#1909 Life Over Numbers
Life Over Numbers
Her son was hours from a coma at diagnosis. Lockdown took his freedom, and a letter asked for help. How one family found its way back — life over numbers.
Jump to a moment
- Active kids can mask type 1 for months. Priya’s son arrived at the ER with sugars of 44 mmol/L (roughly 800 mg/dL), ketones past four, and hours from a coma — after doctors had repeatedly waved off her concern. Trust your instincts.
- Lockdown isolation plus lost autonomy hit her son hardest about a year after diagnosis. He asked for help the only way he could — a letter to his mom. She calls it one of the worst days of her life, and the moment everything got reprioritized: online therapy, a full work-from-home job, and constant communication.
- Taking the burden off the teen changed everything — once AndroidAPS was running, Priya slept properly for the first time in three and a half years. Her advice: caregivers need their own care plan, not just the child’s highs and lows.
- “Basal is literally the unsung hero.” Re-test basal after growth spurts, get settings right before blaming the pump, and head into sports with as little insulin on board as possible.
- “Life over numbers” — her son manages mostly on his own now, and the outcomes away from home aren’t perfect. That’s okay. Small experiences, even the ones mom saw coming, are how teens learn to own the space.
- AndroidAPS — The DIY automated insulin delivery system Priya's son uses with Dexcom
- Lifeline Australia — 24/7 crisis support in Australia — call 13 11 14. This episode includes a discussion of a teen's mental health crisis; support is available
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US) — For US listeners — call or text 988 for free, confidential support
Every word of the conversation
Welcome0:00
Hello, friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Juice Box podcast. If you're looking for community around type one diabetes, check out the Juice Box Podcast private Facebook group. Juice Box Podcast, type one diabetes. But everybody is welcome. Type one, type two, gestational, loved ones, it doesn't matter to me.
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Meet Priya — Six Years Into Type 11:42
Hi there. My name is Priya, and, I'm a mom to a 17 year old type one. And, we joined the type one family around a little over six years ago.
Six years ago. Your daughter or son?
My son.
Your son. How old is how old is he?
He's, 17 now.
Now. Okay. Wow. Are there other, type ones in your family or other autoimmune issues or anything?
No. He's the first one. First type of the rank.
And do you have other kids? Just one. You have this one. Okay. So he's around 11.
What do you see happening? What gets you thinking about him not that he might not be feeling well?
He was quite an active oh, he's always been quite an active kid, and he used to be involved in soccer and taekwondo. So he had his taekwondo grading veins, and I'm like, he's he's lost weight. But, okay, maybe he's been too active. We're going into holidays. I'll feed him like there's no tomorrow.
We're going to school holidays, and two weeks and three weeks, and I see he's starting to drop weight. And I'm like, something's not right. Let's go to the doctor. The doctor is like, no. Should be fine.
You're just being paranoid. Nothing really happening. It was around the time when COVID was just appearing in the headlines. So I'm like, yeah. Maybe it's sad.
Maybe he's unwell. Alright. Okay. Three weeks in, and he's he dropped about ten, eleven kilos, which is, like, what, maybe 20, and that almost small little boy looks really gone.
Yeah.
Keep going back to the doctor, and they're like, alright. Cool. If you insist, we'll do some tests. But look. He he looks okay.
I'm like, no. He doesn't look okay. And, yeah, the reports come. They they miss the most obvious. They don't check for sugars or anything else.
And I'm like, go in the evening for the review. Actually, like, look. You know what? I'll give you a referral. Maybe now a couple of weeks, he'll be fine.
But then if not, take him to a pediatrician just to keep your mind at ease. We come home. I'm like, no. Let's go to the ER. Something's not right.
Now my mind went in a very different direction. And I said three weeks, such a drastic weight loss. Something's not right. Let's go to the ER. I'm sure I'll get some support there.
Described the symptoms to the triage nurse. And, like, in thirty seconds, they literally grab hold of him, and he they I remember the words they say. Things like get get the ER bed ready, endo on call. I'm like, what the hell is happening here? And yep.
That's just history. We were in DKA.
DKA at Diagnosis — Hours From a Coma4:39
Hey. Going into the hospital, what did you think was wrong with them? What were you imagining?
Oh, so I had I had a few friends of mine while screwing up who had some aggressive cancers and, like, literally disappeared from the face of earth. So that was the first thing that came to my mind that, oh, what's going on here? Oops. I'm sorry. I swear.
But oh. You can can swear if you want. Don't worry.
Sorry. So, look, honestly, that was on my mind. And as a teenager, I had a friend of mine who, again, four weeks, brain some some brain tingle and goodbye. Yeah. That was really driving me nuts.
And so when they said it's not that and it's diabetes, I actually sighed relief that, okay. We can manage this.
Okay. Where, where you where do you live?
I'm we're currently in Australia.
Okay. How is the how how do you find the health care there?
Good. When when you go to the point wherein you go to the ER and it's a really life threatening situation, damn good. But for anything else, you need to you need to have really good insurance cover, to be able to afford private. Otherwise, for anything that's not life threatening, you're waiting too long.
Okay. Alright. Well, that sucks. So okay. Well, they, was he in DKA?
I mean, is it a thing you found pretty quickly? What was this day like on Monday?
Look. His sugars were 44. His ketones were past four. Yeah. They said, look.
He he was probably hours away from coma, and they weren't actually interested in getting his sugars down as much as they were interested in normalizing his potassium levels. Yeah. Because that's what was going in the towards the dangerous territory.
Right. I think how do they talk about, like, like, you're acidic, right, or something like that? Or there's something they have to Yeah.
And and if they bring the sugars down too soon, the electrolyte imbalance can actually have a more negative impact on the body. Mhmm. And so I think over a span of about maybe the first seventeen, eighteen hours, they got him down to twenties.
Okay.
It was a very gradual trickle down.
Yeah. I for people listening who don't know, 44, millimoles is just about 800. Yep. Yeah. So for for you in American and other places.
So yeah. And how long do you think it had been going on for?
I retrospectively think it was going on for at least seven, eight months.
Oh, wow. That's
Yeah. So he, he went overseas, for two weeks by himself, school camp, two weeks to Japan. That photo that I'd taken on, at the airport on the day, oh my god. He had that gaunt look. And I which is why he didn't have a honeymoon period at all because he was running literally on empty on this file.
Do you with hindsight, would should you I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. I'm just trying to understand the depth of it.
No. 100%. I should have.
You should have seen something.
You don't even have 100%. But the thing is he's such an active kid, and and I think he was bouncing back. And the activity now on hindsight, when I understand that there is insulin sensitivity that comes out like crazy when you're so active, he his pancreatic cells were, I think, getting a lot of, rest just for the activity driven insulin sensitivity.
A lot of people talk like that. Like, I was super active. I think it bought me more time, that kind of thing. Jeez. How did he take it at 11 years old?
Okay.
So
the diagnosis part of it, I think he took it pretty brave. He he started his shots immediately. He's like, no. No one's no one's touching me. I'm doing all the shots myself.
And the the only one who was allowed to basically interact and manage was me. So he and I had a really good wavelength even prior to diagnosis, and it's only strengthened since then on. But look. Going back to school, we tried to keep his routines as normal as possible. We continued with soccer because that was his life.
The only question he asked the endo the following day is, will I be able to play soccer? And he's like, yeah. You'll be able to do whatever you want, including flying a plane. I don't know why he said that back then, but he said, yeah. You'll be able to do whatever you want.
And that's what gave him the confidence that, okay, it's not the end of the world. I'll be able to get back to the field. So that told me that come what may, soccer needs to be a part of his life. So I need to work this out to the point that he continues business as usual for him.
Definitely easier than getting him an airplane. That's for sure.
Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. But the the thing is it happens at such high frequency. It's like he's trailing six days a week sometimes.
Right. Right. Hey. Does that put it into his head? Like, you said you don't know where that came from when the doctor said even fly a plane because they're trying to pick something that they think of as, that people think they can't do with type one.
But does your son now talk about being a pilot ever? Oh, never. Never. Okay. Alright.
I just I'm wondering how many doctors are making little type one pilots by telling them stuff like that.
Not at all. He's like, I'm gonna, earn all this, ridiculous amount of money, and I'm gonna be flying business class. I'm like, dream on, pal. Come on. Get the bloody ball and the goal first.
Yeah. Just you know, why don't you work on this soccer thing? And once we do this, we'll move up to something else.
Yes. Exactly right.
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But did you know that if you don't see the email and you're set up for this, you have to set it up. They don't just randomly call you. But I'm set up to be called if I don't respond to the email because I don't trust myself a 100%. So one time I didn't respond to the email and the phone rings at the house. It's like ring, you know how it works.
And I picked it up. Was like, hello? And it was just the recording. It was like, US Med. Doesn't actually sound like that, but you know what I'm saying.
It said, hey. You're, I don't remember exactly what it says, but it's basically like, hey. Your order's ready. You want us to send it? Push this button if you want us to send it.
Or if you'd like to wait, I think it it lets you put it off, a couple of weeks or push this button for that. That's pretty much it. I push the button to send it, and a few days later, box right at my door. That's it. Usmed.com/juicebox or call (888) 721-1514.
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Why Priya Came On — Normalcy Does Return12:45
Well, what made you wanna come on the podcast?
A couple of things I wanted to talk about. As I see, like, reflecting on my own experience, in the initial diagnosis phase or yeah. And when I say initially, it goes on for the first two, three years, till you wrap your head around so many things, was the uncertainty. And how do I put it? You see all these posts online, and you're like, oh my am I ever gonna get there?
And I just wanted to provide my insights on, yes, you're gonna get there. It's not gonna be pretty. It's gonna be ugly. It's gonna have dark circles. It's gonna have what the hell am I doing kinda days.
But then, yes, you do get there, and normalcy does return.
It's like running a like running a marathon with no shoes, and you're and you're bloody and and exhausted. You pooped your pants a little bit, but, you know, you get you get to the end, and you're like, I did it. How about that? Oh my gosh. Yeah.
How long do you think it took you to get to a place where you felt like even that you were kinda cresting that hill? Like, thinking, like, oh, maybe there's some, like, light at the end of this tunnel.
It came in phases, to be honest with you. When we were on MDI, I think, we had some really good control, that got some confidence in. Then we moved on to different kinds of pumps that got some more autonomy in. I think maybe around the two or a three year mark is when, things started, like, you know, this is it. It's not going anywhere.
So
Two or three two or three years?
Yeah.
Okay. So Well, oh, let's talk about the time leading up to that then. Leading up to two or three years, how how did you feel? Like, can and was it in did it happen in sections? Did you progress once in a while, or was it just one drudgery that you can't tell one minute from the next?
No. It wasn't definitely one drudgery stretch over time. For me, I was a primary caregiver, so it was the constant exhaustion of holding the fort and managing decisions, managing the household. That's what got to me, I think. Seeing the toll that was sometimes, taking him by surprise.
I think the first year, we we breezed through. And not having a lot of honeymoon period was kind of better because the honeymoon and the lows were really throwing us off. But I reckon in combination with COVID, all the shutdown, being in social isolation is what didn't go well for my son. Okay. And that drove him to a point wherein it was like, that's it.
I don't think I wanna continue this anymore.
The Hardest Chapter — His Letter Asking for Help16:05
Did he that was Did he feel suicidal at points?
Yeah. Really?
He did.
Wow. So Did And that took me by surprise. Sorry.
No. No. No. I'm sorry. I didn't realize that the conversation will go this way.
So he's 11. He's diagnosed right at the beginning of COVID. Right at the right around the point where my wife was telling me, there's people sick overseas. I think we're all gonna have it one day, like, that that time. And then and then what do you mean by the like, what what what parts do you think got to him?
Was it the psychological, I don't want this to be my life, or was it more about the process of what to do? Were people making fun of him? Do you think do you think he even would have felt any of that stuff if he was out moving around the world? How I mean, you've obviously had time to think about it. I'm wondering what you've come up with.
Yeah.
Look. I think if he continued business as usual, it wouldn't have had that impact on him, But his routines were taken so look. This diagnosis does cause kids to mature overnight. They take the autonomy away from the kids. And a teenager or a preteen, they're all about autonomy.
They're all about making decisions themselves. And for an active kid to not be able to get up and run after a ball because he's got oodles of iob, that was something I think that got to him. Again, we couldn't step out. We had some ridiculous restrictions about five k is not here, not there. We had more shutdowns than I think any other state in the world Mhmm.
Which I think was a big contributor to him withdrawing in a shell
Yeah.
At that point in time.
Yeah. Australia really didn't mess around. Right? They you guys were you were stuck in your house. You went outside.
The cops came and got you. Right?
Yeah. Well, maybe that's a story that went out, but, yeah, it it pretty close.
Yeah. Okay. Well, it's it that's how it felt, though. You really felt like you couldn't leave your house. Like, I used to go out all the time.
You you know, like, you'd, like, go for a ride or you'd go to a store that you had to go to or something like that and, know
Look. There were instances that people were dropping on each other, which was pretty. But eventually, people just got fed up and, started doing what they were doing, but that that took its own sweet time.
Yeah. It certainly did. So in that time, he's isolated in your house. Also, an only child. Right?
Yeah. Then you and your are you married?
Yes. I was back then. So yep.
Okay. Well, we took care of him. But but, like, but but so so so you I hate you're laughing because that is what happened. Okay.
Stop it.
I can't wait to find out how COVID ruined that. But but so but the three of you are in that house by yourself, and then and he's got nobody his age even. And you two are probably working from home. Is that right? Or is one of you working from home?
One of, so I had a bit of flexibility back then, but then we were primarily site based. So we continued going in and out, trying to manage our shifts in such a way so that someone was at home at all points in time.
Yeah. Yeah. That's not good. I have a an acquaintance who, as soon as COVID hit and the lockdown happened, he said to me, I'm gonna get divorced. And I thought and I was and I I thought he was joking.
You know what mean? Like, I thought he was being like, oh, no. We're gonna get trapped in the house, and we're just not we're gonna fight. This guy had been married forever and ever and ever. Like, he was older.
You know? And I couldn't figure out what he meant, but it turns out what he meant was is that the ladies he had on the side probably weren't gonna understand that he couldn't come out anymore, and then that was gonna become a problem. And he didn't feel like he was gonna be able to not do it, and then eventually he'd get caught. And by the way, all that happened. So Oh my
Classic. Love it.
It's so funny, like, when something like, you know, COVID hit. Like, I was, right away, was, oh my god. Where how are we gonna get our food? What are we gonna do? And it's fun to think that some people are, like, how am I gonna get to my ladies?
And, like, isn't my wife gonna notice now when I call these girls? And, like, if I can't go to work and I'm not gonna anyways, is that what happened to you or what happened to you?
Okay. Going back to no. Nothing of that.
Okay. You
mean the relations shift side or what are we talking about here?
Nothing that much fun happened to you.
No. No. Nothing of that sort happened.
Alright. Sorry. So when so what could you see happening? Like, did you over focus on him? Was he spending too much time thinking about his diabetes?
Do think he had spent too much time in his own head?
I think it was the latter spending a lot of time in his own head withdrawing, and not not being his usual self. And and, you know, as a parent, like, you know, what's what's the what what does normal look like? What are the extremes? And then when you're going past the extremes and, look, I'm very grateful that we we had good communication to begin with, and he he actually wrote a letter to me. And he said, look, I don't think I can talk to you, but I wanna tell you something.
And could you please read this when I'm not when I'm in one of my online classes, etcetera? And I'm like, yeah. Sure. And that sinking feeling when you have this chat, you're like, oh, I don't know what am I getting into. Yeah.
And that's pretty much it what it was. And he had described it that, like, this is what I'm thinking, so on and so forth. And I don't mean to, but I don't think I can continue anymore. I I, that was probably one of the worst days in my life.
I would think. Yeah. Preet, he was 11 when this happened?
No. He was probably around 12, 12.
Okay. By then. So he had been been with us now for a year, year and a half. And Yep. I knew
that's when it hit him.
Such an articulate thing to do at that age. Like, how do he Yeah. I you know, how do you know to do that, do you think?
I have no clue. See, he's he's always been quite, a mature soul. We call him the, old man at home. Okay. And he's always been very sensitive, very thoughtful, and this was his way to, I think, ask for help because he somewhere obviously didn't wanna execute that, and he didn't he was he was covering it up.
He was holding the fort.
What Priya Did Next — Support, Therapy, Stepping Back22:40
Right. Right. What did you do? Like, when when you mean, after you read that, I imagine you cried. But then after that, what did you do?
I reached out a couple of girlfriends, type one moms that we used to talk to, literally 2AM at nights when we were doing our finger pricks and not getting the right outcomes. And I I reached out to them and said, this is what I'm dealing with. What do I do here? Got a bit of support from them. Honestly, what I did from their own reprioritized everything, took a backseat, focused on them, started reading up things, started looking at therapy options, realized we don't have good therapists over here.
At least back then, we didn't have a lot of therapists easily available. COVID made things even more harder. We found a therapist in US, and we consulted him online just to get things under control. Wow. I quit my job at that point in time and took another job, which gave me a full 100% work from home option.
Okay. And I needed to be there Yeah. Just to ensure safety till the time we navigate through this phase.
Yeah. Did this I'll be serious now about the other thing, but did this put a strain on your marriage?
Not this in particular, but I would say chronic diagnosis does put a strain on caregivers, partners. Right? Because we're we're constantly in that operational phase of cup counting of your whatever. I mean, so many other variables that throw that. I don't think, we take time to think about ourselves and what do we need Mhmm.
As a as a couple.
I remember being in the hospital a few days into Arden's diagnosis, and we were in some class. I don't know if it was carb counting or just, you know, like an educational class. Mhmm. And I realized that that all the moms were sitting around. There's a big conference.
A lot of people had been diagnosed, and I would bet you there were eight families there. And, like, all the moms were sitting around the table, and the husbands were standing behind them. And I was seated at the table. My wife was stood behind me. I real and because because I was a stay at home dad at the time, and I and that I I didn't realize that in the moment.
Actually, it's a a thing that struck me later. But we walked out of that room after getting the, you know, I don't know, the education we got, And we're walking through the hallway going back up to Arden's room in the hospital, and my wife says, do you think she'll be able to have a baby? And she was only she was only two. And I said, I don't know. Do you think we're gonna get divorced?
That's that that's that's how it felt when we walked out of the of of the education. You you know? Anyway, it it just it's such a shift for every every every direction your brain works in, everything you think is happening in your life, etcetera, just all stops and and and fractures and and goes into a million different directions. So my question is is do you think prior to diabetes happening, do you think this is ever a note you would have gotten from him? Like, if he doesn't get type one, does he write that letter to you?
I don't think so. No. I honestly don't think so. He's quite a fun loving, resilient guy, active out and about. But, look, not not wanting to talk about
About that. You know?
That.
You know what? Can you tell me, though, before we move on, like, what do you know what part of it what part of it was troubling him? And, like, how and what did you do to, like, to mitigate it?
Freedom, Autonomy, and AndroidAPS26:28
So, what I realized is the as we kept talking about it, he had made peace with the fact that this is him, but not totally because he needed the the freedom to be able to do what he wants to do. Okay. And the and he wasn't getting that and was being held back. And, obviously, look, we would have had some conversations to say, okay. No.
Not yet. You've got so much IOB, so on and so forth. And maybe, we need to start planning things better. And, again, when you're exhausted, you're the most articulate Mhmm. Or emotionally aware people around each other and go goes both ways.
I think, communication was the key for me here to keep talking. Let's let's talk what's happening, what's what's going on, name it, and let's let's try to work, it out. For him, it was freedom to be able to do. And that's where I think we we took the next step and went into the algorithm side of things and the DIY side of things. And I would say taking that burden off him, putting it on autopilot I actually slept after three years for the first time, three, three and a half years once the loop not the loop.
Sorry. Android APS was running. Yeah. Was a different person after sleeping.
Yeah. I know.
So, yeah, that's that whole cumulative effect just changes you as a person.
I try to tell people, and I don't think anybody believes me when I'm saying it sometimes. You you know, like, it really does just creeps up on you. You don't feel it coming. And then one day, you are just a vastly different person than you were before. You're having very strange reactions to things, and the whole time you think it's reasonable.
Really is like it's not you you don't think, oh, I'm acting crazy right now or it's just not how it feels. You know? The the lack of sleep thing is is is very, very impactful. So you got Because
you are in
Go ahead.
I'm sorry. Hugo?
No. No.
No. I was saying because you're in a crisis mode, actual and perceived. You're throwing your body in a crisis mode as well Mhmm. Just by running on empty. And it it all has a magnified impact.
It doesn't have to be that bad, but the thing is we don't create as much awareness. And and I I would say these things need to be a part of the diabetes care plan, not just just managing your highs and lows. Parents need to have their own care plan for them to consider what are you gonna be doing. This is what you're gonna be coming up with.
Sure. You know, otherwise, everything just kinda falls apart and your life heads off in a direction that it doesn't need to. But you but you do have to be aware of it. And and and I think the awareness being upfront is helpful because by the time you get exhausted, I don't know how you're even supposed to think about that part. You you know, like, how do you start how do you start looking after your mental health after you're exhausted?
It's it's it's you know, it it adds another layer.
It's counterintuitive.
Yeah. It certainly certainly is. So okay. Well, you said you got a therapist in The US. Is he still seeing the therapist, or is that a thing that was just took care of something and you and you move forward?
I think it was just at that point in time to help us tide over that period. And we we started then doing work ourselves on what matters, what doesn't matter. And I I think since then, we've we've been on the bend.
Okay. Yeah. And you did you keep your work situation the way it was? Did you decide that was the way to do it?
No. I went loopy working from home. So after things, more loopy, let's say. Yeah.
No, Scott. I lost my mind. Thank you for asking. Yeah. So You head back to work at some point?
Yes. Absolutely. Because I think as much as I say I'm an introvert person, I still need to bounce off people's energies. We need to see people. I mean, after all, we are social beings.
So Yeah. Yeah. I had to once the lockdowns were lifted, he went back to school, had some structured routines back. I'm like, alright. Cool.
Now I can back off. Mhmm.
Okay. Oh, it's awesome. And he does well for himself. I imagine he manages his own diabetes mostly?
Yeah. I of now, he I would say I am maybe 20 or 30% involved. It's all on him, and he's like, no. I got it. We're fine.
Yeah. That's awesome. What is he still using Android APS?
He is. He is. And I don't wanna change.
Yeah. It works well. You like it. Yep. Awesome.
Awesome. With that is that with Dexcom or Libre?
With Dexcom.
Dexcom. Okay. Oh, that's cool. So if I asked him now to describe his life with diabetes, do you think he'd just say like, how do you think he'd he'd characterize it?
He'll just roll his eye up and be a typical teenager. Like, what's there to talk about it?
Yeah. Nothing here. That's pretty cool. That's it. You know what?
That's really great, isn't it? To to see how far he's come. Yeah. Yeah. Yep.
How Mom Is Doing — and Letting Teens Learn31:41
About you how about you though? Like, what's the what's the mental health aspects for you? Like, he he says just diabetes, but do you do you do you have you gotten to feel that way, or are you in a position where you still do you mourn something? Where are you at with all that?
Look. I think the mourning part, has dwindled a fair bit, but it's it's never gonna go, is it? No. It'll be so. You you never, you don't give birth to a child thinking, okay.
This is gonna be the first eleven years is gonna be awesome, and after that, I'm going to be
A zombie?
The mom to a
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. A zombie and a mom to a type one. But, look. And and again, that's that's life. It doesn't come as a straight line.
So I wouldn't say I'm mourning, but, yes, it does hurt. Some days, it does creep up on me.
Right. Yeah. I I find it's when something happens that it just feels, like, wholly unfair maybe or that, like, you see something happening to her that I just think, like, oh, this isn't right. You you know? And and then that feeling when you get to the end of it where you're like, oh, there's nothing I can do about this.
Just you know? Yeah. And then it all becomes about how you manage your your expectations and your you know, every and everything else that comes with that. It's a it's a balancing act. I don't think it stops.
I mean, if it I hope it makes people feel a little better to know that it's probably a thing that you'll recalibrate every once in a while. You know, kind of Yeah.
It's sorry. It's just like, literally, you know, every four and a half minutes is gonna be five minutes, flick of a wrist. Okay. You know what? It's trending well.
Okay. Continue business as usual. No further action required.
It'll be okay? It'll be okay? We just had a conversation, like, yesterday where we were heading out and I said, hey, Arden. Listen. I don't really wanna get in the middle of your business here.
I said, but, yeah, that pump site is is going bad. And, you know, it's gonna expire in, like, six or seven hours anyway. You know, we're we have this whole day. We're planning. There's food later.
I really think, you know, you should change your pump. And she's like, you're wrong. And, like, there's part of me that's just like, I I know I I'm a 100% sure that I'm right. And I and I and I know that I know why I know all the excuses or reasons she's gonna come up with about why I'm wrong. And I ended up I ended up being right.
And there's no joy that comes from that at all. Like, all I found myself thinking is I wish we did not have to have that conversation.
Yeah.
You know? Feels like it takes a little piece out of our relationship every time every time we do.
But, honestly, Scott, I think, they they need to go through that experience. Like, you've you've seen that that pattern for, I don't know, thousands of times. I've seen that pattern maybe a few hundreds of times, and you you you can preempt what's coming. But the thing is, as a part of handing over the reins to them, they need to start seeing these patterns and say, okay. You know what?
This is what happened, and mom was right, and this is what happened. Thus, let me act now rather than wait. Two minutes now is gonna save the entire day. Right. Not just day I'm about.
It was gonna be this. I asked that, by the way. I was yeah. I Yeah. But it's hard not to say, like like, I know I'm right or trust me.
Like, it's all that. It's just kinda difficult. You just sorta go, like, you know, like, okay. Well, we should do it anyway, you know, and let's see how it goes. Mhmm.
It's but I'm sorry. I cut you off. You're gonna say something.
No. I was just about to say, I think one of the best things, we as parents can do is also to step back because, ultimately, they need to start learning and owning the space depending on, obviously, age and other variables related. And when it comes to some nonnegotiables, we are still the parents, but I think these small experiences build a lot of confidence in them as well.
Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I think so too. And and I take your point. Like, they I have those experiences, so I see it coming a mile away, but she needs to have them too.
Or Mhmm. Or she's not gonna see them coming a mile away. And one day she and I and I know she will. By the way, she you know, taken out of context, I don't know how this would seem. She's doing fantastically.
You know? And
A 100% sure she is.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm I'm thrilled how well she's doing. But it's tough too because then sometimes when you bring something up, all that I'm thrilled about how great you are, it gets lost.
You know what I mean? And and and everything feels like, oh, I'm I make mistakes or nobody believes in me or, like, you'd be surprised how quickly it could, like, slip into that direction. So really something is your son still playing sports?
He is.
He's and and how does he manage on his own pretty well, I guess?
Soccer With as Little IOB as Possible36:28
So the key that we've learned, thanks to the podcast, is, going into Bazel, going into a game with as little IOB as I can.
Mhmm.
Especially when it's the practice sessions, very little IOB. And when it's a hard game, I'm on the sidelines using his phone and bolusing. So And and that that really sorry. You go?
You said even especially in practice sessions, you mean because the the adrenaline is not the same as it is during a game?
That's right. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. It's it's hilarious to see, like, he's he's going for the run.
So he's he plays a and a winger position. And then he's going in literally for the kill, and he doesn't get it right, and the coach is shouting. You can see the straight arrow up in the next refresh. It is so hilarious to see that. And I say that I'm not a main person, but I'm like, okay.
I I should have expected that, and I should have done something about it.
At least you know he's trying. He he's out there and he cares. Right? Putting some real effort into it.
Yeah. He
will he leave for university, or what's the plan moving forward?
So he actually wants to go overseas and have a go at soccer. So that's, and the only bargaining point is, okay. Complete your year 12, get your VCE done, and then let's talk about it.
But is he that good, or is he just delusional?
Okay. This is be going online, but I would say, look. There are many other better people there. He he wants to try his luck.
That's okay. Something good about that.
He he's not bad. He's not bad. Yeah. But then, I think he wants to take a punt.
Okay. I'll tell you right now. I've said this before. I don't think he'd mind me saying it. My son was younger.
If you looked at the teams he played on and said, hey. You know, pick the kids who are gonna play college baseball for four years. You I don't think you would have chosen. You know? And you you don't you don't know what's gonna happen, especially when they grow, like, at the end and that Yeah.
You know, to get that that whole, like, man physique going when they're 18 or 19. There's a lot changes. So very, very cool. Well, good
for him. It's just I I'm like, let's see.
Yeah. Is that a thing you actually think you'd let him do?
Look. I'll have to cut the cord at one point in time. Yeah. And, I don't know.
Chris, like, just
hope he's not
that good. I maybe
Hello. Maybe.
I'm just waiting for him to figure it out, Scott. That's all.
He's gonna hate me when he
hears this. Of course not. No. No. I I think he should you know, people should follow their you know, like, it's easy to tell people to follow their dreams.
There's part of me that would tell you maybe pick something you're good at and do that. But, you know, if you have the opportunity to follow a dream, I don't see the harm in that at all. You know? Yeah. My son says over and over again, he's not sure he would've went to college without baseball.
And it's something that's served him very well since he's done it. So, you know, it would have changed the course of his life greatly. You just gotta follow your heart a little bit. You know? So you and I I feel like you and I have known each other online for a long time.
Is that true?
That is 100% true. Yeah. I have reached out to you so many times. You've you've pointed me to the right, episodes, etcetera. So yeah.
Definitely. I have been in the group as well for some time. Yeah. Not not as active off late due to a few things, but then definitely been there.
Finding the Podcast — 'I Wish I'd Come Sooner'40:02
Awesome. What what how did you find the like, what value did you draw out of the podcast or the group or both?
Sure. So I'll I'll start with your first question. How did I find, maybe about a couple of months into diagnosis, there was another kid at school, and his mom reached out to me and said, hey. If you're not doing anything, let's meet up at school on a Sunday. I've learned about your diagnosis.
I'm also type one mom, but totally understand if you are not available. Oh my god. I I grabbed the opportunity. I'm like, wow. I can talk to someone.
Let's go. Yeah. Was meant to be maybe half an hour coffee catch up lasted for nearly three and a half hours. And she, at that point in time, spoke to me about this Chewsocks podcast. And I made a note of it, didn't think too much about it as you normally do.
Right? And then when you don't get the desired outcomes, and then you're chasing numbers, and you're getting or you're doing fantastic when your blood sugars after breakfast is 16. And they're like, no. Don't do about anything. It's just the excitement of going back to school.
You're at your wit's end. And I'm like, alright. Cool. Let's see what this podcast is all about because I'm not getting what I want over here. And I know these levels are not okay.
And that's how I literally came to the podcast out of sheer desperation. And as cliched as it may sound, I wish I'd come there sooner.
Well, Well, that's very nice. But I think that's what happens to most people because who who in their right mind is saying to themselves, you know what I wanna do? Wanna listen to a podcast about diabetes. It's gonna be awesome. Nick, that's not a thing that you I you know, I that that that pathway of somebody told me about it and I didn't look.
And then one day, I got so desperate that I thought, I guess I'll try a podcast about that. And then you find it and it ends up being the thing that that that other person promised you, then you have that feeling of, oh, I should have come here sooner. But, you you know, like
100%.
Yeah. It's just how it works, really. Like, it I think you'd have been insane if you would have left that meeting and gone, oh, I should go home immediately and start listening to a podcast.
I Today, if someone talks to me about any podcast, I'm like, let's go. But that was the first time I was even getting introduced to podcast. I didn't have the time to listen to people talk about things. Oh, that's interesting. Then.
Yeah. That's interesting. Also, it's interesting to me too because I've been I've been listening to radio or podcasts for so long that I there are days when I think about this and I think, like, this must almost be over. I've gotta be at the end by now. You you know?
But, like, instead, I I meet people who are like, oh, I just started listening to podcasts recently. I didn't I didn't I don't think I properly realized that there are new people coming into it all the time. And, you know, I I started measuring it against how long I've been listening to stuff. But that that's that's great. I actually think I drag a lot of people into podcast that don't normally listen to them as well.
Because I I seem to have a lot of listeners who when you ask them, like, what other podcasts you listen to, they're like, I I don't really listen to another one. So, you know, I don't think they were gonna find their way to podcast without the diabetes in some in some situations. Anyway, well, that that's great. Did he like, when you learn something and you wanna try it, did you just go try it? Did you explain to him what you were doing, or has that changed as his age has changed?
So he has never heard your podcast. I'm sorry. Oh, I've heard You yeah. But, it's like, I trust you. You do whatever is best for me.
And then I started trickling, that information bite sized pieces to him. So he's without having even heard your podcast, he knows exactly, like, what your core principles are and, what we need to start looking when things are not going our way.
Awesome. So you think if he and I sat down and started talking, he'd he'd know a lot of the things I was gonna say to him already?
A 100%. Absolutely.
That's great too.
One thing I think
Go ahead, Jolene. Sorry. No. My fault. Go ahead.
Basal Testing — the Unsung Hero44:16
One thing, I'd like to call out to people, is I can't stress enough on Basils and Basil testing. And how you get to Basil testing is another conversation. But then the when you think things are not going your way and if you can get your Basil's right, Basil's literally the unsung hero here.
Yeah.
It does most of your heavy lifting throughout the day.
100%. Basil's not right. Nothing else is gonna work. Right?
Nothing's gonna work. Absolutely. And and the moment we'll have a couple of weeks of things are not looking off, okay. You know what? Step on the scales.
You've grown. You've widened. You've whatever kind of thing. Alright. Cool.
Time to do a Basal test Mhmm. And let's get this back here online.
Gotta just get the settings right, and then everything just works so much better. Hey. There's something in here making noise. Give me a second. I'm gonna I'm gonna move something out of the room.
I'll be right back. Okay? Sure. I'm only a couple of weeks away from having an honest to god recording studio. I'm pretty excited.
So that Oh, indeed. That's amazing.
Yeah. Yeah. I built I I I had a we had a basement that wasn't finished, and I got it sectioned off and and, you know, put rooms in and everything, and they just painted it. So I have to go pick out some carpeting to put down and getting closer. So I'm getting excited.
Nice. Yeah. So Excited. Sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off.
But sorry. We were talking about Basal testing and settings, and you can keep going.
Yeah. Sure. So, honestly, if there's one key takeaway people can use from this, recording would be looking to basal testing, work out your creative ways to get your kids too fast, for however long, and you will reap the benefits of that long term.
Yep. You Yeah. Got you have to have your settings right. There's just no there's just no way around it. You can't you can't be using too much or too little insulin and then saying the pump doesn't work.
It's because of what I ate. It's it's it's until your settings are right, you're not gonna know what if there's a problem. There might not even be one. And No. True.
Yeah. He can't how does he do with pre ballsing? Is he good about it?
At home, yes. Because we we do have a structure, but then when he's outside, he pretty much manages it himself. He'll go to the city with his friends, etcetera. You obviously don't get the same level of outcomes, and that's okay. I mean, like, life over numbers is where we've landed on.
How'd you figure that out? What happened that brought you to that?
He's also a kid. Right? And he's also a teenager. So he he's like, yeah. I'll I got it.
You can see my levels. You know what's happening. I've got a drink. I'm not gonna go low.
Okay. Just just sensual just sensible, like, ideas about how to keep yourself safe and the knowledge that he's gotta live his life. You can't always be just thinking of this constantly. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. That's pretty smart.
Mhmm.
How, does he split time between you and your ex?
No. He's with me all the time.
All the time. Okay. So there's no there's no problem there where one person's doing it one way, that kind of thing?
Oh, no. Not at all. No. I I look. My ex, we we are in good amicable talking terms.
So and there wasn't ever an issue with regards to management where he had his different thoughts. So that way, we were quite on the same page.
Oh, very nice. Yeah. I I can't imagine how difficult that is to, you know, to have a partner who's fighting against every one of those decisions, especially when they're happening constantly, you know, know, over and
over again. True.
It's really interesting. True. Okay. Well, what else do you have? What what made you want I don't wanna ask it like that.
I feel like I I'm in a weird position where I feel like I know you, and I know I don't. So but it's it's it's a little awkward to me. Like, I feel like I have, like, just a history of, like, chatting with you back and forth in different places and getting messages and stuff like that that, that other people don't have. What else what am I not asking you, I guess?
Puberty, Enzymes, and Kids vs. Pills48:23
Okay. So puberty has its own challenges. And just when you think you know diabetes, your basic rules stay the same, but then it throws so many different flavors that you you need to be quite open to trying different things out just because, the your Basils were right maybe two months ago. You may have had another growth spurt, and thus another basal test is not gonna kill you. It's only gonna make things better.
It it throws it throws golf balls in ways which is quite different, and and I would assume it's it's quite different for girls versus boys because with girls, it's cyclical. So you can somehow I I and I say that without having any knowledge that you may be able to work out a pattern from week to week, but there are no patterns when it comes to boys. And and something just hits you like a ton of bricks, and you're like, why? What? And then you forget, okay.
He's also a boy who's growing up, and it's not just diabetes.
Yeah. Right. Or he's eating he probably eats a ton. Right? That's that age where they eat a lot.
And Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And and they're getting bigger all the time.
They're building muscle. Like, all that goes into it. There's adrenaline and and, you know, then going out and playing hard at soccer. Like, you know, two things feel like they're probably combating each other at the same time.
Yes. Absolutely. And and then if you throw in weightlifting because now someone wants to become muscular, not just or or not muscular as in beef up a big a big time, but then have that right level of presence, that requires a different management strategy versus being on the field when it's training time versus being on the field when it's game time.
Yeah. Yeah. There's just so many variables. But you're saying it we may I'm imagining that with a with a female, you can almost chart it out at some point. But use your hope, I guess, or your your wonderment.
That's my hope. And and, honestly and look, being a a lady myself, I understand no two bloody cycles are the same, and that has so many other variables. And often think that, oh my god. How's this gonna work out if I had a daughter with type one? And, obviously, that's that's a no.
No. I'm not going there at all.
You're like, you're like, I don't wanna go back. I don't wanna go back to feeling that confused. Not doing that. I'm not doing that anymore. What does he excuse me.
Not what? But does he have any other autoimmune issues himself as his thyroid issues or anything else? Just that.
Just that. We we have tested him for celiac a couple of times just because his tummy symptoms, seem to be persistent. But, look, his his reports come out as normal or not indicative. So Yeah.
Yeah. Hey. You've listened long enough. Did you try the, like, digestive enzymes to see if that helped him?
Yes. And now all the ones that I have ordered, I'm the one who's finishing it because he doesn't want to take these things.
They we're oh, why are kids such a pain in the ass about supplements?
Oh, don't worry.
Oh my god. Every one of them. Except except by the way, let me just say this. Except for my daughter's boyfriend, he just listens. I'm like, here.
Take this. These are good for you. Like, take a bite. He's like, oh, thank you. Takes them every day.
My own kids know what he's doing. Right? He's just trying to be the good boy just so that you are okay with him hanging out with your daughter.
Come on. Gonna make him healthier so that he can. But, of course, that's what he's doing, but I don't why don't they listen like that, I'm saying? Like, how come they're not afraid?
I don't know.
Also, this whole psychology about not being able to take a pill, if I'm not careful, I'm gonna start a podcast just about that to figure out what that's about. Because, man, it's hard to get people to take a pill. Mhmm. You know?
Unless and until they want to, and then usually that happens when you're past mid forties and you're you you find yourself crumbling. You're like, okay. Now what can I lay my hands on?
That's desperation is what that is. Yep. What is that about people like, you know, like, even, like, something simple like vitamin d, vitamin b twelve, something like that. Like, you get a blood test back. Oh, I'm b twelve deficient.
I'll take one of these every day. I don't wanna take one of those every day. What? I don't understand. You went to the doctor because you didn't feel well.
You got a blood test. The blood test told you b twelve. Here's the b twelve. No. Thanks.
I don't I I don't I really don't understand. I think It could
be possibly because you don't see the impact immediately. Right? So it's it's a slow build. It's a slow burns. And in today's time and age when, yeah, our attention span is three and a half seconds now, you want things to happen now.
And your vitamin d and vitamin b twelve is not gonna have an impact today.
It is really difficult to say to somebody if you just take this every day for twelve weeks. You're you're a ranger. Yeah. When you don't know that you're when you don't know you have a deficit because it it drifted away so slowly, how am I supposed to put that kind of effort in taking a pill? Which, by the way, just I don't know.
It seems silly to me. I don't know if it's a generational thing. Don't know how old you are. But, you know, to me, I I the way my brain works is I'm lucky to be in a country where I can afford and be in a situation where I can afford this, a country where I can get ahold of it, a place where I can afford it, the opportunity to use it, like, would I not say yes to that? It it
But Scott, as a 16 year old, would he have taken it?
I don't know. I might have. I think maybe I was like an old man, like, back then. I don't know exactly. I wish I could find out.
I really do. Yeah. Because you're probably right. But, man, it's frustrating still. You you know?
Just take your is it vitamin d? Take the damn thing. So do you think the enzymes were helping him, and he just doesn't wanna take them?
Yeah. Definitely.
Not a little prick. You know what I mean. I
know. Hey. And I end up ordering all these things from bloody your side of the world, so it costs me an arm and a leg and maybe a few pancreatic cells.
Can you just force him to do it? Is there not, like, a a financial could could you, like, hold, like, heating and cooling over his head? Say, how do you like it when the house is nice and cool? Maybe it's not gonna be anymore that you take these enzymes with your food. Or or
Okay. So there is a bit of bribery going on in our life, and I pick and choose my battles. So enzymes are not way up there.
So when you say to him, this stops your belly from hurting, you know we've done this, and that's true. And by the way, here's the, you know, here's the science behind why your body might not be making enough, enzymes to break your food down. And he then experiences the a a relief. Can you have that conversation? Does he cut you off before you have it?
Yeah. He pretty much cuts me off, and he's like, no. Nothing to look here. I'm fine. And then I don't know what the resistance is.
I'm I'm thinking maybe it's not really that bad, which is why he's not coming to the party. And if it was, we would have had a chat about it. So I'm okay. Cool. I'm not gonna push it.
Yeah. I don't know. I think I think for some people, I think they don't want to feel like they need something. You know what I mean? Like, there's, like, that sense of, like, I'm okay.
I'm not broken. I don't need anything. My body does what it's supposed to. I don't wanna think about I don't know exactly, to be perfectly honest with.
Or it could even be that, you know, I like, nah. I don't wanna get get dependent on yet another thing to sustain what should be normally done. It that could be the psyche behind it.
'I'm Not Gonna Cheat' — GLPs and Outsourcing Blame56:01
Yeah. Maybe. I don't know. I I watched another person tell me this weekend that, you know I mean, a person who I look at and I think I think they're just gonna stand up one day and their aorta's just gonna come detach from their heart and they're gonna shut off. And their doctor suggested a GLP to them.
They said, no. I don't I don't I'm not gonna I'm not gonna cheat. Cheat? You're telling me. Yeah.
I know.
What are you talking about? You're gonna die. Like, you know I'm not cheating to stay alive. I I wanna be clear. I'll cheat to stay alive.
I just wanna say I just wanna say that rest
Isn't that the whole point? If you have high blood pressure, you take medications to bring it down. Is it that not cheating then? Mean, don't get that.
I that's the I didn't wanna get too involved in it, but, know Okay.
Fair enough.
Yeah. When I was I was just standing there and I thought
that Do each their own.
A conversation is not gonna go in a positive direction. But no. What a great point. You know? What do you mean cheat?
Do you wear a seat belt? You you know? Like, why cheat? Hey. If you have an accident, you get thrown out the windshield.
That's that's the cost of doing business. That's all. Now you're gonna cheat and wear that seat belt? Cheater. I don't know.
He's talking. I'm like, I don't know what you're saying. I I I mean, there's appears to be no common sense in this conversation. And I'm okay with it when it's a 16 year old doesn't have common sense. This person, 50.
You you know?
Yeah.
So my gosh. Like, get to it. Okay. Well, I'm sorry to I'm you know, listen. I'm I guess I'm not sorry to to know you're having the same exact experience raising a child that everybody else does and that your parents probably had.
Yeah. Exactly. Not the end of the world. It's okay.
Right. Right. It's interesting. It really is. Okay.
Well, I I I liked when I asked you what I have haven't I said because like I said, I feel too comfortable with you. So what else haven't I said?
That's it. I mean, look. I I would just say, guys, focus on yourself. It's okay to take time to replenish, and call it out, ask for help. Yeah.
You don't have to do it by yourself.
So for you personally, sleep was a big deal for you.
100%.
It sounds like you leaned on other people. You sought sought out professional help when it was necessary.
Yep. Uh-huh. Okay. Yeah.
And then for him around the diabetes specifically, basal, make sure your basal and your settings are right. Don't exercise with insulin on board if you can help it. Right? And let him be a kid. Don't don't hold him down too tightly.
No. That's a lot of good lessons you've learned in a short amount of time. Have they helped you in any other parts of your life?
Your podcast and just going through this has actually helped me understand a fair few other things that I would normally not focus on. And and I can't even pinpoint if you ask me for examples, but it's like you're when you're when you're listening to other people and then something clicks and you're like, oh, okay. I haven't thought about x y zed or blah. So your podcast is not just, I think, about diabetes. It's just about life.
It's it's about yeah.
Thank you.
So many other different things.
That's how I think of it too, but I don't know how it comes across other people. You know? I I just think that the conversations about what's going on are valuable to hear because, you know, somebody's having an experience or I'm having one or I've been through one already and you're you haven't been through it yet or you bring somebody else on that has some something to add somewhere. Mhmm. And then, I mean, I think the other thing, if I'm if I'm being honest, is, like, I don't really think you can make a compelling diabetes podcast that's just about diabetes.
Don't know how long could you possibly listen to that for. You you know?
True.
Yeah. And and and you have to be able to, like, see some of the other impacts. And there are so many. There are just so many, like, interesting psychological things that happen to people as a matter of course, and you can see how they impact diabetes or other parts of your life. I I love and I love talking about stuff like this.
I really would start a podcast about why people don't take pills. I don't think anybody would listen to it, but I would be I would be endlessly fascinated by it. Seriously, I'd like to get I'd like to get the guy that said I'm not cheating and just make a podcast with him and talk to him talk to him forever about it. I would I would I would argue him into circles. I I I swear to you, I'd badger him into taking that GLP medication.
Why didn't you do that? It's gonna be fun listening to that. I come on. Let's do it.
That's what you want me to do is get that person on and just beat the hell out of him.
100%. Why not? I mean, get the popcorn out.
Alright. But it I'll just call the podcast, what's wrong with you? And then colon. And then and then and then the topic. And then we'll just make a whole series of what's wrong with you.
And then
Oh my god. Do it. God, do it.
God, listen. I got time. I gotta be honest with you. I do I do. But the problem is you have to have people on with enough you have to have somebody on who is simultaneously unaware of what they're doing and self aware enough to talk about it.
That's a that's a thin Surely. That's a thin line to find people there. You you know what I mean?
Come on. 8,000,000,000 people. You're you're telling me these samples are not walking the planet?
Come on. They are. Alright. So if you're out there listening, what's wrong with you? That's what we're looking for.
This is my new this is my new series. What's wrong with you? And then you bring up oh, this might be a good idea actually for wait a minute. Maybe I was maybe I was kidding and maybe I'm not now. So you pick something you know is wrong that you can't overcome, and then I tell you how to do it, and then we talk about it for a while.
And you see if I can break and see if I can break you from your holding. You know what I mean? Whatever thing
you're holding. Self defeating prophecies, that's been a thing for such a long time.
Mhmm. Okay. Alright. I'm in. I'll do it.
I actually had I had a great conversation with a kid yesterday. He's funny. I called him a kid. He's, like, 29. But but he's been on a couple of times.
Right? He came on a second time. And and the first time he came on, he was talking about pump that he was using. He didn't like how it was working, so he went to another pump and it was gonna be great and everything. Then he then he asked to come back on, and I said, oh, sure.
He comes back on, and and he's trying to tell me how that second pump sucked. So he went to a third pump. And I was like, well, that's the one you're on now? He's like, no. No.
I got rid of that one. That one sucks too. Now I'm trying this one. And I went, hey. And I went, is it possible you're the problem?
And and then we were we were having that conversation and I don't know, maybe fifteen or twenty minutes into it, said, would you mind? Could I talk to you like I'm your father for a second? And he said, I wish someone would.
Oh.
Yeah. And then I just I I don't even think I podcast it with him after that. I think I parented him after that. And he was, like, grateful. It was interesting.
And then sent me a message sent me a message that night. I wish I had it. And with a graph. And he just said, turns out when I do the things I'm supposed to do, this is easier. And it was a nice flat a nice flat graph.
And I was like, yeah. Meanwhile, by the way, with this Internet the way it is, he's running around telling the whole world, you know what pump sucks? This one sucks. That one sucks. This one he was up to five pumps that suck.
He had hit them all. He was on to tell me that the MiniMed seven eighty g sucked. And he only knows that because he tried the Beta Bionics pod and it sucked. And he only knows that because he did Omnipod five and that sucked and he did tandem and that sucked. And I was like, I I I just stopped him.
I was like, because you have to from my perspective, what am I supposed to do? That's a as an adult coming onto a podcast, they wanna talk about how their pump doesn't work right. And inside of ten minutes, I'm like, that's not the problem. But do I say that? You you know what I mean?
Or do I let him, like, ramble on about, like, you know, all the problems he's having with his pump? I just couldn't stop myself. I was like, I don't think that's the problem.
And and then that was a common thread leaving the whole Yeah. You picture.
Yeah. The only thing that's in every one of these stories is you. And, you know, and I see people online all the time. Like, this thing sucks. I'm like, well, listen.
It might not be the greatest, but it certainly doesn't suck. Like, if you're having that much trouble with it, like, it's possible there's some confusion user confusion involved in it. And then it's often just timing an amount of insulin after that. They they just don't have the right settings and they're maybe don't time it well. Don't understand the impact of fat.
That's a big one sometimes. You know? Yeah. That's pretty much it though. But it's interesting the way people's minds run away.
Like, this thing is terrible. The thing doesn't work. I'm like, okay. As I
It's easier to outsource the blame. Right?
Yeah. Outsource the blame? Outsource blame. I wish that had anything to do with your episode. I would definitely call it that.
That's a great that's a great phrase. I might start doing it in my personal life. I mean, outsourcing blame, but but that's it. Hey. One quick question.
Why do Indian men walk with their hands behind their back when they're out on walks?
Oh, I think that's a separate podcast in itself.
But it's a thing though. I'm not wrong. Right? Am I wrong? I'm I'm not I knew I was right because I tried bringing this up once before, and somebody said, don't know what you're talking about.
Said, liar. No.
No. It is. Yeah. Mean, let's let's paint a picture. Droopy shoulders, slight pot belly, lightly looking down with hands on their back.
Okay. Well, yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about. But but but what is but the Sorry.
All you guys out there Sorry. But that's what you're saying.
Podcast is fairly big in India, in case you're wondering. But but no. But the the the hand yeah. I I just I I thought it was cultural at some point, but I don't know what it is. But it's just it's a thing for sure.
And I'm I'm aware. Alright. I'll keep asking till somebody has a real answer. But
I don't have. Sorry.
I like how willing you were to be cruel about it right away.
Hey. Maybe that's counterbalance happening because there's a lot of weight up front, so maybe they're throwing their weight on their hands.
What? Listen. The little round belly is pulling him forward. He's trying to throw his weight backwards with his hands.
Look at you.
I feel like you're talking right to your ex right now, by the way. It's a very, very, very
That may or may not be true.
Wrapping Up — Thank You From Australia1:06:29
Well, did you have a good time? Did was this what you were hoping for?
I I did. Thank you so much. Look. I really wanted to thank you for all that you've done for so many years, and I know you're gonna continue doing that. And the amount of lives you have touched, it's unbelievable.
I mean, honestly, yeah. That that's that's why I wanted to come and say thank you to you. We wouldn't have been where we are
I appreciate it.
Without your podcast.
I appreciate that very much. And I'm very willing to take that because as I told you before we started today, already got yelled at by the Internet today. So I I need a little bit of a bolster. So that was I was it was very nice to hear because I got yelled at today by somebody who I was like, I don't understand what's happening right now. It's like, I like you so much.
I don't know what's going on. But it happens. I I when I first met Isabelle who helps in the in the Facebook group. Mhmm. I told her she was telling me she was being very effusive when I first met her about how much the podcast had helped her as, a newly diagnosed, you know, adult.
And I said, don't worry. One day, you you you'll hate me. And she said, what? I said, everyone does eventually. I was like, I think it's like the I think it's the curse of being, like, a reasonably public person.
Like, you it starts with you know, it starts somewhere at some point it gets to some, like, you know, gratitude or infatuation. And then eventually, I'm gonna say something you don't like and then you're gonna decide I'm gonna ask. I was like, don't worry. It's coming. She goes, no.
I don't think so. Well, now she and I have been doing this together a long time. Maybe it won't be her. But but sometimes it just I feel like, you know, I talk so much. Eventually, I'm gonna say something to make you upset.
And Mhmm. Yeah. You know? So, anyway, it was nice to hear that from you, and I really do appreciate it because
I Look. If people choose to harp on that one thing that didn't sit well with them and choose to ignore the 99 that was good for them, that's a choice. Yeah. And it's okay.
There's nothing you can do about it. I actually you know, I'll tell you can I tell you how I learned that lesson as a younger person? Mhmm. I've I've been fairly clear fairly clear about it, like, the entire time I've been listening to podcast. But I listened to Howard Stern my whole life, like, through high school, like, you know, into my job.
I had terrible jobs where I was listening to the radio all day long. And I'd laugh at all kinds of things he'd make fun of. And then one day, he made fun of being adopted. And I found like that I I I got upset. I was like, oh, that's not funny.
And then I thought, well, wait a minute. I laughed at all the other stuff. Like, right now, there are a bunch of people out there who aren't adopted who are cracking up at this little joke. Like, am I being sensitive or is this not funny? And I I came to the conclusion that I was being sensitive and that that, you know, I had to accept that funny was funny even if it even if it touched me in a way
that yeah.
That that I didn't like. Anyway, it's happened to me in my early twenties, and I I never forgot it. I thought it was an important lesson. I held on to it. So anyway Yeah.
Amazing. And that's your key takeaway. Not many people take, such key learnings from such, and they choose to be grumpy and hold a grudge. And, again, that's a choice.
Yeah. Well, I was very I had plenty of time to think about it. I was standing in a sheet metal shop watching my life drift away. I had plenty of time to think. So I thought if I ever get out of here, I'm gonna need some common sense to get through my life, but maybe I'll start piling it up and see if I can't get out of here.
But, anyway, I I really do I really do appreciate you coming on and for all the support you've given me over the years. And and I'm happy to know that this has helped you and your son, and and I appreciate you sharing that with me. Thank you very much.
Yeah. Thank you so much. I echo the sentiments about the support.
Oh, well, you're wonderful. And tell people you're because it's Australia, it's, like, six. You got on it, like, 05:30 in the morning. So we we appreciate the extra. Also, let me just say to all the no shade on the Australians that can't seem to figure this out, but many Australians missed their recording date thinking it's the following day.
So I appreciate you understanding the calendar. Thank you.
I I kept getting reminders, which was really helpful.
Did the my system did that?
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Look at me. Alright.
I know.
I act like an adult over here. What do you think of that? Anytime I act like an adult, it surprises the hell out of me. So I'm glad that it worked. Thank so much.
A huge thanks to my longest sponsor, Omnipod. Check out the Omnipod five now with my link, omnipod.com/juicebox. You may be eligible for a free starter kit, a free Omnipod five starter kit at my link. Go check it out. Omnipod.com/juicebox.
Terms and conditions apply. Full terms and conditions can be found at omnipod.com/juicebox. This episode of the Juice Box podcast was sponsored by US Med. U s med dot com slash juice box or call (888) 721-1514. Get started today with US Med.
Links in the show notes. Links at juiceboxpodcast.com. I can't thank you enough for listening. Please make sure you're subscribed or following in your audio app. I'll be back tomorrow with another episode of the juice box podcast.
Read the full disclaimer
© 2007–2026 Juicebox Podcast. All rights reserved.
#1908 Every Day Without Diabetes Is a Gift
Every Day Without Diabetes Is a Gift
Three of her four kids have type 1 diabetes. A Montana mom on antibody testing, TZield, and the family motto — every day without diabetes is a gift.
Jump to a moment
- Alarms are a heads-up, not a rule — Scott’s phone alerts at 120 and Arden’s alarm is set at 130 so a small, early correction can turn a rising 130 back into a 90 with less insulin. It was never about “staying under 120.”
- Natalie’s daughter was diagnosed at 11, days after COVID — her instinct to drive an hour to the bigger hospital in Billings, arriving with a 600 blood sugar and severe dehydration, likely saved her daughter’s life.
- Antibody screening found markers in two more of Natalie’s kids. “They say knowledge is power, but knowledge can be a burden” — she wishes the counseling had come before the test, not after.
- TZield (teplizumab) can push off stage 3 type 1 — about two years on average, sometimes far longer after one 14-infusion course — but insurance required her daughter to “fail” an oral glucose test to very specific numbers before covering it.
- The family motto: “Every day without diabetes is a gift.” Natalie’s daughter, the one already on insulin, put it simply — if treatment buys even one more day without diabetes, it’s worth it.
- TZield (teplizumab) — The therapy Natalie's kids are pursuing to delay stage 3 type 1 diabetes
- TrialNet — Free antibody screening for relatives of people with type 1 — how Natalie learned about her other kids
- Friends for Life — The family diabetes conference where Natalie and Scott crossed paths at the fireworks
- Juicebox Podcast Facebook Group — The 83,000-member community discussed throughout this episode (verify URL)
Every word of the conversation
Welcome — Meet Natalie0:00
Welcome back, friends. You are listening to the Juice Box podcast.
My name is Natalie, and I am a type one diabetes mom to three kids with type one diabetes.
Nothing you hear on the Juice Box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. The episode you're about to enjoy was brought to you by Dexcom, the Dexcom g seven, the same CGM that my daughter wears. You can learn more and get started today at my link, dexcom.com/juicebox. The episode you're about to listen to is sponsored by Tandem Moby, the impressively small insulin pump.
Tandem Moby features Tandem's newest algorithm, Control IQ Plus technology. It's designed for greater discretion, more freedom, and improved time and range. Learn more and get started today at tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. Natalie, is nice to have you on the program today.
Thanks for having me.
Oh, it's a pleasure. Are you kidding me? What brings you here? What made you reach out?
You know, honestly, just trying something new, putting myself out there, I guess.
Cool. Well, that's a good reason to do this. And you're you said you're you're up for the ride today. Right?
I am. Yeah. I mean, I'm a little nervous, but, you know, it's it's you. You're easy to talk to.
So Well, no. You you don't understand. You need to go look at social media. I'm a horrible, horrible person. I don't understand what you're saying.
I have read a few things about you lately, but I do try to defend you.
You don't need to, but that's very kind of you. When you defend me, you will just be seen as a cult member.
It is true. And you know what? Honestly, call me a cult member. Mhmm. I'm in.
I you know what's so, Natalie, we'll we'll reveal this in reverse. But I've had an interesting week where I was out in public a couple times meeting people, giving little talks and saying hello and stuff like that. Yeah. And when the first person walks up and says, hey. You know, I just wanna thank you for everything.
You think, that's very nice. And then you look and there's someone standing behind them waiting to talk to you, and you go find that person. And then there's a person behind you and off to the side. People who show up and say, I just want to come out and say thanks. You know, I've I I'm pretty sure I know what you're gonna say on stage, but I wanted to be supportive.
Like, all those things for what you've, you know, what you've done and like, you're standing there trying to, for me, contextualize what what you've done means. This just means that I I bought a microphone and learned how to record myself and said, these are the things I've been noticing and, you know, it kinda grew from there. Anyway, I I think I I I don't even know how I gosh. How do you say this exactly? Because I don't wanna be I feel badly for anybody who's struggling with anything.
Right?
Yes.
But with anxiety or mental illness or or things that, you know, are are just super serious like that that I don't always know that the person struggling realizes they're struggling. And Sure. You know, it sounds kind of probably sounds pompous. Have no idea. But, you know, the the Facebook page, the group takes in people constantly, about a 150, about every 72, we think.
Wow.
And you will pretty quickly see that a lot of people just lurk in the background. Some people speak. Some people are there trying to pimp their businesses. We have to weed those out. There's some people who are trying to take advantage of people.
You weed those out. Luckily, that's few and far between, especially when now I think the group just hit 83,000 members this morning. Right?
Wow.
But once in a while, people pop up and you think, oh, they're struggling with sort some sort of I don't know. We wanna call it mental illness, but they're really struggling. You know? Yeah. You see it.
Like, it's pretty easy to spot, and we try really hard to be even extra supportive of those people, especially when they make posts that are a little rambly or a little Yep. You you know, like like that kind of thing. There's this person that, I don't know, a year ago, a year and a half ago, fit the bill. You know what I mean? And you're like, oh gosh.
I hope I hope this person's okay. We tried so many different ways to support them. And then as always seems to happen, eventually, once once you're not their answer, they turn on you. Does that make sense? Mhmm.
Managing an 83,000-Member Community4:26
Yeah. And then we still try to be supportive. Like, we are not like quick. Not, like, people who are, said something and you're banned. Like, you're really hard.
And there's a great group of people helping with the the board, you know, that I you know, aren't me, and we all kinda have the same vibe, and we're trying really hard to make it a great place for as many people as possible. So people get banned once in a while for being unstable. Like, there's just really no other way to say it. Right? So I I was introduced to one of those people again today through something someone sent to me, and that person indicated that they have an eating disorder and are experiencing multiple mental illness issues
Oh, no.
Because of the podcast.
Oh, no.
But I was like I was like, what now? I was I was like, oh, no. Like, what are all those other tens of thousands of people saying it's good for me? I I I'm spreading mental illness. And my gosh.
Scott. Yeah. Yeah. I was like and by the way, I was not flippant when I first saw it. This is me a couple hours later.
When I first thought saw it, honest to god first reaction, I said, I I I thought the person's name out loud. And I thought, oh, you know, blank. I'm so sorry. You're this is happening to you. You know, like, genuinely because this is a thing I watched happen in the Facebook group.
People tried to be supportive. We tried from different angles. We tried different voices, male, female, like, you know, different perspectives. Really trying to help this person get to something. And by the way, on paper in front of you, they seemed that they were doing really well.
Anyway, you might be wondering how I am spreading mental illness to this person and giving them a needing disorder. Well, it would I am very curious. Yeah. Yeah. Well, no.
No. It's do it with a magic wand and spells I use. Oh, okay. And that's how I got the cult to form. But but no.
No. So it's either a purposeful misreading of something I said or it's a misunderstanding that they didn't get. But if you listen long enough, you'll hear me say that Arden's alarms are set at her high alarm's set at 01:30. Okay. And on my phone, they're set at 01:20.
That's to give you the heads up that something's going up. Yes. It's not because we're trying to stay under 01:20 all the time.
Right.
Alarm Settings, Explained — 120s, 130s, and Small Corrections6:45
Right? And so somebody will hear that then not hear the rest of it. And then Right. Think, well, I have to stay under 01:20.
And Oh, no.
That's just not obviously, it's obviously not what I've said. I've said it so many times, it would be hard to misunderstand me on, like, by mistake. But whatever.
Right.
And Right. And contextually, I'd be happy to lay out Natalie right now. By the way, you'll get to talking in a minute. But
Oh, no. I'm loving this.
Oh, good. Oh, you're having fun? Good.
Because because actually, one one of my questions for you was how do you manage the Facebook group so well?
Oh, well, we'll get to it. Oh, well, I guess I I didn't know that was one of your questions, but I guess that's where we're starting.
You're not managing it well if you're causing melt
mental illness. Well, you know, when you're spreading mental illness the way I am, it's it's more difficult. So, anyway, my the way I think about the numbers, just, you know, very simply and candidly, is I like to know at 01:20 because I like to have a heads up to know that it's possible that Arden's gonna hear about a 01:30 soon. Right? Yes.
And then and then from there, okay, at 01:30, she gets alarmed. Now why? Because it's much easier to turn a 01:30 back into a ninety with a smaller amount of insulin than it is to wait till your alarm goes off at two hundred or 02:50 or wherever else put people put alarms. Right? Because then suddenly you're using more insulin, more insulin.
It makes it, more likely that you're gonna get low later. You'll get misbalanced between the food in your system and the insulin that you've put in, whatever. Right? I just find it's like a kind of a law of small numbers thing. Like, the less you use, kind of the more stable it it seems to be.
You can manage diabetes confidently with the powerfully simple Dexcom g seven, dexcom.com/juicebox. The Dexcom g seven is the CGM that my daughter is wearing. The g seven is a simple CGM system that delivers real time glucose numbers to your smartphone or smartwatch. The g seven is made for all types of diabetes, type one and type two, but also people experiencing gestational diabetes. The Dexcom g seven can help you spend more time in range, which is proven to lower a one c.
The more time you spend in range, the better and healthier you feel. And with the Dexcom Clarity app, you can track your glucose trends, and the app will also provide you with a projected a one c in as little as two weeks. If you're looking for clarity around your diabetes, you're looking for Dexcom. Dexcom dot com slash juice box. When you use my link, you're supporting the podcast.
Dexcom.com/juicebox. Head over there now. This episode is sponsored by Tandem Diabetes Care. And today, I'm gonna tell you about Tandem's newest pumping algorithm. The Tandem Mobi system with Control IQ plus technology features auto bolus, which can cover missed meal boluses and help prevent hyperglycemia.
It has a dedicated sleep activity setting and is controlled from your personal iPhone. Tandem will help you to check your benefits today through my link, tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. This is going to help you to get started with Tandem's smallest pump yet that's powered by its best algorithm ever. Control IQ plus technology helps to keep blood sugars in range by predicting glucose levels thirty minutes ahead, and it adjusts insulin accordingly. You can wear the Tandem Mobi in a number of ways.
Wear it on body with a patch like adhesive sleeve that is sold separately, clip it discreetly to your clothing, or slip it into your pocket. Head now to my link, tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox, to check out your benefits and get started today. Now I will also say that I've said in the past and will say again, if after a meal, I see a blood sugar hit one sixty and it's going up, I think, uh-oh, we might have missed this bolus.
Yeah.
And at one eighty, I consider that a high blood sugar. Right? And so Yep. That's it. Now is it a rule?
Do you have to live your life that way? Is every meal or every excursion a do or die situation? No. But that's unless you have a mental illness, and then maybe you you say, oh, these are the hard and fast numbers. And if I miss these numbers, I'm blah blah blah.
Anyway, that happened. That's how I gave the person, apparently an eating disorder and multiple by the way, I wanna I I don't wanna quote them because I don't wanna out anybody, but multiple mental illnesses are are are from the podcast. Now, like like you said, there are nice people that jump in and go, that podcast saved my life. I don't know what you're talking about or blah blah blah. Right.
You know? But it's just really interesting because the minute it happens about a hand so to to kinda pivot back to, like, managing a large, community. Yeah. I don't know most people's names. Right?
Like, I just it's it's impossible. You don't know sometimes you, like, see an avatar that, like, catches your eye and it sticks with you or something like that. But there are a handful of people, I would say fewer than 30, who if you said their name out loud, I will I will immediately know who they are. And it is nine times out of 10 because they are patently out of their minds. Okay?
And that we You
can't forget their name.
Well, it's because nice people trying to help you for free spend their time Yes. Trying to navigate your mental illness. And, like, so you stick with them a little bit. Yep. And I don't use the mental I don't use the phrasing mental illness lightly.
I'm I'm not saying, like, everybody with a, you know, like, feels a little anxiety. I'm I'm talking about, like I mean, I don't you you know what, Natalie? I see where you live in the country. You get what I'm saying. Right?
I I get what you're saying a 100%.
Sometimes, I feel you. You're not okay, and that's okay, by the way. I'm I'm by the way, I've also done hundreds of episodes with people who actually have mental illness where I think you would see that I'm incredibly supportive of them. And and yeah. It's and I think thoughtful even about it.
And I've tried hard to learn about it, and I've tried hard to spread people's stories out about them. But when you get into this situation where you're just like, look. You are we're gonna try to help you. And you can see that the group is also trying to be helpful, but there's a point. There's a moment, right, when you're singing on the sidewalk turns into into the the the mailbox where we gotta go, okay.
I'm sorry, but you can't put your tent up on my sidewalk. You know? Like, do you know I mean? Like, we're done now. And so I don't know what how to help you, but, apparently, I'm not gonna be able to do it.
So
Well, don't you think the ones that are harder to help are the ones that don't even recognize they have a mental illness?
It has to be. I mean, when I Because Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Mean, at least if someone says, hey. I know I have anxiety or I know I'm what I'm saying is crazy, they acknowledge it. You know?
We we can work with that.
It it also gives it it gives you the sense that there's some self awareness about it.
Yes.
Right? And and and and being super serious, and I don't mean to be cavalier about it. Like, if you if you genuinely have mental illness, you're probably the last person who's gonna know about it. And Yes. And that's even well and good.
Right? But you can't online, everybody seems, I don't know, everybody seems to find their group because it's funny because this person's comment was under another post of a person who also did not seem, from my perspective, incredibly stable. Yes. And so, you know, I I think people find each other a lot. Like, there's people who don't like me, like, really, I would say, like, people who come off very angry, they seem to find each other.
There are people who come off crazy. They seem to find each other. There are like, which is nice, by the way. It's go find your people. You you know what I mean?
Yep. But I'm not an entity. I'm a person. Like like, I know I put myself out here with the podcast, so it's on me. You know?
So I'm I'm not arguing. I understand I understand the game, and I understand the world that I've put myself into. But, you know, also, you should understand that I didn't put myself into this
Right. Purposely. I think the online world is just so wild. It's like I and I'm always constantly fighting myself because I wanna be part of it, and I wanna make a difference. And, you know, I wanna do all the good things for the type one community.
Mhmm.
And then you see the negative sides, and you're like, woah. I'm out. I don't like this.
Well, it's not even see, it's funny. I don't even think of it as negativity. I think of it as just a a few people who are a little off center. Yes. All got together somewhere, which again Yes.
God bless them. But, like, they need to understand that they're talking to themselves.
Yes.
Thirty Hours of Driving to Atlanta — and a Nonprofit Born From the Podcast15:32
Right? Like, I have you know, listen. One of the things I did this weekend was I went to this event. It's funny as I'm being chastised online. I I drove my ass from New Jersey to Atlanta and back again to appear at an event for a few hours.
I drove thirty hours in three days. Now, Scott, you could have flown. I could have. I had something to do in Tennessee. I made a stop.
I decided to drive. That's not the point though. Had had this thing in Atlanta not existed, I just wouldn't have done the thing in Tennessee. Okay? Right.
I just I never would have gone. Someone called me and said, can you come out and speak for one hour at an event across the country? We will not be paying you. And I said, wouldn't miss it. Oh.
And right? And showed up and room of people, 100 people, maybe hundred hundred and twenty, a few more than that. Beautiful group of people. Right? In this lovely setting.
And I looked out on that crowd, and these were people who were looking for community. Some of them were lost. Some of them were found, and I'm not a religious person, but some of them got through some you know what I mean? Yeah. Came out the other side and were showing up to either celebrate what happened to them or to be supportive of other people.
That's what I was there trying to do. And, you know, I spent I was supposed to be there for an hour talking to the to them, and then I was supposed to spend an hour talking to the kids. And it was a group between they were, like, between seven and 15, the group of kids. Right? And so I really, I had two scheduled hours of speaking.
I was there for six hours. The other four hours were standing there just talking to people. People who approached me, I wasn't running up to them, and and and that took four hours. A young man who came up to tell me that he started a nonprofit who just translates type one diabetes content into another language so people in the Ethiopian and Eritrean community can have access to it. He's telling me all about this thing, and then he says, I started this because of your podcast.
Wow. I should have said to him, no. You misunderstood the whole thing. I'm just spreading mental illness on people. And, like but but anyway, like, there there's that what a wonderful moment.
I almost cried standing in front of him. Right? Like, he he said to me, he's a young guy, right, in in his twenties, and I'm standing there. I'm 54 years old. I've been making this podcast for twelve years now, writing a blog before that.
I've been trying to help people with diabetes since 2007. 2007, I started writing the blog. Never took an ad or dollar from anybody for years and years and years and years. They would offer it to me. I said, no.
A pump company came to me one time and said, we will give you free pumps for your daughter.
Oh my goodness.
And I said, we have insurance.
Oh my goodness.
I don't need free pumps. I said in return, could you find a way to gift them to somebody else? We spent nine months trying to get through the legal process to do that. It wouldn't work.
That's amazing.
Couldn't do it. We couldn't give them away. So when that they we got done, they said, listen. We tried our hardest. Like, I've tried with legal 10 different times.
We can't give the pumps that we wanna give to you to somebody else.
Wow.
Do you want them? And I said, no. I have insurance. I don't need them. Thank you, though.
Why the Podcast Has Never Charged Listeners19:00
And then eventually, I started writing for Omnipod's blog. Okay? I would write six pieces a year, and I think I made a thousand dollars for each piece. I think I made $6,000 a year. That that was the after making the blog my blog for 02/1450 nine years of writing a blog, and I was I was tearing down a fat $6 a year writing for someone's blog other blog.
Okay? Oh, wow. You're rich. I'm I'm just yeah. Let's do the math.
Okay? My yearly income could be in the tens of dollars. Now so now so I'm doing this I I would never take an ad. I wouldn't put an ad on anything. I started making the podcast.
The podcast is hard to make. So it's not easy, and it's time consuming in a massive way. I mean, the editor alone is a grown man who makes an income that I pay. You you know I mean? Like, so there's there's so I gotta start I'm like, look.
If I'm gonna make this work, I gotta find a way to make money off of this somehow. Like right?
Yeah. Absolutely.
So when I start doing it, you know what everybody's advice was. Right?
What was that?
Charge people.
Oh, lordy.
$10 a month, $5 a month. You've got a thousand people listening to you. Charge $5 a month. You make $5,000. Like, do this.
Like, that. Right? And I kept having the same feeling over and over again. I don't wanna take money from people. Yeah.
If I just don't want to. And
And that's and that's what I love about you is and it's it's you know, in this in the space you have, you I mean, I think all of I I would want you to make money in a way, but it is nice that as a type one parent or, you know, if you have type one yourself to not have to pay for that is huge because you're allowing us to have free access, basically. But I think it's okay to make money off of ads or other in other ways that aren't taking from us. Know?
Yeah. And let me be clear. I do. Right? But I'm not taking I'm not gonna reach into your pocket and take $5 for you to learn how to pre bolus.
Yes. It's ridiculous. I love that about you. Yeah. It's just I love that.
Also, the things we're talking about aren't even that deep, like, to be perfectly honest with you. Right? Like and and then and I'm I'm candid, and I say that out loud. Yeah. I've watched other people take my words and turn them into coaching services
Wow.
And charge, like, crazy money off for people. And and, again, if you wanna pay somebody $3 to be coached for a few months
Oh, yikes. But god
bless you. Like, if that's what you want to do, then go do that. I'm also not telling you you shouldn't do that. I'm not telling you the person who's doing it, they shouldn't have a business. It's fine.
It's fine. I don't give shit. It's fine with me. I'm just telling you it's not a I I don't wanna be involved in it.
Yes. I agree.
So I found a different way to pay my bills and to make and to make this a living. Now why is that important? It's important because, I don't know, did you enjoy the conversation with doctor Wachowski about the, Eladon trials?
Yes.
Okay. Yeah. Took me six months to set that up.
Which is so crazy.
Yeah. And and and to, like, and to get him scheduled and rescheduled because the man's busy. He's, you know, transplanting things for people. So we had to reschedule a number of times. I had to work with his admin.
We had to go back and forth. I got, questions for him that I wanted to like, I had to get together, like, questions I wanted to ask. I had to ask those questions, had to record it with electricity and the Internet and all the things that it takes to make a podcast, and then it has to go out to the editor. And the editor has to do what he does to it, and then it has to then it has to go online. It has to be supported by social media and a website and a group online.
It my job is not hard, but it is constant. Yep. Okay? And if you don't if you don't incentivize me to do that, meaning Yes. You don't make it possible for my house to stay warm and for my tree monitor that I see running around right now to have little frozen pinky mice to eat once in a while as a treat.
I can't do that then because I have a family and I need to live too. Right? Yes. When you and and you'll and I've seen people try to do it and and it's gonna sound strange, try to do it without it being a business, but eventually they get bored.
Yeah. And I think you get burnt out.
Well, yeah. Because you you do because you have a regular life and you're trying to do this thing. Like, if you asked me to do this and go to my job, you wouldn't have the podcast. And Yes. And if you're out there thinking right now, well, Scott, I didn't ask you for the podcast.
Okay. I can't argue with that. But my argument would be that I am doing a thing that no one else is doing. Yes. Right?
Like, I'm recording with Natalie today, who is not a person who would normally find herself on a podcast or have a voice to say the things that I eventually match up we're gonna let her say. And so
I mean, basically, I'm a nobody, and you've invited me on here.
Well, yeah. I don't mean it that way, but yeah. Right? Like like Yeah. You're giving a voice to the voiceless.
Like like Well yeah.
And and, also, you haven't done all of this work for, you know, what you say, twelve years, and then suddenly come to the type one community and say, now you guys owe me. Here's a GoFundMe. Give me some money.
Well, you're bringing up a specific thing, and I don't like to out people. So that won't be things that I will talk about directly. But, don't do that. As a No.
And that's and that's what I appreciate about you. Thank you. You know, I'm not coming on this podcast. I mean, I did have to take off an hour or two of work, but I, you know, I'm not gonna record this podcast and then say, now you guys owe me.
It's just such a strange idea to ask people to pay for like, yeah. I'm I'm making a thing. I think it helps people based on my historical experience. And based on the fact that somebody asked me to come to Atlanta when I got there, there were a 100 people there who were like, oh my god. It's you.
Like like so I assume that that, like, means something. By the way, it's also very strange for me, and it's not a thing you're ever gonna get accustomed to is to have somebody come up to you as if they've seen you in a movie or something like that. It's
a weird thing. I don't know if you remember, but, last year at Friends For Life, we were up in the bar watching the fireworks, and you were
You guys were on the other side of the glass? My wife and I were out on the patio. Oh my god. I do remember that.
And we were pretending to take your photo like you were a movie star.
Yes. Well, I am not. And if you would have taken that photo, when you looked at it, you would have thought, oh, yeah. No. He's not that that doesn't work.
Well, I I think you
are a movie star to some people. Fair enough. You you it's you're lovely. But the the the the point is is that there are not an unending line of people in the world trying to make content for people specifically with type one diabetes who are not asking you to pay them.
Yes.
Right? And so and who are putting a professional level of effort into it seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days a year. Yep. So you so as as I like to say in my personal life, I hear you complaining, but I'd prefer if you just said thank you. So or don't say thank you.
No. No. No. Or don't or don't say thank you. You know what I mean, Natalie?
Like, just just don't listen. I don't care. Like like, great like, I mean, if it helps you, that's great. If it doesn't, I don't understand why you would spend your time with
it. Yes.
And and by the way, if something I'm saying is making you feel unstable, I don't mean to be overly simplistic, but stop
listening. Don't listen.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's a like, listen. Maybe people need to understand this.
If It Hurts, Stop Listening26:42
If you take a pin and you stick it in your leg and it hurts, and you pull it out, you stick it in again and it hurts, I'm gonna tell you, stop sticking your leg with the pin. Okay? That's the problem. It's not the guy that made the pin. Correct.
It's your dumbass sticking it into your leg. Now if you're can't help yourself, I it's also not my fault. Do you know do you know what I mean?
You have lots of great advice on the and, you know, your guests have lots of great advice, but, you know, you kinda have to pick and choose what works for you and what doesn't.
Oh my god. You I
mean, you have to make that choice yourself.
I I don't think that every like, I don't think that everything I'm saying needs to be applied by every person nor would I assume that you would do that.
Right.
But if you find yourself in that position of feeling like everything was said to me today has to be done, again, this is a great time for you to stop and say to yourself, I need to find a person who loves me to help me because I might not be okay. Yep. Right? And and I don't know how to help a person with that. I hope my sincerity is coming out in this last couple of moments here.
You're you're not okay. You need help.
Yeah. And I'm I'm just realizing there's there's not a lot of self awareness out there sometimes. You know, a lot of that requires someone to really truly self reflect.
It's also it's not a it that that's a a a failure of every person. Yes. I am not I'm not good at self reflecting all the time. Like, the healthiest person you can find in the world struggles with that. If you're also having sincere mental health issues, those things are going to get even more difficult.
Yep. Right? And I get the only thing I can tell you for sure, I don't know how to fix it, but the only thing I can tell you for sure is that it's not my fault, and I am not in charge of how you feel. Yes. I'm making a podcast.
Like like, it's if you walked outside to your neighbor and your neighbor said something that made you uncomfortable or made you think, oh, I'm not doing something or whatever, And then it makes you upset later and you and that upsetness manifests in some sort of a mental health issue. Did your neighbor do it to you? Like, why is it because it's on a podcast that's different?
I think someone people just wanna blame somebody else. I don't know.
I don't know either. I don't I don't don't I I I I mean,
it's easier to blame someone else than to truly look at your own self and say, maybe something's wrong with me.
I I'm a I'm a person who, I consume a fair amount of content. As a matter of fact, I'm a if I'm not with my family, I'm a headphones on person. Like, this morning, I mean, I was up for two hours before you and I recorded this morning.
Oh my goodness.
So this I know. Well, you live on a different coast. Trust me. It wasn't that early. Yes.
And so I I got up and I managed the Facebook group first. Looked at incoming hold on a second. Arden is bothering me. There. Oh, nice.
I at I looked at incoming requests to be members. You pick out there's a couple of spammy ones. You can find them real quick. Don't let them in. Yeah.
Let the other 30 or 40 people in accumulated overnight. Done. I checked the board real quick for my mentions. Some nice people are out there, you know, saying that the podcast was helpful to them. I try to thumbs up that kind of stuff or respond.
I search the group real quick for what people are talking about today because part of how I make content is, you know, what's in the zeitgeist? What are people struggling with right now? Or what are they, you know, what are they excited about? Get that together. I gotta go feed the dogs.
Now while I'm feeding the dogs, I am listening to a person whose political opinion I don't particularly agree with most of the time talk about the war in Iran because I wanna understand a different perspective than my own. I listened to that for twenty minutes. Then I listened to two videos about how to use Claude code better. Then I listened to a video about, apparently, Tesla's have improved something they call smart summon. Do you know about this?
No. I guess, there's a function they have that doesn't work really great. It that is starting to work better. But when it gets done, the idea is going to be that you walk out of a store, open up your app, tell the app where you're standing, and the car comes to you.
It's like valet parking?
Yes. But the car just unparks itself and comes to you.
Wow.
And then eventually, that will lead to something called I I forgot what it was called. But you'll eventually, you'll be able to pull up at a door and then dismiss your car, and your car will go park itself somewhere.
Oh my goodness.
Right? And and I was was, like, a ten minute video. I thought that was really interesting about how that that all works. I thought that was interesting. I moved on.
I have a couple of more videos that I wanna listen to later today. I'd like to listen to a little bit of my own podcast today just to check for audio quality and stuff like that. Yeah. Like, I'm always trying to take in information best I can to try to just make make my day easier, the things that I do more valuable. I I'm a person who believes that, like, we have a lot of access to a lot of technology, but in the end, we don't really do much with it.
That's so true.
You know? And I think that's kind of a shame. And if you're gonna spend time with it, I don't I'd like my time to be as productive as possible.
Yeah. Now I love that.
Why did I tell you all that, Natalie? Because in the course of a day of listening to sometimes ten, twelve pieces of information made by other people, I hear stuff that I think is interesting, stuff I disagree with, things I think are wrong. I have all kinds of different reactions to them. The only reaction I never have is to say, oh, that person's an idiot or a moron or trying to hurt me, or I just think it's a person with a microphone or a camera who's saying, this is the thing I think. Yep.
And and I go, okay. And then I decide what I think of that, and I move on. What world do I'm trying to imagine a world where I pick my phone back up, go search out other people who don't like the guy who made the video about the about the Claude code, and then get together and spend my day talking him in comments. Get a It's job.
I mean, she's a say, Claude sounds like they need more to do during more productive things to do.
Take a walk. Get a job. Make a friend. Hey. Not for nothing.
Go jerk off. Okay? But leave me alone. Seriously. Oh my gosh.
Maybe if you what? Is it make a friend. Make a make a pretend friend. I don't care. Draw a picture.
Picture nose. Leave me alone. I didn't ask it's for the weird assumption that by by by the mere fact that somebody put something out in the world that they're inviting you to to to critique them is strange. You know what's funny? And this is a supposition on my part.
Let me take a drink. The people I saw complaining in this latest thing, they all had a way about them. They seem to fit together visually. I don't know what dress, hair color, stuff like this. It it's again, they feel like they're a group of people who found each other, which, by the way, I'm very supportive Now now the the my point in saying is they seem like a very liberal group.
Okay? Also, would tell you, I'm a very liberal person, but the not but maybe not in the ear expander blue hair way. Okay? But I'm a but I'm a very liberal person. Come talk to me personally about my politics, about the world.
I think you will find that I am a very live and let live, people should succeed kind of person like the like, anyway, this is not the point. The point is is that these this group of people seem like the kind of people, the group of people who would see a video of paparazzi chasing Ben Affleck and say, that's not fair. Leave Ben Affleck alone. Okay? It's not Ben's got his own problems.
He's he's an alcoholic. Stop pointing a camera at him. These seem like people who would defend Ben Affleck, not the paparazzi. Okay? Yeah.
Maybe I'm wrong, but, I mean, if you listen to the podcast long enough, Natalie, you should know that my generalizations are spot on. I'm very, very good at picking people. And, like, I'm telling you these
You are.
These people would be very defensive of people's rights. Ironically, when it comes to me, they're the paparazzi.
Oh my gosh.
Right? Look what he's doing. Everyone look. It's wrong. He's bad.
He made a cult. You're out of your
double standard.
Well, it's just fascinating. It's fascinating. Wait. Wait. Wait.
You see in politics all the time. Right? No matter what side you're on Yep. We point and go, look what they're doing, and then we do the very same thing. Yep.
But then we say, no. It's okay because it's righteous when I do it. See, when they're when they're doing it what you don't understand, Natalie, is they're taking the time to make sure that people know that I'm a cult leader, okay, who spreads mental illness. And when when when, the paparazzi do it, they're just terrible people.
Yes.
Yeah. So I hope you heard all this, whoever you are. Go find a therapist. Okay? And pay them.
And when they tell you what's wrong, don't ignore them because Yeah. You're the last person who understands what's wrong with you right now. Also, I'm the last person who understands what's wrong with me, just so you know. Okay? Alright.
Now
Oh my gosh. I
love it. Are you saying you have a kid with diabetes 30 later? What's going on?
Harper Turns 17 — and Honey the Service Dog Turns 236:42
Yeah. How old? I was she is actually, today is her birthday. She's 17.
Get out of here. Happy birthday. Yeah. Oh, what a wonderful age. She must treat you terribly.
Go ahead. I'm sorry.
You know, she's a pretty I mean, there there's definitely rough days, but for the most part, she's a pretty good kid.
Awesome. That's awesome news. Well, how old was she when she was diagnosed?
So she was 11 years old.
Oh my gosh. Okay. Yep. I you know, it's funny. I try not to say rough time because I think all times are rough times, but that might be a rough time.
Yes. Yeah. So so really quick too, it's not only her birthday, it's also her service dog's birthday today as well. So her service dog is Honey, and she's two today.
So How you work that out?
You know, I think I I guess it was fate. I don't know.
That's crazy. Honey honey. That's fair.
Honey honey. Honey honey honey from
What? Like what? Honey what?
Like from Winnie the Pooh, h u n n y.
What's that? That's that song lyric. Honey honey come rad d k n what's that from?
I don't think that's from my generation.
No. I don't think so either. I I don't know. It's not important. I'm not gonna find it in my generation.
By the way, very insulting. That's fine.
Sorry. I'm sorry, Scott.
It's okay. Well, that's so when she was diagnosed you have other kids. Right?
Yeah. So she got diagnosed in 2020, you know, great year. We had all just had COVID, and it was in we actually all got tested positive for COVID on Halloween.
Okay. I guess you had trick treating.
Yeah. They were devastated. And, you know, of course, this was when nobody knew what was truly going on. So we were like, we can't go trick or treating. We're gonna, you know, spread this to everybody.
So we actually did reverse trick or treating that year. We put a bowl out and said, we're under quarantine. Leave take or leave a candy if you want.
That's a great by the way, that's a great idea. Do people leave you candy?
People brought bags of candy.
Aw. See how nice that is? That by by the way, in certain circles, that would be seen as spreading illness. They brought you candy. It's bad.
They were probably cult leaders for the Mars company. Oh my gosh. It's
and, you know, it's ironic. It you know, some people would be like, that's what caused her diabetes.
You know? For sure, there's gonna be 20 people who's gonna say that. Oh, well oh, so that what an what a nice thing, though. And what a smart you know, you're a good mom. You think of that?
You know, I I try I do the best I can.
No. That's very that's very thoughtful.
I'm I'm not a perfect mom, but I try to be a mom.
Oh, yeah. No. No. No. I'm not perfect at all as you heard.
Yeah. Yeah. We know Scott. Oh my So
Go ahead. By the way, I'm sorry that we started with your thing, with my thing and then got to your thing. Usually, I try to do your thing than my thing when I these break out this way, but this will be interesting to see if this works because
It's all good.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. I'm I'm just yeah. Like I said in the beginning, I'm here for whatever.
Alright. Well, you're lovely. So so tell me about the diagnosis a little bit and how how she got started, where we're at today.
Diagnosis During COVID — the Drive That Saved Her Life39:57
Yeah. So, you know, the day she got out of quarantine, it was a it was either Wednesday or Thursday. She went back to school, and then the next day she came home and was still tired and not feeling the best. And, you know, again, nobody really knew much about COVID or what, you know, the protocol is and what the symptoms are, the lingering symptoms. So I just thought, you know, this is, you know, just she's still recovering from having COVID.
And then by Saturday night, she was vomiting in the middle of the night. And, again, I thought, this is weird. This is some after COVID thing. By Sunday morning, which fun fact, my husband was a pastor at the time, She was standing at the toilet, threw up everywhere, totally missed the toilet. And I'm, like, you know, upset.
I'm, like, you're 11 years old. How did you do that? And I still feel guilty about feeling that way. But she so I put her in the shower to rinse her off, and she just was not something was off. She wasn't very coherent.
And we live in a rural town, and so our hospital here is not the best. And so I called my husband at he was at church at work, and I said, I think something's really wrong. Let's this must be an after COVID thing. Let's drive her to Billings, which is an hour away. And, you know, they'll be able if she needs a special medicine, they'll be able to treat her there.
So honestly, it's it's crazy, but I'm like, I think that's what saved her life was my fear of the or the unknown of COVID. Mhmm. That's what made me drive her to a hospital an hour away. And, you know, she was throwing up on the way there. And by the time we got to the her tongue was, like, shriveled up.
And I told the nurse at the triage desk, I said I mean, this was how much I didn't know. I said, I think she just is really dehydrated and needs an IV.
Well, she might have been.
She was very dehydrated. Her tongue was just shriveled up. I mean, it was I've never seen anything like it.
Wow.
So they took us right back, and a doctor came in immediately, and he said, we're gonna check her for diabetes. And I'm like, what? No. This is a COVID thing. Like
Mhmm.
You know, do you just there must be some medicine you can give her, and she's gonna be fine. He poked her finger, and it was 600. And he said, I'm sorry, but she has type oh, I don't even know if he said type one. I think he just said diabetes. And I just said, oh, wow.
Okay. And from there, you know, we got transferred to the PICU, and that was the start of our
That's it.
Crazy journey.
Shriveled tongue and a PICU. Yep. Yep. And see, what you're tell just so I make sure I I understand, you think that if you would have waited long enough that you would have actually ended up at a local hospital, you're not sure how able they would have been to be helpful to her?
Yeah. So we've had other people in our town that have been diagnosed, and they were life flighted. And some of them, I mean, they didn't even they'd really didn't know that they had diabetes.
They were just like, this person's so sick. We don't know how to help
them. Yes. Okay. Yes. And so I I really think if we would have waited any longer, I don't know that she would have been with us.
Well, good instincts. Good for you.
Yeah. Look at you. Well and and I'm the type of mom that's like, you know, you're sick. We'll wait it out. Like, I'm not I don't like to rush to the doctor.
Mhmm. And so, yeah, I do I I think a lot about that because I I did I did have a medical background. And so I don't know. I've just I don't like to go to the doctor. I feel like they're always judging me.
Why?
Well, okay. So for instance, I just which I guess we'll get into this. So I have two other kids that will also have type one diabetes. Technically, they do have type one diabetes. They're just not on insulin.
But I took my daughter is supposed to start TZLD two or three weeks ago now.
Mhmm.
So on a Sunday, Easter Sunday, she had a stuffy nose, and I knew she was supposed to start treatment that Wednesday. So I said, I'm just gonna take you to the doctor just to be sure, like, this is you've had a stuffy nose for ten days. And I want her to be well. She has to be well to get t zealed. So I took her to the doctor, and the doctor's like, oh, this is just allergies.
And so you feel kinda dumb. You're like, wow. I brought you to the doctor for allergies. Well so she gives us this regimen of Claritin and all a neti pot and all of this. So Wednesday, we show up for TZealed, and they're like, we just really quick need to do a COVID and RSV swab.
They swab her nose, come back in, they're like, yeah. She's positive for both. I'm like, okay. Great.
But how does that make you feel judged? Why doesn't it make you feel like I was right?
That's true. That's true. But I just I feel like it's like you take them in first. So, again, when I took my daughter in for COVID, I'm like, she's just dehydrated. And then they're like, actually, she was almost dying.
And then I take my daughter in for, you know, a stuffy nose, and then turns out she I don't know. Maybe I just have PTSD.
Well, I would say you've you've exhibited a couple of really thoughtful responses medically. I would trust yourself a little bit.
I I think I should by now.
How old are your other So
I have, my oldest son is almost 19, and then Harper is 17, Ben is 14, and then Maddie is 13.
Oh my god. You've been making these kids forever. How old are
you? Yeah. Yeah. I'm 43.
No kidding. Hold on second. Gonna do some quick math. Twenty four twenty four. You were 24 when you had the first one?
Yep. Mhmm.
See what I did there? Yeah. Would a cult leader be able to do math in his head like that?
Absolutely not.
No. I don't know. Maybe they would be. Because you gotta keep track of all the all the people's wives that you're having sex with. Right?
Yeah. Exactly.
And the days that you're doing it and everything. So it probably did some math. Wouldn't that be insane if at the end of this, it all just ended up that I was just trying to get all your wives to come here? And what a great story that'll be one day.
I'll start a Facebook page of conspiracy theories about you.
You know what? I would appreciate that. It really helps. I'll tell you the what the what the people don't realize is that listen, I'm I'm gonna talk about them instead of to them for a second. What they don't realize is is that the social media only it only appreciates negativity
Yes.
And and crazy. So it draws eyes to them that they wouldn't normally get. They think they're drawing eyes in that are going like, oh, I agree with you. But what they do is they draw in sane people who go, oh, look. A crazy person.
And Yeah. While that's happening, you say something bad. Forget me for a second. You say something bad about the widget you bought online. This thing sucks.
They ripped me off. Blah blah blah. And 43 other people go, no. I have that thing and it works great. And then all the same people that the algorithm draws in go, all they learn from it is the thing you were trying to tell people not to do.
They go, no. I think that's the thing I'm gonna try. You are what they call an anti what's the word there? That you whatever it is you're trying to do, you're doing the opposite. Yep.
Yeah. So thank you because the more people who complain about me, the bigger the podcast gets.
Perfect.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. I I have you ever heard me tell you about when I wrote the book? And then wrote a book in 2013. This is not really important. It was on the Katie Couric show, Pimping It.
She did some stuff online with me in the book. And then one day, I was the 50 I was in the top 50 of all authors on Amazon.
Oh, wow.
I did not know how that happened because I'm not famous. I wasn't with a giant publishing company. There wasn't a lot of media behind it. Nothing like that. But there I was on the bestseller list on Amazon.
And I'm like, what is happening? So I spent days trying to figure out what happened. Right? And then turned out eventually that, Katie Kirk had put up a story about me being on her show wherever, like I forget if it was, like, AOL. This is how long ago it was.
It was, like, al.com or Yahoo News or something like whatever was really popular back in the day. Yep. And I at first thought the article blew up the book, but it wasn't what was happening. What was happening was is in the comment section of the article, people were arguing about whether or not I was gay.
Oh my god.
Right? Because one faction of people said that straight men aren't stay at home dads.
Oh my gosh.
So you're you're closeted. It's impressive that you've tricked your wife into believing that you're not gay. It's like this whole thing. Then other people would come in and argue and be like, I I think it's possible for straight people to take good care of their children. And like and then they would fight.
Oh my gosh. Right? So while those people and by the way, I appreciate the people that stuck up for me in that scenario, but you're as crazy as the other person because why in the Yeah. Were you having this conversation with this person who said something Yeah. Ridiculous.
Okay? So anyway, while these well meaning and not well meaning crazy people were fighting with each other, they were drawing in eyes from reasonable people who were buying my book. So if you wanna say, like, it really is hard for me to put into words, but every time a person tries to denigrate me online, you really are just making the thing grow. Yeah. And you hear that and you think that that's me trying to, like I don't know.
You're you probably think I'm trying to, like, double cross you into not saying bad stuff about me anymore, but I really don't care what you say. So go out there and say the craziest you can think about, and that'll just make more people listen. Yep. Because they're gonna look at your crazy ass and think, well, that crazy person thinks that. I probably should think the opposite.
You don't understand. You're the best marketing tool I have.
Yes. Yes. Oh my goodness.
So I start know
I Yeah.
Go ahead. Do the whole thing. Anyway, sorry. Back to your kid. I Good.
You have something to say. Sorry.
Oh, I was just gonna say, I you know, last I don't know. A few six months ago, Facebook decided to tell me they were I could be monetized. And Okay. And, you know, I share I'm I share what I share no matter what. So whatever.
I'm like, okay. Whatever. I don't know what this means, but we'll give it a try. And it's you start to realize you have to create if you want to actually make money on that platform, you have to create drama and things that bring people in, and that's just not me. Like, I just wanna post genuine things, and that's that doesn't sell.
You have no idea how difficult it is to run a positive thing on Facebook and make it successful. Yeah. It's All day long, we work we think about different ways to try to, like because, basically, you're trying to you're it's counterintuitive to what the algorithm wants. Yeah. Yeah.
They don't
I mean and
Go ahead.
And I don't wanna brag, but, in December, I made $20. So I'm really Oh. I'm really doing good.
Look at you. Knocking it down.
Did you wanna know why I made $20?
Are you thinking of getting a second house?
You know what? I'm considering it.
How'd you make $20?
The the video that I made that did the best was a video about our town had had this crazy wind, like, 96 miles per hour, and all these trees around town fell down.
Mhmm.
And I made a video of all these trees. I I mean, I made the video just to show people in our town, like, this is crazy. Sure. And it went viral.
What does that mean? How many views?
I like, I I think it was, like, 800,000 views.
Really?
So yeah. But it's still that many views and I made $20.
Oh, yeah. No. No. There are some people with millions and millions. I love the creators who do that.
Like, here here's my thing on TikTok, how much money I made. And they have millions of views. They made, like, a thousand bucks. And I was like, oh my god. You could have panhandled a thousand dollars if you tried hard enough.
Like, it's just really it it's very, interesting.
Yeah. I I think I'll keep my day job. Mhmm.
You yeah. Also, by the way, people might be bored by this, but it's a big part of my life. Facebook is only gonna pump out stuff like that that's upsetting. Right? Yes.
Also, they don't want you to leave Facebook. Your video was not asking them to leave Facebook. Right. So they promote that. So you kinda think, like, wow.
800,000 people found my tree video interesting. What the truth of it is is that 800,000 people were shown the tree video because Facebook knows that Yes. They like when people are like, weather scared is, like, its own industry. And then on top of that, your video doesn't ask for them to do something or leave. My problem is is that I'm like, hey.
Look. I've got this interview here today with doctor Wachowski. I don't know why I'm bringing this up twice. Go go go look at it. Yeah.
And that link takes you out of Facebook. They want you in Facebook.
Yes. Right?
The mall doesn't want you leaving the mall.
So true.
Right. So like So true. So that's what how it's that's how you're being manipulated by Facebook. Yeah. Yeah.
They're just trying to keep you there long enough to serve you another ad. That's all. Yep. Yeah. Yeah.
Anyway, and then they and then they so they use the content creators to bring in people.
Yes.
And then they show your stuff to people for a while to get you excited about it. Then they take away your they take away that. And then they send you notes telling you that if you pay them, they'll make sure people see your posts.
Yep. What
a scam.
It is.
It's similar to how my wife got me to marry her when you stop and think about it. That was a scam too. Now that I'm thinking about that. Was. Whatever.
So anyway, when you get out of the hospital, it's, you know, six years ago. CGM Yeah. Get that right away?
So, yeah, they gave us a CGM about a month. It took us about a month to get one Okay. Which, I mean, looking back, I don't know why. I feel like now with my, you know, my next two kids, their diagnosis, I'm gonna be a little more pushy.
Well, yeah, when do you so what'd you do? You did, like, I don't know. What did do? Trial net or something like that? How do you know about your kids' markers?
Testing the Other Kids — Antibodies, Times Two55:05
Yeah. So I guess I should go back a little. So, you know, our daughter got out of the hospital, and I I don't know if the doctor told us about it, but they were like, hey. There's this test that you can do to test your other kids to see if they also have the markers for type one. And so my daughter was diagnosed October 15.
And so in December, I'm like, oh, okay. Yeah. We should do that just to be sure. And in my mind, they were there was just no way that that was gonna come back positive. Mhmm.
I mean, I don't I don't know why I went into it so naively. So we tested them and got the results, and our one child had two antibodies at the time and our other child had three antibodies at the time. So to find to hear that info only two months after our daughter's diagnosis, it was I mean, it really threw me into a downward spiral. Because, you know, we barely even had had a hold on our daughter's diagnosis, let alone realizing, oh, now we're gonna have three kids with type one diabetes. So for a long time, I regretted testing them.
It was it it took me honestly four years to accept that I was gonna have three kids with type one diabetes.
Talk about the regret part. What made you regret it? Just that you have to think about it all the time now?
Yeah. So I just don't think I was prepared. I think when they told me to test, it was just so neutral. It's like, yeah. Just test them and it's a great thing to know.
And you find that out and it's not a great thing to know.
It would have been a great thing to know if you found out they didn't have any antibodies. Yes. Exactly.
Exactly. So I just think I wasn't prepared. I wish that there had been more counseling before we tested. I wish they would have said, you know, you just had a daughter diagnosed two months ago. Why don't you wait a few months?
This might be more than a human being is supposed to deal with?
Yes. Mhmm. Yes. So I think it just it was you know, they say knowledge is power, but I think knowledge can be a burden. And I think for me, it was a burden for a long time.
Do you can you see that there might be people that would've felt good about knowing and it's just not your personality, or do you think it was just so overwhelming getting the, basically, the news of three three diagnosis in in, you know, different stages of it happening that was just more than one person can handle?
I think it was too much too soon. Because I do think it's important to test, and I'm not I'm definitely not anti testing. I do think I just I wished at the time, and I think they're getting better about it now too and just saying realizing there is a mental aspect to knowing.
Mhmm.
And, you know, just I think it's important to discuss that first. And I do I have had other moms ask me, you know, should I test my child? And I just I try to give them all the info. You know? Here's here's where it was hard for me, but I I mean, now it so that was five years ago that we tested them, and we're just now you know, our daughter is gonna start t z old on Monday now, hopefully.
TZield and Delaying Type 158:44
Yeah.
Hopefully, no more COVID and RSV. So that was five years ago, you know, five years of knowing this was coming. And I am I am very glad now to know that info. I just think it was a lot at one time. Mhmm.
T cell just yesterday announced something. Yes. They changed the ages. Do you know what it was?
Yes. It said age one and up.
Oh oh, wow. So now Which That's so and a one year old now could could get antibodies and and receive T cell to put it off. How long did they tell you what's the hope? How long are they hoping to push off the the diabetes?
You know, they won't say for sure, but they said what they've seen is it's it's pushed it out, you know, anywhere two years seems to be the average.
Mhmm.
But they've seen people, you know, at seven years and some that still are, you know, no onset.
After after one treatment, which is thirteen infusions. Right?
14 infusions. 14.
Sorry. Okay.
Yep. So, you know, you know, the last five years, we've come. I tell people our family motto, which I made this up, so it's not really I just decided the family is gonna take it on as our motto.
Okay.
But every day without diabetes is a gift. And so, you know, with TZeal because I've had people ask, you know, why delay the inevitable? And I I had those same exact thoughts, but when I talked to my daughter who is on insulin, you know, she said, if I could have one day less without diabetes, it's worth it to me. And so we've taken on that motto, like, we're gonna try TZEAL, then if it gives us one extra day without being on insulin, then we're gonna take it.
Okay. So Hate your insurance covers it. So,
Insurance Hurdles on the Way to Treatment1:00:38
yes, that was quite the process. And that's that's another frustrating thing about tZealed and your insurance. They all wanna want you to meet specific parameters. And so I've actually felt like she's been in stage two for quite some time, but according to insurance, you know, they wanted her to fail an oral glucose test, and your ending number has to be at a specific number. Even if it's still considered high, if it doesn't meet that number that they want, then they tell you it's a normal like, you pass the test.
So That's not a thing that the the drug manufacturer says. It's a thing the insurance company says.
I I think so. I'm at least in my experience with our insurance, that was they wanted her to fail an oral glucose test, but the ending two hour number had to be a specific had to be, like, one forty four or higher. And then you also have to had a fasting glucose of one ten or higher. And then they wanted an elevated a one c, but our doctor kind of she was able to bypass that a little bit because her a one c was, like, right on the cusp of, like, being abnormal. I think it was, like, 5.7.
Okay. Did you have to talk your kids into this, or was it a thing they wanted immediately?
So, you know, originally, when we tested them, we just poked their finger and they did the, you know, trial net. I don't think any of us knew what pursuing TZLD meant. So, no, I didn't really have to talk them into it. They've kinda just rolled with the punches, and they're like, okay.
Like so yeah. I don't You talked about, like, psychologically how you felt realizing this about your three kids. Right? Yeah. But can you tell me how the the the kids felt?
Like, so I wanna know, did the kid with type one feel guilt? Did the two that have markers, are they nervous, or are they comforted by knowing? And the fourth one who doesn't have anything, are they just like deer in headlights, or what what's going on over there?
Well, it's funny. The fourth one that doesn't have anything, he was actually born with what's called Hirschsprung's disease. So he had his whole own medical journey before all of this even happened.
And
that his medical journey, I thought, was the worst thing in the world and difficult. And then type one came into our life, and it was like, woah. You know? Totally different ballgame there.
So so that one doesn't feel like he got away with something because something's happened to him as well.
Right. I got it. Yeah. He yeah. Absolutely.
Well,
that's fair. You could probably probably prior to the diabetes, was like, oh, it's all on me. Like, something yeah. Yeah. It's it's Yeah.
He's like, finally, someone else.
You guys got reslotted. You know what I mean? Yep. Yeah. Oh my gosh.
Well, my god. Isn't it I I mean, I know this is a big idea that's really not that deep, but it's it's so crazy to think of how few people actually make it through life without, like, a major medical thing. Like, because I
think Right.
I think we all believe, like, the idea is, like, you're gonna be born and then something dire happens at the end, probably just old age, and it's over. And, you know, then you realize at some point along the line, like, I am gonna get sick. Right? I'm gonna sneeze and cough and probably get the flu once or twice. Like, okay.
Well, that's not too bad about you know, it's modern times. That doesn't kill anybody until it does. And then, you know, and then things get you know, if you're lucky, nothing else happens. But people's if you you really stop and look at people, there are there are there are not many people who are just getting through life without medical concerns.
Right.
And, you know, it's I don't know. It's one of those I feel like it's one of those odd things we think we're promised that just ends up not being the situation.
Well, and I you know, when I was choosing when my husband and I were choosing to have kids, you know, you hear mom say, you know, they go for their ultrasound and they say as long as they're healthy. And it's like, I've actually tried to to to not push that narrative because it's like, no. As long as your kids are loved and wanted because nobody is promised a healthy life. And I when I chose to have four kids, never in my mind did I ever think they would each have a chronic lifelong illness. You
know? Yeah.
So you can sit there and say, oh, as long as they're healthy, well, what if they're not? What are you gonna do?
Well, then we're done with them.
Yeah. Just see you kids.
Throw that one in the pile. I I yeah. I've Yeah. Did you have do you have any health issues, your husband?
So no. Not really.
Okay. I mean, I Autoimmune in your extended families?
Yeah. So my mom does have Hashimoto's and, but really, that's it. I think someone on my husband's side might have had Crohn's.
Mhmm. I was gonna ask, anybody pooping after Thanksgiving?
Yeah.
Yeah. Right? Where does uncle Bill go after after the turkey? Possibly. Yeah.
Thought he was getting high, but he was just he was just shitting upstairs. So I hear you. Okay. Wow. And then you got three is the Hirschsprung's autoimmune?
No.
So no. It's a congenital defect
Mhmm.
Which they I mean, they don't really know. Usually, it's, like, spontaneous when that happens, I think. But it also can be genetically linked, which I feel like they say that about type one. You know, it's like, oh, it can be random, but then I'm like, well, I have three kids with it. So there's gotta be some genetically.
No. It's random. Randomly, all three of your kids got to talk about that basically.
Oh my god. That's terrible odds.
Yeah. Did you buy a lottery ticket after this happened? You thought maybe I just like, things that are really uncommon happened to me or no?
Yeah. You know, I I've thought about it. I have.
Should Scott Move to Montana?1:06:58
Should I move to Montana? This is the other question. I can't handle the winters. Is that correct?
Yeah. Okay. But have have I heard that you lived in Montana before?
No. No. I thought of guy I I I got invited to the speaking thing out there. I was so excited about it then it fell apart.
Oh, why?
I don't well, because coordinating big things like this is hard.
Well okay. So which brings me to this point. I feel like Montana is so weird for type one diabetes support. Like, it's very few it's few and far between. Like, we need more stuff out here.
Yeah. I mean, that that's the way in a lot of places though. Yeah. Like, it's just if you're not it's funny. If you're not in a major, like, metropolitan hub, then Yes.
The idea of putting it together something where people have to travel to it Yep. Sounds good in theory. And you'll even get people to say, like, don't worry. We're gonna come. But then on the day of the everyone wakes up in the morning and goes, are we gonna drive forty five minutes to talk about?
I don't think so. And then Yeah. My ass is standing in Montana and nobody shows up. You know what I mean?
Like Well, and, know, in Montana, the weather is unpredictable. So, you know, yesterday, it was 80 degrees and today, it's supposed to snow. So if you want me to drive 80 miles to hear you speak, but it snows, I'm probably gonna skip it.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, then that's exactly the point. So then these institutions don't do stuff like this.
Right.
Because it's also I mean, it's I spoke at Hofstra a week or two ago, last week, and, you know, I think there are about a 100 people in the room. It's a really nice turnout, And they were thrilled with the turnout. I was standing there going like seeing some empty seats. And so, you know, it's it's a tough feeling when you when you travel somewhere. Yeah.
I spent six hours traveling that day. By the way, did not charge anybody any money. I drove three hours out and three hours back and spent a few hours while I was there. I left my house at one in the afternoon and returned home at 9PM to talk to these people because I thought it was a I thought it was a a nice thing to do, and I was excited to be you know, I was happy that the that the hospital was, you know, inviting me because, you know, I've talked about this before, but I've probably been invited to talk at a dozen hospitals over the handful of years recent handful of years. They never follow through.
That's crazy.
Eventually, you get the invite from, like, a lower level person who loves the podcast and thinks, this would be really great. And then eventually, it gets high enough up the ladder where someone goes, so what's his degree in? And they go, he's got a podcast. And then someone goes, we're not letting a guy with a podcast come here and speak. And then this one was great because the person, Maggie, who is an endo and I think will be on the podcast at some point, she persisted.
And she went to her, you know, leadership and said, no. Listen. Like, pay attention to this. Like, I think you're gonna like this. And then they got together with me on a Zoom, and we talked, and it worked out.
And I'll tell you what, it was great. And I said some things that I bet you the staff was slightly uncomfortable about. I bet you there were people on the staff that were probably like, oh god. Thank god someone's saying this. I can't say this at work.
Yeah. You you know what mean? Like, there's a lot of that going on, but what I saw were the people in the room were genuinely thrilled and and and had a great time. And, you know, hopefully heard a thing or two that might make their life easier. Yeah.
I mean, which is really the only goal. But it's that that thing is it's gotta be put together. It's gotta be run. It takes months to plan. There's food.
It's expensive. Like, it ain't easy. The thing I just did with Touched by Type one, like a small army of dedicated people put something like that together. It is Yeah. You don't just all show up at a Popeyes.
You know what I mean? Nope. Although, gotta tell you, that would work for me. You know what I mean?
We don't have a Popeyes in Montana.
So I'll have a little mashed potatoes with gravy before I go. Oh, they're delicious. Anyway, I just, I know that Yellowstone ruined your state, but you know, it's hard not to watch it on TV and just be romantic about standing outside and looking at a few 100 acres.
I know. I know. So You yeah. I mean, is there anything we can do to try to talk you to coming back here?
Well, somebody's just gotta do the thing. Like but and then I'll come because I wanted to see we were gonna I was gonna do I was gonna bring my family, and we were gonna do a national park while we were out
there. See?
The whole thing just fell apart.
So I'm, like, an hour away from Yellowstone. That's what could be your personal tour guide. I would drive you through Yellowstone.
Oh, I don't wanna get sick, and it sounds like everybody around you is ill, so I'm not doing that. But, no. No. But you're very nice. I just wanted to come in.
It was supposed to be a couple days too. Like, it was an event. Yeah. I just don't know what happened to it. It just died on the vine.
So anyway, actually, it makes my point not to throw shade on the people that couldn't pull that together because I don't mean that. But Yeah. It makes the point I I I kinda started with earlier. Like, you think that, like, making this podcast is easy? No.
No. Making these things are not easy. And when you try to get somebody to volunteer to put together a podcast or Yeah. A newsletter or get together, their life's gonna get in the way. It has to be tied to their I don't know if you all understand why, you know, why why a system of money works so well, but it it motivates your ass to do something.
Okay? So
I mean, I was trying to make content just for fun, and it was exhausting. And I made $10.
No. Oh, exhausting is not the word. It's just and and wait till you make something that you really love and you put it out there and no one sees it.
Yes. You're
like, oh my god. I'm not doing that twice. Yep. So you need somebody that's either crazy enough to keep doing it or being motivated in the right way. And for me, like Yeah.
Clarity is I'm sitting in my house. My wife has a job, and her and I make money and put it into a pile, and then we pay for the house. And Yep. For our our insurance, our car insurance, and our the gas that makes my stove cook the food and the food itself, like, you know, how this all works. Right?
Yep. Yeah. Yeah. So we
you can't just ask somebody to put this level of, like so if I guess the point is if you're out there going, like, Scott, you do it wrong or I don't like what you do or whatever, I would say to you, you go do it. That's a good idea. I'm not being flippant about it either. Seriously, you're probably right. Maybe I maybe you'll do it better or different or in a way that'll help a different you go ahead and get out there and do it.
And until then, until you're willing to put in twenty years of effort to have this conversation with Natalie, I my message to you would be, shut the fuck up. Okay? Like like, either what what what's what's that phrase? Or get off the pot? Is that the one?
Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. That's an old one now. That's the thing I can hear my
I do know that phrase.
Do you know that one? You know why it's like that? They used to shit a pot. Oh
my gosh.
That's right. Imagine being alive then with diabetes. Oh, man. In a pot and then throwing the pot out the window. Like, it's so, like, on the side you know, it's on the side of the house.
Is that why vines grow up? Oh god. I hope
Oh, my gosh. I don't have vines on my house, so we're safe.
No no poo on your house. Oh, my gosh. Very recently, I told a story on the podcast and I got done, I was like, why did I do that? And it was about how I once or maybe more than once peed out the window of my house because I didn't feel like going down. I feel like cars.
But I feel like a lot of guys can, like Also,
I I mean, you're you're lucky you can do that.
Natalie, also, there's no there was no screen in the window. I just wanna be clear about that.
Okay. Oh, good.
This is a straight shot. Good. There's do you watch shrinking on Apple TV? No. And one of the characters pees off his roof a lot, and I'm just like, right on.
It's free. That's Scott. I would I would do. I don't think I would now, by the way, but back then, I was on the I was in the attic of a house growing up. Like, it was like, had to go down, like, two sets of flight like, floors to go to the bathroom.
Oh my goodness.
That's awesome. A lot. Yeah. I never I never pooped out the window. Just wanna say that.
Oh, that's good. Okay. Yeah. But, anyway, if you if you have a a complaint, forget me about anything, you go do it. Yeah.
If you're so smart, go do it.
You know? I think, you know, when like, on social media, that's my I feel like you just have to have, like, whatever your goal is and stick to it. And my goal has been to support other moms.
Very
nice. It's not you know, yes, I'm monetized, but like I said, I'm making $10. But if I've helped one mom feel supported or, you know, whatever, not alone, That's my goal. Yeah. And so I'm gonna stick to that, and it is what it is.
And it it listen. And you don't get involved in all the rest of it. Yes. Like, I the person I saw another person say, like, you know, Scott just bans you if you don't agree with him, which by the way is is patently untrue. We have a shockingly low number of banned accounts in a group that has 83,000 people in it.
And Yep. And what I when I saw that person say that, I'm like, I didn't first of all, I didn't ban you. Another person admitting the page got sick of you and banned you. Like and you weren't banned for disagreeing. You were banned Which for being out of your mind too many times.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So
Which, by the way, I love your admin team. They're all wonderful.
Aren't they wonderful people? Yeah.
They are.
Yeah. Seriously.
They don't just they don't get enough credit.
No. Or and they're not getting paid. So there you go.
Yeah. Weird.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They're just lovely people.
By the way, there you go. Lovely people who had a good experience with the podcast. Saw that it was valuable for others and thought, I wonder how I could facilitate helping more people the way I was helped. And then I've gotta wake up to see that this has been characterized as me building a cult and spreading mental illness. Thanks a lot.
Jesus Christ. Gosh. What's the saying?
You guys cut cut Scott some slack.
They don't have to cut me slack. Again, if they argue and say crazy things, it really does help. So I think I'm complaining on a human level. Yeah. But on the thing level, it's just part of it.
Yep. It really is.
It's it's like having to have a gas station, you know, near the place where you're fixing cars. That's just it's the cost of doing business. The cost of doing business is that crazy people are gonna say crazy things. Yep. So nothing you can really do about that.
But, anyway, no good deed goes unpunished is Great. Not a saying that just came out of nowhere. There there must have the very first person who tried to help another person must have thought of that.
Oh my goodness.
The 'Content Creator' Rant1:17:26
Oh, you know, it's funny you said you you you you monetized the thing and you were like, oh, I might make content and everything. While I'm being, you know, course towards crazy people, let me let me make this point too. You're not a content creator. I'm a content creator, and I wouldn't call myself a content creator because it's embarrassing. Okay?
Like like, if you're not embarrassed by it, I really I I wish for you a time machine to see if you could go back to the seventies for ten minutes and live there. Where where you would realize that you having an account on a social media thing and saying something about something over and over again does not make you a content creator. I don't care if a thousand people see it. That's a thousand of how many billions? It's it's statistically in it just it's insignificant.
And not that you should maybe you're helping those thousand people and right on go ahead and go and you should do that, and I mean that. But you can't consider yourself a content creator with that.
Correct.
I'm barely a content creator. Yep. I'm in a niche inside of a niche inside of a niche. I'm not health care. I'm not diabetes.
I'm type one diabetes. I'm in I'm inside the six different bubbles inside of a bubble. You are talking to 10 people. Yes. Stop putting content creator in your bio.
It's embarrassing. Okay? Oh, god. If your parents saw that, they'd get in a time machine and go figure out when they then made you and they'd stop. Because they'd be like, didn't realize I was gonna raise a 40 year old person who would think that their TikTok is a business because it isn't.
Oh my god. Don't it's is this really that hard to understand? I feel like I'm losing my mind. Okay.
It's like, you know, if you wanted to be an author, you used to have to, like, have a publisher and you had to go through the process. Now anyone can even be an author. And
I I don't wanna I don't wanna I don't wanna sound snobby, but when people tell me they wrote a book and it's self published, I think, no. You didn't. Yeah. Yeah. You made a PDF, but congratulations.
Good job. Also, not a small undertaking. And I imagine that a lot of self published books are really awesome, but but that's a hobby. Yes. You didn't write a book.
You write a book when a publisher comes to you and says, will pay you an amount of money to hand us a transcript. Yep. And if we turn that transcript into a book, then you have written a book. And and, like and does that sound snobby or old school or, like, I don't know. Maybe it does, but that's how my brain works.
You're if you're talking to 10 people, you're not a content creator. You're Yeah. You're I used to have a Facebook that talked to more people like that before I had any of this because I had 25 friends. Right. But anyway, that's the joking aside about it, that that, like, feeling that that's what you're doing is insane.
Yeah. If if everyone was a content creator, then what would the rest of us be doing? We already have an economy that's just based on passing the same money back and forth to people for goods and services. Like Yeah. Somebody get out there and do something for Christ's sake.
I'm already taking up the the stupid job. Like, you go go take a piece of wood and turn it into something. Like, they my god. Ugh. And your colorful glasses and they're like, stop it.
Like, stop crying poor. You're wearing $9,000 worth of clothing in your picture.
Oh my goodness. Yeah.
I could go on. I bitch about people forever if you want me to. Seriously, I should stop making a diabetes podcast and just make a podcast where I complain about people. I really do think it would be more fun.
Oh my goodness. It probably would be.
Then they could yell at me, and I would be like, yeah. Right on. You should. I'm gonna ask. Alright.
Wrapping Up — Hard-Won Common Sense1:21:11
Natalie, listen. Oh my goodness. I know I've I've I'm ruining people's lives, but I have to actually go eat then come back and record again today. So Okay. I gotta roll.
But would you say that I'm sorry I talked a lot? I'm gonna say that first. But because
Hey. It's your podcast. You can do what you want.
Natalie, why are you so mentally, stable? What happened to you? Were you raised by Republicans, Democrats? I wanna know the whole thing. Oh my gosh.
Give me five minutes. How did your how did your family make you a reasonable person?
You I I can probably say it's not my family that made me it was my hard work and working on myself because I was not raised
Well?
The easiest way.
Oh, okay. Alright. Well, then look. Then that's even a better story. Somebody Yeah.
Somebody didn't hand you this common sense. You went it's hard fought.
Yep.
Yeah. Please, everyone, take a minute. Be quiet. Put your phone down and try to try to think through things a little bit. Like Yeah.
It's not that hard. A person making a podcast is not making you feel a certain way. Yeah. That that's that's you. Yep.
Okay? Oh my god. Alright. I I've done enough here. I can't I can't be this smart for too long.
It makes my brain tired. I gotta go. Alright.
Go eat go eat some food.
Yeah. I'm gonna have I might have a Cheerio today. I'm in a very lazy mood.
Oh my goodness.
Have you ever been lazy and not wanna cook, but you're hungry?
Absolutely. This is my day.
I might have a Cheerio. That's why
I had kids. Some of my kids actually like to cook. I'm like, hey. Yeah. Go make me something.
Arden cleaned the the kitchen the other day because she was like, I wanna do my homework down here, and it's messy. So she cleaned it all up, and I got home. Oh my gosh. I was like, kitchen was so clean. I said, wow.
The kitchen's really clean. And, and Kelly goes, yeah, Arden cleaned it. And, we were like, sucker. And she's like, yeah. Oh my gosh.
Yeah. You had to get them to do back in the day, you could just force your kids to do anything, but there's rules now.
Yeah. Yeah. Now they there's you're supposed to give them a choice now.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it's and then by the way, find it to be a mistake.
Yeah. Oh my child labor laws. You're just asking them to cut the lawn.
Yeah. Exactly.
Natalie, I'm gonna go because I my gosh. I find you very lovely and, this could just go on forever. Dexcom sponsored this episode of the Juice Box podcast. Learn more about the Dexcom g seven at my link, dexcom.com/juicebox. The podcast you just enjoyed was sponsored by Tandem Diabetes Care.
Learn more about Tandem's newest automated insulin delivery system, Tandem Mobi with Control IQ plus technology at tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. There are links in the show notes and links at juiceboxpodcast.com. I can't thank you enough for listening. Please make sure you're subscribed or following in your audio app. I'll be back tomorrow with another episode of the juice box podcast.
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© 2007–2026 Juicebox Podcast. All rights reserved.
#1907 Come On Over, Valerie
Come On Over, Valerie
Valerie’s daughter was diagnosed at 12 in full DKA. A year later, a newly-diagnosed mom on California’s Central Coast has become a confident, bold advocate — and shares how she got there.
Jump to a moment
- Type 1 can hide until it’s an emergency. Reagan’s slide — fatigue, stomachaches, weight loss, crying over homework she loved — was easy to chalk up to a stressful season, until a friend noticed her clothes hanging off her. She arrived at the hospital in full DKA with a blood sugar of 860. Trust the “mom gut.”
- You’re allowed to be the one who adjusts. Told the pump “should do it all” and to stop touching it, Valerie kept going once she understood why — and dialing in the correction factor is what finally got her daughter where she needed to be. Scott’s long-held view: feeling autonomously able to make meaningful setting changes is one of the biggest predictors of success.
- Adjust in small, deliberate steps — not by guessing. Valerie changes a couple of points at a time, waits a day or two, then keeps or reverts. She used a large-language model as a starting-point estimate (weight, age, puberty) and then refined from there — not blindly following it.
- Community and format matter. A podcast during chores, a mom spotted at a horse show, one friend on call day and night — Valerie assembled her knowledge from an ecosystem, not a single source. Her A1C went from 11.5 at diagnosis to 5.9, with her daughter running track, playing soccer and basketball, and barrel racing.
- Management first, then the rest. Reagan hasn’t fully “digested” the diagnosis, and that’s okay — Valerie is comfortable carrying it for now. Scott’s note: get the management buttoned up so it buffers the mental-health and burnout challenges that come later. (Reagan also has Hashimoto’s, currently untreated.)
- Touched by Type One — episode sponsor; programs and support for people with type 1 (Facebook, Instagram, touchedbytype1.org)
- Pro Tip Series — starts with “Newly Diagnosed / Starting Over”; the fats-and-protein and correction-factor concepts Valerie leaned on (verify slug)
- Small Sips Series — short, listener-voted takeaways (verify slug)
- Juicebox setting estimators & series menu — correction-factor/settings estimators and every series, up in the menu
- T1D Exchange Registry — a ~10-minute survey that moves type 1 research; US adults with T1D or caregivers
- Tandem Mobi (Control IQ+) — the pump Reagan uses; sponsor link
- Eversense 365 — one-year CGM; sponsor link
Every word of the conversation
Meet Valerie0:00
Friends, we're all back together for the next episode of the Juice Box podcast. Welcome. Please don't forget that nothing you hear on the Juice Box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan or becoming bold with insulin. Are you an adult living with type one or the caregiver of someone who is and a US resident?
If you are, I'd love it if you would go to t1dexchange.org/juicebox and take the survey. When you complete that survey, your answers are used to move type one diabetes research of all kinds. If you'd like to help with type one research but don't have time to go to a doctor or an investigation and you wanna do something right there from your sofa, this is the way. T1dexchange.org/juicebox. It should not take you more than about ten minutes.
Have you tried the small sip series? They're curated takeaways from the juice box podcast voted on by listeners as the most helpful insights for managing their diabetes. These bite sized pieces of wisdom cover essential topics like insulin timing, carb management, and balancing highs and lows, making it easier for you to incorporate real life strategies into your daily routine. Dive deep, take a sip, and discover what our community finds most valuable on the journey to better diabetes management. For more information on small sips, go to juiceboxpodcast.com.
Click on the word series in the menu. The episode you're about to listen to was sponsored by Touched by Type One. Go check them out right now on Facebook, Instagram, and, of course, at touchedbytype1.org. Check out that programs tab when you get to the website to see all the great things that they're doing for people living with type one diabetes. Touched by type1.org.
This episode is sponsored by the Tandem MOBI system, which is powered by Tandem's newest algorithm, Control IQ Plus Technology. Tandem MOBI has a predictive algorithm that helps prevent highs and lows and is now available for ages two and up. Learn more and get started today at tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. Today's episode of the Juice Box podcast is sponsored by the Eversense three sixty five. You can experience the Eversense three sixty five CGM system for as low as $199 for a full year.
Visit eversensecgm.com/juicebox for more details and eligibility.
Hi. I am Valerie, and I have I'm a mother to a type one diabetic daughter who is 12 and going straight through puberty.
Fun times. Is this is she is she your only child?
No. I have a nine year old son.
Okay. 12 year old daughter, nine year old son. 12 year old daughter has type one. How long has she had it?
She was diagnosed 03/01/2025.
03/01/2020. Oh, wow. March, April, May. Just a year and a couple of months there.
Yes.
Okay. Okay. Pretty new to the whole thing. How old are you?
Absolutely. I am 42.
42. And married?
Yep.
Married. Married. Okay. 42, married, two kids, diabetes. What brings you here today?
Like, what made you say I I should add my voice to this whole thing?
Because of the complete unawareness of it all, I would like to maybe start with her diagnosis because that is what is so strong with me. And the fact that even sitting in a hospital telling me them telling me that she has type one diabetes, I had no idea what they were talking about. Mhmm.
So what gets you to the hospital? What did you see? Was she ill? Did somebody say something to you? How did that whole work?
Go through that part.
From Mexico to the Bathroom Floor3:52
Yeah. Absolutely. Okay. I start with Mexico. We went to Mexico in January.
Everything was fine, normal. When we got back, she was acting very tired. My stomach hurts here and there. I have a headache here and there. She has always been very bright with school and no problem with homework.
Towards the closer to the diagnosis, I was seeing her crying over, like, math homework, which she loves Mhmm. Any type of thing like that. And I was like, I am so confused. Yeah. And we I didn't have my husband in my life at the time because we were separated, and it was just me.
And I was chopping that all up to our family is going through a stressful time. These are just normal kid things that happen. Maybe she just got overrun that day, and feeling a little off.
Of all the things that threw you off about or the the yeah. I guess shone a light on her, the stomach pain, the the not being able to deal with things that she's usually good at, was there one thing that, like, hit you harder than the rest as something that really made you worry?
Yeah. So that went on for, like, a month, two months, and then she went she she had she's rode horses since she was five. She went to a horse show early in the morning, rode all day long. I was at my son's baseball game working the Snack Shack. I had a friend drop her off.
And prior to that, my friends had kinda said, oh, look at her little pants. They're so big on her. And I remember looking like, oh, that's weird because I don't remember that. But, your mind plays tricks with you. Mhmm.
When you see your kid every day, you don't notice the weight loss.
Sure.
So she came to me, and she was very embarrassed because she couldn't at that time, she was having trouble holding her her pee. You know, she had go pee all the time.
Mhmm.
I did not notice a lot of water. I I know in a lot of episodes I hear that they were just drinking, you know, eight glasses or more, but I didn't it was just the norm. So that day is the diagnosis day. And so she comes to the snack shack. I'm busy.
I'm like, okay. Here. Have some french fries. Have some Sprite. Have some peach rings.
Those were our favorites to share together. Mhmm. So then we go home, and she just kinda gets worse. And I'm like, okay. Just take a shower.
Maybe you're just tired from riding your horse all day. She didn't have a towel in the bathroom, and she, at that time, was in a lot of pain with her stomach and just her whole body. So she was in the fetal position on the mat in the bathroom. And at that point, I came and gave her a towel, and all I saw was a skeleton and her all her ribs. And I was like, oh my god.
I don't know what's going on. This was a Saturday, of course. I do have a friend down the street, and she was in nursing school, and that's the only thing I could think of. I called her, and I said, I don't know what's going on. Something's wrong.
Yeah. But in my mind, it was like starvation. I said, what do you wanna eat? She said, Chipotle. I took her.
We went in the drive through. When I tried to give her food because I was like, just eat just eat. Her mouth was then so dry. She could not swallow, could not eat. Again, keep in mind, I know nothing about the type one and what I should look for.
So I'm it's not making sense to me. So then we get home. My friend comes by. She checks her out. She does all of her her stuff.
She says she looks alright, but something's kind of off. She's kind of thinking the worst, more cancer like, but then she's like, can you smell her breath? And I did. It did not smell fruity. She's like, I'm gonna go home and get my glucometer.
So she goes and gets it, and it just didn't work. And she's like, that's weird. I maybe it's broken. Maybe my glucometer's broken. And she said, don't wanna send you to the hospital because I feel bad.
I was like, it's okay. Like, just keep my son. I will take her. I would rather go to bed knowing what was wrong or if something's going on.
And that's how worried you were. You were beyond, like, we can't ignore this any longer.
Yeah. But still not knowing what it was. And how knowing, like, really what a finger stick meant.
Sure. Valerie, give me a half a second, though. Like, Mexico, which, by the way, I can't believe you brought that up so earlier. I could've called this one south of the border disorder. But but it's too early it's too early in the episode.
But but so from Mexico to this, you know, skeleton on the floor Chipotle ride, how what how much time is there?
That was the middle of January. So, like, the end of January to, basically, the end of February,
March 1. Maybe about four, five weeks time?
Yeah.
That whole space okay. Go ahead. I'm sorry. So you you leave your son with your friend, and you head to the hospital?
860 and Full DKA8:34
Yes. And so we we live where there's, a smaller hospital. So it's just, like, the general hospital, and she said, just to ask them to check her finger, and I just wanna know if mine is broken. So I got in there, and I told them exactly that. Like, just wanna check her finger.
And for some reason, there was other people in the waiting room, but they just knew. Mhmm. They took her back. And sure enough, I still, again, didn't know what it meant, all it read was high on the hospital one, and their faces turned white. Nurses started running, and I'm just like, I don't know what's going on.
Later, come to find out, yeah, her her blood sugar was 860. Wow. Full DKA. They said we have to get her in and start her on IVs right away, but then we had to get an ambulance and be transferred an hour down south to go to the children's hospital.
You had to get to a different hospital. So did they stabilize her at the first hospital, or did they move her right away?
They they only started fluids. They didn't have any type of pediatric diabetes anywhere at all there. So, no, she was not. She wasn't anything
long at all. They got you got they got you out of there fast.
Yeah. So we had an hour ride. They did not wanna start insulin at all until she was at the pediatric hospital.
How long was she in that pediatric hospital?
She went into the ICU. That was the scariest thing in my life. I did not sleep for forty two hours. Talk about trauma. And she stayed there for a week.
Just she actually got stable pretty quick, and then we stayed in the pediatric just unit for about three days for education.
Okay. And was she did she come back to life? Did her her body fill out while she when she got back on the insulin? Like, how did you how did you notice all that stuff?
Absolutely. Absolutely.
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“I Want Bacon”12:33
That first day, yeah, she was, completely out of it. She did not go into a coma, but she was just obviously tired. She slept for a long time. When she woke up, she said, I want bacon.
I have that feeling when I wake up some days. So And
she's just a little girl. Like, she's always been small, but it was just so funny. And I'm like, oh, yeah. She's feeling better. She wants bacon, and she wants all this off of her right now.
Yeah. That's awesome. Well, so she popped back pretty quickly. Now at this point, somebody's told you type one diabetes. Yeah.
Do you have any context for it? Or is New. It all comes from those couple days in the hospital that your initial context?
Absolutely. It does not like, we've had a little bit of type two in the family because of lifestyle. Never had never thought I of being a medical parent. Nothing in my life as far as family and all that was never a thing.
Okay.
So it was so far in my mind. So, yeah, this was all a shock. The ER doctor had to take me out and just sit me down and explain little by little. But at that point, it's so much information, and I was not sleeping for days. It was a lot.
Yeah. And it's taken me a long time to really digest it.
How how do you mean?
Just all of the information that goes with it, it took me a a little bit.
Okay.
And I and I just don't I was don't I think I was ready for it. When when you have something that changes your life in a moment, it it really takes a while.
Yeah. No. Sure. Yeah. You're not gonna just immediately be like, oh, I completely understand.
I got it. Thanks a lot. But Yeah. But so we you're what are you now? Fourteen, fifteen months removed from this thing.
Right? Are you still absorbing it? Like, would you say that it's still a learning process? And if so, where are you learning from?
Learning From the Podcast14:33
That's a great question. That's what I wanted to talk about. I'm learning from you, Scott. I'm learning from you and your listeners and your and your guests. So she does have a great doctor, but she's very conservative.
We had to wait the six months for the pump, which, yes, that just confuses me. She did have a Dexcom from the hospital, which I don't know how I could have ever lived without that. And just listening because, like, her doctor would love for us to take it super slow and not do what I'm doing. Like, in the beginning, yes, I was that mom of, like, I feel comfortable with her being at 200 and above because, you know, in the hospital, they are talking about lows and all of that. Not really the highs as much.
Yeah.
So when I'm coming home, you do feel like you're coming home with a newborn of, like, oh my god. I don't know what I'm doing. So that was me for a bit. And my daughter, she did not let this stop her one bit. I'm gonna cry because she was just like that.
She went to school the first day she could, never stayed home, never stopped her sports, nothing. She has taken this and ran. I don't think she has fully digested it herself because I am the full caretaker of
it. Mhmm.
But she's not letting it stop her.
What do you mean you don't think she's completely digested it?
Like, if I ask her, what is your number? I don't know. I don't know.
You feel like she hasn't taken it on completely?
Yes.
Absolutely. She she's aware she has type one. She knows it's not gonna go away, like, that kind of stuff. Does she feel accepting of that part of it?
I don't know. I don't know. She is a little bit hard to talk to. I do we do need to get her hooked up with someone. She is going to camp next month, so I'm kind of waiting for that, to see what else needs to come after that.
But it's it's it's odd because she wears her Dexcom. She she's on the tandem Moby. She'll wear it on her arm here and there, and if it's out, it's out. She's not trying to cover it.
Mhmm.
But she is just very, no. I'm just normal. I'm just doing my thing.
It's a slow process. Also, she's some would you how did you put it? She's sometimes hard to talk to. That describes every human being I've ever met in my entire life, including me. So Yes.
Yes. Yes. It nobody credit. Yeah. Nobody wants to sit down and chat about all the things that are bothering them.
That's not a it it it's not it just doesn't feel I mean, not that you shouldn't, but it doesn't feel natural. When someone approaches you and says, how do you feel about this? You may not know how you feel about it. You may know and not wanna tell somebody. I mean, there's a a lot to this.
Talk about a a marathon. You you know what I mean? Like Yes. Getting to the end of that. But she's Yeah.
But she's taking care of herself, like, well. Right? Like, she wears her gear. She's not scared to Yeah. Show it to somebody, but she doesn't have the level of connection to it that you want or a level connection that you have.
I think that I have. I think that I am totally okay with completely overseeing all of this. I want her to take it as it comes and as she can digest it. I think, you know, she's 12. She has plenty of time that she's gonna have to deal and live with this, and I am completely willing and wanting to do this for her at this time.
Mhmm. So I'm not too worried about that right now.
Yeah. I I wouldn't be either. I I don't I don't subscribe to the idea of, like, you know, it's their disease. Give it to them now. They need to know.
Like, yeah, they need to know, and that's all true, but it doesn't have to happen all today. Right. And
she's absolutely so smart. Like, if she had to do a site change right now, she could do it herself, and and a DexCom, all of that. She she does know. She just simply just doesn't wanna have to take care of it right now.
You're proud of her.
I am so proud of her. I'm so incredibly proud of her. What she's taken on is amazing, and these type one diabetics are so incredibly strong.
No kidding. Okay. So you're saying you were told you're given more conservative marching orders from your doctor. Not not bad necessarily, but what it was, it not moving quickly enough for you? Or
Conservative Orders, and Fighting for the Pump18:45
I didn't I didn't know it all. I had no idea. So in the beginning, you know, she's going to school, and I'm, like, telling the nurses, no. I want her to stay in the two hundreds. Like because in the beginning, she was dipping really quick.
Mhmm. You know? Her body was getting used to trying to stabilize that healthy blood sugar. So when she would see a 100, it was like it was going down fast. So in those times, in those beginning when I think back, it was like, okay.
200 made me feel safe. And the doctors never really, like, pushed me further. And then we got on the pump, and I had to ask for that and keep on track with it. And another thing I have on my list is the insurance. So I had to be the one to, like, make sure that I get it within that year so I could actually get it covered.
You know what I mean?
Did you not have medical insurance at that point?
No. No. We do.
Oh, you do? Okay. Okay. What did you mean you had to get you had to get what in that year? Tell me I'm not pump.
Oh. Oh. Oh, I see.
Sorry. Like, all of the deductibles and everything was covered. So we knew at that point everything, her prescriptions and all that, were getting covered up by a 100%.
I see. Okay. Actually, that's completely my fault if I'm being honest. There's this is gonna sound ridiculous to some people, but there's a lizard in a cage that just leapt across it, and it took my attention for half a second. And then you said that, and I thought, I just did I miss what she just said just there?
So sorry.
Are you in your new office?
No. I'm so close to being in my new office. No. The the the cruise is this month in June, and I'm going to ADA in June. So in the I don't know how many days there are in June 30 or 31.
I know there's, like, a there's supposed to be isn't there a hymn, like, you can, like, sing to get to it? But, how many days there are in each month? But however many days there are in June 2026, I'm only gonna be home for half of them. And so I I'm up to the, we're waiting for the carpeting to be installed, and then, I've gotta get furniture. And I think I'm gonna move my office side first and the recording side second, because I have to get up the sound dampening on the wall still on the recording side.
So yeah.
I've been following
all Thank you. Yeah. I'm I'm trying to get to I my hope is that end of the summer, by August, for sure, I'll be working out of there. So there's still a lot of stuff to do. Then I gotta move all these guys with me to where they're gonna live.
And so anyway, and I'm doing it by myself. So it's and I'm working. So it's not Yeah. Absolutely. It's not going quickly is what I'm saying.
Yeah. We should probably
Take it slow.
Yeah. I I I think I have some people related to me looking for work. I should probably just start being like, hey. Can you move a desk? Can you do this?
Yeah. You
know? Absolutely.
But but, okay. So when you say when you say, you know, they're they're going slowly, the and the reason I wanna know about this is, you know, anybody who's ever tried to market something, you know, like, when you I don't know. If you sell a widget, right, you does how does somebody in Peoria, Illinois end up with your widget? You have no idea. Like, you'd like to think you do.
Right? Like, oh, I bought an ad or I you know, it was in a magazine or in the end, you don't know how you don't know how information travels. It's it's really difficult to, like, conceptualize how it does. Like so, like, I don't know what even what part of the country you're in if you're comfortable saying that.
Finding It From the Central Coast22:16
But Yeah. I'm on the Central Coast Of California.
Okay. Okay. How does someone in California, while their 11 year old is being diagnosed with type one diabetes, end up finding out about a podcast made by a guy in New Jersey watching a lizard jump across the tank? And and, like and and and how do you know to look for it? Like like, what's the trigger that makes you go, what I'm being told here, it's good, but it's not enough.
I need more. Where do I go look for more? How do you find out which way to go once you turn that way? It's just it's such a web of un unknown for me. I
don't Absolutely. Yeah. So I do not remember how I found yours. I I am on TikTok. I am on all the socials.
You know? So I'm sure something popped up. And then I do like to listen to podcasts when doing house chores and at work. I do have a little bit of ADD. So, like, when things are going in the background, I tend to work better.
So I I don't remember how I found it, but it was a little while after diagnosis. It was close to her getting the pump, so I would say, six months
Okay.
After her diagnosis.
And you Yeah.
In the hospital, I didn't have any any
Bandwidth.
Outlet, any nothing.
Yeah. You probably didn't even think to look. I I didn't think to I just thought whatever they're telling me is the whole thing. You know, it has to be. Right?
You don't know. Absolutely.
Okay.
So I just started listening, and I started from one. I started from one, but then I started seeing because then I started following your page and on your page, and I started seeing newer things. And I'm like, oh, I should probably kinda go backwards again and see where we are now currently. Mhmm. But I did listen to quite a bit of, you know, Arden's very first in the beginning and and and just kind of all of that.
Yeah.
She graduated from college the other day. That's gotta freak you out if you started listening from the beginning. Yeah. Yes.
And that's why I just think it's amazing because you've been through it all. What I'm gonna go through now with all of it. See, I have questions about that too.
Yeah. Well, I mean and the stuff I haven't been through, somebody I've talked to probably has been.
Absolutely.
Yeah. That that's why I like this this format so much.
So I so I right now, I'm into the pro series, and that is so helpful.
Good.
But I wanna tell you one thing about your podcast, and you're gonna laugh because
I hope so.
Yes. I found out in the beginning, yes, it was, you know, don't don't be afraid of insulin that stuck with me vague. So the doctors had to kind of stop me. At one point, it was the nurse and the social worker got getting on the phone with me saying, do not touch the pump in a very nice way, but I was like, woah. What is going on?
I'm touching it because it's just simply not getting her. But I understood what they were trying to say. They wanted to see the baseline. I tried that.
Oh, so they they set something up, and then they wanted to see a return on what they set up, but you were giving more insulin. And Absolutely. And they and they well, well, couldn't they just see that as the example that maybe it wasn't using enough insulin? Like, why do you have to swipe?
What I was trying to
say too. And yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. So, I was cleaning toilets in my house, listening to your podcast, and it was the podcast with someone from Tandem itself talking. And she was saying that the correction factor is gonna be the key to the pump, and I'm like, what the hell is correction factor?
What the Hell Is Correction Factor?25:31
Laurel, I'm sorry. I coughed in your in your ear. Laurel Laurel, this is pretty recently. Yeah. I you should know I just recorded, like, five or six short episodes with her.
Oh, awesome. Awesome.
I like her a lot. I I I I really do. Okay. So she she mentions correction factor, and you're like, what's that mean?
Yes. So I'm like she and she's telling me, you know, in my ear while I'm cleaning your toilet Mhmm. This is gonna be the key to to the pump. And I'm like because at first, everyone's telling me how great the Moby is, and I'm like, yeah. But it's not getting my daughter where she needs to be.
Mhmm. And when I find this information, I'm like, hello. So I I look it up. I research it. And sure enough, I do make changes to her correction factor, and it worked.
Yeah. Amazing. And and so it just made me super frustrated that why do I have to be, you know, listening to find this information out? Is it not
the doctors didn't tell you?
Yes. And and, like, maybe they told me at the pump, training, but it is a lot to take in.
Mhmm.
But, yeah, I guess, why why was that not being tweaked?
The thing I try to
You know what I mean?
Yeah. Yeah. The thing I try to think about is that you're you're buying an insulin pump. Right? Like, I don't know what the there's no through line here.
But, like, say you buy a coffee maker, and you plug it in and and you put in the four scoops in this amount of water like it says, and the coffee doesn't come out right. And you're like, people say this coffee is good. It's not it's not bad. It's not great. And then you you learn later online that the real key to it is taking the electric cord, wrapping the electric cord once around the base, then plugging it in.
And then you wanna have the handle on the right and use a quarter of a scoop more per scoop than it says, and only use RO water. And then you're gonna get great you know? Then And you go, oh my god. This thing makes perfect coffee. Why would no one tell me this?
Exactly. That's the feeling I think about the insulin pumps. Like, you're you're I think your understanding is I I would throw CGMs in with this as well. Is that is that the thing does what it does, and it does it perfectly. It doesn't need adjusting.
And then to realize that, you know, for a pump, its settings, carb ratio, sensitivity factor, blah blah blah blah, like, all that stuff, Those have to be dialed in really well, or it's not gonna work as well as it could. And then with the CGM, I've gotta be hydrated. It's gotta be in a good spot on my body. Like, but, you know, all the little, like, the little finicky parts of these things, no one speaks about that.
Exactly. And then here we are so dependent on these things for our children's lives. We're tired. We are running around crazy trying to figure these things out. So, yes, it it did feel very frustrating to have to find a a key point to all of this
in a very
odd way.
Let me ask you a question. Also, then you're given the thing. You're told the thing does a thing, then it doesn't, and you're left with thinking, well, it doesn't work then.
Yes. And that's what the doctor said. She said that, you know, this pump should be able to do it all. There are other ones that I would tell you to please, you know, interact with it and touch it more, but this is one that you shouldn't. And I'm like, okay.
Well then and then you flip on a podcast from some dipshit in New Jersey and listen to a lady from Tandem talk, and you're like, well, the lady that works at the company doesn't seem to agree with what the doctor said. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Whoopsie.
Yeah.
So so I, yeah, I I I change it. I've never been a big chat GP tier. I can never say that.
Mhmm.
But I did look into it, and I did put her weight. I put her age and, you know, the fact that she's going through puberty. And they did give me a little bit of a a guide. And I'm not I am very in tune with her pump. I am very I watch her stuff all all the time.
I'm very in tune with her diabetes. So it's like, I'm not going to just take exactly what chat GPT says, but it was very close. And I did tweak it a little by little, and and we're we're definitely getting there.
Tell so tell me, Valerie, when you is it do you like Val or Valerie? Do you prefer?
Either one. I've gotten both my whole life. I it's totally up to
you. Well, because the Valerie makes me wanna sing. Is there a song called Valerie?
Yes. Amy Winehouse.
Oh, that's another That's what's in the back of my head. Yeah. I okay. Come on
there, Valerie.
Yeah. Yeah. So okay. You are you're a little lost. The doctor's like, don't touch it, but you're like, I'm gonna be touching it anyway just in case you're wondering.
Yeah. And then so and then you're like, well, I don't know what to do. So you go to ChatGPT, and you're like, this is how much she weighs. Like, where'd you even get that idea from? Is that from me?
No. I think so. There so okay. I have to tell you another part of this story too. In this type one diabetes world, I am I am shown that it is very small.
And so there was this mom at a horse show, and her little son walked by, and I saw Dexcom. And if you get to know me, you're gonna know me now. I ran after this kid. My daughter's name is Reagan. I said, Reagan, that kid's wearing a Dexcom.
The Horse Show Mom and ChatGPT30:48
Get him. No, mom. Don't do it. Don't do it. Does she have a lasso?
Could she get him with a no. I guess not. Go Right? I'm sorry. I've watching Dutton Ranch.
So Oh, yeah. Yeah. I love that.
So it was so funny. So, yeah, I totally ran after, but the mom was amazing. And so then she told me her diagnosis story, and she was like, I asked Chatbeti I
love that you can't say that because that trips me up sometimes. So you gotta roll Oh my god. You gotta roll through it. Chatbeti. Like that.
Do it like that.
There you go. Yeah. Chatbeti. Same. She asked because the the hospital had kind of, like, shunned her.
Like, no. You don't know what you're talking about, lady. You know? Mhmm. So she actually put in there, what do I say to them to, like, have them listen to me?
And so I guess that that just stuck with me, so I just kind of went from there.
Yeah. So I have those I have those estimators on my website, but I have the I have
the I have looked. Yeah.
I have the damnedest time, like, getting information like that out to people. Like, it is really you have no idea. I'm I'm not gonna sit here and complain about it, but, like, you know, any link I share on Facebook, Facebook doesn't want you leaving Facebook. So it kinda quells it. It doesn't show it to as many people.
If I complain about something or show you a picture of my daughter's graduation, then, you know, 50,000 people say it. But if I'm like, hey. Here's a you know, here's a thing you might go use that might help you, that won't show it to five people. So Oh, no. Yes.
It's lovely. But so okay. You she mentioned chat GPT about something else. You think, hell, I'll try it. You go in there, say, hey.
Here's some details about my kid. This is the pump she's using. Here's the outcomes we're having. What should I do maybe to make this better? And it put you comfortably enough being what it told you, you felt comfortable with enough to start with, and then you adjusted off of that.
Absolutely. Yes. And she would she's never been super bad. Like, she her a one c diagnosis was eleven point five. Mhmm.
And our first checkup, it was we got it down into the sixes, but I didn't really even know honestly about an a one c until a couple months. You know, I got used to what it was and what it meant.
Yeah. Yeah.
And now she is I mean, she is I'm still having to change things a lot, basal rates and all of that, because of her her puberty. Like, you just never know a day, but she is sometimes 90% in range to 88 to 85 on a bad time.
So is it fair to say that your motivation is more about getting those you don't want those spikes?
Yes. Because, you know, what you said before too is that, you know, the sugar is coarse, and it runs in their veins, and that is a motivation. And that's what got you up at night, and that's what gets me up at night.
Yeah. Well, it still makes me feel that way. Yeah. I I was talking to my neighbor the other day who's probably got prediabetes, and I I just have that feeling for him. You you you know?
Like, I actually I I I looked at my 70 year old neighbor, and I was like, I need you to do something. I can't keep worrying about you. I was like, it's making me upset. Damn it. I was like, give it me and do something.
And I think if they thought of that of it that way, they would feel maybe the same too.
Well because He's gonna think of it that way now because that's what I said to him. So I I said, listen to me. One day when you when you stand up and go, ugh, and fall over, I'm like, it's going to be because, you know, a high content of glucose in your blood system tore a little tiny hole in some artery or vein or something near your heart, and your body patched it over one too many times and blocked it. And that's how I was like, is that what you want? I was like, come on.
You you you know what I mean? Like, just for him, it's just a GLP. He just needs a GLP. He'll be fine. And and, and he's, oh, I don't know.
My wife's worried about it. I I don't wanna have problems in the bathroom. I'm like, you know who doesn't have problems in the bathroom? Dead people. So, like, you know, you know, was like, you know, let's get to it.
Anyway, so you figure out this for yourself. How long ago was this that you did this?
I think I've been really, really pushing and staying on it probably since she's got the pump. So
Last eight months?
Yeah.
Okay. Yeah. And and and where and did it work? I mean, are you I realize she's prepubescent and all that, but, like, for the most part, you're happy with where you're at now with all the decisions you made.
Yeah. Yes. We we do love the pump. It is you know? And I've gotten a lot of other people that I they actually come to me now and ask questions.
And I had a friend just recently, her daughter was on the Islet, also a teen, and just switched to the the Moby. And I said, it's going to be great. You just have to be patient with it. And once it's all tweaked and and everything's figured out, it's gonna be amazing. And she literally just texted me when we were on the phone and said that her range went from 67 to 85.
Autonomy Is the Predictor36:16
Oh, ain't that awesome?
With that.
It is. I'll say two things. First thing, tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. If you're interested in learning more about Tandem, please use my link. And the next thing is I I I've been do I've been saying this for a decade.
Okay? It's timing, amount, settings, understanding the impacts of your food. But I'll tell you one of the biggest predictors of somebody who's gonna be successful with type one diabetes, my opinion, is someone who feels autonomously able to make changes to their settings in a meaningful way.
You There you go. Yeah. I believe that too.
Yep. Diabetes is not gonna be set up and forget it. You're gonna have to make adjustments. And if you are in a situation like you were in the beginning where you're like, I this, we're not using enough insulin. And then when you say that back to a doctor, they slap your hand and tell you, no.
Don't touch the pump. Well, if you listen to them, welcome to a lifetime of a problem. You you know what I mean? Because and you need to feel autonomous and in an educated way. I don't mean just, like, you know, you're just, like, running around Harry Carey just, like, turning knobs and being like, I wonder what this will do.
But if you understand this stuff enough to make some meaningful adjustments to your settings, you are gonna do much better. Much, much, much better. Yeah.
Yes. And and just do the research behind it. But once you do get the idea of them, yes, just tweak them. I just do a couple points at a time, wait a day or two, see how it's going, keep it or, you know, adjust it back or or do more. Yeah.
And and that's where I am right now.
You play sports in school at all?
Yes. I played basketball.
Yeah. You can't play afraid. Like, it's okay to lose, but it's not okay to lose because you didn't try.
Absolutely.
That's kinda how I think about it. Like, I'm not saying again, I you're not out there just turning knobs and be like, I wonder what this will do, but go educate yourself a little bit. And then once you feel like you have enough, just be bold. You know? Move forward.
I you know, try something. I mean, you
know Bold with the insulin and bold with the the settings for sure.
If you don't know what you're talking about, try to find somebody that does. If your doctor doesn't know, try to find a different doctor. Like but please don't just sit still and go, well, I guess this is good enough, and then you start feeling ill. You know? And and then it it it listen.
I I can't I I feel like I can't say the same thing over and over again, but then at the same time, there's always new people coming on, so here it is again. Mhmm. Health drifts away slowly such that you don't realize it's happening. So if if you're living with higher blood sugars or your kid is, they don't feel well for the first couple days, the third day, the fifth day, the tenth day. Two months later, their body gets accustomed to not being in a healthy range.
That doesn't mean it's healthy for them. It just means they're not running around anymore, you know, like, oh, my stomach hurts all the time or whatever. Like, that doesn't mean that what's happening to them is okay. You you know, like, you you you your body exists in an optimal range, and diabetes is already messing with that. But I would tell you the same thing if you if your vitamin b twelve is too low, if your vitamin d isn't right.
Like, these things, the more optimized your body is, the better it works, the better you're going to feel, the better your life is gonna be, the fresher your mind is gonna be, and all the great things that come with being, you know, in that situation. This this insulin part is is front and center. You know? Absolutely. Yeah.
You need the amount you need.
You know, yes, they have this disease, but they why can't we keep them at a healthy range? You know? We we can. With with these devices, with these monitors, it's possible. It's not like it was before where you did just kinda have to do what you could to keep you feeling good.
Yeah. No. You don't It
is possible.
You have these tools and a and a tiny bit of understanding. I mean, listen. Let's be realistic. Like, I'd love to be grandiose and tell you this podcast is awesome and blah blah blah. Maybe it is.
But at the same time, all you did was find a podcast and then and talk to a lady at a horse show and, you know, and think to yourself, I should know more. And then get the to end of your understanding and then go to somebody else. I mean, you went to chat GPT, you're like, hey. What what is it I don't know here? And then, you know, give yourself a little more information.
You weren't you weren't, like, silly. You didn't go like, oh, you know, magic box. Tell me what to do, and then just blindly do it. You were still thoughtful about the way you applied it, and it took you eight months to get into a better situation. It's not a lot of effort.
You know? Absolutely. Eight months And then Go ahead.
Just find anyone. It doesn't matter who, where, who may be in your same situation. I only had one person, and I remember her son a long time ago just asked me to get him some juice. Did not know what I was doing when I was giving him juice, I heard a beeping. But when I was sitting in the hospital, I thought it's the first person I thought of, and she has been there for me day, night, all the time, always asking questions, and answering them.
And so kind, and and that is very important too.
You're telling me that prior to your daughter's diagnosis, you, you were in a social setting where somebody asked you to get a juice for a kid, and now you realize looking backwards that kid had type one diabetes. But in that moment,
you know.
How about that?
I didn't know in that moment. I didn't know.
So what else do you want people to know? First of all, you're doing a great job on the podcast. Thank you. And Oh, thank you. Yeah.
Yeah. No. Thank hey. Really lovely. But, you know, you're you're fresh to this, but you're moving very rapidly forward.
What do you think other people should know? Like, if they're stuck and they can't move, what what do you think would help them?
I think the main thing that you need to hear first is to be bold with insulin, because, yes, hospitals, doctors do make it sound scary. It is truly not scary if you use it. Sorry. I'm getting over being sick.
So Take your time.
That's why I sound like this. And and that's what you said before too, and the the name juice box. And you had said before of, you know, if they need the insulin, it's gonna work. If they don't, grab a juice box. And that's most of the time what we are doing.
And recently in the pro series, I hear the nudge and
is it nudge? Nudge. Isn't that correct?
Bump and nudge.
Yeah. Yeah.
And I think that should be a slogan for type one diabetes because that is exactly what it is. Mhmm. You're bumping and nudging Yeah. Constantly. And and so I would tell them to to just not be afraid, to look for others, to reach out, to stand up in what you believe.
Because, yes, the doctor, I do love her. I do know that she's smart, but she did have me at one point pull me aside and said, would you like to see another doctor? And I was like, no. No. No.
I do appreciate, you know, you, but I am gonna do what's best for my daughter. So we did have to kinda have that little
Would You Like Another Doctor?43:04
Let's sit in that for a second. So Yeah. Your your doctor is giving you advice that you're not finding to be completely valuable. And you say, well, I believe this is, you know, what we need to be doing. You start doing that thing.
You're not having a scary outcome. In fact, things are getting better. And your doctor's response isn't, oh, wow. This is going better now. Tell me what you do.
It's do you wanna get away from me because you don't wanna listen to me? Like, she he or she doesn't see, like, that you're having better success on your own than you did with her? She's not interested? Yes.
I no. I just think that because it was the first time after the pump, and she saw that she I was really touching it, and she was just, you know, kind of I felt a little bit scolding me, and I was like, mhmm.
That's a passive aggressive shit, by the way, saying, like, do you wanna find another doctor? What that means is why don't you know what? That that would be like when you were eight years old if you didn't listen to your mom, and she said, would you prefer to live somewhere else? Like, woah. What?
Right. That's a lot of pressure right there. Wait. You're abandoning me because of how I feel? Maybe I should shut up and stop saying what I think now if you're gonna kick me out.
Like, what a shitty thing what is wrong with all of you? Jesus I don't know. In heaven, what is wrong with people? Well, look over at Valerie. Say, hey.
She's having some success. Maybe be a little curious instead of it doing what is oh, ew. Yeah. Yes. Yes.
And you still gave this person another chance? Look at you.
I do because I live in a small area.
Like, I had no choice, many
pediatric doctors.
I had no choice. I I I was I Yeah. Mommy drinks a little, but, like, you know, it's this or it's this or the home. So
Kinda feeling that way.
I gotcha. I gotcha. Oh, well, maybe maybe this person will eventually let down their ego guard or whatever and say, hey. Maybe I don't know all this, and and I could learn something from this person.
Yeah. So I I was I I said, no. We will work together at this. We both want the best for her. And this last appointment was better.
She did know I was still touching things, doing things. Just that and she just simply said, at this time, I'm just not gonna change her insulin because I can't see, you know, an actual outcome of just what the pump is doing. And I said, okay. That's fine.
Yeah. Don't tell her this, but I barely got out of high school, and that's an excuse. I you can still figure it out. If if she was proficient at what she was doing, she'd be able to figure it Why are you so calm? Are you you on Xanax?
No. No. What's good?
“I’ve Grown Up”45:57
Did you
is your mom was your mom a therapist? Like, why do you sound so no.
Oh my god.
There's no way. When you're responding to the doctor, why are you so measured? Like, I I'm I'm I'm proud of you, but I how do you get to it?
I've grown up. I will say, I would not react this way late at a different time in my life. I would see red. I was very hot headed. And, no, I guess I've just grown up, and I've realized that your reactions and even though you wanna change people, it's not gonna fucking change them at all.
They're gonna wanna change when they wanna change.
Right.
And so I guess I just took that.
That's like one of the more adult things that's been said to me this month. You you I I was, like, really proud of you. Yeah.
I didn't realize that. Yeah. I I yeah. I guess it's just that. Like, I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing because I know what that is right, and I'm I can't convince anyone else.
I guess it's got it's got it's got to where it's like, you're so busy with this disease. You're so consumed. Like, I'm gonna just let other things go because I have more important things to worry about.
Mhmm. Yeah. You're not you you you're like your husband came home, and he's like, I've been cheating on you. I'm gonna go. And you're like, no.
You're not. Stay here and cut the lawn. I'm gonna pull your shit together and get out there and do a couple things. You're not abandoning me. I'm we're getting this done.
I I almost feel like that's what you did with the doctor. She's like, would you like another doctor? You're like, no. You shut up and stay. We're gonna figure this out.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
And that and that is how I feel.
That is how I feel. You're not getting rid of me. Sit here.
Nope. We're we're gonna do it. You're not getting away that easy and that fast.
I I'll tell you this summer, I've I I don't have a I I gotta get through this next I gotta get through this next month of work so that I can really, like, think again. But my my thirtieth wedding anniversary is coming up in in August.
Enjoying it.
Oh, thank you. And if I if you ask me what's the secret, I would say we're both too stubborn to leave. And so Absolutely.
Absolutely. And you know what? I'm gonna tell my husband later, like, Scott said I was so, like, calm.
He's like, what the hell? He'll be like, woah. Talking to Were you lying to him the whole time? But but no. But, seriously, like, sometimes you just you really do have to have, like, a longer view of things and and realize that every every little mistake or misstep or, you know, something you didn't like is not an excuse to just run away and start over again.
It it's yeah. I mean, I'm not saying if you get a terrible doctor, your life is short. You can go look for another one. But Mhmm. You know, I do wonder, you know, what this is gonna do.
Like, I I'm I'm interested, like, five years from now with this endocrinologist that you you allowed to stay with you, which is the way I see it. You know, will that person say one day, well, thank god that Valerie and I didn't get separated because I I, you know, I dropped my I dropped my force field and I learned something, and I've been helping more people because of it. It reminds me very much. There's an episode of the podcast called listen to the doctor, and I'm so sorry. I can't remember her name now.
But an endocrinologist reached out to me to be to come on the podcast. And it I mean, if you really wanna hear an example of somebody, like like, set their ego aside for, you know, for for other people, The doctor said that she was listening to the podcast or somebody told her about it and they were having success or something. And she started listening, and she came to the conclusion that she was not doing as good of a job for her patients as she could have been. And that's a real that's a real adult thing to say. You you know?
Absolutely. And then she makes adjustments to what she's doing, really applies a lot of the stuff in the pro tip series that I talk about, sees, you know, a massive improvement for the people she's helping. And then she goes back to the rest of the the practice and says, hey. I think we should all be listening to this these episodes and and doing a better job. And she mainly got pushback from the other doctors that that whose conclusion was is that I was bashing them.
They're like, you've given us a podcast where this guy is doctor bashing, and she told them he's not if you feel like he's bashing you, you really gotta look at yourself because he's not. He's just telling you what makes sense and what these people need and how we could help them. You know?
And and I feel like the diabetes world is moving at such a fast pace that you have to, as the doctor, keep up with it.
Oh, yeah. They're gonna give up soon. If this well, I would call this, like, an AI pace at this point. Right? Like Mhmm.
Like, the the the easiest way I can explain it to anybody listening who's not been around it this long is that there was a time in Arden's early diagnosis where if every few years a meter company put out a new meter, you felt like you were getting something. Now the meter didn't work better. It looked a little different. It maybe had a couple of buttons on it. I'm telling you they just refreshed how the thing looked.
And in the diabetes space, you were like, oh gosh. Finally, we're getting something. Then Dexcom came out, and they iterated very quickly, and they still are, by the way. And now that makes people mad. Like, it doesn't do the thing it's supposed to do, or they said it was gonna do this.
I like the way the other one did it. Trust me. You much prefer this than to the, oh, it's a new meter every three years. By you know what I mean? Like like, world.
So now you're iterating faster, then these companies come out with these algorithms. Honestly, you know, the the DIY community was ahead of all of them. And so that forces them to wanna catch up. Like, you know, think about it. You make an insulin pump.
You really wanna look up and find out that you somebody could download the algorithm to do a better job than the thing you they have now with you? No. So you gotta go out there and come up with something too. They come up with something and they go, oh, we did it. And instead of being able to rest on their laurels, which is what would have happened in the past, you know, oh, you got a meter.
We'll make you another meter one day. We'll change the color of it or something. Instead of that, well, Tandem is making you you know, they start with what did they start with? Basal IQ, then they went to Control IQ, and then they're trying other stuff in Omnipod, Omnipod five, Omnipod 5.2. I don't know what they're gonna call the next version of it that's coming out soon.
Medtronic was like, hey. Here's another algorithm. You know, Beta Bionics is like, try this islet thing. Here comes Twist with a a version of the loop. You gotta love this now.
But but if you're one of those doctors who already didn't understand, this is just gonna blank their brains. It's just gonna make them stare it along and go, I don't know. I don't know how that one works. You figure it out.
Yes. So they send the nurses out to go to training and stuff like that.
Yeah. And then they come back and tell you three things, and then you, you know, six weeks later, turn on a podcast with some lady from one of the companies who says something and goes, why? How come no one told me that? You you know? Like, so so when this is gonna be the world from now on, you're if you have a doctor who really is in the know and is keeping up at this breakneck speed, you've got gem.
Like, I say, if I was you, I'd send a bottle of wine to the house once a month. You you know? Just say, don't forget us. We love you. But moreover, that's probably not who you're gonna get.
No. And I and I feel pretty comfortable where I am now. You know, I've heard in other episodes that the insulin dealers, Dexcom dealers, I feel strongly that way. I feel I feel confident. Sorry.
Excuse me. In myself and my daughter of how we're we're doing this. Her last a one c, I was surprised, is 5.9.
Look at you.
Doing great. She runs track. She plays soccer. She plays basketball. She rides horses, barrel races.
All of these things, we're doing it. We're we're we are. As long as we can have someone there to do the the medical prescriptions, I think we're gonna be okay.
Caught in the Orbit54:03
Yeah. Hey. You know that that little meme as the chubby kid making the fist? No.
I haven't seen the movie.
Oh, he never had this. You know what's funny. He's, like, in a green shirt or something. Right? And everybody uses it for, like, you can do it kinda thing.
Yeah.
There's a a group expert in my in my Facebook group, and she made a meme that says, you can do it. Juice Box can help. Something like that. And Yay. Listening to you talk really like, I've always thought that was nice that she did, but, like, you you're the first person to contextualize it for me because I can get lost in the, just listen to this series.
This will help you feeling. Right? But now I'm I'm seeing maybe it's gotten much bigger than all that now. Like, maybe it really is just an ecosystem that has a chance to capture you and and show you itself in maybe eight or 10 different ways across this new Internet. Right?
And Mhmm. You'll bump into it one way or the other and get in there. Like, I I used to feel like it was my job to get you and then tell you, listen. First of all, you've gotta know this, and you've gotta feel this way, and this is the, you the the perspective you're gonna need, and this is the the the motivation that it'll require to get it done. You gotta be bold.
You have to do this. It's a ridiculous notion that I am gonna be able to capture a person and tell them everything I want to tell them. Now I realize, and I've been coming to this for a long time, but, really, your conversation today has really helped me kinda crystallize it a little more, is that I'm just sort of trying to catch you in maybe, like, the the gravity of the podcast and its surrounding community in the hopes that it holds you in orbit long enough that some of those, you know, floating meteor rocks that you need come stick to you, and you build up your own little cache of knowledge. That's a lot
of And I believe that's what happened to me.
Yeah. You know? I think so too. It's almost like I magnetized you and then spun you around in an ecosystem, and eventually enough stuck to you that you were like, I'm a whole person now. I have all the I have what I need.
I do. I do feel like I got all the tools from here, and and I'm good. I don't feel really scared much with it at all.
Yeah. I got the worst business model in the world. Every other company pulls you in and tries to keep you there. My goal is to get rid of you. I want you to feel like you feel so you go away.
But then I gotta go find 10 more people to make up for your downloads because you're out there watching the whole podcast, which, by way, thank you. I appreciate
Yes. Yes. I listen to it all the time. But there's always something new with each one, and I you know, then I'm here sharing my experience, and things are just gonna keep growing within this. So there's always gonna be something new to talk about
Yeah.
And always be something new to listen to. And one thing I wanted to bring up too is that the doctor before I know it's getting to an hour.
You're fine.
The doctors never taught us about fats and proteins, and that's what I'm really my brain hasn't quite wrapped its claws around it yet. That is huge.
Yeah. Just think of it this The fat slows digestion, and it stretches out the timeline of how the food is impacting the blood sugar so much so that you have to adjust how the insulin is hitting the timeline so you can overlap with its impacts. Does that make sense?
Right.
Yeah. Yeah. It's all
And I'm listening to those, and I'm chat GPTing and all of that. Like, she had a pretzel, a soft pretzel at baseball game. I thought I was doing so good. Mhmm. She was this perfect eighties, you know, kinda dipping a little bit.
I said, oh, where'd I got it? Oh, no. Hours later. You know? You're good.
Just throwing it on it at in the two hundreds, trying to keep her under the two hundreds. Just
Yeah. And listen. I here's my real hope. I I mean this, like, sincerely. I'm old.
Like, I in the next six to ten years, you guys gotta figure this out because Scottie gonna get tired at some point. So Yeah. But I think the algorithms will eventually get you to a point where you maybe you don't have to announce a meal, or at the very least, you can announce a meal, and it'll handle the the ebbs and flows that come afterwards. I think I think we can get there with with all this.
I do too.
I too. That exists now. But in the meantime, I don't want people living like that. You you know? And I I really feel like it it your conversation's really been helpful for me, Valerie, because, like, there are times where I can feel like, I don't Is there anything left for me to do?
You know what I mean? Like but I what I realized talking to you today is I just need to continue doing this conversational part of it. We gotta keep bringing people in, some from companies, some from people, some from users, some from doctors, blah blah blah, and let people keep talking to keep throwing more of those little meteorites into the into the, you know, the atmosphere so that when people come in, hopefully, they'll intersect one of those conversations in a way that'll help them.
Absolutely. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. I I that is definitely my marching orders for myself moving forward. Like, I just I need to keep filling the space with the conversation because most people by the way, for every person who might go to a large language model and ask a question, there's 10 people that just heard that that thought. I'm not letting that thing tell me what to do with my insulin.
Trust me. Like, I've and I don't know that you should or you shouldn't. I'm certainly not making a a, you know, a proclamation one way or the other. I'm just saying most people aren't willing to try new stuff and or to go out on a limb or to break free of what the doctor told them. I mean, I would suggest that they listen to your story and try to come to grips with where you'd be if you didn't question what was told to you.
But fair enough. That's not gonna happen for everybody. So maybe they'll bump into enough ideas that it'll change their mind or get them thinking in a different direction or something. You you know, like, that's really can be my only hope. And I think
Yeah. And my only hope would be, you know, just think about your child and that I've heard things on here being said too of, you know, they're sitting in school, and, you know, at 200, can they truly be their best?
Yeah. I don't think so.
No. And and then at a low, can they truly be their best? No. So as a parent, you know, we want to to give our kids all of those opportunities to be their best.
Yeah. No. I mean, it just I I get lost in it all the time because there there are a lot of factors, and I can imagine it's overwhelming. And then sometimes people add thyroid issues or celiac or other problems.
Oh, yes. Regan is, has Hashimoto's.
Oh, when did you find that out?
With her diagnosis. But she is not having any signs and symptoms, so they are not treating it right now.
Okay. But her TSH is elevated or no? Not right now.
I don't know. Not right now. No. It just had, like, markers for it. Mhmm.
My husband has Hashimoto's. I believe his parents have some autoimmune. My mom has alopecia.
Oh. That'd be my radio name if it was the fifties. I'd be like, it's alopecia coming at you. Like, that'd be like, wouldn't that be a great radio name in the fifties? Yes.
Alopecia. That's how I would do it. Alopecia. But oh, so there's a little bit of a a cocktail in the family history. How about you?
Would you have anything? No.
Nothing.
No no anxiety?
Yeah. Well, I think that's just life. Right. I think that's life. I think that's with you.
I'm at a low level of yeah. Yeah. No.
Definitely anxiety. Definitely, yeah, just hyper fixation on on things. And and I think and I will say for doctors, will give them this, that, you know, they are worried about getting overwhelmed with it all. And I believe that there are a lot of people out there that will and will just get tired and the burnout.
Management Now, Mental Health Later1:02:06
Yeah. Val, our conversation stayed a lot with management today, but the truth is and and I don't wanna scare you all. But once you get through this part of it, then the mental health and the life stuff comes. Like, because you're right. There's no reason with all this technology and knowledge available everywhere that you can't have a a lower stable a one c and and and and low variability and have great outcomes.
You absolutely can. But you're still a person, and at some point, that, you know, that feeling of burnout is gonna hit some people, overwhelmed and call whatever you wanna call it. Like, you know, like, at some point, you just you don't wanna get up and think about this stuff all the time, or you just you get so background that you forget to or it drifts away. Again, everything kinda drifts slowly, so slowly you can't tell. You know?
Like, oh, the shoreline's disappearing an eighth of an inch a year, and everybody's like, that's no big deal. Well, come back and find me in two thousand years. You're gonna think it's a big deal then. You you know, like, so, you know, same kinds of ideas. Right?
Things happen so slowly. We can't see them, so we don't react to them. We don't think they're important. We don't prioritize them, etcetera. Mental health is it.
So my my best advice is to get this management side, you know, buttoned up as best you can so that it can hopefully alleviate a lot of that mental health stuff and maybe give you a bigger buffer between where you are now and, I can't handle this anymore. And so that maybe, yes, you'll vacillate, you know, a little closer to that line, a little farther away from that line, but, hopefully, you won't fall on the other side of it too frequently where you really can't handle it. You're not paying attention to things. Your health is slipping quickly. You you know?
But you can't ignore that part. I you know? It's it's a it's a valid conversation. I I would think that, you know, an adult living with type one diabetes for forty years would probably listen to you and be like, ugh. She doesn't even know the half of it.
Wait till she sees. And you know?
And I can agree with that.
Yeah. You know, for sure. Right? But I would just say to them, you don't know the part she knows, which is if, you know, you're doing a good job of understanding insulin and timing and the impacts of the food and the fat and the protein and those things, that maybe the mental health side of it's not as impactful in that situation, and go put some effort back in that side. That's why the first episode of the pro tip series is called newly diagnosed or starting over.
Right.
Yeah. It's on purpose. You know? So, anyway. Alright.
Well, you were really awesome. What am I not talking about with you? What have we not brought up? I don't wanna miss anything.
No. I think I just had written down pretty much what we had covered, awareness.
Yeah.
I mean, up the correction factor. I mean, there's insurance stuff, but that was a whole another hour of talk. That is so frustrating.
Yeah. Just go run your head through a different brick wall. Yeah. Yeah. No.
For sure. For sure. Well, I I really appreciate you doing this with me. This was fantastic. How did I find having me.
Did you reach out, or did I find you, or how how did we get there?
I reached out.
Yeah. I
reached out. I don't again, I don't remember how I was, like I think just listening to your podcast, it said, you know, if you want Beyond, go on to Juice Fox podcast, go to the link or whatever. And I did, and I sent, and I did not expect anything back, and I did.
Well, listen. Here's the truth. Can I tell one of my secrets? Yeah. Think people believe that there's, like, this vetting process, and there's no way I'm gonna make it through and blah blah blah.
I don't turn anybody away, really. Like, I know who
And that's what's great about it because people learn from other people's experiences. Yeah. That's how we learn.
100%. Even when I get an email and I read it and I think, oh, this person's out of their fucking mind. I still wanna have you on the podcast because you know what? There's other people out there, they're out of their mind too. And then they would and they would like to hear your story, and I would like to hear it.
Like, you know what I mean? Or maybe or maybe people are so overwhelmed, think, well, what could they possibly add to it? How about just the knowledge that other people are overwhelmed? You know? You know, like, so I've had I've had people tell me, like, I didn't say anything valuable.
I said, the struggle you're having, hearing it is valuable. And and I said, and I said a couple things to you today that might help you. So it was valuable to you. It'll be valuable to somebody else because nobody has to feel like they need to be perfect. Nobody has to feel like, oh, that well, sure sure they're doing well.
They have it all together. That's how I feel. Every time I interview a professional athlete who tells me that they have, like, a nutritionist that's helping them, and then you ask them about their their management. They don't know the first thing about it. Like, yeah.
Well, it's easy for you because that guy's helping you. Or because, you know, this company that's, you know, that's called a team has a a $40,000,000 investment either. They're not gonna let anything bad happen to you. You're an investment. You you know, like, I don't have that.
Your daughter doesn't have that. Like, I don't have somebody running around after me going, well, Valerie's kids gotta be okay. Like, we gotta make sure we obviously, you don't have that. So I don't like hearing from people who have I I just wanna hear from regular people. You know?
Like, that's where the good that's where this good stuff comes at. And, yeah, you gotta have a long form conversation to get it out because you're not a practiced, you know, interviewee. You're not gonna jump on with your six bullet points. Like, I listen. I like some podcasts that are, like, preset up.
I mentioned one recently that I've been I've been listening to. Guy does a great job, but he clearly has a production staff. Every question's researched out till the end. They know exactly what order they're gonna ask them, and so it builds, you know, a storyline while they're talking. And the person he's interviewing knows what's gonna be asked and has probably answered that question 35,000 times already, so it seems so, like, natural when they say it.
Yeah. We don't have that here, but I don't know how valuable that is.
No. I don't either. And it was so funny because last night, my husband was like, you haven't gotten something with, like, what how it's gonna go and how it's gonna run. I was like, no. That's not
how That's not how this
works. Does it?
I the it's set up like that on purpose. I, I also think when I turn this on, like, every I'll tell you about four times a year, I come on and the person's just not there. And I think, good. That wasn't meant to be then. Like, I I want it to be hard for you to get on the podcast.
Like, easy for you to get the link and the and the and the the offer, but then hard for you to get to the day. Because if you're here, you really have something you wanna share.
Yeah.
Yeah. Absolutely. You had to fight a little bit to get to this spot to get your voice recorded. And, I think that's sort of part of how I come up with this stuff. And I'm not saying to you I couldn't boy, I'll tell you, I could put together 15 rock solid questions and make one of those, like, shiny YouTube podcasts in two seconds.
I just don't know how valuable it would be to people.
No. I I find this very valuable, and I think there's so many others that that do too. It's just it's just people going through the same thing in life having conversations and that we we can relate to and find things in that, you know, we need.
A 100%. No. I agree. I also think that everybody's repetitive. Like, I don't pay a lot of attention to people who compete with me.
I don't know that I have a direct competitor. Like, do you know what I mean? But if people who do do do a similar thing oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to step on you while you're saying something nice. You don't think I have a direct competitor?
No. I don't.
Yeah. Okay. Thanks. I just I just liked it when you said that out loud. And and so but but I see people out there doing a good job, doing a pre what I would consider, like, a prepackaged job.
To me, I find that stuff boring. Like, you sound like a, you know, you sound like a local newscaster. You sound like, you know you know what I mean? Like, hey. The weather today.
I'm like, oh, okay. Or I see people out there doing that. Like, I'm gonna lean really hard into the technology cure thing and yell into the camera. Like, I I can't stand that yelling into the camera thing. Like, I I don't have anything against the people.
It's the format that makes me, makes me nauseous. You know? Like, today, we're here to talk. I'm like, oh my god. Shut up.
Just like and I get it. Like, I get how TikTok works and that, you know, even YouTube videos. Nobody's watching a thirty five minute YouTube video about, like, you know, the new how do you put your Dexcom on? Like, nobody's you know what I mean? Like, you you know, like but I get that they scream to get your attention, so you stop so the algorithm thinks that they watched it, and then, hopefully, you'll scrub through it enough that YouTube will believe that you're a viewer and give them a view.
Like, I I know the game. Like, I I get all that. But for me, long conversation. Let the stuff come out where it comes out with regular people sharing regular stories, not preprogrammed content. And if you've got the tenacity to listen through for an hour, then you deserve what you get out of it.
And if you don't Absolutely. You then maybe it's not for you or maybe you'll have to come back another time, but this is the only way I know how to deliver it. So and I it's the way I think is the best. Well, thank you. And I think I I think my my experience tells me this is the way to do it.
So, anyway, Valerie, you were fantastic. What are some of the lines from that song? Any of it gonna work for a title for us? Is that one of her sad I'm drinking myself to death songs, or is it an upbeat song? No?
Come On Over, Valerie1:11:02
Come on over. What do you think? Lyrics. Yeah. Is it she basically just wants to hang out and come on over.
Is it? Well, that's what we did. I know. We hung out. Hold on a second.
Anyone else? Valerie lyrics. Well, sometimes I go out by myself. Over, Valerie. Yeah.
And I look across the water, and I think of all the things that you're doing in my head, and I paint a picture. Come on, Valerie. Get to the thing. But, by the way, what a sad life. I know.
Poor girl.
So sad.
I missed your ginger hair. This is getting sexual. Hold on a second. Put your house up for sale. Did you get a good lawyer?
I hope you catch a tan. Is this the worst of this song?
I guess
so. Since I since I've come on home alright. I'm just gonna call it come on home, Valerie. Okay. Let's not read too far into the rest of this song or we're gonna have trouble.
I think it just says come on over, Valerie.
Wait. It say come on sometimes I go out by myself and I look across the water. Since I've come on home while my body's been a mess, and I've missed your ginger. Yeah. This is we're gonna get HR involved if I keep reading this.
Hold on a second. Alright. Come on. You think it's come on no. It's since I've come on home.
Valerie. Why don't you come on over? You're right. Alright. Alright.
Let's just we're we're gonna call this one come on over, Valerie. Okay. Alright? Got you. Because we can't call it south of the border disorder.
No matter how much I would have loved that. Alright. Hold on one second, Valerie. Really do appreciate you spending the time with me. Okay.
The conversation you just heard was sponsored by Touched by Type One. Check them out please at touchedbytype1.org on Instagram and Facebook. You're gonna love them. I love them. They're helping so many people at touchedbytype1.org.
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