#499 How We Eat: Flexitarian
Sarah is an adult living with type 1 diabetes and she eats a Flexitarian diet.
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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 to Episode 499 of the Juicebox Podcast. Today's show is with Sara Sara has type one diabetes, and she has a very specific way of eating. And so today's episode is another in the how we eat series.
Sara is here to talk about a flexitarian diet, who don't want to say that that's what I thought too, but it's the thing flexitarian at some point, I just realized that people eat in all different ways, and that they should all be recognized, and we should talk about them because if you have type one diabetes, it doesn't matter if you're a vegan, carnivore, or somewhere in between, you need to know how to use your insulin. And it's helpful to hear other people living similar lives. Very proud of the Halloween series, and I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please remember while you're listening that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. We're becoming bold with insulin.
Today is the eighth in the Halloween series. Go look for the other seven.
This show is sponsored today by the glucagon that my daughter carries g vo hypo Penn. Find out more at GE Vogue glucagon.com forward slash juicebox. If you're interested in finding a community, people who are helping people with type one diabetes, look no farther than touched by type one.org touched by type one.org find them on Facebook, Instagram, or right there on their website. And if you're looking for an incredible meter, a blood glucose meter to put on the Mount Rushmore of blood glucose meters, you are looking for the Contour Next One. Find out more about it at Contour Next one.com forward slash juicebox
Sarah 2:29
My name is Sarah. I've been a type one diabetic for about 15 months now. I was diagnosed when I was 29 it was a complete shock because I don't have any other like end or endocrine issues in my family or anything. I live in Texas. And yeah, I'm talking to you about the flexitarian diet today.
Scott Benner 2:50
Yes, you did something I didn't expect. There's the noise. What just happened? What was that? Whatever that was?
Sarah 2:57
It might be it might be my sweatshirt, but I can hold the wire out so it won't touch cool again. Yeah,
Scott Benner 3:03
I was gonna say you could actually what I was gonna say I'm not gonna say because it's inappropriate.
Unknown Speaker 3:08
Okay, we're just talking about the take my shirt. It was gonna be
Scott Benner 3:12
just do the podcast topless, and then there won't be problems like this. Yeah, yeah. Or keep your sweatshirt on. Just please let the wire not touch the thing. Okay, so you did something I didn't expect when I reached out and said, I want to know how everyone eats right? I'm like, I'm gonna do this. How we eat episodes. And no matter how you eat, like, thrown at me, you threw something at me I had never heard of before. Oh, what was it? Whatever. I don't know what flexitarian means. Oh, so when you were so I must you were probably like always so excited to get a flexitarian on I was like, What the hell is that? You definitely have to come on the podcast. But you eat you also eat intermittent too. Are those the same things? No, they're different. Alright, let's go. For context, are you MDI, you pumping? Do you have a CGM? Oh,
Sarah 4:03
I have a Dexcom and the G six and then I'm on Omni pod.
Scott Benner 4:08
You have the best stuff.
Sarah 4:10
Yeah. It's really though and that's what I got, like from the get go. So it's it was pretty smooth transition, you know, after diagnosis, so yeah, it was nice, not having to like jump around and go from MDI, to pump to whatever it was just really nice. My doctor was like, Yeah, I think you'll really like this based on your lifestyle. So yeah, he just
Scott Benner 4:34
kicked it off. And he's been right about that it's working for
Sarah 4:38
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I'm pretty active and so not having a tube has been really great.
Scott Benner 4:47
I just want to get this out of the way before we start you are transplant you have to be right you weren't born in Texas where Yeah, I was Why do you sound like you're like in New Hampshire or something like that? Or what? Why are you so why? Are you so waspy? When you're talking? What's going on? Sir? Would you go to school? What happened?
Sarah 5:04
Well, I from I'm from the DFW area, which isn't known necessarily for always having like swaying and their voice, but it does come out with certain words. So when I say Jaguar, like, most people say that's when they can hear it, or when I say y'all, of course, but when I was younger, like the word Jaguar was always just Jaguar. Why then when I got older, I met people from from like, the Midwest or the East Coast, and they were like, no, it's Jaguar. And I was like, I don't know what that is. But this animal is a Jaguar.
Scott Benner 5:37
I don't think it's Jaguar. That's First of all, but secondly, why do you find yourself saying Jaguar so much?
Sarah 5:44
There were there was a school in our town. their mascot was the Jaguars. And so to say jaguars? Like, I just was pretty normal because it'd be like, Oh, yeah, it's the Jaguars versus like the Tigers or something. But I didn't. It wasn't like an everyday occurrence. I guess the way made it sound?
Scott Benner 6:01
Well, yeah, you've just had it 1000 times now. So I'm wondering, maybe just oh, I just that was a fascinating poll for words. And by the way, I've been googling furiously trying to figure out where DFW has been a means the Dallas Fort Worth area, I wanted to come. Don't worry, I was just, I'm sure everyone else is like it. We all knew that. But you didn't. Okay, so you don't? And that didn't mean like 20? I just meant like, You don't? Is Texas just becoming a very diverse place?
Sarah 6:28
I would think so. Because the last like, couple years, a lot of companies have moved into Texas because it's a little bit cheaper living however, still a lot of like, really great, like economy and like resources here. So a lot of people from a lot of different areas, like in the US and outside of the US moved in like I think I heard recently that Texas has I think in the last five years has grown or the the Dallas Fort Worth area alone has grown by like a million people. Just because all these companies are moving. And so it's becoming pretty diverse. But I don't think it has been until the probably past decade. Interesting.
Scott Benner 7:09
I hear that there's tax reasons to live there as well. But I don't know.
Sarah 7:12
Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's like we don't i don't know for sure. But there's like, we just have to pay federal taxes. We don't have like a ton of state taxes. So that's kind of nice. Well, I'm
Scott Benner 7:20
on my way. I mean, if I can say Jaguar any way I want and not pay taxes, this is the place for me. I'm thinking, yeah, it sounds like it perfect place. They won't want me there. It's okay. What the hell is flexitarian?
Sarah 7:36
Yeah, good question. So I actually had to explain this to my endocrinologist as well. And we were talking about, you know, some of my blood work numbers, and I was like, I, and this is a couple months back, and I was like, I really want to try my diet before we do medication. This was for cholesterol. And so I was like, how about I try the flexitarian diet? And I'll just see how that goes. And my doctor was like, What is that? So it's a newer term. And it's like, it's like vegan light. Or like, vegetarian light is like an easy way to put it or like mini mini vegetarian, I don't know. But the best way to explain it, I think, is that he, you know, fruits and veggies, whole grains, legumes, you know, but mainly getting your protein from other sources than animals. But still being flexible enough to where it's like, you can have eggs, you know, beef, chicken, but that not being like your main focus of protein or the main focus of your diet. So it's kind of like flipping the standard American diet, which is typically like, focusing on meats and animal products. And then you know, smothering your vegetables and in fats and oils, it's like trying to it's like switching it's like, Okay, what, what do we want to fill our plate with as far as like, lagoons and vegetables go and then if you want to, you can add in an animal product.
Scott Benner 9:08
Okay, so you're not against eating animals. Right. Okay. And so you're basically see it's funny you said a standard American diet, which is kind of flipped. I think a standard American diet is more like cupcakes from a convenience store. Sandwich. Anything else is really fast and in a pack I think of when people say American diet, I think of packaged foods, like the packaged ramen or anything, anything that I made that doesn't, doesn't cause you to need to start with basic ingredients and build something is to me what a more American diet is, like Joking aside like I that's how I think of it is. Somebody has taken food, you're hoping and mixed it with edible chemicals and put it in a bag for you so that when you eat it you go This tastes like a tortilla chip. Even though it might not be that sort of an idea, but Okay, so how did you eat prior to so I'm assuming you saw a cholesterol thing and that's what set this all off.
Sarah 10:10
Yeah, so before I eat, I guess like, I don't know, I think I we had me at most meals. I ate eggs all the time. I love eggs. That will be the last thing I give up if I happen to go like, full vegan, but we'll see. But anyway, and can we add me and all our meals chicken? Beef Turkey. Yeah. And it was that all our meals it was just like regular you know, whether it's like in pasta or a casserole or whatever it was, but still pretty healthy. Like I really enjoy vegetables. So but yeah, so that's how I ate before now. It's just less animal products, mainly less less meats. And yeah, I did. I did start on it because my cholesterol was high. Like when I was first diagnosed. I couldn't tell you the exact number but it was really high and my doctor was like we really need to focus on that. Also, you know, my ANC was like 14
Scott Benner 11:16
because the diagnosis
Sarah 11:18
right at diagnose Yeah, it went to 14 my cholesterol I want to say it was in like the three hundreds or something like that like something really, really high. So they went ahead and put me on a Staten mn livalo. And I was like, you know, I have always believed I guess, too, that you should eat your food, like it's medicine or you'll end up eating your medicine, like it's food. And so yeah, I was like, let me see what I can do with my diet to help this I don't have to rely on medicine for this anymore. And so I started eating flexitarian and my doctor was like, whatever you've done, like you have made, you know immense progress. And so I'm still on a stat and for now because I'm still on the higher range side I guess. But she my doctors just like I love it. Keep doing what you're doing. You know, if you want to play around with your diet somewhere you can but she says that she's seen really great results from it.
Scott Benner 12:18
Well, I have to be honest with you. I just spent a really embarrassing amount of time figuring out how to spell a GM
Sarah 12:28
it is kind of a funny word. Like is it two O's Is it like a you like what is it? Yeah,
Scott Benner 12:33
okay, I'm gonna get a little embarrassed, you know, after I said it, I was like, Oh, I should have said that because it you know, in the first minute, I was like, What am I doing wrong here? And then like in minute four sites like no one should be listening to me. can't figure out and I'm not gonna tell anyone how to spell it. Because for those of you who don't know, you have to figure it out the way I just Yeah, they shouldn't have to go through the same trials. Yeah, yeah, you need this too. But a lagoon is a plant in the family fabric going let's just not say that or the fruit or seed of such a plant. The seed is also called a pulse lagoons are grown agriculturally primarily for human consumption for livestock forage and silage, which I don't know what that is. And is a soil enhancing green manure and they were eating this on purpose. Like what's an example of a lagoon?
Sarah 13:24
I'm I'm pretty sure that lentil or I'm not really sure. I used to have a list whenever I first got it, you know, whenever I was first looking into it, but now it's like, well, I don't need to know specifically what a lagoon is. Because now I know, like all the things I can eat. So like, yeah, it's I keen wa and lentils, a lot of chickpeas, but I don't know if, if those are all necessarily No,
Scott Benner 13:51
you're doing it. You're doing it green. See, I might not have been able to spell lagoon but I didn't know how to spell example and put it next to legroom. So now I'm all set. green pea soybean lentil chick pea, pigeon Pea, which Yeah, I know that sounds like pigeons. But that's fine. mung bean. Asian pig pigeon wings. All right. Oh, I have never had some of those things. A peanut. A peanut? Oh, yeah. All right. See, we're learning here. Yeah, yeah, that's exactly what these episodes are about, because I don't know what a cow pee is. But I know what a black eyed pea is. I know what a cow pie is. While you're from Texas. Yeah, of course you did. And you know, now that I've seen this black eyed Pea, it begs the question, What happened to that poor Fergie person? Yeah, it looked like she got hit by three different trucks. One round I saw Yeah, what happened? But anyway, that's way off the subject. Unless Fergie is a flexitarian. And then, in fact, I'd like to speak and then we need to get in contact with her. Yeah, I gotta be honest with you. If she's a flexitarian. I think you should switch your diet. So so you're so you're basically it's funny, you're in the 70s version of a doctor looking at you and going Hey, can you cut out meat eat more vegetables please?
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Oh, I guess I don't know anything about the seven well the 70s is when nobody called anything anything. Like everything has a name now like like because of branding and you know the internet Everything needs a name because it has to be it has to be categorized so that we can Google it. Like you can't Google Could you please cut out a lot of meat in your diet please and come up with this he had for call it something so it's a it's a flexitarian diet.
Unknown Speaker 18:20
Yeah. Which is better.
Scott Benner 18:21
I've lived through the 70s this is better in case you're wondering. Oh good. Okay. Yeah. The music was it really hit or miss although now it's just bad. Alright, maybe it's mostly bad. What is with the music? You're just old enough to hate it? I would imagine right right now.
Sarah 18:38
Yeah, yeah. So it's like the stuff on the radio. It's like, like, I know, I can't like yeah, the radio certain to irritate me. But that's only been past like couple years. No
Scott Benner 18:49
question. Yeah. Do you have Sirius Satellite Radio by any chance? I don't. Okay, so there's this woman on Sirius Satellite Radio. She's an announcer and I believe her name is Jenna Marbles. But it might not be. Every time I hear her speak. I have an impulse to find where she is. Go there. And beggar never to speak out loud against that anyone can hear her voice makes me upset. I don't know. It's It's terrible. And I'm sure she's a lovely person. Or you know what? Maybe she's not. I have no idea. I'm just saying that. When she speaks i right now I'm imagining people listening to me going you know what, I have a similar relationship with you. I just really liked the content. But I saw I live through you but I just jennamarbles person she's like, Hi, I'm Jenna Marbles. Oh my god. Send off Stop, please send then she starts talking about nothing. It's it's the worst kind of filler anyway.
Sarah 19:41
Oh, I think I think if it's the same person she started out on YouTube and so I think I know who you're referring to. Even though I don't have a serious
Scott Benner 19:50
it's her name really horrible. Right now we're googling her name can't be jenna marbles. Jen. Oh, Jenna Nicole more right. Just be Jenna Moray. Oh or best Not the same as not the same woman. I was thinking when she talks it makes me feel like there are marbles hitting me in the forehead. So that's why that's how you made that. Yeah. Imagine if this led to a war between me and Jenna Marbles. Wouldn't that be crazy? Oh my gosh. Anyway, Jenna, I don't know how you eat, but come on in the podcast, tell people about it. Okay, so you're so you had a higher cholesterol? It did bring it down, but not all the way. So do you think maybe some of your cholesterol issue is genetic?
Sarah 20:31
Um, yeah, my does run as far back as my just my grandparents is all we know. Which is probably makes sense, since we don't really have like, you know, the medical technology past them. But yeah, they had high cholesterol. My mom's cholesterol isn't necessarily super high. And there's my dad's but you know, they're just being monitored right now, you know, as they go on for their appointments. But yeah, so it's, I think it is partially, excuse me, partially genetics. And then of course, partially just being a diabetic.
Scott Benner 21:01
Did you hear? Did you hear the guy that came on and talked about the carnivore diet? Because
Sarah 21:08
I didn't listen to him? I don't think was that no, Matt was
Scott Benner 21:15
Matt was Matt was plant based it, try it. His name's Paul Saladino. And the only reason I'm saying that not because I want you to eat meat, nothing but meat. But because at some point in there, he spoke about what he believes is a misunderstanding of cholesterol, with doctors. And I don't know, I can't remember off the top my head to tell you about it. And so if you heard it, it might be valuable for you. I'm not sure I don't even know if he's right. I'm just saying, that's kind of the cool thing about these how we eat episodes, is that everyone comes on and tells an absolutely delightful story about their eating style. And then someone else comes on talks about a completely different eating style. Like it's literally a mirror image of the last one. And like, this is amazing. And I'm like so. So I think that I think the key is to eat how your body. Yeah,
Sarah 22:05
enjoys. Yeah, for sure. For sure. And I can Yeah. And so whenever I was first diagnosed, my primary care physician was the one that was like, hey, let's get your bloodwork done for this. And she said, and you're gonna go on a diet that's similar to keto, but it's, it's essentially it's low carb, but generally explain it after that, just that's all she said about it. And so I, I was like, okay, so I guess I'm low carb. And I was eating a ton of like meats and fats and things like that, and I just felt so bad on it. And so that's whenever it was like the, the, I think, the first endocrinologist appointment, whenever they are going through everything with me, and they're looking at my blood panels. That's when I was like, I'm going to try something different. You know, I'm gonna try flexitarian. And then so I completely agree with you. I know there's some people that feel great on a really low carb diet, or you know, the keto diet, or something like that. So I definitely agree with you that it's just like, whatever you feel best on and whatever, like your body, like performs the best on you know, or you feel good and all that and like, is everything check it out. Okay,
Scott Benner 23:20
right, right. I feel better with with more like more beef, protein, chicken, turkey, that kind of thing in my diet, a little fewer carbs. But I can't do it for more than about three or four weeks. And then something happens where I'm just like, oh, should I have like a piece of bread? You know? Right? Shouldn't be something else. Couldn't there be one piece of toast with these eggs once in a while, like not every day and I'm not saying every day I'm saying that once in a while I mixed them back through. But the real key for so let me ask you before I move forward. You feel the best this way and this is sustainable for you.
Sarah 24:02
Yes, yes. And I like have been talking to different people about their experiences being a vegetarian and being vegan and I know I'm on here to talk about being flexitarian but I have been considering you know, just seeing what happens if I do a full vegetarian or full vegan to see what that does one for you know, my cholesterol and then to just for my body and how it feels but yes, I do feel really great on the flexitarian diet. Yeah, it's it's much better than that low carb that I did for like two months at the beginning and it's definitely better than like, I definitely still feel better even before I was diagnosed. Yeah, I feel like I have a lot of energy. I don't rely on food. It's kind of like get me through the day, if that makes sense. Like I don't rely on like a high just need like, you know, like a sugary something to help help sustain my energy. Or you know, things like that. It's like I am eating to fuel my body. And my body's like, thank you. This is excellent. We love it.
Scott Benner 25:08
Two questions when you tried low carb, was it very greasy food? Because I wouldn't be good with a lot of grease? That would
Sarah 25:16
know. Yeah, it wasn't greasy foods, it was mainly just like more more me essentially more meat and more fat. And I left it up to my husband to try and help me with that, because I was really overwhelmed in the beginning. And so he was like, yeah, let me like, this is definitely something I can help you with. And like, take off your plate. No pun intended, but I guess kind of. Right. And, and so he you know, was kind of in charge of like groceries and our meal planning and stuff like that for a little while until I was like, You know what, I want to try this out. And I want to do more research. And I'll take over, you know, like groceries and just kind of being like the the main leader, I guess, for for that for our diets. And yeah, so it wasn't greasy foods, it was just more more animal products, essentially more fats and meats.
Scott Benner 26:12
Is he eating with you now? Or is he just is he doing his thing? And you're doing yours? And because flexitarian so close to just normal eating with different amounts, like, does it just work?
Unknown Speaker 26:25
Yeah, yeah, it's
Sarah 26:26
actually it's kind of funny when we were. So we've been married for two years now. And we dated for about a year before getting married. And so when we were dating, he looked at salads. And he was like, that's rabbit food. And he just like didn't eat salads. But now like, he'll pack a salad for lunch. And he's like, super pumped about it. And he'll be like, whenever we're making a grocery list, he's like, Can we get the salad supplies, you know. And so he's like, super pumped about it. And so he basically does eat with me, we make some meals that are essentially they're vegetarian because they don't have any animal products. Or any meat specifically, they might have cheese, but they don't have any meats in it. But we'll make meat separately so he can add it in. So pasta is a really good example. We'll make a pasta and then we'll make whatever meat he wants to add to the pasta separately. And so whenever he like packs it for lunch, or for eating it for dinner, he just adds in whatever he wants. But the meal is like a complete meal without it. So we do eat together, essentially. But whenever he feels like adding some meat and he does so and it's really it's really easy. It's not a big hassle or anything. And he's been really great about you know, whenever I'm like, okay, I want to consider this or I want to think about this or I want to try this new recipe. He's like, Yeah, let's do it. His I guess idea is like whatever's good for you is probably good for me. As far as like, strictly health goes, like
Scott Benner 27:58
five seconds if he didn't just look at me and go Hey, man, happy wife. happy life. I eat the sound. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 28:02
me alone.
Scott Benner 28:03
I don't like salad. But what am I gonna do?
Sarah 28:07
Yeah, he's and he's, he's awesome. He's just like, whatever, like, makes you feel best. And yeah, he's he's super great about it all and just really has an open mind about it. Which I'm really glad for it. Because if it was the same guy that I was dating that was like a cell, it's a rabbit food I need, you know, steak and potatoes every day. Like it would probably be a little bit harder to like, you know, do to dine together. But
Scott Benner 28:31
it's interesting, isn't it? when we when we put food together in a classic way, they're always foods that on their own would be okay, but together, like cause each other probably like steak and potatoes. Who wouldn't want a baked potato with the steak? Every Yeah, right? Everyone wants this. But, you know, if you could just have the steak without the potato, it'd be a different like, physical, like health experience, the way your body would process the steak, the addition of the potato and, and conversely, I once because I like messing around with different things just to see I once did something called a big potato fast. If not for just to find out. And it was fascinating. Like I lost like, I think 10 or 12 pounds in like five or six days and I only ate baked potatoes for like a week.
Sarah 29:15
Oh my gosh, it sounds it sounds delicious. But also like exhausting.
Scott Benner 29:21
day four, I just didn't eat on day four. day four. I was like, I don't want to bake potato and you couldn't put anything on it. You couldn't put salt or pepper. It was like it was a Oh, so I know that. It's like it was like it was almost like an experiment that taught me that I don't love big potatoes. I love salt and pepper and butter. All this stuff that comes on it Yeah, but you see what you look like a weirdo if you just take the butter and then you salt and pepper on it and melt it and drink it and people talk so you know as they should cuz that is weird. It's scotch drinking salted butter again. You know so the potato really is the delivery system for the for those items. And it did teach me to about being full, because you could eat as much as you wanted, but you didn't, I didn't end up eating very much like after like the third or fourth day when the hunger disappeared. I was like, well, I'll just have a half a potato here. Like, I don't need the whole thing, you know. And then before I knew it, I was just like, That's fascinating. And I think I could have done it forever. I got to that, like, do you know the Jetsons? Are you too young for this? You know that? No, I know. You know, when the Jetsons sit down for dinner and the the, the computer spits out this little like bean and they cut it in half once and eat it and get up. Yes, that's what eating turned into on the baked potato diet. It was just a sustenance program. It had nothing to do with flavor or anything. I felt fine. My energy was great. I wish I would have had a CGM. I would have liked to check my blood sugar. But even that, yeah, I felt great. So
Sarah 30:50
well, you know, I've heard that we like we can survive on a diet of potatoes only but you also then just have to make sure you have a dairy source. And then you've gotten all of your like vitamins and minerals and everything that you need. There's protein, fat and carbs in that and we can just like exist off of that,
Scott Benner 31:09
sir. Not to be contrary to you. But I got this idea from magician.
Unknown Speaker 31:15
magician, from a magician.
Scott Benner 31:17
You know, Penn and Teller. Oh, yeah. I got this from a pen. And he was like 150 pounds doing it so and he said that the potatoes have everything you need. So I was like, I'm listening to him. He's a famous. Yeah, I'm gonna die one day, you guys are just gonna come on. And you're gonna be like, wow, the podcast feels produced by someone else all the sudden, because I've left my wife instructions. Give this folder to an editor. And these are all the episodes that will be left if I ever dropped dead. Please produce them all and put them out. And one day Kelly Oh, come on. Should be like, I don't know how this thing works Scotty potatoes for two weeks and he died. died because some magician told him Yeah, yeah. It's an amazing magician. So anyway, yeah. So he's probably really great adventure of other things. Yeah. Well stands to reason. Right? Yeah. Come on. Don't Don't question my thought process. You're sorry, you're gonna poke? Well, anyway, I just I mentioned I'm so I'm just incredibly interested about how people eat. So people who are going to have heard me say it on the podcast before. But as COVID-19 approached, I was 100% certain I was going to gain weight. And I went to an intermittent fasting schedule. And because I wanted to, like really test it, I didn't just go to an intermittent fasting schedule. I ate whatever I wanted inside of that window. Oh, wow, just to see how it would work. And I was losing weight. So eventually, I stopped eating like a lunatic inside the window. I was just like, hmm, let me see what this does. It was sort of doing that. And losing weight, no lie over a couple of weeks, probably close to 15 pounds, just by eating, I was eating. I started with noon to eight. But it was hard to get to noon slice flip flop to 11 to seven. And I did it most of the way through the pandemic. And I'm talking to you right now in November. And I my weight stayed incredibly stable. I could eat a lot or nothing. It didn't seem to matter. I could have whatever didn't literally whatever. And my weight didn't move. I felt terrific. And then about a week ago, I'm lying two weeks ago, I started having weird muscle pains, like aches and pains. Like I'd sit like on my leg for a minute and stand up and my leg would be stiff. And like all this weird stuff. And I was like what is this and it lasted for like a week. And just as it started to like go away. I'm like, I don't know what that was, but like, I'm gonna be 50 next year, Sarah, so I was sort of like, I'm just probably old, you know, and, and, and we're all trapped in our house and like I'm moving around at the speed of light or anything like that. And I and I thought that's what that is. But then I got a head cold. And I'm wondering if the muscle aches weren't the beginning of a cold. So then the head cold held on to me like I don't get sick, Sarah it's like, like four things going for me that are related to my body. And two of them are my hair and my eyes. So there's not a lot going right for me with the body that I've been given. And but one thing is I get sick. It doesn't matter how sick I get. I go to sleep I wake up I am not sick anymore. That is a rule of my life. It's just how it goes. Well I get this little head cold. And I feel this like, like a node you know, like on the on your neck when like the the white blood cells kind of like ramp up in your Yeah, there's like a bump. Yeah, I get this giant note on my neck. Now I'm in bed. I'm like my wife when we touch that touch that and she's like, what are we doing? I'm like, No, my neck here, touch this, touch this. And I said that's a node, right? And she's like, yeah, I'm like, Am I dying? Is that neck cancer? I was gonna cancer right away. I was like, Earlier in the week, I said Do I have leg cancer, my legs getting stiff. She's like, I don't even think like cancer is a thing. And I was like, Alright, I was just checking. So this big node had this horrible head cold. I'm just all like flipping. I'm like, Well, what I'll do is go to sleep and wake up and my cold will be gone. And I went to sleep and woke up the next day, and I slid my head cold, and I got kind of woozy. And I had to lay around for like three days, which I don't think I've done since I was a kid. Like, I started feeling bad about it. Like it was it was so long. And now I'm fine. It was my only symptom was my head was like woozy. And I was lethargic. Like, I just I was a little low on energy. But yeah, within this time, I stopped eating on my schedule. And Sarah, can I curse? I'll bleep it out later. Yeah, absolutely. I gained six pounds, six pounds, just not. Right, just not being on my schedule. My gosh, that's all that's really surprising.
If I told you, my body's a disaster, like, I start to retain water, like a pregnant lady at the drop of a hat, like whenever I do, like, any food that you would think of as enjoyable will is trying to kill me constantly. My whole life but but but seriously, six pounds in ended up being like five and a half days of being ill. And I was hungry. So I leaned into it. I was like, well, as long as I'm hungry, I'm gonna eat. But I got out of my schedule. And just like that, six pounds of back. Oh, my gosh. So tell me about you eating on the on this kind of intermittent fasting schedule. What led you to that?
Sarah 36:39
Sure. So I when I was first diagnosed, I did a lot of research. Because I am someone that like if there's something that I'm like, nervous about or afraid of typically, like the more information I have, I feel better about which I think is most people, but I don't know if most people realize that they just need more information. And I know that for some people, it's probably more overwhelming. But anyway, so I went into research mode and learned as much as I could. And I'm still learning, of course. But something that I read about was how intermittent fasting lead to better insulin sensitivity. And so I was like, yeah, I'm gonna try that out, just to see what happens. And there are a couple of things that happened when I was trying it out. So first, I didn't jump into, like an eight hour eating window. I started slow. I was like, Okay, let's see if I can do 12 hours, and then 11, and then 10 hours for the for the eating window. And that was I think that was really great. Because if I would have tried to jump in, I just I don't think I would have done well, I would have given up. But um, anyway, so I do think that I have experienced more insolence sensitivity. But then also, I realized that like, it kind of makes my day a little bit easier. Because it's one less like, essentially, you're you're not eating, you know, in the morning time, that's mine, I do about 11 to seven for when I eat when I but it's like one less meal to have to worry about doing insulin for. And so essentially, it's like it gives me some extra time in the day where I'm not, you know, making all these calculations in my head and trying to think about it. And my blood sugar's more stable. And I really like that as well. You know, so instead of trying to do insulin management for food, you know, for 10 to 12 hours a day, it's really more like seven or eight hours. And so like it I feel better like mentally with that it. It almost feels like I get a break. Diabetes. I do have Yeah, it's like a break from diabetes. Like for breakfast time, essentially. Yeah. And then insolence and sensitivity. Yeah.
Scott Benner 38:56
Well, I realized that Arden is not particularly a breakfast person. on most days, more on the weekend than the weekdays. And I it took me a long time to realize but she was basically fasting to. Yes, right. She'd go to sleep, but I don't know, whenever and but she hadn't eaten past like 10pm, probably. And then she'd get up in the morning and not eat until lunchtime. So she was basically eating like 12 and 12 or, you know, 14 and 10 or something like that. She was kind of on that schedule. And you're 100% right, obviously not eating in the morning makes managing insulin easier. It's just sure it is and for reasons. I guess in in a person who's not aware of their insulin needs, you know, you don't realize the benefit you're getting in that that lower insulin resistance and creating more stable low blood sugars for more hours of the day.
Unknown Speaker 39:53
Yeah, I
Scott Benner 39:54
think it's fantastic. I have to tell you all the different ways I've tried to eat Eating on that schedule, I think is the most valuable and definitely the thing that I'd want to stick with the most. Yeah, I don't have any real like, I'm gonna eat more vegetables now many more meat now. None of that none of that's like, Really? I mean, I have to be honest. Like, I'm more like your husband like I'm not Yeah, I don't love vegetables very much. I blame my mother who's still alive and hopefully she'll hear this and, and hear how giving me a 49 cent can of green beans and then letting them get cold and then asking me to eat them was probably not the greatest way to make me. vegetables. You know what I mean? Yeah, but, um, but I don't like them. I hate the texture. I hate the memories. I hate the I remember gagging on like, cold green beans when I was a kid and just being like, Please don't make me eat this. Like I just yeah, I need a therapist to eat a vegetable. I think not a Yeah, not a good. Oh,
Sarah 40:49
yeah. And we get so much of our tastes like growing up, like as an adult, like most of our like, tastes and preferences do come from when we're younger. Like you said, from the memories and just, you know, like, if you remember vegetables being cold and like slimy or mushy, then like, of course, you know, that's all your brain is going to associate it with. Even if it is like warm and crisp. Like, you're just not going to taste that you're always going to taste the cold. Yeah,
Scott Benner 41:14
no, I've done my best to learn how to cook them for everyone else. But it's even difficult because when I eat them, I'm just like, Oh, no, sounds terrible. It's not I know, people love that. I know, it's not, don't get me wrong. But I just I've been traumatized point is, is that I don't I don't have an affinity towards any real style of eating with the exception of eating in a certain timeframe that I've just found to be really a spectacular idea. And unlike you who did it in a healthy way you can ease into it. I did a 36 hour water fast and went right into intermittent fasting schedule.
Sarah 41:51
Oh my gosh. So you were like you were like, if I'm gonna get wet. Might as well jump in. Yeah, yeah.
Scott Benner 41:58
And I just was like, okay, like, I got up one morning thinking I'll do I'm going to start the intermittent thing today. And I got to noon. And I was like, hmm, I'm not really hungry yet. I wonder if I could do a whole 24 hours, I'll just do water today. And then like, kind of like, flush my system out and start over again. Because I mean, I don't want anybody who hasn't eliminated carbs just to try it. For me, about 12 hours are so into it, your body just like it's almost like somebody flips a switch. And it's like, you have no carbohydrates left in you at all. And your kidneys just start to work and work and work. And before you know it like you know, we're talking about stuff that I feel bad, but like you're passing like clear urine, and you're just like, wow, like I am the start getting clear eyed, you're potty because I'm assuming your body's not breaking down food anymore. It's not busy with other stuff. So right, you kind of have that, like, you get that little euphoric feeling that comes from you know, starving. And then, and then I just was like, I got to the evening and I was like, Alright, well, all I got to do now is make it till I close my eyes. And then I'll get up in the morning and start this this fast. So I think I ended up going about 36 hours. And then I started the fast and then I started the intermittent fasting at noon. I've met a lot of people who do it. Since then I've met a type two, who significantly reduced their medication needs by doing it. I've met people who do it for like, like Uber seriously. And they, you know, you look at them, and they just they're like a piece of like, they look like a bunch of muscle wrapped in skin, you know, and they're like I intermittent fast. And I'm like, I do too. And they're probably like me, do you because I can't see the muscles that are wrapped into your skin. And I was like No, they're under there. Don't worry. Or they're they're there. Look, I can move my hand up in there. They're still there. But But no, seriously, like so you're doing intermittent fasting with a mostly veggie vegetarian lifestyle, a little bit of like protein from meat and chicken, beef and stuff like that. What is the outcome for you? Like how are your blood sugars? How are your a one sees? How do you find it helping you?
Sarah 44:11
Sure. So my blood sugar's are pretty, pretty steady. I typically stay between 80 and 160. And, you know, the times that I do go up to around 160 it's not very long, I come back down pretty pretty soon within maybe like 20 or 30 minutes without having to, you know, give more insulin. My agency I just had, I just went I think like two or three weeks ago, my agency was 5.7. And my doctor was like, that's so great. We just want to keep you under a 6.5 and I was like, in my head. I was like, Oh my gosh, like that. That would be high for me like I just but I know that that's like how some people live and I know that the The doctors have to kind of like, be careful about the advice that they give, so that you know, you don't sue them later. But I told her I was like, just so you know, like, my personal agency goal is always under a six. But essentially, like, I'm trying to even work my way down from a five, seven, you know, just slowly to like a five, five and just as close to five as I can get. But yeah, so within 15 months I my agency went from, I'm pretty sure the blood tests that they ran for within a Wednesday and a couple other things that they were checking, I'm pretty sure that they just said 14 plus. So it's possible I was higher than 14, but I just say 14. But yeah, so over the last 15 months, I went from a 14 to I hit six, and then a five, eight and a 570. And so I've just kind of been around five, seven, the past, I guess, like six months or so. So yeah, and so everything's great, except for the cholesterol. I'm just trying to get that down. I'm on like the lowest dosage of this Staton, which is the cholesterol medication, I'm on the Rebollo, I'm on the lowest dose that they can give. And so we're just trying to wean me off of that. But like I said, I was like, please let me try a diet first. So that, you know, we don't have to keep taking this. And I'd rather you know, make those changes now, while I'm more open to it. And also, I think just the earlier you make healthier changes, the easier it is, versus like, when you get older, it's probably harder, you're less willing. Yeah, so if you're let's go ahead and try and see what we're doing. So just like you, you know, saying like, oh, let me try a potato fast or not eating it at all for like a day and a half. Like, I'm like, let's see what happens if I eat like this. Or if I do this, so I have enjoyed, you know, more stable blood sugars. They're pretty predictable. And being able to, like eat the foods that I enjoy, like, I still have, you know, like chocolate and candy and whatever, of course, but yeah, so I just really enjoy the flexible part of the flexitarian diet as well.
Scott Benner 47:13
What do you do for exercise? Because you I've, I've stalked you while we're talking and you've seen lean, and reasonably fit. So I was wondering, like, thanks. Yeah, meet me.
Unknown Speaker 47:25
But yeah, so
Sarah 47:26
I do a couple different things. And it kind of changes sometimes I go through like phases of what I'm doing. But essentially, I'm always doing some type of cardio. Sometimes it's more of like a lower intensity, like steady, like if you go for a walk like a mile Walker. Or sometimes it's a hit or a high intensity interval training, mixed with weights. Typically, that's what I try to maintain. I do some rock climbing sometimes. I haven't since the pandemic because everywhere is just you know, shut down. Yeah. But I do jujitsu as well. regularly. I go about two or three times a week. So that's mainly what I do. I used to ride my bike a lot as well. But someone saw my bike over the pandemic, and I've just been really bummed about that.
Unknown Speaker 48:20
Someone stole your bicycle. Yeah, someone stole my bike. syrus pike back, what are you doing? Where did you leave?
Sarah 48:27
What? Okay, we're in an apartment complex. And we both had bikes. And my husband and I and we had him locked up with those like industrial strength you locks sort of pretty thick. On a patio, on the first floor, and they weren't really easily seen, because they're lower than the patio. But I guess someone must have just been like going around looking for those types of things. And they must have like, ready with like, you know, industrial strength like bolt cutters or something. And we just like woke up and they were gone one morning and yeah, it was pretty sad day. I was like getting ready to go for a bike ride and
Scott Benner 49:09
I could have this bike cost you about $400 unbelievable. You're a young person that's not easy to find $400 or am I right?
Sarah 49:19
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I don't know so that's kind of a bummer but where you're where like you know what, we will just save some money we'll get new bikes those bikes were a couple years old anyway.
Scott Benner 49:33
Yeah, there's no silver lining so it's like your bike. Yeah. Looking for the silver lining of having your bicycle stolen. We get to have new bikes. Yeah, it helps you not murder somebody you know learning how to hold your anger in. Oh my gosh, it's Texas. They could have like stolen it. They probably were like gunned up and everything. You're lucky didn't catch them.
Sarah 49:59
Oh my gosh, probably Yeah, like I wrote has a gun like, I Miss Congeniality. Yeah. And the I forget there's one lady that's like it's Texas. Everyone has a gun. My florist has again. Well, I used to work for a florist. She was a good friend and she did have a gun. Yeah, everyone has a gun.
Scott Benner 50:20
I just had an image of Yosemite Sam shooting your lock off your bike, just so you know, popped into my head. And I realized that's probably insulting, but that's exactly how I thought about it. I was like, oh, guy probably just came up and shot the lock and took her bike. I imagined him riding your bike away. Like it was a horse. There's a lot going on in my mind. It's a new ha, Yeah, something like that.
Unknown Speaker 50:39
Meanwhile, you know, probably Yeah. Probably. gangster just came collecting bikes, selling them for money.
Sarah 50:48
Yeah. So and it's just like, what a time to do it. Especially like during the pandemic, when it's like, Man, that is like the last thing like anybody needs. But do you
Scott Benner 50:56
think the guy that stole your mind? And let's be honest, it was a guy. Let's let's do you think the guy that stole your bike, at any point thought to themselves? I feel bad about this because people really do need more exercise during the pandemic.
Sarah 51:09
No, he definitely didn't. He was like a bike. It's locked up. But I think that means it's mine. I think
Scott Benner 51:16
I think he thought I'm gonna sell this bike and buy weed. I think that's what he was. Yeah, yeah, most definitely. I'm sorry, that sucks.
Sarah 51:24
Okay, I still have other outlets for exercise. Like I said, so yeah, jujitsu. And then cardio and weightlifting are like my main forms of exercise at this point. Can
Scott Benner 51:34
you do jujitsu right now with restrictions or no?
Sarah 51:37
Yeah, so our gym, you have to like, register for the classes. And you're just basically saying this is the only class or two, you're only allowed to come to two, I think each week that I'm going to come to we do face coverings, and you have the option of keeping like the same Bahrain partner so that we're not like mixing each week, like who's with who or whatever. So I feel pretty safe with those guidelines and restrictions that they've put up. But yeah, it's still they're still open. That's a good idea.
Scott Benner 52:13
I have to be honest, I was baffled that I got a head cold. I was like, How did this happen? By the way, listen to me talk about it. I had a head cold. I complained about it. Like I was like trapped under a car. My wife is like What's wrong? Like I am ill leave me alone. And my, I can't, I can hear them talking about me. I just want the sofa watching my new favorite TV show. justified with Timothy Olyphant. And which I'm almost done with it. I'm going to need a new favorite TV shows. And anyway, that's not the point. I'm laying on the sofa. And I can hear them talking about me in the in the kitchen. And Arden's like, he never gets sick. So he's not used to it. And they started mocking me and I was like, I can't hear you why it hurts. And it just, you know, I am really a baby about it. I'm not gonna lie and and not being sick very often makes it I have no, like, I have no tolerance build up for being able to minute, my turn my head and I feel like a little off balance. I'm like, that's it. It's over. Sit right down. Just leave me here. I'm fine. Although I have to tell you, I did an interview. I'm gonna I'm gonna stamp this is for people in here with Sean. And Sean. And I got on to record. And I started by saying, Man, I don't feel good. I was like, just you know, like, I'm a little loopy here like this is this closest it's gonna come to you hear me drunk or high? Because I'm like a little spacey. And yeah, I can't wait to go back and edit that show. Because for the life of me, I do not know what I said during that time. I mean, I was really like, kind of out of it. I was like, Oh, I wonder how this will go. But we'll see. So So what would you tell people? If you had to take one, would you? Like if I gave you the you know, unreasonable choice of you can only be a flexitarian or eat on an intermittent schedule, which would you take?
Sarah 54:04
Oh, wow. Um, I guess it kind of depends on what their goals would be. Because if their goal is for insulin sensitivity, I might suggest intermittently fasting. If their goal is maybe like, easier to manage blood sugars when they eat, I would definitely suggest flexitarian Yeah, so it just depends on what their goals would be. But for me, if I could only keep one, I would keep intermittently fasting.
Scott Benner 54:31
Yeah, that's interesting. You said that I'm trying very hard for someone to come on who understands intermittent fasting on a more technical level. But yeah, I've been reaching to people and I'm not having a lot of luck. It's interesting how some people who are like I'm an expert in this, like, can you come on to talk about that man, like, well, I guess you're not an expert, because you're not an expert isn't you're afraid to say it out loud. Like, you know, yeah. So I'm still working on that. Because like whether you want to eat carnivore or not, I liked having Paul on because Paul's like, he's all in on it like he's gonna tell you like he's, you know, absolutely all in on eating a carnivore diet and so let him talk about it from that perspective and, and you know, people who are interested in it can hear about it and people who aren't, and then it can go I didn't know somebody else ate like that. And you know, it's something else. You're so you're eating like pasta and bread and things like that. Probably not a lot of bread though. Right?
Sarah 55:25
Right. So I tend to stay away from starches. So not a lot of potatoes or rice or just like white breads or like white pastas. And we do like the the alternatives that are made from like plants, I guess, like there's the chickpea pasta, and they now make a chick pea like rice and stuff like that. And like whole grain bread and things like that. But But yeah, a lot of I mean, it's essentially it's a lot of carbs. Either way.
Scott Benner 55:54
Yeah, I have to tell you, if you I say sometimes, like if you forced me to, like yell out everything, I could tell the person in five seconds about diabetes that I would say like get your basil right, learn to Pre-Bolus figure out the glycemic index. And then you know that that's how I would break down the very basics of managing insulin. I have to say, I think the very basics of eating, if you gave me one second to scream out, I yell don't eat processed foods.
Sarah 56:18
Yeah, I think that's very key like and that's for anybody, like whether you're a diabetic or not, is really key. Yeah,
Scott Benner 56:25
I think that in the end, that's the like, I know how I eat now. I've gotten my body isn't in as good of a place as I can get it through eating. And through the management of the time I eat. My last hurdle is exercise, honestly. And I need to add more exercise. But I've been suffering with plantar fasciitis for so long. And I just finally got it to clear up in a way that's meaningful, and like the last three or four months, so I'm excited again, again, but I have flat feet, and I couldn't figure it out. And I finally found an insert that that holds my arch up and made the plantar fasciitis go away. So I'm super excited, because every time I would get rid of it through stretching and resting, I'd be like, oh, cool, that I go out and do something. And I'd take two hard steps. And I'm like, and it's back again. six more months, I'll stretch it out again. And then two more steps. Like I'm not gonna add exercise like that. Yeah, but that really is like, for me, I think the difference between me right now and me 20 pounds, toner, and lighter is just exercise at this point. I don't eat. I really eat nothing. I'm down to nothing. Just Just potatoes. Right? Well, no, I haven't had that in a long time. Now. Like, you know, I when Paul was coming on, I was like, I'm just gonna eat meat to see how that goes. He yelled at me a little bit. He's like, that's not the way to start. Just trying to get some background information. But I remembered really liking that. So I stuck. I stuck with that for a while. And then like I said, and now I got sick. And you know, I I was I was at the mercy of like, whatever I could grab before I wandered back to the sofa and collapsed again. Yeah, you know, so, but I'm gonna I figure Thanksgivings in two days. So I'll wake up Friday morning. You know, I'm back on my back on the on the intermittent part of the diet. Now, I figured Friday morning, I'll just roll closer to more proteins and stuff like that for a few days. And then I'm assuming those couple pounds should probably drop right off. And then I'm going to start exercising like I just I don't know what I'm even going to drag my son in the basement and be like, Just show me for things that because he's my son looks like you play softball in college, by the way. No, I played in high school high school. Okay. Because my son's like a, you know, it looks like an underwear model. Like he's just, it's embarrassing. When I'm saying I saw I know people are like, I heard Scott was adopted, but maybe the kid is too, you know, anything like each other. And, and I know he can help me, so I'm just gonna put it on him. That seems fair, right?
Sarah 59:01
Yeah, yeah. And the start start small and like whatever you can do, like, Yeah, what are in like, something that like I had to learn was like, don't do exercise just because you think you have to find exercise that like you enjoy doing and that's like the best way to be able to keep up with it. So there might be an exercise I like works well, like if your foot does start to hurt more. I don't know.
Scott Benner 59:25
Yeah, but I have to find a way. Yeah. Maybe I can use yours. The one I took from you. Oh, okay. I see. That'd be a lot of effort to make a bad joke on a podcast to fly to Texas to steal someone's bike. Oh my gosh, yeah. No, I wouldn't say well, that would be very worthwhile. Let me ask you. I know we're getting up on time. But I have a question for you. So I found you because I was in the private Facebook group. And I was like, hey, how do people eat and you were there? What were you there doing? Like, well, how come you found the podcast and the group and everything.
Sarah 59:56
So I okay. So I'm going to kind of go into like my diagnosis story just a little bit because I actually found you guys before I was officially diagnosed. And before like, I really kind of knew what was going on. So I was becoming an EMT over the summer, and we were practicing, like using glucometers. Because that's something you have to do. Like if someone's acting kind of funny, or if they've, like lost consciousness, it's just like, you always check their blood sugar, or they checked mine. And it was like one evening class and my blood sugar came at, like 520. And they tested it again, because they were like, Oh, the glucometer just needs to be calibrated. And I checked it again. And it was like 515. And my instructor was like, Oh, you should probably go see your doctor. And I immediately just, like, jumped into research mode. And Juicebox Podcast was like, one of the, like, first one or two things I had found. And I couldn't even tell you how it was either through a Google search, or, or Reddit or something like that.
Scott Benner 1:01:05
Sorry, what I said, my SEO is tight as the kids would say, my so yeah, yeah.
Sarah 1:01:11
Search Engine Optimization. Yeah, got it. And so I found you guys. And I first I found, you know, the blog and the podcast. And then then I joined the Facebook group. And that was all before I was like, officially diagnosed. Well, yeah. And then and so whenever, like, I went to my endocrinologist, and they were explaining everything. And they were like, this is how you do this. I kind of had in the back of my mind, okay, but this is how I want to do it. Or this, I'm gonna try to do you know, because they didn't really talk about, you know, Pre-Bolus scene, they were like, yeah, just right before you eat, like, maybe like five or 10 minutes, you want to give yourself insulin. And then they gave me like an insulin to carb ratio. But I didn't really follow that. And then yeah, so that's how I found you. It's just like a search. And that's how I was like in the Facebook group, and I go to it every once in a while just to see if there's like, anyone that I can maybe help or I posted a question in there a couple weeks ago. I think it's just a great community.
Scott Benner 1:02:14
They're amazing group of people. Honestly, I'm yeah, I'm beyond stunned and just happy about it. I'm also kind of thrilled that you found the podcast before anything and knew enough to be like, yeah, I'm gonna listen to that, but not that. And you know, coming from your doctor, and it was it a nice, easy start for you because of finding it sooner.
Sarah 1:02:34
Yeah, actually. Especially since I got the Dexcom and Omni pod, it was like really great, being able to listen to how you use it. So I was like, Okay, I know what I'm going to do. And it was really nice hearing people talk about like, how insulin isn't scary. So it was just like, just have some, you know, apple juice or whatever around in case you go low while you are trying to figure things out. And so it was it seemed pretty seamless. I mean, as it could be. Obviously, it was a shock. And it was tough, and you know, very frustrating and annoying and just all sorts of emotions at first, but because like I already had an idea probably I had like a two week Head Start. Yeah, it just felt like I kind of knew, like I had a direction versus like getting everything all at once and being like, I have no idea what's going on.
Scott Benner 1:03:32
Wow, that's really cool. I've that you're the first person that found it basically, before having diabetes, a little bit of unity, although I realize you had it, but you'd before you really dove into it. I've heard people finding it on day one. Which is which is very cool. And and they've got a similar story to yours. But I like that you were just aware and moving before. Before even. Wow, I don't know. That's very cool. I'm kind of excited to know that. That's that that happened to you.
Sarah 1:04:04
Yeah. And I think it's because like the way that I found out like I think if I like my doctor really surprised that I'd never gone into decay and like had to be hospitalized. But I think the way I found out was also really helpful so it was like in class and then I took two weeks for me to be able to get an appointment with my doctor. So like in those two weeks, like I just was in, like heavy research mode, just like okay, I wouldn't I need to know everything. I wouldn't know how to best manage this. I want to know like what it means for like, now and in the future and just like oh my gosh, like I probably spent like hours and hours each day just like looking into everything. And then once I found you Juicebox Podcast and the Facebook group and everything. I was just like reading over like everyone's suggestions and like what kind of problems they had run into and things like that and like listening to all the podcasts. You know, I was going to the pro Tips and everything so Oh, yeah, I was just like a really? I mean, just a really great time, you know, things considered.
Scott Benner 1:05:07
I made me very happy. Not the part of it you haven't diabetes, but the rest of Sure. I'm sorry that you that happened. Did you ever become an EMT or a medic? What were you trying to do again?
Sarah 1:05:17
Yeah, so Okay, I was a teacher for two years. And I, my doctor and I are pretty sure that I had had diabetes for two years. I was undiagnosed, or, you know, before I was diagnosed, and so I just felt crappy while teaching. And I was like, man, maybe this just like, isn't for me, like, maybe this is just my body saying, teaching isn't for us. And so I was like, you know, I'm pretty interested in medical things and helping people and I have a brother in law, that's a firefighter paramedic, and he was like, you should look into this. And so I went through an EMT course over the summer, it was very accelerated. And then, you know, I found out while we were going through, like our finals, and like our testing and all that, and that I had diabetes, and I was like, Okay, I cannot be doing this EMT gig and figuring out diabetes all at once. It just felt like that was the wrong move to make for me. And so while I am a licensed CMT, I'm a teacher and everything feels much better. I'm just like, oh, okay, teaching wasn't really bad. It was just because I had like, an diagnosed type one diabetes, and that's why I felt so bad. But teaching itself is like pretty okay,
Scott Benner 1:06:34
I'm blown away that that was your, your example. Because my I had a secondary question for you, which was going to be Hey, did you ever become an EMT? And can you tell me how the transition was from having diabetes to untreated to having insulin on board? Can you tell me how your body felt differently after you had insulin, but then you just ended up doing it without me asking. That's a thank you. I like it, you can intuitively understand what the next question is going to be. And so it really was a night and day difference between how you felt after you got the insulin and prior?
Sarah 1:07:06
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. So I don't I'm like you, I'm very similar to you, or as I don't get sick that often. But in the two years, from, you know, the probable onset of type one diabetes, I was getting, I don't know, I don't even know what you'd call it. I don't even go to the doctor that often. But it was just like a bunch of nose, throat head stuff. But it was way more intense. Then when I'd had it before, you know, the probable onset. I just, it took me a lot longer to recover from it. And then it kind of lingered. And then just my day to day, I was just exhausted. And I just really assumed it was teaching Middle School. Because
Scott Benner 1:07:51
it sounds exhausting. Yeah. So had you not decided to try to be an EMT, you might just like fallen into DK eventually.
Sarah 1:07:59
Most likely, yeah, that's my thought. Because Because my agency was so high and you know, randomly testing one night it was 520 like I am because I were, you know, probably two years without being managed by insulin. Like I'm pretty certain like within the next couple of months, I probably would have gone into DK and that's how I would have found out I
Scott Benner 1:08:22
wonder how they chose you. How many people were there when they were like, hey, let's test their blood sugar.
Sarah 1:08:29
So we were actually in groups, they had glucometers. They had a glucometer for each group of like three or four people and we just had to take turns. So
Scott Benner 1:08:39
I was like, wow, that's Yeah, I wasn't sure if that was divine intervention where they were like, and there's 40 people in here, we're gonna check Sarah's blood sugar. until everybody got their blood sugar check at some point. Did you hear the episode 387 somebody call nine one where the paramedic ginger came on and talked about being a paramedic and what it's like to roll up on calls around type one diabetes?
Sarah 1:09:02
No, No, I haven't. I honestly fallen behind because with teaching and I've had Oh,
Scott Benner 1:09:07
whoa, slow down. Don't be making excuses for why you're not listening to the podcast. If you start to get divorced, or those kids can't learn as much or whatever has to happen. That's not my problem.
Unknown Speaker 1:09:18
Okay, you're right. You're so right. I apologize. I'm sorry. Do you see me saying and I didn't feel good. So you didn't get a podcast this week? No, I was sick and I made a podcast. And now you want to tell me you're busy? What the hell? I'm so sorry. Right. I please. I apologize for my disrespect.
Scott Benner 1:09:35
Well, let me speak honestly to everyone listening all you ungrateful mother. Like what do you I am making this podcast for you listen to it. And at the very least, at the very least you subscribe in your app and you continue to download new shows and tell people that I cannot be mistreated like this.
Sarah 1:09:52
You cannot and you just can't do it on your own. Like we have all of us we are like your your minions trying to push the podcast on people and listen to As many times as possible, so right?
Scott Benner 1:10:03
Not a good word. Let's call us partners. Okay? We're partners. Think of me as the partner that gets the money from the ad sales. And you're the partner who, you know, helps me charge more for the ads by getting more people listen to the podcast, like that's your part in this. I give you the diabetes information. And in turn, you helped me make the Sarah This is not hard to understand. I really sorry, I'm thinking about putting your episode out now.
Unknown Speaker 1:10:29
Oh, no as a punishment
Unknown Speaker 1:10:30
until you wasted your time. You're, like at least 20 episodes behind. I know. I'm just kidding.
Scott Benner 1:10:39
I put out so many of these that I'd be stunned. If you listen to all of them. I'd be like, Well, you've heard of every one of these. Sarah, you have to find like, like a life?
Sarah 1:10:50
I have not I have Honestly, I haven't had a life since school started. It's been rough. We are doing a hybrid. So I'm teaching online and in person. So it's like I have two full time jobs. It has been insane. Can I take
Scott Benner 1:11:01
a couple extra minutes for me before we say goodbye? Can you tell me about that? Yeah, absolute train wreck, it's going well, somewhere in the middle,
Sarah 1:11:09
somewhere in the middle. So it started to feel better, probably like, beginning of November. So today's November 24. And it started feel better. But then our school had four new positive cases and the health department forces to go online. And like for everyone to go online. And that has kind of been a bit of a mess. Because the students there were students that I had in person that had no idea what to do once they got online, even though like I have set aside time and showed them, like it just doesn't make sense for them to like, store that in their memory because they're like, whatever I'm in person, and I don't need to worry about, you know, going online and learning online. So it's been a little bit of a mess, connecting with everyone. And there's kind of some uncertainty as far as like when we'll come back are supposed to come back Monday after Thanksgiving. But that could change depending on what the health department wants, and you know, what our school decides and all that. But yeah, it's been pretty stressful for everyone, you know, students, teachers, administration, parents, you know, families as a whole, it's just been, it's just stressful for everyone,
Scott Benner 1:12:16
the process of teaching kids virtually, is it worse than in person? Better? no different, just different for you. So it feels odd, like, what's your finding?
Sarah 1:12:29
Yeah, I think it's worse for the students. I think school has a lot of benefits besides just, you know, an education, I think they actually learn a lot of different things. And I think being in person is the best form of them learning as far as you know, learning like math and science. But you know, they're also learning other things like social skill, and just you know, how to live life and how to interact with their peers, as well as adults. And so being online for the student. I just, I don't think that's very beneficial. At least not at this age, I teach 10th and 11th grade now, yeah. And I just think at this age, there's some students that might do fine. But the majority of my students, I can tell a difference, and just their learning and the way that they're interacting, you know, because I've had a lot of the students before, and other classes and, you know, to compare them in person to online, it's just night and day. And then it's also kind of, it's also kind of weird as the teacher to try and figure that out. It's like, how do I teach this lesson without being able to, like, get them to do hands on things, which is like, the best way to do it? You know, for the majority of students, it's like hands on. Because Sure, it's like, okay, I can have you go and watch this video, and then answer some questions about it, or write a paper about it. But I, there's just not absorbing anything, you know, because they're on a screen all day. And so to have them have an assignment that's on a screen, or to watch a lesson on a screen, it's just, it's a lot of screen time, and they just kind of like zone out their brain. I don't know what it is. And it's to no fault of their own. It's just you know, how humans work, but their brain just starts to like, lose that. I don't know that the reality of like that they're at home, and they're supposed to be at school, but it's just like, there's a connection that's not being made there.
Scott Benner 1:14:30
Is your expectation lower for them? Like is the schools in general lower? Like, I know, nobody would admit that out loud, probably, but is, you know, like, is the amount of stuff we're trying to pack into someone's brain lesser than it was prior?
Sarah 1:14:47
I think it depends on where you go. And then like for what school district and then even then what school you're in for my school. Essentially, the feel that I'm getting is that the expectation for teachers are the same however, the expectation for students has been lowered. And I'm definitely on board with, you know, lowering expectations because we have no idea what the students home lifes are like, you know, for some students, it's like their worst nightmare to be at home. And then to try to learn from home. Yeah, so, my, my personal as a teacher, my personal expectations for students, I've lowered them a lot. And I also teach history. So it's also kind of like, history comes last. It's not, it's not like one of the essential skills you need to have or central knowledge you need to have at this age level. So, yeah, there are some other teachers though, who, in my school, their expectations have not changed at all. They're about the same. And then I can see that that's been kind of rough on students. So just like I said, kind of depends.
Scott Benner 1:15:52
Yeah, Arden, put a table in her room. She's like, I need somewhere to sit. So we got her like a small table and a chair. And on most days, she sits up and she's like, but still like, you look at her. She's in her pajamas. And her hair's like going in six ways, and she doesn't care. And yet she looks like today station feel while she laid in bed and went to school today. Like at noon, we were like erh just one more class, then I'm going to get a shower. And we're like, okay, yeah. But she's doing like, her grades are really good. My son hates it. My son's in his junior year of college. And he's like, he's like, if they want us to do this again next semester. I'm not doing it. Yeah, he said, He's gonna take a gap if it happens again.
Sarah 1:16:31
Yeah, I totally understand that. I totally get that. Like, there's for to some students, it's like, whatever I can do this I can, I can be online and to the majority of students. So it's just such a, it's such a difference. And it's just not helpful. And they just kind of turn into like zombies almost like, it just, yeah, their brains aren't actually functioning on the learning level that they need to, because there's just that just enough of a difference like being at home than in person. Here's
Scott Benner 1:16:59
the good that I can imagine coming from this, then I'm gonna let you go. Because this is my long shot bet. Okay. And everybody falls into their phone. Right? We've been doing it now for a decade or so. There's an entire generation of kids who, you know, don't know a life they What is that? They say? Like, you're always within arm's reach of your phone or something like that. Like, you know, people have their face their phones. I'm thinking that if this pandemic goes on long enough, we are going to successfully rewire a generation of children, not the one to look at a screen. Maybe, maybe maybe it's like, you know, when when your parents caught you smoking a cigarette, and they may just smoke the whole pack. See it gets sick. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, I'm thinking this might be that for screentime.
Sarah 1:17:45
Yeah, I mean, that's a good thought. And maybe not. Yeah, I could see that happening. I could see that happening. Just Yeah, kids just being like sick of the screen, and then finally returning to play like outside do something.
Scott Benner 1:17:57
Yeah. Yeah. Like go have sex like regular kids. And like, yeah, they don't even know each other. Like, they're, like, 11th 12th grade. They're in college, like, Oh, no, I don't have friends. I'm like, friends. What about girls? What are you people doing? You know, have you? Are you aware that now there are text chains going around during your class that you're not involved in with the class? Do you know the kids talk that way to each other? Do you know they're probably talking about you while you're doing your thing? Like, are you aware of all that? Or you don't have kids? You don't know about that part? I guess? Hmm.
Sarah 1:18:31
Well, I don't have kids myself, but I am aware like I yeah, I'm aware that they talk about me. They talked about other students they like yeah, our school has a really strict no cell phone policy. But I know that it still happens. Like if their cell phones are out or whatever, even if it's like in their pocket. And you can see the outline in their pocket, where we take their phones up, and they have to pay $20 to get it back at the end of the day. And then it increases like $5 each time. But it still happens. Like they hide the phone. Somehow they take it to the bathroom or you know, in the hallway and passing periods. Like I yeah, I know that that happens. Because it distracts and it's like, it's like the other day. I saw it in real time. So we had an advisory and my advisory students, I'm like, yeah, take out your phone. I'm fine with that. Like, you know, whatever. As long as it's school appropriate. Don't forget you're on the school Wi Fi. So you, you know the school can see everything you're doing. And I saw it happen in real time. Someone walked into advisory and they were like, Hey, did you hear what so and so said to this teacher? And everyone in the class was like, no, what did she say? And they were like she said this and this and then I had the student that said something to the teacher. I had her later in the day, and she just seemed like different from how she normally was from her normal personality and I I was like, Hey, what's going on today? You seem just, you know, like, a little down or just like little different and you have a good weekend. And she was like, No, I just like, I don't know, some people were talking about me and they're texting about me. And I know that I watched that happen, like in my class. And I was just like, That's insane. And I definitely was like, maybe like even an advisory. Like, I shouldn't allow them to have phones out for reasons like that. Because like, yeah, that that. I mean, now that girl now that students like distracted for the rest of the day. Yeah. And she's just Yeah,
Scott Benner 1:20:31
they're getting good at it. They're like, multitaskers. Like, it's it's really incredible. They're having multiple, like, the level the conversations about different topics at the same time on different like, devices.
Unknown Speaker 1:20:44
Yes, fascinating.
Scott Benner 1:20:45
They are at it. It's, it's crazy. Yeah, you should see some of the ways they they've like figured out how to cheat on tests and help each other with homework. And these kids are really good at using this technology.
Unknown Speaker 1:20:57
I think really, I
Scott Benner 1:20:58
think, I think schools teaching kids a lot of things. They don't think they're teaching them. Right. Yeah. They're bad kids. They're gonna be amazing adults. Yeah. Well, I think at the end here, we figured out who stole your bike, some kids phone to you talk,
Sarah 1:21:13
probably from the others, like, Alright, we can easily find out where she lives.
Scott Benner 1:21:17
I know where she's at. Let's take her bike. Yeah. Yes, we solved it. Yeah, I think we did just go figure out which kid you took the most money off of for the cellphones. He's got your bike? Yeah. Well, I really appreciate you doing this. And, and seriously, I'm, I love this series of people talking about how they eat and just have a nice conversation. So I'm, I'm thrilled the podcast found you and that has been valuable for you. And, and in turn, I'm, I'm very grateful for you coming on and sharing this part of your life with us. Thank you so much.
Sarah 1:21:47
Oh, of course, I'm so grateful for the podcast, like, as I just explained, like, I it was an integral part in, you know, learning management. And I think because of that, like, it has just been that much easier. You know, that much less stressful, especially when it comes to insulin, because I think a lot of people are just so nervous about using it, and just kind of like the dangers of it, which are very valid and real concerns. However, we don't necessarily have to live with blood sugars that are super high, you know, we can we can make small changes and be healthy. And, you know, just finding the podcast was just like such a blessing to be able, you know, to transition so smoothly, you know, from from diagnosis just right into it. So I'm really thankful for you, Scott, and just, you know, the blog and the podcast and everything. It's become like, it's so great. And the community on Facebook, I think is like also one of the best resources out there. Thanks for having me. Yeah, I hope flexitarian diet makes sense for some people to try out. Yeah,
Scott Benner 1:22:50
it's definitely worth looking into. And Google calls it semi vegetarian, which made me laugh. a vegetarian, okay. Oh, you were so sweet. Just now it's not me from making a stupid joke, because I was just gonna be like, so I saved your life. Sara, is that right? Is it can you just say those words, please. So we have a clip for the trailer. But no, no, it's fine. No, but seriously, you were just that was really kind. I appreciate it. You made me made me a little, you know, I'm not I didn't cry or anything like that. But it was it was really touching. I I'm just thrilled that anybody's finds value in any of the stuff that I've got set up so but to know that you basically slung right from not having diabetes to having Type One Diabetes without experiencing any weird social, psychological or physical blips is very gratifying to hear. So I appreciate you sharing that with me. Thank you. Of course, of course. A huge thank you to one of today's sponsors, g Vogue glucagon, find out more about chivo hypo Penn at G Vogue glucagon.com forward slash juice box. you spell that GVOKEGL Uc ag o n.com. forward slash juice box. Warm handing out thank yous and propers Sara, thank you so much for coming on the show. And Contour Next One blood glucose meter. You're not a person but I appreciate you too. Contour Next One comm forward slash juice box. And of course don't forget touched by type one.org. Also on Facebook and Instagram. Thank you so much for listening. If you're enjoying the podcast, please share it with someone. Leave a great rating and review where you listen or subscribe in a podcast app. These are the things that help the show the most. Thank you so much for listening for supporting the show. I'll be back soon with another episode.
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#498 Dexcom Talk With CEO Kevin Sayer
Dexcom CEO Kevin Sayer is here to share where Dexcom is at and answer your questions. We'll chat about Dexcom G7, Apple Watch, Adhesive and more.
You can always listen to the Juicebox Podcast here but the cool kids use: Apple Podcasts/iOS - Spotify - Amazon Music - Google Play/Android - iHeart Radio - Radio Public, Amazon Alexa or wherever they get audio.
+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
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 to Episode 497 of the Juicebox Podcast.
On today's show, I'm going to be speaking with the father of a young type one. The Father's name is Chad. And Chad has feelings. Actually, boys have feelings. We're going to talk about them today, and so much more. Please remember while you're listening that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan, or becoming bold with insulin.
Perhaps you've been hearing about the pro tip series from the Juicebox Podcast and like to learn more, you can find them at Episode 210 right in your podcast player, or if you'd like to pick through a little bit online first. Diabetes pro tip.com. That's pretty much all I have for you. Here comes chat.
Have you always wanted to help with Type One Diabetes Research but don't have the time or the means to be involved in a study? Well, you should check out the T one D exchange. You can support type one research and the Juicebox Podcast by going to T one d exchange.org. forward slash juice box. When you get there. It's super simple to do and just takes a couple of minutes. You click on join our registry now. Complete a simple survey and you're done. T one D exchange research has led to increased insurance coverage for blood glucose meter test strips changes in the American Diabetes Association guidelines for pediatric a one c goals. It's helped with FDA expansion of Dexcom CGM labeling, and Medicare coverage for CGM devices. Everything you do will be 100% HIPAA compliant, and 1,000,000%. Anonymous. Sometimes after you fill out the survey, the T one D exchange will reach out to you with other opportunities that you can either take advantage of or not. I've heard some listeners of the podcast have been contacted recently and they were really happy that they were T one d exchange.org. forward slash juice box. Check it out.
Chad 2:48
Hello, name's Chad, the father to a three year old diabetic Carson. Carson was diagnosed in on September 11 of 2019. changed our life forever spoke to be on this because I noticed ever since day one, it seemed like the the doctors you know, we're talking specifically to my wife and it's like sometimes I wasn't even in the room and I just I didn't know that was a general perception in the community with with parents raising type one children or or not.
Scott Benner 3:31
What I found your note very interesting because this is really the tone that you came from. And I want to get to all of it. But before I do, you're an East Coast person, right? Just in general.
Chad 3:41
I'm in Yep, I'm in northeastern Maryland.
Scott Benner 3:44
Alright, so I want to make sure about something before we start especially after last night's Monday Night Football game. You didn't name that poor kid after Carson Wentz. Did you
Chad 3:52
know absolutely. Absolutely. Actually that's funny because we we do we live 45 minutes from Philadelphia. I grew up in New England. I'm a I'm a Patriots fan. Okay. And my wife actually wished kind of harm on Carson Wentz because she did not want the name to become popular.
Scott Benner 4:11
Well, he fixed that. Don't worry, oh,
Unknown Speaker 4:14
my God, she What?
Chad 4:16
She said, She goes, I hope he she's like this is bad, but I hope he gets injured that way. This name just doesn't start popping up everywhere. And that season later that season. He pretty much broke his leg. He's tore his ACL and then Nick foles came in and beat my patriots in the Super Bowl.
Scott Benner 4:35
So you got paid back, but yeah, exactly. Hopefully everyone's not going to be named Carson 15 years from now. Yeah, I have to admit I thought we did at the time. In 2000, actually 1999 when we came up with the name, when we chose coal we we didn't know anybody who named their kid coal and now it's it's much more common. He actually plays on a you know in in college There are two coals on his baseball team. Oh, wow. So we didn't do a great job. But yeah, Carson Wentz took care of this for you, but I love the story. So you, you put the ogopogo on Carson. And then they came back around gotcha in the Super Bowl. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And it really did too, because we just basically sent out like, guy number two to beat the hell out of you. Yes, yeah.
Chad 5:22
Well, right. He had like the game of his life. And it still wasn't enough.
Scott Benner 5:25
You know, you know, it's so funny. And I won't we won't talk about football long. But my mom's like, almost 80. And I was driving or somewhere the other day, and we spent a good amount of time in the car talking about that Super Bowl. And she loves football. And I said it, I said it. It was just whoever had the ball last. Like they if the Patriots would just got the ball back one more time. Like I actually think there's a strong case to be made that Brandon Graham won the Super Bowl. Oh, yeah. Yeah. knocking the ball out of Brady's sack. Yeah, yeah. But anyway, I it's hilarious that that all came back around to get you by the way, your wife, your wife. I want to meet sometime vicious lady. She couldn't have just, like, wish that he changed his name or something like, Yeah, no, she's, she's, she's pretty harsh. She would write for the cat hope a car falls on. You know. Interesting. Anyway. So a couple things about your note, grab me. One that I think we're gonna spend a fair amount of time talking about was how you felt in the room where the doctor was sort of looking through you? And and how, in general, when you're paying attention online, you don't see a ton of men involved. And moreover, you do see a lot of moms complaining about their husbands? Yes. I don't know that you found. I don't know that you found an issue in the diabetes community. I think you just found that issue in the Yeah, yeah. In the world. But first, tell me a little bit about the diagnosis. We you were there as it happened. And, and yeah, it's in the very beginning.
Chad 7:07
Yep. So we, you know, we noticed the telltale signs, he was drinking, he was drinking like half a gallon of water a day losing weight. At first, we just thought, you know, Carson is a big kid, he wasn't he was a 10 pound baby at birth. And at first, you know, my wife, just I always lose those baby fat. And then he's paying for his diaper every night. And you know, she looked it up early. This was we start seeing signs in June of 2019. And, you know, she wanted to get appointment with a doctor. And it just so happened, they were able to get us in just three weeks after his second birthday. For his two year exam, and, you know, she pushed the doctor, I want to be, you know, I want to test it for type one, I see all these signs, she wasn't too concerned. And she was actually pushing against the test. And we were like, hey, it's it's a simple test. And, you know, they tested the urine and, you know, glucose showed up in the urine. She actually called me at work. I just, I just ran out 5k that morning, I was late coming into work. My my co workers and I were we were talking about 911 just where we were on that day and I had a specific co worker tell me he said, you know, not everyone nine love means the same. I have a old co worker that whose child was born on 911 he he spent the morning you know, at the hospital, you know, enjoying this this wonderful day the birth of his son, right? And he's you know, I specifically remember him telling me He's like, not everyone's nine elevens the same that walk into work and you know, so it goes so and someone's phone's been ringing off the hook and I go to my cubicle and it was like six, seven missed calls from my wife called her back and she she told me that you know, there was glucose in the urine to get home and pack bags. We there's a really good Children's Hospital in the RSA I DuPont wilmington delaware but I guess our insurance didn't cover overnight stays there and so they said you are covered up at CHOP in Philadelphia so and it up chops Lee on one the top children's diabetes hospitals in the world. So we turned out lucky there. So yeah, I packed my bag. Karstens blood sugar was was 370 something it wasn't, you know, crazy, but it was high. And yeah, we stayed there for three nights for the training. I was hands on with the training, looking up glucose monitors and and trying to figure insulin pumps very early. In fact, after In the first night he his blood sugar the next morning was that was a perfect blood Hunter. I remember that vividly.
Scott Benner 10:07
Well, it's interesting, isn't it that the 370 now, what it meant back then you were just like, oh, as they told me his blood sugar's high, and he has diabetes. And now Yeah, it feels a little different.
Chad 10:18
Yeah, yeah. And now Now we start fretting over, you know, one 180 200
Scott Benner 10:23
sounds like you guys caught it really quickly, though. 370 is, you know, elevated, obviously, but yeah, he was wearing a DK or anything like that.
Chad 10:31
Yeah, no, he was, you know, perfectly fine. We're in there with another family whose child was in was in DK and, you know, that was scary. And I, I, I'm, I'm glad that I have my wife and she still you know, part of his she's a stay at home mom. So she's she's able to see those signs day in and day out. So that helped us a lot. Is he your only child or your? So he is our only child, but we do have custody of our seven year old niece, Sophia. So it's like we have two children. Right.
Scott Benner 11:04
But he was your My point was it's the first baby Your wife had raised. It wasn't Yes. Wow. She did a good job too. Yeah, yeah. Well, she's got magic powers. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. She can find diabetes and brake professional quarterbacks legs. Oh my goodness. I just want to say one last time that the Eagles are terrible. I'm an Eagles fan. And I'm gonna say it right now. I don't I can tell you all what happened. But I don't think anybody here wants to hear but I am facing up to it. They are an absolutely pitiful football team top to bottom.
Chad 11:40
But they're only like half the game out in the in the NFC. so
Scott Benner 11:43
pitiful football team and a pitiful division. That's for certain. Yeah, I know why they're leaving the field. The announcers like the Eagles are three, seven and won or whatever they aren't. He's like they're still in it. If only they could win two games in a row, they'd be the champions. mess. Anyway. Okay, so your your 911 is not everybody else's 911 Yeah. And somebody you know, puts the specter of it overtop of you just moments before you find out. Yeah, that's the case. It would have been nice if he would have said something like, you know, I know some people who win the lottery on 911 By the way, Chad your phone's been ringing all mark. Yeah. I won the Powerball baby there are moving people around. You are magical, but they don't use their powers. Well. Well, I I mean, Ardennes. I guess by now we've hinted around it long enough that that is Arden's Children's Hospital chop in Philadelphia. Okay. Yeah. People must know by now listening. But she was diagnosed in Virginia because we were on vacation. That's right. Yeah. But I've never had anything but but good experiences a chop and they definitely are a classy hospital that that that's on the you know, on the bend of the cutting edge the way they talk to people I definitely think that you lucked out going there. But I imagine that's not your hospital anymore. You don't make the trip every time
Chad 13:15
No, we still do it's it's it's less than an hour away. So no kidding. Yeah. Oh, we we love it that much. Especially our diabetes educator. You know that that helped a lot someone someone walking in the room after your son's diagnosed and him being diagnosed as well. Shout out to Ken Yeah, just just seeing that a healthy healthy man my age living breathing diabetes every day himself. So should feel right. Yeah.
Scott Benner 13:45
So your CD he is a guy named Ken and he has typos. Yes. Look at you can do and good work making Chad's family feel better. Very nice. I the only thing about that place that I hate is parking at it and getting Oh yeah. Yeah, it's actually yeah, the Burgess area is terrible. It just yeah, I'm making laps. And like that was it. Oh,
Chad 14:06
I had to place a pin on my on my Google Maps just so I know exactly where to go every time because I miss it. You know, every time
Scott Benner 14:14
I read your thought your your child was lucky enough to be diagnosed in the age of you know, cell phones I had it scratched out on a piece of paper with a hand drawn thing that a friend of mine who would work down there once was like that you go around this corner and through this place fear and you're like, Okay, driving down my babies with me. My wife's back at work. I'm like, it's fine. Everything's fine. This is exactly how I plan life. It's gonna be alright. never really felt Alright, I guess. But now it does. You know, I think that's kind of important to say because I just recently was watching a newly diagnosed family. Ask school questions online. And it just occurred to me as they were speaking that so soon they won't feel like this and they don't And they don't realize it. You know? It's Yeah, kind of.
Chad 15:05
I started listening to your very first episodes, I think I'm up to 25. But it just, it was just five years ago. And that feels just, it feels like the Stone Age. And you know, the progress in these families so much Carson is diagnosed in September, and by the end of October, he was on Dexcom g six. By the beginning of November, we were testing out the Omnipod on them. And December 1, he was alive with insulin when so yeah, we we progressed, you know, chop was very good progress on us very quick. And by January 1, he has his own cell phone. So
Scott Benner 15:46
I do remember Arden being in kindergarten with an iPhone, and every parent in the town hating me and my wife for for causing that uproar. Yeah, she's just, you know, it was funny, like so we all in the beginning, we just wanted Arden to be able to call us from the bus. That was our whole that was our whole goal. And we took her to the store. And you know, no one was looking to buy an expensive cell phone when she was five, trust me. And we you know, we're like these little flip phones that used to exist in a little shells and clam shells and everything. We tried so hard in the store to teach her how to like, use it. And she just, you know, weird menus and she couldn't remember everything. But that, you know, you have to admit that through that that iPhone in front of her in five seconds later, she had the whole thing figured out how to use it. All right, well, here's your baby crack. And if you ever feel dizzy on the bus called daddy. It was pretty much the whole thing. Yeah, but the other families were pissed. They were just very unhappy that Arden was wandering around with an iPhone, you know, she is 16. And yeah, yeah, she's
Chad 16:57
she's a she's Yeah, she's 11. Then in the podcast, I'm
Scott Benner 17:01
listening. That's crazy. And the podcast you're listening to right now? She's 11? That's Yes. My point is she's 16. You know, she's never broken an iPhone. Really? Oh, she's had one since she was five. She's never broken one
Chad 17:12
ever. I think I broke five when I was 25. Alone, you know?
Scott Benner 17:17
Through mine. I tried to put mine in my pocket the other day. And for some reason, just threw it at the floor. Getting old.
Chad 17:26
I don't want to end there always within like three months after buying it brand new.
Scott Benner 17:30
Yeah. Anyway, so chat, I do want to really dig in because I don't know many. I mean, I, I guess how do I want to put this? So I have access to the demographics of the private Facebook group for the podcast. And it's, you know, just the it's obviously not everybody that listens. And it's not everybody in the world. But I can tell you that overwhelmingly, there are women in the group. And the men that are in there are more likely to be type ones themselves. Yeah, not the fathers of type ones. A lot of fathers get added to the group by the mothers. But I don't see them being active. I don't know that that doesn't mean that they're not watching because I can also see the analytics and a huge portion of the people who are members of the group are active within the group every day, although a smaller percentage of them actually post and answer questions and stuff like that. It's, you know, the way the internet works. But it is incredibly uncommon to hear from men who don't have type one. And I am aware of some type one groups for fathers of children with Type One Diabetes. And I don't spend much time in them at all, but the times I have looked, they are more of a I don't even know how to put it. It's like, like a relief valve. Yeah, it's it's like the digital equivalent of getting together and Yep, shooting or kicking or yelling at something. Yes, is what it feels like. And I don't know, you know, psychologically, I don't know what that is, I'm sure we could easily dig in and, you know, go down the rabbit hole of boys are taught not to, you know, show their feelings and things like that, or Yeah, or whatever. But it didn't strike you that way. It obviously didn't strike me that way. I was, um, you know, I, I don't ever talk about it on here very much. But in my book, I joke that I am really just too overly shy of being able to give birth, because I'm a lady basically, in a lot of ways, because I grew up through my mid 20s 30s and 40s, you know, being a stay at home parent. And, you know, became very evident very quickly that if, if my kids didn't have that, that thing that my wife would have intrinsically known that I didn't really know, that kind of care that it was going to be detrimental to them so I just sort of threw myself into it. You Completely headfirst I just yeah, that's what I'm gonna do. So I don't you know, I don't have that when you see me share or hear me share on here. It's it's a pretty direct valve right to my heart I'm not you know I'm not protecting my how I how I sound or anything like that I'm not trying to produce a veneer of, you know, masculinity. I've been over that for a while. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you only have to be a stay at home dad before it's a thing so long before you realize that you know, you are the the heel of a lot of, of you know, whispering you know, in circles I'm sure it's not like that any longer. But you know,
Chad 20:44
yeah, I yeah, I think as you know, we specially younger generations. Yeah, that that that will change with time.
Scott Benner 20:57
Having said that, john, if I could lean the other way for a second. Let me let me have 1980 Scott, talk to you for a second. I don't see a ton of guys built like construction workers who are stay at home dads, either. No, six, four guys that can benchpress a car that have just decided not to work. I mean, I'm sure there were some but they mostly look like me. You know? Although I wish I was taller, but that's not the point. I'll tell you right now. I'm gonna get your wife to wish for my height help I'd be happy if I could just get my phone back in my pocket and you tell her to just say out loud you know something about Scott always successfully putting his phone away. To do that magical work on me. But you're a working guy you know you're not the stay at home. Is there something about you or how you grew up that made you want to be involved?
Chad 21:48
So I think being a being the only boy I'm surrounded by girls and my my dad and round a lot. Maybe Maybe that helped deal with you know,
Scott Benner 22:03
Chad, you're a couple ovary shy having a baby too. Is that what you're saying? Yeah, yeah,
Chad 22:07
maybe it's too much it'd be too much pain for me. I got I rarely get sick. I got sick a couple years ago went to the doctor and and I was like, I don't know. something's really wrong with me and, and the doctor, somebody Chad, you have a cold? Yeah.
Scott Benner 22:25
Well, last week, I got sick. And I was on the sofa for four days. Kelly's like What's wrong? I'm like, I feel a little flush. And when I turned my head too fast, I feel dizzy.
Chad 22:36
Yeah, I was passed out over I mean, I swear I almost cut off my thumb. My wife says it was just a it's a paper cut. But I guess I almost passed out.
Scott Benner 22:48
It's so funny. I've really been injured in my life. Like really, really injured. And that I've handled fine. Yes, like I've, if you ever meet me look for the scar on my left hand that goes midway through my thumb down into my palm. And like I felt laid my hand open, and that I handled completely fine. I've had welders flash where I went blind for a few days that I handled completely fine. I've had a giant molten piece of steel fall into my boot. And of course I couldn't get to it quickly enough. So the moisture in my foot, put it out and like just burned a hole right into the top of my foot. That's fine. rip my ankle apart that I handled fine. If I get a little woozy when I turn my head.
Chad 23:31
Yeah. Well, that's why I told her I said I was kneeling down looking at the cut and then I stood up too fast and all the blood just rushed him. You know, as you get older when you stand up too fast. You can't like
Scott Benner 23:42
change. You got the vapors. That's what happened. Even 1860 illness you just have been overcome. That's all. So you grew up in a family where your father wasn't around a ton. You had a bunch of sisters and a mom. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Do you feel like you'd have that that more kind of caretaker vibe about you?
Chad 24:04
Yeah, I do. I you know, I things things around the house like household chores are are pretty 5050 as much as they can be with the with the time a lot, you know, with my eight hour spent the job. What What did help out with with caring for Carson was I, you know, six months after diagnosis Coronavirus, it's our streets and I was at home with the family day in and day out. And also I had this Master's project to finish my master's and it revolved around just tracking all the different elements to type one diabetes is just a blueprint of a system. And I devote a lot of research and, and time into that so I was learning about type one a lot. And and during that time, I really was able to dig into like numbers and you know, fine tune adjustments with that.
Scott Benner 25:03
What's your background in systems engineering? Oh, do you have that classic engineering brain? Yes. Yeah.
Chad 25:11
I think that helped out tremendously with with Carson's diagnosis and then my wife, she's an accountant, she's uh, she or she has degree in accounting. She you know, she's she's good with numbers herself. So that that helped out tremendously.
Scott Benner 25:27
And you find that valuable and so like, your management is going really well. Right?
Chad 25:32
for cars. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So within a within six months, Carson was under seven, a one C and at the year mark, he was under six
Scott Benner 25:43
c that's so we I want to pick through that a little bit. Because my experience talking to people, there's there's certain buckets, I'm finding people falling in the more and more experiences I have, for instance, I've said recently, nurses tend to struggle a lot with being the caregivers of people with type one diabetes, which is fascinating is something about how they're trained, and what they do day to day that doesn't mesh with the part of type one that's more style. And you know, then then math. Yes. And I've now seen that so many times. I'm willing to say that out loud. I'm not saying you know, nurses can't figure it out. I'm just saying that they struggle. They they feel like they have a natural built in roadblock. But I've also noticed that people with engineering backgrounds seem to find their own way through it. It's not ever classically mathematical and it's not usually completely like the way I talk about it. They find their own way. So well. Yeah. What did you do and our
Chad 26:45
our our that's funny, sad because our diabetes educator, my six month mark, no Carlin's on a low Basal rate just because of his size. And like, like all night, he's at point one units while he was going high a few nights. And, you know, the problem with that size is you can only increase by 50% more insulin, and that's not really needed. So we, we kind of, we throw in some random point, one fives and two is that nightly basil rate or, you know, every other hour, and you know, is diabetes educators like what the hell are you guys doing? This is off and it's like, hey, it works. Yeah,
Scott Benner 27:24
I'm bumping and nudging with basil is what I'm doing. Yeah, yeah. Well, it's, um, have you looked into that? Are you interested in on the pod five when it comes out using only pod? So are you gonna go to an algorithm?
Chad 27:37
Yeah, very intro, but I've read that, you know, he, I think there's an age requirement to it five or six years old?
Unknown Speaker 27:45
Yeah, I'm
Scott Benner 27:45
listening. I'm not sure. But historically, doctors can write things off label for use, and it's done with diabetes and kids forever. I would think it would be more about you. exhibiting that you can handle it. Yes. Yeah. And that would be that I'm looking at Arden's blood sugar right now. It's funny, it's 94. She's in class. And, um, there's part of me that just is, like, I wonder why it's not 89. Just ridiculous, right? But, but it's, it's, um, and I don't, and I wouldn't, I would, interestingly, come to some conclusion like the one you did, except, I don't think about it in any of the terms you did. Like, I'm sure you were very just like, well, we'll you know, we'll do this. You know, we'll do a little bit here and then move it up and move it down and move it up and move down. And that'll keep the bounce, by the way, that's kind of brilliant. Chad being able to see, you know, because when I say things like, you know, Basil doesn't like when you make a change to your basil doesn't happen immediately. Yeah. You could make the leap in your head that if I just stagger it, then every once in a while, we'll get a little bit of a push down. But it won't be enough to make him low. Yes. And then you tried it, which is huge, because I spoke to someone yesterday on the phone. And she's like, I don't know what's wrong. My daughter's blood sugar has been high since she moved to an insulin pump. And people want to blame the pump right away. Like when we were on MBI it was fine. And now this pump and you know, it's so high. So I'm asking my questions picking through it. So what was her total basil on MDI? And she said, 13 units a day. And I said, you know, show me your Basal rates. Now. We added them up and it was eight minutes. Yeah. And I said, I think we found the problem. Yeah, you know, and she's like, no, but she gets low. Like, yeah, but and then that's when the explanation starts. And it's such a simple thing that I'll say it here. A lot of you experienced Lowe's make the reasonable determination that you have too much insulin. That's why got low, for some reason, take it out of the basil every time. Yeah, then blood sugars trend up because you don't have enough Basal insulin which causes you to have to Bolus too much at meals, but you probably can't bring yourself to do it. So you under Bolus a meal, the meal shoots up, the pressure of the high blood sugar gets to you, you correct it. And then as the corrections working, the food digests out of the system, there's nothing there to hold up the number you crashed down. And instead of seeing that process, you turn your Basal down more. Yeah, which just makes it worse. It's the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do.
Chad 30:39
Oh, yeah, we were Yeah. About the same week, we changed probably the Bolus numbers for for food more than more than you know, we'll see a trend over three days and be like, Alright, well, something's something's obviously up. And we will we'll change his food ratio.
Scott Benner 30:56
I think one of the most important things that we do that ends up being difficult for people to wrap their heads around and and to implement because there's no real rule to it is the part where you, you know, just understand the impact of the food. I mean, this podcast forced me to talk about glycemic load and glycemic index, because you people wouldn't listen to me when I just said, just Bolus what you think the plate needs, learn from last time and do it again, that really is how I do it. I look at a plate and I go into this much if it doesn't work, I make a correction. Next time she eats that food, I take what we Bolus plus the correction I put it in. Now I hear from people a Scott, I can't remember all that I have a job, you know, and so I don't not understand that. But that's why one day I said the Jenny, I we got to talk about glycemic load and glycemic index as much as I don't want to. Because that's not how I want to think about it. But at some point, the podcast got so big that I was like I have a responsibility here. I just you know, now I have to now I have to do it. So you guys are forcing me to learn more things. And think about things differently. Because you're, you're being resistant and not listening to me. And I have enough of that with my children. If someone would just listen chat when I speak, that would be lovely. I just want one person not to argue with me just to go, Hey, the guy said do this, I'll just do it. But that's an incredibly important part. Because, you know, as I explained to anybody out it'll sit still a listener who asks, 10 you know, 10 carbs of one food doesn't impact your blood sugar the same ways 10 carbs of another food and you can't just act like it does and then go oh, I don't know what happened. I count the carbs. You can't do that. But man, people do it. So yeah.
Chad 32:45
And that's like a lot of what like our extended family doesn't doesn't understand. My wife sister the other day, they were talking about getting pizza and my wife was just like, shaking her head and and yeah, she had explained Yeah, he kind of pizza but it just means we're up till 12 midnight. 1am chasing protein and fat and stuff. Yeah.
Scott Benner 33:08
You hear somebody talking about pizza at seven o'clock. You start thinking about what you're Yeah, then what am i binge watching right now? Am I gonna enjoy that? Will I be able to follow it when I'm tired? I have a I always have a binge watch going. It's easy to watch. And one that's more that you have to focus on more. And I know at a certain time, like right now I'm watching Deadwood. But the dialogue is so thick with like old timey euphemisms like you really have to pay attention to follow along. So I don't know I don't do that when after about 10pm is something more Poppy, you know something a little more pillory after 10. So I can pay attention. But it's interesting, isn't it? When someone mentions pizza, you start doing the math in your head. I could probably if this goes right, I could probably go to bed by midnight. If it goes wrong. I wouldn't be able to. You gotta get up in the morning at seven to go to work. Is there any chance we could just have a nice wrap with Yeah. We could put it tomato in it and sprinkle some cheese on top. It'll be just like pizza. And that's socks, man. Oh, my God. And you're you know, it's understandable that other people don't think about it that way.
Chad 34:17
Yeah. And, you know, I, I have a I have a cousin with type one. And I had, you know, I had before it's diagnosed and that I had very little knowledge of what even like type one was from type two and, and all I knew about diabetes was Walter Brimley in the diabetes commercial. So
Scott Benner 34:37
you notice a little bit about it. You called him Walter Brimley. It's Wilford Brimley. Oh, well, there you go. I don't know if you know the story about Wilford Brimley. His mom named him after a very famous sports star. And then realized everyone was gonna call the name Wilford to everybody. So she killed him. And that's why he's the only Wilford you've ever heard of. Back in 1850 it's very long time ago. Hey, I pushed him down on mine. Call it a prospecting accident sounds very sad story but he got to be the only Welford so and look how it didn't help him cuz you call to Walter. How many Walters Do you know in in your life? One? Yeah, I know two and one of them's from mash so that's not a real person that's a character. And they call them radar anyway, so really nobody called him Walter ever do people watch mash? I don't imagine they do. It must not be funny. Any My father was still growing up. How old's your dad? Now?
Unknown Speaker 35:38
He is 62 that's making me feel bad about liking mash. I gotta be honest with you.
Scott Benner 35:46
Anyway, you don't start watching mash now because it was had a 70s aesthetic where you'll just look and go This isn't funny. And I'm just I'm watching it. And um, you know, I remember watching it when I was 12. So anyway, yeah, that's not if you want to television recommendation justified is terrific. justified. God justified. I'm enjoying Deadwood. I've gone into the modern Western phase of my life for some reason right now. I just watched a terrible show on Netflix called longmire that I loved way more than I should have. am and what's the one with Kevin Costner right now that I really enjoyed? It's almost like a like an E. These they call them like, nighttime soap operas the way they were. I sound like my grandmother right now. Hold on a second. I'll tell you the name of my story. What is wrong with me? We got them old. I don't I don't recognize it completely. But I am. Kevin Costner who I can. All the sudden. I don't know how to use Google either. Hold on. I have no idea. What do you Yellowstone? Okay, I've heard of this. So good. Not good in a way like, you know, Hamlet, not saying that. Just you know, they kill a lot of people for no good reason. And there's pretty landscapes. There you go. That's, that's my high bar for tell fish. Yes. Are you writing it down? Yeah, if you hate it, don't blame me.
Chad 37:27
75% Rotten Tomatoes.
Scott Benner 37:29
I don't even know what that means to me that when I see something like that I'm so jaded about the internet. What I think is that it got popular. So they hired a bunch of people to go on and leave bad reviews for it. Like, well, that's a good review. So I used to say, yeah, yeah, that's good review. Does that mean that 75% of the people like it?
Chad 37:51
Yeah. I used to think that about Rotten Tomatoes. I thought the more Rotten Tomatoes you got the worse it was. But no, it it is a it's a good thing.
Scott Benner 38:00
Wow. Way to make something that some so confusing that Yeah, I'm on can't follow it. What a business model. It must be the same person who came up with insulin sensitivity number going down as a down stronger? Yeah. Yeah. Wow, maybe that is why. All right. If the person who made Rotten Tomatoes is listening, I want to understand where that rating came from. Please call I would like to know, so Chad, like, I really want to dig into how it feels like to, to realize you've you're being excluded in your child's care.
Chad 38:38
It's very frustrating. Especially it is a toddler, a giant toddler to to keep his numbers that you know that good and stuff out. I just kind of so that that kind of happened early on our last visit. Um, you know, it kind of involved me more just because well, my, my wife for when told them she's like, hey, Chad's. Chad's behind a lot of these numbers a lot of these changes and at that time, I think we were having too many lows so we were kind of seeking you know, some advice on on what to do, but it was also summer so yeah, who who knows it seemed like once fall hit his his need for insulin went down but uh yeah, it's just frustrating to you know, it's almost like I'm invisible in there and and maybe it's just because the note normal household the father is putting in a lot hours each week and you know, they just don't have the time for to and to review you know, numbers and go over treatment and stuff. You know, I was able to dive in deeper just because of Coronavirus and me working from home pretty much all summer. I'm back in the office now. And I'm, you know, less hands off right now because I'm at work, but, you know, I still call in daily to see how things are going. And
Scott Benner 40:11
so it would have just in general been nice if the physician would have added the extra sentence to say, Hey, you know, how are you guys dividing care here? Yes, and not just just immediately disregard you, I have to tell you, as you're, as you're explaining that I put, I tried to put myself in a classic woman's position and most of history and I thought, Man, this must be how women feel when people talk to their husbands, and not to them, which I'm sure happens to ladies Far, far more frequently than it happens to guys. So, yeah, you might have just, you know, experienced a little bit of a reversal of that. Wow, you know, I just tricked my mind to, you know, you just, it's, it's, you were finally in the scenario where people have power look to the female in the pairing and say, This must be the person in charge. And it struck you really poorly, but badly enough, by the way that you were willing to write an email to a podcast and want to come on and talk about it? Yeah, imagine if women stuck up for themselves like that podcast would be a very interesting with people saying, you know, I go into places and, you know, I go, we went to a bank to get a mortgage, and they talked to my husband, and you know, I make more money than he does. And it doesn't seem to matter. And, you know, all the crap that girls go through. Plus they get their periods. It really isn't fair. Yeah. No, I wouldn't trade it for the world. No, no, it's terrible. I tried to joke about it here. But it? No, it's never received. Well, I have to be honest with you. And Arden is very, like, you know, anytime Arden has her period, and she'll just be like, leave me alone. Like, she's very like out front about it. She's like, This is not the time for you to be talking to me about this. And I go, okay. It's like, wow, interesting tactic. My wife spent years telling me, I'm the same no matter what I'm like, I don't think you are, but I'll go with you. Arden's just like I am not the same Leave me alone. She's excellently she's taking First off, and she's, she's out in front of it. But no, seriously, Big Girls have to carry babies. And that period of thing really seems like a horror. I'm not gonna lie, you know. And I just, I don't mean the act of it. I mean, like, having to go through it and the pain and the hormonal changes and just watching how you have to adjust Arden's insulin for different you know, I don't mean times of the month like that, but But honestly, like, different weeks in the month are, you know, completely different. I was talking to a listener from England yesterday trying to help her with her basil. And, and I said, Okay, now, will this just work like for, you know, this week? You know, aren't you basically like two or three different people through the month diabetes wise, you're and then now I'm, like, embarrassed I've ever spoken to her before. And I'm like, you know, you're like the oscillating you you're like the you know, almost there you in the actual event you and she's like, yeah, I guess that's right. And so then we talked about how to, you know, move her correction ratios and our basil and stuff like that as her body is looking for more insulin and how to recognize when it is very suddenly happens to Lisa Arden needs to go back to the original setting. So it's, you know, trust me least Carson doesn't have to do that.
Chad 43:44
Yeah, eyes are like glazed over. Just think about that.
Scott Benner 43:49
He really, if you if you can wrap your head around it once you can see it, then it's just about the telltale signs, and then you see the signs and make the change. Now obviously with the glucose monitor, way easier to see those signs because the signs really just are more difficult to bring down after a meal if it goes high. Looking like your insulin to carb ratio has gone up a little bit for meals and that your basil has gone up. So as I see that happening, there's a little turns the dials we make make make the insulin, stronger, stronger, stronger but then as the as yatse happens as as as the I don't even know what to say like the event is the event weird. I just want to say bleeding but that seems wrong. So my mind can't find words in case anyone's wondering what's happening inside of my head. Does that happens as soon as that happens, I guess. Then the insulin needs for Arden go backwards. She needs less wear. I've heard that the exact opposite from other people. But the truth is, is once it happens, it happens and you just kind of follow along with it. Now if I left that to Arden, you know, would probably take her days to see all my blood sugar has been high. And you know, I don't think she'd see it as quickly as I do. But anyway, so Chad, let's let's go over a couple things you don't like being treated the way women have been treated throughout history makes you upset. I think I think that you didn't realize that I was going to turn this around on you like this, which I didn't plan on doing when we started now.
Chad 45:26
I'm gonna go through my wife's email, see if she's been talking to you.
Scott Benner 45:31
I just told you, I'm like, I'm just, I'm, I'm a mom at heart. I started, I started defending the other side of like, you know, this is what happens to me. Because I guess now that we're talking about it is what happens to me having been a stay at home dad, in a situation like that I my most vivid memories of it happened around my kids sports, where I yeah, the men, you know what you would think I'd be a party of, but rich, by the way of you know, I live in a town where a lot of people love baseball and softball, this town has won the Little League World Series for softball multiple times. So ports are a big deal around here. And my son is one of the only children from this town who plays baseball in college, you might think I know a little something about it. But when the when those collections of guys, coaches or fathers would happen, I was excluded. Like I was a mom. Wow. And and it's, you know, no one ever wants cared for my opinion about what was even when they were sitting around sharing opinions. If I spoke, it was like, Oh, look, Scott wants to say something, and I'm okay with it now, but it happened constantly. Maybe I really did see that side of it. Because of my own experience just now. And I'm not. I'll just bleep this out. I'm not shitting on you for feeling that way. Like I understand how you feel it to be excluded like that. But I think that this generation would call that male privilege. Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't call it that. Because I'm 50. Almost, and I hate all that. But
Chad 47:04
maybe I'm considered a millennial. So yeah, maybe, maybe. That's how you think of it.
Scott Benner 47:09
Yeah, I don't use words like woke and privilege and things like that in my life. I just think that you know, things are. Sometimes people are awesome. You know, it doesn't. It doesn't need a branding. It really is the internet that forced us to brand like basic concepts of life. Oh, yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. male privilege. This used to be called people didn't treat women. Well. That's, you know, and that's still what's happening, by the way, except now it has a name. So turn so fancy, Chad. Chad, are you very worried that this episode is going to be called Chad has male privilege? I'm not maybe I'll embrace it now. Don't worry. That's not the way I'm going. I just it occurred to me as a listener, you might right now be gone? What is he gonna call this episode of Mike? I don't give my you don't have. You don't have my, you can't use this anymore. Stop just hanging up out of nowhere. But no, I think it's interesting because it happens to I see it happen to men in this situation constantly. And, and I see how it affects them, it makes them feel badly. When I see guys talking about it privately. their feelings are hurt. They know, they know that their wives don't trust them with their kids. You know, moreover, they know that they don't have as much information and that they're not doing as much for their children as they want to be around the medical decisions. And it's really hurtful to them. You know, I can see that because I am a guy. I mean, the way they come off, you'd never Yeah, you know, from from a female perspective, they just look like idiots. You know, I mean, like just ranting children, but I can, I can see it, you know, for what it is because I felt that way too and don't do a good job of expressing myself. So, you know, for as good of a job as I do of expressing myself on the podcast around diabetes. I'm still a guy in my personal life, and I still screw it up in my personal life constantly. You know, I'm forever thinking to myself, that's not what I meant. Why did I say that? You ever had that feeling? Oh, 17 times a day. That's not what I meant. Why do I say it that way? So and I don't think that's an easy thing for a person of the opposite sex to to appreciate just as I don't understand what the hell my wife's talking about sometimes. But I you know, I see it. So for ladies listening. I I've tried to say this throughout the podcast a number of different ways, but I don't think your husbands are disinterested. I think they're concerned they're going to mess something up, or just intrinsically believe that you're better at it than they are and so they don't want to get in the way. Or some of them are lazy. I mean, some of them are playing, you know, PlayStation. I get that but Also we do stuff like that sometimes so that we don't have to be put in the position to fail. Guys guys aren't good at failing. Not that anybody is, but we take it pretty badly. When it's hardwired in you that you're supposed to go outside, clunk something over the head, drag it back to the house so we can eat it. And if we don't we all die. You know, when you can't do those things, it's a it's depressing a little bit, you know? But luckily, you don't have to feel like that around the diabetes. That's Yeah.
Chad 50:29
But it is, it is also difficult kind of CO parenting co managing, you know, me my wife had had our arguments over over what to do nothing, nothing really. He they just kinda, you know, you know, I just, Hey, can we feed them something different or, you know, dose differently, but, uh, but you know, it's been fine. And it's so far, it's that well,
Scott Benner 50:57
around here, the biggest the longest fight has been Pre-Bolus thing. So yeah, not that everybody doesn't understand how important it is. But the people who aren't me are not as diligent about it. And I have just been steadfastly just banging that drum and they, they've gotten so much better at it. But and by the way, I'm obviously speaking around my wife. My son's not Bolus thing Arden Friday. We're talking about food with her. And she's just busy. She's a busy person. She works, you know, a lot. And, you know, just like you hear everybody else say like, it's hard to think a half an hour before a meal. Hey, where's my blood sugar? What should I be doing right now? We're an hour before, you know, let's correct this 120 now, so it's easier at dinner time, that kind of stuff. And so I'll just you know, Mike, and I, but I don't always say it nicely. Like, I'm way nicer to you people than I am to my own family. Yeah, yeah. So I'm just like, come on. Could someone Pre-Bolus like I, I sometimes I'm like, if I leave the house for an hour, and I come back, I'll look at art and I'll go, because I left your blood sugar doesn't get to go up 50 points. Like, like, You're making me feel like, but here's the other side of it. It makes me feel like I have to stay here. And that's not fair to me. Right? Like I shouldn't I shouldn't have to feel like that, like everybody can take their little piece of it. But I don't know, I guess what I'm saying is, I think good. in general. Some ways that men act could easily be misunderstood for apathy, when I think it's more that we just don't want to screw things up very bad.
Chad 52:35
Yeah. No. Yeah. I think I think that's 100% correct. And, and some of those, like, those diabetes dads groups on like Facebook and other. They, you know, there's now most of the dads are very outspoken, and they kind of know what they're doing, just because they're part of the group. But there are a few dads out there that, you know, seeking advice and looking for, hey, my wife wants me to help out more. And just, you know, kind of step one, you know, ask him for help on step one. So,
Scott Benner 53:11
yeah, well, it's also hard to ask people for help, when you don't sometimes know what it is you need them to do. Yeah, you know, and I think that can happen too. Or sometimes it's like, I need help, because this isn't going the way I want it to. And then you're now going to enlist another person who has not been involved, who doesn't know anything about it, to try to figure out the things you couldn't figure out while you're involved? Yeah, and then that's just then you've let them down. You know, and then that's really the interplay I'm talking about is that, you know, I know, we don't talk about the world like this much anymore, but it's still true. Like, you know, like, for most people, there's expectations you have of your spouse, and when that person doesn't come through, you might not consciously think, Oh, I pick the loser, you know what I mean? But they're inside your brain somewhere I need has been left down, she or he was supposed to do this thing. They don't do it. And now I have a, you know, a lesser feeling about the decision I've made. And that's how 25 years later you end up gone. Could you get out of here, please. We're all trying to avoid that. And so people defend themselves by not putting themselves in positions where they can let their spouses down. And then you get this, which is you feel like you've been left alone to take care of diabetes, by a person who doesn't care when really what happened is very likely, that person just very badly doesn't want to play it out. You know, and they don't know what to do. And not everybody figures it out like Chad did. Because not everybody gets an engineer's brain and COVID-19 to sit around the house and stare at their newly diagnosed. Stare at numbers. Yeah, seriously. If you were worth doing that, if it wasn't for COVID you might not be as involved.
Chad 54:55
No, no, but so he was put on the bump pumping the seven And, you know, at that time, we were kind of scared to death of insulin, you know, scared of giving too much. And Christmas, Christmas night, we're back at CHOP. And just because there was a stomach, stomach bug and an ear infection, and he wasn't eating and is vomiting, and his, his blood sugar was through the roof and ketones, so we ended up back at CHOP, and that that kind of, you know, that kind of scare made us less afraid of insulin and then then we started listening to your podcast, and then it's just like, yeah, you know, we weren't, I didn't want to be back in that situation again. So.
Scott Benner 55:44
So it took it took a kind of a DK thing to take your fear, all you really did was shift your fear to the other side of the scale. Yes, right. You were scared to being low, right? Until you saw what happens when you got hired. And you're like, Okay, let's be scared of that instead. Yeah. I think that's that really is the game. Honestly, it really is. It's to it's to realize that none of this is you know, completely baby proof safe. Yeah, and what side of the game are we gonna play in? Are we gonna play in the side where if we do things, right, you know, we're gonna have these these successes that lead to better health, or are we going to you know, we're gonna go on the other side we're doing it right just means elevated blood sugar, but nobody gets low. So, yeah, that's the trade off. And I think that really is in most people's minds. Like that's the trade off they're making. I'm the one who's saying and hopefully other people listening are thinking that that's that's not a that's not a real decision that has to be made you don't it isn't either or it isn't either B you know, having a one C and the sixes and get low a lot or having a one C and the sevens or eights and never got low. I don't think that's the case. I think people have a one season sevens and eights get low too. I think they get low more viciously than people who have their insolence so well balanced that they can sit in a five a one see Arden doesn't get low, like like in a scary way. I don't think she's had a scary low I mean, I don't remember what in the last couple of years you know and by that I mean like oh my god get used she's gonna die drink this drink this that kind of stuff. Like I don't remember that happening anymore because our insolence so well dialed in that aside of a real anomaly that just it almost can't happen.
Chad 57:37
Yeah and and with with her age, I'm guessing She needs a lot more insulin now. It's it's easier for for you guys to fine tune that. Yeah, you can. You can adjust by 5% 10%. So
Scott Benner 57:49
you're not going from a point? Oh, five to a point. Point. One double one is insulin. Yeah. I've doubled his insulin by giving him a 10th of a unit. Yeah, right. Yeah, that's not the case. Well, you know, this is a really tough time. And you're right, it will get easier as bodyweight comes. And the difference between, you know, a half a unit a unit, it's not really that great anymore. You know, I've come to realize that in the last year, so he used to take if I had to make a wild Bolus to break a stuck blood sugar. It was two units for Arden like if Arden's blood sugar's 117. It wouldn't move like I could give her two units to break it free. That's more like three units now. Wow. So I keep wondering when when it's going to be more and more we actually chat let's uh, let's tell a story here. So at Thanksgiving we we screwed up at Thanksgiving for all of my I put up the Thanksgiving episode. I got literally hundreds of thank yous afterwards about oh my god, my Thanksgiving is so much better because of this episode. Mine wasn't. So because I was up cooking all morning. Arden's blood sugar was terrific. She's upstairs, getting a slow start to the day. She's up. And my wife's family has a tradition of making these terrible cinnamon bonds on holiday mornings, and I say terrible because they're packaged and there's just nothing it's just sugar and wrapped in more sugar with some sugar. And I know how to bowls for them. It's not a big deal. But there's like 55 carbs and one of them. Wow. And I text Arden I say mom's putting those cinnamon buns in the you know the oven now and Arden's blood sugar's like 95 like, you know, like so. Why don't you Bolus 10 carbs right now. And then, you know we're gonna do a little more in a little bit and blah, blah, blah. So she says okay, she Bolus is the 10 carbs. And I text her a little while later. And cinnamon buns are getting closer I was like now I want you to put in seven units and I figured out the carbs for those But I want to get seven units going right now, keep in mind that by the time this is over for this freakin sentiment bond, I'm going to need to give her like 14 units of insulin because it's just, no one should be eating these things I want to be, right. And so I said seven units. She goes, I can't. And I'm like, What? Just give yourself seven units? And she's like, no, and I'm like, will it not let you so now like, I'm running through, like, all the things that I'm not sure like, Why can't she just give herself insulin? And she finally text back? I'm out of insulin, the pumps almost empty. And I'm like, Oh, okay. And then I was like, Alright, come downstairs, we'll change your pump real quick. But we're going to inject this other insulin. So I kind of feel like I'm being slick. And we have some fiasco left for when we tried the fiasco like, Well, you know, I wonder if I can't do this in a way where she won't have to wait. And she can still eat this. The cinnamon bun. Well, I draw up a lot of insulin in a in a syringe. It's like 10 units. Right? And Arden's never gotten a syringe with more than probably like two or three units in it. So she goes, whoa, what are we doing? And I was inside explained the whole thing to her. And she goes, make sense. But Wow, that's a lot of insulin and that syringe and I said, Yeah, I'm like, you know, my buddy, growing up as an adult would give themselves sometimes, like 30 or 40 units of that insulin, he that old insulin he used to use in this big syringe. And she's like, it was like, full and I was like, Yeah, she's like, well, and then she couldn't imagine it. Like, I think she thought it was going to just run out of her body when we push the plunger down. Seriously, she couldn't, she couldn't like wrap her head around it. So we put it in. And I was like, see it stayed in? She goes, huh? It's just really stunning, you know? And, and I had it like I did, I did it. I really did for 45 minutes after she ate that cinnamon bond. Her blood sugar was 110. I was like, I am a genius. Those people are right, you know, and then suddenly, boom, it was not enough. And the one thing I didn't account for, because I used what I thought was enough. The Ask was that, you know, when you put a new pump site on, your Basal is not working, you don't have that that pressure I needed to Bolus for the basil. And I didn't so Arden's blood sugar got out ahead of me.
twice over the next hour and a half, I cut it down at 150. And, but then I went back to Cooking. And then the next thing I knew what I thought was falling, did that, you know that little hump on the Dexcom it starts heading down, then it rolls around and comes back up again. Right? That happened. I had to be more aggressive. I stopped it at 180. And then I had to I had to hit it again. Because she got up to like two 220 or something like that. So it's all just because the insulin was you know, was messed up the delivery, the insulin was all messed up because we literally I changed for clarity, we changed an insulin pump and immediately went into a cinnamon pod. And I had enough hubris to think I could do it. But I was I missed. But once I saw that happening, I said to Kelly, I'm like, I'm not messing with this. And I gave her a lot of insulin like I I put her blood sugar into a fall on purpose, and then caught it so that the rest of thanksgiving wouldn't be ruined. So if you see Arden's 24 hour graph for Thanksgiving, it's fascinating because she's sweet 70 and like 100 for you know, 21 hours and then there's this like mountain in the middle that I don't usually see the flags roller coaster. It's worse the it's like freefall. It went up so sharply and came down so sharply couldn't even call it a roller coaster. But I To me, the key is that as badly as it all when I knew what to do at every step of the way, I never made her low. You know, and that to me is like that's how I know I'm good at it. Like she didn't get low afterwards ever. And then right away, boom, the rest of the day was right back where I expected it to be again. I got the insulin in where it needed to be. I cleared out the carbs and right back in the game. I was proud of it actually by the time it was over. I was disappointed and then proud. a weird feeling. Oh, what the cinnamon bun. Oh my god. They're the worst. Like, I don't know who makes them Pillsbury or something. They come in like that. cardboard. Yeah. Like, you literally should not eat it. It's just bad for you. And my,
Chad 1:04:41
my father was recently diagnosed with Type two and he cleared out his fridge and I think like he brought over to two of those cans. Yeah. It's like we can't use this. Yeah, I was like that. This is this is why you're just diagnosed with Type two.
Scott Benner 1:04:59
You're asking too much of your system dad. And this right here is you asking too much of it. And I want to be clear like, you know, Arden has one of those cinnamon buns like on Thanksgiving morning and Christmas morning and yeah, that's really the only time of year she ever has has them. And I one of them and I have to be honest with you. It was sugar if ik I don't know why marketers don't just go right for it and just say, Oh my god, so much sugar, you're gonna love this. It's no crack, but in food is what it should say, you know, but it's just all processed food. And which even makes it worse. Like the carbs are if you counted the carbs on those muffins, and just Bolus the carbs. I don't see how your blood sugar wouldn't be 500 Yeah, you know, so Oh, probably higher. Yeah, just a it's just insane. How how impactful that those that is? And, you know, definitely tells me Don't eat it. And I don't just mean if you have diabetes, I just mean in general, this is clearly this is clearly not okay. Yeah, once or twice a year and, and yeah, that's it and still be prepared to be a little dopey afterwards, you know, from all the insulin that your body is going to be really even if you don't have to type on just all the insulin your body's gonna be releasing, you're gonna be tired as hell. Chad, is there anything that we we didn't talk about that you wanted to? Um, I
Chad 1:06:25
don't think so. I think we covered a lot we've covered football. Men, menstruation cycles of teenage girls.
Scott Benner 1:06:35
Everything you thought you were going to talk about today now as a two year old little boy with male privilege. That's right. I'm gonna call this episode boys have feelings. What do you think of that? Boys have I like it?
Chad 1:06:48
My wife wants me to talk about more my my feeling she was saying the other day there was a children's cancer. Commercial on and you know, I start getting teary eyed and stuff. And she's told me I love when you cry. Yeah.
Scott Benner 1:07:05
I don't believe them. Chad, and I've just lumped together. Yeah, hold on a second. All right, we're down a rabbit hole here chat. I have always been a sensitive kid. Like as growing up, and I'm a sensitive adult. And you know, I'll cry it. Almost any movie adulation from a group in a film will make me cry every time like when they let Rudy play? Do you know what I'm talking about? Yeah, yeah, I just start crying. I'm like, Oh my god, we're gonna let him play. He works so hard. You're gonna let him in. It's gonna be something. You know, the high school puts a video up of, you know, the kid that helps with the team who's disabled and they let him run a touchdown back. I'm just crying. Like, just Just so you know, people come on the podcast and say the podcast helps them. I'm like, okay, it's good. Thanks. You know? So I've always been that person. I'm also not not masculine in other ways. But I don't think I don't think they mean it. I think not everybody. I'm not I shouldn't say they like I'm generalizing every woman on the planet. But in general, I just said I shouldn't generalize. And then I follow up with in general, but in general, I think you do want to see people open up a little bit. But there's, there's a line where I do think there's some hard wiring in you that's like, I that's the guy I need to, you know, kill the thing and drag it back to the house. Like he can't be crying all the time. I killed a deer. Like, you know, that's not what you're looking for. Yeah, you're looking for, hey, it's out front of the step. Let's cut the skin off at neath this thing. And and, you know, I don't I don't disagree. That being vulnerable is a bad thing in a interpersonal relationship. I think you should be. And I am. But I do think you pay attention masculine tax for it. Yeah, if that makes sense. I do think you lose some points somewhere else in the back of somebody's brain. And not all the time. Maybe. But once you turn into me and you're just like, you know, you ever see that horrible movie life as a house? You haven't because it's terrible. No, but it's, it's don't look it up real quick. Yeah, Rotten Tomatoes. You think it's got a lot of rotten something. It's about somebody who has cancer. I don't really remember the whole thing. All I can tell you is my wife wanted to see it. I was like, I don't want to go see this terrible movie. But I went with her because I'm a good guy. And we're in the theater, and the lights are coming up at the end and she looks at us like are you crying?
Unknown Speaker 1:09:36
I'm like, No.
Scott Benner 1:09:42
But yeah, I don't think that that then makes my wife look at me and go, I should probably take him out in the car and have sex with them. I think it makes you think. I hope if they come for us, he can protect us. But I don't think he can What is he starts talking about the, the, the war and how sad it is, like, in the middle of when I need him at the front door to shooting, you know, I don't know, like, I'm not disappointed with who I am. And I'm not sad that I that I'm willing to be like that. But I will be honest and say that I grew up with my mom, as a single mother telling me Oh, women are going to like that you're sensitive. But I think what she was really saying was, I wish your father was a little sensitive. Yeah. And I did find through dating, that I don't think that's what, at least the girls I was meeting, you know, more or more, more than less, we're looking for, like, I really think that they wanted more, whatever standard masculinity is. But I found my sweet spot here. They haven't kicked out, you know? Yeah, so I'm allowed to stay. I always tell the kids I'm like, Listen, when mom gets rid of me. I need you on my side a little bit. Like, what am I eventually it's gonna happen. There's no way she can put up with me forever. So I'm just saying. Like, what it happens. If you're older and you you're not in the house anymore. Just believe that I tried his hardest. Anyway, Chad, when do you think you're getting kicked out? You probably have time. Your kids are younger.
Chad 1:11:28
Yeah. Hopefully I'll make it to college. You know, Carson reaches college. Oh,
Scott Benner 1:11:34
you're gonna at least need to be there to make another baby that looks like Carson. Yeah, she's going to need you for that. And then she's gonna want you to help pay for school without arguing with you. Plus, she'll figure out in like four or five more years, and she doesn't have to have sex with if she doesn't want to anymore. So that takes away a lot of the burden. And but also the your niece that you said you have custody of is that your niece or her niece, her niece. So see, you're also you got that going for you? Yeah, you're doing that extra family thing. So yeah, that'll probably buy your five years. I think you can make it to like 2044. Wow, good for you, Chad. Do you not think every guy just wonders when it's over? Yeah. Well, they say divorce rates are going down. So he gets a financial thing. Like, why can't afford to leave? Yeah. I can't afford two Christmases. I don't like him. But I do like my car. And if I just drive in the car more, I won't be around him as much. This all makes sense. And I'm not I'm not saying because you're providing I'm saying that. I think most people have a two income situation. And yeah, so you're hearing divorce rates are going down?
Chad 1:12:55
Yeah, I've read it the other day. Now. Now it's kind of skewed. because not many people are getting married. So obviously they can't get divorced. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Is one of those one liner like articles, you know, the headline article, and then you go and read to it. And, you know, but but the most successful marriages are the people that you know, go to college and kind of wait, before they get
Scott Benner 1:13:24
Oh, I tell my kids all the time, like you don't like 30 is probably the low number for where I would ask you to get married if I got to be in charge of it. Is it 2019 the US divorce rates fell to a 50 year low in 2019. Yeah, but you're telling me if I keep reading, what I'm going to learn is that marriage rates are also down so they're eligible for divorce. Yeah. Wow. It's a big drop. Yeah, look at that. 19 7085 your wife's gonna listen to this. He's like so what you ended up talking about is when we're going to get divorce This is 85% number of newly married people get per 1000 unmarried population at age 15. Plus the US marriage rate reaches all time low. It went from in the 70s. This numbers at 85.9 in the 80s. It was 68.8. By the time it gets to 2010 35.1. It's 33.2 and 2019. I don't really know what the numbers represent. Because I'm trying not to read while I'm talking to you, but it's a it's a harsh drop.
Unknown Speaker 1:14:31
Wow.
Scott Benner 1:14:33
Yeah. Next thing we should Google is have marriage. Oh, wait. Here it is. The US marriage rate just hit an all time low in 2019. Yeah, there's the rest of it was clickbait. Yeah, yes. You can't get divorced if you don't get married. Well, that's my common sense. I'm always telling people like Yo, if you don't get high, you can't get high. So just don't do it. Oh my gosh. Sorry, Chad, you're delightful. Thanks for coming on and doing this. I appreciate it. Thank you. Seriously, I'm I'm really thrilled that you're doing so well so early on and diagnosed and
Chad 1:15:12
a Scott that it's, it's all to you man like, you know, I think you know all I can think of is what my son's diagnosed at two he's gonna have you know the rest of his life with with crappy blood sugar numbers and stuff and you know my wife started listening to you and I listened to you especially your bold with insulin podcast and and you know that that changed our life and we you know well we'll change Carson's life, you know, he'll have a healthy normal, normal can be life because of you and your podcast. That's really
Scott Benner 1:15:50
nicely to say thank you tell him to grow up and learn how to be a quarterback so that in my declining years, I don't have to watch the garbage I watched last night. Honestly. Well do you know when you're watching a sporting event you think I honestly feel like I could have done better there and yet I know I can't. That's the horrible feeling. I have watching the Eagles now at this point. I'm like, I think I could block for a half a second. Yeah, yeah.
Chad 1:16:12
At least I could have done that was like a I think it was the Broncos over the weekend. They couldn't feel the single quarterback because Coronavirus and I read the stat line. So the guy they played quarterback and he was like one for nine for 15 yards. And I was like I
Scott Benner 1:16:28
could have done that. I definitely could have accomplished that. Well, I have to be honest with you. I thought the NFL completely dropped the ball this weekend because as soon as I heard that story, I wanted to watch the Denver Broncos football.
Chad 1:16:39
Yeah. So that Yeah, I turned it on came on right at four o'clock. I turned it on and just just I watched a couple possessions for the Broncos. And I was like, wow, this is this is really bad.
Scott Benner 1:16:49
Well, you're lucky because I couldn't even find it on television here. But I and I didn't want to watch him fail. Like I really thought this is fascinating. Like this, this an athletic person who has no business doing this thing being put in it at the most difficult level. Like I wonder how, like, I just thought it would be interesting to watch him try. You know, and you don't ever get that opportunity. Yeah, but I couldn't find the game anywhere. So I couldn't watch I did watch highlights. And the one thing I noticed was that the arm strength that are that a successful pro quarterback has is is insane compared to everybody else because this kid threw a nice ball. But when he tried to go down the field, he just did not have enough to get the ball there before the cornerback could react and step in front of the ball. And I thought well, if this cornerback is this good, but can't make a play like this in a normal football game, that means that the quarterbacks arms are just way more powerful than you think. So the next time you see a guy drop a ball on an NFL football game and you think just catch it. I guarantee if he threw it at you like that it would kill you. By fingers would fall your hands would just break and it would hit you in the face and that'd be the end of it. Yeah, maybe be a look these guys are. They're just insane athletes because this kid like I said, He's I saw him throw an out pattern, maybe 25 yards down the field. And it's a good ball. He was set up. Well, his mechanics were good. The ball traveled well. And the quarterback looked like he had time to have a sandwich before he stepped in front of it. And yeah, he'll never be a quarterback again in the NFL, but I think good for him and going out there and try that that's a I thought that was ballsy as hell or something. Anyway, all right, Chad, thanks so much. I am I appreciate you doing Hey, huge thanks to Chad for coming on the show and sharing so openly. And I want to remind you again about the T one D exchange. Past participants like you have helped to bring increased coverage for test trips, Medicare coverage for CGM, and changes to the ADA guidelines for pediatric a once eagles. And it's exciting to imagine what your participation could lead to next T one d exchange.org. forward slash juice box support type one research and support the Juicebox Podcast. And don't forget if you're looking for those diabetes pro tip episodes, they begin in Episode 210 in your podcast player or can be found at diabetes pro tip calm
COMING SOONScott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, and welcome to Episode 498 of the Juicebox Podcast. Today's show is with the CEO of Dexcom Kevin Sayer.
Well, it's that time of year, the American Diabetes Association's 81st annual Scientific Sessions. those meetings are happening right now they're online this year virtual, but they happen every year around this time, which always means Kevin Sayers coming back to tell us what's going on at Dexcom. Today, Kevin and I are going to talk about the Dexcom, g seven, Apple Watch, adhesives, and much more. Kevin tells me where dex comes at. What they're getting ready to do any answers questions from listeners of the Juicebox Podcast. It's very cool. I had a very good time talking to him. By the way, this never happens. I just recorded this. Usually you guys are hearing stuff that was recorded months ago. This was recorded on June 28 2021. While you're listening, please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan for becoming bold with insulin.
This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the Omni pod tubeless insulin pump. See if you're eligible for a free 30 day trial of the Omni pod dash now at Omni pod.com forward slash juicebox. And what the heck, let's throw the Dexcom out on this episode too. Because by the time you get done hearing Kevin talk about Dexcom you're likely going to want to go to dexcom.com Ford slash juice box to learn more about the Dexcom continuous glucose monitor. And to get started dexcom.com forward slash juice box on the pod.com Ford slash juice box and last thing you want to check on touched by type one. It's an organization doing great things for people living with type one diabetes, and you can find them at touched by type one.org or on Facebook and Instagram. Kevin how goes? Hey, I'm alright. How are you? I'm good. Excellent. I'm surviving the day. Are you at Ada right now? Where are you at? Well, there's I'm at work at ADA. Okay.
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 2:41
Virtually. There's no live sessions this year. It's all remote. See, there's everybody down there. I am starting to pop in.
Scott Benner 2:51
Excellent. We were early. How's that for?
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 2:54
Yeah, I know. I just can't let this happen too often, or they'll expect me early for every meeting.
Scott Benner 3:01
Yeah, I always just expect you to swoop in like one minute afterwards. I'm good. Excellent. Well, I mean, I'm used to talking to you this time of year. around eight. Yeah, we talk this time every year. Yeah. So what's the good news?
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 3:16
There's a lot of good news. You know, I think very importantly, we we just get CGM validated every time we go to one of these things. Every time I turn around, there's a Dexcom presentation that or presentation where an artificial an AI D system has been driven by Dexcom sensor. Great outcomes have been achieved in studies. One of our biggest wins this year, there's a study called mobile where type two patients on basil Ensign got access to CGM for six months and saw the same type of improvement in their a Wednesday to type one patients. See, there was a another study done over in Europe called alert where a consortium of physicians in Belgium took a bunch of Libra users and moved them over to G six and at the end of six months, every single measure. They were better with G six and they were before no good. And, and so big win on that one. Just a lot of good Dexcom News, our products going well. We did talk about the G seven system and attd and a great length Jake's put quite a bit about it and a lot of questions on that one that we're getting, but it's it's a good show for us. And I really think you know, we've long envision this being the standard of care with everybody on insulin. I think that day is coming and I I think we can get this where CGM becomes a standard of care for all diabetes if we if we do this, right. Yeah, we solve the right problems.
Scott Benner 4:48
I actually have a question here from you or for you that I don't think we'll even get to but it was from someone who said do you imagine that one day anybody who's interested in understanding their health better will wear a CGM? Yeah. Do you It was really something
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 5:01
I do. But it'll be different experience than the experience that somebody who's having insulin delivery, of course, will have. And that's okay.
Scott Benner 5:12
Well, do you want to hear some questions? Or do you have some things you'd like to talk about? First?
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 5:16
I am good to go on your questions. And if there's something I need to talk about, I'll, I'll be happy to add it.
Scott Benner 5:22
That is excellent. Okay. So some of them are g seven, obviously, but just from what you said, I want to know if there's any changes for people on Medicare. So when g seven starts, what happens to people who are using g six with Medicare right now?
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 5:38
Well, one of the things we're being very cautious about with G six, even when it gets approved, is making sure that when we launch, we have capacity to serve, all those who have G six, because they're going to want to switch over very quickly, we have to go through a process was CMS or with the state Medicaid plans, quite candidly with the commercial insurance carriers to whereby we go change those contracts, we'll keep a G six contract, but add g seven to the mix. So patients can get g seven, that will take some time. And I don't have a good, I don't have a good estimate of that for you, you know, we got g six approved for Medicare patients much faster than we will deliver it because we couldn't make enough of them. And we made the decision to go ahead and launch I think this time, we're being a little more thoughtful, on the scale up side, getting more lines in place, getting more inventory, build, getting things like that ready to go. And we'll probably wait, I think this time, I'd probably wait a little while and make sure we have everybody covered then launch and have to feel the phone calls of Jean, we're not going to offer that to you as an individual patient group that that was not very fun. So we'll uh, we're still working through that. But we have outlined all those tasks, who we have to call what we have to go through, we have to come up with some different pricing strategies, because there's different product transmitters been eliminated. So there's not a transmitter anymore. So what is the value equation with G seven versus g six, and we're getting ready to present that, but we need to improve product first.
Scott Benner 7:14
How much of that is? Do you think about because of competitors too? I mean, you have to stay in the game, right?
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 7:23
Oh, no, both we well, we have always negotiated pricing for Dexcom. And the in what we do. And we have always been able to successfully negotiate negotiate pricing for our product in most markets. There are times when we have had to move prices because of competition. But those are very thoughtful things that we go through. There may come a day when we turn something down. Yeah, you know, this isn't a business worth $300 a month like strips, I mean, $3 a year, right, like strep sigh. We're not headed there. We can't make product that cheap. I'd love it if we could. But we really can't, and service it and answer the phone and do all the things that we do. So there we are cognitive in competition. We're also cognizant that we perform a lot better, we are connected to more devices, we can do a lot of things that no other competent, she can do right now. And we expect to be compensated for that.
Scott Benner 8:21
Yeah, that makes sense. Um, does the form factor change, change the durable medical distinction,
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 8:28
there will still be two reimbursement paths for G seven, there'll be durable medical equipment, which is where Medicare resides right now and where some of the payers continue to keep us. We will have a receiver available for G seven, it'll be a different receiver than the G six receiver. We think people will be very happy with it. It's a really neat device. And a surprising number of patients use the receiver only.
Scott Benner 8:53
Yeah, no, I'm not surprised.
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 8:54
I have everything. I just figured once we went to the Thunder Bay, go the phone. And guess what, it's not that simple. Yeah. And people really some people really like the receiver and having the comfort of a medical device doing this so we'll have a new receiver and we will have reimbursement durable medical equipment will focus more on the pharmacy and try and get g seven the primary channel at the pharmacy channel rather than damy channel but Medicare patients are going to have to go DMV and there are some patients who won't move to the pharmacy. me some not patients but payers and quite county there's some doctors who would rather go to the DMV channel because they know it. Well, I know since everybody in where I live in Wyoming that blue shield of Wyoming has a very simple DMV procedure. I'm not changing, you're all going to I just wrote that as an IP hypothetical. So we need to give everybody choice but we really want to make it easier right? So the primary distribution focus for g7 will be in the drugstore. Cool.
Scott Benner 9:52
Alright, so I feel like this is the last time I'm ever going to get to say this to you. So I'm a little excited. Dexcom g7 will go directly to Apple
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 9:58
Watch Not initially, but eventually, I think our first pass it won't. The nice part about it is it has the hardware chops, the Bluetooth configuration and all the capability to go direct to Apple Watch, to get the app done. So we can get the app out, we're going to have to launch the first app without direct watch connection. There's a lot of things we have to work out just day to day for that it is a different experience if if the watch is your primary receiver, because you're planning on spending at least some amount of time every 36 to 48 hours with that thing out on your wrist, while it charges. And so we we are looking at all of those consumer experiences and making sure we address them as best we can. And like the FDA views, alerts and alarms is one of the primary functions of the system. If you're going with no alert or alarm for a couple hours, what happens, right. And so those are some of the things that we have to address. I mean, if a new user is going direct to watch and then goes to bed at night and puts a watch on a charger in another room and doesn't get any alerts alarms on light. How do we deal with that? How do we make sure the customer knows that that's the experience that they're going to get before they do it? And so they're just some nuances we have to work through gotcha.
Scott Benner 11:15
The you just mentioned this, the apps are they changing for g7
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 11:19
app is changing completely new app for g7. a different experience will certainly be focusing on again, more patient friendly. The FAQs that we've added to G six, we're gonna try and go a level higher to whereby there's more self diagnostic and self education. So you don't have to call us for tech support. That'll be how the app continues to evolve. Over time, there will be more educational information, some of the clarity stuff will be taken to the GCs app. So you can see how you're doing a little easier without logging into another app. This app has been in development for quite some time, it'll be a really nice customer experience.
Scott Benner 11:59
Yeah, I'm excited. I remember giving my feedback. I want to say like four years ago, like during it, I remember we had the discussion, and I hooked you up with everybody. And I'm just like, I'm like, I want to see if anything, I said it's not going
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 12:11
well, and you can always add more or take less away, I think one of the things we have learned is becoming a software driven entity rather than just a hardware driven entity is a culture change for us. Okay, we've invested a lot in software over the past several months to get this app and some other things working on ready getting g7 ready for a global launch. All the translations require work. There's different phones in different countries that we have to certify for. I mean, there's a lot of pieces that we're checking the box to as we get ready for this,
Scott Benner 12:47
I can't even ask you all the questions from all the different places on the globe that I got them from United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, people want to know, like, it's, I can't imagine what it's like the service that on an international well, and we're
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 13:01
not in all those countries. I'll be honest with you. And we are in some, in some we're in very small. And you know, one of the interesting things about Dexcom Scott, and we've been wildly successful, and it's like it's the users of our system that make us that way. But when we look at a country to go into, I'll give you a prime example. We're not in Mexico right now. We get hundreds of letters come to Mexico come to Mexico, we don't have a single employee there. Yeah, we don't have any connection with the government or regulatory authorities or anybody, where's you're looking at our larger competitors have infrastructures built for other businesses? Sitting in Mexico, we don't have any. And so we go to a distributor. And that works. And we have distributors all over the globe. But it takes us a while to build our international business. And one of the things we continually struggle with is how do we go faster. And these other geographies without infrastructure? already existing? You know, we're direct in the UK, we're directing Canada. We're direct in Germany, we pick selected markets where we control our fate. And that has worked fine. But again, the size of our teams in those countries pales compared to the competitive entities that that we that are in our space. Oh, how much do we want to spend over there? And how do we do it and how do we lead it's it's really one of those growth challenges that nobody really thinks about till it kind of smacks you right in the face. Yeah.
Scott Benner 14:28
No, I can't imagine. I'm jumping around but the warmup time for the g7 will be half hour 30 minutes. Excellent. Is there people wanted to know is there a way to put the first one on to eliminate because now you don't have to change the transmitter from one site to the next? Could there be a way to do that? And I was like, wow, everybody's always trying to make it go Can't have two of them running at the same time. That would have been my expectation to but how about it he's of formulation is that
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 14:56
we it is a different he said than the G six and he said that it is You know, some of the things that cause the G six adhesive issues we've identified, you know, we're testing numerous tapes. I don't know if any of your users are in some of our adhesive tests for G six, we are going to eventually swap it out to something that will not cause as much reaction as this one has. But some of the things that cause it are not present in g7, some of the processes. So we're hopeful that we'll have a better experience. We're putting a piece of overtype in every sensor box. So no one ever has to call us for overtype again, you got one, okay, and you can use it, and it's, it'll be fine. That adhesive has been very good. I'm sure we'll have people where the adhesive doesn't work as well as we'd like it to, or it works too well, like it does for some of the others now, and we're hopeful that noise is minimal. And in all fairness, because of what's going on with G six already testing for other g7 tapes, and we haven't even launched the first one. Yeah. So we are we've realized what a hassle the tape is, for somebody who has an allergic reaction. The flip side is, if you're going to the drugstore, we can't expect the drugstore to stock for different brands of Dexcom g7. Right, because we have four different tapes. So we've got to find the right answer for our customers, and and I think we've done a better job.
Scott Benner 16:19
Okay. The where time is how long 10 days to start? Is it longer in other countries?
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 16:29
Well, and we have a 14 day version of G six, even approved, okay, in Europe, but what we focus on more than the length of where, you know, the length of wear boils down to two things, number one, and number one above all others, it costs us less to make two centers a month and three, just like it costs us less to make three sensors for GE six instead of four, for the old seven plus, okay, that's savings we can pass on to our shareholders or we can eventually pass on what cost savings to our customers, depending on how well that goes. The second reason is convenience. If you only have to change it once a you know or to a month, that's that's an easier experience for people as well. But what we found if we if we promised 10 days and delivered 10 days, people are usually fine, I think. And I think and what we focused on is reliability. You know, we've studied a great length, how long others are other sensors are g five. And some people you know how long some people could get you five to last that was? That was sometimes absurd. And then 36 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I walked into a physician, a diabetes clinic one day and all for the diabetes educators would put their Dexcom on the first day of the month, and whoever could where there's the longest got a free lunch. And most everybody was past 24 days. The day I was in there, as you guys come on. Does your insurance pay for these? Well, yeah, then what are we doing? in any manner, it's about delivering the experience that we promise, what we found, and we did a trial with our 14 day g six, and in a very small geography, we didn't find enough of the lasting out as long as it needed to be now we didn't have any the new adhesive configurations, or any of the other things, you know, in place that we've learned, I, I think we'll eventually get to a longer g7 In fact, I'm very hopeful that we will, but we wanted to make the first experience a good one. We didn't want to make it that 13 days, you're all calling and saying I need a new sensor. Right. And, and and and our percentage on reliability is very high, 90 or better. And for a new product. That's a Yeah, that's a tough bar to get over.
Scott Benner 18:45
I'd never thought about until you just said that. If you promise a date and you fall short of it, now you have to pay for a replacement. But if you can make it to 10, then it's just good business and people's experiences better. And people's experiences better if you meet their expectations.
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 19:00
Yeah, well and then think about that. Just think about the dollar impact if if we give you 27 days of sensors, in a month, everyone falls off it or let's do worse, let's say 21 days and everyone falls off at seven days. And you call it seven days every time and say send me a new sensor and we send you new sensors. We've now given you six sensors that end up being 42 days of revenue that we build the insurance company 30 days for so getting these things to to match and creating a better experience for pay what what I would ultimately love to see but this is just an Kevin's pipe dream vision bucket that we keep track of how many days of sensors you've purchased from us every year. And if you bought 30 days and one of them you know fails early, we send you another one and you don't even worry about it. system keeps track of it but at some point in time, let's say one failed after seven days. You got seven days of free sensor three replaced in the old When we make sure you get, and we get paid for 365 days of sensors, and it's fair for everybody here, and I think that's a value equation everybody can live with. We have very few people who abused us, if anything, we're way worse. As far as getting, and we try hard to get product to people, I promise we create a lot more problems than our customers do.
Scott Benner 20:23
Yeah, once g sevens up to is ramped up, and it's out does, do any of the older products go out to pasture?
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 20:30
Well, we still have some g4 we're selling in some countries, believe it or not, we'll get rid of all yeah, it wants to seven. So we're in the process of getting rid of all the G foreign g five. And we have a launch coming on to Japan later this year, we've shipped our first product Japan now. g Ford in the product for use in Japan only professionally, that's going to go away. There will engine g five is about done. And then we will phase out GE six over time. But there could be other uses for it as well. Because we have a lot of manufacturing capacity. It could be used in other geographies. It could be other use cases. So we're not looking per se to rush to shut g six down. But we are looking to rush to scale up g seven, and then leave our optionality open, I say,
Scott Benner 21:18
is there any chance you'll tell me when you're going to release it?
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 21:20
Now? I wish I knew. If I knew that I could, then I could really look at you and say we're not going to tell you that I don't want we don't have all all the answers? Well, I'll give you an answer. I'll give you an example of why we can't shut down g six. All of the tandem and insulated and other pump users g sevens, I'm going to talk to their pump out of the gate. Okay. So if you shut down g six, you're taking a large group of our loyal constituents and saying Haha, you don't get anything for a while. Not good business practice, right. And we have obligations to support that with our partners for quite some time. So we'll keep it with respect to the launch date. You know, our public statements have been very much launched this year in Europe, but not a huge financial impact, because it's going to be in certainly in the fourth quarter, the earliest. The big rollout comes in 2022. We haven't filed in the US yet. We had said in earnings calls previously that that we, you know, the clinical trials making good progress. And we'll get more information on that. On our second quarter earnings call in about about a month from today. tell everybody where we are, we'll get filed, then you've got the variability of the FDA, and you're hearing from numerous companies, that the FDA has got a bunch of stuff backed up because of the COVID backlog. You know, our goal is to create a filing that is so enticing that they'll look at it anyway. I guess we're very comfortable, the data is going to be very good. We presented some data at attd. And the data we presented is better than anything we ever presented on G six. The product is going to rock and we changed everything we've changed the algorithm, the software, the sensor, the hardware, everything. There's not a single thing in there. That's the same
Scott Benner 22:59
what are some highlights of how well it works that you're most excited about? Well, your listening skills are a ninja level if your brain said to yourself, oh, Scott's gonna put an ad right here after ask him that question. You were 100% right. But I'm going to do them very quickly today. Find out if you're eligible for a free 30 day trial of the Omni pod dash tubeless insulin pump at Omni pod comm forward slash juice box that is a free 30 days to try the Omni pod. You might be eligible for this go check it out. I mean, there's just no better time. It's summertime. You're swimming and running about doing your things. You don't I mean, you know you don't have to take off the on the pod to get into the water. Not like every other insulin pump. Mm hmm. This might be a great time to check it out. I mean, everybody showers 24 seven, but if it's summertime, where you are right now Splish Splash, you might be taken more than a bath might be going for a swim. The Omnipod is absolutely terrific. My daughter has been using it since she was four years old. We are about to celebrate her 17th birthday. Now. That's a really long time to use something every day. And I can tell you from my heart that I think you'll enjoy using the Omni pod to just the freedom that comes with being tubeless is hard to put into words. But the pod is just terrific. We love it. It's absolutely been a friend on this journey with Type One Diabetes. So if you're using insulin, and you want to try an insulin pump, or you've got yourself like MDI thing they're using a pen and you want to switch, this might be the time to give it a whirl omnipod.com forward slash juice box. And of course, if you'd like to learn more about the Dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor and you know get on board here before the Dexcom g seven comes dexcom.com forward slash juice box. I can't honestly say enough about this continuous glucose monitor, and what its abilities have added to my daughter's health and happiness. And my, my sanity, the Dexcom g six is absolutely terrific. It takes magic diabetes and makes it it makes it a little more human. It makes it I know that sounds strange because it's a device but it just sort of takes the worry away. It lets you see where to use the insulin better. I mean, I know I'm talking about my results, and yours Of course could vary but for us, it has been a lifesaver. It has been a health improver, it has been a life lifter dexcom.com forward slash juice box. I am. I am absolutely 100% underplaying how much I love Dexcom. So check them out. And another thing close to my heart, of course, touched by type one.org. It's an organization helping people with type one diabetes. And they've asked me to let you know that they would just like you to check on them. See what they're about. Touched by type one.org. You can also find them on Instagram. And on Facebook, you want to smile a little bit. Go get yourself a pump. Get yourself a CGM. Check out touch by type one. You'll be having better days. Alright, let's get back to Kevin. And he can answer the question what he's most excited about.
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 26:45
I'm very excited about well, first of all the half hour warm up, I'm excited about the fact that we are good enough to turn it on. And that make you wait 12 hours to use it effectively. And we are focusing what same we did with G six. Once it's warmed up to go and use it. I'm very happy just the overall accuracy, the thing has been extremely good. And the ones I've worn it's a G six is good to mind you. You have to be kind of a sensor savant to recognize the differences and have worn a lot of very consistent performance across the board. I think what I'm most excited about is what we've learned. We've learned little things in the process of G seven that are we've never even contemplated before. That Hey, what what happened here. And we're doing digging into the data and figure it out. It's one of the reasons we've taken as long as we have. One of the things we've learned, for example, there is a difference between the arm and the abdomen with respect to sensor performance. We have designed algorithms work for both. It's really easy to design one that only works for one and are the differences between the army the abdomen settle they really are. But you got to make sure that you get it CGM level accuracy for both. And our algorithm that we've designed and put in here will cover both of them. So that type of thing, the
Scott Benner 28:08
Can I jump in and ask you will you be able to get Will you be able to add sites? Because
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 28:13
we are we're doing the arm in the abdomen? And then we have the upper box for kids. We've always had that too. So we're testing it on the arm and on the abdomen? Both will the school will have labeled sites. I don't think people have paid much attention to that over time as I travel arm
Scott Benner 28:31
on her hip. I don't think she's been a kid for a while now. But yeah, that's where it works really well for how about like, Is there any change to like, if you experienced this connection, The Reconnection time? Is that any different with the new?
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 28:44
It's different? I haven't experienced that much. And you know, no answers got this is one place where you have to go out in the field and have the product work. You have to see how it works with individual phones, individual users. If somebody had a very positive g six experience and a very negative g7 experience, how are we going to deal with that? I promise it's going to happen. I just don't know who are aware. I mean, just expect everything to happen. Yeah. I mean, after g six, I didn't think I'd ever have anybody write me a letter saying how much they loved g five. got several. Okay, so
Scott Benner 29:23
and I'm in the weird position where Arden doesn't have it an issue like that. And so I have to wait for somebody to ask the question because yeah, if hers disconnects that, like if she walks away from her phone, she comes back and it's back in a minute or two. So I knew that was for different people. The inserting device itself, I imagine is going to be
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 29:41
significantly smaller. Okay, g six and it's a one button push it literally you don't have to peel any tape off it. You take it out, box, put on the skin push button, you're done. Wow. Throw it away. We have made this as easy as we possibly can.
Scott Benner 29:57
That's cool. First 12 hours Do you feel like the accuracy will be
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 30:01
okay? It'll be better in G six. Wait, we've, we've dialed the algorithm in. But first of all, ours is also very much a physiological reaction on individual patients. As you well know. There are some people who never have a problem at startup. There are others who always have a problem at startup and there's nothing you can do, right. But we it won't be nice CGM standards for those 12 hours. Okay. We're very confident with that.
Scott Benner 30:28
And I know it's gonna come factory calibrated. But does that mean we can't calibrate it anymore?
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 30:32
Oh, we leave you the option of calibrating, though can try. Okay. I think it's absolutely critical coal again, to give people that optionality can save a sensor, you know, I agree. Yeah. I mean, I just think, Well, nobody wants to stick their finger in a lot of patients never do. I think I think taking away that option, it's not a good thing. Okay.
Scott Benner 30:55
So compression Lowe's, I think everybody listening understands what they are you roll over on your transmitter g six, it presses down and disperses the interstitial fluid, you get a lower reading, which is actually accurate for the spot, but not for your body. Does the new form factor help that which
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 31:11
I haven't? I don't have an answer to that question. I don't know that we have enough experience in the clinical studies. Remember, you bring them in a clinic and they sit in the chair and we draw blood from a provider side machine? You don't Yeah, I I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful mainly because of the volume and so much less, you know, you've got this big bump for transmitter. This laying flatter, I'm hopeful will be better, but time will tell
Scott Benner 31:33
cool. Yeah, no, I am too. I don't I although my daughter can hear rollover in her sleep and just roll over now. So she'll probably make a great spouse one day if she snores, because somebody will be able to just be like Arden rollover. And she'll be like, Oh, I know this girl. Okay, yeah. That's, that's very funny. I have, somebody asked me to ask you, it's kind of a big ask, but I know you've gotten away from distribution at Dexcom. Right? Like, I used to buy art. And she says we have, they're hoping that you could do something to help educate the places that are. I hear from a lot of people, they enjoyed buying them from you better, I guess it's the statement.
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 32:14
I agree. And I understand that, let me explain a little bit what went into that decision. One of the things that was important, and we heard loud and clear was important to new users and clinicians was to be able to sample product to be able to try Dexcom, before you bought it, because they don't know what they're getting into. And to go through all the insurance process. Now we believe, you know, obviously very busy gonna like your product when they get it. But the fact is, is much nicer if they can sample we could not directly bill Medicare, and, and the government and sample because of all the stark laws and all that other stuff. And we felt the sampling was extremely important for our business to increase awareness. So we pulled away from Medicare. When we did our net promoter scores of our customers who use the distributors and those who use us, the distributor scored every bit as high as we did. And getting the feedback. I know that people have problems with these diabetes distributors from time to time. But the amount of noise we hear is not a whole lot different than it was before. And yet, you're occasionally going to have an experiences and great my hope, the best answer is to go to the drugstore. And for us to get distribution to the drugstore more than through the DMV channel. Medicare's not moving there anytime soon. But several of the large payers you can go get the product at the drugstore, more than half of our patients that come in now is distributed through pharmacy benefit. And it and that really takes all of those questions out if we can do that. And I believe co pays are lower in the pharmacy in general than they are in the DMV side. So our customers will spend less, quite candidly, insurance companies will spend less. It's it's a very good business model. And it's easier for us. And what we found is we had quite a few people who were not handling a very large percentage of our business. Then when we did it in house, and we think we made the right business decision to to move out I understand frustration from patients for that. But that was the right business decision for us. as a whole.
Scott Benner 34:22
I would imagine as time passes, these other companies will get better at talking about it and supporting i o they will I years ago before we switched you we had edgepark and I have to say it was fairly laborious to deal with them. And then when it switched back, I was scared, but it was terrific. So I felt like I was talking to a different company and maybe other people will get that experience, I hope as well.
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 34:42
I hope so too. Yeah. But if they're not, they're more than welcome to reach out to us. We do have a team that monitors the distributors and distributor noise. And if we are somebody who's not doing very well we get on. Nice.
Scott Benner 34:55
So reach out to you if that's happening.
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 34:58
Now they can send emails to our Customer Support. Yeah, you don't know email right here? Oh, no, they send them to me. Trust me. People find me, Scott. Come on.
Scott Benner 35:08
I don't know that I know how to get ahold of you directly. Yeah, that's right. I think that's terrific. I mean, unless you have anything else to add. Do you expect that I'll see you again this year to talk about g7? Hope so. You hope so. Let's see. Let's see where we are. Yeah. So you are you're coming up on buttoning things up and then making your, your pitch to the
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 35:29
left? Well, again, we're we I really can't talk a whole lot about where we are until we get to the earnings call. Right. So give me till till the end of the month, and you'll hear a lot more about where g7 we were very happy with our progress.
Scott Benner 35:43
Fair enough. The earnings calls when? end of the month, end of July. Okay. All right. Well, that sounds exciting. You said something earlier that I don't know if you can answer because it involves another company. But what I felt like I got from you was on the pod five won't work with G seven initially.
Kevin Sayer, Dexcom CEO 36:01
Well, Eleni pi, Omnipod, five, and tandem both have to get g seven integrated into their system. Their tandem is already out with G six. So they're working on G seven, we got to get Omni pod and G six on the market first. And then the g7 they are working on it. But I there's going to be a bit of a delay. I just don't that that integration is more on them than on both companies than it is on so we're devoting significant resources to helping him go as fast as I can. We need to get on we bought five which is six out first.
Scott Benner 36:31
Yeah, no kidding. typos in the same situation. Yeah, they're alright. Kevin, I always appreciate you doing this. Hey, thank you. Thanks for the time again. Hey, thanks very much, Kevin, for coming on the show. Again, I love having you. I hope you're back soon to tell us more about the G seven. Thanks also to Omni pod makers of the Omni pod dash tubeless insulin pump, find out if you're eligible for a free 30 day trial of the dash at Omni pod.com forward slash juice box, also touched by type one, find them on Facebook, Instagram, or at touched by type one.org. And if you'd like to get started with the Dexcom today, it would help me if you use my link dexcom.com Ford slash juicebox. And one more thing to tell you after the music ends, and then I'll leave you to enjoy the rest of your day.
Now some of you are not going to be regular listeners to the show. I've learned that about the episodes where Kevin comes on. It makes its rounds on the internet. And people find it. It's just amazing. But I'm going to ask you stick around, try a couple more episodes, see what you think we're at the very least, go check out the defining diabetes series and the diabetes pro tip series from the Juicebox Podcast. Just give them a whirl, you know just go to diabetes pro tip.com. Take a look. If you're not interested. Fair enough. But if you've heard enough, and you're like, Oh, I want to hear more from this podcast, just hit subscribe or follow in your podcast app right now. And if you're not listening in the podcast app, they're very easy to find and very free. There are plenty of them at Juicebox Podcast comm links right at the top of the page to podcast players that will work on your phone. I'm actually on diabetes pro tip calm right now. And I'm going to read you just one review from a listener of the show. This podcast has changed my life. I had a desire to lower my agency and manage my blood sugar's better, but was going at it blindly finding this podcast put everything into a tangible and practical management approach that has taken my agency from 8.3 to 6.3 in less than six months. And that's just right now, it's going to keep coming down. Thank you, Scott. I'll be quoting you forever. There are more listener reviews there and access to all of the pro tip and defining diabetes episodes. I want you to be sure to know that this podcast is ad supported. The content never costs any money. There's no introductory episode, and then the real good stuff behind a paywall that does not exist here with Juicebox Podcast. Every episode, every episode is free for you to listen to. We haven't we have a how you eat series where people come on and talk about all the different ways they eat more recently. We've done keto in a couple days flexitarian will be up we've done carnivore all kinds of different stuff. Vegetarian doesn't matter. The way people eat. I'm interested in hearing about we have an episode coming up with a psychologist talking about communication and relationships. I have an episode coming up About people who in Canada took on the health care system and the and the government and got CGM coverage for their people. There's so much here in the Juicebox. Podcast beyond technology, conversations and management. The real core of it is conversations with parents and adults who are living with Type One Diabetes, or who loves someone with Type One Diabetes. I really think you'll love the show. Give it a shot. Thank you so much for listening today. I really, really appreciate it. And hey, regular listeners if you're still listening. You guys are great. Right? I love you. I'll talk to you soon. I'll be back with another episode of the Juicebox Podcast before you know it. Because they come out Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Oh, geez. I forgot something. One last thing. The podcast has a absolutely kick ass Facebook group has over 12,000 people on it. They're all talking about diabetes stuff. It's the most chill, adult, helpful Facebook community I've ever seen in my life. It's called Juicebox Podcast, type one diabetes. Check it out. All right now I'm really gone. Goodbye.
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#497 Boys Have Feelings
Chad has feelings and he's the father of a young type 1.
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+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
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 to Episode 497 of the Juicebox Podcast.
On today's show, I'm going to be speaking with the father of a young type one. The Father's name is Chad. And Chad has feelings. Actually, boys have feelings. We're going to talk about them today, and so much more. Please remember while you're listening that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan, or becoming bold with insulin.
Perhaps you've been hearing about the pro tip series from the Juicebox Podcast and like to learn more, you can find them at Episode 210 right in your podcast player, or if you'd like to pick through a little bit online first. Diabetes pro tip.com. That's pretty much all I have for you. Here comes chat.
Have you always wanted to help with Type One Diabetes Research but don't have the time or the means to be involved in a study? Well, you should check out the T one D exchange. You can support type one research and the Juicebox Podcast by going to T one d exchange.org. forward slash juice box. When you get there. It's super simple to do and just takes a couple of minutes. You click on join our registry now. Complete a simple survey and you're done. T one D exchange research has led to increased insurance coverage for blood glucose meter test strips changes in the American Diabetes Association guidelines for pediatric a one c goals. It's helped with FDA expansion of Dexcom CGM labeling, and Medicare coverage for CGM devices. Everything you do will be 100% HIPAA compliant, and 1,000,000%. Anonymous. Sometimes after you fill out the survey, the T one D exchange will reach out to you with other opportunities that you can either take advantage of or not. I've heard some listeners of the podcast have been contacted recently and they were really happy that they were T one d exchange.org. forward slash juice box. Check it out.
Chad 2:48
Hello, name's Chad, the father to a three year old diabetic Carson. Carson was diagnosed in on September 11 of 2019. changed our life forever spoke to be on this because I noticed ever since day one, it seemed like the the doctors you know, we're talking specifically to my wife and it's like sometimes I wasn't even in the room and I just I didn't know that was a general perception in the community with with parents raising type one children or or not.
Scott Benner 3:31
What I found your note very interesting because this is really the tone that you came from. And I want to get to all of it. But before I do, you're an East Coast person, right? Just in general.
Chad 3:41
I'm in Yep, I'm in northeastern Maryland.
Scott Benner 3:44
Alright, so I want to make sure about something before we start especially after last night's Monday Night Football game. You didn't name that poor kid after Carson Wentz. Did you
Chad 3:52
know absolutely. Absolutely. Actually that's funny because we we do we live 45 minutes from Philadelphia. I grew up in New England. I'm a I'm a Patriots fan. Okay. And my wife actually wished kind of harm on Carson Wentz because she did not want the name to become popular.
Scott Benner 4:11
Well, he fixed that. Don't worry, oh,
Unknown Speaker 4:14
my God, she What?
Chad 4:16
She said, She goes, I hope he she's like this is bad, but I hope he gets injured that way. This name just doesn't start popping up everywhere. And that season later that season. He pretty much broke his leg. He's tore his ACL and then Nick foles came in and beat my patriots in the Super Bowl.
Scott Benner 4:35
So you got paid back, but yeah, exactly. Hopefully everyone's not going to be named Carson 15 years from now. Yeah, I have to admit I thought we did at the time. In 2000, actually 1999 when we came up with the name, when we chose coal we we didn't know anybody who named their kid coal and now it's it's much more common. He actually plays on a you know in in college There are two coals on his baseball team. Oh, wow. So we didn't do a great job. But yeah, Carson Wentz took care of this for you, but I love the story. So you, you put the ogopogo on Carson. And then they came back around gotcha in the Super Bowl. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And it really did too, because we just basically sent out like, guy number two to beat the hell out of you. Yes, yeah.
Chad 5:22
Well, right. He had like the game of his life. And it still wasn't enough.
Scott Benner 5:25
You know, you know, it's so funny. And I won't we won't talk about football long. But my mom's like, almost 80. And I was driving or somewhere the other day, and we spent a good amount of time in the car talking about that Super Bowl. And she loves football. And I said it, I said it. It was just whoever had the ball last. Like they if the Patriots would just got the ball back one more time. Like I actually think there's a strong case to be made that Brandon Graham won the Super Bowl. Oh, yeah. Yeah. knocking the ball out of Brady's sack. Yeah, yeah. But anyway, I it's hilarious that that all came back around to get you by the way, your wife, your wife. I want to meet sometime vicious lady. She couldn't have just, like, wish that he changed his name or something like, Yeah, no, she's, she's, she's pretty harsh. She would write for the cat hope a car falls on. You know. Interesting. Anyway. So a couple things about your note, grab me. One that I think we're gonna spend a fair amount of time talking about was how you felt in the room where the doctor was sort of looking through you? And and how, in general, when you're paying attention online, you don't see a ton of men involved. And moreover, you do see a lot of moms complaining about their husbands? Yes. I don't know that you found. I don't know that you found an issue in the diabetes community. I think you just found that issue in the Yeah, yeah. In the world. But first, tell me a little bit about the diagnosis. We you were there as it happened. And, and yeah, it's in the very beginning.
Chad 7:07
Yep. So we, you know, we noticed the telltale signs, he was drinking, he was drinking like half a gallon of water a day losing weight. At first, we just thought, you know, Carson is a big kid, he wasn't he was a 10 pound baby at birth. And at first, you know, my wife, just I always lose those baby fat. And then he's paying for his diaper every night. And you know, she looked it up early. This was we start seeing signs in June of 2019. And, you know, she wanted to get appointment with a doctor. And it just so happened, they were able to get us in just three weeks after his second birthday. For his two year exam, and, you know, she pushed the doctor, I want to be, you know, I want to test it for type one, I see all these signs, she wasn't too concerned. And she was actually pushing against the test. And we were like, hey, it's it's a simple test. And, you know, they tested the urine and, you know, glucose showed up in the urine. She actually called me at work. I just, I just ran out 5k that morning, I was late coming into work. My my co workers and I were we were talking about 911 just where we were on that day and I had a specific co worker tell me he said, you know, not everyone nine love means the same. I have a old co worker that whose child was born on 911 he he spent the morning you know, at the hospital, you know, enjoying this this wonderful day the birth of his son, right? And he's you know, I specifically remember him telling me He's like, not everyone's nine elevens the same that walk into work and you know, so it goes so and someone's phone's been ringing off the hook and I go to my cubicle and it was like six, seven missed calls from my wife called her back and she she told me that you know, there was glucose in the urine to get home and pack bags. We there's a really good Children's Hospital in the RSA I DuPont wilmington delaware but I guess our insurance didn't cover overnight stays there and so they said you are covered up at CHOP in Philadelphia so and it up chops Lee on one the top children's diabetes hospitals in the world. So we turned out lucky there. So yeah, I packed my bag. Karstens blood sugar was was 370 something it wasn't, you know, crazy, but it was high. And yeah, we stayed there for three nights for the training. I was hands on with the training, looking up glucose monitors and and trying to figure insulin pumps very early. In fact, after In the first night he his blood sugar the next morning was that was a perfect blood Hunter. I remember that vividly.
Scott Benner 10:07
Well, it's interesting, isn't it that the 370 now, what it meant back then you were just like, oh, as they told me his blood sugar's high, and he has diabetes. And now Yeah, it feels a little different.
Chad 10:18
Yeah, yeah. And now Now we start fretting over, you know, one 180 200
Scott Benner 10:23
sounds like you guys caught it really quickly, though. 370 is, you know, elevated, obviously, but yeah, he was wearing a DK or anything like that.
Chad 10:31
Yeah, no, he was, you know, perfectly fine. We're in there with another family whose child was in was in DK and, you know, that was scary. And I, I, I'm, I'm glad that I have my wife and she still you know, part of his she's a stay at home mom. So she's she's able to see those signs day in and day out. So that helped us a lot. Is he your only child or your? So he is our only child, but we do have custody of our seven year old niece, Sophia. So it's like we have two children. Right.
Scott Benner 11:04
But he was your My point was it's the first baby Your wife had raised. It wasn't Yes. Wow. She did a good job too. Yeah, yeah. Well, she's got magic powers. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. She can find diabetes and brake professional quarterbacks legs. Oh my goodness. I just want to say one last time that the Eagles are terrible. I'm an Eagles fan. And I'm gonna say it right now. I don't I can tell you all what happened. But I don't think anybody here wants to hear but I am facing up to it. They are an absolutely pitiful football team top to bottom.
Chad 11:40
But they're only like half the game out in the in the NFC. so
Scott Benner 11:43
pitiful football team and a pitiful division. That's for certain. Yeah, I know why they're leaving the field. The announcers like the Eagles are three, seven and won or whatever they aren't. He's like they're still in it. If only they could win two games in a row, they'd be the champions. mess. Anyway. Okay, so your your 911 is not everybody else's 911 Yeah. And somebody you know, puts the specter of it overtop of you just moments before you find out. Yeah, that's the case. It would have been nice if he would have said something like, you know, I know some people who win the lottery on 911 By the way, Chad your phone's been ringing all mark. Yeah. I won the Powerball baby there are moving people around. You are magical, but they don't use their powers. Well. Well, I I mean, Ardennes. I guess by now we've hinted around it long enough that that is Arden's Children's Hospital chop in Philadelphia. Okay. Yeah. People must know by now listening. But she was diagnosed in Virginia because we were on vacation. That's right. Yeah. But I've never had anything but but good experiences a chop and they definitely are a classy hospital that that that's on the you know, on the bend of the cutting edge the way they talk to people I definitely think that you lucked out going there. But I imagine that's not your hospital anymore. You don't make the trip every time
Chad 13:15
No, we still do it's it's it's less than an hour away. So no kidding. Yeah. Oh, we we love it that much. Especially our diabetes educator. You know that that helped a lot someone someone walking in the room after your son's diagnosed and him being diagnosed as well. Shout out to Ken Yeah, just just seeing that a healthy healthy man my age living breathing diabetes every day himself. So should feel right. Yeah.
Scott Benner 13:45
So your CD he is a guy named Ken and he has typos. Yes. Look at you can do and good work making Chad's family feel better. Very nice. I the only thing about that place that I hate is parking at it and getting Oh yeah. Yeah, it's actually yeah, the Burgess area is terrible. It just yeah, I'm making laps. And like that was it. Oh,
Chad 14:06
I had to place a pin on my on my Google Maps just so I know exactly where to go every time because I miss it. You know, every time
Scott Benner 14:14
I read your thought your your child was lucky enough to be diagnosed in the age of you know, cell phones I had it scratched out on a piece of paper with a hand drawn thing that a friend of mine who would work down there once was like that you go around this corner and through this place fear and you're like, Okay, driving down my babies with me. My wife's back at work. I'm like, it's fine. Everything's fine. This is exactly how I plan life. It's gonna be alright. never really felt Alright, I guess. But now it does. You know, I think that's kind of important to say because I just recently was watching a newly diagnosed family. Ask school questions online. And it just occurred to me as they were speaking that so soon they won't feel like this and they don't And they don't realize it. You know? It's Yeah, kind of.
Chad 15:05
I started listening to your very first episodes, I think I'm up to 25. But it just, it was just five years ago. And that feels just, it feels like the Stone Age. And you know, the progress in these families so much Carson is diagnosed in September, and by the end of October, he was on Dexcom g six. By the beginning of November, we were testing out the Omnipod on them. And December 1, he was alive with insulin when so yeah, we we progressed, you know, chop was very good progress on us very quick. And by January 1, he has his own cell phone. So
Scott Benner 15:46
I do remember Arden being in kindergarten with an iPhone, and every parent in the town hating me and my wife for for causing that uproar. Yeah, she's just, you know, it was funny, like so we all in the beginning, we just wanted Arden to be able to call us from the bus. That was our whole that was our whole goal. And we took her to the store. And you know, no one was looking to buy an expensive cell phone when she was five, trust me. And we you know, we're like these little flip phones that used to exist in a little shells and clam shells and everything. We tried so hard in the store to teach her how to like, use it. And she just, you know, weird menus and she couldn't remember everything. But that, you know, you have to admit that through that that iPhone in front of her in five seconds later, she had the whole thing figured out how to use it. All right, well, here's your baby crack. And if you ever feel dizzy on the bus called daddy. It was pretty much the whole thing. Yeah, but the other families were pissed. They were just very unhappy that Arden was wandering around with an iPhone, you know, she is 16. And yeah, yeah, she's
Chad 16:57
she's a she's Yeah, she's 11. Then in the podcast, I'm
Scott Benner 17:01
listening. That's crazy. And the podcast you're listening to right now? She's 11? That's Yes. My point is she's 16. You know, she's never broken an iPhone. Really? Oh, she's had one since she was five. She's never broken one
Chad 17:12
ever. I think I broke five when I was 25. Alone, you know?
Scott Benner 17:17
Through mine. I tried to put mine in my pocket the other day. And for some reason, just threw it at the floor. Getting old.
Chad 17:26
I don't want to end there always within like three months after buying it brand new.
Scott Benner 17:30
Yeah. Anyway, so chat, I do want to really dig in because I don't know many. I mean, I, I guess how do I want to put this? So I have access to the demographics of the private Facebook group for the podcast. And it's, you know, just the it's obviously not everybody that listens. And it's not everybody in the world. But I can tell you that overwhelmingly, there are women in the group. And the men that are in there are more likely to be type ones themselves. Yeah, not the fathers of type ones. A lot of fathers get added to the group by the mothers. But I don't see them being active. I don't know that that doesn't mean that they're not watching because I can also see the analytics and a huge portion of the people who are members of the group are active within the group every day, although a smaller percentage of them actually post and answer questions and stuff like that. It's, you know, the way the internet works. But it is incredibly uncommon to hear from men who don't have type one. And I am aware of some type one groups for fathers of children with Type One Diabetes. And I don't spend much time in them at all, but the times I have looked, they are more of a I don't even know how to put it. It's like, like a relief valve. Yeah, it's it's like the digital equivalent of getting together and Yep, shooting or kicking or yelling at something. Yes, is what it feels like. And I don't know, you know, psychologically, I don't know what that is, I'm sure we could easily dig in and, you know, go down the rabbit hole of boys are taught not to, you know, show their feelings and things like that, or Yeah, or whatever. But it didn't strike you that way. It obviously didn't strike me that way. I was, um, you know, I, I don't ever talk about it on here very much. But in my book, I joke that I am really just too overly shy of being able to give birth, because I'm a lady basically, in a lot of ways, because I grew up through my mid 20s 30s and 40s, you know, being a stay at home parent. And, you know, became very evident very quickly that if, if my kids didn't have that, that thing that my wife would have intrinsically known that I didn't really know, that kind of care that it was going to be detrimental to them so I just sort of threw myself into it. You Completely headfirst I just yeah, that's what I'm gonna do. So I don't you know, I don't have that when you see me share or hear me share on here. It's it's a pretty direct valve right to my heart I'm not you know I'm not protecting my how I how I sound or anything like that I'm not trying to produce a veneer of, you know, masculinity. I've been over that for a while. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you only have to be a stay at home dad before it's a thing so long before you realize that you know, you are the the heel of a lot of, of you know, whispering you know, in circles I'm sure it's not like that any longer. But you know,
Chad 20:44
yeah, I yeah, I think as you know, we specially younger generations. Yeah, that that that will change with time.
Scott Benner 20:57
Having said that, john, if I could lean the other way for a second. Let me let me have 1980 Scott, talk to you for a second. I don't see a ton of guys built like construction workers who are stay at home dads, either. No, six, four guys that can benchpress a car that have just decided not to work. I mean, I'm sure there were some but they mostly look like me. You know? Although I wish I was taller, but that's not the point. I'll tell you right now. I'm gonna get your wife to wish for my height help I'd be happy if I could just get my phone back in my pocket and you tell her to just say out loud you know something about Scott always successfully putting his phone away. To do that magical work on me. But you're a working guy you know you're not the stay at home. Is there something about you or how you grew up that made you want to be involved?
Chad 21:48
So I think being a being the only boy I'm surrounded by girls and my my dad and round a lot. Maybe Maybe that helped deal with you know,
Scott Benner 22:03
Chad, you're a couple ovary shy having a baby too. Is that what you're saying? Yeah, yeah,
Chad 22:07
maybe it's too much it'd be too much pain for me. I got I rarely get sick. I got sick a couple years ago went to the doctor and and I was like, I don't know. something's really wrong with me and, and the doctor, somebody Chad, you have a cold? Yeah.
Scott Benner 22:25
Well, last week, I got sick. And I was on the sofa for four days. Kelly's like What's wrong? I'm like, I feel a little flush. And when I turned my head too fast, I feel dizzy.
Chad 22:36
Yeah, I was passed out over I mean, I swear I almost cut off my thumb. My wife says it was just a it's a paper cut. But I guess I almost passed out.
Scott Benner 22:48
It's so funny. I've really been injured in my life. Like really, really injured. And that I've handled fine. Yes, like I've, if you ever meet me look for the scar on my left hand that goes midway through my thumb down into my palm. And like I felt laid my hand open, and that I handled completely fine. I've had welders flash where I went blind for a few days that I handled completely fine. I've had a giant molten piece of steel fall into my boot. And of course I couldn't get to it quickly enough. So the moisture in my foot, put it out and like just burned a hole right into the top of my foot. That's fine. rip my ankle apart that I handled fine. If I get a little woozy when I turn my head.
Chad 23:31
Yeah. Well, that's why I told her I said I was kneeling down looking at the cut and then I stood up too fast and all the blood just rushed him. You know, as you get older when you stand up too fast. You can't like
Scott Benner 23:42
change. You got the vapors. That's what happened. Even 1860 illness you just have been overcome. That's all. So you grew up in a family where your father wasn't around a ton. You had a bunch of sisters and a mom. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Do you feel like you'd have that that more kind of caretaker vibe about you?
Chad 24:04
Yeah, I do. I you know, I things things around the house like household chores are are pretty 5050 as much as they can be with the with the time a lot, you know, with my eight hour spent the job. What What did help out with with caring for Carson was I, you know, six months after diagnosis Coronavirus, it's our streets and I was at home with the family day in and day out. And also I had this Master's project to finish my master's and it revolved around just tracking all the different elements to type one diabetes is just a blueprint of a system. And I devote a lot of research and, and time into that so I was learning about type one a lot. And and during that time, I really was able to dig into like numbers and you know, fine tune adjustments with that.
Scott Benner 25:03
What's your background in systems engineering? Oh, do you have that classic engineering brain? Yes. Yeah.
Chad 25:11
I think that helped out tremendously with with Carson's diagnosis and then my wife, she's an accountant, she's uh, she or she has degree in accounting. She you know, she's she's good with numbers herself. So that that helped out tremendously.
Scott Benner 25:27
And you find that valuable and so like, your management is going really well. Right?
Chad 25:32
for cars. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So within a within six months, Carson was under seven, a one C and at the year mark, he was under six
Scott Benner 25:43
c that's so we I want to pick through that a little bit. Because my experience talking to people, there's there's certain buckets, I'm finding people falling in the more and more experiences I have, for instance, I've said recently, nurses tend to struggle a lot with being the caregivers of people with type one diabetes, which is fascinating is something about how they're trained, and what they do day to day that doesn't mesh with the part of type one that's more style. And you know, then then math. Yes. And I've now seen that so many times. I'm willing to say that out loud. I'm not saying you know, nurses can't figure it out. I'm just saying that they struggle. They they feel like they have a natural built in roadblock. But I've also noticed that people with engineering backgrounds seem to find their own way through it. It's not ever classically mathematical and it's not usually completely like the way I talk about it. They find their own way. So well. Yeah. What did you do and our
Chad 26:45
our our that's funny, sad because our diabetes educator, my six month mark, no Carlin's on a low Basal rate just because of his size. And like, like all night, he's at point one units while he was going high a few nights. And, you know, the problem with that size is you can only increase by 50% more insulin, and that's not really needed. So we, we kind of, we throw in some random point, one fives and two is that nightly basil rate or, you know, every other hour, and you know, is diabetes educators like what the hell are you guys doing? This is off and it's like, hey, it works. Yeah,
Scott Benner 27:24
I'm bumping and nudging with basil is what I'm doing. Yeah, yeah. Well, it's, um, have you looked into that? Are you interested in on the pod five when it comes out using only pod? So are you gonna go to an algorithm?
Chad 27:37
Yeah, very intro, but I've read that, you know, he, I think there's an age requirement to it five or six years old?
Unknown Speaker 27:45
Yeah, I'm
Scott Benner 27:45
listening. I'm not sure. But historically, doctors can write things off label for use, and it's done with diabetes and kids forever. I would think it would be more about you. exhibiting that you can handle it. Yes. Yeah. And that would be that I'm looking at Arden's blood sugar right now. It's funny, it's 94. She's in class. And, um, there's part of me that just is, like, I wonder why it's not 89. Just ridiculous, right? But, but it's, it's, um, and I don't, and I wouldn't, I would, interestingly, come to some conclusion like the one you did, except, I don't think about it in any of the terms you did. Like, I'm sure you were very just like, well, we'll you know, we'll do this. You know, we'll do a little bit here and then move it up and move it down and move it up and move down. And that'll keep the bounce, by the way, that's kind of brilliant. Chad being able to see, you know, because when I say things like, you know, Basil doesn't like when you make a change to your basil doesn't happen immediately. Yeah. You could make the leap in your head that if I just stagger it, then every once in a while, we'll get a little bit of a push down. But it won't be enough to make him low. Yes. And then you tried it, which is huge, because I spoke to someone yesterday on the phone. And she's like, I don't know what's wrong. My daughter's blood sugar has been high since she moved to an insulin pump. And people want to blame the pump right away. Like when we were on MBI it was fine. And now this pump and you know, it's so high. So I'm asking my questions picking through it. So what was her total basil on MDI? And she said, 13 units a day. And I said, you know, show me your Basal rates. Now. We added them up and it was eight minutes. Yeah. And I said, I think we found the problem. Yeah, you know, and she's like, no, but she gets low. Like, yeah, but and then that's when the explanation starts. And it's such a simple thing that I'll say it here. A lot of you experienced Lowe's make the reasonable determination that you have too much insulin. That's why got low, for some reason, take it out of the basil every time. Yeah, then blood sugars trend up because you don't have enough Basal insulin which causes you to have to Bolus too much at meals, but you probably can't bring yourself to do it. So you under Bolus a meal, the meal shoots up, the pressure of the high blood sugar gets to you, you correct it. And then as the corrections working, the food digests out of the system, there's nothing there to hold up the number you crashed down. And instead of seeing that process, you turn your Basal down more. Yeah, which just makes it worse. It's the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do.
Chad 30:39
Oh, yeah, we were Yeah. About the same week, we changed probably the Bolus numbers for for food more than more than you know, we'll see a trend over three days and be like, Alright, well, something's something's obviously up. And we will we'll change his food ratio.
Scott Benner 30:56
I think one of the most important things that we do that ends up being difficult for people to wrap their heads around and and to implement because there's no real rule to it is the part where you, you know, just understand the impact of the food. I mean, this podcast forced me to talk about glycemic load and glycemic index, because you people wouldn't listen to me when I just said, just Bolus what you think the plate needs, learn from last time and do it again, that really is how I do it. I look at a plate and I go into this much if it doesn't work, I make a correction. Next time she eats that food, I take what we Bolus plus the correction I put it in. Now I hear from people a Scott, I can't remember all that I have a job, you know, and so I don't not understand that. But that's why one day I said the Jenny, I we got to talk about glycemic load and glycemic index as much as I don't want to. Because that's not how I want to think about it. But at some point, the podcast got so big that I was like I have a responsibility here. I just you know, now I have to now I have to do it. So you guys are forcing me to learn more things. And think about things differently. Because you're, you're being resistant and not listening to me. And I have enough of that with my children. If someone would just listen chat when I speak, that would be lovely. I just want one person not to argue with me just to go, Hey, the guy said do this, I'll just do it. But that's an incredibly important part. Because, you know, as I explained to anybody out it'll sit still a listener who asks, 10 you know, 10 carbs of one food doesn't impact your blood sugar the same ways 10 carbs of another food and you can't just act like it does and then go oh, I don't know what happened. I count the carbs. You can't do that. But man, people do it. So yeah.
Chad 32:45
And that's like a lot of what like our extended family doesn't doesn't understand. My wife sister the other day, they were talking about getting pizza and my wife was just like, shaking her head and and yeah, she had explained Yeah, he kind of pizza but it just means we're up till 12 midnight. 1am chasing protein and fat and stuff. Yeah.
Scott Benner 33:08
You hear somebody talking about pizza at seven o'clock. You start thinking about what you're Yeah, then what am i binge watching right now? Am I gonna enjoy that? Will I be able to follow it when I'm tired? I have a I always have a binge watch going. It's easy to watch. And one that's more that you have to focus on more. And I know at a certain time, like right now I'm watching Deadwood. But the dialogue is so thick with like old timey euphemisms like you really have to pay attention to follow along. So I don't know I don't do that when after about 10pm is something more Poppy, you know something a little more pillory after 10. So I can pay attention. But it's interesting, isn't it? When someone mentions pizza, you start doing the math in your head. I could probably if this goes right, I could probably go to bed by midnight. If it goes wrong. I wouldn't be able to. You gotta get up in the morning at seven to go to work. Is there any chance we could just have a nice wrap with Yeah. We could put it tomato in it and sprinkle some cheese on top. It'll be just like pizza. And that's socks, man. Oh, my God. And you're you know, it's understandable that other people don't think about it that way.
Chad 34:17
Yeah. And, you know, I, I have a I have a cousin with type one. And I had, you know, I had before it's diagnosed and that I had very little knowledge of what even like type one was from type two and, and all I knew about diabetes was Walter Brimley in the diabetes commercial. So
Scott Benner 34:37
you notice a little bit about it. You called him Walter Brimley. It's Wilford Brimley. Oh, well, there you go. I don't know if you know the story about Wilford Brimley. His mom named him after a very famous sports star. And then realized everyone was gonna call the name Wilford to everybody. So she killed him. And that's why he's the only Wilford you've ever heard of. Back in 1850 it's very long time ago. Hey, I pushed him down on mine. Call it a prospecting accident sounds very sad story but he got to be the only Welford so and look how it didn't help him cuz you call to Walter. How many Walters Do you know in in your life? One? Yeah, I know two and one of them's from mash so that's not a real person that's a character. And they call them radar anyway, so really nobody called him Walter ever do people watch mash? I don't imagine they do. It must not be funny. Any My father was still growing up. How old's your dad? Now?
Unknown Speaker 35:38
He is 62 that's making me feel bad about liking mash. I gotta be honest with you.
Scott Benner 35:46
Anyway, you don't start watching mash now because it was had a 70s aesthetic where you'll just look and go This isn't funny. And I'm just I'm watching it. And um, you know, I remember watching it when I was 12. So anyway, yeah, that's not if you want to television recommendation justified is terrific. justified. God justified. I'm enjoying Deadwood. I've gone into the modern Western phase of my life for some reason right now. I just watched a terrible show on Netflix called longmire that I loved way more than I should have. am and what's the one with Kevin Costner right now that I really enjoyed? It's almost like a like an E. These they call them like, nighttime soap operas the way they were. I sound like my grandmother right now. Hold on a second. I'll tell you the name of my story. What is wrong with me? We got them old. I don't I don't recognize it completely. But I am. Kevin Costner who I can. All the sudden. I don't know how to use Google either. Hold on. I have no idea. What do you Yellowstone? Okay, I've heard of this. So good. Not good in a way like, you know, Hamlet, not saying that. Just you know, they kill a lot of people for no good reason. And there's pretty landscapes. There you go. That's, that's my high bar for tell fish. Yes. Are you writing it down? Yeah, if you hate it, don't blame me.
Chad 37:27
75% Rotten Tomatoes.
Scott Benner 37:29
I don't even know what that means to me that when I see something like that I'm so jaded about the internet. What I think is that it got popular. So they hired a bunch of people to go on and leave bad reviews for it. Like, well, that's a good review. So I used to say, yeah, yeah, that's good review. Does that mean that 75% of the people like it?
Chad 37:51
Yeah. I used to think that about Rotten Tomatoes. I thought the more Rotten Tomatoes you got the worse it was. But no, it it is a it's a good thing.
Scott Benner 38:00
Wow. Way to make something that some so confusing that Yeah, I'm on can't follow it. What a business model. It must be the same person who came up with insulin sensitivity number going down as a down stronger? Yeah. Yeah. Wow, maybe that is why. All right. If the person who made Rotten Tomatoes is listening, I want to understand where that rating came from. Please call I would like to know, so Chad, like, I really want to dig into how it feels like to, to realize you've you're being excluded in your child's care.
Chad 38:38
It's very frustrating. Especially it is a toddler, a giant toddler to to keep his numbers that you know that good and stuff out. I just kind of so that that kind of happened early on our last visit. Um, you know, it kind of involved me more just because well, my, my wife for when told them she's like, hey, Chad's. Chad's behind a lot of these numbers a lot of these changes and at that time, I think we were having too many lows so we were kind of seeking you know, some advice on on what to do, but it was also summer so yeah, who who knows it seemed like once fall hit his his need for insulin went down but uh yeah, it's just frustrating to you know, it's almost like I'm invisible in there and and maybe it's just because the note normal household the father is putting in a lot hours each week and you know, they just don't have the time for to and to review you know, numbers and go over treatment and stuff. You know, I was able to dive in deeper just because of Coronavirus and me working from home pretty much all summer. I'm back in the office now. And I'm, you know, less hands off right now because I'm at work, but, you know, I still call in daily to see how things are going. And
Scott Benner 40:11
so it would have just in general been nice if the physician would have added the extra sentence to say, Hey, you know, how are you guys dividing care here? Yes, and not just just immediately disregard you, I have to tell you, as you're, as you're explaining that I put, I tried to put myself in a classic woman's position and most of history and I thought, Man, this must be how women feel when people talk to their husbands, and not to them, which I'm sure happens to ladies Far, far more frequently than it happens to guys. So, yeah, you might have just, you know, experienced a little bit of a reversal of that. Wow, you know, I just tricked my mind to, you know, you just, it's, it's, you were finally in the scenario where people have power look to the female in the pairing and say, This must be the person in charge. And it struck you really poorly, but badly enough, by the way that you were willing to write an email to a podcast and want to come on and talk about it? Yeah, imagine if women stuck up for themselves like that podcast would be a very interesting with people saying, you know, I go into places and, you know, I go, we went to a bank to get a mortgage, and they talked to my husband, and you know, I make more money than he does. And it doesn't seem to matter. And, you know, all the crap that girls go through. Plus they get their periods. It really isn't fair. Yeah. No, I wouldn't trade it for the world. No, no, it's terrible. I tried to joke about it here. But it? No, it's never received. Well, I have to be honest with you. And Arden is very, like, you know, anytime Arden has her period, and she'll just be like, leave me alone. Like, she's very like out front about it. She's like, This is not the time for you to be talking to me about this. And I go, okay. It's like, wow, interesting tactic. My wife spent years telling me, I'm the same no matter what I'm like, I don't think you are, but I'll go with you. Arden's just like I am not the same Leave me alone. She's excellently she's taking First off, and she's, she's out in front of it. But no, seriously, Big Girls have to carry babies. And that period of thing really seems like a horror. I'm not gonna lie, you know. And I just, I don't mean the act of it. I mean, like, having to go through it and the pain and the hormonal changes and just watching how you have to adjust Arden's insulin for different you know, I don't mean times of the month like that, but But honestly, like, different weeks in the month are, you know, completely different. I was talking to a listener from England yesterday trying to help her with her basil. And, and I said, Okay, now, will this just work like for, you know, this week? You know, aren't you basically like two or three different people through the month diabetes wise, you're and then now I'm, like, embarrassed I've ever spoken to her before. And I'm like, you know, you're like the oscillating you you're like the you know, almost there you in the actual event you and she's like, yeah, I guess that's right. And so then we talked about how to, you know, move her correction ratios and our basil and stuff like that as her body is looking for more insulin and how to recognize when it is very suddenly happens to Lisa Arden needs to go back to the original setting. So it's, you know, trust me least Carson doesn't have to do that.
Chad 43:44
Yeah, eyes are like glazed over. Just think about that.
Scott Benner 43:49
He really, if you if you can wrap your head around it once you can see it, then it's just about the telltale signs, and then you see the signs and make the change. Now obviously with the glucose monitor, way easier to see those signs because the signs really just are more difficult to bring down after a meal if it goes high. Looking like your insulin to carb ratio has gone up a little bit for meals and that your basil has gone up. So as I see that happening, there's a little turns the dials we make make make the insulin, stronger, stronger, stronger but then as the as yatse happens as as as the I don't even know what to say like the event is the event weird. I just want to say bleeding but that seems wrong. So my mind can't find words in case anyone's wondering what's happening inside of my head. Does that happens as soon as that happens, I guess. Then the insulin needs for Arden go backwards. She needs less wear. I've heard that the exact opposite from other people. But the truth is, is once it happens, it happens and you just kind of follow along with it. Now if I left that to Arden, you know, would probably take her days to see all my blood sugar has been high. And you know, I don't think she'd see it as quickly as I do. But anyway, so Chad, let's let's go over a couple things you don't like being treated the way women have been treated throughout history makes you upset. I think I think that you didn't realize that I was going to turn this around on you like this, which I didn't plan on doing when we started now.
Chad 45:26
I'm gonna go through my wife's email, see if she's been talking to you.
Scott Benner 45:31
I just told you, I'm like, I'm just, I'm, I'm a mom at heart. I started, I started defending the other side of like, you know, this is what happens to me. Because I guess now that we're talking about it is what happens to me having been a stay at home dad, in a situation like that I my most vivid memories of it happened around my kids sports, where I yeah, the men, you know what you would think I'd be a party of, but rich, by the way of you know, I live in a town where a lot of people love baseball and softball, this town has won the Little League World Series for softball multiple times. So ports are a big deal around here. And my son is one of the only children from this town who plays baseball in college, you might think I know a little something about it. But when the when those collections of guys, coaches or fathers would happen, I was excluded. Like I was a mom. Wow. And and it's, you know, no one ever wants cared for my opinion about what was even when they were sitting around sharing opinions. If I spoke, it was like, Oh, look, Scott wants to say something, and I'm okay with it now, but it happened constantly. Maybe I really did see that side of it. Because of my own experience just now. And I'm not. I'll just bleep this out. I'm not shitting on you for feeling that way. Like I understand how you feel it to be excluded like that. But I think that this generation would call that male privilege. Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't call it that. Because I'm 50. Almost, and I hate all that. But
Chad 47:04
maybe I'm considered a millennial. So yeah, maybe, maybe. That's how you think of it.
Scott Benner 47:09
Yeah, I don't use words like woke and privilege and things like that in my life. I just think that you know, things are. Sometimes people are awesome. You know, it doesn't. It doesn't need a branding. It really is the internet that forced us to brand like basic concepts of life. Oh, yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. male privilege. This used to be called people didn't treat women. Well. That's, you know, and that's still what's happening, by the way, except now it has a name. So turn so fancy, Chad. Chad, are you very worried that this episode is going to be called Chad has male privilege? I'm not maybe I'll embrace it now. Don't worry. That's not the way I'm going. I just it occurred to me as a listener, you might right now be gone? What is he gonna call this episode of Mike? I don't give my you don't have. You don't have my, you can't use this anymore. Stop just hanging up out of nowhere. But no, I think it's interesting because it happens to I see it happen to men in this situation constantly. And, and I see how it affects them, it makes them feel badly. When I see guys talking about it privately. their feelings are hurt. They know, they know that their wives don't trust them with their kids. You know, moreover, they know that they don't have as much information and that they're not doing as much for their children as they want to be around the medical decisions. And it's really hurtful to them. You know, I can see that because I am a guy. I mean, the way they come off, you'd never Yeah, you know, from from a female perspective, they just look like idiots. You know, I mean, like just ranting children, but I can, I can see it, you know, for what it is because I felt that way too and don't do a good job of expressing myself. So, you know, for as good of a job as I do of expressing myself on the podcast around diabetes. I'm still a guy in my personal life, and I still screw it up in my personal life constantly. You know, I'm forever thinking to myself, that's not what I meant. Why did I say that? You ever had that feeling? Oh, 17 times a day. That's not what I meant. Why do I say it that way? So and I don't think that's an easy thing for a person of the opposite sex to to appreciate just as I don't understand what the hell my wife's talking about sometimes. But I you know, I see it. So for ladies listening. I I've tried to say this throughout the podcast a number of different ways, but I don't think your husbands are disinterested. I think they're concerned they're going to mess something up, or just intrinsically believe that you're better at it than they are and so they don't want to get in the way. Or some of them are lazy. I mean, some of them are playing, you know, PlayStation. I get that but Also we do stuff like that sometimes so that we don't have to be put in the position to fail. Guys guys aren't good at failing. Not that anybody is, but we take it pretty badly. When it's hardwired in you that you're supposed to go outside, clunk something over the head, drag it back to the house so we can eat it. And if we don't we all die. You know, when you can't do those things, it's a it's depressing a little bit, you know? But luckily, you don't have to feel like that around the diabetes. That's Yeah.
Chad 50:29
But it is, it is also difficult kind of CO parenting co managing, you know, me my wife had had our arguments over over what to do nothing, nothing really. He they just kinda, you know, you know, I just, Hey, can we feed them something different or, you know, dose differently, but, uh, but you know, it's been fine. And it's so far, it's that well,
Scott Benner 50:57
around here, the biggest the longest fight has been Pre-Bolus thing. So yeah, not that everybody doesn't understand how important it is. But the people who aren't me are not as diligent about it. And I have just been steadfastly just banging that drum and they, they've gotten so much better at it. But and by the way, I'm obviously speaking around my wife. My son's not Bolus thing Arden Friday. We're talking about food with her. And she's just busy. She's a busy person. She works, you know, a lot. And, you know, just like you hear everybody else say like, it's hard to think a half an hour before a meal. Hey, where's my blood sugar? What should I be doing right now? We're an hour before, you know, let's correct this 120 now, so it's easier at dinner time, that kind of stuff. And so I'll just you know, Mike, and I, but I don't always say it nicely. Like, I'm way nicer to you people than I am to my own family. Yeah, yeah. So I'm just like, come on. Could someone Pre-Bolus like I, I sometimes I'm like, if I leave the house for an hour, and I come back, I'll look at art and I'll go, because I left your blood sugar doesn't get to go up 50 points. Like, like, You're making me feel like, but here's the other side of it. It makes me feel like I have to stay here. And that's not fair to me. Right? Like I shouldn't I shouldn't have to feel like that, like everybody can take their little piece of it. But I don't know, I guess what I'm saying is, I think good. in general. Some ways that men act could easily be misunderstood for apathy, when I think it's more that we just don't want to screw things up very bad.
Chad 52:35
Yeah. No. Yeah. I think I think that's 100% correct. And, and some of those, like, those diabetes dads groups on like Facebook and other. They, you know, there's now most of the dads are very outspoken, and they kind of know what they're doing, just because they're part of the group. But there are a few dads out there that, you know, seeking advice and looking for, hey, my wife wants me to help out more. And just, you know, kind of step one, you know, ask him for help on step one. So,
Scott Benner 53:11
yeah, well, it's also hard to ask people for help, when you don't sometimes know what it is you need them to do. Yeah, you know, and I think that can happen too. Or sometimes it's like, I need help, because this isn't going the way I want it to. And then you're now going to enlist another person who has not been involved, who doesn't know anything about it, to try to figure out the things you couldn't figure out while you're involved? Yeah, and then that's just then you've let them down. You know, and then that's really the interplay I'm talking about is that, you know, I know, we don't talk about the world like this much anymore, but it's still true. Like, you know, like, for most people, there's expectations you have of your spouse, and when that person doesn't come through, you might not consciously think, Oh, I pick the loser, you know what I mean? But they're inside your brain somewhere I need has been left down, she or he was supposed to do this thing. They don't do it. And now I have a, you know, a lesser feeling about the decision I've made. And that's how 25 years later you end up gone. Could you get out of here, please. We're all trying to avoid that. And so people defend themselves by not putting themselves in positions where they can let their spouses down. And then you get this, which is you feel like you've been left alone to take care of diabetes, by a person who doesn't care when really what happened is very likely, that person just very badly doesn't want to play it out. You know, and they don't know what to do. And not everybody figures it out like Chad did. Because not everybody gets an engineer's brain and COVID-19 to sit around the house and stare at their newly diagnosed. Stare at numbers. Yeah, seriously. If you were worth doing that, if it wasn't for COVID you might not be as involved.
Chad 54:55
No, no, but so he was put on the bump pumping the seven And, you know, at that time, we were kind of scared to death of insulin, you know, scared of giving too much. And Christmas, Christmas night, we're back at CHOP. And just because there was a stomach, stomach bug and an ear infection, and he wasn't eating and is vomiting, and his, his blood sugar was through the roof and ketones, so we ended up back at CHOP, and that that kind of, you know, that kind of scare made us less afraid of insulin and then then we started listening to your podcast, and then it's just like, yeah, you know, we weren't, I didn't want to be back in that situation again. So.
Scott Benner 55:44
So it took it took a kind of a DK thing to take your fear, all you really did was shift your fear to the other side of the scale. Yes, right. You were scared to being low, right? Until you saw what happens when you got hired. And you're like, Okay, let's be scared of that instead. Yeah. I think that's that really is the game. Honestly, it really is. It's to it's to realize that none of this is you know, completely baby proof safe. Yeah, and what side of the game are we gonna play in? Are we gonna play in the side where if we do things, right, you know, we're gonna have these these successes that lead to better health, or are we going to you know, we're gonna go on the other side we're doing it right just means elevated blood sugar, but nobody gets low. So, yeah, that's the trade off. And I think that really is in most people's minds. Like that's the trade off they're making. I'm the one who's saying and hopefully other people listening are thinking that that's that's not a that's not a real decision that has to be made you don't it isn't either or it isn't either B you know, having a one C and the sixes and get low a lot or having a one C and the sevens or eights and never got low. I don't think that's the case. I think people have a one season sevens and eights get low too. I think they get low more viciously than people who have their insolence so well balanced that they can sit in a five a one see Arden doesn't get low, like like in a scary way. I don't think she's had a scary low I mean, I don't remember what in the last couple of years you know and by that I mean like oh my god get used she's gonna die drink this drink this that kind of stuff. Like I don't remember that happening anymore because our insolence so well dialed in that aside of a real anomaly that just it almost can't happen.
Chad 57:37
Yeah and and with with her age, I'm guessing She needs a lot more insulin now. It's it's easier for for you guys to fine tune that. Yeah, you can. You can adjust by 5% 10%. So
Scott Benner 57:49
you're not going from a point? Oh, five to a point. Point. One double one is insulin. Yeah. I've doubled his insulin by giving him a 10th of a unit. Yeah, right. Yeah, that's not the case. Well, you know, this is a really tough time. And you're right, it will get easier as bodyweight comes. And the difference between, you know, a half a unit a unit, it's not really that great anymore. You know, I've come to realize that in the last year, so he used to take if I had to make a wild Bolus to break a stuck blood sugar. It was two units for Arden like if Arden's blood sugar's 117. It wouldn't move like I could give her two units to break it free. That's more like three units now. Wow. So I keep wondering when when it's going to be more and more we actually chat let's uh, let's tell a story here. So at Thanksgiving we we screwed up at Thanksgiving for all of my I put up the Thanksgiving episode. I got literally hundreds of thank yous afterwards about oh my god, my Thanksgiving is so much better because of this episode. Mine wasn't. So because I was up cooking all morning. Arden's blood sugar was terrific. She's upstairs, getting a slow start to the day. She's up. And my wife's family has a tradition of making these terrible cinnamon bonds on holiday mornings, and I say terrible because they're packaged and there's just nothing it's just sugar and wrapped in more sugar with some sugar. And I know how to bowls for them. It's not a big deal. But there's like 55 carbs and one of them. Wow. And I text Arden I say mom's putting those cinnamon buns in the you know the oven now and Arden's blood sugar's like 95 like, you know, like so. Why don't you Bolus 10 carbs right now. And then, you know we're gonna do a little more in a little bit and blah, blah, blah. So she says okay, she Bolus is the 10 carbs. And I text her a little while later. And cinnamon buns are getting closer I was like now I want you to put in seven units and I figured out the carbs for those But I want to get seven units going right now, keep in mind that by the time this is over for this freakin sentiment bond, I'm going to need to give her like 14 units of insulin because it's just, no one should be eating these things I want to be, right. And so I said seven units. She goes, I can't. And I'm like, What? Just give yourself seven units? And she's like, no, and I'm like, will it not let you so now like, I'm running through, like, all the things that I'm not sure like, Why can't she just give herself insulin? And she finally text back? I'm out of insulin, the pumps almost empty. And I'm like, Oh, okay. And then I was like, Alright, come downstairs, we'll change your pump real quick. But we're going to inject this other insulin. So I kind of feel like I'm being slick. And we have some fiasco left for when we tried the fiasco like, Well, you know, I wonder if I can't do this in a way where she won't have to wait. And she can still eat this. The cinnamon bun. Well, I draw up a lot of insulin in a in a syringe. It's like 10 units. Right? And Arden's never gotten a syringe with more than probably like two or three units in it. So she goes, whoa, what are we doing? And I was inside explained the whole thing to her. And she goes, make sense. But Wow, that's a lot of insulin and that syringe and I said, Yeah, I'm like, you know, my buddy, growing up as an adult would give themselves sometimes, like 30 or 40 units of that insulin, he that old insulin he used to use in this big syringe. And she's like, it was like, full and I was like, Yeah, she's like, well, and then she couldn't imagine it. Like, I think she thought it was going to just run out of her body when we push the plunger down. Seriously, she couldn't, she couldn't like wrap her head around it. So we put it in. And I was like, see it stayed in? She goes, huh? It's just really stunning, you know? And, and I had it like I did, I did it. I really did for 45 minutes after she ate that cinnamon bond. Her blood sugar was 110. I was like, I am a genius. Those people are right, you know, and then suddenly, boom, it was not enough. And the one thing I didn't account for, because I used what I thought was enough. The Ask was that, you know, when you put a new pump site on, your Basal is not working, you don't have that that pressure I needed to Bolus for the basil. And I didn't so Arden's blood sugar got out ahead of me.
twice over the next hour and a half, I cut it down at 150. And, but then I went back to Cooking. And then the next thing I knew what I thought was falling, did that, you know that little hump on the Dexcom it starts heading down, then it rolls around and comes back up again. Right? That happened. I had to be more aggressive. I stopped it at 180. And then I had to I had to hit it again. Because she got up to like two 220 or something like that. So it's all just because the insulin was you know, was messed up the delivery, the insulin was all messed up because we literally I changed for clarity, we changed an insulin pump and immediately went into a cinnamon pod. And I had enough hubris to think I could do it. But I was I missed. But once I saw that happening, I said to Kelly, I'm like, I'm not messing with this. And I gave her a lot of insulin like I I put her blood sugar into a fall on purpose, and then caught it so that the rest of thanksgiving wouldn't be ruined. So if you see Arden's 24 hour graph for Thanksgiving, it's fascinating because she's sweet 70 and like 100 for you know, 21 hours and then there's this like mountain in the middle that I don't usually see the flags roller coaster. It's worse the it's like freefall. It went up so sharply and came down so sharply couldn't even call it a roller coaster. But I To me, the key is that as badly as it all when I knew what to do at every step of the way, I never made her low. You know, and that to me is like that's how I know I'm good at it. Like she didn't get low afterwards ever. And then right away, boom, the rest of the day was right back where I expected it to be again. I got the insulin in where it needed to be. I cleared out the carbs and right back in the game. I was proud of it actually by the time it was over. I was disappointed and then proud. a weird feeling. Oh, what the cinnamon bun. Oh my god. They're the worst. Like, I don't know who makes them Pillsbury or something. They come in like that. cardboard. Yeah. Like, you literally should not eat it. It's just bad for you. And my,
Chad 1:04:41
my father was recently diagnosed with Type two and he cleared out his fridge and I think like he brought over to two of those cans. Yeah. It's like we can't use this. Yeah, I was like that. This is this is why you're just diagnosed with Type two.
Scott Benner 1:04:59
You're asking too much of your system dad. And this right here is you asking too much of it. And I want to be clear like, you know, Arden has one of those cinnamon buns like on Thanksgiving morning and Christmas morning and yeah, that's really the only time of year she ever has has them. And I one of them and I have to be honest with you. It was sugar if ik I don't know why marketers don't just go right for it and just say, Oh my god, so much sugar, you're gonna love this. It's no crack, but in food is what it should say, you know, but it's just all processed food. And which even makes it worse. Like the carbs are if you counted the carbs on those muffins, and just Bolus the carbs. I don't see how your blood sugar wouldn't be 500 Yeah, you know, so Oh, probably higher. Yeah, just a it's just insane. How how impactful that those that is? And, you know, definitely tells me Don't eat it. And I don't just mean if you have diabetes, I just mean in general, this is clearly this is clearly not okay. Yeah, once or twice a year and, and yeah, that's it and still be prepared to be a little dopey afterwards, you know, from all the insulin that your body is going to be really even if you don't have to type on just all the insulin your body's gonna be releasing, you're gonna be tired as hell. Chad, is there anything that we we didn't talk about that you wanted to? Um, I
Chad 1:06:25
don't think so. I think we covered a lot we've covered football. Men, menstruation cycles of teenage girls.
Scott Benner 1:06:35
Everything you thought you were going to talk about today now as a two year old little boy with male privilege. That's right. I'm gonna call this episode boys have feelings. What do you think of that? Boys have I like it?
Chad 1:06:48
My wife wants me to talk about more my my feeling she was saying the other day there was a children's cancer. Commercial on and you know, I start getting teary eyed and stuff. And she's told me I love when you cry. Yeah.
Scott Benner 1:07:05
I don't believe them. Chad, and I've just lumped together. Yeah, hold on a second. All right, we're down a rabbit hole here chat. I have always been a sensitive kid. Like as growing up, and I'm a sensitive adult. And you know, I'll cry it. Almost any movie adulation from a group in a film will make me cry every time like when they let Rudy play? Do you know what I'm talking about? Yeah, yeah, I just start crying. I'm like, Oh my god, we're gonna let him play. He works so hard. You're gonna let him in. It's gonna be something. You know, the high school puts a video up of, you know, the kid that helps with the team who's disabled and they let him run a touchdown back. I'm just crying. Like, just Just so you know, people come on the podcast and say the podcast helps them. I'm like, okay, it's good. Thanks. You know? So I've always been that person. I'm also not not masculine in other ways. But I don't think I don't think they mean it. I think not everybody. I'm not I shouldn't say they like I'm generalizing every woman on the planet. But in general, I just said I shouldn't generalize. And then I follow up with in general, but in general, I think you do want to see people open up a little bit. But there's, there's a line where I do think there's some hard wiring in you that's like, I that's the guy I need to, you know, kill the thing and drag it back to the house. Like he can't be crying all the time. I killed a deer. Like, you know, that's not what you're looking for. Yeah, you're looking for, hey, it's out front of the step. Let's cut the skin off at neath this thing. And and, you know, I don't I don't disagree. That being vulnerable is a bad thing in a interpersonal relationship. I think you should be. And I am. But I do think you pay attention masculine tax for it. Yeah, if that makes sense. I do think you lose some points somewhere else in the back of somebody's brain. And not all the time. Maybe. But once you turn into me and you're just like, you know, you ever see that horrible movie life as a house? You haven't because it's terrible. No, but it's, it's don't look it up real quick. Yeah, Rotten Tomatoes. You think it's got a lot of rotten something. It's about somebody who has cancer. I don't really remember the whole thing. All I can tell you is my wife wanted to see it. I was like, I don't want to go see this terrible movie. But I went with her because I'm a good guy. And we're in the theater, and the lights are coming up at the end and she looks at us like are you crying?
Unknown Speaker 1:09:36
I'm like, No.
Scott Benner 1:09:42
But yeah, I don't think that that then makes my wife look at me and go, I should probably take him out in the car and have sex with them. I think it makes you think. I hope if they come for us, he can protect us. But I don't think he can What is he starts talking about the, the, the war and how sad it is, like, in the middle of when I need him at the front door to shooting, you know, I don't know, like, I'm not disappointed with who I am. And I'm not sad that I that I'm willing to be like that. But I will be honest and say that I grew up with my mom, as a single mother telling me Oh, women are going to like that you're sensitive. But I think what she was really saying was, I wish your father was a little sensitive. Yeah. And I did find through dating, that I don't think that's what, at least the girls I was meeting, you know, more or more, more than less, we're looking for, like, I really think that they wanted more, whatever standard masculinity is. But I found my sweet spot here. They haven't kicked out, you know? Yeah, so I'm allowed to stay. I always tell the kids I'm like, Listen, when mom gets rid of me. I need you on my side a little bit. Like, what am I eventually it's gonna happen. There's no way she can put up with me forever. So I'm just saying. Like, what it happens. If you're older and you you're not in the house anymore. Just believe that I tried his hardest. Anyway, Chad, when do you think you're getting kicked out? You probably have time. Your kids are younger.
Chad 1:11:28
Yeah. Hopefully I'll make it to college. You know, Carson reaches college. Oh,
Scott Benner 1:11:34
you're gonna at least need to be there to make another baby that looks like Carson. Yeah, she's going to need you for that. And then she's gonna want you to help pay for school without arguing with you. Plus, she'll figure out in like four or five more years, and she doesn't have to have sex with if she doesn't want to anymore. So that takes away a lot of the burden. And but also the your niece that you said you have custody of is that your niece or her niece, her niece. So see, you're also you got that going for you? Yeah, you're doing that extra family thing. So yeah, that'll probably buy your five years. I think you can make it to like 2044. Wow, good for you, Chad. Do you not think every guy just wonders when it's over? Yeah. Well, they say divorce rates are going down. So he gets a financial thing. Like, why can't afford to leave? Yeah. I can't afford two Christmases. I don't like him. But I do like my car. And if I just drive in the car more, I won't be around him as much. This all makes sense. And I'm not I'm not saying because you're providing I'm saying that. I think most people have a two income situation. And yeah, so you're hearing divorce rates are going down?
Chad 1:12:55
Yeah, I've read it the other day. Now. Now it's kind of skewed. because not many people are getting married. So obviously they can't get divorced. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Is one of those one liner like articles, you know, the headline article, and then you go and read to it. And, you know, but but the most successful marriages are the people that you know, go to college and kind of wait, before they get
Scott Benner 1:13:24
Oh, I tell my kids all the time, like you don't like 30 is probably the low number for where I would ask you to get married if I got to be in charge of it. Is it 2019 the US divorce rates fell to a 50 year low in 2019. Yeah, but you're telling me if I keep reading, what I'm going to learn is that marriage rates are also down so they're eligible for divorce. Yeah. Wow. It's a big drop. Yeah, look at that. 19 7085 your wife's gonna listen to this. He's like so what you ended up talking about is when we're going to get divorce This is 85% number of newly married people get per 1000 unmarried population at age 15. Plus the US marriage rate reaches all time low. It went from in the 70s. This numbers at 85.9 in the 80s. It was 68.8. By the time it gets to 2010 35.1. It's 33.2 and 2019. I don't really know what the numbers represent. Because I'm trying not to read while I'm talking to you, but it's a it's a harsh drop.
Unknown Speaker 1:14:31
Wow.
Scott Benner 1:14:33
Yeah. Next thing we should Google is have marriage. Oh, wait. Here it is. The US marriage rate just hit an all time low in 2019. Yeah, there's the rest of it was clickbait. Yeah, yes. You can't get divorced if you don't get married. Well, that's my common sense. I'm always telling people like Yo, if you don't get high, you can't get high. So just don't do it. Oh my gosh. Sorry, Chad, you're delightful. Thanks for coming on and doing this. I appreciate it. Thank you. Seriously, I'm I'm really thrilled that you're doing so well so early on and diagnosed and
Chad 1:15:12
a Scott that it's, it's all to you man like, you know, I think you know all I can think of is what my son's diagnosed at two he's gonna have you know the rest of his life with with crappy blood sugar numbers and stuff and you know my wife started listening to you and I listened to you especially your bold with insulin podcast and and you know that that changed our life and we you know well we'll change Carson's life, you know, he'll have a healthy normal, normal can be life because of you and your podcast. That's really
Scott Benner 1:15:50
nicely to say thank you tell him to grow up and learn how to be a quarterback so that in my declining years, I don't have to watch the garbage I watched last night. Honestly. Well do you know when you're watching a sporting event you think I honestly feel like I could have done better there and yet I know I can't. That's the horrible feeling. I have watching the Eagles now at this point. I'm like, I think I could block for a half a second. Yeah, yeah.
Chad 1:16:12
At least I could have done that was like a I think it was the Broncos over the weekend. They couldn't feel the single quarterback because Coronavirus and I read the stat line. So the guy they played quarterback and he was like one for nine for 15 yards. And I was like I
Scott Benner 1:16:28
could have done that. I definitely could have accomplished that. Well, I have to be honest with you. I thought the NFL completely dropped the ball this weekend because as soon as I heard that story, I wanted to watch the Denver Broncos football.
Chad 1:16:39
Yeah. So that Yeah, I turned it on came on right at four o'clock. I turned it on and just just I watched a couple possessions for the Broncos. And I was like, wow, this is this is really bad.
Scott Benner 1:16:49
Well, you're lucky because I couldn't even find it on television here. But I and I didn't want to watch him fail. Like I really thought this is fascinating. Like this, this an athletic person who has no business doing this thing being put in it at the most difficult level. Like I wonder how, like, I just thought it would be interesting to watch him try. You know, and you don't ever get that opportunity. Yeah, but I couldn't find the game anywhere. So I couldn't watch I did watch highlights. And the one thing I noticed was that the arm strength that are that a successful pro quarterback has is is insane compared to everybody else because this kid threw a nice ball. But when he tried to go down the field, he just did not have enough to get the ball there before the cornerback could react and step in front of the ball. And I thought well, if this cornerback is this good, but can't make a play like this in a normal football game, that means that the quarterbacks arms are just way more powerful than you think. So the next time you see a guy drop a ball on an NFL football game and you think just catch it. I guarantee if he threw it at you like that it would kill you. By fingers would fall your hands would just break and it would hit you in the face and that'd be the end of it. Yeah, maybe be a look these guys are. They're just insane athletes because this kid like I said, He's I saw him throw an out pattern, maybe 25 yards down the field. And it's a good ball. He was set up. Well, his mechanics were good. The ball traveled well. And the quarterback looked like he had time to have a sandwich before he stepped in front of it. And yeah, he'll never be a quarterback again in the NFL, but I think good for him and going out there and try that that's a I thought that was ballsy as hell or something. Anyway, all right, Chad, thanks so much. I am I appreciate you doing Hey, huge thanks to Chad for coming on the show and sharing so openly. And I want to remind you again about the T one D exchange. Past participants like you have helped to bring increased coverage for test trips, Medicare coverage for CGM, and changes to the ADA guidelines for pediatric a once eagles. And it's exciting to imagine what your participation could lead to next T one d exchange.org. forward slash juice box support type one research and support the Juicebox Podcast. And don't forget if you're looking for those diabetes pro tip episodes, they begin in Episode 210 in your podcast player or can be found at diabetes pro tip calm
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