Scott Benner 3/8/23 Scott Benner 3/8/23

#864 Type 2 Diabetes Pro Tip: Guilt and Shame

A series for people with pre and Type 2 diabetes.

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

00:06:12 Addressing guilt and shame.
00:09:00 Stigma around Type 2 diabetes.
00:16:14 Lifestyle and genetics contribute to type 2 diabetes.
00:17:53 Emotional response to diabetes diagnosis.
00:24:17 Education is crucial for managing type two diabetes.
00:29:24 Misdiagnosis and stigma in diabetes.
00:35:57 Education is vital for diabetes management.
00:40:10 Type one and type two diabetes are related.
00:45:37 Take action for someone else.
00:53:00 Take care of your health.
00:59:57 Empowerment through education and action.
01:00:55 Successful type two community is possible.

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, and welcome to episode 864 of the Juicebox Podcast

Welcome back to the Type Two diabetes Pro Tip series from the Juicebox Podcast today is the next episode in that series, and Jenny Smith and I will be discussing shame and guilt, and how those things may be tricking you into not taking care of yourself. While you're listening. Please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. This is the spot in other episodes where I remind type ones to go to the T one D exchange and take the survey but instead because this is a type two centric podcast, I want to say this to the type ones that are listening. You love the podcast, you subscribe. That's why you got this episode. I bet you also know people in your life with type two diabetes that need help. Please pass these episodes on to those people. And if you're new to the podcast, and you have prayer, type two diabetes. Welcome. I hope you'll love this. I really think it's going to help you.

This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the contour next gen blood glucose meter. Learn more at contour next one.com forward slash juicebox. That's right, the contour next gen. What do you think the Gen stands for next generation, whether you have type one, or type two diabetes, or pre diabetes, and you need to check your blood sugar, the contour next gen is for you. Contour next one.com forward slash juice box. I'll tell you a little bit more about that meter later on in the program. But if you're looking for accurate blood glucose meter results, contour next gen is the way to go. Hey, Jenny, how are you?

Jennifer Smith, CDE 2:16
I'm great. How are you? Scott?

Scott Benner 2:18
Jenny's not great. Her dog ran away and she's trying to be

Jennifer Smith, CDE 2:24
doing this while my husband is

Scott Benner 2:26
out looking for the dog. Sure the dogs gonna be fine.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 2:30
You got a caller? He's got a number on it. You know, it's all?

Scott Benner 2:33
Yes. Let's just say the people just missed a nice five minute conversation about the responsibility of dog ownership.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 2:40
If you're going to own a dog, be prepared to take care of it like you prepare to take care of a child

Scott Benner 2:45
exactly, essentially. Yes. So we hit record here because I'm in slightly unsteady water for what we're trying to do here. So I think everybody who listens to the podcast knows that it is overwhelmingly it's a type one diabetes podcast, right? It's I think it helps adults and caregivers pretty equally, but it's mainly about type one. And then over the last few years, I've been thinking about, as I mentioned, in the first episode of this series, I wanted to figure out how to help type twos. And then I started seeing type twos come into the Facebook group and listen to the podcast. And then they were making these kind of really amazing, like improvements in their life. So we we asked the listeners of the podcast, you know, what would you like to know about type two diabetes. And it's going to be a little strange talking about it, because my conversation is going to come from kind of some anecdotal stuff and kind of my reflections of what I've seen people talk about you, of course, Jenny are not just the CDE. But you have a degree in nutrition. Yes. So you're going to be a great help here and Jenny, in a former life, why don't you tell people what you used to do?

Jennifer Smith, CDE 4:00
Yeah, so within the realm of diabetes education, and while I was working as a dietitian within a hospital care system, I was also helping to teach the type to accredited classes within the hospital that I worked at. And I was working with a nurse educator who was head of the education, the diabetes education department, and we coordinated the classes together on the angle of, you know, all things diabetes, in terms of the medications and monitoring and the nutrition part and the activity part. I mean, all the things that go into managing, so that is what I did, and it actually helped me as well. A crew, enough hours to sit what was the CDE exam certified diabetes educator exam, which now we are CDC, e ss, right? Everybody's still calls us CDs. shots. All right?

Scott Benner 5:03
Well, I so here's what I've been thinking forever. And I mentioned a little bit in the first episode, but I'll just say it here again, if you see behind the scenes, the diabetes space, people, companies, organizations, institutions are always trying to figure out why type ones are such a close knit group of people online. Like there's a real type one diabetes community online, as Yeah, it's just the reasons why I mean, you can all guess for yourself, but it just exists. It's a helpful community, it's a vocal community, they're not afraid to share what's going on with themselves. And anyway, these organizations, these companies, they've all they all use kind of behind the scenes about I wish we could, you know, build a community for type twos. And we tried, and it didn't work. And we tried this, and it didn't work. And, and I've had conversations in meetings where I've given my opinion about why I think it didn't work and how it could and people didn't take my advice. So now I'm just going to do it myself. And I'm going to do it here with this. And I thought I thought the way to start off was by addressing guilt and shame. So there were a number of different categories that people brought up medications, doctors, you know, die diets, which we're not going to call diets, Jenny, we're going to call fueling plan fueling plans, I'm gonna have to leave that written in front of me for a couple of weeks, the way I speak. But, to me, if we're going to start this conversation, I think we have to start it with why if you have type two diabetes, is it difficult to step up and say, I have type two diabetes, I don't understand it. I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. I think it's killing me. And I'm not really sure how to stop it. You know, like, that's the insecurity I see with a lot of people with type two, like this thing is happening to them. And they, they don't seem to know what to do about it.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 7:02
There's absolute negative, there's a negative piece to having type two diabetes. From an from an understanding perspective, but I think that, that it lacks information. And I think that that's where it comes from, in a lot of a lot of that negative attitude can be because the majority of people who don't have diabetes of any type, type two, specifically here, there, there's a lot of missing information. And so there are there are silly statements that are made that are completely not true. And you never know, when you're seeing something that might be just an off the, you know, off the cuff, kind of like, Haha, joke, whatever you don't know if somebody that you're sitting around, has type two diabetes, and then that's taken, it's taken in or you

Scott Benner 8:11
internalize, no, and then you realize I need to keep this quiet, or I'm going to take, I'm going to take this from other people, or I'm

Jennifer Smith, CDE 8:17
going to be the brunt of the jokes, or I'm going to be the brunt of, Hey, did you know this could help you? Or hey, did you know you know, I've got this friend who's talking to this person? And don't you know, that this could really help you or, you know, we'll talk about all the supplements and all the funny things that people get offered help from. And I think that brings a lot of it in it's like, I'd rather maybe be quiet about it. And just

Scott Benner 8:41
Well, I think we always end up in this situation where we sort of talk around it because, I mean, obviously you and I don't want to insult anybody. And we don't have oh, we don't have those feelings. But it's I think it's worth, like just vocalizing right now that other people do that. And that's hard to hear. And you don't want to hear that. And I understand not wanting to hear that.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 9:03
Right. And I think a lot of it too comes from the people who may be making con comments or may be thinking what they know about type two diabetes, but it's completely false. It's it's from this idea. People have that it is self induced. Yes,

Scott Benner 9:19
exactly. Right. I did that to myself. I did

Jennifer Smith, CDE 9:22
something I have it or God there, they must have totally just not paid attention. Or they must have done something that created this problem for them. Yeah, right. Look

Scott Benner 9:34
at you, your body is whatever. That's obviously because you don't take care of yourself. And so you deserve somehow this thing that's happened to you. And that's I think that's the that's the path that minds can follow when they say stupid things like that. And it lets them off the hook to they get to say well, I'm, I'm okay being horrible to this person because look, they did it to themselves. And and then whether that's true or not, and we're going to talk about why it's not. But whether it's true or not. That's how you feel it. If you're on if you're on the receiving end of that, that's how you felt it. And now someone picks up and says, Hey, I've started a diabetes group that might help you understand your diabetes better. Or why don't you talk to your friends who have it and see if nobody, nobody's gonna want to do that then. Right? Yeah.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 10:21
Right. Absolutely. And I think, as you said earlier, the the type one world has a lot of has a lot of connection, they've, it's a very big community. That's like getting a big hug whenever you reach out for something, right. And people are very willing and open to talk about it. But it's the minimal percent of people who have diabetes as a whole. The bigger community has type two diabetes,

Scott Benner 10:55
by leaps and bounds numbers wise, right? Absolutely.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 10:58
And even now, and I think it's unfortunate, but now even includes children and teens, with type two diabetes, not type one. And thinking of that, and how they will grow. If they don't get the right information and the right way to feel about how to navigate this, they will get that same image that maybe their parent with type two has, or maybe their grandmother with type two has, and a lot of the older information, unfortunately, is kind of clouding what those with type two in the past 10 or even 20 years, could be doing differently, if they just got around that mindset of I clearly must have done something wrong. Well,

Scott Benner 11:45
in regards to being open about it, I guess, type ones are sort of protected, right? Because, and here's how I've seen it like that. Again, this is anecdotal from watching people talk about it for so long. But because it's an autoimmune issue, and your pancreas, you know, was attacked by your own body and doesn't make insulin anymore, you get to say, I didn't do this to myself, I don't you don't make an autoimmune issue. So you can you can shed, you would think you could be able to shed some of that, the guilt and the shame that could come along with it. So I guess we should first talk about what are the ways that people get type two diabetes? Like if you if you have an autoimmune disease that gives you type one? Can you eat your way into type two diabetes? Or is that? Is that just a misnomer? Is that the quality of the food? Is it like what? What's the real honesty of it?

Jennifer Smith, CDE 12:51
That's a deep rabbit hole.

Scott Benner 12:53
I don't want Listen, I don't wanna get anybody in trouble, because I know. But I mean, let we can't start talking about it if we're going to lie to people in the first 10 minutes. So you know what you mean.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 13:03
Right. So to be quite honest, in terms of lifestyle, absolutely, lifestyle does play a part in terms of the potential for somebody to have type two diabetes, you're more likely to develop it if you are overweight, or what you know, is categorized as being obese, which is a certain BMI level above being just overweight. extra weight can cause what we know is called insulin resistance, or the inability for for the body to utilize the insulin that is being produced by the beta cells in your pancreas. And initially, somebody with some dysregulation of insulin production in the body. In terms of potential for having type two diabetes diagnose, some of that comes from the resistance factor. The location of where the weight on the body is distributed, can make a big difference. activity level can make a big difference. Can food make a big difference? Absolutely. It can. Is it? You said quality? Could the quality of food make a difference? Yes, if you're thinking on the on the edge of preservatives and more processed versus more real food, let's call it right. Sure. There is a big difference. I mean, that's it's kind of a question that's in the air, regardless of what condition you have heart disease and all of those kinds of things. Could it be worse or could I have brought it on because I'm eating more of this processed, less real food than real real food? Sure, but those are some of the big pieces from a metabolic standpoint that somebody is more likely to have type two diabetes is does it mean that every person who might be overweight is going to have type two? No, it does not. Family history or genetics, we know play, it plays a very big part as well, in terms of the potential. So if you have a strong family history of type two diabetes, then some lifestyle things that you put into action for yourself. may very well be preventative. Yeah,

Scott Benner 15:28
I would say this too. I don't think I mean, yes, if you're an adult, you're in charge of what you're eating, right. But there are, there are other factors at play, like financial implications about the foods you can afford to begin with, how you grew up, what somebody put in front of you, when you were a child, and told you this is good food, this is not or in. And by the way, no one may have said to you, this is good, or this is bad. They may have just, maybe it's just giving you food, you remember, like, oh, like when I was a kid, we used to eat this. And so you become an adult and you make that, you know, like, it's, it's not, it's not, I don't think it's a malevolent issue. Like, I don't think that somebody's parents three generations ago, were like, I'm going to eat unhealthy, you know, and it's gonna cause all kinds of medical issues, and I will teach my children to eat unhealthy and they'll teach their children like, it's not like that. It's just you do what you do. And but to not understand that that's what's happening. I think that's the crime, right? Like, if and to not know how to get out of it, if there are actually ways and it turns out, there are a number of ways that you can help yourself, then, you know, that's a crime too. So we're not going to pretend like I mean, listen, this is straight from the ADEA. Type Two diabetes is generally caused by a combination of lifestyle and genetic factors, lifestyle factors, including being overweight or obese, eating a high, eating a diet high in carbohydrates, sugars, and fats and physical inactivity. Um, that's a, you know, that's directly from their website. And it's dated just last year. So, but that's all but the point is, is that that's, that's all both. Now, you've got type two diabetes, like, who cares how we got here, right? See what we can do now. But that becomes an issue because guilt and shame are real things. They are real things and they burden people. So I want to read you a couple of a couple of things. And I'm not going to tell you who they're from, until, until we're done. But I asked a group of people, if you struggle with guilt, or shame, and he found a way past it, can you please share your experiences here. And I told him that their experiences might be used anonymously on the podcast. So you know, everybody's first person just says, I went to therapy. And other person said, I connected with other people who were in the same boat and hearing their stories helped me, giving myself grace, being patient, focusing on my family, prayer, therapy, connecting with others. This goes on and on. My neurologist put me on an antidepressant for migraines, but that ended up helping me with my anxiety. You know, like that stuff. I was embarrassed. And I felt guilty for adult. Now, here's where the, here's where the secret comes in Jenny, because I think I've read enough now that anybody with type two diabetes is listening and said, Okay, I have felt like that, you know, here at the beginning of the onset, it was the realization that I'm often part of strategies, I went through a bunch of grief, you know, I, I went through the stages of grief, I had to get educated the education empowered me, I felt a lot of guilt. I felt like I brought it on myself. These are just over and over again, there are dozens of responses here, right? So if you're a type two, and you're saying yourself these sound like things, I have thought for myself, these are all responses from people with type one diabetes, type one or type two, type one. Because in the end, it doesn't matter how you got here, it feels the same once you're there. You know, like, how did this happen to me? Bargaining people talked about bargaining with God, I'll do something different. Please take it away, you know, and this person of course, said they'd bargain that they would eat better if their pancreas would start working again. And these are real real responses from real people who live with type one diabetes, but yet their responses I imagine mimic how anyone else would feel type one or type two.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 19:30
I would agree especially within the like I said, I I taught classes for type two diabetes and many of the people that initially came into our classes, which was like a four part series.

Scott Benner 19:48
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Jennifer Smith, CDE 22:31
Many of them appeared to just come because it was something their doctor required them to do or really requested for them to do or felt like they had enough questions to their doctor that they needed to go somewhere to get them answered. And I would say that many people didn't appear to really want to be in that first class. Yeah, they. And that was just my perception. Right? What I could see. But once once we got rolling, and they could see that information, the tidbits that would make sense in their life. This bit of information, that bit of information. Well, gosh, what? How many questions or how many times I heard, why didn't nobody tell me this? I've had this for you know, our classes were people who had had type two for a number of years, or who were newly diagnosed as everybody all together. And eventually in class those with type two for a longer period would bring in to the people that they'd get connected with the people who are newly diagnosed, I've tried this or Oh yeah, I was on that medicine, and ever worked for me, you know, kind of thing. So there was a sense of bringing people together that they felt comfortable to talk with others who had type two. And then by the end of class, the questions and the things, and they they would leave class, feeling like whatever portion of education or information they got, from what we gave them. There was a way to put it into action. Yeah, there was something that made sense. As their this is why I this is why I can try this, or this is why I can go back to my doctor and say, Well, I learned all this stuff. And I've been trying this and this isn't working. So I might need a medicine change. Would you talk with me about the other options? So in terms of education point for type two, that's one piece. I would definitely say if nobody's ever told you, you can have education. You can Yeah. And you should ask about it. If nobody's ever told you to go and see somebody. The classes for type two, I think are enormously beneficial. And if you can find one within your area, like I said, getting to be in class with others who also have type two, it brings in a sense of community that many People who've lived with type two for a number of years already have not ever had.

Scott Benner 25:04
What would you say that people lack the most? Like, what do they lack? That they're there to learn about? Is it basic understandings of nutrition? And that because I find, I find there are times that people say to me, I didn't realize that this food had this impact on a body forget my body on a body, I just didn't know. And then somebody told them, they're like, Okay, well, then I won't do that anymore. You know, and it's the, it's the feeling. To me, I think that the the implication from others can be that, again, you're doing it to yourself, but I just think that we're just doing what occurs to us. It's not like we're making a bad decision on purpose all the time. I'm sure there's some people are, but that's not my, that's not my point that overall, I find that people don't run around doing things to hurt themselves on purpose. Correct, you know what I'm saying, and so you just need to understand enough to get you going. And then you get a little momentum and you see a little, maybe you feel a little better, or, you know, maybe you lose a couple of pounds, and you'll have a little more energy and you start having a little more focus. And you think, Okay, well, I made this small change. Maybe I'll add a walk, you know, go for a walk now. And you know, if you can't walk outside, walk around your house, like work on your apartment, like, I don't care, like do something, you know, and then incrementally, you'll see change. And that change should draw you in that other direction. And but again, it seems like the problem is, I should go to a class to learn, but I'm embarrassed. I feel ashamed. Listen, the guilt and shame of not noticing made me sick. My initial gut reaction when my PCP told me that I had diabetes, was of shame. But people use the word shame constantly over and over again. And this is a very, I'm not a therapist, okay. But I have, I have a therapist that comes on. And this is a big thing that she talks about all the time that people just can, the feeling of shame and guilt are not exactly the same, and I'm not qualified to talk about it. But I do know that it holds you down. And it stops you from doing things you want to do. Because you don't want to feel it anymore. And then that is not a tenable situation like it's not going to you're not I mean, you're not going to pretend your way through this, basically,

Jennifer Smith, CDE 27:35
no, you're not. And in fact, if you if you feel that way, forgetting will, will will make it worse. Whether nobody again, as you said sets out for that to happen. But it's almost a will, if I just put it to the side, and I just take the meds that the doctor told me to take, that should take care of like, it's almost a convincing of yourself that they do this bare minimum thing. Yeah. And, again, I go back in terms of education. At diagnosis, it shouldn't be this rip off scrip of, well, this is what you have. And there's no education about even what Type Two diabetes means, like, physiologically, what's happening in the body? Why do I all of a sudden have this or, quite honestly, type two diabetes has been a progressive state, where initially your body tries to handle the glucose levels that are not contained in the normal range without diabetes. And so you know, your body needs more insulin to essentially get the glucose levels down, and to help that glucose get into the cells, right. So at first in type two, your pancreas actually kicks in, it's like I have to make more I have to keep up I have to give, give, give, give, give and eventually over time, at that point, many several years later, that's when you actually find out a diagnosis of type two after your body has already not been handling things well enough

Scott Benner 29:24
to tell me the the other side of it so it's a combination of lifestyle and genetic factors. So you could be I mean, people say it all the time on the on the podcast, right? I was I was diagnosed with type one as an adult, but I was first misdiagnosed as a type two, because they looked at my body style and they just assumed I had type two diabetes, but that can happen in the reverse for people too. You can be you know, I always use the example of when I was growing up. My neighbor's husband was tall and lean and fit, but he died of a heart attack. act really young. And when he passed, everybody was like, that doesn't make sense to them. That doesn't make sense. He's not fat, right? Like, because back in the day, I mean guy was the 70s and the 80s. Like, that's what we understood. You know what I mean? Like, heavier people have heart attacks, you know? Yeah, trust me, we didn't know a whole lot. And my best toy was like a stretchy doll. World was not as advanced. But, but he's a good example. This man is a good example. He didn't fit the bill visually. And so nobody paid attention to his heart. And right, and people in diabetes get kind of yanked around like this all the time. Oh, you're heavier, you have type two, they won't even test you. Like I've heard people tell stories. Like, look, I'm in the doctor's office, I tell them, my mom has type one diabetes. My grandmother has type one diabetes, I have diabetes, test me Give me a C peptide test. I think I have type one. No, no, we're not doing that. You're overweight. It's type two. Like, That's just insane. And so when that kind of stuff also exists, and you're already embarrassed, or you feel ashamed or guilty? How are you supposed to stand up in that moment and tell the doctor, I need help? Like, you're not explaining this to me? I obviously don't know. And I think, look, I can't speak for every doctor, obviously. But it wouldn't have gotten this far. If there wasn't a preconceived notion, hey, you have diabetes now. And now we're gonna write you off, like you're a lost cause we move you over to the other side of the ledger. And I really think that happens to people. And it doesn't need to be like that. But the doctors probably bump into so much what they consider to be God, that word. I don't even want to say, I want to talk around it. Okay, I assume they mean, I assume they bump into patients that they think, have no interest in getting better. But the doctors are going to call them non compliant. They're gonna say, they're gonna say, I gave them a diet. And I told him an exercise routine. And six months later, he came back, and he hadn't lost weight. And there was no difference. So I take you and I slide you right off here. And then that happens enough times that Dr. And my assumption is that they just begin to believe that people aren't going to try to change, or to do the things that they, you know, whatever. But it's never that easy. It just isn't like I, for some people, like your body's built the way it's built, like you ever see a real muscular person and you're like, I would like to be like that. But my body doesn't. It's not built that way. You know what I mean? Like, everybody's not gonna, I'm not saying people shouldn't get more exercise and eat better. Everyone should be doing that. That's just, I think that's obvious to all of us. But correct. But just changing something if you don't really understand what to change. Like, I watched it with my mom. My mom got type two diabetes should not have been a surprise. Your father had it. His father had it. This is not her brother has it? Like you don't I mean, like, everybody's got it. And my mom says to me, I have to start eating more healthy. That's what she said. That's what the doctor told me be more healthy. My poor mom in her 70s trying to decide what that is. I said, well make a list of foods you think of as healthy we'll sit down look at them together. There was not one valuable food on that for Lauren, her blood sugar. Not one. I'm sure oh my god, it was I wasn't mad at her. Like I was like, I'm like mom, like, like, Honey, listen, like, here's what we're gonna do. You don't eat meat. And I got her into a slightly lower carb situation. set her up with some like, my mom just thought a vegetable was a vegetable. You know, like, so I said, Mom, these are the vegetables that are actually lower in carbs. Your vegetables

Jennifer Smith, CDE 33:44
were corn and peas. Because she comes from that she comes from that era. Yeah, it does. Yeah, great. Well,

Scott Benner 33:49
we'll throw a potato in. It'll be lovely. Man, we're not gonna have a potato for a while. Okay. And so it was just very interesting. That when given the task of why don't you write down things that you think would be less impactful on your blood sugar? She couldn't she couldn't for the life of her think of any of them?

Jennifer Smith, CDE 34:11
No, I'm sure she couldn't. And again, I bring in Oh, my dog is back. By the way not to interrupt. Oh, no,

Scott Benner 34:17
that's a good thing to say. Everybody's probably been worried.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 34:20
Yeah, sure. They're not. Yeah.

Scott Benner 34:23
You have no idea. I'm gonna get emails about your dog. I'm glad you said this.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 34:28
So anyway, there you go. Okay. All dogs back. But in general, you know, my dad also had type two diabetes. And were it not for the fact that I had had and lived with type one diabetes prior to his diagnosis, and I think he was diagnosed when I was in like the end of high school probably like my senior year in high school. And I had, you know, been living with type one for a number of years already. And so my mom had, she had learned because of me. Yeah. However, had she not my mom being the primary like cook in the house. And my mom having grown up on a dairy farm, she would have continued to cook the very typical, I call it the meat and potato type of fair. Yeah, right. That would have been what she did. And we also wouldn't have known the things that we knew from learning from my experience. So my dad had a very different start with type two diabetes than somebody else, but he was of the same age as kind of your mom, who, well, goodness, what's wrong with like corn and peas? Right. And, in general, they're better than sitting down to a bag of Cheetos. Absolutely, from a nutrition, like, nutrient standpoint, they are. But from a blood sugar management standpoint, they're different. And that's where, like I said, I keep going back to education. But quite honestly, from a type two perspective, I think, some of some of the stigma some of the feelings of Gosh, I've got this thing now. And I don't know where to turn, or even know who to talk to. And maybe my, you know, my grandma had it, my dad had it. So I was gonna get it anyway, I saw how they navigated it was never really talked about. So I guess I'm just gonna go about and maybe I'll eat a salad every day, because that that's better, right? I mean, that's better, the doctor said to try to eat better. And there's there's not enough information. And that kind of boils down to the fact that majority of people with type two, they're being navigated in management, by primary care. Yeah. And thank goodness for health care, thank goodness for physicians, for general practitioners for PCP, thank goodness for them. However, type two diabetes is definitely it's a metabolic, right, it's much more metabolic. You can hear all the things we're talking about that are lifestyle that many people, they don't really think about too much, until Oh, my goodness, I have type two diabetes, and primary cares, or they are not. They're not educated, for lack of a better word. In terms of teaching the things that are needed for type two management, they are not, they should be referring for people to learn more, you've got this major thing that's going to be there 24/7 For someone now, you have to give them more tools than telling them to just eat better, and to get exercise. That is that's like speaking Greek. You need it to somebody

Scott Benner 38:06
you need a chance to you know, it's interesting. You told your story. And I told my story. Your father and my mother both had the same thing. Yes, they had the benefit of someone else's experience. It's exactly what they had. My mom was helped by me because I have a daughter with type one diabetes. And this podcast and I was like, I know how to. I have seen every food go in my daughter's mouth. And I've watched it on her CGM. And I was like, Mom, I don't know anything about nutrition, but eat these things. These things don't hit his heart. And that's it. I know you want a piece of bread. We'll get your bread. We're gonna make sure it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it. We're gonna make sure it does this. We're gonna do like little things, right? Yeah. Your father had a woman cooking for him who had to cook. Right? Because that was a long time ago. Your dad probably made a meal in his life. And

Jennifer Smith, CDE 38:51
oh, no, he was actually he was he was a he was a good cook. It was just that my mom. You know, they grew up the way that they grew up. And it was just that my mom. She was the cook and she was a really good cook. But yeah, my dad could. He could in fact, we have a hot dish. I don't know that. No, anybody even knows what hot dishes. It's like a casserole. Okay. He had a hot dish that on the nights that my mom had my mom was a teacher. And so on the nights that she had, like teacher, you know, teacher, he would make the dinners and that kind of stuff he had we still call it dad's hot dish. Now I make it with like, better thing. But it was essentially ground meat. And then they always did these canned jars of like was peppers and onions and tomatoes from the garden and my mom did all the canning and it was like a hot dish seasoned kind of thing that you'd put over elbow noodles and ground meat or ground beef. And it was mixed together. So

Scott Benner 39:51
why my dish is different because when I would get in a corner I would just take ground meat and then melt cheese over and I would put on a plate and my son was like What does it sound like? It's cheeseburger surprise. So what's the surprise? I'm like, It's not on a roll. I'm stuck. I guess all dads do something silly like that. But they do. But the point of it is, is that whether you're a person who has type two diabetes, who I've witnessed in the Facebook group, or come on the podcast and been nice enough to tell their stories, they all have the benefit of listening to someone else. And I know we want to stand around and like, some people want to argue that type one diabetes and type two diabetes like I don't want there, they don't have anything to do with each other. Okay? They're different diseases. And that's 100%. True. I'm not arguing that point. But both of them are about blood sugar management in Yes. And that's what they're about and the and the things that you can learn from watching a type one manage their blood sugar's whether it's about how you're fueling plan, or it's about using medication, or insulin, or exercise, or all of the other things that impact blood sugars, those same things are going to impact blood sugars, for type twos. So as I'm sitting around, trying to figure out how do I talk, type twos into creating their own community, what I realized was, they don't need their own community, this one's already here. It helps your dad, it helped my mom, it helped those people, it can help them as well. And they can deal with the guilt and the shame and the embarrassment in their own time and still listen to this. Because if you have to go to a therapist, and spend three years getting over the shame, just so you can walk out and go to a class. Well, that's too much. That's too long, it's too long to wait. So here's this thing, you can listen to it completely anonymously. And, and I at first I thought, Well, how am I ever going to get it into these people's hands? But there it is, right? People with type one diabetes, they all know people who have type two diabetes. And they already believe in the podcast, and they'll have no trouble sharing the series with them. And I thought this is this is it. Like, this is going to work?

Jennifer Smith, CDE 42:03
And I, you I think you bring in some things sort of behind the scenes here that, like jogged my brain, it's people with type one diabetes are very vocal. They are they they are very big advocates for themselves, or the person that they're caring for with type one. If somebody says something to them about, oh, hey, did you try this? Or, you know, if you did this more with your kid, you probably, they step in? And they're like, No, you are wrong, but they educate the person, they don't just blather a bunch of offensive words to the person because they're angry, they educate the person and they say, This is why you're wrong. This is what we do. This is how we do it. And maybe in broad sense, or maybe in a couple of sentences. And I think, in that respect, one, somebody with type two has enough information that they can spit back. That doesn't work, I will tell you why. But at this point, a good majority of the population with type two, unless they've done their own research, and, you know, people have they don't feel set with something to come back with.

Scott Benner 43:21
Yeah, how are they going to argue something when they think maybe they did it to themselves too, right? And type ones that this was my point earlier, at least what type ones have is they can they can stand up and go, I didn't do this to myself, right? I'm gonna argue, and they won't get hit with Well, you did it because they can go No, I didn't. And but a person with type two might actually, by the way, a lot of people think this, you could be a person who thinks this too, and then get type two diabetes. And now you, you believe you did it to yourself, because that's what you thought five minutes before it happened to you. Right. And this is just a, this is a unique opportunity to take something that already exists. Just adjust that a little tiny bit and make it work for a whole new group of people. And you don't have to get over I want you to get over the shame and the guilt because you don't deserve it. And it's it's misplaced, if you feel that way about type two diabetes, but in the but I think maybe the process of understanding how to help yourself might actually help you also get rid of some of those things. Like I don't think you all have to go to a therapist to get past that. Do you know what I mean? Right?

Jennifer Smith, CDE 44:26
And eventually may also help again, if it because of the large or the heavy genetic component to type two, you will impact somebody in your family's future. Yeah,

Scott Benner 44:40
I was gonna say, yeah, you will help

Jennifer Smith, CDE 44:42
if you're, you know, brother has type two now as well. Well, what you've learned, you can get them going in the right way. Right.

Scott Benner 44:53
So no, no, I mean, I the way I was thinking about it was much more ham fisted. But, I mean, if you've gotten your is off to a point where you think I'm never going to be able to get this back again, like, alright, I respect that maybe that would be difficult to do. Also, trying doesn't hurt anything, but at least you could put the people in your family on a better path. Like I mean, everybody talks about breaking circles all the time, there's an easy circle to break, you know, you feed your kid, the way you got fed, they're going to eat that way when they get older. And that's just

Jennifer Smith, CDE 45:25
and they may not, maybe that's enough lifestyle change from a genetic standpoint, that you've impacted enough that they won't have type two diabetes. Exactly

Scott Benner 45:35
right. And so, so this is gonna sound strange, if you don't have a podcast listener, this is your second episode, because somebody shared this with you. But what I've noticed, overwhelmingly after, after she's interviewing, like 1000 people is that it is a very common human trait, to not be able to do something for yourself, but to be able to do it for somebody else is a lot easier. So if it's not for you, if you have feelings of like inadequacy, or you feel beaten already, to do it for someone else, like do it for a kid or a loved one, or somebody who will benefit, you know, and you'll, and listen, you're gonna get the benefit, too. And you'll see six months from now a year from now, that, you know, wow, this is helping me as well, like, there's no secret here. Like, just, you know, there really isn't you, right is hiding

Jennifer Smith, CDE 46:21
something from you, you're just not getting the right information to start with.

Scott Benner 46:26
And my bigger point is that it doesn't matter how we all got here, I hope I'm being clear about that. It doesn't matter if I have an autoimmune disease, and my pancreas stops making insulin, and I'm a type one diabetic. It doesn't matter if I ate myself into this, and I have type two diabetes, it doesn't matter if my genetic predisposition put me into this type two diabetes, none of it matters. We're all here now. Time to do something, right. And so that I think ends up being it's why I wanted to talk about this as we were going into it, the impediment in those other people's minds about starting community for type twos and how to help people have type two diabetes, it's because they always get stuck on this piece, the like, well, how are we going to get them out of that mindset. And what I'm saying is, you don't have to get out of that mindset. Just we'll work on that over time, right now, let's do some simple things. And by the way, if one of those things ends up being insulin, not a failure, if it's an injectable, not a failure, we're going to Jenny and I are gonna go over all those different medications in another episode, if you need help getting out of your situation. There's just no shame in that whatsoever, you know, right? Like, you need to do what you need to do. I mean, for type twos we talked about with type ones, a lot of type ones will um, they'll feel badly if they're using quote unquote, too much insulin, they think the amount they're using is too much. Right? We have episode after episode, you need the amount of insulin when you're a type one that you need. And, and when you're a type two, if you've gotten to a point where your body just can't, it can't shoulder it anymore, then help it don't just go down with the ship and say, I got the sugars. I guess I'm done. You don't? I mean, like you're not, there's so many good things you can do.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 48:07
Right? Your ship still has lifeboats, yes, utilize one,

Scott Benner 48:11
there's things to do, and we're gonna, we're gonna and you'll be surprised how quickly you can get to them as well on how once you change those insulin issues, or metabolic issues, that things like weight loss can come along, like, it's very interesting. And a lot of these medications that will help you with your type two will actually help you with weight loss to begin with. So, my gosh, and to Jenny's point earlier, your doctor probably doesn't know. So. So we got to figure out what to do for ourselves. So that's going to be an interesting portion of this journey is that type ones are at their core, very independent in their care. And they're very accustomed, because the the one thing I wanted to mention that I haven't mentioned so far is that I think the benefit that you have, this is gonna sound strange. When you get type one diabetes, this is gonna sound really strange. So give me a second to get through it. I think the benefit that you have is that if you don't do something right away, it'll kill you. It forces you to do something, it forces you to learn about it, it forces you to it forces you to get in the game. When you get type two, the feeling is Ah, well. I got time. Yeah, you know,

Jennifer Smith, CDE 49:26
time. That's, that's a good word use because I think from a physiology standpoint, there is not there's a big difference in terms of one versus two. Right? And time is a big reason that, as we already know, with type one regardless of how you're managing, you don't get a complication on on day eight on day two of diagnosis. Right. And these are things that until there's enough issue long term. Finally, there might be some symptoms of something, right. But for both type one and type two, then diabetes, it is not a visible condition to live with. In either regard type one, you're right, if you don't do something about this right now, meaning take your insulin, you will have a very quick impact of that, a very quick visual impact. Whereas with type two, if you forget to take your oral medication of whatever kind it is, or even maybe your insulin, one, maybe you don't have enough test strips to monitor. Or maybe you don't know what the numbers mean, or where you were before. So who knows what difference this made. Maybe you don't have a CGM. So again, you're completely blind. And until you're really paying attention to how your body feels when you are in those target ranges where you should be. You may be able to, as you said, get away with

Scott Benner 51:01
Yeah, well, it's the strength in the immediacy of the implications. If they're not too strong and not too quick, then you can procrastinate because yes, because in your mind, you're like, Yeah, well, I've been okay, this long. Like, so what if I let me just get through one more Christmas season? Right? Yes. Oh, but to have cornbread stuffing one more time, LA, like, you know, like, who knows what the thought in your head is. But I'm saying that people the way people's minds work, it's like, oh, I have time I can I can do something about it. It doesn't mean they start necessarily doing something about it, it means they have time to do something about it. Like I think, oddly type two diabetes and the way I see people, even in my own life, decide or not decide to, I think the same attitude that put them in that situation is the same attitude that got my powder room needing a paint job three days, three years ago, because I was like, ah, nobody sees it that much. And I can get to it eventually, like the problem is, is then once it's too late, it's really, it's really good. And it becomes a real issue like act now, like do it when it's only a little touch up, I should have done that when I just needed a couple of touch ups in one hole filled in, I could have got it all done in a couple of hours. And now I'm looking at ripping out a vanity and doing the whole thing again. You know, anyway, I don't know if that makes sense or not.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 52:21
No, it doesn't. It also brings into as I said earlier, with type two, it's almost an accumulation over time. Right. And for some people who haven't, maybe you haven't really kept up with health care, because other than the average yearly cold that you have, or whatever it may be, you've been feeling fine. And so you skip your yearly visit with your doctor and you never get lab work done. So there are many things that can sneak up then if you haven't been at least going in yearly for a checkup. Those are mean they're important. Even I go in yearly to my primary care. I just write it's part of my checklist of things to get done. Not that my primary care for me, but I'm glad that she is there if and when needed. And if I've got questions to bring up in that visit, so you know, a checkpoint is just start going to your doctor yearly, at least. And if there are things that you're kind of, hey, I've got a history of type two diabetes in my family. If the doctor doesn't recommend checking, you know, an average glucose or even Hey, asked for an E one C, right? I get it checked if it's this range to this range. Well, goodness, Doctor, could you send me in for you know, some additional questions, I'd like to ask somebody about this. I think as adults, we get away from taking care of ourselves. Because there are so many things get loaded on as an adult. That until, until you're hobbling into the doctor. Clearly your leg hurts so bad. You're like, oh, well, it started hurting about six months ago. But now I can't walk on it. Well, oh, you know, it's too

Scott Benner 54:06
late now. Now it's broken. We got to do a whole thing. I we just we live in a different time. Like when do you know if you listen, I wasn't alive in the 50s. But my expectation is that if I got a Coca Cola in the 50s, it was a special thing that happened for me every once in a while. Yes. And now if I go to the grocery store, and I'm willing to buy 10 bottles, I can get them for $10 because they're $1 a bottle if I buy 10 bottles, and so I listen, I'm I want to say I'm not a judgmental person on this on this front. I'm not because I do believe and I do think the way I said earlier I think people just end up being carbon copies of what happened before them right? Sure. But I will walk down that aisle to get a sparkling water for myself. And I look in people's carts and I'm like you are leaving here with more soda than I will drink in the next 10 years of my life and you're going to be back here next week to buy more of it. Like that's not a thing your body's supposed to process. Right? Oh, I mean, I eat a burrito once in a while, but you shouldn't. And there's just there's there's food process. I know people hear this and they must be bored by it. Process food is difficult for your body to process. So. And it's not food, no. And it's everything everybody eats. Like, there's

Jennifer Smith, CDE 55:28
just it is, it's something with calories. It is not food, right?

Scott Benner 55:33
You'd be surprised how much better you feel when you get away from that stuff. And again, it's a financial thing. I understand. But, I mean, and now we're all like, I mean, we're gonna end up talking about as we go on, like, maybe people are thinking right now like, I can't break this cycle. I'm, I'm addicted to that food. Like, I absolutely know people who are addicted to food. Yeah, so it's, I understand all of that. But we'll talk about some things like maybe we'll talk about, you know, trying a intermittent fasting to help break some cycles, the foods that you're stuck to, or things like that feature,

Jennifer Smith, CDE 56:06
or budget. And you know, budget eating, honestly, is another thing to bring in. Because, unfortunately, type two diabetes doesn't care what you bring in monetarily. It doesn't. And it can be a major strain on many people, especially adults with families to take care of. And often as you know, as a parent, you're very willing to take care of outside of your own cell. Yeah,

Scott Benner 56:32
that's hard to write yourself. Yeah. No, I know, as soon as my it wasn't, as soon as my kids, my son went, got his own job. And my daughter went back to college. And the first thing I did was make a doctor's appointment. I was like, oh, and I wonder when the last time I did this was, you know, so I know how I know what how I know what happens. And I know how you feel. And I know that it can feel like between the guilt and the shame and the uncertainty about how to deal with things, and not really understanding nutrition, as well, as we all think we do. All that stuff together can feel like it's too much, but it's not. And I'll end with this. And then you can say whatever you want. At the end, I have now interviewed three people with type two diabetes, who have significantly changed their life through listening to this podcast. And they're really good. I left I've listened to them. Yeah. And we're going to put them back into like, circulation with these episodes too. Awesome. But But it's so doable. And these people like, I wait, I want to be clear. They're not like superheroes. Like, they're not a person you'd look at and go, Oh, well, yeah, of course, they can do it. Look at them. These are these are people just like you and me. You know, and, and they did it. They figured out what was going on. They made some adjustments, some of them added medication. And they came out the other side better off. And I think that's possible for everybody. So anyway,

Jennifer Smith, CDE 57:52
I agree. No, that's excellent.

Scott Benner 57:54
Thank you. I thought you were gonna say something thoughtful at the end, but just goodbye.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 58:01
I just Well, actually, what I was gonna say is that I think this was a really good place to start. Because I think it's a big piece specific to type two, despite the comments that you had from the type ones and how they felt and kind of that background. You know, that background piece of, I don't know, feeling bad about like, Why did I do something wrong that I have this? I think it's really important to address some of the reason that type two hasn't been well navigated in terms of helping people know how to do better for themselves, there

Scott Benner 58:44
is some disconnect between between the machine and the people. And the people don't believe in the machine, the machine doesn't believe in the people. And that's how it looks. To me, it looks like nobody thinks anybody can be helpful. And I think maybe, maybe they can't be helpful, but I do think there's help that's available, that would be beneficial and create a big change in your life. I'm just tired of watching. I'm tired of watching people say like, oh, I we really do care about this population. And I'm like, well, we should make some content for them. My we don't have a budget for that. Okay, thanks. Great. So you know, so it's just it's everybody, it nobody wants to they want, they want them to be there. If you're listening type twos, they want you to be there right because they want to market to you and they want to tell you what you need and everything. They don't know how to get you all together. And turns out I don't want to get you all together. I want you to go live your life and be happy. I'm not looking to make a pile of people with type two diabetes who we can sell something to write, write, write. I'm not that's not my thing. Like so I want to make content that helps them and I want them is I have the same feeling about type juices I have about type ones. I love People listen to the podcast. And I think that's amazing. But I want them to get to a point where they don't need it anymore. And they can go on and just live their life. This should be a pitstop in your life, not the story of your life.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 1:00:11
Right? You know, and it should be a place to that you get enough information in digestible. Yeah. In a digestible way that you can take action from just listening for 20 minutes about something that was very specific, like you know, your Med, here it is, I'm gonna listen to this one, because this is what I'm on. And you're like, well, darn, it's supposed to be doing this. And it totally isn't. Maybe I could just go back to my doctor and talk about this, right? You know, it's those pieces that are really important, because they're empowering, right? They're, they're a way to say, Gosh, I get this now. And I want this to work. But it's not. So I have to try something different.

Scott Benner 1:00:53
My hope is that when this is over, people will understand how food impacts them, how medications can impact them, how exercise will help them, and then they can go do these things on their own. Like it's just it to me, it's it's not as difficult as people have made it out to be. But I do, I do believe that the reason that somebody hasn't successfully put together a large type to community is because of, of the stuff that we talked about here. And that's why I just wanted to dispense with it and just get it out of the way right away. Like, let this go. Let's get to the part where we we do something positive. So Right. That's great. All right. Excellent. Awesome. Thank you very much, Scott. Yep.

Jennifer Smith, CDE 1:01:30
Thank you. Okay, bye, bye.

Scott Benner 1:01:36
I hope you're enjoying this. So far. The next three episodes are going to be about your medical team, your fueling plan, and technology that might help you with type two, or pre diabetes. Keep coming back. This series is going to be terrific. Thank you so much to Jenny, and of course to you for listening. And to all the people who shared this with you. I also want to thank the contour next gen blood glucose meter and remind you that if you're testing your blood sugar, you want to get a good, accurate number. And you can do that with the contour next gen contour next.com forward slash juicebox. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast.

If you're enjoying what you're hearing, subscribe or follow the podcast in an audio app like Spotify, Apple podcast, Amazon, Amazon, whatever they're called Amazon music. Sorry. There's a whole bunch actually, if you need a podcast or an audio player, there's a ton of links to free ones at juicebox podcast.com. You shouldn't have to pay for a podcast app. But if you hit follow or subscribe in those apps, you'll get new episodes as they're available. And it helps the show

#863 Tackle Box

Mary Martha toddler has type 1 diabetes and uses Omnipod 5.

+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, and welcome to episode 863 of the Juicebox Podcast.

On today's show I'll be speaking with Mary Martha. She is the mother of a toddler who has type one diabetes, and they use the Omni pod five. I hope you enjoy our conversation. While you're listening to it. Please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan are becoming bold with insulin. Hey, if you're a US resident who has type one, or is the caregiver of someone with type one, please go to T one D exchange.org. Forward slash juice box and fill out their survey. When you complete the survey you are helping with type one diabetes research, T one D exchange.org. Forward slash juicebox. If you're looking for community around diabetes, head over to the private Facebook group Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes over 35,000 members, someone there is talking about something right now that you know about or want to learn about Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes on Facebook. It's a private group, and it's absolutely free. This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by touched by type one, there's a ton going on and touched by type one, you can find out about it all at touched by type one.org. Please also find them on Instagram, and Facebook. today's podcast is also brought to you by the Dexcom G seven continuous glucose monitoring system dexcom.com forward slash juice box the g7 is here it is ready for you@dexcom.com forward slash juice box.

Mary Martha 2:07
I'm Mary Martha. My son Davis is two years old and he was diagnosed with type one diabetes in January of 2022.

Scott Benner 2:18
Not 10 months ago.

Mary Martha 2:20
Yes. So we're nearly in our diabetes journey. But I think because of you, Scott and Juicebox Podcast, we've really gotten a handle on things fairly quickly. So I have a lot to thank you for

Scott Benner 2:38
no, no, this is this is very interesting, because because you know there are some people who would tell you not to get technology at the beginning. And you know, you should learn diabetes from the ground up. And there's a lot of different opinions about that. So I think it's interesting to hear from somebody who's having your experience. So first of all, are there were there any reasons to imagine your children might get type one diabetes? Or was this a surprise? How did the initial days go?

Mary Martha 3:07
It was a complete surprise, really the only person in our family that has had type one, it was my mom's aunt, so my great aunt. And it's pretty removed, I would think and that's at least what the doctor said whenever we were diagnosed. And they asked us about history and all of that. And we leading up to diagnosis. We've spent a few nights it was in January. So we spent Christmas with my parents. And I think my grandmother really put it in my mom's head along a lot of times about that type one and the symptoms, because I think she would my grandmother was always really nervous about her son getting it herself and then her children getting it. And so I think through the years of growing up, my mom kind of was always told about it. And then, you know, through in our experience, she was really the one that kind of told me said I think something's going on with Davis because he was drinking lots of water. wetting his diaper overnight, he would be soaked his diaper would be we would put pads in. And then his pajamas would be soaked. And it's just like this is I don't know if this is normal. I actually asked friends that had children that are similar ages or who had gone through the stages that Davis was in and I said Is this normal? He's wanting water all the time. And he's, he's going through his diaper at night and other during the day really quickly. And they were like, Yeah, that's just that's just toddler stuff. You just need to size up in your diaper and he'll be fine at all absorb it, that none of that worked. So we came to a point when We had gone to the local university, where we live. And we we got to their games all the time. And my mom, at one point was just like, Mary, Martha, you need to take into the doctor tomorrow, like, no question you need to. And she had kind of been putting it in my mind, you know, a few weeks. And that's like putting it off and like, no, he's fine. And it's early, actually interesting, because he had a couple of ear infections on leading up to Christmas. And then after Christmas acid, I think he might have an ear infection again, let's go in to the pediatrician and see if he does, and I actually mentioned all the symptoms that we had. And he was like, no, he's fine. That's just normal. Just try to cut off his water intake at dinner. And said, Okay, if you say looks, okay, if you think it's okay. I'll just, you know, take him home and go on my merry way. And then that my mom came to that point when the mom was like, You need to take him. And so they did that and took him to the pediatrician. It was a Monday.

Scott Benner 6:05
Is is Davis, your first he is my first child. So

Mary Martha 6:09
it's all very, everything was very new to me. And it just wasn't something that was on my radar.

Scott Benner 6:17
Very Martha's, the reason I ask is because you sound like you're 19. But how old are you?

Mary Martha 6:21
I'm 31. Okay, well,

Scott Benner 6:23
you sound like you're 19 Which I guess is great. Probably it, or I don't know, how do you find it?

Mary Martha 6:29
I think it's I mean, I still get carded at the grocery store every time I get a bottle of wine. But I didn't live in a college town. So they don't want to get any but let anybody slip. I see. But yeah, so he's my first. So anything out of the ordinary? was yeah, I wasn't really I wasn't really sure what the symptoms were. Or if it wasn't for my mom, I really wouldn't have had the gumption to take him in and see the pediatrician again, stand up for myself. Really?

Scott Benner 7:01
Yeah, she really helped you. Well, she she was indoctrinated. It sounds like through her life to be looking for diabetes.

Mary Martha 7:08
Yeah, and I think I remember there are certain times when I was growing up that I might have, you know, had to go to the bathroom a couple of times in a row. Maybe we've been on a road trip or something. And you'd be like, are you okay, are you getting diabetes? It was kind of like she was even with me going. Growing up. I remember there were a couple instances that she kind of was on high alert for me. Hmm. And it might have even just been me. Just drinking a lot of water. It might have been around when I was playing tennis or something. And I was just really thirsty. I don't know. But um, and I've been normal every time I've gone to the doctor, so I didn't have any sort of any need to do to be really on high alert. But you know, she was still on high alert when I was growing up too. But if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have known any of those symptoms.

Scott Benner 7:58
How about other autoimmune issues? Does anybody have celiac or thyroid problems, anything like that?

Mary Martha 8:04
My mom has taken his app was she's actually here with me now she's watching Davis or being on kind of high alert for a low or anything while he naps, so she could give him juice in case something happens. But um, you know, she said she was on a has a thyroid medicine, but I'm not sure if I guess it's probably hypothyroid I'm not sure. Um, and then my dad has a neurological disease that he deals with, but it's not anything that's autoimmune. My mom also has arthritis, but it's not rheumatoid. It's osteo. So, um,

Scott Benner 8:43
so maybe your mom's your mom, but your mom doesn't. I mean, sounds like she doesn't talk about her thyroid thing very much. So you don't know. She doesn't? Yeah, it's autoimmune or not right?

Mary Martha 8:52
I don't know if it's auto immune or not. Okay. She just kind of told me that in passing today in and I called my mother on the audit, because I knew that was a question you normally asked. And she didn't have any any autoimmune on their on my husband's side of the family either so

Scott Benner 9:10
well, so like, let's I mean, let's figure this out. So you when you take him to the hospital finally and you get your diagnosis and your life begins with all this just 10 months ago, did they give him technology right in the hospital? Were What do you start with because I want to you get you climb through things pretty quickly. So I'm interested in how it started and how quickly it moved along.

Mary Martha 9:34
So when we were admitted they did not give us any technology they gave us the glucometer and the lancets and they gave us an insulin pen. And then the Lantis pen and that was what they sent us home with but the so the one of the big reasons what we are able to get the technology was our endocrinologist. Dr. Zimmerman, she's we had our first appointment with her I think it was we were, it was a week after we were diagnosed, we went and saw her immediately practically. And I think they're the real life friendship with her has been so wonderful she get a guest with in her practice, and I guess this might be the norm, she was able to give us a sample Dexcom from the, from that first appointment we had with her and she actually was really great. And she would save us a few every time the Dexcom rep would come by. And so because you know, being a two, he was 21 months wasn't quite to yet. And I feel like the Dexcom is the most important technology a type one diabetic can have because of the just the information, it gives you the the trend levels and just the alerts that it provides for a low in the middle of the night there just with the with the toddler, it's just you never know. And obviously you went through that that you didn't have that technology. No. With Arden

Scott Benner 11:12
No, not at all. I was gonna say Davis and Orton were diagnosed right around the same age. So yeah. But I'm sorry. Like I was just wanted to ask how much did he weigh at the diagnosis?

Mary Martha 11:25
I think he was about 25 pounds. He and the doctor always said that, oh, he's a good way. I remember growing. You know, we went in a few times before his diagnosis, and it was always around the same weight. But he didn't seem to think it was an issue. But then looking back now pictures, you could tell he was very skinny and sick. It always hurts me to go back and look at those pictures. Yeah, no. We had this the the university mascot. And it was the Saturday the Sunday before he went to the hospital. And he actually had the courage to go sit in the mascots lap. And we've been training for that day. You know, we watched videos of him. But that day is one of my favorite pictures. But now it's kind of tainted because it was a day before he was diagnosed. So you can see how sick he is. Yeah, in the picture.

Scott Benner 12:22
I have pictures out of Arden to

Mary Martha 12:24
watch. So it's really it's sad to look it's like how did I not know, you know, but I

Scott Benner 12:30
think it's because normal? Yeah, I think it's because the weight loss happens, generally speaking slow enough that you don't notice it? You know, like it. But then once you look back and you realize once they get insulin and they look so healthy again, you know, you're like, oh gosh, like what was that, that I didn't realize plus 25 pounds. Was that? Did he gain weight after you got him on insulin? Or was they was that?

Mary Martha 12:56
Well, he weighs about 32 pounds now. So he's put on weight.

Scott Benner 13:00
Cool. How hard is it to take care of? I mean, so let's break down like this. How long did you manage with like syringes and a meter.

Mary Martha 13:11
So we did that. From January 24th was diagnosis we got on the dash dash on right after his second birthday. So it's about April 12, I believe was the day that we went and got it. On Monday after

Scott Benner 13:30
his birthday. So January, February, March, April, about three or four months you did shots.

Mary Martha 13:35
Okay, we did shots. And I mean, Davis is probably I don't know how the Lord blessed us with one of the most brave little boys that I've ever met he from the beginning, you know, printing and singer the first time at the, at the pediatricians office to to getting everything hooked up to him in the hospital and being awake all night in the PICU and all that. I mean, he has never flinched once. Interesting. And it's I mean, I don't know. I mean, I can only thank the good board because he has been a trooper from the beginning. So from that first finger prick to any needle from the insulin pin. He's taken it like a champ. Still to this day with the Omni pod putting that on the Dexcom. Last night, we changed his Dexcom and he actually pushed the button for the first time he was like, let's get him on the countdown and save go. He's one of the strongest little boys. I mean, it's a he makes me good for you.

Scott Benner 14:43
That's really excellent good for him. So then you move to a dash after three or four months to use an Omnipod dash then you didn't How long did you do that for just like four months again.

Mary Martha 14:55
We actually did it from April to June. So the Whenever the Omnipod, five was released for public consumption, we called Dr. Zimmerman, actually, we had been texting and every time I'd see something posted in the Facebook group, or on Instagram, whenever I saw it, any news about it, I would forward it to her. I was almost her, her news reporter about everything on the pod five. And it actually came out, like their news about the limited release came out the Friday after he was diagnosed. So it was on my radar from the beginning. And I was like, Oh, my gosh, we have to get on that as soon as it as soon as it's available, and she did everything in her power to, you know, figure out a way for us to get it and ended up having to call insurance over and over and over again. And I think I was the one that figured out what steps we need to say like I was just I was very determined to get that technology. Yeah. And

Scott Benner 15:59
so early on, sometimes your providers Even the companies don't know exactly what's going on in the in the beginning days when they're trying to get lost set up with insurance and everything. So it takes that perseverance to get through it, if you want to do it right away. Okay, so we basically have about the same amount of time with shots with Dash and with AMI pod five are Are you experiencing any honeymoon type things with Davis.

If you live with type one diabetes, if you have type two diabetes, and use intensive insulin therapy, if you experience severe hypoglycemia, or hyperglycemia unawareness, you should be looking at the Dexcom CGM. dexcom.com forward slash juicebox. Just this small device that you wear that sends your blood sugar's speed, direction, and number. Are you kidding me the speed that your blood sugar is moving at the direction it's moving in, and what the number currently is, all from this tiny little device that you wear. It's insane. And you can see all that information on your Dexcom receiver or your compatible smartphone, Android, or iPhone. Up to 10 people can follow someone using a Dexcom. I'm going to pick up my phone right now and tell you my daughter's blood sugar. Swipe up 105 and stable it has been in this range for the last three hours. Nice and stable right now at 105. Not dropping, not falling. I can see I can see where she No Look at all this. There's so much information here. I can't tell you all about what I'm looking at it my daughter's blood sugar. But you could find this information for yourself. Getting an idea of where and how to use insulin by seeing how it works knew I put insulin and what happens next I eat carbs what happens next. You can see it right there on the graph. It's a window into into a whole new world that my daughter's Dexcom brings to us uniquely DAX comm.com, forward slash juice boxes to G six which my daughter is using right now. And the g7 has just been made available in America. It's already out overseas. In places where it's available, you can find it@dexcom.com Ford slash juice box at Arden's next delivery the next time she gets CGM from us Med, they're going to be sending her the Dexcom G seven. So she'll be using it very soon. You'd could be to dexcom.com forward slash use boss links in the show notes, links at juicebox podcast.com. Or just type it into your browser. You know what else you can type in your browser touched by type one.org? Do both today. What are you busy, you can't go to two web addresses for me touched by type one.org Dex comm.com forward slash juicebox. Now let's get back to the show.

Honeymoon type things with Davis.

Mary Martha 19:16
We haven't. That's another thing that I guess. I see a lot of parents struggling with it in the Facebook group and I'll see people posting about not really sure how to how to dose for things. And you know, I've actually become a couple of friends here that three daughters and our men I've found for a couple of ladies who have children around the same age and they've gone through that situation. We've been really blessed I think because that if I had the pancreas was still working a little bit. I don't know what I would do. It would have been it would have been a little bit harder. I definitely

Scott Benner 19:53
yeah. How is it? How is he with treating lows does he pretty easy about it or do you ever I have problems where your time's me, you're concerned that like, he's not going to eat this fast and offer. How was that?

Mary Martha 20:07
I think he actually, he's always been a pretty voracious eater. So I've never really been that concerned about him not eating. And if I, if he won't eat or drink something out just without chocolate milk, he seems to really like that. Anything that with chocolate milk involved, he's very motivated. Also juice as well, he'll drink that pretty easily. In the middle of the night, we started doing, we were doing some glucose shell, and then we did maple syrup. We actually found that using syringes that for medicine, like the Tylenol and such, those syringes are really helpful to put in his mouth and just squirt it in there and hardly not even wake him up. But we've counted even just now he's still doing juice in the middle of the night he'll do with Omnipod, five, we rarely have to do that. Because of the algorithm and how it works. But we if we do, it's just one really small sip of juice. And he just sits up, takes us up and lies back down. So whenever my mother in law is mentioned one time, he was so good about that. He took a sip of juice, looked at her and waved bye bye and laid back there.

Scott Benner 21:27
See the lady? Good enough? I'm good. Okay. Well, that's

Mary Martha 21:31
really to sleep and get my nap.

Scott Benner 21:34
And so do you. I mean, I don't even know how many a one sees you've had tested in 10 months, probably one or two.

Mary Martha 21:41
So we actually have have, I've saved every one of the printout. So I have it here in front of me. I think at diagnosis, I texted or communicating with Dr. Zimmerman about it. And she said that a diagnosis he was his agency was higher than the machine read. It was greater than 13. And then, I guess this was in March, we I did another one. And he was 10.5. And this was I think it was still taking into account some of the the months that he was diagnosis. Yeah.

Scott Benner 22:24
But still that attend three months into it. Is still I mean, it's still a high number. It's,

Mary Martha 22:31
it's still a high number. Yeah. We in the beginning with the I think it was probably before we found the podcast in the beginning, we had really bad issues at after breakfast. Because they were like, Oh, you can just feed him what you normally do in golf, about the carb count on the packaging, because actually one of his favorite breakfasts is oatmeal. I don't give it to him as much now, but oatmeal, you know, it's like, really high. Yeah. And I, I was like it says 15 carbs on this thing. And that is not working. So nothing is wrong. And so I think, you know, listening to you and hearing about Pre-Bolus thing and doing all that, that helped with doing that. And then of course, we would change the ratios, obviously needed more insulin. And those types of things. So anyway, it was it was in the beginning, he definitely did have those days where he would go really high. And yeah, but once we were able to hone in those numbers and figure out the strength. I feel like there's such a strategy and a science to everything that you just have to learn. And I wish it was I don't know how how I could explain it better in the hospital. But of course with a toddler. They're like, Oh, you don't need to wait until after he eats to this because you don't know how much he'll eat. And then you're basing his blood sugar. You even prick his finger and then give him that get and basis carb count on what his blood sugar and his the calculation on what it was before he ate. Anyway, it was all I feel like it's a little bit backwards. But anyway,

Scott Benner 24:19
so So okay, so that I'm sorry to cut you off. Go ahead. Oh, no,

Mary Martha 24:23
but after we figured out Pre-Bolus thing and all that the science behind it. It just really helped. make more sense.

Scott Benner 24:33
So did I mean how did a pump impact you? Like, did you even did you feel like you understood injections? And you're like, yeah, and then so now you're you move on to a pump. Was that your idea? Or was it Dr. Zimmerman's idea or how did you get from the shots to the pump so quickly?

Mary Martha 24:52
I think it was both of us. I think she saw the benefit because you know, because of the small doses In, that you couldn't give, because sometimes, you know, he needed point two verses a half a unit. And that was all that the pin would give for half a unit. And so I think I really didn't want to keep giving him shots because I felt like, you know, you know, you go through a meal and obviously wasn't enough. And then you'd have to get all the get the needle out and do the whole process. And you know, if you just had the pump, you pull out the PDM and plug it in, and you kind of give what you think he needs, in addition to whatever you already does. But I like the fact that it wasn't, didn't have any tubes. And it would be easy for him to, you know, my mom teaches swimming lessons. And I knew that we needed to be able to get in the pool. And I knew that the Omnipod was the best choice for us because of more than that was one of the main reasons but also being an active toddler I didn't want him to be have tubes on him to be caught on all sorts of things. But that was what, what I thought would work for us. And I wanted to get it as soon as I could, because I knew it would bring some level of ease to just take just everything in general.

Scott Benner 26:18
And while you were doing that you were still thinking, I want this algorithm as soon as it's right. So I'll move on to this update. I'll update our stuff off of injections, keep us from having to stick him so many times. So we can make better adjustments after meals and things like that. But I on the algorithm the whole time. So first of all, how did you do on the dash? Was it? Did it improve things over injections?

Mary Martha 26:43
Oh, definitely. I have the we went to Dr. Zimmerman in June, after we saw her in April to get the pump. And his a onesie was 6.5. And it drastically improved. Dr. Zimmerman, and although CDE is there at the office, they're all trying to now get me to become a CD and help them out in the in the office. Because obviously something I'm doing is right. And I pump helped. And obviously the strategies that you provide in the pro tips helped as well.

Scott Benner 27:24
That's great. That's really congratulations. First of all, it's a big shift, right? Because you're not a you're not a young mom. either. You don't I mean, like so you're, you're on your way with your first baby. And then it's not too long before somebody is saying diabetes to you, which is a surprise. And and you're adapting really well. Why is that? Like? Why are you adaptable like this?

Mary Martha 27:48
I'm not really sure I guess it. Um, I one thing I'm I know, technology pretty well. It's what I grew up, you know, when I was always born the next thing in technology, whether it was, you know, a new cell phone, the next model or a new Playstation, Gameboy, whatever it was, I was always itching to get that new thing. And maybe that's why I'm so adaptable. I don't know that as far as technology goes. And my dad is in, you know, the he grew up in. He's 75 Now, but he grew up kind of changing. And he's always been a little in the technology. He worked with telephones. And so he was always there always trying to find the next thing that was going to be big in that realm. And so it kind of always seem that I feel like in my background,

Scott Benner 28:39
yeah. Just just being comfortable with technology and changes.

Mary Martha 28:44
I think so. I think I owe to my parents. And then my husband's been really great, throughout it all. And he's even wanted to learn everything and adapt along with this. Like, we just want what's best for Davis and whatever we can do to provide that for him. The ease, whatever we can do to make it easier and better for him is what we're willing to do.

Scott Benner 29:10
Well, how about the other side of it? So away from the technology more on the psychological side? Is it been a big? I mean, I imagine it's been a big adjustment for you, but how are you handling it?

Mary Martha 29:22
Oh, it was a huge adjustment. I think I went through the stages of grief, for sure. Because I remember getting in the car. And just so we drove to Birmingham, we live in Alabama, and that was the closest Children's Hospital and I just remember getting in the car with my husband and crying and like what did I do wrong? Like could we hadn't get asked? Lord, why did you why did this happen? You know, I went through all those stages of grief. And I think it's hard for me to explain things to people sometimes. And people don't understand how diabetes is a 24/7 365. You're dealing with it all the time. And it is tiresome, especially in those first few months of diagnosis. It's almost like having a newborn. Again, especially with a

Scott Benner 30:22
toddler, I was gonna say just with a two year old, you basically just got done with a newborn. Yeah.

Mary Martha 30:27
And those guys that a good sleeper, so he's thankfully it's been quite, it wasn't as hard. I feel like the diabetes first few months was harder than his newborn stage, honestly. But, but yeah, I've gone through the stages of grief. But I think listening to the podcast helps a lot hearing other people going through different things. I mean, even though they had different scenarios, it's like, okay, this person is going through it just like us. And are they been in a similar situation? And I think the community really helped me, too. I'm not very, I think you and Jamie talked about it the other day in the community episode about the lurkers. And I think that I would consider myself a lurker in the Facebook group, most people are but and I learned so much just lurking and and I see people you know, that have toddlers or older children, and I'd see them doing going through similar things, or they're encouraging other people who are going through those things and giving their examples. And that helped a lot to see. Excellent. That's all people.

Scott Benner 31:46
That's really it's How did you find the podcast? Do you find the Facebook group first to the podcast first?

Mary Martha 31:52
Well, actually, when I was Googling symptoms of diabetes, I landed on the juicebox. Website.

Scott Benner 31:58
Yeah. Oh, I have that thing. Yeah. Right.

Mary Martha 32:01
And so I saw it there. And then I kind of I think my sister in law had a friend whose child is type one. And she sent me a bunch of groups to join, there's one, there are a lot of them and yours was one of them. So I think I probably joined in the hospital, as I was waiting and trying to fill my time was, you know, just not just sitting there. And cars, the movie Cars was on repeat the whole time. So I was trying to find Google and research everything. I could turn that out as well. But the Yeah, I found it pretty quickly. And then I think I was sitting in Davis's room that he was playing, and I found that the episode about start just or the first episode of the pro tips, oh, wow, no, that's immediate. It was within the first couple of weeks. And I was like, That's and immediately copied it and sent the link to my parents, my in laws, my sister in law, and I was like, everybody need to start listening to this. And to this day, my mom listens every time an episode comes out.

Scott Benner 33:14
Thank you, mom. I appreciate that.

Mary Martha 33:17
And I did too. So we should be like, I'll talk to her on the phone and just say, Hey, did you listen to that one about, you know, the lady here, you know, anyway, so we kind of keep up with it, you know, and talk about it. And she learns a lot. And I learn a lot every episode. So

Scott Benner 33:34
hey, Martha, I don't know if it will surprise you. But I'm absolutely delighted to think that you and your mom are having conversations about the podcast. That really makes me happy. That's, I think, do you think other people do that too? I bet you maybe they do. They do? Yeah, that's really cool. All right. So do you work? I'm sorry? Or how do you manage home daycare for your for Davis,

Mary Martha 34:00
I stay home, I've been blessed to be able to stay home with him since he was born. Okay. And so I've been able to throw my whole life into type one diabetes care management,

Scott Benner 34:14
I imagined that that was the case. Because it is, I mean, obvious, but it's so much easier to figure out if you're not going to work every day, you know,

Mary Martha 34:23
going to work and having and having to teach. I know there's so many people, like another daycare workers that are very willing to learn and do all that. But I just feel like it would be such a hard thing to do. And I commend all the mamas that do that. I know it's hard for them. And I'm very blessed that I can stay home and I don't think that he would have scared of it time and range and a one see if I was unable to sort of fully dedicate

Scott Benner 34:54
No, I agree. I think that that's a big part of the reason why I know as much as I do. I Honestly, because I was just a stay at home dad. And there was, you know, like you said, you can kind of push the other stuff aside, just focus on it and really try to figure it out. So do you think that's a mean? Because your leap forward? Well, let me ask you this question before I asked that one, I guess. So you're about a six and a half a one C on dash, but then on the pod five gets wide released, and you get yourself right onto that, what has that experience been like for you using an algorithm.

Mary Martha 35:27
It's been a learning curve, because I think with Dash I was really used to whenever he would start or after a meal, and whenever he would start rising, and be like, Oh, I didn't give them enough insulin. I'm gonna give him like just a little bit more and see if that will kind of did it that way. And what the algorithm had, I've had to learn to kind of take a step back a little bit, and say, let it do its job a little bit more, and kind of relinquish a little bit of control. But there are certain situations where I've been like, Okay, this is a little bit out of hand, I'm going to go in and do what I need to do. Give them a little bit more than the algorithm is telling me to do.

Scott Benner 36:12
Right, right. And so let me was he you started so quickly, like you got on the pod five, even before my episodes about how to start on the pod five came out, is that right? That is

Mary Martha 36:24
right. And I listened to those immediately the day that they came out. And I learned a lot. I think it was things that I'm in a Facebook group that solely about Omni pod five, and I work in that and I watch what other people say and I would use their strategies like Okay, I think I might try this instead. And I furless listening to podcasts, I think I'd seen all those comments and I heard you talking about it with the light other lady. And Cory I heard already talking about it with her and I was like it it kinda even opened my eyes a little bit while I was like, oh, okay, I need to do this. And so I still, even though I was in the throes of it already after hearing, listen to the podcast, it helped me a lot too. But you didn't know how to manage it,

Scott Benner 37:21
but you didn't notice anything. We were like, oh, geez, like we totally set this up wrong. Like you had it pretty well set up to begin with. So did somebody tell you like 5050 Or did his settings just kind of work out that way?

Mary Martha 37:31
Well, his it's not 5050 pretty much at all his been going back and forth between 20 to 30%. Um, Basal thanks a lot de Bolus 20% Basil and 80%. Bolus insulin, his basil was pretty low going into the Omnipod five and I think you know, if we restarted it, we might go a little bit stronger on the basil side. But it was such a I feel like with a toddler, it's such a small number can really mess things up. And you know, you can be too strong, you know, to go. And so we kind of were he was he was going low a lot of the times in the middle of the night around three to five in the morning. I know on Dash. And so we had kind of turned it back to like getting him giving it point oh, five every every hour on the dash in the middle of the night. And you know, then increasing it when he woke up. And so though I feel like that that has maybe made the Omnipod five a little bit more timid. I know those auto boluses we the only number we ever see is point o five. know a lot of people have seen that increase over time as I've been on it. But we still only see a point of five and there are a lot of times when I said say to my husband, I really wish it would give him like point one or point one five right now rather than point oh, five every five minutes.

Scott Benner 39:10
But your Are you seeing any lows?

Mary Martha 39:14
Really Honestly, the only time we see lows is when I over Bolus for a meal. Or you know, after a meal A few hours later, he might get a little active running around or well, but that's really the only times we see Lowe's and also in the middle of the night. We've seen Lowe's recently, and it's hasn't been a low it's been an issue with the Dexcom being like 30 or 40 Points off. And it's reading way lower than what the what his blood sugar is. What's interesting.

Scott Benner 39:47
So but besides, besides the CGM like was that a compression low or do you think it's just needs to be calibrated or

Mary Martha 39:56
I think it's mostly it needs to be calibrated because I feel like we've only had one come The question was the whole time and that was a few weeks ago with, I remember from like 60 to 40, double down on the instance. And I don't think I've ever gotten out of the bed and run up the steps clicker.

Scott Benner 40:14
There, and he wasn't he wasn't that low.

Mary Martha 40:16
He wasn't low. Yeah, I think it was probably around 90 or 100. But it's actually been really good about the lows in the middle of the night. Like I said, the majority of the ones in the middle of the night have been Dexcom. Getting a little bit off.

Scott Benner 40:32
Right. So you're seeing with Omnipod? Five, a lot of stability overnight. Yes. Are you sleeping more?

Mary Martha 40:41
Oh, for sure. Definitely. It's been amazing. We actually, um, I think I sleep through the night like I did before his diagnosis. So it's been really, really helpful.

Scott Benner 40:57
That sounds nice. It really does. I just had, Arden had a like a big influx of hormones from her period. Yesterday, so yesterday was really like a difficult diabetes Day for Aardman. She's in college. So I was there, she and I were going back and forth throughout the day, because we were being really aggressive just the whole time to where we were, which was not in the no great shakes. And so then as the day wore on, and we started to get it down to got later and later, and I was like, I was up way too late. Or Martha and like I got up this morning, I was like, oh, like, old man's gonna need a nap today. You know what I mean? And it's just not something. It's not something that you can sustain forever. So I'm just such a big fan of these algorithms to help people sleep if almost nothing else.

Mary Martha 41:46
Oh, for sure. Like I have a have a lady, the doctors around put us in contact with does the loop and she has a little boy, that's too I'm not sure he was diagnosed very young, but they've been on loop. And they do amazing. And I've gotten a lot of tips from her. And she's wondering about Omnipod five for her son. And you know, said if only if anything I could recommend I couldn't recommend it enough because it helps me sleep. Because that's the only reason that you get it, then it's a big deal. It is a big deal. I think from what I know of her situation, I think they sometimes do have still have nights where she asked to correct a low blood sugar. And so I was like if you can, if any reason just do it because you can sleep.

Scott Benner 42:36
Just get an Omnipod five, just sleep. I actually don't know if I ever brought this up. But you know, in the months leading up to the on the five Omni pod five coming out, I was talking about it with Omni pod one time. And I said, I think you guys should give it like a pillow away or a coupon for a new mattress. And it should be like, hey, guys ready for a good night's sleep? And the person I said that to laughed, and they were like, Do you have any idea? Like how many people say that I was like, Oh, really? And I thought I thought I was being very thought, you know, I thought I was having a great idea. And she's like, No, it is a great idea. We don't have any tie ins with it. But you know, just That's how impactful we felt like it was gonna be interesting to hear you say that exactly. does impact you that way? Oh, it does. How involved is your husband with understanding the diabetes? Or does it not even matter now that you're using an algorithm is it just is it easier for people to help him

Mary Martha 43:29
he my husband's been there every step of the way. He actually in the hospital, I was feel like I was a little more I guess I was kind of in shock still. And so he kind of took the took the lead and he did the first injection he did the first finger prick and all that. But of course I'm I'm home with Davis. So I am the person that handles it most of the time. But my husband understands everything, sometimes even better than I do. He's sometimes even bolder than I am. It's he doesn't actually listen to the podcast, he he just hears me talk about it. But he understood it. He has a great understanding of everything. And he he and Davis went to Monster Jam a few weeks ago. He had the whole day of diabetes management. It I think there was some connectivity issues in the arena they went to but he did a really good job Davis went a little bit high. But you know, what can you do with all the excitement of the monster trucks? I'm sure Dana's had some adrenaline and all that going through his body.

Scott Benner 44:39
But you did right. Especially in the indoor event. It's probably so loud and there's fire trucks are jumping all over the place. Right? That's crazy.

Mary Martha 44:48
Oh, yeah. But he they had a great day and he was able to, you know, handle everything and you know, I felt comfortable sending him up there and I had the day off and I'm But my husband's great. And there's all I can also thank my bad parents in my in laws and my sister in law. From the beginning, they've been incredible. They ask questions, they, they want to be involved in Davis's care. And, you know, the CDE is at the the diabetes and Nutrition Center, we go to, they, they told us that we could bring anybody we wanted to, to any of these, you know, education, meetings, and we scheduled one for my parents, we scheduled one for my sister in law and brother in law and, and my in laws, and they came and they learned all about everything that we learned in the hospital. And so that was great. And they've been my in laws kept Davis for the first time for a long weekend when my husband and I were able to take the mini vacation. And, you know, they did great, they did a pipe change. And they did a Dexcom change all in one weekend. They were baptized by fire.

Scott Benner 46:03
Do you think like, I'm not trying to get you to say something you don't believe but it has the I mean, you've seen three forms of care in less than a year. And it is one of them. Easier for you is one of them easier for other people? Is one of them making daycare or you know, other people being in charge of Davis when you're not around? Like? Can you kind of go through that a little bit for me like because I think the reason I'm asking is because I think there's a I don't know if you realize this or not. But there are a lot of people with type one diabetes, and not many of them have insulin pumps comparatively speaking to the number. And I don't, I don't know if that's because of access or if it's cost or if it's if it's fear. But if it's if it's fear, I'd love for you to be able to talk about that.

Mary Martha 46:55
I definitely think that the Omnipod five is probably the best scenario for help for having outside help. From my parents, from a babysitter from malls to it's very seamless technology, and it connects to the CGM, which correlates to how much insulin is gonna deliver. And I think that in itself, AIDS letting you know, letting somebody else take care of Davis, it makes it so easy. And there's no calculation. I know, in the beginning, we had that we wrote down on a whiteboard, what His correction factor was, and what the you know, based on what his carb ratios were two, and so we would look at that board every time we were about to feed him and say, Okay, this is what we need to do and subtract this from this and all that. The fact that the pump does it for you, and you don't even have to plug in your blood sugar, the blood, his blood sugar, and it's also seamless. It just makes it so easy. Yeah. There is really invaluable tool.

Scott Benner 48:06
That's really, I mean, that's kind of how I say it, at the very least. And like I said, I don't know if I'm trying to remember if this has been said out loud on the podcast yet, or if it's been recorded, and it's going to be up soon. But you know, I always lean towards if you want technology get after it. And just recently we're talking about and Jenny was like, you know, I kind of agree with you about that. And I was like, oh, and she said, but I do think there's value and understanding diabetes, kind of on a more manual way, which I'm not saying there isn't for sure. I'm just saying that. Like, how does it in a world where the idea is I have this little baby or this young person, and I'm gonna stick something on them. I think that's how people think of it. Like I don't want to stick something on them. And I want them to have a machine on them. Did you have that feeling first?

Mary Martha 48:54
I didn't. And I remember I saw maybe it was a picture on Facebook or something, maybe a tick tock I don't know. But somebody was like, this is the last picture of my son without anything on him. Like I didn't know that this would be the last time I would see him without a device and that never cost that much. And I was always just like, if it's going to help him, then put it on him. I don't I don't really care. I don't care. I just want it to help him. I want it to bring him to the vet, you know, keep him healthy and Aiden keeping him healthy and never crossed my mind. Why? Yeah, I do think

Scott Benner 49:36
I'm sorry. Okay. Yeah, go ahead.

Mary Martha 49:39
But I do think it does hinder people from that thought of not putting a device on or having something stick out or it keeps people from getting the technology.

Scott Benner 49:52
Why were you so understanding of the reasons, it would be important like how did you understand How did how did you learn about diabetes in the end the needs you have as far as variability and agency and things like that related to better health?

Mary Martha 50:10
How do I learn about it? I think I learned about it through the podcast and just Googling stuff like, honestly, I figured out that you had all those episodes about pro tips, and then the the defining diabetes, and that was really how I learned everything.

Scott Benner 50:26
Cool. Oh, that's amazing. I was not looking for an answer. That was like all I learned on the podcast, Scott, but I will accept that as an answer. So thank you.

Mary Martha 50:33
But I think before I started listening to those episodes, I was in the Facebook group, and I would see people talking about Pre-Bolus. I said, What in the world does that mean? And then I took it to Dr. SHERMER. And I was like, What does Pre-Bolus mean? Or what does Bolus P? And she explained it to me? Oh, okay, that makes sense. And so she also definitely helped him that in the education as well, she and her team that have nutritionists and CDs, they helped as well, but I think they kind of I would come in after, or our appointment, I'd be like, the podcast says this. And they're like, Okay, yeah, that's, that's right. This is basically everything I learned was for me.

Scott Benner 51:17
They must be thrilled. Or maybe they are, I don't know, like, did they like hearing that? Well, like,

Mary Martha 51:24
they probably, I feel like, every time I spoke, I was like, Well, this is what I heard on the podcast, and they probably thought it was getting old. But um, you know, I think with the results that I saw so quickly, they, they really didn't have any room to complain about me learning everything, because it was working, obviously. So

Scott Benner 51:45
I see what you mean. Like, like, yeah, yeah, she's coming in talking about a podcast, but but the information is correct. So who cares where she's learning it from? That?

Mary Martha 51:56
I think they liked the fact that I was taking it into my own hands and, and learning everything that I could.

Scott Benner 52:04
Well, that's an open mind so far. And that's an open mind to Dr. To.

Mary Martha 52:08
Oh, I mean, Dr. simmerman, has been welcome to all of my ideas from the beginning. And, you know, she, she's young, and actually, she's a type one diabetic herself. And she has probably experienced everything. I think she was diagnosed later in life, but she's experienced everything that we have. And so she knows. You know what we're going through. And so that's been so helpful.

Scott Benner 52:37
I want to ask her a question. I feel like I asked before, but I just want to go over it again. When your husband took Davis the other day to go to Monster Jam. What was it? Did he tell you later? Like? Like how he found the experience of being by himself with Davis? Like, did he find it stressful? Or did he find that it went the way he expected? Was there trepidation? I mean, does he not? Does he go with him frequently by themselves like this for a full day? Or was this kind of something new?

Mary Martha 53:05
Oh, they do things all the time. They love to go to waffle house in the morning, Saturday morning, let me sleep in a few extra minutes. They do things like this all the time. And I think the monster dam was a little bit more of a an adventure than his normal just going to waffle house or spending the afternoon with that type deal. Yeah, it was he was in the car for a long time. And I know sometimes when you're setting Terry makes your blood sugar go up a little bit. Um, and then the whole connectivity issues with the Dexcom not reading the his phone. That was a little bit I think it had to do with Bluetooth and being in that big arena. But I think he was a little bit more stressful than he then the normal couple hours that here and there that they would go out.

Scott Benner 54:00
But nothing, nothing that ruined his day or knocked them off track or anything like that.

Mary Martha 54:05
Oh, take it really stay. I mean, seeing Davis's joy when seeing those Monster Trucks jump up and down in the air and do donuts in the mud. I think that kind of. He did go a little high. But I think that joy that Davis was experiencing was like, Okay, we will handle this. When we get in the car. We'll handle this. You know, we're going to just do the best we can right now and let Davis enjoy this and then we'll figure it out.

Scott Benner 54:34
Hey, Martha, you didn't want to go see the trucks?

Mary Martha 54:37
I would have loved to but um, they didn't. Well, my husband went with a couple of his buddies from college and they also have little boys and they all went up there and it was it was a guy's day.

Scott Benner 54:50
Yeah, I was just teasing you. I didn't I imagined you were like who day off? So yeah.

Mary Martha 54:55
Well, I think it would have been worth it to see Davis's reaction to the monster trucks that were also videos of him going wow. And his it was just, I would have loved to have seen it. But it was nice to sit back and not worry the whole day.

Scott Benner 55:14
No, that's really wonderful. It just is I trying to put myself in a in a position where I'm imagining 10 months into Arden's diagnosis, if I handed Arden off to Kelly and was like, here you go, just, you know, we'll see later today, not that Kelly couldn't have done it. But I mean, with the needles and the meters, and it really just would have been something you No, it's not that long ago. I know. It feels like the people, maybe it is, but 16 years ago, and like the world of diabetes technologies just not that long ago, and it's taken the whole thing. She's taken such a leap, you know, and you'll never know, it's just kind of cool to like, you hear the stories on the podcast, which is great. But you're never going to know about most of the stuff you hear people talk about when they're like, Oh, I had to pee on a stick or? Yeah, you know, I actually had somebody contact me recently. And there's, they're an engineer, and they had like an idea about collecting urine for kids. And I was like, Oh, that's interesting. But it just, I don't know, the world's just, it's different now. You know, like for this stuff, and it's really beneficial to me for you guys raising them for your family around you trying to help him but for him as well, like, what's his agency now?

Mary Martha 56:24
So back in September, and it was 5.90. My

Scott Benner 56:28
gosh, it's crazy. It's so cool.

Mary Martha 56:32
It's amazing. Yeah. The technology. I mean, I'm thankful that we live in this day and age where the technology is available. How much? I mean, it's only getting better. Yeah, no

Scott Benner 56:44
kidding. How much interaction do you have with the Omnipod? Five? Are there other times where you're like, oh, like it needs more here? I mean, I'm sure there are, but how frequently is it?

Mary Martha 56:56
It's an I haven't checked it in a second. I think it's handling everything pretty well. Yeah, so I feel like I look at it more at night, and have to intervene a little bit more at night, we see. protein and fat rises, and I guess it might be growth hormones to happening at night. We've had to, to give him more insulin more frequently over the past couple of nights. But during the day, it's, I just look at it, you know, at lunchtime, or with or out, I'll check it and make sure it's, you know, in a good range to see if I need to pack a juice box in a purse or bring his diaper bag in the place where we are and but, you know, honestly, it's, I feel like I don't really look at it that much. It's taken a weight off my shoulders, you know, it's gonna it's in the background doing its job. And

Scott Benner 57:58
yeah, that's really excellent. Good for you. I'm, I'm thrilled for you like, it's amazing to watch how quickly you ran through the whole thing like you found the pie since you found the podcast, it took you a couple of months to figure everything out. Next thing you know, you had an A one C and the sixes, you weren't scared to move to an algorithm. And now you're having a five nine with the algorithm. It's just, it's astonishing, really, how quickly you jumped through it. Do you ever stop and think that like, hey, I really figured this out because you did. Like it's but it's cool, like ever give yourself credit for it.

Mary Martha 58:31
It's hard for me to do that. I think the times I remember when we went into our, I think maybe our second in though, I was really nervous about his a one C and I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing because we had a couple of days that he was high and higher. And, you know, Dr. Zimmerman has made it a point to always tell me how good I'm doing well, well, I'm doing and embrace as my husband does, too. And it's I have to give myself credit a lot of times and it's really hard to because some that I beat myself up a lot. I know I did in the beginning because I was like, Man, I'm failing him. I'm not doing it right. I'm not. He's still going higher, you know, and but I've, I've had to take a step back sometimes and say, you know, you are doing really well by Davis and you should be proud of yourself.

Scott Benner 59:28
I'm glad you're doing that because you are and it's a hard thing to give yourself credit for especially coming out of a new diagnosis the way you did because I know everybody blames himself from the beginning, you know?

Mary Martha 59:39
Yeah, definitely. And, I mean, I have to give all credit to the good board above because I think all through every situation we've been in. I've seen him working in our lives. It's crazy. From diagnosis like my mom knowing all about it, and then Did you know Dr. Zimmerman actually was a childhood friend of mine? And her, her dad or mom worked with my dad? And my dad was integral in bringing her to the hospital here locally?

Scott Benner 1:00:14
Wow. It's Chelsea right. So,

Mary Martha 1:00:17
yes. Dr. German? Yeah. She It's crazy to think about that, you know, the the hospital here, here in town is it's a Regional Medical Center. But you know, the big hospital is in Birmingham. And the fact that we have an a pediatric endocrinologist here in the community is amazing. And it's, I mean, I do a lot of everything, almost to her because, you know, she's very accessible. And she goes along with everything, but all my crazy ideas like putting my child Omnipod, five, when it's just brand new, she was ready and willing to do that, and wrote the prior authorization and all that. So,

Scott Benner 1:01:05
yes, you said she has type one. Do you know how old she was when she was diagnosed?

Mary Martha 1:01:11
I think she was in her later teenage years. But I think from the beginning, as soon as she was diagnosed, she kind of maybe she wanted to be a doctor from the beginning. But I think since diagnosis, she was like, I'm going to be an endocrinologist, and I'm going to help children who have type one, she kind of had that mission ever since she was diagnosed.

Scott Benner 1:01:35
Yeah. Well, you know, Omnipod actually got the clearance for ages two and above now for Omnipod. Five,

Mary Martha 1:01:42
right? Yeah, I remember. As soon as that came out. She doctors everywhere connected me with another lady with another outfit that I don't think she's quite to yet. But I think they just started on Omnipod. Five. And I know I immediately sent that news to her. I was like, this is this is it. Y'all can get on it. You know, y'all should do it. And they just started a few weeks ago, and I hope I need to check in with them and see how they're doing. But I hope, I hope it's hope it's going well for them.

Scott Benner 1:02:15
Yeah, me too. Hey, I have to ask you a question. So a moment ago, I stopped myself from making a joke. But now I want to know if you would have handled it okay or not. You said that you really wanted to give a lot of credit to the Lord. And I thought, it's me and the Lord in a rowboat, Mary, Martha. And you can only throw what you gotta keep one of us for diabetes only. I beat. I beat the Lord, right.

I just I'm delighted by the idea of you, politely asking the Lord to jump out of the rowboat. We got to keep this guy with the podcasts or I'm sorry.

Mary Martha 1:02:55
I'd like to think that he's the one that has brought you into my life as well. Just the he.

Scott Benner 1:03:01
I see what you're saying. Okay, I'm accepting of this. I just wanted to I just wanted to put you in a really farcical situation. So

Mary Martha 1:03:11
I get it. It's funny.

Scott Benner 1:03:12
I didn't know were you in the moment like I can't tell. Because they're Murthy because of your accent. I can't. I can't tell. If you I can't decide if you would have gotten my sarcasm or not. I think I think I would. I do too. But I just can't tell that's all. You know, I can tell easier with choose those people I can I vibe with them very well. I have a great episode up today with a woman and she and I had the most just delightful conversation. But I already knew her like I could I understood her the tenor of her of her sense of humor. Like right away. And you're as I'm trying to figure out still, even though we've been talking for an hour, I'm still like, I'm not sure but I don't know. It's cool. How is it living in Alabama?

Mary Martha 1:03:59
Oh, it's great. It's still pretty hot. It'll be like I feel people that joke about how it's fall in the morning and then in the afternoon. It's summer. We turn our heat on in the morning and then that 12 noon, it's back on AC blow and full blast.

Scott Benner 1:04:17
No kidding. How warm is it there today? middle of October.

Mary Martha 1:04:21
Let's see. Right now it's it's Saturday seven. Wow. It's actually quite pleasant today. But over the weekend, it was hot. Right?

Scott Benner 1:04:35
And when you say the school the school you mean the University of Alabama right? Oh, no, no, no,

Mary Martha 1:04:42
that's not it.

Scott Benner 1:04:43
Oh, there's a better one you're saying and you don't want to fight other people?

Mary Martha 1:04:48
Well, I know a few months ago you had a podcast and the title is

Scott Benner 1:04:53
key. Oh, you don't even say that where you're from? Did you skip

Mary Martha 1:04:59
up now? I actually listened to it almost went to the I'm a big Auburn fan. I have been since I was a very small child. And I'm indoctrinating Davis into this as well. He is obsessed with going to Auburn games in the marching band and I'll be the mascot. But we say War Eagle in our house.

Scott Benner 1:05:26
Did you go to Auburn?

Mary Martha 1:05:28
I did. Yeah. Yeah, I grew up pretty close to Auburn and actually ended up going to school up in Virginia for a couple years. And we in Auburn ended up winning the national championship, my sophomore year of college, and I wasn't there to experience it. And it haunts me. And so the next year, I transferred to Auburn. And

Scott Benner 1:05:57
if nothing else,

Mary Martha 1:05:58
for the football, if nothing else, I was very homesick because of it. I remember when I told all my friends at school in Virginia, I was like, Yeah, I'm transferred over and they're like, why are you transferring? I'm like, Well, I think it's because of I miss going to football games and they thought I was crazy.

Scott Benner 1:06:17
What would you get a degree in?

Mary Martha 1:06:20
I got a degree in entrepreneurship and family business.

Scott Benner 1:06:24
Do you get to use it at all?

Mary Martha 1:06:27
My I do a little bit. My dad was an entrepreneur and in was an investor in a bunch of small businesses and started a bunch of businesses. I felt like I got that gene from him. On my husband's family had a business that they recently sold to a national business. And so my husband used it in his he actually had the same major. That's really where we met in class. And he, he used his degree in his family business. But actually, after college I did, I went and worked at a small startup. But it was a pine straw company. What they sold and delivered pine straw and installed pine straw as a ground cover, I don't know

Scott Benner 1:07:16
it was I happily use it. There. Martha I have context for this. So in the south, you guys use that instead of mulch, right? Like around bushes and trees and everything. See, I know, I've traveled I know what's going on. And so and they're just pine needles, right?

Mary Martha 1:07:31
Right. You just collect it from basically pine tree orchards down in Pine Tree fields down in South Georgia and South Alabama, and North Florida, that panhandle area. But it was a it was a startup and it was we helped grow it, it's still going well, I ended up getting married and moved away. So I didn't continue working there. But it was it was really fun to, to experience it and learn more. It's kind of like I feel like I've done the same thing with diabetes, because I've been thrown into it and having to learn everything. And I did the same thing. When I was just out of college, the pine straw, I knew every single type of pine tree needle like the different cones and what would work better and and I ended up being a dispatcher for some time for the trucks that would deliver it Home Depot, the big loads. I mean, it's like you're working in a startup you just kind of go where they tell you or where they need you. And so that was what I did. And it was really interesting. And I learned a lot I learned how to be that as I say that maybe that's where I learned how to be adaptive. Yeah,

Scott Benner 1:08:39
right. That's interesting. It really is do you what are your plans? You guys gonna make your family bigger? Are you gonna go back to work one day? Or what do you think of that doing?

Mary Martha 1:08:49
I do think we'll make our family bigger. One thing that was really you know, bring it we were talking about the good Lord above right before Davis was this is that like diagnosed actually was pregnant and I had a miscarriage not even like a month, like two weeks before he was diagnosed. And I really do you think that that was also the word working? Knowing that I wasn't really able to handle that. I don't think I could have been pregnant in that first trimester while you're being so tired while also learning diabetes and spending day after day fighting with learning how to do everything and being held up half the night you know, finding a higher worried about a low and all that. I think that all that happened for a reason.

Scott Benner 1:09:43
Yeah, Mary Martha. Even in a comical way I can't take credit for helping you with that. So yeah, no, that's nothing I was not involved. Well, I'm sorry that you went through that but ya know, I can't imagine and I see to how you How you keep a very positive outlook on things, which is gotta be incredibly helpful through with all this?

Mary Martha 1:10:07
I think so. I mean, I can only, you know, I feel like that if you maintain that positive attitude it, it really does keep you going. And if you dwell on how bad things are, I mean, you're only going to be unhappy and sad all the time. So you might as well be happy and think positively. Yeah, you have

Scott Benner 1:10:27
what I would call a boys attitude. You're just like, like, just get it, we'll just do it. Let's just do it. Sucks. Let's do it. I don't know if it's really a boy's attitude or not. But it's, it's, uh, it, we were just, it's funny, right? Great. Before I recorded this with you, my wife, and my son and I were downstairs and my wife works from home, my son just got home from college. So we're happy to all be together. And we were talking about this thing where somebody, you know, kind of made a commitment to something. And then it ended up being more than they expected. And you just were hearing from him a lot about this isn't what I thought it's hard. I don't like Baba. And it's only a limited time, this thing is not the rest of their life, you know? And I'm hearing the story. And I said, I said, Look, I have a lot of compassion for this. I know, it's, I know, it sucks. But now we know what it is like, let's just do it and be done. And my son kind of chimed in, and he's like, I really agree with that. He's like, just like, do it. You know, and I thought, it's just sort of what you've been talking about along the way, in a roundabout way. You're just gonna get it done, and then move to the next thing. And it's not what you wanted. But it's not it's not insurmountable. And the worst thing you can do is fight against it. Sometimes I think, you know? Yep. So sure. Yeah. No, I think that's really wonderful. Is there anything that we haven't talked about that you wanted to?

Mary Martha 1:11:56
Well, so I wanted to tell you about my diabetes tackle box that I have, this is kind of a random thing that I thought might help other people. Okay. Um, so my husband was actually on the fishing team at Auburn. So he was a bass fishing on the bass fishing team.

Scott Benner 1:12:18
Hey, Martha, before you go forward, I want to ask you, were you trying to say the most Alabama thing you could think to say just now?

Mary Martha 1:12:24
No, I wasn't. I figured it would probably come across that. It's

Scott Benner 1:12:28
really, like, I was like, oh, there's a fishing team. I was like, that's amazing. I didn't I had no idea. But okay, your husband's on the fishing team. at Auburn. Yes.

Mary Martha 1:12:37
Okay. So he, and he's, you know, we've, he's fished pretty much his whole life. And so, what, whenever we got home, you know, we went to the, to the pharmacy got all of our supplies, the pin needles, the lancets, the test strips, the alcohol wipes, all of it. He was like, we need to tackle box for this. And so we have a tackle box that holds all of Davis's diabetes stuff, and I have it right here in front of me. Um, but literally, whenever we do a pod change, whenever, you know, I need to check his blood sugar if I think the Dexcom is off, whatever, I just pull this bagel toggle box out, open it up and has everything I need. That's amazing. And so anyway, my husband's ingenuity. Yeah,

Scott Benner 1:13:30
being honest with me when your husband first said if you think oh, is he gonna have more ideas like this? Or were you like okay, let's do it. Now there's a tackle box in the kitchen I imagine which was probably not what you expected but but be just for a split second. I know it's working great. But would you first set it were you like come on man. or No? Or do you like

Mary Martha 1:13:51
I think that I was pretty on board I saw how many things were involved in I was like we need it in a organized manner. So that's what you if we want to try it go get a taco box. We'll do it that makes sense. So I actually took it into our endo appointment that first time and I was like, here's everything we our whole life like tell me you know, this is what we got right here and they were very impressed by it and I think they're actually mentioning it to new patients that they come across so they will start a

Scott Benner 1:14:23
trend Do I need any special kind of box or does any brand that I think will work do for me?

Mary Martha 1:14:29
I think a good Any brand will work this one's Plano which which is probably from Academy sports and outdoors I would guess. But well yeah,

Scott Benner 1:14:38
that's really isn't isn't that interesting though. Like you know, just how his own experiences you know, informed the next thing he looked at all that stuff and he thought I don't know what all this is it needs a home. We have to put it somewhere. I know what I organize random stuff. For me. It's a tackle box. Some people Oh, that's right. And so But that's not all your storage, right? You have diabetes supplies stored somewhere else, but you've stocked the tackle boxes, you need it.

Mary Martha 1:15:06
Yes. So like, all of our, we have a couple of drawers filled with all the Dexcom supplies and the Omni pod supplies and all that. And that we just keep a small amount in the tackle box and each little designated area. So if we go on a day trip, or go anywhere, we can just grab it and know that everything that we need is in there as the insulin that we use to refill the pod. It has a juice box sparks plans, everything you can imagine that you need.

Scott Benner 1:15:42
I think it's brilliant. I really don't. Really is I wondered if you were like come on, but I didn't. I was it's it's really kind of like it's brilliant in its simplicity, how like perfect, it would work for that. But Plus, they have little like tours, you can resize them and make it work just for how you want it. Right.

Mary Martha 1:16:00
Right. So you can, you know, pull the little thing out and make it as big or as small as you want. It really does work really well for instead of ordering one of those fancy are using those. Yeah, I think there are a lot of diabetes supplied bags and such that we just have to pack a box.

Scott Benner 1:16:20
And it's durable, too, right? Yeah, for sure.

Mary Martha 1:16:23
Yeah, this is knocked it off the counter a couple of times. And it was watch, thankfully,

Scott Benner 1:16:29
there you go. That's pretty cool. That's I mean, I didn't expect you to say that. But um, I think it's a great idea. You're like, you know, I just want to tell people about one thing. It's a tackle box. I'm like, wait a minute, what's happening? Yeah, that's pretty kind of bro. Yes. Really? Yes.

Mary Martha 1:16:44
It's really worked out for us. And so I'm thankful for my husband's fishing background? I don't think we would have we would have thought of it otherwise. Is

Scott Benner 1:16:52
that a fishing team? Is that? Could he get money for that?

Mary Martha 1:16:57
Oh, definitely, um, we actually one of his teammates. Two years, two brothers, they're actually really successful. I'm one of his good friends named Jordan Lee has won, he won the Bassmaster Classic two years in a row. And that's what that's basically like the Super Bowl of all bass fishing.

Scott Benner 1:17:17
So like, Oh, my son got money to play baseball kind of an idea. Your husband got money to fish at school?

Mary Martha 1:17:25
Yes. So it's actually really changed in the past few years. I feel like he was the president of the club his senior year, and he laid a lot of groundwork for where the club is today. He, I feel like whenever he was on the team, he always really, he pushed to get sponsors on, you know, put them on their jerseys. And the people in the, in the club sports were like, you know, we can't do that. Because of the, I think it was due to copyrights, with the logo with Auburn logo, such. And now, they do that all the time. And they have sponsors all over their jerseys. And I don't know right now, they may start next years, or they might already do it now. But they might have scholarships towards bass fishing, I'm not positive, but, you know, they, they made a ton of money through those tournaments, and they just put it back in the club, and they would have tournaments themselves, and then they would send them for entry fees, those entry fees for those tournaments would be a lot. But anyway, so I kind of would think I don't really know the whole system now but but it's definitely grown a lot. And I think a lot of is due to the groundwork that Briggs laid and then also the the the popularity that it garnered through Jordan Lee and his brother Matt, and some of the teammates that Burke's had that were so successful.

Scott Benner 1:18:57
Yeah, I mean, listen, I have to be honest, I Googled Jordan Lee while you were talking and it pops right up. But professional bass fisherman Jordan Lee is a two time winner of the Geico Bassmaster Classic presented by Dick's Sporting Goods. Like that's crazy. I mean, it's not crazy. It's amazing, actually, that they got that off. Yeah, round that has turned into this.

Mary Martha 1:19:15
And Jordan has, you know, sponsors like Carhart, and Abu Garcia, which is a really big real company. No, I'm

Scott Benner 1:19:24
looking at him wearing a shirt here. Does there's no room on it for any other logos. He's doing okay.

Mary Martha 1:19:28
Yeah. He's doing really well. And, you know, he's a good friend of ours, and we're proud of all the work that he's done. But, you know, if two bad words wasn't as successful as he was, but, you know, he really enjoyed his time on the team.

Scott Benner 1:19:42
Well, it sounds like your husband's family sold a business to somebody who had pretty deep pockets. So I feel like it's going okay, right. Yeah. By the way, this led us to

Mary Martha 1:19:53
where we are today. So we're, you know, we're happy where we are and good for you.

Scott Benner 1:19:57
You're making me think I gotta make get one of these shirts for me with all the different sponsors of the podcast on it.

Mary Martha 1:20:06
Maybe with Omni pod and Dexcom and touchpad type thing for diabetes.

Scott Benner 1:20:14
You really listen to the podcast. Thank you.

Mary Martha 1:20:18
Yeah, I really wanted to come here you speak in Orlando, but it didn't work out. But

Scott Benner 1:20:22
I would have loved to. I would have loved to have met you. Yeah, maybe next year. I just recorded something with somebody from touched by type one earlier today. That you can, you'll hear coming up on the bold beginnings episode. But I would have loved to have met you. And now you're making me think I need a sponsor t shirt.

Mary Martha 1:20:40
Definitely. Yeah, I think we would. I think it'd be good.

Scott Benner 1:20:44
All right. Listen, you were terrific. Thank you for doing this. Did the nerves ever go away? Do you feel okay, at any point?

Mary Martha 1:20:50
Yeah, I think I got into a groove. Like said it just comes natural after a few minutes. Talking. Yeah, no,

Scott Benner 1:20:57
you were terrific. You really were. If there's nothing else, I'm going to stop. But please just keep me in the loop. I'd love to know how things go. It's just an interesting story, your son being diagnosed and you get into on the pod five so quickly, like, I'd love to know how it's going for you along the way.

Mary Martha 1:21:15
I'll definitely keep you updated.

Scott Benner 1:21:17
Thank you. Thank you very much.

Well, of course, we're gonna thank Mary Martha for coming on the show and sharing her story. We're also going to thank touched by type one.org and Dexcom, makers of the Dexcom G six and now Dexcom G seven continuous glucose monitoring systems. That little Dexcom G seven, where do you see it? It's a it's quite a thing. dexcom.com forward slash juicebox. Don't forget to check out the private Facebook group for the podcast Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes, but there are also plenty of people in there with type two and caregivers. Just it's a great mix of people. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of Juicebox Podcast.

#862 Perry Como

Kim has type 1 diabetes and was diagnosed as an adult.

+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, welcome to episode 862 of the Juicebox Podcast.

Today's guest is Kim or Kimberly, you decided what you want to call her. She is a type one diagnosed as an adult. She's a nurse, and she had a slow onset. These are the things you need to know. None of them will tell you why the episode is called what it is, but me me we'll get to it. While you're listening, please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan or becoming bold with insulin. Consider this if you would, if you are a person who has type one diabetes, or is the caregiver of someone with type one as a US resident, consider going to T one D exchange.org. Forward slash juicebox. Join the registry. complete the survey. When you complete the survey. Your answers help type one diabetes research. And that great super simple takes like 10 minutes completely HIPAA compliant, absolutely anonymous. And it's easy. T one D exchange.org. Forward slash juicebox. This show is sponsored today by the glucagon that my daughter carries. G voc hypo Penn. Find out more at G voc glucagon.com. Forward slash juicebox. today's podcast is also sponsored by ag one from athletic greens. Visit athletic greens.com forward slash juice box. When you get there, you'll be taking ownership of your health and choosing to start your day the same way I do with one delicious scoop of ag one from athletic greens. Athletic greens.com forward slash juice box. I'm gonna start the recording if your heart's racing, tell me what's going on now.

Kim 2:10
I don't know my heart's racing a little bit. I'm a little nervous.

Scott Benner 2:17
Let's talk through that, shall we? Sure. Are you up for it? What What? What you're like, No, I might not be up for it. But let's do it anyway. So

Kim 2:27
um, I don't know. I've just like listened to you, like so much the last couple months that like, I've had, like a conversation with you in my head so many times. And now I'm like, Oh my gosh, what if it doesn't come out? Right. So,

Scott Benner 2:41
okay, wait. So a conversation in your mind, like walking through this moment? Or just other?

Kim 2:49
A little bit like sometimes, like when I'm listening to you talk to other people. I like kind of thought about, like how our conversation would go.

Scott Benner 2:58
Okay. Let's start with that. Okay. Okay, we'll introduce you in a few minutes. I don't want to lose the thread here. Plus, you know, your name will be in the show notes and stuff like that people will understand. Okay, well, what do you think's going to happen?

Kim 3:17
Um, I don't know. I guess I'm just gonna tell my story. But I mean, I've heard you talk so many times that I know it's just gonna be like a conversation, but I don't know.

Scott Benner 3:29
You have no, you have no expectations of where it's gonna go. Are you? Are there things you're concerned about?

Kim 3:36
No, not at all. But I guess I have like the idea of my story in my head and I just hope it comes off, right. I don't know.

Scott Benner 3:45
All right. Are you from the Midwest? I am. I heard it when you said North Pole.

Kim 3:52
I'm from like, the suburbs of Chicago.

Scott Benner 3:54
Yeah, I was gonna say, Chicago. Ish. With my guests. I didn't want to be too specific. But that's alright. Well, okay. Let's go slow. How old are you?

Kim 4:06
I'm 31.

Scott Benner 4:07
Okay, are you married? I am newly married. Congratulations.

Kim 4:13
Thank you. Well, actually, oh my gosh, it's gonna be here next month. So I guess not that I mean, it's still nearly but yeah,

Scott Benner 4:20
stop playing that card. I just got married still time. There's still some lemon coasters on my registry. Nobody bought me. I love the lemons. Anybody. Longtime sweetheart met them on Tinder met her on Tinder. What do we got? Oh, yeah. Hi,

Kim 4:39
high school sweetheart. We've been together for 15 since 2007.

Scott Benner 4:46
Okay, hold on. It's 2022. Yeah.

Kim 4:52
We were together a long time

Scott Benner 4:53
you were together. That's a very long time. So if I subtract seven from 22 That's hard to do. because you have to carry on one. So I'm going to subtract 10 instead. And get me down to 2012. And then Riyadh set three. Does that verse? I don't Yeah, right. Yeah. So 2015 You got together?

Kim 5:13
No 22,000 sevens

Scott Benner 5:17
went the wrong way. It's okay. Nevermind 15 years. And you got married today. Now what happens? Is it camera Kimberly?

Kim 5:26
How do you like it? Um, either ones Fine.

Scott Benner 5:29
Listen, what are you doing to me?

Kim 5:33
I go by both. That's actually a funny part. My family only calls me Kimberly. But then most of my like friends and co workers call me Kim.

Scott Benner 5:41
Can I call you him? Yeah, that works. Great. All right, Kim. Where you hold now for somebody better? Why did you wait so long?

Kim 5:50
I'm mostly on him. But I mean, we were young. So I mean, that adds to the time. And then we went to college, he went to law school. And then he didn't propose until after law school. And like he went, you know, we went to just do everything on our own. So like, he wanted to buy the ring on his own. And so it just took them some time. But I mean, we were, we just had a good relationship the whole time. So it really didn't seem to matter too much. But then we had a COVID wedding. So we ended up postponed a year. So that added a year and to

Scott Benner 6:25
finally pull it together during a pandemic. Exactly. You don't need to be honest with me, but it'll be more fun if you are at times during the process where you just like, just let's What are you doing, like get to it? Or were you happy with the pace? Um,

Kim 6:43
I would say like the last year leading up to the proposal, I definitely was like, Alright, come on, is it gonna be this weekend and like, and I would, you know, ask them like, Alright, are you Let's go. Was there ever for the most part I was, I was fine with it. Did you ever have any

Scott Benner 7:01
concern that it wasn't going to happen that you'd wake up one day and be like, Oh, great. I'm 36. And this guy just left me. Oh, no, not at all. Okay. Well, then I see being well then then good for you. And you probably have your own little, like, you have like a career or a job or what do you? Yeah,

Kim 7:19
I'm a nurse. Okay. I'm a nurse. So I mean, I feel like looking back, like we definitely did it the right way. Because we we have like a nice house we bought on our own and we have you know, we both have good careers. We have nice savings. We are built to do like wedding the way we wanted to honeymoon the way we wanted to that any of that want to really have happened if we just got married younger. Yeah,

Scott Benner 7:45
she has plenty of good stuff to split up when you get divorced. Exactly. What a great thing to look forward to. Are you already looking around the house thinking like that table? How's the first year going? Is what I mean?

Kim 7:58
I'm actually it's it's going great relationship life. But it's been a very interesting year for me personally. So I don't know. It was a very interesting first year of marriage. All right. Tell me why. No, I mean, that kind of goes into like my whole story.

Scott Benner 8:18
I didn't know you were producing. Okay, hold on. Excellent. We'll go with your thought. Alright, so let's do this first. You're Kim. You're from Chicago. You're 31 How old? were you when you got type one diabetes? 27. That's four years ago. That math I can do for some reason.

Kim 8:36
Yeah, so it was four years ago. But I think the unique part and the part that like kind of goes back to me saying the last year or first year of marriage was difficult, because I only really started on short acting insulin. In September, so not even a year ago.

Scott Benner 8:53
Oh, so you had a very long honeymoon. Did they call you a lot? Or did they tell you you were tired? Yeah. So

Kim 8:58
they called me Lada. And yeah, I guess it was a honeymoon. But it was definitely prolonged by myself.

Scott Benner 9:08
And you do a lot of cinnamon burpees

Kim 9:13
did you know I did. I did like low carb, like extremely low carb and a lot of exercise. I mean, I was on Metformin. And then I also was on Lantus, so I wasn't like, completely like nothing. But yeah, I was not on short acting insulin until September when I finally was like, I can't do this anymore.

Scott Benner 9:37
So you drove your body like an electric car that had 20% left? Pretty much yeah, I'll just go real slow and see how far I can get and that and that you feel like you had an impact on it.

Kim 9:50
I did. And my doctor was telling me like, oh, it's gonna happen anytime like you know, your pancreas is eventually going to stop and I kinda like knew Whew, that I was like prolonging it. So it kind of felt like a, like a failure kinda if I didn't keep my sugars where they were at, like, on my own because I kind of really resisted the type one diagnosis, not that I didn't think it was accurate, but I just didn't want it because it is a whole different lifestyle.

Scott Benner 10:25
Yeah, did you begin to have what they call magical thinking? Like you were having more of an impact on it than you were? Or were you pretty consistent and understanding the reality of it?

Kim 10:34
No, I definitely was actually managing it, like my A onesies were like in the fives. And, but I just wasn't like, at the time, I thought I was being healthy. Because, you know, I was active, and I was eating healthy. But my body actually gave me signs that I wasn't actually healthy. And how so it just got to be? Well, I mean, I know you talk about artists period. So I'll just feel comfortable saying it. I lost my period for like, over a year. So that was like one sign that, you know, obviously, my body wasn't getting enough nutrients or everything it needed to have balanced hormones.

Scott Benner 11:20
Okay. And did it actually come back at some point?

Kim 11:25
It came back in December. So in September when I was like, Okay, I'm married. Now, I can't live this lifestyle. If I want to have kids, I'm gonna have to have a period and I kind of knew all along that, you know, to get a period back, I'd have to stop my intense exercise, I would have to eat carbs. So then that's where it kind of all unraveled where I was like, Okay, I need help, I need to go on insulin. I need to be able to eat normally I need to like not have to work out because there was i i love exercise. But there were plenty days in those years that I worked out to lower my blood sugar because I knew I was going to have more carbs than, you know, unlimited amount and or I knew like the night before I eat too much. So I would just like not eat breakfast do like an intense workout. And that's how I kind of managed and obviously my body didn't really respond well to that

Scott Benner 12:23
are two questions based on what you just said? How severe was your diet restriction?

Kim 12:29
Um I don't know. It's hard to like, quantify like, I like I still look back and feel like I was pretty healthy. I was not starving myself by any means. But I ate so much like salads and protein. Like I had so much protein a lot of like, low carb yogurts, a lot of vegetables. Fruit was like, yeah, if I could have some fruit, but I didn't have any, like substantial carbs for those four years. Like,

Scott Benner 13:04
did you find it restrictive? Or were you okay with it?

Kim 13:08
Um, honestly, I feel like 80 90% of the time I truly was okay, but I think I convinced myself like, Oh, this is healthy. Like, I'm eating like salads. I'm eating like I found so many, like low carb options like egg white wraps. And I mean, it's actually still stuff that I really like. It wasn't like, I was like, oh, like forced feeding myself like this food. I enjoyed what I was eating. And I was like, eating a lot, but I just none of it was carbs. And then I also kind of went a little bit like low fat too. Okay. Well,

Scott Benner 13:44
I'm not insinuating that you somebody can't eat low carb. I'm just trying to understand from your perspective, if this was something you were doing, because you were like, I enjoy this, or if you were doing it, because you were like, I have to do this or I'm going to get diabetes worse. And in that kind of pressure that might come along with that. Did you get super skinny? Were you ripped? How did it affect your body? Oh,

Kim 14:04
yeah, I was ripped. Like people were like, Oh my gosh, I never looked like super skinny. Like, I wasn't like anorexic looking. I might be um, I was actually normal, but it was mostly muscle. Like I started work like doing weight training and stuff too. But like, on my wedding day, like my arms were just like, super toned. Like that's what everyone said like, oh my gosh, what happened? What do you do? Like, you know, I just like, Yeah, I was pretty in shape.

Scott Benner 14:33
I'm just here to embarrass this guy next to me. Look at these guns. Yeah, exactly.

Kim 14:36
He actually though was like, you're getting to tone like and like when I started gaining weight back he's like, Yeah, I like that.

Scott Benner 14:45
Oh, look at somebody now somebody has an opinion not about me getting married that he was okay. drifting through I.

Kim 14:53
But yeah, but then I kind of went in the opposite extreme a little bit because I think once I started eating carbs and fat, my body was like, Ooh, what's the So I'm gonna hold on to it.

Scott Benner 15:01
Okay. All right. Yeah. Okay, well, so you found a balance your period came back, did management get more difficult at that point?

Kim 15:10
So it just like completely changed. Like, I felt like I described it as kind of being read diagnosed. Because like, now I had to learn like this whole new thing of, you know, insulin and mealtime, insulin spikes and highs and lows. Like I really didn't have many lows. Like, it wasn't like a concern. I mean, like, I didn't bring like low, like, treats with me everywhere I went, like, I was never really that worried about it. And then like highs, I kind of knew, like, it was based off of something I did, like, oh, you know, I ate a carb heavier meal that night. So now it was, you know, this time where it was like, Okay, I really have to find out this whole new management.

Scott Benner 16:02
Yeah, sure. No, it starts over again. I mean, you're not being helped by a slow onset, you're not being you're not being you're not being helped by ultra low carb, or all the benefit you get from the crazy working out. So did your workouts go back? I mean, they must have already if you softened your body up a little bit. I mean, that like, you know, I probably mean that in a way you're not supposed to say in 2022. But like, you kind of feminized your body a little more, right, like classically,

Kim 16:28
yeah, so I actually just like completely stopped working out for a month. Because I was so fed up with, like, not getting my period back. Because I was like, a couple months in to trying, you know, eating the carbs and fat and then still not getting it back. And then it's funny, because it's kind of like you in the sense of like, diabetes management, I found, like, online, I also found like, it's called like, period recovery. Like, I found that online too. And that's how I ended up getting my period back as compared to like, I went to a gynecologist, I went to my endocrinologist, I said, Hey, I'm not getting my period, like, this is abnormal. They decided to like, just put me on the pill. I mean, they did a lot of tests, and all of them were like, essentially normal. So they were really no help. They're like, just keep monitoring like care, go on the pill. And I just knew that wasn't right. So I kind of found my own way to recover.

Scott Benner 17:25
Okay. With when your period finally came back real like, oh, oh, this I remember this. What this part?

Kim 17:36
So happy about it for a while? Yeah, because I was just like, I felt accomplished that I like got it back.

Scott Benner 17:43
Good for you. Did you tell friends be honest, did you text one person you're like, Oh, my God, my period. Today is so exciting. Oh, yeah.

Kim 17:49
Several people. Three, my mom, my sister and then actually my sister in law, so they all kind of knew what I was going through. So I was really happy

Scott Benner 18:00
when I got it difficult to write. It wasn't easy. I'm not I don't make any like, but it's a it's a serious situation.

Kim 18:06
Exactly. And I just knew, like, obviously, having kids on my future is like, something I really really want. So it was kinda like, feeling like, that wasn't going to happen if I didn't figure this out.

Scott Benner 18:21
Kim, are there other autoimmune issues in your family line?

Kim 18:27
I'm not really at all. My dad's cousin does have type one so I guess Yeah, but you know, when someone's like, distant from you, you just feel like

Scott Benner 18:38
like it doesn't count. It counts. Yeah, exactly. Because this podcast accounts do you have any other stuff? Celiac or hypothyroidism? Hashimotos stuff like that?

Kim 18:50
No, and I've been tested for a lot of it

Scott Benner 18:53
too. You have other issues that you were that you would you were trying to get tested to find out what was going on

Kim 18:59
related to my eating habits but like no doctor really realized that but like, I would have like bloating but that was usually because of like constipation and because I wasn't getting like enough nutrients and then like my thyroid like they just tested a lot of things with like my period missing.

Scott Benner 19:20
Gotcha so so are you are you here to tell us that you poop more regularly now?

Kim 19:26
I do which is also another exciting thing actually. Your normal actually

Scott Benner 19:32
you know what plus not for nothing everybody can use a break once a day or more depends on your situation I guess where you just go in a room and close the door and you're by yourself for a second sometimes you're like oh, I have to go to the bathroom but this is great because I can get away from all these people. Oh, okay, well alright. What do you how do you manage now like before it was just this Lantis the Metformin the exercise, the you know, etc. But what do are you doing in the in, in present day?

Kim 20:05
So I'm on an omni pod. And I actually just started looping. And I listened to all of your tips. So I feel your management style is mine. And I work with Jenny. So I kind of just like went all in. But that's kind of my personality. I just when I like have something that I want to accomplish, I just go all in.

Scott Benner 20:27
Oh, well, I mean, I think that's obvious from the exercise thing. Because if you told me, I know myself, Kim, if you said to me, if you work out like a fiend, and eat nothing but salad and chicken, we can slow down this diabetes thing by three years, I'd be like, I don't know. I'm not sure I can do all that. And part of it is my age to like, I don't know if my body would keep up with rigorous exercise, to be perfectly honest with you. I tried to start riding a bike six months ago and ended up having knee surgery. So I'm just allowed to start riding my bike again, I bought this bike, it's lovely, right? And I put it, I put it behind me, it's literally right behind me, I had a space in the office, I'm like, I'm gonna put the bike there. Every once in a while I'm gonna get up from this desk. I'm gonna ride this bike. I do that. And then my knee starts to hurt. And then I had to have surgery. And now my knee doesn't hurt anymore. I think my I think they're going to clear me in a couple of days to go back to like, my regular activity, right? So if you were in a different situation, plus, you had a lot of pent up frustration from this boy who would not ask you to marry him for 15 years, I'm guessing.

Kim 21:32
Exactly. focus my attention somewhere else.

Scott Benner 21:35
Anything happen? Did your relationship shift after you got engaged? Was there like any I don't want to say this like this? Because I did either of you have that feeling like Oh god, it's over. Now I can relax.

Kim 21:52
Um, no, not that I and that's not standing out to me. So I feel like no, no. Okay. Well, we just went right into wedding planning but then COVID hit and then we postpone Yeah, no, nothing really changed.

Scott Benner 22:06
Gotcha. And you did you eventually have an in person wedding where people got to come.

Kim 22:10
We did we did it last July, which was kind of like a sweet spot of like, no more mess mandate and no more restrictions before what was that the Omnicon or whatever came back? So we can't we didn't have to make any address.

Scott Benner 22:26
Any chance you did it on my birthday? The 12 July 3. Alright, it's fine. Oh, July 4 weekend. Turn it no whole thing.

Kim 22:36
Exactly.

Scott Benner 22:37
Let's see what you did there. Okay. All right. So is the conversation going? Anything like you expected so far?

Kim 22:46
Yeah, I feel like I've talked about a lot of the stuff I thought I would

Scott Benner 22:51
good. Are you happy so far?

Kim 22:53
Yeah. Has your nervousness way more relaxed,

Scott Benner 22:57
because you're nervous this subsided.

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it has for sure be honest with the people listening. I'm famous to you. Is that correct? You are and now I'll be honest with the people listening, Kim that's ridiculous. You should not feel

Kim 25:52
serious like I'm probably like a super fan. I probably I listened to all 700 episodes in like four months. I used to listen to it like two times speed so I could like get through them all. And now I like still go back and listen. And I listed in different podcasts apps just so that I can get you more listeners.

Scott Benner 26:15
Now we're getting to something this is how everyone should be. Alright. Did you have to quit your job to do this? Or were you able to do it with your job?

Kim 26:22
No, it's literally like all I did on my free time as I grocery shop worked out. Anything dishes, anything I just was constantly listening to you. But it kinda like consumed me because I think like this person is I don't even remember that much. I didn't listen to much Christmas music at all and I love Christmas. But I always had the podcasts on instead.

Scott Benner 26:45
I'm the reason you didn't hear Perry Como this year.

Kim 26:48
Exactly. Maybe Christmas day I heard it but that's about it. I killed

Scott Benner 26:51
Perry Como. Oh, Kim. That could be your episode title. Wait, what did you say I killed Perry Como could be your episode title. I don't know what that means. Sure you do. Perry Como he sings all of your favorite Christmas songs that you don't realize because he's he's 100,000 That He's probably dead. Hold on a second. You really don't know who this is.

Kim 27:14
I know. I'm really bad with this but

Scott Benner 27:18
don't don't wear a white Christmas. Do you love a white Christmas song and old standard? Oh, yes. guarantee it's gonna be pretty cool. Now. Hold on second. Definitely, definitely him. He's probably saying song. Oh, song. He probably song. Most of your like favorite like Christmas standards. Okay, all right. In less Are you more of like a car person? Do you like that? See a Christmas album is incredibly good.

Kim 27:51
I'm working Mariah Carey and Celine Dion Christmas.

Scott Benner 27:54
Okay, have you ever tried to see a Christmas?

Kim 27:58
No, I don't think so. Please,

Scott Benner 28:00
in honor of me try it next year. Okay,

Kim 28:03
I will. Well, that means I won't be listening to your podcast. Well, you're

Scott Benner 28:07
pretty caught up. You should have a tiny bit of free time. I actually would like to talk about that for a minute. If you don't mind. I just saw another person online, get on the Facebook page and celebrate that they were caught up. This person was like I just listened to Episode 698 I am caught up and I thought wow, my first thought was I'm very touched. My second thought was I wonder how helpful it was to them. And my my, my next thought was, I hope the advertisers notice this happening. They buy more advertisements, and we keep making the podcast but how valuable was it? Let's let's lit it up a little bit. I'm assuming you found it supportive in a community such like sense?

Kim 28:54
Um, yeah, for sure. Because I don't really know any other type ones or like talk to type one. So definitely listening to other people's stories helps a lot but I for sure started with what oh my gosh, like the defining diabetes and the protests. Okay, so I kind of I listened in a very weird way I feel like I started with those and then like sometimes they would lead into like another episode that was just like the interview. And then like, I don't know, I jumped over around like a bunch and then once I was like, narrowing down to only like some that listen, I started like from the beginning.

Scott Benner 29:34
Did you have an experience ever? Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead. Well,

Kim 29:38
I was gonna say it was like interesting that like I did not start it like episode one. So like going back and like listening to those are kind of like, interesting like to hear how it's like evolved from the beginning.

Scott Benner 29:51
Yeah, for sure. Did you ever find it a situation where you looked at an episode and you thought I don't think I care about this but you listen to anyway.

Kim 30:00
I think there was like a couple that I was like, not super like interested in, but I listened to them 100% Still worth your time? Oh, yeah, they for sure still worth my time because you just get a different perspective. And then you usually wouldn't throw in a little bit of management each one. So

Scott Benner 30:19
I do do that, don't I? Yeah, that's, I'm very happy to hear that. Also, I think the way you listened is not uncommon. I think many people come through, did you come to the Facebook page?

Kim 30:31
No, I really don't know exactly how I found you.

Scott Benner 30:36
Well, so but some people do that they hear about this thing that has these protests. And then you kind of, you know, do the defining stuff. Because I mean, you get your term straight. And then you go to the Pro Tip series, because you're looking for management. And then hopefully, it leads you to more stuff and you find stories that help and then there's management. I don't know how even how to say it, like people tell their stories, or I recant something that happened to us. And you can kind of pick it up through conversation I find easier than it being like just jam down your throat it to me, I love the Pro Tip series. I love that the I love all the series, actually. But I think if the podcast was just those, I don't think it would be as valuable.

Kim 31:21
I agree. I think listening to like, the interviews and stuff like really makes it very interesting. Like I've tried other podcasts and like, it's just a way to like interview style, like, Oh, thank you for saying that. And like stuff like that. And I'm like, Oh, I can't listen to this. I'm totally bored.

Scott Benner 31:39
Kim, I don't want to I don't want to slow you down here. But do you need to badmouth any other diabetes podcast? It's okay. My name can just be vague. They're terrible. Mines grades, something like that. Whatever you think don't let me put words.

Kim 31:53
Yeah, exactly. I mean, I can't even get through some of the episodes. I just have to turn them off.

Scott Benner 31:59
What a review. Okay, great. So I am thinking, one time somebody sent me a review that they saw for another podcast. And the review is hilarious. And it still pops into my head. Sometimes it's I don't I don't openly root for people's failure. I don't feel that way. I genuinely don't. I just want to beat them on my own terms, but I'm not looking for people to fail. I just want to win. I hope you understand the difference. So yeah, so

Kim 32:34
you're definitely winning. I think,

Scott Benner 32:36
you know, Kim, let's not brag. But yeah, okay. And so. So this review is just it's so funny. I, I'll share it with you when we're done recording, because it's like, I'll see if I can dig it up afterwards. Maybe I wrote it. But that'd be something you'd be like, Oh, my God. I'm just kidding. I usually don't write reviews. But this was a couple years ago. I honestly don't think that you would have had diabetes when this happened. That's how long it's stuck in my head for. Anyway, appreciate you saying nice things. And I'm glad I'm just I mean, being serious. I'm glad that the podcast worked for you that listen, there are plenty of people who could follow the path you followed and won't jive with me and and they might not, you know, they might not have the same experience. I'm completely aware of that. But I'm glad that you had that experience. So what did it lead you to do? Like how did because you're, you're a nurse you said?

Kim 33:28
Yeah.

Scott Benner 33:30
What kind of a nurse?

Kim 33:32
I work in the cath lab. So were they do like angiograms of like the heart and legs? Any arteries?

Scott Benner 33:39
Okay, super exciting, Kim. And yeah,

Kim 33:42
so if someone has a heart attack and their

Scott Benner 33:44
does it does it is are you in pressure situations like that?

Kim 33:48
Oh, yeah. Because we'd have to take like call and stuff so sometimes like I can get called in at like till in the morning and someone's like having a massive heart attack and they have to like, go and work and

Scott Benner 33:59
do you don't wire through a thing while somebody's yelling. Billy's Grandpop is dying Kim, do it like something like I'm sure they it's not like on television, but you have to actually feed a wire through something is that correct?

Kim 34:11
I mean, I don't do that part the doctor does but I'm I'm the nurse like in the room giving like the medicines and like, if something goes bad like doing CPR and like stuff like that,

Scott Benner 34:22
how often not you I'm saying but how often do you see somebody push in bed and they go Oh, whoops. Does that ever happen? Like wrong one?

Kim 34:31
Thankfully, no, never. I mean, I think I've heard of stories, but I've never experienced it.

Scott Benner 34:38
How did those situations impact your blood sugar? Does it go up?

Kim 34:44
Um, no, I haven't really seen anything like that maybe like a little bit maybe like 20 points but nothing like us arrow up like type situation. So were you not focus on like, really pay attention to my blood sugar and those mo means other than, like, I tried to make sure I'm going into it not like low or going low.

Scott Benner 35:04
Yeah, sure. No, that makes sense. But so are you kind of, by nature a level headed person? Or does the job just make you be that way.

Kim 35:13
Um, I think it's a little bit of a mix. But nurses definitely like, after you've been through something is the amount of times maybe like the first couple of times you're nervous, but after that, kind of just, it doesn't seem as like scary or intense when you've done it a couple times.

Scott Benner 35:32
So you don't have a bunch of adrenaline going while you're doing it. Know, for the most right now, that's kind of comforting to hear if I'm being perfectly honest, as the person who expects to have a heart attack one day.

Kim 35:44
But it has a lot to do too, with like the doctor in the rooms. Because if, I mean, the best scenarios I've seen is when like, the doctor is really calm and just able to like, give orders and everyone else kind of just stays calm to it's like we all know we have to do and you could only like do so much. So it's like you just have to do it without like panicking and like, running around. So if the doctor stays calm, then everything usually goes pretty smoothly.

Scott Benner 36:09
As the doctor goes, the situation goes. Exactly. It's interesting. And are some doctors panics like newer doctors, or? I guess probably yeah,

Kim 36:18
I've definitely seen that too. Yeah, not all doctors are equal.

Scott Benner 36:24
Definitely not. I. Yeah, let's not get into that. But yeah, that's definitely true. I mean, not everybody is equal, right? Yeah, exactly. So you find the podcast at what point in your management? So where are you? When you start listening? Are you still working out hard eating low carbs? Have you made the switch? Where do you find yourself?

Kim 36:45
I found you like, I think at the end of October, so I started like, insulin in like the middle of September because I kept telling my, my endocrinologist that it would be like really high in the morning, which is like new for me. And then she put me on a libre, which I was very reluctant to go on. Because at this time, I just like, didn't really like, want to accept, you know, maybe all this. So wearing something was not like exciting for me. But I was like, Okay, I just got to do this just to see like, what's happening overnight, or why I'm high in the morning. Then she put me on like a really low dose sliding scale. Like, if a greater than 150 Give a unit. And then if it's like 225 Like, I don't know, just really. So then I kind of like before I even found you was a little bit bold with insulin where like, I just I knew better that I needed more. I mean safely, but I just kind of was like okay, well now I have insulin, I'm just gonna start using it. But yeah, I think I was animali break for like, a couple of weeks. And I was just, it was the whole roller coaster thing. And I'm like, I was just frustrated. I'm like, I don't know what I'm, what I'm doing. And then I found you and things really started to smooth out.

Scott Benner 38:09
Cool. Can I ask a little bit about the not wanting to wear the libre or a device in general? Does it stop you from being able to kind of consciously or subconsciously pretend that you don't have diabetes?

Kim 38:22
Um, yeah, it definitely was a, that was a big part of it. I still like don't wear I'm not one of those people with them like, and they're mostly like, on my stomach or my low back. I'm still not like, loud and proud that I'm type one. But like a lot of people in my life don't even know. But I love my devices so much that I'm getting to the point where I'm about to like, show them off. Or like when I talk to someone about it. Like I'm super excited to show them and be like, Oh, this is what I wear now. And this is what I do. But it's just not like an open thing. It's got to be like the right person and timing, I guess. Yeah.

Scott Benner 39:05
Well, that's exciting. I'm happy for you. Like, yeah, that really is great. So you're getting more comfortable. Going to show more people use the word proud. That was great. So I mean, I That sounds like a, like an obvious trajectory to me. I get it. I mean, like, I mean, there's little kids are more like I got a thing. Look at it. It's stuck to my arm. You don't I mean, but adults. I mean, gosh, you were 27

Kim 39:31
Exactly. I felt like it was like it's a whole new life. You know, I knew life a whole different way. So

Scott Benner 39:37
you're incredibly you're incredibly patient, which we know for sure. Because you waited for, you know, so long to get engaged. So you you're like I can wait this out no problem. Did Did your diagnosis impact your relationship at all? Or did you find yourself concerned that it would,

Kim 40:01
um, I definitely found myself concerned that it would, I think it like, kind of impacted. Like, all my relationships I that, like upset me for a while because I just felt like, I like had this one at like flip my wife was like completely different. And then it's like, everyone else took a while to like, catch up with me or like I just kind of felt like a different person. So like, I felt like, it just changed my relationships. My husband, I, he's, like, always been like, the best person as far as like, understanding that he's pretty smart when it comes to like, medical things like he gets diabetes, like he understands, like, the amount of effort from my management. But he's also been the person that struggled most with, like, it really don't know what the word I'm looking for. But he's like, it upsets him. That's it. Like, he's really upset him like the diagnosis like, he just doesn't want this for me. He knows he's like, see me struggle like a lot with it. And I'm like a little bit of a perfectionist. So like, I need it to be perfect. So like when I'm not I am like, upset and down and like, it's hard for him to like, see me have to deal with all this. And he knows how much effort I'm putting into all this. And it just really like. He just, it makes him sad.

Scott Benner 41:32
No, I understand how you feel, how he feels. When I'm when my wife and I were more newly married when we were younger. Like if she had a problem at work. I was like, Do you need me to go beat someone? Like what do you need? You know what I mean? Like, I see how hard you're working. And I love you know what I mean? Like it's the same feeling really, like I know, you don't want it to go this way. I wish I could do something like obviously I couldn't go to an I mean, I guess I could have but I wouldn't have you know, like gone to an office and like intimidated somebody. But I felt like that. And your husband probably feels similar. Except there's no one to intimidate, right? There's not even anybody to yell at. It's yeah, you know, yeah, there's

Kim 42:12
no like, nothing you can do he just wished to send it in.

Scott Benner 42:16
Yeah, it's an idea. You're, you're mad at really, I mean, it's a reality. But it's, you know, it's a it's a faceless entity that you're that you want to, you know, take by the shoulders and shake. Yeah. But, um, I get how he feels? Did you worry for him, or were you too busy in your own kind of, like, mixed up ness to be concerned about other people around, you?

Kim 42:39
Know, I worried for him a lot. And it was kinda like, I took it on myself to like, worry for him. And then I like, didn't include him in a lot of things or like thoughts or feelings that was happening because I was trying to, like, protect him from being like, even more sad. But I've like worked through a lot of that. I, once again, I jumped all in with like everything and I got a therapist to I'm like, I don't really need one. But you know, screw it, I'm just gonna, like, just get a therapist and, but it's actually like, been so great. She's helped me a lot, like just realize things about myself and why I feel certain ways and she's helped me a little bit with like, you know, opening up more with my husband and just not taking, like, not trying to protect him so much from feelings that I think he's gonna have. Yeah, and the more I have opened up, I do realize that he he can handle it. It's just me always trying to like, foresee, like, his emotions, and then like protecting him from them.

Scott Benner 43:44
Yeah, I understand that. So Well, I think that's a positive step, but very much so. It's It's crazy, right, trying to manage your thing. And another person's thing when I was talking about this, the podcast is so strange. I was talking because things come up and they seem to come up when I'm recording. Maybe I'm subconsciously directing conversations that way. Anyway, I was talking yesterday with with somebody about, you know, I kind of made concentric circles. And I laid them over top of each other like those intersecting, you know, those little diagrams, I don't know, what kind of diagrams and

Kim 44:23
diagrams you think why they call pen diagrams, I don't

Scott Benner 44:27
know, like two little circles, they overlap and you kind of see things intersect in each other's lives. Right. And we were talking about how, how you're having these experiences with another person, and you're doing your best from your perspective to read what they need or one, but they don't, you know, most of their circles not overlapping with your circles. So they're having an entirely different experience away from you. And they may have other circles overlapping in that place and they know people that you'll never intersect with They have relationships and experiences and struggles and successes that you never see even though you're very close to them. And then you're trying to just say manage, but you're trying to interact with them in a way that you think is most positive when honestly, you don't even know the people, you're around constantly as well as you believe you do. And so it's up to them to share that stuff, so that your relationship can become more complete. And that is what you're talking about. But nobody does that. Mainly because who would think to? You know what I mean?

Kim 45:39
Yeah, I agree completely. Yeah, I definitely like putting too much thought into what he thought about instead of just letting do what he thinks about and just, you know, saying what I need to or doing what I need to

Scott Benner 45:51
write, because you're never going to be completely aware of the other things that can intersect his life. You can't be and so you have to give it to him, and hope sorted out, and if it becomes a problem for him, then he has to deal with that in his time. But if you don't have those communicative moments, they'll become both of your problems in the future.

Kim 46:15
Exactly. Yeah.

Scott Benner 46:17
I was a lot of gobbly gook talk, but I think it made sense.

Kim 46:20
It made complete sense to me.

Scott Benner 46:22
Thank you, Kim. Thank you, Ken, I love you. I really appreciate back when you said you listened to all the episodes that I was done, I would send you a certificate of completion. If I had one.

Kim 46:33
I think I shouldn't get like biggest supporter certificate.

Scott Benner 46:36
Do you think I should have like a digital certificate made up that says I've listened to all the episodes of The Juicebox Podcast and send them to people? Yeah,

Kim 46:43
I wouldn't hang that up in my house.

Scott Benner 46:45
I believe you might. I appreciate that, too. Kim, thank you. Maybe I'll just turn it into a t shirt so I can profit from it. How would that be?

Kim 46:52
I would buy it.

Scott Benner 46:57
I just want people to I don't really make that much money off those shirts. Oh my god. That is.

Kim 47:01
That is one thing that I have not looked into yet. I've done everything else. I've gotten the Omnipod the Contour. Next One at Dexcom done the survey for slipping my mind what it's I've done everything.

Scott Benner 47:15
You do the T 1d Exchange survey. And you use Jenny to right. Oh, yeah, I got Jenny. I think it's obvious to people but it's the unspoken part of my relationship with Jenny like Jenny doesn't work for me. I don't pay Jenny to make these podcasts with me. But you know, it's not we're not unaware that she may attract customers. So you know, and she

Kim 47:37
was extremely hard to get into. I only got lucky because I use like the side of it that which I mean, it wasn't Elijah true. I want I went to her because I'm like, when I want to have kids, I want her to help me manage that. So they were able to get me in with her. But other than that, like it was like very hard. They're like to get in with her. Yeah, I sort

Scott Benner 48:01
of the podcast kind of ruin Jenny in a way like, sort of like dating like a superstar. And then you break up and then the next guy is just the guy you met at the gym and you're like, it's not gonna work out like I already might, you know, I think we elevated Jenny to a point where it's hard to get in with her now.

Kim 48:22
Yeah, she's awesome though. Like I'm so happy I invested in that because she's just she's been that like, final like step where like, you know, management's pretty good. But then there's like, just like certain like, final touches that like she helps me like adjust things and I kinda like see where the adjustment might need to be but I don't know exactly what to do when she's awesome.

Scott Benner 48:47
And I used the wrong word A moment ago I said elevate like we I just I was able to shine a light on her so more people could see her that's all she she's who she is well without me you know what I mean? But but you know, just not everybody can know in the podcast has a pretty throws a pretty wide net so people can the who may be never would have known about her can learn about her song.

Kim 49:09
Yeah, I would have never known so I appreciate you for that. What are my shots

Scott Benner 49:13
here like my chances? Give me a percentage of getting a baby named Scott out of this.

Kim 49:21
Feeling you'd ask that? I don't know. I'll have to convince. No. I'll say possibly,

Scott Benner 49:29
but a cat. Can I get a cat?

Kim 49:31
I'm not a cat person. But maybe a dog?

Scott Benner 49:33
Not either. I mean, I'll take a dog. That's fine. No, nevermind. Well, you get a license plate that says juice box on your car. Maybe I would, you know like eight people have done that. Really freaks me out. I love it. But it's like I have pictures here from all over the country of people who got juice box license plates. They just like the letters say juice box. Yeah, in some way. Yeah. And they sent you know, I mean, I say this here because I think the person who wrote the article listens to this. So it's, I'm not bothered by it. But there was an article written by a pretty big diabetes blog that said, Look, people are so like connected with, like diabetes that they're getting juicebox license plates and the it was for the podcast, it wasn't just about diabetes. And pardon me when I read it. I was like, huh, all right. It's okay. And I just didn't I mean, listen, I don't really care. But But those people got those, you know, they sent them to me personally. And then they put them up on social media, they they they got them for the podcasts, which I was really touched by

Kim 50:38
might be some people listening to this, that might be mad that I said, I'm your biggest supporter, I think

Scott Benner 50:43
you might have to, what if we have to have a UFC style Fight Club situation one day, where you guys all fight to see who is the biggest fan of the show. I'll bring bananas and juice boxes so that everybody can stay on their game and really get in there and fight my son by the way thinks it's he's freaked out that their license plates for the podcast. Okay, I see him Look at me, like, why do people care about you? Like, it's funny, while while you're you don't understand, because you don't have kids yet. But 20 years from now, you will completely understand this. But it's, uh, it's funny to watch him look at me and try to regulate in his mind that someone would care what I say. You know, a little disturbing. But anyway, it's all part of having kids. Alright, so you're really not that far into diabetes? You said in in October, you found the podcast, maybe?

Kim 51:38
Yeah, what ended?

Scott Benner 51:41
What made you reach out so quickly to be on the podcast that?

Kim 51:45
Well, that's the funny thing is that I literally just listened to mostly like the pro tip episodes. And I was just like, so inclined to thank you. Because this was like, my first like, sense of relief. Like, I'd been messaging my doctor, I've been getting no like guidance of like, how can I make this better? I knew like, it couldn't be better. And I just couldn't figure it out. And then your episode just helped me like so much that I was like, I don't do this. But I have to reach out and tell him thank you. And I told you a little bit about my story. And then you responded like to come on the show. And I was so like, what I was like, Is this real? And I didn't even like, but then as I started listening to the rest of the episodes, I was like, oh, people do this. People think all the time. Like, I had no clue. I was just like, I was not trying to get on the podcast or anything. I was like, even kinda like, why would I be on the podcast? But then I was like, oh, it's like so many months away. And maybe I'll just sign up and see where I am when that time comes around. And then here I am.

Scott Benner 52:49
And you actually showed up that I say this all the time, the when people are there, like I never miss a recording. And I would say that with the exception of one or maybe two a year. No one misses their recordings. And yet they're six months out. So it takes from the time you say to yourself, I'm going to try to be on this podcast to when it goes live is a year.

Kim 53:13
And yeah, it was November right now it's June,

Scott Benner 53:16
June, it takes six months to actually get to your recording date, and then six more months actually get live. And that's part of the process, really, because if you're actually here on the day, when I open the microphone up, you really want to do this. And yeah, that's why you don't get a whole lot of episodes where you're just like, this is like sucks. You know what I mean? Like, it's people who really have something to say they've put effort into getting to it. And that's sort of part of my plan. But when you sent your original note, you just had so many interesting aspects that obviously you didn't know, were interesting, but I thought were the lot of diagnosis like the slow onset. Definitely people need to hear about that. You know, that you didn't know what you're doing. But you were a nurse, and that you had to go to a podcast when you're in a giant building full of doctors is interesting. Yeah,

Kim 54:08
the hospital setting like just has no idea about type. Right? It's very interesting. I mean, all I knew, too, was sliding scale. If blood sugar's are above 150. Then you give whatever the their sliding scale is. I do have to say, majority of the patients I dealt with, because I did do like the bedside nursing, it's called for four years. So I dealt with like a lot of type twos and like the amount of people's blood sugars, I would check, they'd be like 200 And like the people wouldn't even like flinch, and then they would just eat their lunch before I even came in with insulin and like, that's kind of like all I knew about diabetes, like management and stuff.

Scott Benner 54:53
Yeah, hospital management is not about being healthy. It's about staying reasonably lower. If You can, it's it's interesting how in the one place, you know, it's a conundrum in your head when you look at it, right? Because in the one place in the world, you imagine somebody would just be like, like a ninja with insulin and just know exactly what to do is is kind of the last place. And that's why that's why it's definitely

Kim 55:17
scared of insulin like the hospital like no one's trying to like bring blood sugar's down, like, too far too fast, too low, like see, like a 75. And they're like, scared. They give like a whole amp of like, dextrose. I was like, no, no, no, don't do that.

Scott Benner 55:35
Yeah, yeah, we were talking the other day, Jenny and I are making a new series that by the time your thing comes out, will probably be completed. But we're calling it bold beginnings. It's sort of like an overview for like, really newly diagnosed people. And we think we're going over this one example where somebody with their two year old had experienced this, like, drift down to stability overnight, and they were feeding the kid because they were like, Oh, my God. And I said, it's funny. If this happened to Jenny, she'd call me the next day and be like, Look how good I am at this and send me a graph. You know, but to a person who doesn't know what they're doing? It looks scary.

Kim 56:17
Yeah, it's interesting. And I mean, I definitely when I like started my own management, I felt that way too. But like, from like, doctors and stuff, you're kind of like, not given that guidance that that's okay. And normal. So it was like such a relief to like, come across you and just be like, reaffirm that, like, the way I wanted to manage was the right way. Or, like, you know, doable way.

Scott Benner 56:43
Yeah. Was there ever any thought that you might invite me to the wedding?

Kim 56:49
I see. I didn't know about you till after the wedding.

Scott Benner 56:52
You want to do it again? Just invite me then, oh, maybe I can't come, by the way. But I appreciate the invitation. I'm very busy. Actually, I am too busy. I'm too busy to leave this room. Which is becoming a problem actually. Just because I keep looking up and thinking. I keep thinking like, Oh, I'll get the podcast to this level. And then I'll be able to hire somebody to help with something right. And then it doesn't quite go that way. And people send me notes. I'll you know, the most common note I get after thank you is please don't stop making the podcast.

Kim 57:25
Oh, yes. I'll send you that one next. Right.

Scott Benner 57:29
And so I'm like, Oh, I won't, don't worry. But you have to support the podcast with ads. And so you have to make up and you have to make content like content is. I'm just gonna say king, but that sounds like an 80s movie like Dracula brothers maybe. And with the Coen brothers have been the 80s, they would have been the 90s. You know, you don't know who party como is like, you don't know, this doesn't matter. But but you know, it's a, it's a balancing act, right? Like you want the podcast episodes to be interesting and valuable. And they have to come out frequently enough that they can support the ads, so that the ads can support the production of the podcast. Because that's how you scale like the other like, here's, here's, here's something I'm not afraid to say out loud, that, you know, the other podcast might hear. You don't put up enough content. And they go once a week, if you're lucky, some go, you know, twice a month, once a month, some some put out six or seven episodes, call it a season and then take off for six months. Those are nice, like, that's fine. It's a way of doing it. But it's not a way to grow. And then there's this other thing that some podcasts do, where they'll put out an episode a week. And then a secondary episode, that's like four or five, six minutes long. Because they're trying to bump up their download numbers so that they can sell ads, right? Because think about it. If you have 1000 subscribers and you put out an episode, and every one of them listens, you get 1000 downloads. But if you just throw out this little like, throw away five minute episode, and those 1000 people are subscribed, well now suddenly, your 1000 people have created 2000 downloads a month, you've doubled your downloads. But what if you're really what have you really given them? You know what I mean?

Kim 59:16
Yeah, you never do short episodes.

Scott Benner 59:18
I don't cheat you. So I give you like good, meaty stuff. And I do it like it's a real radio show. You don't I mean, like, yeah, like a radio disc jockey doesn't come out on Monday and give you talk to you for three hours and then go, I'll see you next Monday. Like what the hell am I gonna do on Tuesday and Wednesday, and, and you know, and it's cool if you listen to Monday show, but not Tuesday show. I don't I mean, yes, it breaks. Kim, you're an exception and exceptional. But my point is, is that I don't expect for everyone to listen to everyone. I hope they do. And I actually think it would be valuable for them, but I don't expect it. I put stuff out there so that every week people have a choice, and they can say hey, you know what I don't want to listen to the guy who's a parent of a kid and also an orthopedic surgeon. But I do want to listen to this lady Monica, who's had diabetes since she was three, and she's 61 years old. Now. I'll listen to that one today. And then I like to do one episode with Jenny a week. And even that, is not it's not like, I don't record with Jenny and then give you the episode. They're recorded, like, well, in advance, they're thoughtful and considered, and we have conversations about them. And I don't know, I've heard other people's podcasts. And it seems like they turn the microphone on and just say whatever they're thinking, and I'm like, that's, you know, I don't plan in the in the traditional way, but I plan in other ways. I'm not just talking to talk. And anyway, I hope that comes through. Point is, I need people to listen, so that I can make more content that will help more people, so that the word spreads so that you because the idea of scope is to reach more people and help more people like you. Because I've lost count, I've lost count of the people who have told me privately or on this podcast, some of the things that you said today, and that's heartwarming to know that, you know, people are in a good place and not where they I mean, where would you be, if you didn't find helpful information?

Kim 1:01:17
I have no idea. I'd probably just be on roller coasters. Very frustrated every day. But now I can have my close to everybody calm rolling hills and flatlines. And I mean, most days, not all the time. There's still ups and downs sometimes, but for the most part, it's just like a peace of mind to be able to like eat what I want to eat and be able to just manage it.

Scott Benner 1:01:42
Do you find that? Like, psychologically, are you in a calmer place, not just your blood sugar line calmer?

Kim 1:01:49
Yeah, I think the two correlate a lot when when, you know, when you're up and down, you physically don't feel well. But mentally, it's just like, exhausting.

Scott Benner 1:02:00
Yeah, I understand how I see it here. And I hear other people's stories. So I'm happy. I'm happy for you. I really am. It's funny, because Recently someone asked me to, like do a talk, I could do it in my sleep. It's like 45 minutes long, I could give it to you right now, if you said do the talk, I'd be like, boom, I can pop it into. And it's not like I somebody asked me to give it to an organization privately. And I did. And days later, I sent it out. I said, Hey, what did you think? And it was given to somebody in the organization and some younger people who had diabetes. And the older person said, Well, you know, you didn't really say much that I didn't know. And I said, No, I recognize that you are your sleep steeped in this, you You understand all this, but these are the things that that people don't hear from doctors or or share with each other, even when they sometimes figure out how it works. And it's still great information. It really is. It's not this, you know, it's not, it's not where, I don't know, you know what I mean? It's not where we're at treasures buried or anything like that. But, but it's stuff that people need to know. And nobody tells them and when they do tell them, they often do it in a way that is so freakin boring that nobody can listen. And you know, so I think that's what this did. But it was interesting. I'm sorry to hear

Kim 1:03:21
it all throughout your podcast, so it's like it just really like sits with you. And it just, I don't know, it's easier to just incorporate it when you hear someone else like kinda just saying it as part of their daily life.

Scott Benner 1:03:34
Yeah, I did say to the person those like the talk is not meant to fix you. It's meant to make you interested enough to check out the podcast. I can't in an hour explain diabetes to you. I've done it before. I've said it to people who had type one for so long that you know, the talk kind of like connects a bunch of circuits for them and though all the lights come on, I have seen that happen. But for the most part, most it's just going to make most people think hmm, so that's possible. I should check into that. You know, so anyway, I feel like it. I don't know, this is the best format I can figure to do it. I agree. Like you. What have we not talked about Kim that we should have

Kim 1:04:20
I feel like we talked about mostly everything. I did have like no bad experience, but like changing my endocrinologist I guess just like talking about endocrinologist and like how sometimes they just don't really know how to manage and you have to like just find the right one. I had an endocrinologist like the one that I was with for the three years it's just like frustrating looking back that like she didn't see that okay, she lost her period like she never looked into like I went to her for that and she checked my like, you know all these tests, but like never looked into To Hey, like, what are you eating? How are you staying in a five a one C with, with no short acting insulin like she never did any of that she even like she was always trying to like cut things back cut my Lantis back she never like she put me on the libre without like, talking to me about like the Dexcom. And I didn't really know enough yet. And then it was actually funny too. When I went on the Omnipod I like just went through Island New pods. So they like, I guess they contacted her or whatever and got a prescription. I had the Omni pod at my house, went through training through Integrated diabetes had the pump on for like three days and I get a message from her saying, Hey, I got a script that you want to start Agni pad. I don't know if that's the right pump for you. We it was like a very like condescending, like, email about like, this isn't right for me. And I just I was so upset because I was like, already nervous about like, you know, being a pump and trying to figure this all out on my own. And then she doesn't even know that I'm on it already. Like, I don't know. But yeah, it just kind of frustrating. That was like a frustrating part of my management was to not have like the support from a doctor

Scott Benner 1:06:19
Jenny said this to me recently. She said, you know, just because someone's an endocrinologist doesn't mean that they manage diabetes all the time. Yeah. And I was like, oh, geez, I never think of that. She's like, you know, endos do a lot of different things. You got to find a practice who does diabetes, that's the first thing. And then the system, which is listen, every system is really just people, right? And things get set up in a certain way. Nobody can. Nobody can imagine everything the system needs, right. So a system gets set up and then you build onto it slowly, you add a piece, you add a piece and before you know, years later, it's bastardized, it just you're involved in this system that doesn't work. Everyone who uses it knows it doesn't work, but there's no way to fix it either have to blow it up and start over. or live with it. And what you just described as people living in a in a, in a system that's been added on to too many times, like how could you have the pump on and your doctor be like Hey, I hear you want to get a pump?

Kim 1:07:22
Yeah, I was I was seriously shocked by that message. I just was like, another funny thing about her was the first like I it was like a Zoom meeting with her and she was like looking at the my libre. And she wasn't like happy with the amount of lows I was having. Even though I wasn't having a lot the libre just like bounced around a lot. And it counted like a 67 is low. So I think my percent was like 6% low or something like that. But I was never having like severe lows. I was just you know what dip into the 60s sometimes before dinner. But anyways, she pretty much like you know, like, did the whole like thread about insulin and how it could kill you and she's not gonna be able to prescribe me medicine if like, I have too many lows. And then it was just it was ridiculous, but and then I just was like laughing to myself when I got off the phone with her because I was like, this woman's so worried about my lows, and she's never prescribed me glucagon

Scott Benner 1:08:33
these lows are gonna kill you, honey. What are we gonna do about it? What are we gonna do about it? You can't

Kim 1:08:41
it's just so upsetting because I'm like, the type of person that like, I want to, like, you know, do the best I want like A's I want like to make the teacher happy. So like, even though like I can rationalize that I knew my management was fine. I knew I was not in any danger. Like, I had the mind the CGM. And so like, I wasn't worried, but it's still like a bad feeling to like, hear that from a doctor and I feel like I felt I had being an adult. I'm like, whatever it is what it is, but like it made me feel bad for like these parents and like, if they have that when they have like a kid. I feel like that's just so like, more traumatizing and it's like, it's scary. I feel bad.

Scott Benner 1:09:21
Yeah, no, I mean, it's nice of you to be concerned for other people. And trust me that's like a common feeling around diabetes when people figure things out the next thought, a lot of peace and people have as well what about everybody else? But I mean, how fascinating is that? That her answer for stopping your lows was not giving you insulin? Yeah, you know, if you don't stop having these 67 blood sugars, I'm going to murder you. Oh, thanks. A lot. What a clear thinker Kim.

Kim 1:09:50
Yeah, so I found a new entrepreneur. Yeah. How

Scott Benner 1:09:53
long did it take you to actually leave?

Kim 1:09:56
I'm pretty much left quick because I mean, I stayed with her throughout this whole like honeymoon phase. And then she prescribed insulin in September. And I got to I saw her like one more time after that tried to message her a couple times in between about like still having highs in the morning. She was like, no help at all. Until then I met with her and like January, and that's when she gave me the low conversation. And then by April, I had a new endocrinologist. And she was she was awesome. I mean, I've only met her once so far. But she was happy with my management. I was 5.3. And she didn't say anything about lows. I mean, she could see my Dexcom and she was like, You're doing great. And she gave me she gave me glucagon. She so yeah, she was good. I am a little bit nervous, though. Like, I still do get like nervous about like, I don't know, like so I started looping and I'm like, oh my god, I never talked to the endocrinologist about this. Like, what? What am I going to tell her? Like? It's I don't know. I don't know why I have those thoughts sometimes.

Scott Benner 1:10:59
What's the saying? It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Isn't that right? Yeah. There you go. All done. Perfect. All right. Well, I'm so afraid that your your episode is gonna be called something about Perry Como but let's see what happens. Are you happy with how this one?

Kim 1:11:22
Yeah, I'm extremely happy. I feel like we, we talked about everything I want to talk about

Scott Benner 1:11:27
good. Sometimes I get letters from people afterwards. Like I really should have said this. And I'm like, Okay, we said a lot. You don't need to say everything. It's fine. Some people like I have to come back on. I'm like, No, you don't. You're good.

Kim 1:11:39
Now, think about it, though. Actually, that might be a good title, because this will probably come out around Christmas. Right?

Scott Benner 1:11:45
See, yeah, I killed Perry Como. It's perfect. Perfect. Kim, i i Thank you very much for coming on and doing this. I really appreciate you sharing your story. And I hope that you know, he didn't mind that we talked about your your wedding and stuff like that to help you get like I was using that to calm you down. You know that right?

Kim 1:12:05
Oh, yeah. No, I appreciate that. Uh, did call me down. I just wanted to thank you again, for all everything you do, because I really wouldn't be where I'm at. Without you and your podcast.

Scott Benner 1:12:16
That's very kind. I appreciate it very much. You're You're welcome. I think I'm supposed to say You're welcome. You're welcome. Yes, yeah. I I'm trying so I still struggle a little bit with it. Like, you know, you're like, Oh, that's nice. What you mean is Thank you. Thank you. Seems weird. So why don't I just go the other way with sarcasm Kim, you're I am terrific. I agree with you. How's that? I

Kim 1:12:40
like your sarcasm. I feel like the first couple of times I heard it. I was like, not really sure. But I still like the episodes. But like people who complain about you, I just don't think that they've listened to enough episodes. If they listen to you and understand your sarcasm, then everyone would just love it.

Scott Benner 1:12:57
Are you saying to my wife that if she just listened to me she'd be happier. It feels like Yeah, I hear you too. I'm gonna play this part for now, but listen, sarcasms that we went over it right? The podcast is enjoyable for I mean, listen to for a great many people. I can see the numbers. It's a lot of people. So it's, I know it works. And you talked about how getting fed information dry ways is it's hard to get through. And that when people are fake and phony that's hard to listen to. Like I know what you're talking about this big voices like Oh, thank you so much. And you are wonderful. Oh, no, you're wonderful. And before you know it, we've been talking about how wonderful we are for three minutes. Like are we gonna say anything substantial here ever, please? Yeah, yeah. Oh, I'm gonna stop the recording now. And then I'll find you that funny review about the other podcast. Okay, yes.

A huge thank you to one of today's sponsors, G voc glucagon. Find out more about Chivo Capo pen at G voc glucagon.com. Ford slash juice box. You spell that? G VOKEGLUC AG o n.com. Forward slash juicebox. I also want to thank Kim or Kimberly, it's up to you and ag one from athletic greens, reminding you again athletic greens.com forward slash juice box head over get started. And if you're looking for community around diabetes, check out the private Facebook group Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast. Who is Perry Como come on