Not the point. This is just how the things go. Then someone says, well, somebody told me COVID did this, which really what somebody told them if they were spoken to by a reasonable health care professional is that viruses can sometimes be the precursor to a type one diabetes diagnosis. COVID was a virus. Did you get COVID? Yeah. And then they go, COVID did it. It's a bit of a leap. You understand? They missed a lot of the nuance in the middle, but okay. Now somebody who understands all this is inevitably gonna come in and explain it, But they're going to have had one too many go rounds on the Internet with this, and their crazy is gonna come out too. This is also happening. And this is a very reasonable people that I know in here, like very reasonable people. Virus this person says COVID is a virus. Viruses can trigger things. It's not a conspiracy theory. Blah blah blah. But to that person, I would say, no one said it was a conspiracy theory. You read into that in the thing. So now I have to take down a very reasonable comment by a reasonable person. Right? I don't wanna do that. Yeah. So I kinda go like, okay. Let's let people talk. Right? Now a little sidebar, Lindsay. This is boring to you because, children don't like jobs, and I still count you as a child. And I hope you do too because you're young. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. You feel like, yes. Don't worry. I'm a kid. I don't wanna be in charge of anything, please. So this morning, I've already had to make a little bit of a post because there's times of the year, times of the day, and times of the week when people lose their minds, Lindsay. Some of these times are right after Thanksgiving, the entire time leading up till Christmas, the days after Christmas. Those are crazy times. Crazy time is also Friday afternoon, which we also call drink o'clock. Drink o'clock also happens around 9PM eastern time. Most days during the week, there's times when people get a little crazy. Okay. So Scott has to step up once in a while and say, hey, everybody. Let's try to remember what your kindergarten teacher told you and be nice to everybody. Okay. Now this sounds like everyone's going crazy. That's not what's going on, Lindsay, and we'll get to you in a second. I'm sure what you have to talk about is very important. But it's just that once in a while, a handful of people let their crazy out, and then a few other people go, oh, I didn't know we were letting out our crazy. And then, like, they let it out too. It's just a little steam, just letting off a little pressure. You know what mean? Nothing wrong with it. Yep. We need to remind everybody to be cool. So I actually just did this this morning because I can smell crazy train a comet. You understand? Yes. I've been doing this a while. It's coming around the corner. I hear the whistle of choo choo. It's gonna crest the mountain. I'm gonna see it in a second. It's about time for crazy training. Everyone's hope for the new year is gone. January is over. They now realize their lives are exactly the same as they were going to be last year and will probably not change because they're not willing to do or can't do whatever it is they want to do to make a change. So I stepped in. Lindsay, may I redo what I wrote?
LindseyYes.
Scott BennerThank you. And, we will get to Lindsay. I said, kindness is my line. I see this community as something I take care of, not control. People show up here with different experiences, strong opinions, and real emotions. Disagreement and criticism are part of that. They're allowed, expected, and healthy. It means people care enough to engage. We want that. I step in quickly when conversations become unkind, personal attacks, harassment, or cruelty. They don't belong here, and, thankfully, those situations are few and far between. More often, I say something when people are unkind without realizing it, Poor communication or inability to see the other person's perspective is usually the culprit, an easy fix 99% of the time. I mean everything I'm saying here. I go on to say I may also step in when incorrect ideas drift towards being potentially harmful. This isn't about winning arguments or policing opinions. It's about protecting people from advice or narratives that could cause real world harm if taken at face value. Now listen. I don't get involved in that very often. Okay? Let's see. People have opinions. I'm fine with them having it. I actually say that here. I say that said, if you're gonna engage with other people, you need a reasonably thick skin. I am not here to protect anyone from their insecurities or deeply ingrained beliefs. I'm here to maintain a healthy stasis in the community. Now let's take a sidebar for a minute. Lindsay, I'm just gonna mark where I'm at so I can come back and finish reading. If you are right now listening and you think that everybody who took a COVID vaccine is crazy, you think I agree with you. And if you think that everybody who took a COVID vaccine was saving the world, you also think I agree with you. That's the sign of a nice down the middle moderation of a group. Okay? You don't really know what I think about those things. It's not important. What I think is you have an opinion, they have an opinion, there's the truth. It's hard to say what the truth is. Conversation gets us to it, but we do it nicely. In short, some people are going to say things you think are completely wrong, wildly off base, or somewhere in between. We're not here to stop people from being wrong. We're here to keep the space kind, useful, and intact. When you reply to those people, remember to be kind and communicate clearly in a way that you would appreciate if someone disagreed with you. Isn't this nice? To keep this space focused and useful, I don't allow political or religious conversations. Those topics tend to divide more than they help, and they often turn conversations into something less thoughtful and less useful. Drawing that line isn't about shutting down dissent. You're welcome to question, push back, disagree, and feel frustrated to work things out in real time. What matters to me is that as many people as possible feel safe enough to speak and respected enough to stay. If you disagree, explain why. If you're frustrated, say so. Just do it with kindness. And then I finish up strong here, Lindsay, with I'm not interested in spending my life explaining what amounts to the same advice most of us learned in kindergarten, so please be nice. I hope you agree. But if you don't, please know how little that means to me. Now, Lindsay, what I'm trying to say here is, what is wrong with everybody? Hold yourselves together for Christ's sake. That's me talking now, not the guy that moderates the board. Unbelievable. You're a young person. How old were you during COVID?
LindseyI was just about to turn twenty Twenty. When COVID happened. Yes.
Scott BennerDid it ruin your life?
LindseyI'll be honest. It didn't ruin my life like it ruined some people's. However, it definitely was a tough time. I'm sure it was a tough time for everyone.
Scott BennerYeah.
LindseyEveryone had a different experience. But, yeah, I was 20 years old. I had just graduated with my associate's degree in college, and I didn't get to technically graduate because of everything that was going on that year. Mhmm. So that was pretty much the only thing that really happened to me that wasn't so great with COVID.
Scott BennerOkay. Good. Do you find that people your age are arguing about COVID still? Do they speak about it? Does it ever come up? By the way, I had it three weeks ago.
LindseyOh, wow. Well, I'm glad or hope you're well now.
Scott BennerI'm fine. Everything is fine. Let me just say that. Got a little sick. I had the COVID. Everything's good. Good.
LindseyGood. Yes. I actually have never had COVID, or at least to my knowledge, I have not.
Scott BennerNo? Ever get a sniffly nose in the last year and a half?
LindseyI mean, you know, maybe I have. Like I said, like, I've had a sniffly nose here and there, but I haven't genuinely been sick
Scott BennerMhmm.
LindseyIn, like, a long time. So whatever maybe I have had it, maybe I let it go, and I was like, oh, maybe I should check. But then by the point, I was feeling better. I was fine. So I don't know. Anyways, no. I don't really hear it come up too often among people my age, but I know, like, my parents, they've always been talking about it. My grandparents, relatives, I see stuff online all the time. So yeah.
Scott BennerOkay. So I'm gonna say to this person, and I love this person dearly. They've been in the group for a long time. You read into the original posters intent. You can't preempt preempt is a word. Right? Yeah. These conversations by being equally unhinged in the other direction. There we go. That's me doing my job. My job sucks. Okay. It's also better than having a real job. For all of you who have a real job, I'm not complaining. I make a podcast. I run a Facebook group. Basically, my life is awesome. Now let me put my feet up and talk to Lindsay. Lindsay, let me just say what I think about COVID real quick in case it's been unclear to anybody. COVID is a virus. When it first came out, we didn't know what to do about it. It was very dangerous. Some people think that the ways that we handled it were good, and some people think in the ways that the government handled it were bad. I'm sure they're both correct. Anybody who's still talking about that, please see a therapist. Okay. Let's move on. So what did you say? You got the diabetes? How did it happen? Please just say I got COVID.
LindseyYeah. I
Scott Bennergot I'm teasing. I'm teasing. Teasing. Good.
LindseyBack in 2014.
Scott BennerIt would be great if it said, Scott, well, listen. My parents, they lived under electrical lines. We later found out it was a government plot to sterilize white men. And, anyway, it didn't work on my dad. It just gave me COVID, and that's why we live underground with a tinfoil hat on.
LindseyYes. No.
Scott BennerAnyway, sorry. Well, how old were you when you were diagnosed? How did it come up? What is your remembrance of all of it?
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Diagnosis and Ignoring Symptoms
LindseySo I was 14 years old at the time, had just turned 14. I didn't know anything about diabetes. However, I lost an extreme amount of weight. I was constantly thirsty, constantly going to the bathroom, very tired, very weak. I remember vaguely before I got diagnosed, remember I was doing some sort of physical activity in my gym class, like running, and I could barely do it without, like, feeling like I was dying.
Scott BennerStruggling. Yeah. Yeah.
LindseyI was like, I I couldn't understand, but, you know, I was like, I don't know. Maybe there's just something going on with me. I know I've lost a lot of weight, but, like, I don't know why I feel so weak. Later on, I had some friends who were worried about me. They were worried I wasn't eating because of how skinny I got, and I was like, no. Just fine.
Scott BennerAt 14, you lost enough weight that by the way, boys and girls or girls?
LindseyMostly just my girlfriends. Okay. But there were a couple of my guy friends who also had made comments.
Scott BennerHave you known people by that age who had eating disorders by them? My daughter had known a couple of people who had been in treatment and stuff like that. Like, is that something girls are aware of at that age?
LindseyI mean, yes. They are.
Scott BennerOkay.
LindseyI did know a couple people.
Scott BennerYes. Your good friends came to you and went, hey. You okay?
LindseyYeah.
Scott BennerYeah. Okay. And you said And
LindseyI basically was like, yeah. I eat all the time. I'm fine. If anything, I feel like I've been eating more than usual.
Scott BennerI found the secret to life. Okay? So the rest of you, I know you're jealous, but I've been working it down with both hands, and I'm losing weight. I can't stop myself. Yeah. At that point, did you think, hey. That doesn't sound right?
LindseyI mean, like, it didn't, but, like, I was loving it. I mean At the same time, like, I love the idea that people are like, oh my gosh. You're losing weight. Because I'll be honest, when I was younger, I wouldn't say I was, like, extremely overweight or anything, but, like, before the teenage years, you you got a little extra, like, fluff on you, like baby fat or what whatever they say.
Scott BennerSo you felt like it was going the right way for you? You felt good
Lindseyabout it? Yeah. I felt like, oh, well, I'm just having a growth spurt. I'm losing weight. Like, this is normal. Like
Scott BennerPeople are like, what are you doing? You're like, well, I'm eating Doritos with Mike and Ikes on them, I dip them in chocolate milk. It's it's really, you should try it. Yeah. Yeah.
LindseyLiterally, I remember there was one time someone, don't know if it was a friend or a family member had told my parents. They were like, she looks like she's lost a lot of weight. Like, is she good? And then my parents were like, yeah. Like, I think she's going through a growth spurt, but she is really skinny. And I remember a week, there was this one time that my stepmom had offered me cupcakes. She's like, here, you can eat these. Like, you need to eat these. Like, you're skinny. You can have whatever you want. Like, whatever. And just how ironic it was later on figuring out that I had diabetes and only that was making it worse.
Scott BennerShe's doing the equivalent of, honey, you need a cheeseburger.
LindseyYeah. And right.
Scott BennerRight. So it occurred to her at some point, like, you can do this.
LindseyLike Yeah.
Scott BennerYou have room to grow here. Like yeah. But nobody ever goes, this is odd. You look sick. It's Enough to do something about it, I mean.
LindseyI was gonna say, it didn't really nobody noticed it. Like, it's almost like it happened so quick. And then all of a sudden, I remember my mom got a phone call from one of my teachers in school and said, hey. Just calling to check on you. Some of her friends have came to me thinking she has an eating disorder. She's gotten really skinny really fast. And that was when my mom was like, okay. Yeah. She has gotten really tiny, but she didn't really see anything wrong that I was doing. She didn't think I wasn't eating. She knew I was eating. My dad knew I was eating everything. But we did go to get a checkup after that because she was like, you know what? It is kinda weird. It's weird that she has lost this weight very quickly.
Scott BennerRight.
LindseySo then we go to the doctor's office, and we check my weight, all the things. And they tell me that I've lost over, like, 30 pounds.
Scott BennerWow. How tall are you?
LindseyI'm five seven, five eight ish. And I at this point, I was like, I think the lowest weight I got was, like, ninety eight, ninety nine pounds.
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Body Image and Cultural Conditioning
LindseyI think it was, like, anywhere from twenty to thirty pounds. Wow. But yeah.
Scott BennerAt five seven, like, you're not a heavy person.
LindseyI wasn't heavy, but I don't I don't know. In my mind, when growing up because I don't know if I reached five seven quite yet or, like, maybe I was shorter before. I don't know. But I just remember I wasn't, like, the skinny girl. I was I was always, like, a bigger child, like, growing up. Like, I was always, like, the bottom of the pyramid whenever we would, like, do things as kids. Like, you know, like, those pyramids that you'd make with your friends. Like, I was always the bottom because I was the tallest or biggest. You know? So, like, I never considered myself small or skinny until this had happened to me.
Scott BennerYou also didn't consider yourself just fat or Yeah. Overweight. You just you you felt like you were just a bigger girl. Yes. I gotcha. No. I understand. Okay. Yep. Isn't it interesting how we think about that? Like, really, I have a daughter. Like, so if you're not skinny, then you're heavy, which is ridiculous because you sound like you were a very average weight.
LindseyYeah. Yeah.
Scott BennerAnd and build too, by the way. Like, can you help me dig in that as a girl for a second? Because I don't obviously have this context. Is it if you don't look like you belong on the cover of Cosmo, you weighed, like, an amount that doesn't get thought of well? I I I don't under like, the thinking. What's the thinking?
LindseyHonestly, yes. I feel like just media, no matter, like, what age you are growing up, like, you always see the tiny girls, tiny women. And even myself, even though, like, I am not considered, like, obese or overweight
Scott BennerRight.
LindseyAt that age, I still thought I was in my head back then, I considered myself before I got diagnosed with diabetes, I considered myself fat compared to some of my other friends that I may have been around that were tinier than me. And growing up, like, I know there was a couple girls that were very conscious about their weight and would say their weight out loud, and then me being the person I was and taller and bigger. I always did have a bigger weight than these girls growing up. So I did think of myself as bigger. I don't know if I ever considered myself fat, but, like, when you're growing up, there's just so many things going on. You hear so many things. You see so many things. There's all of these trends that go around, and you just compare yourself. At the end of day, that's what it is, is you're comparing
Scott BennerTell me something to use this as an example. Like, a curvy girl, hippie, chesty, but not fat. How do you think of that person? Now? Yeah. Am I painting a picture in your mind that you understand? Okay. So, like, curvy, like, more classically voluptuous, but no loose skin. Like, is that a fat person to you?
LindseyNo. Not at all.
Scott BennerWhat's the word you use there?
LindseyHonestly, when I think of a girl who's curvy, now with my mindset, back then, I might have thought of it differently
Scott BennerMhmm.
LindseyBack with, like, the trends and just growing up. But now, I think a curvy woman is beautiful. Mhmm. I would love to have that body shape. Everyone's body shapes are different, but, yeah, when I think of that shape, like a curvy body but no loose skin, like, that is ideal.
Scott BennerSo the weight's not the point? Because in my mind, that person weighs more than you probably did when you were 14 before you lost weight.
LindseyYes. Right. Yeah.
Scott BennerSo it's not the number then. It's the construction of the body and what it relays Kind of. Visually?
LindseyYeah. I guess, like, visually and I mean, I guess the number does matter when you compare it to others. Mhmm. Whereas, like, yeah, someone might not look a heavyweight, but maybe they are just because of their build, their body build. I learned that growing up, and I realized that now being 25, there are so many different bodies, and you could be any weight. And there's people who would never guess how much I weigh just because of my body build and how I look. You know? Like
Scott BennerI'm just I'm fascinated how the imagery impacts the words we use. Right? Because if you use, like, there's a model, Ashley Graham. Right? Like, she's big lady. Yeah. Right? Right. And hippie and, you know, chesty and by the BMI scale has extra weight and everything. But no one looks at her and thinks, oh, fat. Right. Because at her same weight and height, there are other people who would project a different vibe back to people. I don't know the right words to use and everything. But, like, what I'm saying is I wonder what it is visually that takes the number and throws it away, and I wonder what makes us react the way we react when we see different body styles, I guess, is my question. You know what I mean?
LindseyYeah. I honestly don't know. It starts at such an early age too that it's almost like you don't even remember why this means that to you or why fat or skinny is this or what the
Scott BennerRight.
LindseyThreshold is or, like, the, I guess, spectrum of what you think is considered fat or skinny.
Scott BennerExactly. Or even attractive or desirable or anything. Right? I believe that there's a key for every lock kind of feeling. Right? Like Yeah. I don't think that there's any body style, weight, size, look, tie, hair, color, whatever that somebody won't find attractive. Like, I I always think there's really, you know, a match for everybody.
LindseyYes.
Scott BennerAnd there are things that are thought of more classically, I guess, by the masses. But, you know, thinking about that, but then distilling it down into a 14 year old's mind who's not overweight, but who, when comparing themselves to whatever they're supposed to be is, is comparing themselves back to a model who probably weighs ninety five pounds. Mhmm. It's so interesting that that's where you compare yourself to. And you're Like, who knows what the pathway is to that? Like, what magazine cover you saw or what maybe what thing as simply as, like, what thing you heard your dad say
LindseyRight.
Scott BennerAt one point or another man in your life who was like, that girl's pretty or something like that. And then it, like, sticks in your head that
LindseyI think it does come down to that too. It's like something you may have experienced that you don't even remember or maybe you do. And I'll be honest, like, I did have, like, people in in my younger days, like, they would say, oh, like, you're bigger or, like, you're fat. Like, they have actually used the term fat. So I think in my head back then, I considered myself fat even though I really wasn't.
Scott BennerYeah. Because someone said it to you. Yes. And that's the word they chose because of all of their different experiences or ideas or whatever.
LindseyYep.
Scott BennerSuper interesting. It really is.
LindseyYeah.
Scott BennerI would never I'm using Ashley Graham as an example because I'm aware of who she is. Like, visually, I know what she looks like. I think that lady is really beautiful. Mhmm. It would not occur to me to describe her by her weight. It's interesting.
LindseyYes.
Scott BennerRight? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So alright. Well, fun times.
The Hospital and Unclear Answers
Scott BennerSo that happens. You get diabetes. Yeah. But your mom takes the advice of, like, the phone call. That's awesome.
LindseyShe takes the advice of of the phone call, takes me in. We get a whole bunch of tests done. They take my blood work, and they check my sugar. And not knowing what an a one c even means or what it is, on their a one c machine, it said my a one c was 14.7.
Scott BennerWow.
LindseyNow I am like, what the heck does that mean? The doctor or the nurse, whoever was in there that read it, she, like, wide eyed looked at it, and I'm like, my mom was, like, kinda freaking out. She's like, what? What? And she goes, well, I don't know. And I'll be honest, this doctor's office, like, I don't think they are very knowledgeable in type one diabetes or diabetes at all because they didn't even they weren't confident in telling me whether I actually had diabetes or not. They said we are gonna send this information and test to another like, I don't even know. At the time, I think maybe an endocrinologist or maybe Helen DeVos where I live. I live in Michigan. And they were just saying, like, I think she might have diabetes. And when I heard that, I was like, what? Like, I was so confused because although I did think back then, like, before diabetes, I did think I was considered fat or overweight. Oh. I didn't understand how I was losing weight, and told me I had diabetes because anything I've ever heard of diabetes was knowledge of type two.
Scott BennerRight. And it meant in your mind, how could I be thin and have diabetes?
LindseyYeah. And then I'm over here, like, okay. Yeah. I haven't been eating the best, but I haven't been eating terrible.
Scott BennerMhmm.
LindseyAnd I'm 14. Like, I it was very confusing. So, basically, they start asking me questions like, alright. Have you been thirsty? Have you been going to the bathroom a lot? Have you been like, just going over all the symptoms, and I'm like, yeah. Yep.
Scott BennerI think there's cameras in our house, mom.
LindseyYeah. Yeah. So now I'm starting to freak out because now it sounds like, okay. It's not just a they don't know yet if I have diabetes. It's a pretty for sure thing that I do have diabetes. But the funniest thing about this is they sent me home, and they said that we would get a call maybe the next morning once results came back. And I was told, just don't eat any carbs or any sugar going home. So my mom was like, well, what does that even mean? I remember we went home, and we had these little turkey sausages. And I'm sure she made me, like, eggs, and I basically had, like, a breakfast for dinner type of thing.
Scott BennerYeah.
LindseyAnd I just remember going to school the next day, like, praying that it was untrue that I did not have diabetes and that, like, it was something else or they just messed up. Like, in my head, I just did not want this problem, and I just went to school acting as if, oh, no. It's gonna be fine. It's gonna be fine. But I remember at school, like, I just kept leaving my classroom to get drinks from the water fountain. Like and I just was like, there is something wrong with me, and I just didn't wanna believe it.
Scott BennerYeah.
LindseyAnd then I got a call maybe only, like, two hours into my school day, and they called me to the office. And my mom picked me up, and she goes, well, we are taking you to Helen DeVos, which is a place that is a children's hospital, and they have great endocrinologists there. And she said, we are taking you to Holland de Vos, and you have type one diabetes, and they have to treat you. So I remember after that just crying on my way to the hospital. I just remember crying the whole way there just, like, so devastated even though I had no idea what even type one was.
Scott BennerSure. Well, I mean, somebody's telling you something's wrong and and you're hearing words that diabetes, you're probably like, oh my god. Like, old people have that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right? Like, there's isn't that interesting that how much that lack of context impacted that first, like, twenty four hours for
Lindseyyou?
Scott BennerYes. What do you think in hindsight? Now you've had diabetes a long time. Right? So in hindsight, what could have somebody have said to you in that office or in that car that would have made this a better experience, you think?
LindseyI will say my mom was very positive even though, like, I could tell she was stressed out. She just kept telling me it's gonna be okay. We're gonna be fine. We're gonna figure this out. We're gonna do this together. Like, she was very positive and just tried to keep calming me down, but it was very hard for her because she also didn't know anything about type one diabetes. So she didn't really have any answers for me. And in the doctor's office the day before, I really don't know what anyone could say to me because I really just had no knowledge. I I mean, I guess I just wish someone would have said, your life isn't, like, gonna end after this. Like, it's gonna change, but it's not gonna be the end of the world for you.
Scott BennerRight.
LindseyBecause in the moment, I thought it was. I thought, oh my gosh. My life is changing, or it's gonna be a complete one eighty, which, like, don't get me wrong. It was, but now looking back at it after dealing with it all these years, I just think to myself, okay. But I'm here, and I'm okay.
Scott BennerYeah.
LindseyAnd I still live a great amazing life.
Scott BennerIt was different, but not different in the way you were imagining when you didn't have any context for it.
LindseyYeah.
Scott BennerRight. So somebody's gotta say to you then, hey. Listen. You have type one diabetes. You might have heard of diabetes. It's not that type two that you're talking about. This one's, you know, autoimmune related. You know, we'll figure out all that later, but for now, just know that we're gonna get everything straightened out. You're gonna have to take insulin. You know, there's a number of different ways to use it. We'll walk you through that in a while. Tons of people live great with type one diabetes. It's not a thing that's gonna change your life. You know? Do you have any questions? Do you think that would have been more helpful?
LindseyYeah. I think it would have. Yeah. And I definitely got those answers once I got to the hospital.
Scott BennerYeah.
LindseyThey were very much more knowledgeable in type one than my doctor's office that I went to here. Yeah. It just occurs to
Scott Bennerme that I've heard enough of these stories, right, where there's always an hour or a day or, you know, a week where people are, you know, disconnected from good information in the beginning. I mean, it's understandable. I mean, you listen to your story, nobody did anything wrong. You know what I mean? Like, it just unfolded the way it unfolded. Yeah. But still, it it's the part you think about. You know, you said, let me tell you about my diabetes. You could have started with at the hospital this happened or on the first day when we got home. But when you're telling that story, you're digging into those hours, I'm assuming because they were meaningful to you.
LindseyYes. They were. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. It's just like one of those moments in my life that definitely are just like ingrained in my brain.
Scott BennerAnd I don't think doctors realize that that first thirty six hours of your story is so impactful and that nobody tried to contextualize any of it for you, and that's probably why it's impactful to you.
LindseyYes. Just like the unknown. Yeah. I think that's why.
Management, Burnout, and the "Spotlight" Effect
Scott BennerThat's my point. Anyway, alright. They get you in the hospital. They fix you all up. They send you home. What do they give you? They give you the insulin pump, needles, a pen, CGMs. What did you get?
LindseyI got pens. I just use pens and just use a regular glucose monitor and prick my finger to check every time.
Scott BennerHow long ago? Twelve years?
LindseyYeah. Yeah. About twelve years. Yeah. Going on twelve years.
Scott BennerAnd did you eventually end up with other tools, or did you use those for a while?
LindseyI used those for about well, I actually used them for a couple years. I did get a CGM, one of, like, the old, like, Dexcom g fours or whatever they had. I remember using those, but then I remember insurance companies, like, it was very hard to get ahold of those things. So it was, like, on and off. Sometimes I would wear Dexcom, sometimes I wouldn't. But then it came down to the pump, the insulin pump, if I wanted to be on that. They asked me a year after if I wanted to get on it, and I was totally against it. I did not want anything connected to my body. I don't know why I was so against it, but I was. And then couple years later, 2018 going into 2019 is when I got my first insulin pump.
Scott BennerOkay.
LindseyAnd then I got back on the Dexcoms.
Scott BennerThat's, like, six years into it.
LindseyYeah. Well, I will say it was, like, five. Like, 2014, '20 2018 going into 2019.
Scott BennerI like it when people do that. I'm like, it's like six years. You're like, no, Scott. Not six. You silly, silly man. It's five.
LindseySame thing. Yeah.
Scott BennerYeah. So about halfway. You describe in your note that you experienced burnout. When's the first time that happened to you?
LindseyI would say probably year two is when I actually had burnout because the first year, we were so on top of everything, but my parents were helping me so much.
Scott BennerMhmm.
LindseyAnd they were doing a lot of the work. And I was letting them, but I also wanted to be independent and show that I could do everything on my own. And I think I took on a little bit too much too fast because I wanted to.
Scott BennerRight.
LindseyAnd I didn't realize, oh, I'm literally gonna have this for life. I'm doing this by myself for life.
Scott BennerPace yourself, Lindsay.
LindseyYeah. I should've let my parents do a lot more for me than I let them. I wanna say after, like, the first year, was like, yeah. Just let me handle everything.
Scott BennerCan you tell me a little more about what made you feel like you wanted that separation?
LindseyI really struggled with everyone talking to me about diabetes all the times. Like, when I was first diagnosed, it was, like, just the number one thing, like, how's your sugar? What's your sugar? From my parents or my friends. And it just got kind of, like, annoying knowing, like, that they were kinda in control of everything, and I wanted to take that control back. I hated just, like, having to write everything down and them having to ask me everything and, like, write my little logbook what my sugar was and what I ate that day. I just remember, like, hating having to relay the information to them. I just wanted to do it myself.
Scott BennerToo much diabetes, and you don't need people reminding you constantly.
LindseyYeah. It was it was my life. Like, the first, like, few years, it was all I was known for was diabetes, and I actually hated that.
Scott BennerThat's how it felt to you. Do you think that was how it felt to do you think it was true? Do you think did people shift in your life and stop seeing you and only see the diabetes?
LindseyNo. I I think it was just in my head, but I will say, like, I was one out of the two people in my entire high school that had type one. Oh. So nobody knew. So, like, when I was, like, that second person that have it at my high school, it was like, woah. Like, everyone just thinks of me as, okay. The girl with diabetes, the girl that, like, leaves right before lunch to do her, like, blood sugar checks and insulin before lunch, stuff like that. It was just like a thing, and I also think that's why I didn't want the insulin pump for so long too. I was like, I like to be discreet, just take my shots and stuff. I didn't want people seeing
Scott BennerYeah.
LindseyLike, gadgets or whatever.
Scott BennerI don't know if I've told this story. I haven't heard before, but when my son was, like, I don't know, 12 or 13, and we went to a baseball game on Saturday, pretty far from our house. We were all done, and we stopped at this diner that I knew about on the way back. And this is a sidebar, Lindsay. I knew about the diner because I once had lunch there with the film director, Kevin Smith, because it was the diner in the town where his little film office was. Red Bank, New Jersey for anybody who was interested. And I knew the diner, I thought that was cool. And so we stopped there to have, you know, it's an old New Jersey diner. And they sat us down at a table in the middle of the room. So imagine booths around three walls and then two tables in the center. Right? So there's enough room to walk around the freestanding tables, and there's booths that go down three sides of the wall. And they put us at the table in the middle. And I noticed after being there for a few minutes that my son was uncomfortable. And I asked him why, he said, I don't like sitting here. Everyone's looking at us. And I said, no one's looking at us. Like like, people are eating their lunch. They're talking to each other. I'm like, look around. No one's looking at us. I'm like, you feel like they are. I understand. You feel like you're on a stage and people are listening or and looking, but they're really not. Like, really pay attention for a minute. I was like, people can barely pay attention to their own lives. They're not looking at you. And it made them feel better. And so my question to you was, were people looking, or did you feel like they were looking?
LindseyI probably just felt like they were looking.
Scott BennerOkay. Alright. So you were not experiencing people, like, walking by and going, there's Lindsay, the girl with diabetes, and pointing and shunning you. That wasn't happening.
LindseyNo. Definitely not. But, like, it definitely was, like, a thing. Like, everybody knew I had type one diabetes.
Scott BennerTo keep this going a little longer, my son was in a baseball uniform. He was the only one not dressed like every other person walking down the street. Like, I'm sure people did look up and go, oh, look. That kid must have come from a baseball game. But they weren't then going, what an ass. Like, they were just like you know? But I take your point. So people are aware of this. You know they're aware of it because there's so few people with diabetes. You are ducking out here and there. But whether they're actually looking and talking or not, it really doesn't matter to you. Right? Like, it still feels the same one way or the other. Yes. Right. Okay. Alright. And you think that kept you off a pump for a while as well?
LindseyIt did. I do remember one experience too when I had a Dexcom on during class, and I remember my Dexcom was beeping that, like, my sugar was either high or low. I can't remember. But I just remember a teacher I don't know if it was a substitute or a teacher, but they had said, phone's off. Somebody turned their phone off or I'm taking it away. And then I remember the whole class had my back, and they go, that's her diabetes. And they, like, they, like, yelled at the teacher for me.
Scott BennerLady, you're gonna feel bad in a second. Wait till we do this. Finally, we've got the upper hand as a group of small children.
LindseyRight. So, like, don't get me wrong. I love that they all, like, knew about it, had my back, knew that that noise was not my phone, but, like, my Dexcom notification. But I hated the attention from it, and I oh, that just turned me off. I'd after that point, I remember I silenced my Dexcom alerts because I hated the attention the sound brought to me.
Scott BennerYeah. That's not happening again to me.
LindseyYeah.
Scott BennerThat hurts you too. Right? Because you can't hear the damn thing beeping.
LindseyYep. And then I let high sugars go or maybe let my sugar get too low. Mhmm.
Scott BennerAll to keep people from either sticking up for you or being aware of you.
LindseyYeah. I almost like I do remember I almost kinda just wanted to forget or think that I didn't have diabetes. I remember, like, in the beginning, I tried really hard to make it seem like, oh, I don't really need to do that much. Like, I can still live a normal life because I remember my friends, parents, relatives, everybody that I was around was just worried about it. Worried about being around me, and I had I hate scaring people. So I think I tried to play it off, Like, oh, it's really, like, not that big of a deal, which it is, but,
Scott BennerOh, that's interesting. You downplayed the impact diabetes had on your life so that other people could feel comfortable?
LindseyKind of. Yeah. I will say kind of, in a sense, just because I didn't want people to be scared of, like, what could happen to be around them.
Scott BennerThen that focuses them on you more?
LindseyNot necessarily. But
Scott BennerYou ever go to therapy? This is we're getting pretty deep here. This is going
LindseyI know we are. I'll be honest. I don't go to therapy, and I should.
Scott BennerLike He's like, listen. It's on my list. Okay?
LindseyIt's on my list. But
Scott BennerBut it's an interesting insight from you that you knew that your diabetes was making other people uncomfortable.
Closing and Outro
Scott BennerThis episode was too good to cut anything out of, but too long to make just one episode. So this is part one. Make sure you go find part two right now. It's gonna be the next episode in your feed. The podcast you just enjoyed was sponsored by Tandem Diabetes Care. Learn more about Tandem's newest automated insulin delivery system, Tandem Mobi with Control IQ plus technology at tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. There are links in the show notes and links at juiceboxpodcast.com. Are you tired of getting a rash from your CGM adhesive? Give the Eversense three sixty five a try. Eversense cgm.com/juicebox. Beautiful silicone that they use. It changes every day. It keeps it fresh. Not only that, you only have to change the sensor once a year. So, I mean, that's better. US Med sponsored this episode of the Juice Box podcast. Check them out at usmed.com/juicebox or by calling (888) 721-1514. Get your free benefits check and get started today with US Med. Hey, kids. Listen up. You've made it to the end of the podcast. You must have enjoyed it. You know what else you might enjoy? The private Facebook group for the Juice Box podcast. I know you're thinking, oh, Facebook, Scott, please. But no. Beautiful group, wonderful people, a fantastic community. Juice Box podcast type one diabetes on Of course, if you have type two, are you touched by diabetes in any way, you're absolutely welcome. It's a private group, so you'll have to answer a couple of questions before you come in. We'll make sure you're not a bot or an evil doer, then you're on your way. You'll be part of the family. I can't thank you enough for listening. Please make sure you're subscribed or following in your audio app. I'll be back tomorrow with another episode of the Juice Box podcast. How would you like to share a type one diabetes getaway like no other? Join me on Juice Cruise 2026. You may be asking, what is Juice Cruise? It's a week long cruise designed specifically for people and families living with type one diabetes. It's not just a vacation. It's a chance to relax, connect, and feel understood in a way that is hard to find elsewhere. We're gonna sail out of Miami, and the cruise includes stops in CocoCay, San Juan, Saint Kitts, and Nevis aboard the stunning Celebrity Beyond. This ship is chosen for its comfort, accessibility, and exceptional amenities. You're gonna enjoy a welcoming environment surrounded by others who get life with type one diabetes. I'm gonna host diabetes focused conversations and meetups on the days at sea. There's thoughtfully designed spaces, incredible dining, and modern amenities all throughout the celebrity beyond. Your kids can be supervised, there's teen programs so everyone gets time to recharge, Not just the the kids going on vacation, but maybe you get the kickback a little bit too. There's gonna be zero judgment, real connections, and a whole lot of sun and fun on juice cruise twenty '26. Please come with me. You're going to have a terrific time. You can learn more or set up your deposit at juiceboxpodcast.com/juicecruise. Get ahold of Suzanne at cruise planners. She will take care of everything. Links in the show notes. Links at juiceboxpodcast.com. Have a podcast? Want it to sound fantastic? Wrong way recording.com.