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- [00:00]
A
Friends, we're all back together for the next episode of the Juice Box Podcast. Welcome.
- [00:14]
B
Hey, everybody. My name is Taylor, 30 years old, and I'm the father of a top one diabetic who is now three years old.
- [00:27]
A
This episode of the Juicebox podcast is sponsored by Skingrip, durable skin safe adhesive that lasts. Your diabetes devices, they can fall off easily sometimes, especially when you're bathing or very active. When those devices fall off, your life is disrupted and it costs you money. But Skingrip patches, they keep your devices secure. Skingrip was founded by a family directly impacted by Type one, and it's trusted by hundreds of thousands of individuals living, living with diabetes. Juice Box Podcast listeners are going to get 20% off of their first order by visiting skingrip.com juicebox while you're listening, please remember that nothing you hear on the Juice Box Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan or or becoming bold with insulin. This episode of the Juice Box Podcast is sponsored by usmed usmed.com juicebox or call 888-721-1514. Get your supplies the same way we do from us Med. This episode of the Juice Box Podcast is sponsored by the Omnipod 5. And at my link omnipod.com ju you can get yourself a free. What I just say? A free Omnipod 5 starter kit. Free. Get out of here. Go. Click on that link omnipod.com juicebox check it out. Terms and conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox links in the show notes links@juiceboxpodcast.com hey, everybody.
- [02:19]
B
My name is Taylor, 30 years old, and I'm the father of a top one diabetic who is now three years old.
- [02:28]
A
Your three year old was how old when they were diagnosed, Taylor?
- [02:31]
B
Just last year. Summer of last year.
- [02:33]
A
So, okay, you have other kids or. No?
- [02:36]
B
No, not at the moment.
- [02:37]
A
You thinking of having more?
- [02:39]
B
I would like to.
- [02:41]
A
Does the lady you made the first one with agree with that?
- [02:43]
B
She does. I guess it's all just situational and the diabetes kind of threw a curveball in there. I would, but it's still. It's still on the table.
- [02:52]
A
Okay. Yeah, I would imagine. Were you. I mean, did diabetes literally slow you down? Were you thinking, hey, we're gonna have two, three kids and now you're like, well, let's wait and see?
- [03:01]
B
Yeah, that's kind of what it was. That I would say that was the main driving force behind that, just because of all the extra care and attention. But my wife listened to one of the podcasts, and I can't remember exactly. It was a guest you had on previously. We were going to Florida on vacation, and we listened to some of the episodes on the way there, and it was along the lines of, if it's not diabetes, then, you know, it could have been cancer, it could have been this. So what's kind of stopping you from doing what you want? And I guess that kind of resonated with her and kind of brought that back into consideration.
- [03:35]
A
Oh, are we going to name the next kid after me? That'd be lovely. By the way. Taylor, Think about it. I don't know.
- [03:40]
B
It just depends.
- [03:42]
A
By the way, you shouldn't do that. I don't think it's funny. I was downstairs just now. There's a guy, a local guy in our town, and he does painting. Such a good job and such a fair price. He's painting my room, and I was downstairs talking to him a little bit, and his name is Scott. And it's funny that when I call him Scott, it sounds fine to me, but when people call me Scott, I think, oh, what a terrible name I have. I wonder why that is.
- [04:06]
B
I don't know.
- [04:07]
A
Yeah. So, anyway, let's ask you other autoimmune stuff. Do you have anything. Does your wife. Or on your sides of the family, does anything exist?
- [04:16]
B
Me, personally? No. My wife does have pcos. And after. Honestly, after listening to the podcast, I'm a little suspicious of some thyroid issues, possibly. We still have some appointments to set up and kind of dig more into that thyroid.
- [04:32]
A
For who?
- [04:33]
B
My wife.
- [04:34]
A
Okay. Okay. How. What kind of things make you think that that's a possibility?
- [04:39]
B
Just the hair falling out all the time. I'm kind of blanking right now, but I'm listening to the podcast. I know there was a lot of symptoms you've went over that. I'm like, that sounds like my wife. That sounds like my wife.
- [04:52]
A
No kidding? No kidding. Was it hard to go tell her that?
- [04:56]
B
No, not really. I feel like we have pretty good relationship when it comes to health stuff. Being open about it and seeing things from an outsider's perspective, because we both do that with one another.
- [05:06]
A
That's awesome.
- [05:07]
B
But other than that, my father diagnosed bipolar, which she has a lot of other health issues. Heart, a lot of joint stuff. Has had more surgeries than anyone I know. My mother, actually just last year, the year before, had her thyroid removed because they found cancer. There and the only other autoimmune, I believe. I believe my aunt had lupus, and actually her daughter is the only other type one in our family.
- [05:37]
A
Okay, well, that's a fair amount. Let's figure out how you figured this out. So the other person within your family with type one that they have type one prior to your child's diagnosis. Yes, yes.
- [05:49]
B
They were diagnosed around 17 or 18. They're in their late 30s, so they've. They've had it for a while now.
- [05:56]
A
And is this a person that you've been around, or is it just like Thanksgiving and Christmas kind of thing?
- [06:01]
B
No, it's been around. Grow up with. I haven't in recent years. She moved to a different state. We actually seen her not long ago. She got to meet my son for a little while, and they're top one buddies.
- [06:13]
A
Oh, that's awesome.
- [06:15]
B
Yeah.
- [06:15]
A
So type one something you knew about. So then when your son is, what, 2 years old and starting to show signs, like, what are the first signs that pop up and how quickly do you figure out what it is?
- [06:27]
B
We did not figure it out. It's a lot like your typical diagnosis stories you hear on here. Urinating a lot, drinking a lot, terrible mood swings. But also he's 2 years old. So we were like, oh, that's kind of to be expected, you know, so we didn't really piece anything together. And it was not until a. Well, check at our pediatrician is when we found out.
- [06:48]
A
Well check at the pediatrician. And so what did they do? They didn't do a finger stick, did they? What did they do?
- [06:53]
B
They actually did a urine test when he had been urinating a lot and drinking a lot for three or four months. And we're like, you know, that seems kind of weird, but it's not out of the ordinary that we thought they. We brought our concerns to them, and they were like, well, we'll just do a urine test and just to make sure. And sure enough, I believe his glucose from the urine test was, like, 473, if I'm not mistaken.
- [07:18]
A
Okay. That's a good office. You just mentioned the. The frequent thirst, and they went to the test. That's pretty awesome, actually. I'm using the word. Yeah, you're lucky.
- [07:28]
B
We. We had just moved there probably six months prior to all that happening, and we've been very happy with their care of him.
- [07:37]
A
Yeah.
- [07:38]
B
And I kind of felt bad at the time. Our pediatrician was training someone doing their clinicals, and he got to experience all that as well.
- [07:47]
A
Yeah. So it's good experience. They might. Maybe it'll help somebody else in the future, you know?
- [07:51]
B
Yeah, and that's what I was hoping.
- [07:53]
A
Yeah, I bet you. I bet you it will. So what do they do? Do they. I mean, that's a pretty high blood sugar for such a little kid. Do you. They tell you to go home, pack a bag, go to hospital, or how does that work?
- [08:03]
B
That was pretty much what they told us.
- [08:05]
A
Yeah.
- [08:05]
B
They said they would call ahead to the local. I'd say local. It's about an hour and a half away. Children's hospital north of us told us, you know, we can go home, pack a bag, and they'll let us know we're coming. We were both pretty upset about it. I think I took it a little bit better than my wife, and I don't say that as a jab. We actually. I took off work to go to the appointment with her, so all that happened. So we drove back to my work. I got out of my company vehicle, got in her car, and we just went straight there. Kind of let our parents know to see if they could get us a backpack because we just want to get there as quick as we could just to see what was going on.
- [08:39]
A
Of course, obviously both of you are upset, and it's harried. Right. There's a. It's a crazy moment, but.
- [08:46]
B
Yes.
- [08:46]
A
What did you mean, you think you took it a little better? What was her like? What was her initial response?
- [08:52]
B
I think just disbelief and just a lot of worry. Just what's going to happen? What does this mean? A lot of tears, which rightfully so and for both of us, I guess that's more of a. I don't say this in a bad way, but a womanly response, because once I kind of got past the initial emotions, I kind of just focused in and was like, we need to get here. We need to figure out what's going on. What tests do they need to run.
- [09:20]
A
Yeah. So you started focusing on the task and you think the emotions got the better of her? Yes. Yeah. Yes. Okay. When did the emotions get to you?
- [09:29]
B
Actually, after we had got. They first admitted us to the ER. You know, try to see what's going on. IVs, get blood tests and everything. And her parents had brought us some overnight stuff because they told us, like, you're going to be here for a few days. And the endocrinologist come in, talked to us. And then the. The staff there at the hospital kind of explained a lot of the stuff. And I went out to the lobby to Speak with them, kind of tell them what was going on and to get our stuff from them. And I had it all in my head, you know, ready. I was like, they told me this, this and this. Get out there. And I sit down with them and they start asking. And then I. That's kind of when I. I clammed up. I couldn't speak. And then it all just kind of hit me there in the lobby once. I actually had to tell someone else that.
- [10:16]
A
Yeah, I'm sorry. That sucks, man. Are you in a better place today?
- [10:22]
B
Oh, yeah. We're not. We're not gonna let this bring us down.
- [10:25]
A
Good for you.
- [10:25]
B
It's just another thing. We're gonna keep going, take care of him best we can, and hopefully get to a point, kind of like you and Arden, where we can pass that control over to them and let them continue to handle it.
- [10:37]
A
It's a good plan. That's a good plan. Let's figure out how you're doing it. So a year's a pretty short amount of time. I assume they started umdi.
- [10:44]
B
Yes.
- [10:45]
A
And then where are you at now? Are you still doing mdi? Have you moved on to something else?
- [10:50]
B
No, we're on Omnipod 5 since February of this year.
- [10:56]
A
How's that been?
- [10:57]
B
It had a learning curve for sure. But all in all, it's been wonderful because, as you know, trying to give a five or a two year old shots for MDI to try to keep it in range is not an easy task.
- [11:12]
A
Not a ton of fun chasing him around the house.
- [11:14]
B
No, it's terrible. So. Well, that was. That was the big. The big benefit to us once we got on a pump is because he doesn't have to stop and sit down and let us give him a shot or us chase him around. He can just keep doing what he's doing and we can just, you know, those from the phone and let him. Let him be.
- [11:33]
A
Keep going, keep on keeping on. What is his. I mean, he's three, right? But. Yes. Do you have a feeling about how he thinks about diabetes? Do you do. Like, how do you talk to him about it? What do you see him kind of reflecting back to you?
- [11:46]
B
We kind of started, I guess, introducing more terms and kind of explaining things to him more. I don't think he thinks much of it as a three year old, but he understands, you know, the Dexcom and Omnipod, because he. He does mention, you know, his pod. He'll say, my podcast. You know, if he's high right now, he'd be like, I'm hungry. More like, hey, you know, that's fine.
- [12:07]
A
We'll.
- [12:07]
B
We'll give you some food. But first we need to get your blood sugar down. It's too high. And he'll say, my sugar high.
- [12:12]
A
Yeah.
- [12:12]
B
So he, he's kind of getting a few more things as we're introducing them, but as of right now, I think he's just so young, he just doesn't quite understand what's going on.
- [12:20]
A
Yeah, but that's the beginning of all this, right? Like, just. Yes. The small little understandings that he's capable of taking in that you're comfortable sharing with them. And like you said, you'll build and build on it, and one day it'll just, you know, hopefully be a, you know, a thing that exists that isn't a burden, and he understands and he'll head off to college or wherever he's gonna go, and you'll feel pretty comfortable that he's doing okay.
- [12:44]
B
Yeah.
- [12:44]
A
Isn't that funny how that now becomes your entire goal?
- [12:47]
B
Yes.
- [12:47]
A
What was your goal before that? What. How did you see what was important in your life, what you were going to focus on with your kids? Did you have even a feeling about it, or were you just like, hey, we had a baby. This is fun?
- [12:59]
B
I would say a little bit of that, but I mean, just, just raise them to be a good person, you know, take care of themselves and things like that. I mean, just I guess you would say typical parent things like, you want your child to do better than you, you want them to be healthier than you.
- [13:15]
A
Yeah. Don't let me put words in your mouth, but has, has the diabetes diagnosis shifted your perspective on family or life or parenting?
- [13:24]
B
I wouldn't say so. We've, we've always been very family oriented. We. We see both of our parents all the time throughout the week. We'll go visit, we'll eat dinner, family get togethers, holidays. I mean, we see our family a lot, so we're very family focused. So I wouldn't say it shifted my perspective there.
- [13:42]
A
So you're just blending this diabetes into how you were living before. You're. It hasn't changed a whole lot for you?
- [13:48]
B
No, no, it hasn't changed a whole lot.
- [13:50]
A
That's great.
- [13:51]
B
I guess one thing we kind of did not get completely into since he was diagnosed early is like staying with my parents or her parents overnight or anything like that. We had. Or just staying over there for extended periods of time where all you have to do is say, hey, is he alive? Is he eating? And now it's, hey, his blood sugar is high, can you dose him? Or his blood sugar is low, can you dose him? Or here's lunch, dinner, breakfast. Can you dose this much for what you're giving him?
- [14:19]
A
How's that been for your parents, though? I mean, because obviously what I'm hearing is that you have a lifestyle that would have been very interactive with, you know, grandparents and everything. And I assume that was going to be part of it, like, hey, here's the baby, we're going to go to a movie and your parents would be thrilled to have him for a couple of hours. Is that.
- [14:38]
B
Yes.
- [14:39]
A
Have they talked to you about that? Like, talk to you about the uncertainty that it's brought to them or, or where their fear points are? Today's episode is brought to you by Omnipod. Did you know that the majority of Omnipod 5 users pay less than $30 per month at the pharmacy? That's less than $1 a day for tube free automated insulin delivery. And a third of Omnipod 5 users pay $0 per month. You heard that right. Zero. That's less than your daily coffee. For all of the benefits of tubeless, waterproof automated insulin delivery, my daughter has been wearing an Omnipod every day since she was 4 years old and she's about to be 21. My family relies on Omnipod and I think you'll love it and you can try it for free right now by requesting your free starter kit today at my link omnipod.com Juicebox Omnipod has been an advertiser for a decade, but even if they weren't, I would tell you proudly, my daughter wears an Omnipod. Omnipod.com Juicebox terms and conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Why don't you get yourself that free starter kit? Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com Juicebox Diabetes comes with a lot of things to remember, so it's nice when someone takes something off of your plate. Usmed has done that for us. When it's time for ardent supplies to be refreshed, we get an email, rolls up and in your inbox says, hi, Arden, this is your friendly reorder email from usmed. You open up the email, there's a big button that says click here to reorder and you're done. Finally, somebody taking away a responsibility instead of adding one. Usmed has done that for us. An email arrives, we click on a link, and the next thing you know, your products are at the front door. That simple. Usmed.com juicebox or call 888-72115. I never have to wonder if Arden has enough supplies. I click on one link, I open up a box, I put the stuff in the drawer, and we're done. US Med carries everything from insulin pumps and diabetes testing supplies to the latest CGMs like the Libre 3 and the Dexcom G7. They accept Medicare nationwide, over 800 private insurers. And all you have to do to get started is call 888-721-1514 or go to my link usmed.com juicebox using that number or my link helps to support the production of the Juice Box podcast.
- [17:13]
B
I don't think they have any fear about it. They. All we really ask of them is if you're going to give him any food, you know, let us know so we can tell you what to give him. Or if he wants something extra, like a snack or something like, let us know. I mean, other than that, he's just typical kid playing, doing his own thing, hanging out with them and enjoying it.
- [17:36]
A
Do you think that they have a full understanding of it or just enough to get through those moments?
- [17:41]
B
I would say they're, they're getting better. I mean, they obviously understand, you know, if he's going to eat, then he needs insulin. Like they, they understand the concept of all that. Or if he's low, he needs, you know, something to bring his low back into normal range.
- [17:56]
A
Okay, is that a thing you taught them or did they figure it out on their own?
- [18:00]
B
We kind of taught, you know, as we learned as well.
- [18:03]
A
Yeah, you guys have all been learning together maybe.
- [18:06]
B
Yeah, pretty much. Obviously, if he's with us, it's a lot better. But also, we try not to put any, I guess, fear or worry on them when he's with them, you know, so if he's with them and he's just a little bit higher than he needs to be, then, you know, if it's stable, we'll just kind of let it be. But if he's climbing rapidly or if he's, you know, dropping low pretty quick, like, we will get in touch with him, be like, hey, you think you could X, Y or Z or give him, you know, a cracker or something to try to get that back up.
- [18:39]
A
Are Lowe's a thing that you deal with frequently or not so much?
- [18:43]
B
Not as much. It's more highs. I've went and looked at my Clarity report. I check on it pretty frequently. Or I say mine. My son's sure most of the time we're in low or very low range, 1% or less most of the time.
- [18:57]
A
Okay, that's awesome.
- [18:58]
B
So, I mean, lows aren't too bad. And if he does go low, usually we get it up pretty quick. But also we have the. The issue of usually we're overcorrecting, so then we're having to get that high back down as well on the backside.
- [19:10]
A
Little bit of panic with the low blood sugars create a highlighter.
- [19:13]
B
Yeah, it seems like it. I'm not sure. I'm sure a lot of people feel this way, but it'll be stable, you know, 80s, 90s, kind of just sitting right in there. And then it's almost like something just starts pulling it down, you know, a couple points at a time. And then all of a sudden it's like the arrows slanted down and, you know, we just dropped 15 points and it's like, what the heck happened? You know?
- [19:34]
A
Yeah, yeah. And is it difficult to know how much is going to fix it at this point, or do you think that anxiety just keeps you pushing the carbs a little too far?
- [19:45]
B
I think it's a little bit of both. Usually we've kind of got a good routine right now. We know if it's a pretty significant drop, certain things we give him, or if it's kind of a slower drop, it's not as aggressive. I think where the panic sets in, which is still something we're working on, is once we give him something, we obviously know it's going to take time for his body to digest it and get that in the system. But it turns into a 65, turns into a 60, and then it turns into a 55. After we've already given him something, we're like, okay, when's this going to work? When's this going to work?
- [20:18]
A
Yeah.
- [20:19]
B
And we wait and then it's like, okay, we have to give him something else to get this up. And then usually it'll, you know, start shooting up after that.
- [20:27]
A
Okay. Is he good about it, you know, or is there some nervousness that he won't eat when you need him to?
- [20:34]
B
Not typically. Right now he still sees we use a lot of some gummies or fruit snacks, the Welsh's fruit snacks or peanut butter crackers.
- [20:43]
A
Yeah.
- [20:44]
B
Usually he sees that as a treat, which I'm sure that thinking will change once he gets a little bit older and he gets tired of eating the same thing every time. So he's usually pretty good about that. The only issue have in terms of eating is we'll fix Dinner, lunch or something. Or breakfast. And bring it to him, and we'll dose him. And then it's like, well, I'm not hungry now. It's like, listen, you have got to eat this. We just dosed you.
- [21:07]
A
Please just eat this.
- [21:08]
B
I'm convinced that parents with small children could be terrorist negotiators for the most part.
- [21:16]
A
That's so funny. You can make some things happen when you're under enough pressure, right? You got to succeed. Yeah. That's hilarious. Who does most of the diabetes work? Like, is your. Do you guys both work? Does you want to stay home? Are you on a split schedule? How does that go?
- [21:34]
B
We both work. My wife is in the school system in the county we live in, and so she's off in the summertime, and she has breaks throughout the year, so it kind of defaults to her when she's off. But when we're both working, it's kind of 50. 50. Actually, my wife just texts our daycare and asked if he could have some gummies because he's starting to drop a little bit because they're eating lunch right now. So I would say during normal working, between her and me, it's kind of 50, 50. And sometimes I'll be busy and she catches it. Or she'll be busy. I'll catch it.
- [22:06]
A
Yeah. But a lot of the management happens through text messaging and. And remote monitoring.
- [22:12]
B
Yes, that is correct.
- [22:13]
A
That's awesome. I mean, it was really great. Like, people who haven't been around this for a long time, it was so much harder when you couldn't see blood sugars. I used to have to, like, text AR and ask her what her blood sugar was. We actually had a system. She'd send me a number with an arrow, too, because at first I was like, you know, just send me the number. And then I realized the number was meaningless if I didn't know the direction. So, you know, when I know this is. I sound old, but when they started adding, like, emoticons to texting, like, they weren't there at first, you know? And those little arrows in the boxes showed up one day, I was like, oh, thank God. And then they put. Then they put arrows with, like, two arrows in it. I was like, this is like. I feel like this is just for me, you know?
- [22:55]
B
Yeah, you're catering to me.
- [22:56]
A
How do you know those little blue gray. But if you have an iPhone, the little blue gray boxes with the white arrows inside of them, they actually have diagonal up, diagonal down, left, right? You know, it was just perfect. And when you need. When you need dual arrows, you would just do two of them. I'm remembering now. And that's how we managed for a long time. Like, I'd be like. I would type bg. She'd send a number with arrows. I'd say, you know, three carbs, five carbs. You know, bolus point this like that. We did that a long time. Like, that is made me really good at it. And it helped her be out in the world without having to stop and start all the time, which I always thought was a big deal. And it really, like, warms my heart to see people doing it, like, all these years later. And now you can pick up your phone, like you said, see the number right there? Contact people quickly. I think texting still to this day is a. Is a diabetes tool. Yes. Yeah.
- [23:50]
B
Especially in our case. 100.
- [23:52]
A
Yeah.
- [23:52]
B
100.
- [23:53]
A
Yeah. With. Especially with children, etc.
- [23:56]
B
And like, you were talking about the technology. You know, you have a lot of people come on with frustrations with, you know, these companies coming out with these new technologies. Once I got caught up on the podcast, I was like, you know what? I'm gonna. I'm gonna go back to the first few episodes and start listening from there. So I'm kind of burning the candle at both ends. And it kind of shocked me when you explained how all that worked back then with the cradle and the older Dexcoms and stuff. I was like, holy cow, this is 10 years ago, and we've got from there to here. And it just kind of shocked me.
- [24:29]
A
Yeah.
- [24:29]
B
How far it's come in that short amount of time.
- [24:31]
A
I had to install one year. I had to install a. I don't even know what they would. But they called it back then. The cell phone company made these extenders, and I had to install one in a central location between all of Arden's middle school classrooms so her phone would work and that I could get her blood. Oh, my God. Like, you should have saw the loop, the hoops I had to jump through to get the school to let me, like, plug this thing in, you know? And the last day of school, I had to go back and get it. They're like, come get your thing. And I was like, also kind of to. To jump into something you said a second ago. I just this morning online saw a post, and it was specifically about people like, this woman's like, this Omnipod 5. I don't like it. It doesn't work. Blah, blah, blah. Look. Look at my kid's blood sugar online. And I started like, picking through, trying to understand who she was like before I answered, right. And you could see that the kids had diabetes for a couple years now. I've been using the iPod 5 for a little while. I looked at some pictures. The kids grown a lot. She had good success with it at first. Doesn't have it now. But what I realized, moreover, is that she came into diabetes at a time. Her son comes into diabetes at a time when the idea was like, put this thing on, put that thing on and push these buttons, and the thing's gonna do the thing. You know what I mean? It's gonna take care of your high. But. And I realized, like, she's having these conversations. She doesn't fundamentally understand how insulin works, I guess. Never had to really. Like, they put it on a more newly diagnosed child whose insulin needs were probably lower. And then the needs grew. The kid got bigger. I could see that in the pictures. And, you know, nobody went back and rechecked these settings. And, you know, and now all of a sudden, she's up to the part where I see people all the time, like, this device doesn't do what it's supposed to. And I'm thinking, like, you're going to switch to another device and have the same exact problem. And so I just said, look, I would look at these episodes that talk about how to figure out where your insulin to carb ratio, where your sensitivity and where your basal should be, and switch that thing back into manual. And let's get those settings straight first. Then when you can do it well in manual for a little bit. Awesome. Then I'd listen to these three tips, these pro tips about Omnipod 5. Make sure you understand how the system actually works. Put the thing back into automation, and then go listen to those pro tip episodes, because I don't know for sure that you understand the impact insulin's having, how to use it, how the timing works and how your different foods are impacting.
- [27:04]
B
And.
- [27:05]
A
And, you know, that might seem like a big thing to do, but, you know, you can't just put this tool in someone's hand, set it up incorrectly, and them not understand why they're pushing the buttons, and then blame the thing because if they get caught in that loop, they're going to change pumps a thousand times. Like, you know, right now, Tandem might be listening, going, oh, this is awesome. They're going to switch from Omnipod 5. Omnipod might be like, oh, my God, no, they're going to leave Omnipod. Like, they're going to leave Omnipod, they're going to go to Tandem, they're going to leave Tandem, they're going to go to Medtronic, they're going to leave Medtronic, they're going to go to Twist. They're going to just keep jumping around thinking that the thing doesn't work and never quite understanding what they're supposed to be doing. And so I've been paying a lot of attention to that lately with more and more aid systems coming up. Anyway, I don't know why I said that. I think it's because it was fresh in my head. Hopefully that fits in the conversation.
- [27:53]
B
I would say that's probably one of the hurdles that I'll put it as I have one leg over. The hurdle right now is adjusting settings on the fly. I just recently actually adjusted them a little bit. We had a, a few weeks stretch where it's just. I'm not sure if he's going through a growth spurt. Nothing physically had changed about him. He was eating about the same, but we were just running high more than I would like to. And it just seemed like we were pumping him full of insulin. Because right now we put in like the minimum 80 units in the Omnipod right now. And typically in the three days, I mean, we may use 30 to 40 units out of it. And we got to a point in that, that few weeks stretch where when we would change it, there'd be 20 units or less. And I'm like, I don't know what's going on. And I just finally, it took me a, you know, a couple changes to recognize, like, maybe something's going on here. Maybe I need to tweak something. So I went in, adjusted the sensitivity and I adjusted the vents on the car. Kind of changed some of the schedules up. And it seems like that has kind of got it under control. I'm not sure about anyone else, but that was one of my biggest. I wouldn't say fears, but just like I said, a hurdle to get over. It's like, I don't need to run to the endocrinologist every time to change this stuff on the fly. I need to try to figure this out on my own because like, we've just. I say we, like I'm on the podcast every day, like has been discussed on the podcast. I mean, you, you know your child or you know yourself better than your endocrinologist or your GP or anyone like that, you know, if you can get over that hurdle of I need to tweak this, then I think it, you know, that just makes it better.
- [29:31]
A
I was on stage last weekend. I gave a couple talks that Touch by Type One, did one with Jenny. We did a cute. We did a. Like an Ask Scott and Jenny. That was awesome. Did this thing in the kids room, which was fantastic. It must have been like, God, there must have been 60 or 70 kids in that room. And, you know, and all different ages. And I just. I sort of do a thing with them where I just kind of go around and, like, they ask questions and, you know, we let them talk to each other. Just let them see how similar their lives are, you know.
- [30:00]
B
Yeah.
- [30:00]
A
And let them ask their questions and make their statements and their pronouncements about things. And then I ran right into a room, gave a talk. I actually based it on the all the Small Sips episodes this year. I basically said, like, you know, like, look, here's the things that people said that helped them from the podcast. These things might help you too. And went through them and towards the end, got the vibe from somebody that they just were unsure, like this, you know, more newly diagnosed. How's this going to go? And I looked up, and I'll be honest, this is the biggest crowd I've ever spoken in front of. You know, there were a lot of people in that room, and it was a giant room. It's a much bigger room than I'd ever spoke in before, like, to the point where you can almost hear your voice echoing off the back. And there were people so far away, you couldn't make out their faces. And I just told. I said to the whole crowd, I said, look, you're all going to be okay. And I said, I've been doing this a really long time. I've spoken to a lot of people. The people who do well have two simple things in common. And I said, you all have one of them today because you're here. I said, the one thing you have to have around diabetes is a desire to understand and to be involved. And you obviously have that, because here you are. And I said, and the other thing that I see successful people have is the confidence and the knowledge to change their settings. That's it. I think if you care and you're involved and you know how to change your settings, that is a huge part of making it through the actual management portion of diabetes.
- [31:27]
B
Yes, just. I mean, just like you said, I mean, it doesn't matter what product you use, if the settings are wrong or if you don't have the confidence or the knowledge to. To work on those and try to make it better, then it's just. You're just going to be in that same situation where you just. You're having poor management. Not necessarily in terms of. Because you don't try, but it's. I don't know if it's a confidence or a fear thing, but if you can get past that, it's going to make it better.
- [31:52]
A
Yeah. You know, it's like getting in a car and not knowing how to drive it, then blaming the car when you lose the race. You know, it's. Yeah. Gosh, I. I think I'll probably just come out and say this. All these systems are great. You know what I mean? Like, I. I mean, I know I. I do ads for a lot of them and thank them all. I hope they keep doing their ads. But, you know, get the Medtronic, get the Omnipod, get the Tandem, get the Twist. Like they're insulin pumps. They have algorithms, they're different. And you're going to find one of them that fits better with your lifestyle or your vibe or the way you do things. There's no doubt about that. There's a better choice for you out there, but I'm not going to tell you that the best choice is A, B, C or D or whatever. It's whatever fits best with you. But in the end, they all have algorithms that work pretty damn well and they're probably all going to keep trying to improve them. A Tandem, just put out a nice little update for theirs. What does it do? Among other things, gives you the opportunity to do extended boluses while you're in Automotion. That's a great ad, I think.
- [32:50]
B
Yes, that would be great.
- [32:51]
A
Yeah. Right. Fantastic. Omnipod 5 is right now in a. They're doing studies to. I think they're. I don't know what they're calling. I can't remember, but it's like a 2.0 version of their algorithm for. For this, like. Right. For, you know, for the back, the way this thing works. And you know what, if Medtronic. Medtronics got a new CGM and that 780G, I hear a lot of people love that pump. Like, I've talked to a lot of people where that pump. Think that pump is awesome. You're going to update the cgm, it's probably that system's going to get better. Twist allows you to target a lower number. It's using, you know, a version of Loop. You think that's going to be the last version of Loop it uses? I bet Not. I bet you they're going to get the okay to like, I bet you they're out there. This stuff is all awesome. You don't know how to use it, you don't know why you're doing what you're doing. It ain't gonna work. And it's all gonna look just as random as if you were on MDI and you didn't know what you were doing, as if you were on a regular manual pump, but you weren't pre bolting your meals. Like, it's all timing and amount people. I really, I don't care if you're using the, the latest and greatest algorithm, if you're using some do it yourself system like Arden is, or anywhere in between. If you don't understand how insulin works, these things are, are not going to work out for you. Your settings have to be right and you have to understand how to use the insulin. Yeah. And, and you're. It sounds like you're doing a pretty good job. First of all, do you think there's any honeymooning for your. For your son or do you think you're at his full need?
- [34:18]
B
I would say it's full on, I would say, which I think I've heard you talk on the podcast about this. You know, it seems like usually when they're diagnosed younger, the honeymoon is not as long. I think we may have had one or two days where we went from, you know, three to four units a day MDI to one unit for the whole day with, with his basil as well. But I mean, we just had a few days shortly after diagnosis. We had that. And then other than that, it's kind of been, I would say, the norm as of right now. So not a lot of honeymooning.
- [34:53]
A
I was interviewing a doctor recently. I do so many of these. Like, I'm sorry if I, if I get this a little wrong, but I feel like what he was telling me was like, yeah, when you're diagnosed really young, you're smaller, your pancreas is smaller, you have fewer beta cells. And I was like, oh, like, that never occurred to me.
- [35:10]
B
Yeah. And it makes sense once someone points it out.
- [35:13]
A
And maybe fewer is not the right word, but like, you know, you're. Whatever. I don't know. You have to find his episode. It was really good. It was the first time I felt sad about Arden being diagnosed when she was younger. Like, I was like, oh, had she been alive longer, maybe there would have been more. And I was like, oh, I didn't think of it like that. And I You know, again, if you're looking for me for the technical explanation, you're in the wrong place. But it was just sort of the way he put it. It touched me. I should find his name and tell people where it's at. But I want to hear more about your story right now. So you have a couple of notes in front of me. I'm going to jump around a little bit. Are you on a GLP medication yourself or are you thinking about doing it?
- [35:57]
B
I am currently not. I'm still kind of on the fence about it. I am pro GLP1. I do believe it helps a lot of people and there's a lot of benefits to it still just considering it right now. And my wife, at the time of the email I sent you, was currently on one. Now she's off of it right now.
- [36:18]
A
So tell me why she started it and why she came off of it.
- [36:21]
B
I think just to help with some weight, to try to get where she wants to be. I think she started on the Manjaro or Manjarno.
- [36:29]
A
Okay.
- [36:30]
B
Started there. I think she got up to, I believe, the second highest dose and kind of plateaued there for a little while. And when she stepped up to the highest dose, that's when she kind of started getting sick from it a lot more. Leading up to that, no real issues. And she had lost some weight, but just like I said, plateaued.
- [36:51]
A
So wait, was she up to 12.5 or 15?
- [36:54]
B
I want to say maybe the 12. Okay.
- [36:57]
A
Was.
- [36:57]
B
I would have to go because. Because this has been a while back now.
- [37:00]
A
Yeah, that's okay. But like, she. So she just did it for weight. So it was Zepp bound or it was somebody.
- [37:05]
B
It was a Mongero.
- [37:06]
A
Somebody gave her Manjaro. She didn't have a pre diabetes diagnosis.
- [37:10]
B
No.
- [37:10]
A
How the hell she got.
- [37:11]
B
I think. I think she was able to do it because she has pcos.
- [37:15]
A
Okay. Okay.
- [37:16]
B
And she actually had it prescribed from her ob.
- [37:19]
A
Ah, I see. And how much weight did she lose?
- [37:22]
B
I believe she lost £20 or so. £20 or £30 right in there.
- [37:26]
A
Did it help her with her PCOS symptoms?
- [37:29]
B
I believe a little bit. Like I said, I still think there's some kind of underlying thyroid issue there, but I think it. Hopefully she doesn't kill me for saying this, but I believe she'd become more regular on it, which she's also taken birth control, but before, even with the bus control, she still was having irregular periods and things like that.
- [37:48]
A
Okay. Oh, Tyler, you're so sweet. I was like, I hope she's not worried about this. I sometimes don't remember that everybody's brain doesn't work like mine because I was like, why would anyone care if you said that? But I.
- [38:00]
B
She knew, she knew I was doing this, but she never really asked like, hey, what are you going to talk about? Or anything like that. So she has no idea her period.
- [38:08]
A
Was going to come up. Okay, so but you're saying at 12 and a half she was doing well, but that at 15 she started not feeling well. What did that? What were the adverse events?
- [38:18]
B
She was having nauseous all the time, throwing up, just felt terrible in General.
- [38:23]
A
On the 15, you think? So did she just go back to the 12.5 then or did she stop using it?
- [38:29]
B
I think she stopped using it for a while and it was fairly quick. And I don't know if it was something, you know, that was already on its way because it was the day after when she went up to the next dose, it was like immediate. Woke up that morning, felt terrible, was throwing up. So she come off of it just because they wouldn't let her refill for the lower dose just because she had just filled the higher dose. So she come off of it until her prescription come up. But I mean it went on for a week or two and she was like, I just don't think I can do it right now again because she just felt that bad.
- [39:02]
A
I see, I see.
- [39:03]
B
Once she kind of got out, not necessarily the habit, but just got out of doing it and she started feeling better. She's like, I'm not sure if I want to do that again. I'm like, well maybe that one just doesn't agree with your body. Maybe you need to try a different one. So she tried the Zepbound and it was the same thing even at the lowest dose, just almost immediate, just that same sick, thrown up things like that.
- [39:23]
A
Because that Bound and Manjaro are the same drug. So like. So after using it for how long?
- [39:27]
B
I want to say it was probably five or six months, I believe.
- [39:31]
A
Interesting. Did she gain the £20 back? Yes, that's the part she's going to be upset with you about. Not the period thing by the way, but so it was really helping her. You think it was helping her metabolically or was it helping her just eat less? How do you think the value was?
- [39:46]
B
I believe it was eating less as well. Just having that like you've talked about the, the noise in your head of food, noise in your head just gone. Helped with that, helped with eating less. She just Felt better in general, had more energy, I guess from. I'm not sure what's happened because I believe she even went back to. I can't remember which one. She even tried another one and still had the same effect. So I'm not sure what goes. She is not on one, but is still considering trying it again. And I actually took advice from you and told her. I was like, well, you know, on the podcast, I'm sure she hates hearing me say this all the time. On the podcast, they micro dose the glp. I was like, maybe that's what we need to try instead is, you know, just start smaller doses and kind of work up from there or try to get that in between.
- [40:36]
A
I am a big believer, Taylor, in the idea that the companies had to do testing on dosing, so they picked doses. I think there's probably also financial reasons around this, but I don't understand that piece of it as much. But as. As raw around the dosing, I think they had to pick plateaus, like, you know, two and a half, five, whatever, seven and a half, like that kind of thing. I think people are shooting that stuff where they could get value out of less of it or maybe more, or having it more frequently or less frequently or whatever. Like, I think there's not dissimilar to insulin. I think that in the future people will think about dosing GLP medications in a more personal way. And, like, Arden has the smallest injector number, and I think she has like 2.5 pens, but we don't use all of that. And if you guys would have. I wish everyone could have seen Arden and I trying to choose lunch yesterday. It was freaking hilarious because I was working downstairs. I bought a laptop last year so I could be a little more mobile and be in the more social part of the house more frequently instead of sitting in my computer all the time. So she's gonna study all day for a French exam. And she's like, do you wanna study with me? And I was like, sure. So we kind of staked our spot out in the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table together. I brought my laptop down. I was writing a. I'm putting together a speech that I'm giving somewhere in a couple of weeks. And she was doing that and she's like, I gotta eat lunch. I haven't eaten today. And it's funny, we don't say I'm hungry, we say I have to eat. It's a different vibe now, right? I said, oh. I said. I say, yeah, okay. I was like, Yeah, I could eat, too. What do you want? She goes, I don't know. And she's like, well, what do you want? I was like, I don't know. And it's not like the. I don't know, like, you know, like, oh, we're all going to the restaurant. We can't pick one of our favorite restaurants to go to. Yeah, you are not hungry in the same way that people think about hunger. So start. She brings one thing up. She goes, what about this? And I said, okay, like, that. That sounds like a good idea. Do you want that? And she goes, I don't know. Just tell me what to eat. We finally, like. She finally kind of landed on an idea, and I was like, all right. But she couldn't commit to it. I was like, you want to do that? Because it was the thing I was going to have to run out and get something for. And she just couldn't commit to it. She's like, just do it. I'll eat it. And that, to me, is if you've never experienced that idea of, you know, you're hungry, it's time to eat, but you don't feel hungry in your stomach, and your brain is not giving you one idea in the world about what you should try to eat. It's a fascinating thing, and I'm sure some people might think it's like, oh, God, that's horrible. You don't crave anything. But if you're a person who craves too much or, you know, has a propensity to overeat or whatever, it just. Man, it just takes that away.
- [43:33]
B
Yeah.
- [43:33]
A
And not only that, but, you know, the week before, she didn't. She didn't have the medication on board because, I mean, I've shared with people on here, like, Arden's got a bit of a needle phobia she's working through. And, you know, there were some weeks that we go to do it, and she just can't bring herself to do it. And so we have to adjust her insulin needs and everything changes, et cetera. But last week, you know, I said to her on Sunday, I was like, you know, try to do the glp. You know, just looks at me like, you know, if you brought it in here, maybe we could try it. You know what I mean? And I was like, okay. So I filled the syringe, I went to her room, but she was in the shower. So I just. I left it, and I thought, like, oh, I'll leave it here on the table. And when, you know, she gets out of the shower. But then I fell asleep. It was the end of the night. Next morning, she sends me a text. She's like, hey, are you. Are you recording right now? And I was like, no. And she's like, could you come here for a second? And I went into her bedroom and she's barely awake. Like, she's literally just pulling herself together and like the first like half conscious words, she's like, I did my shot last night. She was really proud of herself.
- [44:36]
B
That's awesome.
- [44:37]
A
Yeah, yeah. And I was really excited for it. Yeah. Yeah. And. But then, you know, two days later, we're sitting at lunch, she's. I don't know what to eat and she's not using a full dose of the smallest dose. It's fascinating. She can still eat. Like there's not. She's not too overfull or anything like that. But that partner brain is gone and her blood sugars, I wish you could see the difference from the stability today, just last week, even on like more food but less variability. It's really fascinating. So, nevertheless. So what makes you think about doing it?
- [45:11]
B
I guess I would say mainly just the weight loss part of it, but also just I needed. I guess my thought is like, I want to be here longer. Like you've talked about, like, if there's something I can do, something I can take to help me be here longer for my son, for my family, then I need to try to pursue that.
- [45:29]
A
How much weight do you think you have to lose, Taylor?
- [45:31]
B
I would say I think I would be happy with, you know, 30, 40 pounds.
- [45:35]
A
Okay.
- [45:36]
B
I. I work in a pretty active job. I'm climbing ladders and crawling down in pits. You know, I'm working on my hands all the time, but there are. Sometimes I'm in an office for a week at a time. It just kind of depends on what we have going on. So, I mean, it's not like I'm sedentary or anything. There's periods of it, but. Yes, but yeah. So I mean, I still stay pretty active. I think the, the food noise, I would like that to kind of quieten down. But I would say mainly that explain.
- [46:04]
A
It to people like you just bored, you eat or you start eating, you can't stop or what. How would you put it into words?
- [46:10]
B
I would say it's probably like that. For example, I'll leave work, I'm heading home. You know, I know we're going to eat in a couple hours, but I had lunch earlier in the day. I'm not hungry. I know. I'M not hungry. But man, a milkshake and a large fry sounds good right now. You know, something like that, like, it just comes in your head. It's almost like a little earworm. It's like, hey, that sounds good. You should stop. It's on the way home. That sounds like something you need. Stuff like that.
- [46:35]
A
I ran to the grocery store yesterday to pick up three items, and it was at that time of the day. It was like 4:35 o'. Clock. It had been a while since Arden and I had that lunch. It's weird to talk about like, that. Like, I knew I should eat. Like, I knew it was time to eat, that I was hungry, right. That I could eat something if I wanted to, but yet there's no compulsion to do it whatsoever. And compulsion is even the wrong word. There's like, no idea to do it whatsoever.
- [47:02]
B
Yeah.
- [47:02]
A
And I had this, like, thought in the past, I would. There's this one aisle that has like, you know, like small, like, I don't know, little candies or stuff like that. Like a grabbable thing that you'd have a few of and they'd be gone. And it's like a treat, like, as an example. And yeah. I thought about all the times that I've been to that grocery store, walked back up that aisle, spent a dollar or two on something and snacked on something in the car on the way home.
- [47:26]
B
Yes.
- [47:27]
A
And I actually thought, like, is that a thing I'll do today? And then that was it. I was like, no, I. I have no desire. Pictured that aisle in my head, of all the different things that were in it, everything that I thought, I was like, you know what I mean? Like, I just, I felt like, not nauseated by it, but just like, I have no desire to do that whatsoever. And when I tried to consider, like, like, what if I just pushed, Pushed through and grabbed one of those things right now, I was like, I would really hate that. Like, I would really just not want it. It gives you a control over your life that is, if you hadn't had it in the past, is pretty awesome, actually.
- [48:01]
B
Yeah. The weird thing about when it comes to. Or, for example, you know, that gets in my head, it's like, you know, that sounds good. You should have this. But other things in my life, it's easier. I have that control. I can be like, no, I'm not going to do that, or, yeah, I'll do that, or. But when it comes to the food, I guess it's just not the same. Whatever chemicals that they put in, you know, all these foods, it's. It literally has you addicted to it.
- [48:25]
A
Sugar, salt, fat. I believe that's what it is.
- [48:28]
B
That combination, they've got it down.
- [48:30]
A
Yeah. Well, look at you. You're like milkshake, sugar, and then fat and salt on the fries. Perfect.
- [48:36]
B
Yep.
- [48:36]
A
You know what I mean? Perfect. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, they found a way to jack your brain, that's for sure.
- [48:41]
B
Yeah.
- [48:42]
A
So not for nothing, like, you think it's maybe a little bit about weight right now, but more about just overall health and longevity.
- [48:50]
B
Yes. That's the main thing.
- [48:51]
A
Yeah.
- [48:52]
B
You know, if. If I knew. I mean, obviously I'm not at a. A weight that I want to be. Like I said, I can. I'm still active. I still, you know, I don't really have any aches and pains or anything. I can't see, you know, my heart or my liver or kidneys, you know, I can't see that stuff.
- [49:08]
A
Yeah.
- [49:09]
B
And don't know what's going on with it. So I just know, hey, I think eating a milkshake and fries, you know, every so often is probably not the best thing to do, you know, So I would say that's the main thing, is I just want to be here for my family.
- [49:23]
A
Yeah, of course.
- [49:24]
B
As long as I can. Lord willing.
- [49:26]
A
Good for you. That's awesome. I'm glad you're thinking about yourself like that. I mean, so what's stopping you?
- [49:31]
B
I don't know. I guess it's just some hurdle I have to get over mentally. Just getting over the. The stigma. But it's like, oh, well, why can't you just say, no, I'm not going to eat carbs or fries or, you know, why don't you just eat healthier? Why don't you exercise?
- [49:45]
A
That's interesting.
- [49:46]
B
And, you know, I guess just a ridicule from others. It's like, well, why don't you just do this?
- [49:52]
A
You know, well, listen, I'll. I'll share this with you. Right. Again, back to this weekend. I was up on that stage and giving a talk in front of everybody. And, you know, there's, you know, little things you hit along the way. And I. I bring up thyroid stuff for people, by the way, as soon as you bring it up, you know, end of the talk, 20 people come to the stage. Yeah. And they're like, oh, my God, like, wait, my TSH is 4, and I have all those problems. My doctor said I was ok, and I was like, they all, like, go off to help themselves. And I Shared, too. I said, you know, for those of you who have been here for many years, I've been coming to this event since its inception, probably. Gosh, I've probably been there eight times. You know, I forget how long they've been doing even, but I've been at every one of them. There's a Covid year in there. They didn't do it, maybe. And I said, some of you might recognize that I don't look the same anymore. And I said, I just want to be completely clear, like, I lost this weight by using a GLP medication. And if you have any questions about that while I'm walking around, I'd be happy to spend free time talking with you about it. I know there can be a stigma around it, but here's some other things that I've seen it help people with. And there's a couple of episodes you might want to go listen to if you want to hear about some impacts that people with type one have had or people with type two. And people started to clap, and I put my hand up. I was like, oh, I don't really do much.
- [51:09]
B
It's like, I'll take it, though.
- [51:10]
A
But then somebody pulled me aside later and said, no, I'm on a glp, too. You did a lot more than you think. It's not just a commitment of sticking yourself once a week with the thing. It is all the other stuff that comes with it. It's more about the psychological stuff, the fundamental shift about how you think about food or that you have to consider what you're talking about. Am I cheating? Am I giving up? Am I not doing a thing I should be doing? Is this. I don't know, whatever thought popped into your head. And all I can tell you is that that's. You're not going to care about any of that when you're clutching your heart and going to the floor 25 years from now when you're like, oh, no, you're not going to go. Like, I could be not having a heart attack right now, but I didn't want to cheat.
- [51:53]
B
Yes.
- [51:54]
A
It's all bull, Taylor. You know what I mean? Like, and I wouldn't.
- [51:57]
B
Yeah.
- [51:57]
A
And in the end, what I would tell you is those people in that room are very supportive. And I'll tell you the same thing that I would tell my kids when they were growing up. Like, people who don't have our best interest at heart, we don't care what they think.
- [52:10]
B
Yeah.
- [52:10]
A
You know, so trust me, those are just people wanting to judge something.
- [52:16]
B
Yeah. Always.
- [52:17]
A
Yeah. Yeah. I don't know what, I don't know what, what, what they're missing in their life, but, like, don't let them take it out on yours. Yeah. Diabetes wise, like, going back to your son for, for a bit here. You've talked a lot about, you know, you, the podcast and listening to the podcast and everything. Like, could you, could you give anybody who's got like a newly diagnosed kid, like, a little bit of like, like what helped you here? You know, what was your takeaways that, that were valuable for you?
- [52:43]
B
Honestly believe the, what you've always said, just be bold with insulin. Because I think that was one of our biggest fears when we were first diagnosed. Like, we don't want to give too much. You know, we're afraid we're going to hurt him or even worse, you know, kill our, our kid. That is still new to us. I mean, he's two years old, so. And we just got trouble getting. Yeah, we just got him. And we also had trouble getting pregnant and everything. So. Like it.
- [53:10]
A
When I almost asked. PCOS made it more difficult for to have the baby, right?
- [53:16]
B
Yes, yes. We had one miscarriage, unfortunately.
- [53:19]
A
I'm sorry.
- [53:20]
B
In terms of some people I know, you know, there's some people, they've tried for 10 plus years and finally have a child. And that's wonderful. I'm all for that. You know, that that makes me happy when someone else has a child of their own, because it's just a feeling you can't really describe.
- [53:33]
A
Yeah, it's joyous.
- [53:34]
B
I think it took us about two years. We did take a, you know, short break there for a little while after the miscarriage. So, I mean, it took us a little over two years to have our son. And like I said, we were just scared to death of doing something that would hurt him. And it just, eventually I just kind of got over that and I'm like, we have to get this blood sugar down. Like, we need to get more insulin, you know, if it's high, you know, things like that.
- [54:00]
A
Right.
- [54:01]
B
And just give yourself more credit. I'm going to say this, and don't take it the wrong way, but people that have good results, it's due to what they do. Not because of what you've said, because you're not. I mean, what you've said is correct. And you give them the tools to do it. But give yourself more credit because Scott is not doing that for you. Scott give you the tools. You have to do it. So give yourself more credit.
- [54:26]
A
You know, I try Very hard to tell people all the time when anybody, you know, very graciously will reach out and they'll say eventually something like, you know, look what you did for me. Or I. I'm like, I didn't do any of this. Like, that's. First of all, someone else should have told you this a long time ago. And I'm not some great genius. I don't understand a thing. You don't understand. You know, I've laid some ideas out in front of you. You've decided which ones fit in your life best, and then you're doing the hard work. You're putting them into practice. You're remembering to do them every day. You're learning things, going off on your own.
- [55:00]
B
Yes.
- [55:00]
A
You know, I. I guess I've said this in a lot of different ways. I really do see myself as, like, the coach. It's just yelling at you, like, get out there. You can do it. You know what I mean? Like. Like, you know, just go, go, go try the thing. It's gonna work. Like, you know, run the play. If it doesn't work, run it again. You know, we'll get there. Like, you know, let's be together on this. I really just think I'm a cheerleader, like, to a great degree, you know, and I might be a cheerleader who first says, like, hey, you know, you got to understand how this works. And, you know, you can't just go out there blind. You're going to have to have some. Some tools and knowledge. But, you know, I'd even go so far as to. Is to want to be honest and tell you that in the beginning, I didn't realize all that. Like, in the beginning, I thought, like, well, this is how I do it. If they do it like this, they'll be okay. And it is until I put it out there for so long that I realized that you guys were gonna cherry pick from what I was talking about. And it wouldn't just be from me, but it would be from other people that came on the podcast and shared their ideas. And, like, you're gonna cherry pick from all of this and build your own thing and make it work best for you. And then again, if you don't do the work and you don't put in the effort, none of that's gonna matter anyway. And so I agree with you. I agree with you.
- [56:13]
B
Like you said, the tools are there. I mean, there's some things, like, I think you've kind of said, you kind of have to read between the lines, because what works for this person may not exactly work for you, but you can take what they've done and kind of tweak it for yourself. When my son was diagnosed, I think his A1C was like 9.5, so, I mean, it was pretty high for a two year old and within a year's time. We just recently went to the endo maybe a month or so ago, and we're all the way down to 6.2. Just, just from putting to practice. What I've learned from this. Oh, that's because we have. We have no one else personally that we know other than my cousin. That's top one where we live. So it's kind of. It's hard to get ideas off other people or, you know, see what they're doing.
- [57:02]
A
Well, that's really well done, Taylor. Good job. Because how do you find the podcast? Like, how do you, like, find it to begin with?
- [57:09]
B
It's kind of funny. My wife is not a podcast listener, but also at her job, she works in the school system, like I said, so she doesn't really have the time to sit down when you have 30 kids running around a room to sit down and listen to a podcast. But once we were admitted to the picu, I guess my wife got online and was looking up different things. She was like, hey, have you heard of this podcast? I'm like, no, because she knows I listen to podcasts because I'm able to with the job I do throughout the day. And I was like, no, I haven't heard of it, but I'll, you know, I'll look into it. And a month or so went by, and then one day I was just like. Like, I kind of forgot about that. I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna look for that and listen to it and just put it on kind of listening. And I guess the turning point was, I don't. I think I started listening in the 1200s. Somewhere in there is when I first started listening and you had said your daughter was diagnosed at 2 years old as well. And it's like my ears just immediately turned on. I was like, what did he just say?
- [58:03]
A
Oh, no.
- [58:04]
B
I felt like I wasn't alone, you know?
- [58:06]
A
Yeah, yeah, no kidding.
- [58:07]
B
And just from there, I've just started listening from there.
- [58:11]
A
I'm forever gonna be fascinated by the different roads that people get to it. That pit hit you and captured your. Your idea. I think some people make it because they're lost or some people are, you know, like they feel like they've tried everything they can and they're willing to like, Well, I guess I'm like, I mean, because, I mean, it sounds ridiculous, right? Like, I listen to a podcast and it helps me with my diabetes, like, get. It's, you know. Yeah.
- [58:35]
B
You're like, there's no way that works.
- [58:36]
A
Yeah, right. I swear to you, I. I would think the same thing. Like, if I intersected myself, I'd be like this. Probably some bull. I would feel the same way. It's not until you dig into it and you really find out. It's interesting to me to know that you were aware of it for months before you listened. I just got another one of those letters again recently where the person's like, hey, I started listening and really did not like you and then came back to it. And then, you know, now we're really having a lot of success because of the podcast and Etc. Like, it's fascinating all the different ways that I don't know that people end up here eventually.
- [59:11]
B
Yeah.
- [59:11]
A
Yeah. I appreciate you sharing that with me. I really do. It's very, really lovely of you to want to do this. Well, so then that's my. Really, my last question is, like, what motivates you to want to be on the podcast after, you know, after this year?
- [59:23]
B
At the time, I hadn't heard a lot of guests come on that had, you know, early diagnosis stories. You know, same. Like a lot of the people you've had on, it's like me or my child have, you know, we're five years after diagnosis, three years after diagnosis. And when I applied to try to come on, at the time, we weren't even to a year yet, and I just kind of wanted to give my perspective to someone that's in the grand scheme of things, very early diagnosis.
- [59:48]
A
Right.
- [59:49]
B
And pretty much to let those people, maybe someone, when this episode comes out, this. That's their first one they listen to and just let them know, like, it's gonna be fine. Use this podcast as a tool. You can figure it out. It's gonna be all right.
- [60:06]
A
That's a good message. I'm up for that. All right, well, the only thing that we didn't accomplish today, Taylor, is we didn't come up with a catchy title for your episode. That hurts me. You didn't say anything ridiculous?
- [60:20]
B
No. Other than the negotiating with terrorists.
- [60:24]
A
Well, yeah, you know what? That was good.
- [60:29]
B
Like, please eat this food. It's almost like, yes, we'll give you a million dollars in a helicopter to escape.
- [60:33]
A
I don't really care. It's fine. We'll do whatever you want to do. We need to get past this part right here. I've had that feel. I've begged in those situations, too. Like, please, just take a bite of this or that. That horrible feeling like, you're not hungry. We already pushed the plunger. Like, that's.
- [60:49]
B
Yeah, it's already in you. Like, we have to do something.
- [60:52]
A
Oh, my gosh.
- [60:54]
B
I would say one of our. One of the times we were, like, almost frantic that we were like, you have to eat. This was this last Thanksgiving, so it's first Thanksgiving post diagnosis, and we made a plate, and it was the most insulin we'd ever give him at one time. And we give him the insulin, and then he's like, I don't want to eat. We're like. We almost immediately lost it. We're like, we've never given him this much insulin. Like, please, you have to do something. Which we did it. We did have a low then, but we were able to catch it. It wasn't his lowest low that we've ever seen.
- [61:26]
A
But I would have whipped the pie out, Taylor. I would have pulled the pie out right away. I would have been like, immediately, just.
- [61:32]
B
Like, here, please, dessert for dinner.
- [61:34]
A
Here you go, buddy.
- [61:35]
B
Eat something.
- [61:36]
A
Do you like an apple pie? Huh? That'd be awesome, wouldn't it? What did you end up doing? Did you talk him into eating something or.
- [61:42]
B
Pretty much like you said, kind of got some kind of dessert out, and it's like, here, eat this. And then once he had that, he was like, oh, now I'm gonna eat my other food. And it's like, we didn't account for the dessert part. Now we're going to have to wait till this comes up. Catch it on the back end, you know?
- [61:54]
A
But you figured it out, right?
- [61:56]
B
Yeah, we did. Yeah, you know, we did have a low, and we had a immediate hot back afterwards. But, you know, give it some time, you know, let it play out, and we, you know, got back in range.
- [62:08]
A
I think that that day probably lent you more. More knowledge and experience than you even realize right now. You'll pull from that experience multiple times.
- [62:18]
B
Yes.
- [62:18]
A
If you already have it.
- [62:20]
B
To put it bluntly, having the balls of steel when you're like, my son will be at daycare and, like, he's going low. We've told, you know, the people that run the daycare, like, okay, give him this. Give him this. And, like, you're just sitting there, like, waiting to pull, you know, tell him to give him more. Like, you're waiting to see that you Know, curve, flatten out from the low. Like, you just literally have to. Like you've said. I don't remember how you word it, but, like, you know what's going to happen. Just like, wait for it to happen.
- [62:47]
A
Yeah, but you have to trust that what. What you know is going to happen is going to happen. And then act at the appropriate time.
- [62:55]
B
Yes. It's just kind of hard for us because we're, both of us, where we work, we're like 30 minutes away. So it's not like we could get there in a short amount of time.
- [63:02]
A
Feels like if something really got sideways, it would be too late by the time you got there.
- [63:07]
B
Yeah. And we have had a situation at daycare where I have called them and I'm like, I'm not trying to scare you, but his glucagon is there and explained the whole deal. And I'm like, look on the package. It'll tell you how to. But I'm also going to tell you how to do it. Only use this in this situation. Like, I'm just letting you know. And then my wife had called him and kind of explained the same thing as well, because she didn't know I called. She just seen the number. And then we. We communicated after the fact. It's like, oh, yeah, I just called him too. Which, you know, luckily we didn't have to use that. But after the fact, when we went to pick him up, they're like, we prefer to talk to him. He was a little more calm.
- [63:47]
A
Your wife was coming hard.
- [63:49]
B
Yeah. She wasn't like super frantic, but she, like, I guess they could tell in her voice, like, she was pretty worried about it. And I just tried to stay calm. I'm like, this is, you know, this is what could happen. Just so you're aware, this is how you take care of it.
- [64:02]
A
She was like, don't you let my baby die. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [64:07]
B
Which we broke a record the other day in terms of blow while at daycare or not at daycare. That was the other night, actually. It was one of those stubborn. Like, we didn't overdose for food. I'm not sure what was going on. It just kept dropping and dropping and dropping. We actually kind of underdosed for what we thought because he was a little bit on the lower end. We didn't give him as much food.
- [64:25]
A
Okay.
- [64:26]
B
And eventually said low. And we're like, okay, like, let's check this just to make sure. And sure enough, we were at like 28. And we're like, holy crap.
- [64:35]
A
My gosh.
- [64:36]
B
Like, that is not good. Which we knew we'd already given plenty of stuff to try to get that up. So I know it's going to take some time, but I mean, that one, once I've seen that 28 come up, I'm like, my eyes just popped out of my head. I'm like, holy crap.
- [64:49]
A
You don't have any feeling for how it got to that?
- [64:52]
B
No, no. Just normal. Kind of normal. Dinner, actually, like I said, a little bit less than what we would normally give him, just because we knew he'd be up and around and kind of active. And this was after we actually had gotten bed to go to sleep because we kind of leveled out after the meal. And then it just started slowly creeping down. And then, like I said, I don't know what it is, but even if we're just slowly creeping down in, like the 70s and 80s, it's almost like just someone pulls a lever and then we're just dropping.
- [65:20]
A
Wow. Yeah. Is activity you think?
- [65:23]
B
I mean, it could be, but I'm not nearly as knowledgeable. But it seems like I'm not sure if it's after he's kind of calmed down and we're, you know, ready to get in bed, if all of that just kind of starts working then. Because I would think he would start working. Oh. As he's doing whatever the activity is, whether he's running around the house or playing or something like that. Jumping off my head onto the. The couch or something, you know, head diving.
- [65:48]
A
So you think that when the day winds down, he starts to calm down and relax, his blood sugar starts to drop.
- [65:54]
B
It seems like it for some reason.
- [65:56]
A
Interesting.
- [65:57]
B
I'm still kind of testing that theory. But then. Then also, you know, we'll be in a good range and then middle of the night, you know, he has some kind of spike in the middle of the night. It's like you're asleep, you've not ate anything. It was stable coming into the night, you know.
- [66:10]
A
Yeah.
- [66:11]
B
Not sure what's going on there. And there's sometimes, you know, we have to wake up and dose.
- [66:15]
A
Yeah. It ain't a whole lot of fun with the diabetes, I'll tell you that.
- [66:19]
B
No, I would not recommend it to anybody.
- [66:21]
A
Yeah, what's that? That meme like diabetes. Do not recommend something like that. It's like. Yeah, I agree. I genuinely appreciate you coming on, spending the time. I know you're at work, so it's nice of you to be here and to share your story like this. And I do think we now call the episode Balls of Steel. So that'll be good. So I appreciate you appreciate. I appreciate you coming through at the very end there. Thank you.
- [66:44]
B
Yes, no problem. I appreciate it.
- [66:46]
A
Of course. Yeah. Hold on one second for me. Okay.
- [66:49]
B
All right.
- [66:55]
A
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