#1423 Out on the Island
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The mother of a 17 year old type 1 shares their story.
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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.
Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends and welcome back to another episode of The Juicebox Podcast.
Let's see who we have here. Jennifer is an audiologist, and her 17 year old son has type one diabetes. Her husband has celiac her and her mother both have PCOS, and her mother and grandmother have type two diabetes. We talk about the onset diagnosis hospital, thyroid issues with her son, and much more, including insurance and dealing with renewals and a little bit about exercise. Nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan.
If you're newly diagnosed, check out the bold beginnings series. Find it at Juicebox podcast.com, up in the menu in the feature tab of the private Facebook group, or go into the audio app you're listening in right now and search for Juicebox Podcast, bold beginnings. Juicebox is one word. Juicebox Podcast, bold beginnings. This series is perfect for newly diagnosed people. You
this episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by cozy earth.com cozy Earth is where I get my clothing, linens and towels from they are incredibly comfortable and temperate. I love them. I really do love them, and I love that I can give you an offer code that will save you 40% off of your entire order. Just use the offer code Juicebox at checkout, and you will save 40% at cozy earth.com the episode you're about to enjoy was brought to you by Dexcom, the Dexcom g7 the same CGM that my daughter wears. You can learn more and get started today at my link, dexcom.com/juicebox, friends, touched by type one's walk is coming up quickly on March 8 at the Saturday at Lake Eola Park in Orlando, Florida, go now to touched by type one to sign up and register. It's completely free. You're gonna have a wonderful time touched by type one.org. Go to the Programs tab, click on Steps to a cure.
Jennifer 2:32
I'm Jennifer. I live on Long Island, New York, and my son, Mason, is 17. He was diagnosed three years ago. You know, it's just a journey that we've all been on together. And I appreciate this podcast because it has definitely been life changing for us.
Scott Benner 2:53
Well, I'm so glad. All right, so listen, I'm gonna have to old school do notes on paper today, so sorry, but my whiteboard is filled up with stuff about Arden's college that I can't erase. I just realized I've looked up at my whiteboard to start writing. I'm like, I can't move any of that. Mason is 17, correct. Diagnosed at 1414, and you have other kids or No,
Jennifer 3:18
I have an almost 24 year old son and an almost 20 year old daughter. Okay.
Scott Benner 3:25
Do they have any autoimmune issues? Nope. Okay, and married.
Jennifer 3:32
I am married. My husband has celiac. Gotcha.
Scott Benner 3:37
So you see where I'm getting to. I don't actually care if you're married. I just want to know if your husband has celiac. That's all. Celiac, that's all. How
Jennifer 3:44
about you? I have PCOS. My sister has it. My mother has it. Had it. Well, I mean, she's alive, but I think at some point after menopause, they gave up. Yeah, I'm fairly sure my grandmother had it. So my grandmother had type two. My mom has type two. I can tell you, I No one in my family is typical PCOS like, our only issues are infertility and lack of menstruation. Okay. How about your daughter? My my daughter actually is fine. You know, I was very concerned, and so I did bring her to the gynecologist, you know, in a timely manner, but she is showing no signs of PCOS at all. Wow.
Scott Benner 4:29
No, that's maybe some good luck. Finally, on that front, okay, this is very strange, but can you help me pick a woman to cut my hair before we move on? So I had this the screen up in front of me before we got on and I ran out of time. But I really I'm going on vacation a couple days, and I really need my hair cut. So here are my options. My regular person is not available. I guess she has a life too, or something. I'm between Alyssa and Bailey, but I really don't know the difference between the two of them. Can you just see which? One like grabs you. What do you like better? Alyssa or Bailey?
Jennifer 5:05
Am I just choosing based on your name?
Scott Benner 5:07
I mean, I don't have any other things to say about
Jennifer 5:09
them. I mean, I think if you're just getting a trim, it doesn't really matter, as long as you're not going drastic, I think you'll be okay. All right, why don't you bring a picture of you know, how you like the way your hair looks, and have them cut it. I'm such
Scott Benner 5:23
that I'm they're always like, what do you want to do with your time? I cut it just like,
Jennifer 5:27
well, you could also come visit me here and I'll take you to my girl. Yeah,
Scott Benner 5:31
I don't know that. I don't know if I have that kind of time. There's a guy there that I like, but he's very expensive, and I don't see the need. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, at some point
Jennifer 5:40
doesn't you're probably talking to the wrong person, because I literally get my hair cut twice a year, so I don't know.
Scott Benner 5:46
I'm going with Alyssa. Okay, you know what? I recognize her. That's enough.
Jennifer 5:53
So these are people that are at the place you normally go to, but your person is not available.
Scott Benner 5:57
You're making sense? Yeah, it seems that my person might be on vacation, which, I mean, good for her and all, but I'm trying to go on vacation. I'm gonna take the 330 I gotta log in. Can you believe this is even how you've like, set up a haircut at this point? Well,
Jennifer 6:13
I'm kind of happy. I don't really like talking on the phone much, so I do like the fact that I can use nap or go on the computer.
Scott Benner 6:20
You know, I love talking to people on the phone, but that's phone, but that's probably not like, a big, Oh, I
Jennifer 6:24
love talking. I just don't love talking on the phone. Oh, no, kidding. How come? Yeah, I don't know. It's just it's been an anxiety producing thing since I was a child. How are you going to do with this? Then? Because I don't feel like I'm on the phone, even though I kind of wish I was looking straight at you. I don't feel like I'm on the phone.
Scott Benner 6:42
Okay, okay, so that's the answer. If you were holding the phone to your ear, do you think this would be more upsetting? Yes,
Jennifer 6:49
yeah, I maybe I feel like I don't confidently hear as well, and I felt like I have a hearing problem. I mean, I'm an audiologist, I know all about hearing, but I can hear you really great in the headphones. So to me, it's like, we're in person. You're an audiologist, uh, a non practicing, yes, non, did you practice at some points? I did. I stopped when my second was born. Okay?
Scott Benner 7:14
My wife says that she has something tinnitus. She has no it's like, this delayed. Hold on a second. This is she's going to be so pissed if she ever hears one day that I can't think of this, because I don't want to say we make fun of her, but everybody brings it up all the time. Hold on. I'm texting, what's your hearing? Thing called, sorry. It's very technical. I
Jennifer 7:36
mean, I haven't worked in so long. I hope I recognize what she says.
Scott Benner 7:40
That'd be something if you're like, I don't know what that is. I'm sorry I'm not that kind of audiologist. While I'm waiting for Kelly to get back to me with her hearing issue, I just want to dig a little farther into the phone thing. So, like, what is it about? Is it anxiety? So
Jennifer 7:56
I can tell you a story. I had my own phone line in high school, I inherited my sister's phone line when she left for college. And I would get, you know, solicitors calling. For instance, news day would call to try and, you know, recruit a subscription. And I literally could not say to them, no, thank you. I'm not interested. I just couldn't say those words. So I would go downstairs into my kitchen. I would stand in my kitchen for as long as I could, till the person just hung up. Because I just, I just couldn't say it, and I just have this aversion to talking on the phone. You can ask my husband when I speak on the phone, I speak on the speaker. I don't like holding it to my ear. I just, I don't know, I don't know what it
Scott Benner 8:43
is. So when you get one of those calls, it's like, Hey, I'd like to tell you about solar panels. You spend 10 good minutes listening about solar panels. Oh, no.
Jennifer 8:51
Now I'm like, No, thank you. And I hang up. I don't even give them a chance to try and sell it to me. I just, I just hang up. No, thank you. Hang up.
Scott Benner 8:59
So this kid comes to our door the other day, right? He's like, I don't know. I wouldn't answer the door. 1819, years old. I opened the door, he's standing there with a clipboard, and he goes, Hey, sir. And I went, I'm not interested. Thank you. And he goes, Okay, thanks. And then he starts to take a step backwards that then he it hits him. He never even told me why he was there. And he said, Well, maybe you would be good for him, by the way. He said, maybe you'd be interested if you knew what I was here for. And I said, No, I don't think that would matter. And I walked back,
Jennifer 9:34
well, that was, you know, ballsy of him, that is true, but I could never be, and I would never apply for a job where I had to ask for business, like I worked in my husband's office for a little while, and I would not make phone calls about collecting money. I would make a phone call confirming appointments, but there's no way I would call and ask for money. I just asking people things. I. It's just
Scott Benner 10:01
not one of my first like adult Jobs was collecting debts. Oh, and it was back before computers were what they are now. So you were on a basically on a dialer. You weren't in control of the calls just came right. So you're wearing a headset, and you would be connected with the person before their information was on the screen. So you had to, like, hook them, get them talking while it populated. And there was, like, that anxiety every time, like, am I going to run out of things to say, or am I going to lose this person on the phone call before I can actually say hey, I'm calling from what was it? Advanta bank, maybe, was that? What it was? It was crazy, but I would do that eight hours at a time, and then every time you clicked complete, there was just another person in your ear. It just, do
Jennifer 10:52
you know your stats as to how successful you were collecting those dates, that those debts? I
Scott Benner 10:58
was great at it. I was I was really, really good at it, but eventually I stopped doing it genuinely, because it just broke my heart, like I couldn't. You get someone on the phone and listen, a lot of people are lying, but some of them aren't. And after you've heard about their husband's cancer or their house burning down, or their kid got sick, and then you realize that it is your job to, like, the next thing you say is, I'm very sorry to hear about that. When can I expect you to send a payment? Yeah, yeah. And I just one day, I was like, I can't keep doing this, so I just I stopped, and I went on to do it in a much more low pressure situation, like at a credit union, where it wasn't really collections, it was just friendly reminders that they didn't pay. And oftentimes they were just like, Oh, I'm so sorry. Just move it out of my account, like you were almost just doing it was almost like clerical and but even at some point that got to me, like I one time found myself telling a person, bring three payments, bring it to the branch, have it here by three o'clock, or I am gonna have somebody show up at your house and tell your car away. And I was like, I got off that call, and I was like, What am I doing? Like, what do I give a about this? Like, you know what I mean? Like, it was just soul crushing. Yeah, I went down to the Human Resources Department, and I was like, I need a different job here. I can't keep
Jennifer 12:18
doing this, so, but I think you found your calling. Yeah, this
Scott Benner 12:22
is way better. Seriously, I'm sure. Oh yeah, helping people is much better than making them feel terrible, even though it's not your fault. Like, I didn't tell them to buy the car, I didn't fire them from their job, I didn't give their husband cancer, like, you know what I mean. But still, right? It just sucks. So anyway, all right, what were first signs of Mason having type one? How did you recognize it? The Dexcom g7 is sponsoring this episode of The Juicebox Podcast, and it features a lightning fast 30 minute warm up time. That's right from the time you put on the Dexcom g7 till the time you're getting readings. 30 minutes. That's pretty great. It also has a 12 hour grace period, so you can swap your sensor when it's convenient for you. All that on top of it being small, accurate, incredibly wearable and light. These things, in my opinion, make the Dexcom g7 a no brainer. The Dexcom g7 comes with way more than just this, up to 10 people can follow you. You can use it with type one, type two, or gestational diabetes. It's covered by all sorts of insurances. And this might be the best part. It might be the best part alerts and alarms that are customizable, so that you can be alerted at the levels that make sense to you. Dexcom.com/juice, box. Links in the show notes, links at Juicebox podcast.com, to Dexcom and all the sponsors. When you use my links, you're supporting the production of the podcast and helping to keep it free and plentiful. Valentine's Day is approaching quickly, and wouldn't it be great if this year you weren't running around the grocery store looking for some like, flowers, you know what I mean, like that thing that thing that you bring in the house, and everybody's like, Oh, they forgot. Don't forget. This year, go to cozy earth.com. And make Valentine's Day Special for everybody while you're at it, use my offer code Juicebox at checkout to save 40% off of your entire order, and that order might include bamboo sheets for your bed. These are so soft and comfortable. They keep me nice and warm. They keep my wife nice and cool. How do they do that? I don't know, but they're temperate, and the quality is unsurpassed. Cozy Earth bamboo pajamas are soft, breathable, high quality, and they wash incredibly well. And if you're listening right now and you need something for your husband, how about something from cozy Earth's men's collection? They have pajamas, polos, joggers, hats. I'm wearing the joggers right now. They are awesome. So surprise your Valentine with cozy Earth and get 40% off at cozy earth.com when you use the offer code Juicebox, and don't forget if you're asked in a post purchase server. How you found out about cozy Earth save Juicebox Podcast. Help me out. Fair is fair spare, I just saved you from coming in the house with wilted flowers. The
Jennifer 15:08
end of April of 2021 I get a phone call from the nurse at school, and she said, Mason's fine. I'm just calling, telling calling to tell you that he got hit in the face with a ball and he has some blood on his clothes. He was in eighth grade. And I'm like, okay. She's like, he's fine. While I have you on the phone, you know, a couple of teachers have expressed concern as to how thin he's been looking, and my heart just thank because there really is, like, a long backstory, but at that moment, I knew something was wrong. I had no idea that it was type one, but I knew something was wrong, so I hung up the phone, I called the doctor, made an appointment, and I couldn't get an appointment until the following week. I guess it was an emergency, but wasn't so whatever we go to the doctor. Now, you know, keep in mind, this is COVID, and you know, going to the doctor was not typical, like you had to go with a mask, you had to cancel if somebody had COVID in your family, and Mason hadn't seen the doctor for an entire year, because His birthday is January. COVID just happened, and so we just he hadn't been seen in a year. Yeah, I want you to know that Mason, in September of 2020, was very heavy. He is not my sporty child, probably not the best eating habits, despite, you know, me eating a salad every single day and working out every day, but he was at his heaviest. But the doctor never saw him at his heaviest. I knew he was heavy, and I'm like, we need to do something about this. So I tried running with him. We got a lot of the sweets out of the house. My husband is a pediatric dentist, and he was, you know, fitting him with some appliances to open his airway, because he was a mouth breather. And, you know, we were trying all sorts of things, and the weight did start coming off, and I was like, This is great. Whatever we're doing is working. He's exercising. He's also growing. And so between September and that April, he lost a lot of weight, but he had never been to the doctor, so I didn't know how much weight he had lost, and I was just pleased that he was looking more like the size he should be for his height. I hear okay, so we go to the doctor and see I have great mommy guilt, but he had lost, like, close to 40 pounds, okay. And so the doctor is like, so he was about five feet 100 pounds, which in my head, like, I'm five feet 100 pounds, and I've always been, you know, on target. So I'm like, All right, you know, this is where he should be. And the doctor said, and I showed him a picture of what he looked like, since the doctor hadn't seen him. And he said, Mason, you know, I'm really proud of you for losing this weight, but you really shouldn't lose much more. So, you know, keep exercising, but let's, you know, let's try not to lose any more weight. Okay, and sends him for blood work. Included in the blood work were celiac stuff, since my husband has it, I guess, because that's like, considered genetic that doesn't come back the next day. So the blood work took about a week to come back, and that was May 13. So may 13, I get the results to my portal. And I mean, I know science a bit, because I'm in the healthcare field, and I saw his thyroid was off, his cholesterol was off. I immediately called the doctor, left a message, please call me so we can discuss these results, because I'm sure I got the results before he did these days. That happens. And Mason comes home from school and he says, I want to join the track team. And I'm like, okay, so we go to the sneaker store, because I still haven't heard from the doctor, pick em up a new pair of sneakers, and as I'm walking out of the door, the doctor calls me, and he says, Everything is going to be fine. We will we will work this out. Now that's his lead. So that's his lead because at the top of the results was a celiac and it was very questionable. So he. He looked at those and saw celiac, and he assumed that he was, you know, having some kind of nutritional deficiency, and that's why he was losing all this weight. And I said, Did you scroll down to the rest of his results? Because his blood sugar was 436 and you saw that? I saw that, okay. And during the day, I called up my friend who's a nurse, and I'm like, oh my god, I think Mason has type one diabetes. And she's like, tell me his results. So I'm reading it. She's like, I don't know. Sometimes when the thyroid is off, it can throw off the blood sugar, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, No, I am telling you this kid has diabetes. So then the doctor called, and I said, I need you to scroll down to the rest of the results, because something's not right.
Scott Benner 20:42
Also, could you read this before you call? I know. Can you imagine if he's like, Hey,
Jennifer 20:48
Jennifer, what's up him? I do love him. I really do nothing to
Scott Benner 20:51
worry about. Your vitamin D is a little low here. Yay. Everything's fine. Oh, wait, what's this? Oh, I'm so sorry. You're a brain tumor. I didn't see that before I called Yeah. Like, what the hell you love him. He
Jennifer 21:05
did right by me. He said, Okay, I need you to come to the office right now. How fast can you get there? And I'm holding the box of the sneakers in my hand with Mason next to me. I'm like, I'll be there in 20 minutes. You
Scott Benner 21:16
should have said we can be there pretty quick, because people move faster in new sneakers. So
Jennifer 21:20
I we go to the office, and all he did was dip his urine, and he's like, You need to go the ER right now. And I just knew it. And again, this is COVID, so only one parent was allowed. And now, granted, I'm in the healthcare field, but my husband is really immersed in the healthcare field, being a pediatric dentist, and so I knew he was going to be like, I'm going to the hospital with him. But I was like, Oh no, I'm the mom. I'm going
Scott Benner 21:49
mom Trump's doctor, right?
Jennifer 21:52
Yeah, I have to say he was taken pretty quickly under the circumstances. He was not in TKA. Amazingly, they tested his a 1c in the hospital, which was 16.7 they tested for antibodies while we were there and and we left with a diagnosis of type one. They did not admit us. They said, You can go home. Please come back at 10 o'clock tomorrow. You have an appointment with the endocrinologist. He can only eat eggs, cheese and bacon. And I'm like, okay, none of what she eats, but that's besides the point. And we went back the next day and spent the entire day at the endocrinologist office. And, you know, he left there with a FreeStyle Libre. We got a Dexcom probably the following week, because I think the doctor would prefer that, but that's they only have the libre in the office. We left doing shots, and it was life changing, as I'm sure, you know, I
Scott Benner 22:50
bet you it was, well, how did he handle it? What was his? Do you remember his initial takeaways?
Jennifer 22:57
You know, I think he was really tired. If you really want to know the truth. I think it really hit him about a week later, because we were in the kitchen, and all of a sudden he was like, oh my god, I cannot see very well. And he was like, freaking out. His vision was all blurry, okay? And my cousin is an optometrist. I called him up, and I'm like, and he knew of Mason's diagnosis. I was like, what's going on? And he's like, don't worry about it. It's his blood sugar regulating. He's had a lot of sugar in his eyes. It's his vision getting back to normal. His vision actually wasn't normal, and now it's getting back to normal. And I think that moment for Mason scared the bejesus out of him. So
Scott Benner 23:43
it's the first thing that was like tangible to him, that he's like, I have a health issue
Jennifer 23:47
totally Yeah, I see. I mean, he, you know, he had, obviously, he had been doing shots for a week at that point, but I think the vision thing really scared him. I remember
Scott Benner 23:58
correctly the shots at the beginning, you don't really have it in you yet, the understanding that this is like every time, forever and ever, like, it still feels like, oh, I went to the doctor and there's a thing I have to do, like, you know what I mean? Like, go home and take this pill twice a day for 10 days, like, that kind of thing. It was my expectation that, well, my expectation wasn't that it was just going to stop, but there's just that part of it that where you're just not, you're not like, Oh, this is really forever. Like, it doesn't hit you right away. I completely agree that sucks. The vision thing gets him and Did he cry? Did he ever have, like, an emotional experience?
Jennifer 24:38
If he did not in front of me. He's a very easy going kid. He is my easiest child. He goes with the flow. I know this is going to sound weird, but of all three of my kids, he's the one who would totally handle this the best. And he just, you know, he has risen to the occasion. I'm sure it doesn't thrill him to be hooked up to all this technology 24/7 and he has to think about every morsel of food he puts in his mouth. And you know, he can't leave the house empty handed or go anywhere empty handed. But so far, knock wood. You know, he he does what he needs to do, you know,
Scott Benner 25:20
Arda and I spent the day out yesterday, and we were driving hour and 15 minutes away from our house. We were going to spend some time, do a thing, go to another place, go shopping for, you know, we're going on vacation. We needed some clothes and stuff like that. We were gone for like, six or seven hours, and we brought so many diabetes supplies and like, you know, like, we had pumps and insulin and a CGM and, like, extra stuff and this little bag in the car, this whole thing, and we never needed one of those things,
Jennifer 25:49
no. But listen, better safe than sorry, 100% right? Like,
Scott Benner 25:53
I would always bring it. I would never not. But there's this moment when you get out of the car and you grab it, you think, all the effort before we left, and, like, keep it cold and put insulin on, you know, it just, just like, Oh, we didn't even need it. And it's
Jennifer 26:07
exhausting, yeah, that it's, it's exhausting. And, you know, like you there probably has been very few nights of a full night of sleep. It's just, you know, unless you live it. You don't understand, right?
Scott Benner 26:22
Well, he did. He end up having celiac.
Jennifer 26:25
No, we did go to a gastroenterologist, and they, they tested him again later on, and he doesn't. So I don't know if it was a false positive. I have no idea. But I mean, it's, I think that's, it's something they're going to test him for regularly. But sure, and no thyroid. So his thyroid, I don't understand thyroid too much. One of his levels has been questionable, on and off. And so at this point, our endocrinologist is testing him every six months for that. But is
Scott Benner 26:54
it? TSH, yes. And is it over two?
Jennifer 26:58
Oh, I don't have results in front of me. I don't know. Let me
Scott Benner 27:02
keep asking questions. Does he have thyroid symptoms? He top tired, a
Jennifer 27:07
little chunkier than I'd like, but
Scott Benner 27:09
that's one of them. No. So Trouble. Trouble regulating his weight. Does his hair fall out?
Jennifer 27:15
No, oh my gosh, no. He's a full head of amazing hair. So let
Scott Benner 27:19
me say this, though, is he still five feet tall? No,
Jennifer 27:23
he is five nine. Okay.
Scott Benner 27:27
Is that the height you expected? Or is your husband like, nine feet tall and you're like, Oh, I can't believe he's only five
Jennifer 27:32
nine. My husband's 511 and my son is like, five nine. My other son is five nine and you're five feet tall, naughty. I'm 411 and a half. Yeah, okay,
Scott Benner 27:45
okay. I'm just wondering, because a mismanaged thyroid during growing could lead to, you know, height issues and size issues.
Jennifer 27:54
Yeah, we are due for blood work in the next two weeks. So that's on the list. I don't ignore it. I do address it with a doctor when it's taken Yeah, well, I'll
Scott Benner 28:07
just say this a TSH over 2.1 that has thyroid symptoms. I would push a doctor to talk about medicating it the number, to get the number under two, if you could, and they're going to tell you it's in range, like, if his TSH is four, they're gonna say that's in range. But there's some really great content in the podcast about thyroid to help you understand that a little better. I know your wife had that issue too. Everyone does, Cole does, Kelly does, Arden does. One of Arden's friends is been talking to me recently. I'm like, is this catchy or something? Because she's like, I think my TSH is high, and I'm like, and she starts going over symptoms, and I'm actually helping her, because she's 20 and sort of, her parent, there's a language issue with their parents. Her parent is not incredibly helpful in this stuff, usually. And so, you know, she's, she's 20 years old, on the phone with a doctor going, like, look, I don't want to afford TSH, I have a lot of symptoms like, and they're like, Yo, that's in range. And so I've been giving her talking points to help her move through the system. And it's amazing. I watched her do it yesterday. She's like, I called and I said this, and they said no. And I said, respond like this. And then she texted me back. She's like, Oh, they gave me an appointment. And I was like, right? She goes, What did I say? That got them to give me the appointment. I said, Oh, I told you to say this. And she was like, right? She goes, Oh, that's what did it? I was like, yeah. So you just sometimes need to know, you know, you need to know for yourself and know how to and people say advocate, but I just think it's, you know, sometimes they just don't even know on the doctor's side, uh, anyway. Uh, a pump now, so he's
Jennifer 29:39
on tandem. So, you know, his four year warranty, or whatever it is with tandem ends like, literally, the week he starts college next year, really. So I'm, I'm a little freaking out about that, but he's doing great with tandem.
Scott Benner 29:53
Good. He loves it, control IQ, using the T slim, yeah, okay, yep. How long has he been automated? Yeah? So
Jennifer 30:00
he was diagnosed in May. He went on the pump in August. Oh, so a few months later,
Scott Benner 30:05
Oh, I see. How does that work for a 1c for variability, that kind of stuff,
Jennifer 30:09
we got his a 1c down initially to 5.8 and I was thrilled, but I was also micromanaging. We were having some major sleep deprivation in our family due to the micromanaging, and so we compromised. The doctor really felt like sleep was super important, and so I've eased up a little. Is a 1c is around six now, maybe 6.1 I'm okay with that. We're sleeping better. I'd like it to be in the fives and and I know we'll get there. But, um, well, first of all, six is a huge, huge deal in my house. Yeah, I told you, I'm a Napper. She said, before
Scott Benner 30:54
we started recording, she's like, after we do this, I'm gonna take a nap. And I was like, Oh, do you think this will make you tired? She goes, No, I just take nap. So listen, a, six, a, six, one, A, five, eight, it's all great. You know what I mean? That's fantastic. Sleep is not just important in your house, it's important for everybody. You know, I don't say this enough anymore, but when you degrade from lack of sleep, you kind of don't see it happening, and your personality changes, and your health changes, and everything drifts away on you, but it happens so slowly that it's like that frog in a, you know, in a pot situation, you just, you don't realize you're boiling to death. It just, it happens so slowly, so it's not just a little important. And I would say a six, one, A, 1c, and you're sleeping through the night is pretty freaking amazing. So I'm okay.
Jennifer 31:39
I really am. Yeah, I'm all about health and fitness. I I listen to tons of podcasts and read stuff and sleep is key.
Scott Benner 31:47
Yeah, no, it very much is. It also helps with insulin regulation, being rested. So does he manage this mostly on his own? Now that you said you loosened the reins, or are you involved?
Jennifer 31:57
He really does, like his range is actually lower than mine. For his alerts, he's 80 to 180 but he doesn't really go 180 mine's 80 to 200 so my alerts don't go off until 200 so if he's at 200 but we text diabetes and we have keywords, so if he's high, he's like, I got it which or I'll text him, text him insulin. And if he's low, I got it and I'll text him eat. And that's it. Yeah, those are our keywords. How
Scott Benner 32:32
is that relationship maturing between the two of you? Is he okay with your involvement still?
Jennifer 32:38
I think he would like me a little less involved. But then there are those nights where his alerts Don't wake him, and I'm doing Find My iPhone to get him up. And I'd like to think when he is an adult and on his own, he will be thankful that I am up his you know what? But I do like, I'm not up his. You know what? You know 24/7, I'm i There are times where it'll alert me, and I, I know that he takes care of it. He doesn't ignore it. He really doesn't. He knows the consequences.
Scott Benner 33:13
I'm always amused. I think by the leave me alone. I don't need your help. Like I'm an adult, blah, blah, blah, and then at two o'clock in the morning, if I would really like your help, please. Like, I don't want to that part for I don't know if you've experienced that or not,
Jennifer 33:30
but the truth is, you know, when I alert him, I have no idea what he's pressing like, he knows how much insulin he needs to give himself if he's high. I don't tell him how much to give him if he doesn't come down in a timely manner that I would like, I'll be like, you need more. Whatever that number is, I don't know. Yeah, I'll just say more. I'm
Scott Benner 33:52
always cracked up when Arden is like, look, I don't need you involved in this. Like, if she'll say something, like, she really does not like me to be involved in her thyroid medication, like, because if she forgets it, she doesn't want to be reminded that she forgot it, and, like, that kind of thing. So I don't talk to her about it, and, you know, etc, like, so it's one of the things where we're not kind of, like, I'm we're not talking about it. But even around the diabetes stuff, like, she'll be like, I know what I'm doing. I don't need you to tell me, I've already Bolus, I've taken care of it, like, you get all that. And then, like, three or four days later, she's like, Hey, I'm really tired, so if my blood sugar gets crazy overnight, could you help me? And I'm like, oh, so I'm a pain in the ass during the day, but at night, you know, I'm like, okay, and I hear like, you know what I mean, like, but to me, it's like, when they have a job, and they're like, I can't handle this. Then one day, they're like, you're gonna pay for this, right? I'm like, Oh, I see anyway.
Jennifer 34:45
I have to say Mason has not asked me for help. But like I said, I'd like to think at some point he'll appreciate that I was there, truthfully. Like, I don't care how old you are if you have diabetes. If I think there should be a backup person, there should just be somebody there to help you, whether it's your parent, your wife, your husband, your partner, there's you should not do this disease on your own, that, and that's just how I feel. Yeah, it's a
Scott Benner 35:15
lot. He'll and he will appreciate it. He'll never tell you, but he'll appreciate it. Yeah, I like, by the way, every parent the clarion call from every parent like, I hope that one day they'll understand. I'm like, Yeah, okay,
Jennifer 35:26
listen, my hope, truthfully, is that down the line, when he's older, that we all as a family can say that we we did our best to minimize any damage from this disease, that just would be my hope. Yeah, and I feel, you know, we are doing the best we can. And you know, I think technology has made this disease much more manageable. I mean, I know things can still happen, but I'd like to think you're
Scott Benner 36:01
minimizing, minimize that possibilities. Yeah, listen, I was, or No, I were like, I said we were in the car a lot yesterday, and I I said to her, I'm like, you know, because she's taking some GLP meds to help with her PCOS, which is, and it, you're getting the added benefit of even greater stability blood sugars, using less insulin, that kind of thing. And I said to her, I was like, you know, I know that when you think of the GLP medication, we're having trouble getting her dose right, because the pen only comes in a certain amount. But the truth is, she just doesn't need that much, because she's not looking for, like, all the satiation and, like not looking not to eat, you know what I mean? So we're trying to find the balance and and we're working on that, right? It's taking time. And she's like, you know, in the past, she's been a little bit like, you know, I know you're very worried about my blood sugars. I was like, I listen, that's not the only thing this medication is doing for you. And I said, you know, there's just a study now that came out that said that they think the studies with ozempic, but, I mean, it's a GLP medication about, like, the lessening of kidney disease, and specifically kidney disease in people with type one diabetes and heart disease. And, like, you have no idea, like, how many people die from a heart attack, but it's a complication of diabetes, you know, like, like, so I'm like, so this medication is helping with, you know, possible kidney. It's helping possibly with your heart. It's helping with your day to day. As far as how much insulin you're using, use less insulin. You're less likely to have a low blood sugar. You know, you know, it's helping with stability. It's helping keep spikes away. Like it's helping with inflammation. It's helping with your PCOS symptoms. Like, it's doing so many things for you. But it's funny, when she stops and thinks about it, all she considers is, oh, I know my blood because the thing that's in her face like, yeah, oh, my blood sugars are easier, better, less volatile, etc, because of it. And it's just hard for kids to hold all that in their head sometime, I think, like all the things that are, all the considerations that you're not exactly speaking about day to day, I guess,
Jennifer 38:08
well, I think sooner or later, all you know, all the GLP medication will be a pill, and it'll be super easy to take it. That's my prediction. My
Scott Benner 38:19
Yeah, my expectation, because they're work. Nova is working on it now, like a daily pill, you know? So we'll see what happens. But dosing is going to be super important, especially for people with type, type one, you're looking for the impact, but not all of the like, Jesus, I can't eat, like, because Arden lost weight. I mean, you kind of can't help, help it. You know what I mean? Truth is, is, she's a few pounds lighter than she wants to be, and she's trying to put it back on, but it's hard to put back on because it makes it hard for you to eat. So, like, you know, so it's like, and I don't want her to have another struggle. Like, we want the benefit, but we don't want this. So we're working with a doctor to try to find ways to, you know, get the good without the bad in her situation. Now, meanwhile, for me, the it's not wanting to eat a whole lot is, is great because I actually had, actually, I had weight that I should have lost and needed to lose. Anyway, hey, 37 minutes, 42 seconds. Why'd you come on the podcast?
Jennifer 39:17
Well, you posted, you know, tell me or tell me why you should be on in 10 words or less. I'm
Scott Benner 39:26
such a dick. Is that what I did? I don't want to read all your thoughts, just like, sell me real quick. So what back then, when you booked, you were very I have your notes here. Hold on a second. It says, I'm actually quite curious why Gad and C peptide testing is not done routinely when diabetes is suspected, supplies mostly to adults, since they're more likely to be diagnosed type two just based on age. How come this got into your head? So
Jennifer 39:53
I'll tell you why. Because, because I have PCOS and my mom has type two, my grandma has type two. Had type two. I am terrified of getting it, and I I work out every day. I eat really well. It is like my biggest fear to get type two. And so one day I'm I'm on Facebook, and I'm scrolling through and all of a sudden this Live platform from a local hospital came on, and they had opened a PCOS center, and so I was listening to all the doctors talk about their intentions with this new facility they were starting, and the endocrinologist came on, and I'm like, I'm gonna make an appointment with her. So I made an appointment, and she's like, I can't believe that you have PCOS. I'm like, I do. I have five frozen embryos. You know that I'm still paying rent on to prove that I was infertile and a very strong family history. And she's like, and this is what she said to me, if you start showing signs of diabetes, I would test you for type one, but only because you have a family history. And I'm like, that is the most ridiculous statement ever. I mean, listen, I know we live in a bubble. I know that type one is, you know, we're consumed with it. We're on a zillion pages. It's all we talk about. It's all we know, but the stories of the people who are type two who are misdiagnosed, it's just a freaking blood test, yeah, why do these doctors just look at someone and based on their age and maybe their weight? Do they make these assumptions when all they have to do is a blood test? Yeah, it's not a big deal. That's how
Scott Benner 41:41
their job works, though. Like I've said this before, but a friend of mine is a pediatrician, and when you come in with an illness, his first consideration is, what does he see other people being sick with in town? That's how he figures out about, you know, which way to look initially, what's common? There's a saying, and what do they say in medicine? The most common, why can't I think of what the hell it do? You know what I'm talking about? Hold on a second. Watch this. Let's let's really check. Let's really test. Chat. GPT doctors have a saying that is like, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck. It must be a duck. But that's not the saying. Is that
Jennifer 42:26
how chat GPT works? I've never used it. I
Scott Benner 42:29
am talking about, if it comes up with this, I'm going to make like, a little giddy edge, yeah, this is the one the doctors use when you hear hoof beats. Think horses, not zebras. That's it, because the most common conditions are more like, are more likely than the rare ones. That's literally, I understand, and I
Jennifer 42:49
know type one is, you know, quote, unquote rare. But it's just a blood test, and it can, it can make all the difference in the world. So I hear you. Why not listen?
Scott Benner 42:59
I'm with you. But the answer is, the answer is, what is there 1.8 million people with type one diabetes, and a lot more people than that, and that's, that's why, yeah, and you and you're sensitive to it for the same reason I am, and for the same reason everybody else is. But let us pause for a second and just say the chat GPT four. Oh, holy hell, that was pretty impressive. Wait till this thing leaps a couple more levels, I'm going to be like, Hey, do you know I have full on conversations with it about, like, all kinds of stuff,
Jennifer 43:30
and I don't even know how to access it. Do you just, like, put it in the Google search bar? Is it an app I have? No, I'm telling you, I'm not tech savvy. So
Scott Benner 43:38
I'm paying for chat, GPT four. Oh, I pay for it. I use it for the podcast. I do. I make images with it. I feed it transcripts, and it pulls content out for me so that I if I need a list of things. It's pretty awesome. It does a lot of different stuff. My kids, one of my son, my son, uses it like we didn't work. But, I mean, I said to it, doctors have a saying that is like, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, but that's not the saying I'm talking about. Also, I didn't spell quacks right, and it came back and said the saying you're referring to is, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck. This phrase is often used to suggest that the most obvious explanations is usually the correct one. However, there are other sayings used in the medical field that convey similar ideas of common sense or straightforward reasoning, such as, and then it listed the goddamn thing I was thinking of that I couldn't come up with. And that's crazy. That is pretty amazing. Yeah, we should ask it more things. You should see the you should see the breakdown it did for me, for gad antibody testing and for C peptide, in case it came up in our conversation today. Wow, yeah, I know it sounds like I prepped a little bit, don't I? I did. I did. I actually did. I was like, Oh,
Jennifer 44:52
I'm just glad I didn't have to do my hair and makeup. I just don't know
Scott Benner 44:55
enough. I'm not versed well enough in in Gad and C. Peptide to just off the top of my head, talk about it without having a little backup. So I put it there. But yeah, I mean, I take your point, like, you know, there's same people who say, like, why don't they, when you come in with flu, like, symptoms, why don't they just test your blood sugar? And the answer is, Because, 99 out of 100 times the flu, that's why. But then one kid goes into DKA, or, you know, passes away, or something like that. Everybody's like, that. Everybody's like, it would have been so cheap to do the thing. And that's not wrong either. I always have to, like, put myself in the position of the other people who only had the flu, who are probably like, what are you doing? You know what I mean, like, I don't know. Would they appreciate it, or would they would they say, I why? If it's most likely the flu, why did you give me this blood test? Like, there's arguments on both sides of everything. You know,
Jennifer 45:42
I do have to say I am very nervous for Mason to outgrow his pediatric endocrinologist. She said she would keep him until he's 22 and 364 days old. So I'm very happy about that, but I just feel like adult endocrinologists do not know type one the way a pediatric does, certainly, that is a fear of mine.
Scott Benner 46:05
Finding a good one is a it's a Herculean lift. Yeah, it is not easy, yeah, so you need to be good at it yourself so that you can, I agree, common sense, troubleshoot what's being said to you or what's happening to you. And the other thing is, I mean, we talked about it earlier, right? Like, people don't really focus on everything. Like Arden with the GLP, like, she's like, Yeah, it makes my ones. It makes not my one, see, it makes my variability. Like, that's what GLP basically does for us. It uses less, use less insulin. It's a fairly significant amount less, but the variability is so much less. And she doesn't have crazy variability to begin with, and it still helps to squeeze it all out. But if you were to ask her right then and there, what does GLP do for you, she'd say the thing that's obvious to her day to day. And I think that's the same thing with trying to be your own physician is difficult because there's a lot going on that you're not seeing and you have no real reason to think about it, and you may not even know to think about it. So you do count on a doctor to know these things, and then you get to them, and they don't seem to know either. And that's why you see people tumble into trouble and then go out into communities to figure out answers. Then have to come back to the doctor and say, Look, I basically just Dr house myself. Now, you tell me if you think I'm right, and let's get moving right?
Jennifer 47:19
Yeah, no, I do think people have to really be their own advocate and do research for everything.
Scott Benner 47:29
Listen, that's where I love the chat, G, P, T, like, that's where I love the algorithm. Like, because you can sit down and say, I'm having this symptom. You can actually sit with it and say, Hey, I'm this old. I have type one diabetes, I have celiac and I've had a weight issue in the past. Remember that, and it'll apply that to its to your to its memory of you. And then you can say, Can I have a conversation with you about some things that have been going on with me, and I've done that to figure things out. Listen, when my son was diagnosed with Hashimotos, I figured out that he had Hashimotos at three o'clock in the morning, and I was in an NIH article, reading a goddamn NIH article to see one goddamn symptom that he had that was completely uncommon. And I figured out that he had Hashimotos. And I went back to the doctor, and I said, this is said, This is what this is. Start giving him this medication. Gave him the medication cleared up the symptoms. His whole life. Got better, etc, but I got lucky. What if my Google fu wasn't that good, but now I would have gone to this prompt and said, I'm here to talk about my son. He's this old. These are the symptoms he's having. We've tried this, this and this. What else could it be? I guarantee it would have come back and said, Hashimoto in five minutes. It's not just around health like I have a an affiliation with something called Vision AI. They've absorbed, at this point about 100 episodes of the podcast into the AI's understanding of diabetes. It gets its information from other places as well. I'm pretty much ready to tell people for $20 a month, which is what I pay for, you can have a doctor in your pocket that you can sit and have a conversation with, and it's going to come up with the answers. You just have to ask the questions with chat, G, P, T, you can do it with anything like, I didn't have a will and I didn't understand what to do, and I just sat down and started talking to it about that, and then I was like, Oh, this is the here's the things I have to do and here's the people I have to call. I understand now, and that's it. It's five minutes because you're talking to somebody who knows the whole internet and won't sit around and go, Hmm, I don't know. Yeah. I mean, could it be that it doesn't do that? It goes, here's your options. And then you go, Oh, okay, cool. It's super that's interesting. Yeah, listen, unless it launches a missile at Milwaukee, and then, not so great. But I don't think that's gonna happen. I'm choosing to believe that's not gonna happen. Or any other things, like, like, anything else, somebody's gonna use it for good, and somebody's gonna use it for. Bad, but, of course, yeah, but I think people can use it for good. Like, even, like, think about, I don't know, like, saving money for the future. You can say, I make this much money. These are my bills. How much money can I afford to put into a 401, K at standard rates? How much do you think that'll be if I continue to put that much money in for five years, for 10 years, and it just spits it back out at you. You don't have to, like, Guess it big life things, you know what? I mean, I'm gonna buy a car. Here's the interest rate. How much would it cost me overall if I put down this much versus this much? You know what? If this interest rate versus this many years, and in two seconds, the stuff that you think you could figure out on your own that most people don't bother looking into it. They just go buy the car, and they take whatever, and, you know, they go, okay, great, I'll take this one. I can afford that payment. And I'm telling you, I'm sorry I'm going too far into this, but I really see the high side saying I'm getting a lesson. I really I see the high side and all this, and I'm excited about it. Just imagine you're worried about your son going off to college, right? Like, do you think he's going to go far? Yes, he's getting off the island. Oh yeah, he's going down south, for sure. Yeah, listen, once you put the effort into driving off the island, it's hard to want to put the effort into driving back. I hate driving out there. I don't even know how you Yes, how far south Do you think he'll go? My
Jennifer 51:24
older son went to Alabama. My daughter is at Arizona State. I'm putting it out there. He's looking at Tennessee. Everyone you know works at the university. They're
Scott Benner 51:36
looking for a 17 year old kid with diabetes. Reach out. Oh, Arden, just you were very kind to push our recording back an hour today. Oh, no problem, because Arden just transferred out of her school. Oh, yeah, okay. She did not like the South. She loved the weather. She's like, even the people were great. She's like, but the lifestyle was like mad. She found it maddening how slow it was. That's not why she left the school. Ended up having some pretty significant drop off, even from the amount of time from when she was applying in high school till now. Like, you know, there's plenty of websites where you can see colleges graded out, and the scores from students have dropped so significantly that it went from like an A institution to like a C institution in people's eyes, and she was having the same problems. So the low light of this whole thing was during a core class last semester, a core meaning like something she you fundamentally have to master to move on. On day one, the professor said, I guess saying professor is probably me being too kind. Said, I've never taught this before. I've never done it professionally. I don't know anything about it. Oh, here's a YouTube video that explains the thing I'm giving you today. If you have questions, don't ask me. So we were paying for that. In case you're wondering, we were definitely a red flag. Yeah, and so Arden, she humped through it and didn't give up, and ended up with, I think, like a B plus in the thing. But she said, I got through it, but I don't understand it. I don't know what I did, and I can't move on to the next level. And it, she was like, What the hell. So she was a very strange person. I think coming out of high school, she had two ideas of pathways. They were, they're fundamentally, completely opposite. So she really wanted to design clothing, and that is what she ended up going to do. But her other option was psychology, that leads to law that's what she was the other thing she was considering. So Arden just transferred from the Savannah College of Art and Design to Pitt.
Jennifer 53:52
Certainly the weather is different.
Scott Benner 53:54
She's gonna start with a psych major and sprinkle in enough law stuff that she'll be ready for for law school after she gets her her undergrad. So she's a little she just put her behind about a year. But, but, okay, yeah, but, but we're not worried about that very much. Listen, if you want my opinion anybody listening, don't go to the Savannah College of Art and Design there. And if they're listening, you deserve this and a lot more so. Nevertheless, her experiences were insane. For two years. They were insane, and I will probably let some of them out in dribs and drabs over the next year, because I feel like SCAD might owe me, because they have a lot of my
Jennifer 54:32
money anyway. Well, I hope she has a better experience at Pitt. I don't
Scott Benner 54:36
see how she couldn't if someone hits her, but with a car at Pitt, she'll still end up having a better experience than she had at Scott
Jennifer 54:43
Well, you know, it's funny, because not funny. But I think that there is a rumor, and it might be truth amongst the big schools, that if you get hit by one of the school busses on their property, they pay for your college education. I don't know that's that's what I've heard.
Scott Benner 54:58
That's what I wasn't I. Wasn't talking about I was just saying, if something horrific happens to her, it'll still be better than scat. Keep that in mind if you're thinking of sending your kids there, my opinion, of course, anyway, your kids going off to college, try imagining if he had, literally an app on his phone that he could say that he could connect his CGM data to and say to this app, no different than I talked to it about things, my blood sugar has been higher lately. Can you look at my insulin use over the last week and tell me where you think an adjustment might be necessary? Keep in mind that I've been I don't know like not eating as well as I have in the past, I'm not pre bolusing as much as I should, blah, blah, blah. And then it could actually, he could actually have, like, a quick conversation with it, and it could give him ideas about what to do. Like, I mean, crazy. That is crazy. Yeah, that's gonna put me out of business. You understand,
Jennifer 55:56
I don't think so. You don't think so, I don't think so. You
Scott Benner 55:59
don't think the apple will, will tell stories about stuff that you don't think it'll think in the middle of his his going back and forth the apple go, can I tell you something crazy that happened to me? The
Jennifer 56:10
one thing that the app doesn't have is the human dimension, the human emotion part of it. And for myself, when I listen to your podcast. You know, I just like hearing people's experiences, and I don't think chat GBT is giving you someone's human experience.
Scott Benner 56:30
No, no, it certainly won't do that, but it's going to be a heck of a helper, I think, especially in a world that we've just described where you say something to a doctor and they go, I don't really know, you know, also, that's not even a dig on doctors. You can't expect a doctor to have recall of everything that's ever happened to them in med school and life and with every one of their patients. Whereas chat, G, P, T, can recall everything that it knows instantly. So and it is instant, like it's It's insane how fast the information comes back. Nevertheless, so what are you and he doing? Or maybe you're not, but what are you doing? What have you done? What are you worried about, about college? What? How are you prepping for this?
Jennifer 57:10
Well, I used to say I was going to follow him. I have retracted that.
Scott Benner 57:15
You mean literally, going to Tennessee. Yeah, I So,
Jennifer 57:19
like I said, my older son went to Alabama, and at least from Long Island, Alabama is not so easy to get to. So while that is definitely on Mason's list, it wouldn't be my first choice, simply because it's just not easy to get to. He can go as far away as he wants. I'm okay with that. I my i just want there to be an airport, and airports want frequent flights that are reliable, like the flights to Birmingham would get canceled all the time. It drove me crazy. I want a good medical facility nearby. Yeah. I mean, the truth is, you know, at some point we will retire, and I'll have to figure out where all three of my kids are, but, you know, I just would like to be easily accessible to him.
Scott Benner 58:09
Yeah, I understand. Again. Savannah had some of the worst hospitals I'd ever been in my entire life, and I had to be in one one time. It was a horrifyingly bad experience. They did have an airport you could fly into. That was nice, but, yeah, I think those are good considerations, good medical care, accessibility, because you're not listen the driving thing. The truth is, is once you're more than three hours away, you're 100 hours away in an emergency situation, it just doesn't matter. Like, you know, I mean, unless I can drive to you and be there in an hour. I'm not much help in an emergency situation getting to an airport. And what do you fly at a JFK LaGuardia. JFK
Jennifer 58:47
LaGuardia. I also, I live near MacArthur, but you know, the only non stop flights from there to Florida,
Scott Benner 58:54
right? And those are hubs too. So it's probably, you probably have more options leaving there, but still, you got to drive there. You got to get on a plane. You got to fly, you got to get off of like, you're always at least. Listen, it's a 45 minute flight from where I am to Boston, but it still takes five hours to fly to Boston. Of course. Yeah, of course. So yeah, I
Jennifer 59:12
know Mason turns 18 in January. So then there's all, you know, the legal Mambo jumbo we need to take care
Scott Benner 59:18
of, you know? So you can actually talk to people exactly
Jennifer 59:22
which is mind boggling to me, that a vulnerable population, yeah, has to have all this paperwork in order for their parents, who pays for everything, to have a conversation with a doctor.
Scott Benner 59:35
How about they're willing to take two, $300,000 worth of loans out in 18 year olds names for them to do a thing that they they're not even sure if they want to do or not. Like, it's weird the things that it is, yeah, it really is. But putting them in charge of their own health. I mean, come on. Like, you don't
Jennifer 59:56
even under my insurance, so, like, I'm paying the. Bills. I'm paying for college, I'm paying for the bills. And, you know, we have to sign our life away in order to talk to anybody. Yeah, it's
Scott Benner 1:00:06
interesting. Oh, yeah. And by the way, if your kid won't give you that, that access, or he will, yeah, Jennifer's like, if he wants me to pay for college, he's definitely gonna do it. So you'll follow him on a CGM, though you guys will keep up the the thing you're doing right now. Yeah,
Jennifer 1:00:24
no. I mean, I think we have a, we have a good we have a good thing going right now. Yeah, sounds like my husband will not be happy with me if I don't bring up my gripe with insurance companies. Go ahead. Juan, if we have a
Scott Benner 1:00:36
let's finish. Finish strong with your husband bitching at insurance companies through a proxy. Go
Jennifer 1:00:41
ahead. No no, because I'm constantly complaining. He's like, Well, you're going to have a platform, so you better do something about it. He He is convinced that we as a type one community should rise up and have a class action suit against I don't know who, but I have a real problem with the whole 90 day supply. And I know everyone, some people, have 30 day supplies, whatever I have a 90 day supply, right? Of our CGMS and our insulin, I do not understand why the action to start renew, getting your next 90 days starts on the 90th day. Yeah. You mean, like, it drives me crazy, yeah. And, you know, not every month is 30 days. Some are 31 and so you don't necessarily you have less than a 90, you know, less than a 92 day supply. It's just mind boggling to me that the process isn't initiated, like, say, day 75 so that if for some reason you need to renew a prescription, or you need to go the doctor because you haven't been there in more than three months, like there's just not some leeway. And I know it's all about money, I get it, but it happens,
Scott Benner 1:01:57
yeah, when you're out of CGM and you call them up, and you're like, Hey, listen, he's wearing his last CGM right now. I need these in six days, and we don't have extras. And they go, oh, you know what it looks like. We need a pre authorization from the doc. We'll call the doctor for you. And by the way, good luck, right? Yeah. And so then, you know, like, a week later, you're it's one day late. You've got one day left in the CGM you go, Hey, how come the CGMS aren't here? And they go, Oh, your doctor never responded. So you call the doctor, and they go, they never called us. And you're like, Oh, my God, I am. This is the this is what I'm stuck in right now. And then you yell for a while, and then they go, oh, we'll overnight you some you're saying, why don't we have that conversation maybe two, two weeks before that exactly. That makes a lot of sense. It's ridiculous.
Jennifer 1:02:48
And I know I'm not the only person who's in this situation. So if there is some kind of legal expert on the Juicebox Podcast Facebook page that wants to initiate this. I'm all for it.
Scott Benner 1:03:02
Oh my god, do something about it. You know, you're in trouble, and you're like, we got to sue somebody who you're like, I don't know who
Jennifer 1:03:09
I'm not. I'm not a litigious person. I heard what you're saying. I don't want to be desperate, and I also don't want to be ridiculed for hoarding supplies either. Because who's ridiculing you, not me personally. But you know, you've seen the people who are like, well, you're hoarding supplies, therefore you're limiting the availability of supplies for other people, I
Scott Benner 1:03:31
don't see anybody. I don't see any company,
Jennifer 1:03:34
especially with regards to insulin. But well,
Scott Benner 1:03:36
you know it's funny, because there's so many different arguments going on right now. So first of all, like, if you're talking about insulin sets or CGM or stuff like, these companies are thrilled to sell this stuff, trust me, they they'll make as much as they need to make you. Having an extra two weeks of insulin pumps isn't stopping somebody else from having insulin pumps, agreed. Yeah, the insulin thing. You know, everybody's panicking right now, because some of the big companies seem to be prioritizing glps over anything else, like, Forget insulin for a second. And people are like, Oh, this is going to be a problem. There's not going to be insulin. I understand the concern, and I do think you want to keep pressure on the companies to not get lazy about it. But I have a hard time picturing a world where companies who make insulin just go, Oh, we're not going to make insulin anymore. I don't
Jennifer 1:04:24
disagree with you. I don't think they're going to stop making it, but there are definitely people who are having trouble getting it. Yeah,
Scott Benner 1:04:32
no, I hear that. I'm not. I also think that if that happened, I imagine the federal government would step up and say you're making insulin, just shut up. You know what I mean? Like, you can't like, could it be harder to get in the moment? Like, for some people? I obviously it is. You're hearing that from people, right? But if you're imagining a world where insulin just is not produced anymore and you die because of it, that's not going to happen. No,
Jennifer 1:04:58
I'm not. Matching that, although I do no but I think I do follow a diabetic prepper page, but I imagine that there are people who are thinking
Scott Benner 1:05:05
that, like, one day they just, they're going to stop making it because it's it's not going to make them enough money. I'm like, no one's going to let them stop making it. They can be compelled to do it if they if they tried to stop, and they know that, and that's why they're not going to try to stop. It's not even my opinion, it's my expectation of the way I would see that going if it went that way.
Jennifer 1:05:24
I think COVID scared a lot of people, like, with regards to, like Clorox wipes, for instance. You know, how hard was it to get Clorox wipes? I mean, I had, there was a patient who brought a container to my husband's office so that I could have some Clorox wipes. And I think that that's kind of what people are imagining, like it just will be, it might be so hard to get well,
Scott Benner 1:05:48
I don't know. I think we might have learned our lesson on the on the micro chip thing from COVID. So we moved a lot of microchip production back to the US. So, I mean, at least that they're paid they paid attention to that. I don't know. Like, listen, I could be 1,000,000% wrong, but if I wake up one day and every company making insulin, it's like, we're not making insulin anymore. You can't have insulin. All you people with diabetes can just die. I'd be like, Huh? I was really wrong about that.
Jennifer 1:06:14
No, I, I don't, I don't think that will happen. But again, I don't think somebody should have to wait until the 90th day? No, I know. I agree with you, for them to get their insulin. It's just such
Scott Benner 1:06:26
an unneeded, unnecessary stress you're right on you, right? Uh huh.
Jennifer 1:06:30
I mean, hours I've spent on the phone with insurance company and the doctor and right? It's like my life taken away, yeah, and
Scott Benner 1:06:39
now not a not everybody's gonna have that time or the fortitude, or both, you know, of course, not to have that fight. And that's how they end up in that situation. And they get beaten by the system and they give up. But Well,
Jennifer 1:06:50
yes, and then when my son turns 18, I will need his permission to do all this, and so like, does he have to be standing next to me when I call the insurance company to get his approval, to talk to me so that I can get his insulin.
Scott Benner 1:07:03
I'll tell you something. My wife's name is Kelly, which can be an androgynous name. So there are times I just call up and I'm like, Hey, this is Kelly. And they go, you're Kelly. And I go, Yep, I'm Kelly. And then there's this, like, long pause where they don't believe you, and I just wait, and they go, okay, Kelly, what's up? But listen, I'm no comp sci genius, okay, but I don't think it would take one to build into the system the ability to talk to people a couple of weeks out, and to create a system between the pharmacy, I mean, the places where you're buying your stuff, either the pharmacy or the distributors or whatever, and the insurance companies, where you could just let them have the conversations, get things shipping in time. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I mean, what's the worst that could happen is you ship out a couple of CGMS and then you don't get paid for them? Like, what do you care? Like, stop it. There's so much money in that industry. Like, what are you talking about? Like, you know what I mean, stuff that's life and death and the cost to you with the end user is so significant. But to the companies that are moving it around, it's not like, when you buy $600 worth of stuff, they're out $600 worth of stuff. It's not how it works. They're making money on it, which is fair and fine all, but like, don't act like it would be such a horrible thing if somebody ended up with an extra 30 insulin pumps pods, you know, like, like, it would ruin the whole system. And if it did, if it got messed up, then fix the system, but make it so that there's a buffer in there, so that people don't have to rush around at the very end.
Jennifer 1:08:36
Yeah, it's, I mean, it's just common sense to me. Yeah,
Scott Benner 1:08:40
and seems easy to be honest, yeah. It seems like if a group of people wanted to fix that problem, they could Yes.
Jennifer 1:08:46
And I would love to be a part of that movement.
Scott Benner 1:08:50
Go take a nap, and then once you
Jennifer 1:08:53
touch Well, I am a self declared follower. I am not a leader, but I'm definitely a follower, so you'd get off. Somebody wants to initiate that. I'm right on board to help you out. Jennifer will stand behind you and scream, yes, that's right, I'm a cheerleader. I'm a total cheerleader. Fantastic. Is there anything we haven't talked about that we should have? I don't think so. I'm running the New York City Marathon for breakthrough T, 1d, if anyone wants to come cheer me on, so I'll look
Scott Benner 1:09:19
for you in the crowd. Okay. Are you going to be there? No, of course not. I'm not I'm very busy. Then
Jennifer 1:09:24
look for me on TV. When is the marathon? November, 3, 2025, 2024,
Scott Benner 1:09:31
oh, well, you expect people to hear about that on this podcast on a second? July, August, September, October, November, December, January. Yeah. So good luck. I hope it went well, no one's going to be there rooting for you that heard this, unless they have a time machine. And if you have a time machine, please come pick me up. I have some things I'd like to take care of right now. All right. Well, hopefully it'll be a great marathon. Yeah, I'm sure you'll do terrific. How long do you have to train for it? Oh, I've run
Jennifer 1:09:56
many marathons. Oh, constantly training. So it's. No,
Scott Benner 1:10:00
no kidding, I'm gonna walk slowly down the stairs in a couple of minutes when we get done talking. I don't, actually, I don't I run down the stairs usually, but
Jennifer 1:10:06
good, I don't run. I'm sure with your weight loss that you've it would be much easier. Oh, my God, amazing. Oh yeah, you have no idea. So are you like on a workout regimen now I'm
Scott Benner 1:10:17
slowly easing into it. I've come to grips with the fact that I am not in my at my core, a person who's excited to work out. I love working. I like doing my job like and so the idea of breaking out time to do something like that seems like wasted time to me. I know it's not like, don't I understand, like, trust me, I understand the bigger picture, but I have so much to do. Like, I do it. I do the job of many people, and I do it every day, all day long, sometimes all night long, and I really like it. I don't know It's just strange for me to think that people stop working at five o'clock and go to a gym or a walk or, like, do a thing. I'm like, Oh my God, there's like, so much stuff to get done, and it's so, like, invigorating to get it finished. Now I realize I'll drop dead and won't be able to do it anymore, so I'm trying to find the middle ground of that. What about your mornings? I don't even eat breakfast. I just get up and start working. I get up, I take a shower, and I work. And I work until I get hungry, and then I eat something. And normally I eat something while I'm working.
Jennifer 1:11:25
So get up and go for a walk and then take a shower. Oh,
Scott Benner 1:11:29
my God, that sounds horrible. How early do I have to get up to make that all happen? I need to sleep. What time do you wake up? Generally, I wake I open my eyes between seven and 730 Oh, so
Jennifer 1:11:39
like, even in the dead of winter this, you know, the sun is up, I had
Scott Benner 1:11:44
to go outside when it's cold.
Jennifer 1:11:45
Listen, if you want to do treadmill, I am. I'm all about treadmill keeping act. I'm not buying a treadmill. Okay, well, then, yeah, you got to go outside when you're cold.
Scott Benner 1:11:55
Yeah, it's cold, yeah, there's no answer. So what you're saying is just die because I
Jennifer 1:11:59
because I'm saying, find a way to be active so you don't die. I'm
Scott Benner 1:12:03
trying to find a way to do something that is counter intuitive to me, like the actual doing it. I don't mind you understand, like the the exercise part, I'm okay with it's not like I'm doing it. I'm like, oh my god, this is horrible. I'm happy to do it. It's the time to do it that I don't know how to give away. Like, don't you feel like life is so short?
Jennifer 1:12:26
I, you know what? I wake up, I have my coffee, and I work out, and it's like, I don't even think about it. That's just my routine.
Scott Benner 1:12:34
I think about life being so short, and there are so many things that I want to do and doing things that don't add to that feel like an insane waste of my time. I
Jennifer 1:12:46
don't know. I look at it like I'm doing this so that I can do what I want for as long as I want.
Scott Benner 1:12:52
I agree with you, but I bet if I asked chat, G, p, t, if I worked out two hours a day for the rest of my life. How long would it extend my life? And then I asked it, how much time I spent working out I might lose as much time working out as I get in the extension. And now I'm younger and thought more thoughtful.
Jennifer 1:13:13
But what if you looked at working out the way you look at your job, you enjoy your job. You don't like working out. Not everyone likes working out. I just feel personally that it's a necessity. It's just a part of life. It's just a part of my day.
Scott Benner 1:13:31
I agree with you. You're missing my point. Jennifer, I 100,000,000% agree with you on all of the reasons why working out is important. I don't want to be like a person with no muscle tone in my 60s, like, you know what I mean? Like, I know that leads to all kinds of problems. Like, I'm not arguing with any of that. I'm saying that the there's a disconnect in there, because I do so much stuff with my mind and with my voice and and it I see the countless people that it helps constantly, and it seems like when I'm not doing that, it feels like a waste of time, like it just does. And I know the argument, I understand the bigger argument, if you work out longer, you'll be able to do this longer, like that kind of stuff. You'll stay alive longer, etc. But if I'm trading five year, hold on a second, how much do you work out in time? Anywhere from an hour to three hours a day. So if I work out two hours a day for 10 years, how much time did I give to working out? It's giving me I should have said, Don't give me the math. I don't need the math. So if you work out two hours a day for 10 years, you'll spend Do you know how many hours do you want to guess?
Jennifer 1:14:48
No, I mean, I'm not gonna get you can tell 7300
Scott Benner 1:14:51
hours.
Jennifer 1:14:52
I love it.
Scott Benner 1:14:53
And that is 304 it's a year of your life. So in the next 10. Years, you're going to give away a year of it to working out how much I'm
Jennifer 1:15:04
okay with that. I feel like the sacrifice is worth it, and I don't. I think if you worked out like, you know, start a half hour a day, I think that the Juicebox Podcast will be okay with you, with without you for a half hour a day. You
Scott Benner 1:15:24
don't see them. They're coming for me from every direction. You have no idea. I know,
Jennifer 1:15:27
but you have to find a balance, I know, to take time for yourself too, self care. All right,
Scott Benner 1:15:34
so chat. GPD said, I asked it. I said, How much does the work out extend my life if I'm a 53 year old man? Because I'm a 53 year old man, year old man, research indicates that regular physical activity can add several years to one's life. For instance, a study published people who engage in regular, moderate exercise at least 150 minutes a week, oh, lived about three and a half to four years longer than those who didn't. So if I give up three 150 hours. 150 minutes, right? Yeah, it's two. It's two. Okay, listen, that I can make sense of, yeah, that's a lot of time you're adding to your life. Yeah? So for, okay, see, see, this is a good conversation. Just do a half hour. What are you a Nike commercial you led with? Just do it. I'm
Jennifer 1:16:19
definitely not Nike, but, and I'm not going there, but, you know, half hourgate, go out for a walk. It's summer. You have no excuse in terms of cold weather, very humid. I know I ran in it today, but it's a half hour and you're walking, you can handle that humidity,
Scott Benner 1:16:37
right? It says, given the scenario of a 53 year old man working two hours a day, the life expectancy increase could be notable. While it's difficult to quantify precisely, you could potentially add several years to your life. What if I just did
Jennifer 1:16:52
but let's not talk about adding years to your life. How about quality of life? I mean, because, like, you don't want to get into your 80s and just sit there. Now your computer,
Scott Benner 1:17:03
I don't do you, although, I mean, everything I need is right here. I understand that, but
Jennifer 1:17:10
travel with your children and grandchildren for
Scott Benner 1:17:13
sure. Yeah, I think about that stuff all the time. It just doesn't, it doesn't correlate into me getting up and stopped. I'm a hard worker, like I wanted, I want to do this job. Yeah, I know. But, I mean, I'm like, wired that way, is what I'm saying, all right. But this thing here says 150 minutes a week could add 3.4 to four and a half years the life expectancy. I'm willing to do that. And
Jennifer 1:17:34
honestly, if you're on these medications, you should, you really should be doing some sort of exercise. I'm an expert. I know you know
Scott Benner 1:17:43
no for muscle, no, you're, you're 1,000,000% right. But also these the medications also keeping inflammation away. I'm probably gonna live forever, so I'm gonna want more well,
Jennifer 1:17:54
okay, but you, but you want to live well. You don't want to just live forever. You want to live? Well, yeah,
Scott Benner 1:18:01
I didn't really mean forever. I just meant, like, a little older. No, I know it's, it's not just
Jennifer 1:18:06
all about how long you're gonna live. It's just how well you're gonna live. Yeah, like,
Scott Benner 1:18:11
No, I'm with. I'm not, you know, I'm not arguing with you, right? No, no,
Jennifer 1:18:15
you know, like, my, my 81 year old dad was supposed to come in next week to visit. And my step mom just called me up, and she's like, I don't think we can come. And it makes me sad that it's too much for him, yeah, come in.
Scott Benner 1:18:30
No. I mean, listen, my mom passed at 81 but she was fighting issues for since her 60s. Like, my mom had a pacemaker when she was in her 60s, and she eventually had cancer. She was older and like, listen, I think that the one thing that my mom's life kind of told me was you can plan to live till you're 90, but it doesn't mean you're gonna be doing anything Exactly. She didn't have a bad life or anything like, that's not like when she was 79 she was like, I wish I was dead. She was having a grand old time till she had got cancer. You know what I mean? But her life was pretty, you know, contained. She didn't do a lot of things anymore. She did do a lot of traveling earlier in her life, after she retired, but, yeah, I mean, listen, you're 100% right. I'm just I'm not inclined towards it. I don't enjoy it. And a lot of people don't, right, even most people don't. And I'm not saying that you shouldn't do things you don't things you don't enjoy. I do plenty of things I don't enjoy. I'm married, for God's sake. Go ahead, Jennifer, you can laugh if you want. You're married. You understand
Jennifer 1:19:28
I'm not going there.
Scott Benner 1:19:29
So, like, I'm not against doing things I don't want to do, especially if they're beneficial to me and, you know, and my family, etc. I just it's not a thing. Like, if they told me that making awesome podcast content was exercise. I'd be Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 70s, 100%
Jennifer 1:19:48
I know you would. Yeah, no, you would.
Scott Benner 1:19:50
Why won't these motherfuckers let me do that for exercise? Who's in charge of all this? Jennifer, who made these rules though, Arden and I had this conversation. Administration the other day, menstruation, it's gonna sound disconnected for a second, but okay, and then I'll let you go. But I was like, I said, menstruation is my clearest idea, that there can't be a god. And she goes, what? And I said, How is this the plan, if an actual person was sitting and thinking about this, making up the universe they were like. So there'll be eggs in a little sack, and then at two weeks of your life will be miserable. Then a third week of your life, while you're miserable, you'll also be bleeding from the hole you pee from, not exactly the same hole, but close enough. It's gonna be very unpleasant, and it's gonna be cramped, because how will we get the eggs out there in the lining? We don't use, you know what? We'll use cramping. That's a great no one would have planned that like that. And I was and I was like, yeah, great point. Thank you. There's no no thinking that you can't tell me something's omnipotent. And then told me that that's the play it came up with to make a baby. It just doesn't make any sense. Anyway. I think that about exercise and food. Why does good, if somebody was making this up, why is that? Why my body, like, why doesn't sitting make me strong? You see what I'm saying? Yeah, wow, we're being that's what I'm saying.
Jennifer 1:21:22
And I just, I just want you to live your best life. Scott, well, I do too. Jennifer, I appreciate so is it because get out there and take a walk. You want that? Because never in New Jersey. I'll come walk
Scott Benner 1:21:31
with you, yeah? How you're getting over that bridge? Horrifying? Well, yeah. Is it because I've helped your family significantly, and you want me to prosper you
Jennifer 1:21:38
have, and I will tell you the defining moment for me, because I remember it so well, was listening to an episode about Pre Bolus thing, and watching the arrow on the Dexcom go down, and that's when Mason could start eating. And it took me two dinners to get the hang of it, so this really tacos, and we waited like, 45 minutes, and nothing happened. And then the next day, I'm like, you're having the exact same meal again, and we're going to Pre Bolus at this time. And we watched the arrow, and it was a normal Pre Bolus time, and it was life changing for us, for you.
Scott Benner 1:22:17
Oh, that's great. I have to tell you, I'm building a list right now in the Facebook group, which you won't be able to find by the time you're hearing this. But basically I've been feeding all my episodes into an AI and asking it to pull out the colloquialisms that help people. I got a good starting list, and now online, people are adding to it with the things that have been said in the podcast over the years that they found really helpful that I almost wouldn't know to point to. It's turning into a great list. I'm going to turn it into a series for the podcast. And the truth is, this is the first thing I've considered writing down and, like, making available in writing, because I think, I think it really would be helpful for people, like, little things, like stop the arrow, or more more insulin and like, like, little like, just things that stick in your head that make you Scott isms, yeah, isms not me, but yeah, yeah, what you know, the things that help you make decisions like that. So okay, all right, well, I'm gonna go and thank you very much. This was wonderful. I really do appreciate it
Jennifer 1:23:17
was it went in a totally different direction than I thought it would now,
Scott Benner 1:23:22
I never know how this is gonna go, to be perfectly honest, I'm sure you don't. Yeah, that's part of the that's part of the joy of it. I literally, I was just, we're just chatting. So thanks again. Hold on one second for me.
Guys, you want to go for a walk with touch by type one in Orlando, you can do it and you can have a great time. Meet a lot of wonderful people. Touched by type one.org. Go to the Programs tab, click on Steps to a cure and get yourself registered right now for the beautiful walk that's coming up on March 8 in Orlando. Touched by type one.org, I'd like to thank Dexcom for sponsoring this episode of The Juicebox Podcast. And at the same time, I want to remind you that seeing your blood glucose levels in real time, not only the number, but the speed in the direction, is going to help you in ways that you maybe can't imagine right now, you should definitely check it out at dexcom.com/juice. Box, and this is your chance cozy earth.com. What's it your chance to do? It's your chance to get something that's beautiful, lovely, thoughtful, and doesn't say last minute, cozy earth.com use the offer code Juicebox at checkout. Are you starting to see patterns, but you can't quite make sense of them? You're like, Oh, if I Bolus here, this happens, but I don't know what to do. Should I put in a little less, a little more. If you're starting to have those thoughts, you're starting to think this isn't going the way the doctor said it would. I think I see something here, but I can't be sure. Once you're having those thoughts, you're ready for the diabetes Pro Tip series from the Juicebox Podcast. It begins at Episode 1000 you can also find that at Juicebox. Cast.com up in the menu, and you can find a list in the private Facebook group. Just check right under the featured tab at the top, it'll show you lists of a ton of stuff, including the Pro Tip series, which runs from episode 1000 to 1025 Hey, thanks for listening all the way to the end. I really appreciate your loyalty and listenership. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast. The episode you just heard was professionally edited by wrong way recording, wrongway recording.com.
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