Scott (3:06)

Something you want to get Out. Sure.

Claire (3:08)

We'll find a way to share. Want to collaborate?

Scott (3:10)

Yeah. And Claire, I don't want to make you feel badly, but the person I interviewed yesterday had listened to 1500 of the episodes. So I'd like to suggest that maybe you quit your job or stop taking care of your family or whatever it is that takes up your time and. And listen to more of my podcast, please.

Claire (3:25)

Yes. On five times. Speed.

Scott (3:27)

Thank you. I don't care how you do it, Just do it.

Claire (3:30)

So I talked to somebody who listened to all the podcast episodes or claims to, so.

Scott (3:35)

What do you mean, claims to? Of course they have. I haven't heard all the episodes of the podcast. I mean, I've. I've been involved in them, but I've. I've not listened to them back. Who? The person that you. That you talked to. Were they the person who introduced you to the podcast?

Claire (3:52)

I'm not sure the exact person, but there's a support group, a type 1 support group that I joined, and that definitely was how I learned about the podcast. Somebody in that group, um, and then there's somebody in the group who says that they listen to all of them.

Scott (4:04)

Is that an in person group or online?

Claire (4:07)

It was in person, and then once Covid happened, it was online and virtual.

Scott (4:10)

Oh, so you found a support group prior to 2020?

Claire (4:15)

Correct.

Scott (4:15)

Oh, what. What sent you? So wait a minute. That's like five years ago. So you were a few years into your diabetes and you thought, I need to meet more people who have Type one. What. What drove you to. To seek those people out?

Claire (4:29)

I was kind of peer pressured into joining the group. I had run into somebody in person. They're like, why are you not in a support group? You should join our support group. I was like, what? Okay, so joined the support group. And that was about a year into my diagnosis.

Scott (4:42)

Okay, cultists. Did you find? Yeah, yeah. They were just. They're trying to build a. A small army of people with type 1.

Claire (4:49)

I did feel a little pressured, but, like, in a good way, you know? Okay, just like, why are you not in a support group? You should join our support group.

Scott (4:57)

What did you. What did you gain from.

Claire (5:01)

Was definitely nice to have that community. You feel less alone. Everyone's got their own little pro tips. So I showed up there, pretty newly diagnosed, and everyone's like, oh, you don't have a cgm. Look what it can do. You don't have a pump. Look what it can do. And I was like, whoa. Okay. I was like, I was just looking to come and Meet some people. But now you guys are like, showing me. I don't know, they just kind of showed me the ropes. And it was different hearing it from somebody living with it than a doctor. When your doctor's like, oh, these things are out there, I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, cool. What do I have to do now?

Scott (5:35)

So at first they feel like the people at Costco trying to get you to drink coconut water, but then it quickly you decide, this is valuable. I should maybe hear what these people have to say and look into this stuff.

Claire (5:47)

Yeah. And more eye opening. And it's kind of like drinking from the fire hose. At the beginning. When you're getting diagnosed, you're. I'm like, I'm just trying to get day to day, you know, try and figure out what's going on here. Just day to day, minute to minute, meal to meal.

Scott (6:00)

Yeah.

Claire (6:00)

And then so going to the doctor and having them talk about all the technology is just like a little overwhelming. I was like, all right, let me just take this one bite at a time. But it was cool to hear other people's experience with it. Spent a little more time learning about it. Instead of a 15 minute doctor's appointment, it was like an hour or two meeting. And then, you know, during the meeting, everything's beeping, everyone's beeping, and, you know, nobody flinches because it's so normal. So it was just. It was just interesting to be in that environment because I'd never been surrounded by type ones before.

Scott (6:33)

Yeah, did so that's cool. Did you find it, like. Obviously you found it easier to get information from the support group than from the doctor. But why. What. What about at the doctor's office makes that difficult?

Claire (6:46)

I think, because it's brief and I love Mayendo, but they don't have type one and, you know, they have to get their checklisty things done. And it's different when you're sitting with somebody with a little more time. There's less time constraint, there's less of an agenda. It's more just natural flow. And then they can also give you their real life experience. Experience about why it's helpful for them and why it's meaningful for them.

Scott (7:12)

I see.

Claire (7:13)

So I think that was different.

Scott (7:15)

And then at some point. I'm sorry, at some point they say something that just like, connects with you. Right. And you go, oh, that is a struggle I have or a concern I have or something I'm trying to get to. And then that helps you kind of key in on the thing that they're saying, being potentially valuable for you.

Claire (7:31)

Yeah, like real life examples. And I was running a lot at the time, and my friends were explaining, like, oh, well, you could see what your numbers are doing while you're running. And I was like, oh, that would be really nice. So I did. I did get on the CGM quite quickly after hearing their experiences and seeing the value in it.

Scott (7:51)

Okay, awesome. And what did you learn? What did you learn in that? Because it had been a year. Right. And you. And you slap on a cgm. I'm interested in your. Your initial takeaway is as soon as you could see your blood sugar 24. 7. Like that.

Claire (8:03)

Yeah. I think I kind of label it. I had a little bit of, like, a CGM depression almost, because when I was doing finger sticks, my numbers were nine times out of ten really good. So I was like, I've got this. I've got this. You know, I got this down. But then when I could see what was happening between those snapshots, between those finger sticks, I was having these huge swings. So great that, you know, five times a day I was in range, but I had no idea what was happening in between. And so I kind of had this moment of like, oh, I thought I was doing a great job. Oh, no, I'm doing terribly. But then it was, like, motivation to do better, to learn more, to try and fix those spikes. And then again, kind of circled back to, like, information gathering, seeking, using my peer support group to kind of help figure out, like, where else to go. And I think at that point, somebody had either mentioned Juice Box Podcast or at that time, had mentioned Juice Box Podcast. And I was like, okay. Like, I just began to just devour information. Not. Not listening to all your podcasts.

Scott (9:00)

But I was just teasing you. Listen, if any of you are listening to all of them, that's awesome. I don't expect you all to do that, but. So I guess I want to stay for one more second in this idea of, like. Because it sounds like it's not a linear process. You didn't just. It wasn't step one to step ten, and now I understand better. You got diagnosed, you thought you were doing great, met some people, they gave you some suggestions. You filtered through them. Eventually you end up on a cgm. You go, oh, what I thought was happening isn't happening. You get that moment of like. I mean, it probably makes you feel like, oh, I've been putting all this effort into this, and it's not even working. But. But instead of feeling that way, you say, well, at least I know now I'll go look for more tools. And so this is sort of a. I guess the way I think about it is more about how I feel like people find the podcast, because I think what can happen is that people can find it podcast or the. Or the Facebook group, right? They find it either at the right time when they're looking for it, or not at the right time. But a lot of them can find their way back to it if, when they initially intersected, it wasn't the right time for them. And it makes me like, I think of it more from my perspective, but to. To sit back and listen to you talk about it, it almost feels like you're. What's that game we played when we were kids? Like you to run over the line and grab something and get back before somebody hit you with something. Do you remember that? Are you not old enough for that? Did you grow up when they. You weren't allowed to throw things at people?

Claire (10:32)

I think we could still throw things.

Scott (10:33)

You're still allowed to throw things.

Claire (10:35)

Kick the can, Red rover, all that.

Scott (10:39)

Kind of physical stuff. I think it's more like that where like, you sometimes, like, you're outside of it for a minute, and then you think, oh, I need a thing. I gotta run back in and grab it. Hey, you go get back and get it. You bring your piece back, you build a little more, you go back again. Like, some people learn that way. Yeah, that sounds like where you are.

Claire (10:57)

Yeah, I was just kind of taking it like, one kind of thing at a time, one phase at a time. And I think, yeah, I was initially, like, kind of overwhelmed, but then just kind of took it one. One piece, one thing at a time. But getting diagnosed in my late 20s, like, from day one, every time I walked in that office, they're like, okay, pregnancy. I was like, whoa, not even married. But it was just so. I mean, they were doing their job. They're like woman of childbearing age. But every time I walked in there, like, pregnancy, I'm like, no, no. So in the back of my mind being, you know, in my late 20s, I was like, okay, this is like a thing, so I need to eventually kind of figure this out. Maybe my endo was always just like, give me your a year notice if you ever want to get pregnant. Like, okay, cool, fun. I'll call you later.

Scott (11:48)

You had to pre bullish your baby, basically.

Claire (11:51)

I was like, so let me do, like, some reverse calculations here. No, I'm just kidding. But that was an interesting dynamic going in I'm like, I'm 28 year old female or 29 year old female, but like, no, not yet. But in their mind I'm you know, like 20s female, so.

Scott (12:08)

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Claire (14:39)

Like, a little bit, but also just, you know, they're just looking at me like a number on a paper, and I'm like, okay, so just so you know where I am in my life, nowhere near close to having a kid.

Scott (14:48)

Yeah.

Claire (14:49)

But also it did give me the sense of, like, that is a thing. Because I had no idea when I was diagnosed how tightly controlled your blood sugars need to be for a healthy pregnancy. Just wasn't on my radar. I was like, how do. How do I eat my lunch today? Like, let's talk about that. I'm still trying to figure out my basal insulin. Like, let's talk about that.

Scott (15:07)

I'm staring at my food, and I feel like I'm gonna cry. Is there a way we could get past this, please?

Claire (15:11)

Yes.

Scott (15:12)

Yeah. Yeah.

Claire (15:13)

Can I eat this? Can I not eat this? Yeah. You know, an initial diagnosis, it could be like the sliding scale of. I don't know. It's just.

Scott (15:22)

Did they give you. They started you. Sliding scale?

Claire (15:24)

Yeah.

Scott (15:25)

About. Where in the country are you?

Claire (15:28)

I'm on the east coast, and I'm outside of a major city.

Scott (15:32)

Okay.

Claire (15:33)

But I'm not rural. But, yeah, I got started. This is actually kind of crazy. I got diagnosed on my lunch break at work. Went to the doctor on my lunch break, and they handed me insulin pens. I'm like, okay, here you go. Inject. What are you talking about?

Scott (15:48)

What got you moving to the doctor? How were you feeling?

Claire (15:52)

I was feeling pretty bad at that point. Long story short, I ended up running a marathon, which was awesome. Caught the flu because your immune system gets a big hit when you do intense exercise like that. And then I just, like, never recovered from the flu. So I'd lost a lot of weight. I wasn't getting it back. Everyone was like, are you okay? I was like, oh, yeah. I just ran a marathon and got the flu. It's a great diet. You should try it. Just kidding. But I was very underweight, and I started getting thirsty, peeing a lot, yada yada. And I had a random. It was a cholesterol test, and I didn't realize, but they also check your blood sugar with that. Or I guess that's you can. And they called me over and sat me down. They're like, are you okay? I was like, what are you. What are you talking about? What's my cholesterol? And they're like, no, no, your blood sugar is really high. And I was like, what are you talking about? So they suggested I see an endo. Probably should have just gone to the emergency department, but I was just following their orders, like, go see an endocrinologist because your blood Sugar is over 300. I was like, okay, you think they.

Scott (16:58)

Thought you had type 2 diabetes at that point?

Claire (17:01)

I think they were a little confused. And I was otherwise, like, besides being underweight and recently ill, probably looking healthy, but looking back, I'm like, maybe I should have just gone to the emergency room. But I think I was also in denial, too. It was like, I'm too old for type one and too healthy for type two. Like, I just ran a marathon also. Both of those things are not true. Those are just, you know, some assumptions that I had made at the time. Right.

Scott (17:24)

Stuck in your head. How did you even have an assumption about that?

Claire (17:29)

Just when they were they. When they checked my blood sugar and it was high, I was like, how's that possible? Like, I'm in my late 20s. Like, and not realizing you could get diagnosis type one as an adult in my head, I was like, oh, I'm too old for type one because that's for kids. And then I don't think I have type 2 because I just ran a marathon, you know?

Scott (17:47)

Why did you think type one was for kids? Like, do you know how you had that idea?

Claire (17:51)

I think it's just lack of awareness, lack of information. I never really knew any type ones growing up. I just didn't know.

Scott (18:01)

Yeah, okay, that's interesting. So you're on your. On your. On your lunch break. Do you go back to work and go back to work?

Claire (18:10)

I did. I did. I went back to work. And I was like, okay. I purposely didn't call my parents. I was like, I can't call them right now because I'm going to, like, lose it.

Scott (18:19)

So.

Claire (18:20)

So I called them at the end of the day. We all had a little cry on the phone, and it's like, all right, what's next?

Scott (18:27)

What's that? Like, when you feel like you're too old to be parented but still would like to talk to your parents? Is like, do you think. I guess I'm asking, like, why did you reach out to them? And what do you think their response was when they hung up the phone? Like, have you ever talked about that in hindsight, like how it made them feel to know that this had happened to you, but you were older and not really under their roof any longer. This episode is brought to you by Omnipod. Would you ever buy a car without test driving it first? That's a big risk to take on a pretty large investment. You wouldn't do that, right? So why would you do it? When it comes to choosing an insulin pump, most pumps come with a four year lock in period through the DME channel and you don't even get to try it first. But not Omnipod 5. Omnipod 5 is available exclusively through the pharmacy, which means it doesn't come with a typical four year DME lock in period. Plus, you can get started with a free 30 day trial to be sure it's the right choice for you or your family. My daughter has been wearing an Omnipod every day for 17 years. Are you ready to give Omnipod5 a try? Request your free starter kit today at My Link Omnibus Omnipod.com Juicebox terms and conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox find my link in the show notes of this podcast player or@juiceboxpodcast.com.

Claire (19:56)

Yeah, I think they probably felt like a whole spectrum of emotions and we talked about a little bit, but not recently. So I think part of them felt like guilty. Like it was their genes that did it right. But it really doesn't run in our family. That also felt bad that they weren't like physically with me. They also, I think felt some component of maybe relief that like they didn't have to go through me as a child and them having to manage my blood sugar and, you know, being worried when I was out or worried in the middle of the night and all of that stuff, which I'm sure you can relate to. Like they, they didn't have to do that. So they were kind of, probably kind of like, oh, kind of got lucky with that.

Scott (20:40)

I don't know if they felt lucky. I bet you they felt like, I wish we could have been like more involved.

Claire (20:45)

Yeah. You think there's more they could do?

Scott (20:48)

Yeah. Are they that kind of people? Maybe I'm just putting my feelings onto them.

Claire (20:52)

Yeah. No, they're great. Yeah. I think they just kind of felt bad. They weren't like there, there wasn't anything they could really do in that moment except for like be there for me.

Scott (21:04)

Yeah. And, and what did that look like?

Claire (21:09)

I think just lots of lots of phone calls, lots of on the phone. And I think they probably would have jumped on a plane to come see me that weekend. But I was going out of town that weekend, which is also crazy.

Scott (21:26)

Where did you go?

Claire (21:28)

I. I was diagnosed on a Wednesday of my lunch break, and Sunday, I had already bought and paid for my ticket to go to Sydney, Australia. So I got on an international flight on Sunday.

Scott (21:39)

Okay, hold on. That. I. You know, I thought you were gonna be like, I. I went away for the weekend. And that's. I was like, oh, that's not crazy. So did you have a diagnosis? You hadn't seen the endo by then, right?

Claire (21:50)

Oh, I saw the endo Wednesday, lunch break, and they were like, look, I think it's type one. We'll do the blood work. If the blood work comes back negative, then we have to do some imaging to make sure it's not pancreatic cancer. I was like, okay, cool. And the blood work came back, and I had a voicemail from the doctor. It was like, yep, give antibodies. It's type one. Keep doing that sliding scale we talked about. I think she wanted me to come back, like, as soon as I was back in the country. Like, you know, soon, like two weeks later. But, yeah, looking back on it, I'm like, what was I thinking? But, yeah, I got on an international plane flight, and.

Scott (22:25)

And it worked. You were okay?

Claire (22:27)

I was okay. I filled my insulin prescription on the way to the airport.

Scott (22:30)

Oh, my God.

Claire (22:32)

I know. It was crazy. I tried to get it filled the night before, and the pharmacy I went to is out. So in my defense, I did try and go the night before, so I had to go to another pharmacy.

Scott (22:45)

What? If you would have not been able to fill that on the way to the airport, do you think something would have stopped you from getting on the plane?

Claire (22:52)

Maybe. But I did have at least a couple sample pens, but then I didn't know how many pens to bring. I brought way too many. But I knew when I got to Australia, I would be okay.

Scott (23:05)

Why is that?

Claire (23:07)

I was with good family friends in Australia.

Scott (23:10)

Okay.

Claire (23:11)

And one of them is a nurse. And they. They knew. They knew what was coming in.

Scott (23:18)

Yeah. What was coming in. I like how you talk. You're you talking about yourself like you're a package.

Claire (23:23)

Well, at that point, I was. I was. I was a bit of a. Bit of a mess, But I came in.

Scott (23:27)

I'm going to jump ahead to jump backwards. Right. Do you have kids now?

Claire (23:31)

I do.

Scott (23:33)

Imagine this happened to one of them, you know? What would you Say to them, if they were like, I'm still going to.

Claire (23:39)

Australia, I'd be like, are you sure? I'm coming with.

Scott (23:43)

Sure you can come, but I'm going.

Claire (23:45)

Yeah, I'm coming too. And I would be like, you're getting all the technology right now, right?

Scott (23:51)

Yeah. Yeah. I wonder if, I wonder if there's not a ton of value in doing that. Not even knowing it was that much of a risk, but taking it, living through it. Like, I imagine there's a ton of value for you, like, long term, but that's only because it went well, right? Like, if something would have got upside down, then, you know, you'd be on here right now saying like, oh, I've made biggest mistake. I did this thing. I shouldn't have done it. I didn't know what I was doing enough with diabetes. I had to stay home. It's interesting how just maybe a little bit of the randomness of it outlines how it is. We're going to talk about it later, but that's crazy. Okay, so you get back, fast forward a year later, you're looking for a support group. Well, you're not looking for a support group. People force you to go to a support group.

Claire (24:38)

Kind of, yeah.

Scott (24:39)

You get good stuff out of that, you're on your way. Eventually you make it to the podcast. And where would you describe the level of your, I don't know, knowledge base the day before you started listening and. And how did it help you?

Claire (24:54)

I think at first it was, I was kind of seeking more community, more stories, you know, because everybody has a diagnosis story, and most of them are interesting, some of them are terrifying. So part of me is like, oh, you know, you know, I wasn't diagnosed in a coma. I didn't end up in a hospital. Like, I'm very grateful for that. And then as the podcast evolved and you guys started doing more of like the pro tip stuff, I started listening more of those just to, like, learn more about, you know, how food hits you versus how insulin hits you and how the timing is so critical and the amount. Eventually I switched to a pump. So when the time came where I wanted to switch to a pump, I definitely listened to some episodes around that just to gather more information, more people's real life experiences. I definitely listened to a bunch of the interviews with the employees of Dexcom Omnipod. All of those I just found really interesting, just to learn more about the products and the technology.

Scott (26:04)

Interesting. When do you think, what year was it when you started listening?

Claire (26:08)

It was, I think I Learned about it was probably like 20, 16, 17. And then I went through phases of listening to episodes and then kind of taking a break. But I definitely lean more into the listening more episodes around when Dexcom was going from G5, G6, G7, when Omnipod came out with the Omnipod 5.

Scott (26:33)

You've been listening for a long time.

Claire (26:37)

Yeah.

Scott (26:37)

Yeah.

Claire (26:38)

Because I think I started, you know, over the 10 year history I've had with diabetes. I think I started pretty early on. Um, but it was more just like dabbling here and there and then seeking out the episodes that I thought I would gain more from.

Scott (26:51)

Yeah.

Claire (26:52)

And I had met my husband. Ironically, I met my husband one month after I was diagnosed, so he has never known me as someone without type one.

Scott (27:00)

Okay.

Claire (27:00)

Like, that's kind of a fun fact. But he and I, on some road trips, would listen to some episodes because as you can search through the episodes, we would find some were, like, about the support person or. Yeah, there were a couple that had. That were more focused on, like, the person with type 1 and their. Their partner in that way. So we would listen to some like that. And, you know, it was. It was cute because we're like, oh, yeah, we can kind of relate to that too. And then we wanted to start a family so that we started listening together often to the episodes you did with Jenny about type one in pregnancy.

Scott (27:34)

Oh, okay. So you did take them seriously back in the day when they were like, you have to tell us a year before you're gonna.

Claire (27:40)

Yeah, I was like, okay, I'm gonna start with these episodes. And then. Okay, so Jenny wrote a book. Okay.

Scott (27:46)

And you. And you. You. Did you use Jenny's book?

Claire (27:49)

I did.

Scott (27:49)

Good book, huh?

Claire (27:51)

Yeah. It lived next to my bed at all times.

Scott (27:54)

Yeah. Yeah. This is something. Can I ask, like, I want to get back into that, but I. I'm gonna ask like a. A question that's more for me. Yeah, it's more for me and no one else listening. I. I love that. I love it. You're not like a. You're not like a crazy. Wait, that was the wrong word. I love all you that listen every day. You're not like somebody. Yeah. You're not a rabid fan. But you. You have enjoyed the podcast. It's done a lot for you. You've been in and out of it over a, you know, almost a decade. Really? Who am I to you? Like, am I. I don't even want to put a word in your mouth. Like, if. If, like, describe who I am in Your life or the podcast. If it's harder to talk about me while you're talking to me, I feel.

Claire (28:36)

Like a podcast is probably, like, the first word that comes to mind is coach. Right. Like, somebody who's kind of always, always there for you if you need them, but they're not. They're there for you if you need them, but they're not going to be, like, knocking on your door every day. Right. Yeah. Kind of like coach a guide, maybe. Like, maybe. Maybe not like a grandfather, but like a godfather, you know?

Scott (29:03)

Thank you. That was very nice of you.

Claire (29:05)

Yeah, no, but just like, you don't have that family tie. No, not to age you. Sorry, that was not my intent with that. But more just like, you know, people have godparents, right. That are not their bloodline. They're always going to be there for them. So you've got that one degree of separation. Like, they're not going to be at every, you know, Thanksgiving, Christmas. They're not knocking on your door, but they're always there if you need them.

Scott (29:25)

Yeah, but if you showed up at their house, they're. They're not going to lead you wrong.

Claire (29:27)

Or anything like that, right?

Scott (29:29)

Yeah. And they'll stop and look at you and be like, all right, what do you need? And yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Claire (29:35)

Like, you're calling me and not your parents. What did you do?

Scott (29:38)

We have, by the way, as you get older, everyone at some point has that experience where someone else's kid shows up to you and you're like, oh, well, I see what's happening now. All right. Yeah, this is weird, but I. I'll get in. Okay. And I'm not. I don't want to. Again, I don't want to lead you at all. Does this seem like a thing to you or does it seem like. What do I mean by this? You know how if you. Do you listen to any other podcasts?

Claire (30:09)

I dabble with a lot of podcasts.

Scott (30:11)

Okay. Okay, great. So have you heard, like, I'm trying to pick one with, like, a lot of famous people. Have you heard of Smartless?

Claire (30:17)

No.

Scott (30:17)

No. What are some of the more famous ones you listen to?

Claire (30:23)

I have. Talk about rabid fans. I am a big college football fan, so listen to some college football podcasts. Okay, Silly. But diabetes wise, There are a couple other diabetes ones, sure. I've listened to, but probably more Juice Box than anything else.

Scott (30:39)

I mean, like. I mean, like, see, I. I might not be getting to this correctly. Like, do you listen to any. Any podcasts that have, like, an Actual famous person in it. No. Okay, so your podcasts are more people with information or conversations that you're interested in hearing. They're Nichi.

Claire (30:59)

Yeah.

Scott (31:00)

Yeah. Okay. And so. And I. Do I seem to fit into that category pretty well for you?

Claire (31:05)

Yeah. Like, you're definitely famous in the diabetes community.

Scott (31:08)

Yeah, that's. That's just there. Like, I've.

Claire (31:10)

But, yeah, but you're not on, like, Taylor Swift, Travis.

Scott (31:14)

Oh, no, stop, stop, stop now. That's not what. Wasn't my point. But to go back to your point, like, if you would see it at a diabetes event, it is crazy. I'm still not right with it. But if you drop me in a place where everyone has diabetes, I am famous. It's in that spot. And then a great relief to be able to walk outside and no one know who you are. But I didn't expect. Obviously, it's not a thing you expect, but that's not why I was asking. What I was asking was, do I. Or does the podcast seem like this big, shiny, produced thing that someone's delivering to you, or does it still seem like I'm sitting in a room with a microphone?

Claire (31:58)

I kind of feel like you're. That's a tricky one. I feel like you're sitting in a room with the microphone. Like, everything's very real. It doesn't seem like you have an agenda or you're like, you know, it doesn't seem like you're doing anything more than just really trying to help as many people as possible with the. This medium.

Scott (32:21)

That's what I wanted to know. Thank you. I'm sorry it took us so long to get to it, but I didn't want to lead you to it, but I wanted to. Claire's like, listen, could you just, like, let's get back to my story. But I.

Claire (32:31)

No, no, no. I just was like, I want to answer this truthfully, but also, like, I wanted to answer it truthfully and honestly, but I was also like, oh, I hope I'm not going the wrong way.

Scott (32:41)

No, you're not. There's no right way to go. Just whatever you say is what you say. I was trying to figure out, as this thing has grown, if I'm successfully keeping it what it was, because that's what I want. Like, I want it to be me in here sharing things that I've heard, things that I've tried, things that other people have told me about your story. A little bit of, like, technology from companies, you know, when we can get a hold of it without turning into, you know, like, some. To reuse your word. Like, rabid YouTuber who's just, like, jamming. Like, did you know that Dexcom that, like, you know, Dexcom. Dexcom. I know that. I know that people click on Dexcom videos. So I'm gonna make a thousand Dexcom videos. Or I'm gonna jump out and talk about, like, hey, I heard that there's a new pump coming next year. Did you know somebody was gonna. I think somebody's working on a cure. Like, all that kind of clickbaity that I just think is. I think it's like garbage filler. And like, you know, and sometimes, like, to your point, like, sometimes there's actually something to say and it's nice to get a little update. But this, like, making content every week, that's really just supposed to get people to click on it, you know, like, watch me. You know, like, is there a reason to watch somebody put on their device? Yeah, I think that can be really helpful. Does there need to be a thousand videos of people putting on their devices? You know, I don't want to be involved in that. I get, I guess, is what I'm saying. So I was trying to see if from your perspective because of how you've listened off and on but still connected over at different times. And, you know, also we're about to talk about you making a baby with diabetes. And I'm going to guess that I'm going to hope it went well. And I'm going to think a lot of that came from what you learned from here. So I appreciate you sharing that with me very much. Thank you. And so what happened? You decided you wanted to have a baby, you went and told your endocrinologist, you kept your husband away from you for 12 months, and then you began to have a baby. Baby. Is that how it worked?

Claire (34:39)

Kind of.

Scott (34:40)

Really? Go ahead, tell me what happened.

Claire (34:42)

Kind of. Well, my husband, I. We got married. We knew we want to start a family. He knew the situation where it was like, okay, we gotta tell the endo a year in advance. And then I just started really honing in on, you know, all right, what are our goals during pregnancy? How do we get there? And then trying to connect the dots. I definitely listened to several of the episodes that. That you made interviewing women with type 1 in their pregnancies, talking with Jenny, bought Jenny's book. So I started doing my homework, right? Talking to my doctor, making small little changes. And I know you've interviewed, like, several women with type one pregnancies. And so I Think a lot of things that I had heard, I would say same, same here. You know, just tightening my CGM time and range. Just kind of going from, you know, kind of the blanket 70 to 180 that most people have their CGM set at or are told to set their CGMs at. Just bumping down that, that 180 gradually over time.

Scott (35:51)

What was your A1C goal for pregnancy?

Claire (35:57)

My endo ob. MFM. Oh. I had a pre pregnancy consultation with MFM. You know, I, I was doing my homework. Their goal for me is to be under six and a half at conception and then preferably under six during the pregnancy. And I think I was, I definitely met both those goals. I think I was under six the whole, the whole time. Yeah.

Scott (36:18)

Mfm. I'm sorry. Money, Football maniacs, Monday Night Football.

Claire (36:22)

Maternal fetal medicine.

Scott (36:24)

Gotcha.

Claire (36:25)

High risk pregnancy doctor.

Scott (36:26)

I knew, I just. For other people.

Claire (36:29)

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Scott (36:30)

I know everything. So it's not. I, I make a podcast. How would I not know?

Claire (36:34)

Yeah. And you've definitely interviewed women with type one.

Scott (36:37)

Yeah, I actually, I did pregnancy. I was not following what MFM was. I just want to, I just, I just want to be clear. No, those episodes are really interesting, like to. Because it separates the line between, you know, I don't know, your mental health and diabetes and your physical health in it. Because what it, what I think, what those pregnant women show over and over again. What you showed was that all these health outcomes specific to diabetes are very doable and you can accomplish them. They're not impossible. But almost every one of those ladies says, like, the baby came out and I was like, oh, I'm so happy I don't have to do it like that anymore. Did that happen to you?

Claire (37:18)

At first, yes, because it was just, you know, life was crazy at first, but then I started to want to switch gears into getting that better control. But at this phase of my life, I feel like I don't have as much energy or bandwidth to dedicate to it like I did when I was pregnant. Like, when I was pregnant, there was, you know, I didn't have a toddler running around. You know, my work schedule is pretty same every day. There was a lot of. I had a lot of control and autonomy over my time. So I could do those really long pre boluses in the third trimester and I could count all the macros and all my meals and I could prepare all my food all the time and stuff like that. Oh, got a little spike there. Let me go for a walk. So I had all of that going for me, too.

Scott (38:07)

Right.

Claire (38:07)

And I didn't. It was fine at the time. Everything worked out, but I was like, okay, long term. I don't know if I want to do exactly that much effort. I don't know if I can. But it was when I was pregnant. It's so funny because people would talk about how tired you are, and I was tired, but at the same time, I felt like I had great energy. And I think it was because my blood sugar was so tightly controlled. Like, I think mentally I was like. Felt great because my. You know, I wasn't getting these big swings. My blood sugar control was tight. I had great time in range. I was sleeping pretty well with having good blood sugars overnight, stuff like that. So it was just very interesting to look back on and what. What I thought the coolest part about being pregnant with Type one was having that CGM information was like an extra vital sign. Like, I could tell my body was making this baby placenta. Everything was going on because of how my CGM numbers were shaping out, you know, because I was getting a little more insulin resistance. So that was just so cool. Like, that's something that people with type 1 don't get to experience during their pregnancy. I thought that was cool.

Scott (39:19)

Yeah, it's awesome. So that's pretty great. Did you just make one, or have you made more since then?

Claire (39:26)

No, just one for now.

Scott (39:27)

Just one for now. How old is. How old is that one right now?

Claire (39:31)

He's about three and a half.

Scott (39:32)

Yeah. His name's Scott, by any chance?

Claire (39:35)

No, but when we were going through the names, once we knew it was a boy, you know, we did throw that in the list. We were like, oh, it'll be a name. I'm Scott.

Scott (39:42)

Thank you. Did it stay for more than a day or. No. On the list?

Claire (39:45)

I don't know if it made the official list. Maybe it made the long list, but not the short list.

Scott (39:49)

Did you see that? Somebody got a tattoo yesterday. It says Bold with insulin on it.

Claire (39:53)

No, that's great.

Scott (39:55)

It's a juice box. The microphone's coming out of the top instead of a straw. It says Bold with insulin. I am taking that as well. Almost the same as a baby name. Somebody immediately jumped in and said, well, you'll notice he didn't name a baby after you. And I said, no, this is pretty. I think a baby naming would be the Pinnacle. And then I stopped myself and I said, well, maybe not the Pinnacle. The Pinnacle would be if you had a baby, named it Scott. And Then got on a bolt with insulin tattoo all at the same time.

Claire (40:22)

On the same day.

Scott (40:23)

Then I would be like, I won. It's over. I'm done. I'm not even gonna make the podcast anymore. But no, being super serious, it was really lovely and strange to see somebody tattoo something on them that's from this podcast. It's a real leap, you know what I mean? And I know enough about the person's life to know that I don't think I'm speaking for them. I think they feel like their vision is intact because of me. And that's, you know, a big. It's obviously a big deal. But at the same time, like, from my perspective, I was like, wow, that's surreal. Surreal is the only real world to put to it that just not a thing that was not on my bingo card, as they say. Yeah, yeah. That somebody was going to be like, hey, I got a bold with insulin tattoo. I'm like, oh, my God. That made that. I felt pressure. I'm like, I don't have a tattoo. About the podcast, like, do I have to do it now? But. But nevertheless, it was really lovely. And I appreciate you even pretending for a minute to consider naming your child Scott. Thank you. And that, for people who don't know, is just a running joke through the pregnancy episodes where women are always like, oh, my God, I had such a healthy pregnancy because of you. And I was like, but not healthy enough to name your baby after me.

Claire (41:40)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it is. It's definitely in the. In the episode. So when the time came, we were, you know, joking around and about what to name our son, and we. We found out really early what gender we were having, which I appreciated. Then we had extra time to try and think about the name.

Scott (41:58)

Yeah. How do you find out early? Was he like, are you bragging? Was he like, did he ever really, like, how do you.

Claire (42:05)

Well, he was never shy on the ultrasound, but as a high risk pregnancy, you get a bunch of blood tests done at, like, about 10 weeks, including the gender. They can find out the gender through a blood test when you're 10 weeks pregnant.

Scott (42:19)

Oh, I thought maybe, like, in every, like, image, the kid was just like, spread eagle, like, jamming his balls towards the camera or something like that. He's like, it's me.

Claire (42:26)

I'm here, I'm here.

Scott (42:29)

Take a look at these, my friend. You're gonna have a boy.

Claire (42:34)

It's definitely a boy. And he's not shy.

Scott (42:37)

Then you had a lot of time to think about the name. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah, I like that idea. So you were. You felt. Really now it's. How many years later? 3. Just say, do you still love the name or do you. Are you, like, have you had one of those moments like, oh, we should have went with the other name?

Claire (42:51)

No. But we did take our time deciding. We were, like, so on the fence and, like, you know, first name, middle name, that the records department. Somebody was calling our hospital phone, and they're like, you have to name this kid before you leave the hospital. I was like, okay, I'm kind of busy right now.

Scott (43:06)

That happened to us with Cole because my wife and I were still. We were horse trading. I was. I. I know I've said this before, and it's probably not appropriate to talk about, but, you know, I have a podcast. There's not much I can do. She wanted to name him Nicholas, and I wanted to name him Cole, and she wanted to get him circumcised. And I was living through that part in time where people are like, don't do that to get boys. And I was like, I don't know if we should. Even though in candor. Claire, I am. And so, like, we're busy having that conversation, and just. We're in the hospital. And I said, you can circumcise him if I can call him Cole. And she was like, okay.

Claire (43:44)

And that's deal.

Scott (43:47)

Yeah, that's how his name ended up being Cole. But. So you were. But we had the same experience where they were, like. They came into the room, they're like, you gotta name this baby. And we were like, hey, we're in the middle of it. Like, it's, you know, kind of busy here. Yeah, I'm busy. I'm busy. I'm. My wife and I are trading right now. Like, we're getting to it. Don't worry about it. It's all gonna work out.

Claire (44:10)

The negotiations.

Scott (44:11)

Yeah. Also, everything in our relationship is like a. It's. We are so different than each other that everything turns out to be like. I don't know, like that. I know she said something the other day, and I responded back. And Arden looks at me and goes, yeah. Yo, man, read the room. He's like. I'm like, what did she. He goes, she said to me, whatever you're about to say, just keep it to yourself. She's not. She's not into this at all. And I was like, your mom can handle a tough conversation. And she goes, not now. She's not looking for it right now. And I called Kelly's name and she had headphones on. She's working and she's wearing headphones so that, you know, I don't know what she. Honestly, I don't know what she does when she's. She does a lot of really technical reading and seems to be doing something else in her ears at the same time. And like, you know, I bothered her enough that she had to take one of the headphones off and I asked her the question and she just glared at me and put the headphone back on and turned away. And Arden looks at me and she's like, I told you.

Claire (45:10)

Like, I told you.

Scott (45:11)

So it's like, I was like, I will not be disrespectful of your mother. I was like, she can handle this. She's like, she might be able to handle it, but she's not looking for you right now. And I was like, no, you're making a point. Anyway, that. That's all neither here nor there. So. Okay, so let's go through it a little bit. You start making that baby. What do you experience during the first trimester? When does it pivot? How do you pivot with it? How many times do things change throughout the process?

Claire (45:39)

Yeah, a lot.

Scott (45:40)

Speaking of a lot, there was a lot of words in this episode, so we had to split it into two parts. And part two is coming right away tomorrow. I promise you it will be there. Go look right now. A huge thanks to my longest sponsor, Omnipod. Check out the Omnipod 5 now with my link omnipod.com juicebox you may be eligible for a free starter kit. A free Omnipod 5 starter kit at my link. Go check it out. Omnipod.com Juicebox terms and conditions apply. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juice juicebox the Conversation you just enjoyed was brought to you by usmed usmed.com juicebox or call 888-721-1514. Get started today and get your supplies from us Med. The music ran out, but I wasn't done talking yet. A huge thanks to Cozy Earth for sponsoring this episode. Cozyearth.com right now you can stack my code juice box on top of their site wide sale and this is going to give you up to 40% off in savings and these deals are definitely not going to last. I'm talking about sheets, towels, clothing, everything they have. Get that holiday shopping going right now, today. Do it, do it, do it. Cozyearth.com use the offer code Juicebox My grand rounds series was designed by listeners to tell doctors what they need, and it also helps you to understand what to ask for. There's a mental wellness series that addresses the emotional side of diabetes and practical ways to stay balanced. And when we talk about GLP medications, well, we'll break down what they are, how they may help you, and if they fit into your diabetes management plan. What do these three things have in common? They're all available at juiceboxpodcast.com, up in the menu. I know it can be hard to find these things in a podcast app, so we've collected them all for you@juiceboxpodcast.com hey, kids, listen up. You've made it to the end of the podcast. You must have enjoyed it. You know what else you might enjoy? The private Facebook group for the Juice Box Podcast. I know you're thinking, oh, Facebook, Scott, please. But no. Beautiful group, wonderful people, a fantastic community. Juice box podcast, type 1 diabetes on Facebook. Of course, if you have type 2, are you touched by diabetes in any way? You're absolutely welcome. It's a private group, so you'll have to answer a couple of questions before you come in. We make sure you're not a bot or an evildoer, then you're on your way. You'll be part of the family. I want to thank you so much for listening today and for listening all year long. I know this is the beginning of 2026. 2025 was a banner year for the podcast, but 2026 is starting out with a real bang. Our downloads are up. The amount of people listening are up. I'm super excited about the show this year. I hope you are, too. Juiceboxpodcast.com if you need anything else.