#1766 Scrappy

Summary

Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1766: Scrappy
Date: February 9, 2026
Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Danielle (mother of four, nurse practitioner, parent of a newly diagnosed Type 1 child)

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Overview

This episode centers on Danielle’s experience as a mother of four daughters, one recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes just weeks after the birth of her youngest child. Scott and Danielle discuss the emotional, logistic, and mental health journeys of sudden diagnosis, how Danielle’s healthcare background impacted her reaction, her approach to mental health and therapy, and practical tips for other parents managing diabetes in young children. The conversation offers humor, warmth, vulnerability, and actionable advice for families navigating similar paths.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sudden Diabetes Diagnosis During Postpartum (03:06–08:00)

• Danielle’s Story:
  After giving birth to her youngest in January 2025, Danielle’s 6-year-old, Eloise, was diagnosed with diabetes only three weeks later.
• Discovery:
  The diagnosis was prompted by a perceptive teacher who noticed frequent urination at school, leading Danielle (a nurse practitioner) to take her daughter to the pediatrician.
• Reaction:
  Despite her medical background, Danielle was stunned:

  “Being a nurse practitioner and knowing just enough, I feel like time just froze.” — Danielle (06:13)

• Hospital Experience:
  Juggling a newborn and a sick child, Danielle describes the experience as “life-altering” and compounded by postpartum anxiety/depression.

2. Guilt, Mental Health, and Parental Feelings (08:01–20:40)

• Guilt as a Healthcare Worker:
  Danielle felt guilt for not catching her daughter’s symptoms earlier, despite her healthcare background.
  Scott reassures:

  “You were a little busy, so…” — Scott (09:05)

• Mental Health Resources:
  Danielle, aware she’s prone to postpartum depression, already had mental health support in place, which she credits for not languishing too long in a “low place.”
• Therapy and Psychiatric Support:
  Regular therapy and “an unbiased opinion” were invaluable for coping:

  “If we as parents, if we're not okay, our kids certainly aren't going to be okay.” — Danielle (19:14)

3. ADHD & Impact on Diabetes Management (20:41–24:38)

• Adult Diagnosis of ADHD:
  Danielle was diagnosed after her experiences of restlessness and difficulty focusing intensified with more children and diabetes management.
• Medication:
  She began methylphenidate (generic Concerta) two months before the interview, calling it “life changing”:

  “For me, the first time I took it, I fell asleep. Everything got calm, everything slowed down.” — Danielle (24:07)

• Real-World Impact:
  The medication improved her patience and ability to remember critical diabetes-related tasks, e.g., timing insulin and meals.

4. Family, Community, and Support Structure (08:10, 11:41–12:16, 13:14–13:37)

• Community Matters:
  Danielle highlights the critical support from her daughter’s teacher and school nurse (who both “rock”), mentioning group texts and constant communication.
• Rural Life:
  Describing her rural, Midwestern life, she recommends it for the peace and space, noting effective internet for remote working/connecting.
• Family Background:
  Danielle’s husband is a veterinarian, her children all girls, and the family has limited history of autoimmune disease except Graves disease for Danielle herself.

5. Navigating Insulin, Technology, and Diabetes Education (30:27–41:35, 46:14–46:47)

• Initial Learning Curve:
  Eloise received a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) thanks to a kind nurse, bucking the trend of delayed access due to bureaucracy.
• Adopting Technology:
  Danielle and her husband moved Eloise to a Tandem Mobi pump within two months of diagnosis.
• Learning From The Podcast:
  The family implemented ideas from the Juicebox Podcast, like prebolusing and adjusting insulin for complex foods.
• Changing Insulin Types:
  They found Novolog required less insulin and less prebolus than Humalog.
• Peer Influence:
  Listening to other T1D parents’ wins was “proof” that tighter A1Cs and better outcomes were possible.

6. Prioritizing Parental Mental Health (64:22–67:41)

• Advocacy for Self-Care:
  Danielle strongly urges T1D parents to care for themselves, not just their children:

  “I just wanted to give other type 1 parents permission to prioritize themselves a little more…we prioritize the health and safety of our kids well, but we don't do the same for ourselves.” — Danielle (65:29)

• Relationship Dynamics:
  Chronic caregiver stress can cause resentment or strain in marriages/partnerships. Therapy, breaks, and medication can help manage this load.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Diagnosis Overload:

  “Those two days [in the hospital] I'm sitting there, you know, feeding and nursing my newborn baby while also having to relearn how to feed and care for my six-year-old. It was really jarring.” — Danielle (07:06)

• On Social Media as a Support System:

  “Like many people, I lurk on [the Facebook group]. I don't personally have Facebook...My husband does. And so I had him get in on the groups and stuff. And then you go in through his account.” — Danielle (39:14)

• On Medical Guilt:

  “If anybody was going to catch it, why wouldn't it have been me or her father?” — Danielle (09:56)

• On Family Planning:

  “I have never been one to handle birth control very well. I've tried multiple different types, and they've all made me cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. And so it is on my husband to make this permanent.” — Danielle (69:15)

• On Therapy and Growth:

  “They have been able to get to know me on a visceral level and help me establish tools to appreciate the feelings that I have and acknowledge them and then also let them go.” — Danielle (19:35)

• On Accepting Imperfection:

  “Her A1C was 10.8 on diagnosis, and her first follow up A1C was 6.1...She doesn't have to be perfect to see better results.” — Danielle (46:15)

• Humorous Aside on Pretzels:

  “There ought to be a table that says, do you know what you're doing? If so, look behind the curtain. And behind the curtain is a pretzel, right?” — Scott (42:42)

• On Protecting Joy in Sports:

  “I didn't play in college just to be an—Oh, really? You could have...I could have played in college. Not D1, but D2, D3. And I purposely didn't.” — Danielle (56:11)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Danielle introduces herself & shares diagnosis story: 02:42–07:34
• Feelings of guilt, parental and professional stress: 08:57–10:09
• School nurse/teacher’s impact on early detection: 08:01–08:57
• Effect of mental health support and therapy: 17:14–20:40
• ADHD diagnosis, treatment, impact on T1D management: 20:41–24:38
• Family/autoimmune history: 25:35–27:55
• Initial use of CGM & pump, adapting to bold approaches: 30:27–41:35
• Facebook group, community support, and "lurking": 39:05–40:29
• Celebrating progress & letting go of perfection: 46:02–47:23
• Message to other parents: mental health matters: 64:22–65:50

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Tone & Style

• The episode features Scott’s signature warm, direct, sometimes irreverent humor, balanced by Danielle’s open-hearted, pragmatic storytelling. Both avoid sugarcoating, focusing on realistic, actionable, and occasionally raw details. Scott checks in supportively but keeps the tone light even when covering heavy subjects.

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Summary Takeaways

• Early diagnosis is hard, even for healthcare professionals. Community, school staff, and access to tech make a big difference.
• Prioritizing parental wellbeing, especially mental health, is essential for the whole family’s success—therapy, medication, and outside help are not shameful, but empowering.
• Adapting quickly to new diabetes management, including bold insulin strategies and technology, can be intimidating but leads to good results—especially when parents learn from and support each other.
• Perfection is not required to strive for stability—just progress.

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Final Thoughts

Danielle’s candid share will resonate with parents facing the chaos of a new diagnosis, especially those juggling multiple responsibilities and complex emotions. The conversation showcases the intertwined nature of medical management and mental health, and the value of both accepting help and becoming bold, scrappy advocates for your family.

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For Further Resources

• Juicebox Podcast website
• [Facebook Group: Juice Box Podcast Type 1 Diabetes]
• [Dexcom & Omnipod info via podcast affiliate links]

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End of summary

Transcript

[A]

Hello friends and welcome back to another episode of the Juice Box Podcast.

[B]

Hi, my name is Danielle. I'm a mom of four girls and less than a year ago I was learning to care for my newborn while learning how to manage my six year old type 1 diabetes.

[A]

All right, let's get down to it. You want the management stuff from the podcast. You don't care about all this chitting and chatting with other people. Juicebox podcast.com lists they are downloadable, easy to read. Every series, every episode, they're all numbered. Makes it super simple for you to go right into that search feature in your audio app. Type Juice Box 1795 to find Episode 1795 JuiceBox podcast.com SL lists if you're looking for community around type 1 diabetes, check out the Juice Box Podcast. Private Facebook Group juice box podcast type 1 diabetes but everybody is welcome. Type 1 type 2 gestational loved ones it doesn't matter to me. If you're impacted by diabetes and you're looking for support, comfort or community, check out juicebox podcast type 1 diabetes on Facebook. 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. This episode of the Juice Box Podcast is sponsored by the Dexcom G7, the same CGM that my daughter wears. Check it out [e-mail] Juicebox the podcast is also sponsored today 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@.

[B]

Omnipod.Com juicebox hi, my name is Danielle. I'm a mom of four girls. And less than a year ago, I was learning to care for my newborn while learning how to manage my 6 year old type 1 diabetes.

[A]

Why does that happen like that all the time?

[B]

It's bull. I mean, there's just really no other way to say it.

[A]

Wait, so your fourth was just born and.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And your what, which number got diabetes?

[B]

Yeah, so my youngest was born in January of 2025, so we're coming up on her first birthday soon. And then three weeks later, we were in the ER with my oldest daughter, who's now 7, Eloise with diabetes, and Danielle.

[A]

Hold on a second. You ran four of those things through there in seven years?

[B]

Yeah, I did. It. It wasn't necessarily the plan. I always knew I wanted three or four. My husband wanted two and you see how that worked out. Yeah, I just.

[A]

Hold on a second. If you weren't planning to have four kids in that short of an amount of time, then is it fair to say you don't have a plan about anything, or did you have a plan and you weren't able to keep up with it?

[B]

No, I'm a pretty big planner. I just, I knew I wanted four kids. I didn't know that my fertility wasn't going to be an issue. Is that fair? I mean, I knew I wanted multiple children. I just didn't realize that I was not going to have a problem conceiving.

[A]

Is your husband a super handsome man?

[B]

He is a super handsome man. Yeah.

[A]

That's what I'm. That's what I'm thinking. Like a George Clooney type or more like Brad Pitt. Where does he fall?

[B]

More like a rugged farm guy. He's a veterinarian.

[A]

Is he really?

[B]

Yes, yes.

[A]

Oh, so he's tough and humble, but he's also kind to animals?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And this, and this does it for you?

[B]

Yeah, absolutely.

[A]

Well, definitely makes babies for you. That works.

[B]

Yeah. All girls too. We don't have any Y chromosomes.

[A]

There's none. Nowhere.

[B]

Zero.

[A]

So. Okay, all right, fair enough. How long after the birth of your last does the diagnosis story start?

[B]

Three weeks.

[A]

Oh, three weeks afterwards?

[B]

Yeah. So my daughter's teacher is actually the one that, that brought all of this to our attention. She had noticed that my daughter was going to the bathroom quite frequently at school. Eloise is a very responsible six year old, so she knew she's not just going there as a kindergartner to like play in the sink and, you know, goof around and things like that. And so she had brought it to my attention on a Friday. I watched it over the weekend. I honestly didn't really notice anything. And then when she went back to school the following week, I followed up with her teacher and was like, hey, is it any better? She said, no. So I took her to her pediatrician thinking, you know, this is probably a uti. That's what little girls get. And I will never forget the look on the pediatrician's face after she had seen her UA results saying, hey, this is not a uti. She's got glucose and ketones in her urine and I'm gonna need you to go over to the children's hospital. And being a nurse practitioner and knowing just enough, I, you know, just, I feel like time just froze.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I was like, what do you mean? What do you mean? I need to take my healthy 6 year old to the hospital.

[A]

Yeah. Are you holding a baby while you're having this conversation?

[B]

Yes. Yes, I am.

[A]

Are you still wearing diapers or is.

[B]

That over at least after four kids, I healed up pretty quickly. The fourth time around, like my body just knew.

[A]

It just knows what to do. You're fine.

[B]

Knew what to do. It knew how to heal. Yeah. So I'm holding my three week old, calling my husband, telling him he needs to get home because my mom was watching. The other. My other two daughters was like, you need to meet me up at the er. Eloise. They're telling me she has diabetes. And he's like, what the hell are you talking about? I was like, your guess is as good as mine. I really don't know. I really don't know. And so we're heading up there. Her glucose in the ER was 4. 68. As a healthcare provider, I'm just like, how did I miss this? How did I not see this? She was not in dka, thank God. We spent two days in the hospital, but those two days I'm sitting there, you know, feeding and nursing my newborn baby while also having to like, relearn how to feed and care for my six year old. It was really jarring. A life altering conundrum.

[A]

Imagine you have a fair amount of hormones running around inside you too.

[B]

A thousand percent. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It just feels like a perfect storm between postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression, which are things that I've dealt with with all my pregnancies and then medical trauma and the lack of sleep, and it was just like a. All hitting at once. It was, it was something I don't ever want to relive again, that's for sure.

[A]

No kidding. I. I wanted to point out how on top of things and observant the teacher must have been to catch it that early.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I sing her praises day in and day out. Imagine we have a phenomenal school nurse. She is. I mean, they are. They're on top of it. My daughter goes to a small private school. They're of the smaller number of kids that go to that school. There are four. There's three other kids with type one there, all girls. And our nurse, she is a rock star. We have a diabuddies group text with me, my husband, my daughter, the teacher and our nurse. And we are in constant collaboration throughout the day. I've. I don't know that I could have been able to send her back to school without her teacher and without her. Her nurse.

[A]

Yeah, I have to. I'd like to say to you too, like you said, I don't know how I didn't see it, but it sounds like it was pretty early and you were a little busy, so.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And she was in school.

[B]

To have four kids, it's okay to be busy, but you got to notice if your kids peeing constantly, Right?

[A]

What do you, what do you feel? Do you feel badly about that?

[B]

Yeah. And I think it's because I am a healthcare professional. Now, granted, I work in the hospice arena. I don't work with children most of the time. And type one, embarrassingly enough, I just didn't have a lot of exposure to most of my training came like with many others. Type 2, type 1 is just kind of a. Oh, that happens with kids. And you know, it is what it is. I really never saw it. Didn't have people in my circle. Nothing. Nothing.

[A]

I will act as the wizard for you and I will grant you that you do not have to think about this anymore because I, I don't think, I don't. I don't think it's worth.

[B]

I don't necessarily carry the heavy guilt that I did early on. I've made it past that. But it is kind of, you know, if anybody was going to catch it, why wouldn't it have been me or her father?

[A]

What's his name? A doctor?

[B]

Yeah, he. He prescribes insulin to animals all the time.

[A]

Tell people that's a good job, pays well, right?

[B]

Yeah. Yes, it does. It does. But you got four kids. Yeah, it does. It pays well enough.

[A]

Well enough.

[B]

But unless in a perfect world my husband would do strictly large animal. The problem with that is people don't spend their money on their large animal. If a cow gets sick and we'll throw this in that atom. If it works, great. If it doesn't, fine. The money is with folks and their small animals. They'll spend an arm and a leg on their foo foo dog. You know, surely the cat that needs X, Y and Z, you know, people will spend more money on those type of animals. So he does both. But I think he. In a perfect world, he would, he would strictly do large animal.

[A]

Does he do any exotic animals?

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I can't use them in the rural area that we're in. He wouldn't see that. Wouldn't see too much very often, I don't think.

[A]

You guys don't keep reptiles in the Midwest.

[B]

People have reptiles in the Midwest, but we're about an hour from any big city.

[A]

Oh, you're rural.

[B]

Rural, yeah, we're rural. Rural.

[A]

Gotcha.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Someone showed me a house the other day that was like outside of an area. It was in a little rural spot. It's like a brand new house at a very reasonable price on like 25 acres. And I thought, am I moving there?

[B]

Yeah, yeah. You're basically describing our, our setup. You know, a decent sized house in a little piece of land and it's quiet and it's peaceful and I'd recommend it to anybody.

[A]

Is that, Is the Internet okay? Can I, can I make a podcast from there?

[B]

I mean, can you hear me?

[A]

Okay, you're making a fair point. Okay. Yeah, I'm on my way. Do I have to dodge a tornado or am I good?

[B]

You might. You might. It. It had been weirdly warm here for December. January. And now we're finally getting winter weather.

[A]

But this weirdly warm smell like tornadoes. Is that what that means?

[B]

Well, I mean, it could. I mean, 75 degrees in the Midwest on Christmas Day is kind of.

[A]

Was it really unheard of?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Can I say that I am not a weather scientist nor any other kind of scientist, but I did find myself in a conversation recently with the bunch of people who were like, is the weather pattern moving on the calendar significantly? Do you know what I mean?

[B]

Like, I don't know. I mean, I always remember as a kid, there was always. It was. There was always snow on Christmas. And I can't remember the last time we've had a white Christmas here.

[A]

So, no, I'm telling. You know, I feel like it's going to snow in June one day, but I won't be alive for it. People be like, oh, yeah, the weather's just circling the calendar. Don't worry, it's coming back anyway. I don't know anything about anything. I just want to be clear. That's how I ended up with the podcast. All right, so when she's diagnosed Eloise, by the way, lovely name.

[B]

Yes, thank you.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Family name.

[B]

No, it just was a pretty name and I feel like a lot of the older generation names have come back. It was like we were, it was Eloise, it was Edith. I really liked the name Edith. I liked the idea of baby Edie. My husband was not about it at all. He won. We settled on Eloise and it fits her.

[A]

That's lovely. At her diagnosis, you have a little bit of a background in health care. Not directly with diabetes you're in the situation that you're in, how do they treat you? Do they treat you like, oh God, this poor lady just had a baby, Go easy on her. Or did they treat you like she's in health care? She'll understand it. 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 the Dexcom G7 is sponsoring this episode of the Juicebox podcast and it features a lightning fast 30 minute warmup time. That's right. From the time you put on the Dexcom G7 till the time you're getting readings. 30 minutes. That's pretty great. It also has a 12 hour grace period so you can swap your sensor when it's convenient for you. All that, on top of it being small, accurate, incredibly wearable and light. These things, in my opinion, make the Dexcom G7 a no brainer. The Dexcom G7 comes with way more than just this. Up to 10 people can follow you. You can use it with type 1, type 2, or gestational diabetes. It's covered by all sorts of insurances and ugh. This might be the best part. It might be the best part. Alerts and alarms that are customizable so that you can be alerted at the levels that make sense to you. Dexcom.com juicebox links in the show notes [e-mail] to Dexcom and all the sponsors. When you use my links, you're supporting the production of the podcast and helping to keep it free and plentiful.

[B]

That's a good question. I think there was a level of pity. The diabetic educator, the main endocrinologist, and even the nurse that treated Eloise for a majority of the time were all type ones themselves. Oh yeah. Which was really helpful in the sense, like, look at these folks. They're living, they're doing, they're fine, they've been able to accomplish so much and do so much. But I think there was a level of pity as I'm sitting there breastfeeding this tiny baby with a big whiteboard in front of me of all the different things to learn and do and know and calculate. And I made it perfectly clear too. Like, treat me like I know nothing, because I really know nothing. Yes, I have, you know, NP next to my name, but all of that goes out the window.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

When it's your own kid.

[A]

What about your feelings then? Like, I. I'd like to maybe stick more in that for a little while. What was your response? Did you pop up like, I can do anything, or was it more. No, no, no, I'm sorry.

[B]

I would love to say that I rose to the occasion and that I was strong and resilient and just took it in stride, but I did not. I did not.

[A]

What happened there?

[B]

In the beginning, my husband did most of it. He did the Dexcom changes, he did the insulin shots. I did have to prove that I could do that before I left the hospital, of course, but I kind of fell off a cliff, so to speak. I was in a really depressed place. And like I'd said before, I am somebody who has dealt with postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety. And so to add this other layer in that really vulnerable time was heavy. It was really heavy. And I will say the fortunate piece for me was that because of my history, I was already set up with a therapist who I know and love. And I had already been seeing a psychiatrist to keep things on track. So I already had those resources in place and available, which I think made all the difference. I didn't sit in that low place for long. Yeah, I did come out of it, but it was because I had help already established that I didn't have to go out and seek and ask for.

[A]

Right, Daniel. And you had that stuff in place because you anticipated problems after the birth and you were ready for that.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So a pre planner you are.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Good for you.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

How many postpartum struggles did you have before you realized that you would need that kind of help?

[B]

Oh, after Eloise, it happened full throttle with my first Gotcha.

[A]

And you've been at it since. And is it a thing you continue through the year or you just get. Honestly, four kids in seven years? Maybe it's just continued all the time.

[B]

I couldn't have been that scared to have more babies.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

To have more babies.

[A]

You continue the mental health support in between or do you just kind of launch back into it at the births?

[B]

No, no. I have kept up with my therapist and intermittently with my psychiatrist to make sure that I am okay. Because if we as parents, if we're not okay, our kids certainly aren't going to be okay.

[A]

How do you characterize their value to you and what they provide and how it helps you?

[B]

They're an unbiased opinion. They're an un. You know, they don't know my child, they don't know my husband. They just know me. And especially now, being with these certain providers for a while now, they have been able to get to know me on a visceral level and help me establish tools to appreciate the feelings that I have and acknowledge them and then also let them go.

[A]

Okay, that's not. And that's valuable for you. That really, like, lightens you. It gives you better outlooks. How does it. How do you feel when it's over?

[B]

Yeah, because I mean, I get myself into these, like, rumination, these what if situations, these worst case scenario things. And three, four, five, six years ago I would have sat with those feelings of worry and pain and anxiety. And today, while those things still happen, they're more like blips on my radar and not all encompassing anymore.

[A]

Were you anxious prior to your first baby?

[B]

Yes. Yeah. I've always been a nervous person. I've always had issues with like restlessness and mood. My mood. Being labile and having the certain temperament of things didn't go my way. And I would immediately feel like either a failure or, you know, just not worthy. And then in the midst of Eloise's diagnosis and all of these children here, as of like seven, eight months ago, I was given the diagnosis, diagnosis of adhd. And at first I was like, that's a crock of that's a hoax. You know, I can sit in a chair. I don't. I'm not somebody who can't have a conversation. I'm not, you know, have all this outward energy. I was never the kid in school that couldn't sit in their chair and things. But apparently, from what I'm told, us millennial women are kind of the lost generation. We were of girls who were more inattentive and not hyperactive. And so I have since started medication for that. And it has been life changing how I can have singular thoughts now. I don't have racing thoughts of going over here, doing this, needing this, going there, doing this, whatever. It's also helped with Eloise's management. There were times early on where I would give her insulin and forget to remind her to come eat because we. Pretty early on we got into the pre bola scene. So I would bolus her and then she would run off to go play because she's a six year old kid, and I would forget to tell her to come back and eat. And there were a couple funky moments where it got a little scary. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Tell me something. Is it. The racing thoughts is there's a thousand things to do. You have to get to every one of them. I did one. Do the next one. Do the next one. Like that feeling.

[B]

Yes, yes. Or like I'm doing the dishes and then I'll see something on the counter. I'm like, oh, I didn't put that away. I better pick that up. And then I pick that up and I go take it to the other room. I'm like, oh, why didn't this get done? And so then I don't actually finish that project and I go on to the next one. And then I feel like I've been busy all damn day and nothing actually got accomplished.

[A]

Is the water still running three hours later from the dishes or.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, truly, truly. That's happened before. Wow.

[A]

And that's been your whole life. But has it worsened as you've had kids?

[B]

Yes, yes.

[A]

Oh, my. Oh, yeah.

[B]

Oh, my is right.

[A]

There's not a big hole dug out back, is there? Because that's for you. He's gonna push you right in it. And. And. Oh, she fell. Kids, new mommy's on her way. Don't worry about it. But I'm glad to hear that what you figured out is helping a lot. Tell me what that drug is called immediately so I can sprinkle it on my. On my wife. What's it called?

[B]

You really want to know?

[A]

Yeah, of course I do.

[B]

Yeah. Well, I. So it's the generic version of Concerta.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Methylphenidate is the generic version of it.

[A]

So it speeds you up to slow you down, Is that the idea?

[B]

Well, I think from what I understand, someone who takes some kind of stimulant like that, who does not have ADHD would be sped up and, you know, hyper focused and things like that. For me, the first time I took it, I fell asleep. It was like everything got calm, everything slowed down.

[A]

Oh, interesting.

[B]

Everything just felt at ease and to the point where, like my temperament, even towards my kids, I was more patient. And you can imagine with four kids running around seven and under, it's loud around here. There's a lot of external stimulation that can get to you as a parent and yeah, I just felt more. I feel more patient and understanding. And I'm not over, like exerted and over stimulus, just all over the place all the time.

[A]

What's Dr. Doolittle's feedback on that? How has he noticed it?

[B]

Oh, same thing. Yeah, I sleep. I mean, I wasn't sleeping. I there early on I was. I would sit with the Dexcom follow app on my phone and I just. My thumb got quite the workout. Just refresh, refresh, refresh. Thinking she's gonna, you know, worst case.

[A]

Scenario, she's gonna die. She's gonna die like this, like over and over again, over.

[B]

That, that rumination, that const. Pull myself out.

[A]

Is this a family trait? Your mom, your dad, anybody else like that?

[B]

No, I was blessed with it all on my own.

[A]

It's all mine, Scott.

[B]

Yeah, it's all mine. I wouldn't. I mean, I am estranged from my father. I haven't seen or heard from him since I was 19 by choice. And so who knows what he's up to these days. But my mom does not deal with this kind of stuff.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And I have one brother, he's a pretty laid back kind of guy too. So. Yeah, I don't know.

[A]

Let me ask the big question here. Autoimmune issues throughout your family line? Husband's side, your side. I'm looking for thyroid, celiac, anything like that. Vitilago.

[B]

Yeah. So personally, I was diagnosed with Graves disease in my 20s. I ended up in the ER with tremors and uncontrollable vomiting. And they checked my TSH and they're like, so how long have you had thyroid problems? I was like, news to me, buddy.

[A]

10 seconds.

[B]

Yeah, I know as much as you do. Was hooked up with an endocrinologist. And this was before children and before marriage. And so what was brought to me was that in order. I was told it was easier to conceive and have children with hypothyroidism than hyperthyroidism. The medication regimen was easier, and that was what they recommended I do. So I underwent radioactive iodine treatment.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Basically killed my thigh. Overactive thyroid. So I don't really have thyroid function now.

[A]

How old was this again? I'm sorry.

[B]

I was 27.

[A]

Okay. You were nervous prior to that.

[B]

Yeah, I've always been a hyper vigilant kind of person.

[A]

Yeah, because you're like, thyroid's got a lot to do with your anxiety.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

Yeah, Absolutely. Right?

[B]

Absolutely. So I took the radioactive iodine, killed off my thyroid, and have been on synthroid or levothyroxine ever since. I don't have celiac or I wouldn't know because I don't want to do a colonoscopy right now or an endoscopy to have the final say, so. But I have had lab work and stool tests that say that I have a gluten allergy. But the only way to really see if it's celiac is to have more procedures when in my mind, the treatment is still the same. So I don't eat gluten and I feel better because of it.

[A]

Oh, awesome. Has that helped anything else besides your belly and your pooping?

[B]

Yeah, it's helped acne. I feel like it's made it easier to lose baby weight.

[A]

Okay, awesome. There's a lot to learn here. What else is wrong with you, Danielle?

[B]

I don't think anything else. I don't think so. And then as far as autoimmune stuff, other than what I got going on, my mother in law has hypothyroidism, but that.

[A]

That's about it.

[B]

My knowledge is about it.

[A]

All right, let's go past autoimmune. You know, are you related to any people with bipolar disorder?

[B]

Undiagnosed? I would say my dad.

[A]

Maybe.

[B]

He's gotten that diagnosis since I was 19.

[A]

Well, most people answer that question with, I do know some people with undiagnosed bipolar.

[B]

Yeah, Yeah, I. I think I know. Yeah. One. One person.

[A]

I'm diagnosing them right now in case you're wondering.

[B]

Yes. Yes.

[A]

The last person that said it to me was like, well, I'm not a mental health professional, so I shouldn't say this, but.

[B]

Yeah, well, I'm a healthcare professional, so I feel inclined to say it.

[A]

Okay. All right, let's see. Are we gonna have any of the kids tested to see if they have antibodies?

[B]

We did do that, and as of right now, they are all negative. I'm negative for antibodies, and my husband is also negative for antibodies. Awesome.

[A]

Awesome. That's good news.

[B]

But part of me, I did not realize that that was something that they were gonna have to continue doing. I just. I think it gives me a false sense of security. Like, they don't have antibodies today, so they're not going to be type one. But that's not the case. It could still happen in the future. And I hate that feeling.

[A]

Well, try. Try thinking about the other feeling where they didn't have any, and then just pretend that's how it works and just move on.

[B]

So lie to myself.

[A]

I mean, it does work. Like. Especially.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Especially for the uncontrollable stuff, right?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah, you're right.

[A]

Please.

[B]

So my kids don't have type one and my other kiddos don't, and they just probably never will. We'll just. We'll just go with that.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. There you go.

[B]

Yeah, go with it.

[A]

Stick your head really far down in the sand. This all the way down until you just look like an ostriches. Oh, what a great title for your episode.

[B]

Ostrich.

[A]

Ostrich.

[B]

Love it.

[A]

Oh, that can end up being the title, but it could. There's no way to know, really. Or I guess there is a way to know. I'm the one that makes up the titles.

[B]

I was going to say. Do I have any say in this?

[A]

Not really, no.

[B]

Okay. Okay. Thanks for your honesty.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. The other day I said something and a woman just went, please don't call it that. I just giggled at her.

[B]

Yeah, you'll find out soon.

[A]

But we didn't. I didn't. It was. I. In fairness to her, I. I felt the same way when I said it. How have you found. I mean, we're. This is a year, right? You're just.

[B]

Yeah. A year into this, it'll be a year. February 5th.

[A]

You're not even a year yet. Okay. So do you leave the hospital with cgm? Does it take or do you have to get it? Does she use a pump?

[B]

So. So initially, we were leaving the hospital prescription for a cgm, and I think Our lovely nurse educator could just see in my eyes the fear of, like, not having. Knowing that that technology existed and not having it right then and there as I go home with all these other things going on in my life.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That she happened to, quote, find an extra one in a storage closet somewhere.

[A]

She's like, these four kids are gonna end up in the river if we don't give her a cgf.

[B]

I don't help. So she ended up finding one in a random place, so to speak, and helped us hook it up, put it on her for the first time, get us set up with the Follow app, got us set up to be transferring all of her information to our now endocrinology team, and got all of that squared away before we left.

[A]

No, that's wonderful.

[B]

And I am eternally grateful because from what I've heard and listened to, that is generally not the case study.

[A]

It can be tough depending on the institution and insurance and a lot of things. But I would prefer to.

[B]

We're about an hour away from, like, a. A top 20 endocrinology.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Program, and so I think that that makes a difference, too.

[A]

So as overwhelming as all this has been, like, how well did you pick it up? And because it's funny, because I feel like you're trying to say you didn't do a great job with it. You put it on your husband at first, maybe you checked out a little bit, but at the same time, you're listening to podcasts, It's a year later, you're already talking about it. And this is a little bit of a. An inside thing that other people listening won't know. But before you and I started recording, I asked everybody the same thing. I like, is there any questions you want to ask me now that you know, you don't want recorded? And some people have a question, some people say no. Some people have a little nervousness about how the process works. And you. You were kind of like, well, you'll prompt me along, right? Like, I won't have to carry this conversation. But, Danielle, do you realize that if I just went, what's your name? And then came back an hour from now, you'd still be talking like, I don't need. You didn't need me at all.

[B]

Well, that's. That's reassuring. I.

[A]

But wait, let me finish my thought. But let me finish my thought. So I'm wondering if that idea translates over to the diagnosis. Did you start with, oh, gosh, I don't know what I'm doing. Help me along. But then you just like, jumped in and took over and figured it out? Is that what happened?

[B]

Yeah. Because as diabetic parents, I mean, you don't really have a choice. You can't sit there.

[A]

But Danielle, it's your personality. How do you not know that about yourself? And I figured it out in 31 minutes and four seconds.

[B]

I. I don't. I don't know. I. I know I'm a resilient person. I know I'm a. I'm definitely a plan. Beer? If things don't work out initially, I'll find a way to make it, to accomplish it.

[A]

Oh, I was gonna say you're definitely not a plan B person because you have four kids, but you made a difference.

[B]

I'll find plan B.

[A]

C, D, E, F. You are 100% not following. You are 100 not following my joke about that, that day after pill. But, but, but no, no, no. So, okay, so if first you don't succeed, Danielle tries again.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, and, and looking at my daughter, she's doing it so I can do it.

[A]

Okay. But why didn't you know that's how you were going to be when it happened?

[B]

I think hormones play a lot into that. You know, you're. You're a different person postpartum than you are, you know, a few months out or a few. Few weeks further out than then, and you're still just in a state of shock. Like, I didn't want to believe it. Like, if I didn't start doing things, maybe it would just not be true of living in this kind of, like, fantasy time.

[A]

Oh. Oh, okay.

[B]

This couldn't be true. This is no way. My healthy 6 year old who's active and smart and the kindest person in the world, there's no way this is actually happening.

[A]

So if I don't dive into it, it's not real?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah, I think so.

[A]

Other things in your life, you dive in, conquer, move on.

[B]

Yeah, pretty much.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, Yeah, I try. That is the whole reason for me doing the podcast or wanting to be a guest on here is to get out of my comfort zone. This isn't necessarily something I would normally do, but I want to face a fear, try something new. I think us in our 30s and 40s and 50s, we don't do that as often as we get older, do things we're not comfortable with, do things that are not in our wheelhouse. And I, I think.

[A]

I didn't know being on the podcast was a bucket list thing for people.

[B]

That's cool.

[A]

Kind Of I do it every day. So I don't, like. It doesn't strike me that way. Like, the idea of, like, saying. I mean, you've probably heard some recent episodes where I've said stuff about my own, like, health, and it just doesn't even, like, almost doesn't occur to me to be. I don't even really think about the fact that other people are listening to it. To be. Yeah, she's been at it for a long time.

[B]

Kind of surreal when this comes out and I hear my own voice coming across. Spotify.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's going to be a really bizarre feeling, I'm sure.

[A]

By the way, you are my first recording of my 12th year of doing this.

[B]

Fantastic. I feel special.

[A]

Thank you. You certainly are. I can't believe that's still happening. The people who do business with me or work with me, I constantly are laughing at me because every time we're on a call, I say, listen, obviously this is almost over. Things going to crumble and fall apart any day now. You know, I'm doing my best to keep it going, blah, blah, blah. And they're just like, yeah, every year, Scott, every year you say this to me and I'm like, I know, but. And I wonder if that's not how I keep myself moving and motivated by feeling like someone's about to take it from me, you know?

[B]

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, we were fortunately, I mean, we got the same advice from endocrinology that I think most people get, where the first idea was have her eat and dose her insulin within 30 minutes, you know, and then you'd see that big rise to three hundreds. And sometimes it would come down and sometimes it wouldn't. That brought about anxiety. And I think that too was a motivator. Like, there's gotta be a better way. There's no way that I'm going to allow my kid to live with these 300 blood sugars and watch her mood change and think about all the. The negativity that could come from this long term. And so I was talking to another first grade mom or kindergarten mom at the time, and she got me in contact with basically a friend of a friend who had been listening to your podcast. So I was exposed to juice box probably three weeks in, three or four weeks into diagnosis, and started with bold beginnings and hearing the contradiction between what we were getting from endocrinology and what other folks were doing. And so then I was like, hey, husband, listen to this. What do you think? We were still MDI then, doing our best. She Got on tandem Moby in April. So she was in February diagnosed, and by April, we were on a pump.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And that was. That was a crucial helping point too.

[A]

Where'd you get the confidence to listen to a podcast and take it seriously? Was it by giving it to your husband and having him fact check it?

[B]

Yeah. Or, or. Or just hearing all these other people find so much wins. I mean, they were. They were seeing that other people could bring a 1Cs down from the highest of highs down to sixes and fives. I mean, I want that for my daughter too.

[A]

Right.

[B]

There's got to be. There's got to be some truth to this if. If multiple people are finding success with it.

[A]

Good. Did you find the Facebook group or did you not?

[B]

Like many people, I lurk on there. I don't personally have Facebook because of my profession. I used to work in family medicine, and I was having. I was having patients try to add me on Facebook and ask for scripts via dm. So unprofessional. And then I got to thinking, you know, I don't want these people to know what my children look like.

[A]

Oh, oh, I see.

[B]

This. This is. This is. This is not okay. So I don't have social media.

[A]

I got you.

[B]

My husband does. And so I had him get in.

[A]

On the groups and stuff. And then you go in through his account.

[B]

Yeah, we lurk together. Time where we posted about insulin. Our daughter had to change from Humalog to Novolog. And it has been really crazy because we've had to use less insulin and less pre bolus with Novolog. It's been a real game changer for her. And I was just curious if other people had found that to be true as well. Trying a different insulin, they react better or worse to them. So that was kind of our big question, but very nice. Other than that, I just lurk and listen.

[A]

And I like that you're. You're coupled up lurking.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. Very nice.

[A]

So does he listen as well, or do you just.

[B]

So at this point, after we had listened to, like, the tips and tricks and bold beginnings and all the things about pre bolusing and fat and protein and kind of got a grasp on that, that's kind of where he has stopped. I still listen to people's experiences. It's been helpful to listen to the ones where you talk about how you would look in bolus for certain foods.

[A]

Oh, good, good. Yeah, I'm getting a lot of good feedback about those.

[B]

I do enjoy that. I do enjoy that. Because as Eloise grows There's going to be more and more variables to think about. I mean, she's. She's very active, and so we're still learning how to like soccer. She's a soccer superstar, but with soccer, she'll drop low, she'll go high. And we're trying to find a way to keep her in the games longer.

[A]

You know, my idea with the bolus four episodes, if talking about diabetes, the big picture about it slowly helped people understand it and got them to a point where they were just like, oh, you know, I kind of know what I'm doing now. Everything feels comfortable when stuff happens. And, you know, I. I tend to make good decisions and my outcomes are, you know, are matching up. I thought, what if we had, like, what if we did that about bolusing? Like, just had conversations just about bolusing. I wonder if that would rub off on people. And then eventually they just bump into the different foods and be, you know, just kind of not thinking about the, the steps and the. And, you know. Yeah, the complexity of it in the beginning.

[B]

I mean, it's like, I'll never forget, we're driving home from the hospital after her diagnosis, and she wanted a bag of Teddy Graham's, and I think they're poison. Well, I've been told how many ways in the last two days. Don't restrict. Right? Let them eat what they want to eat. Don't. I'm like, okay, yeah, eat these. Teddy Graham. So what do I do? I give her the half unit that was required for the amount of carbs for these Ted grams, and I watch her blood sugar go up to 400. And I'm like, well, hey, now, you just told me, I know that if I do the insulin and count the carbs, that this kind of crap's not going to happen. Just the naivety of it all.

[A]

Yeah. Here's a message for all your hospital staff. Why do you give people Graham crackers? What is wrong with you?

[B]

Right?

[A]

And by the way, jdrf, formerly JDRF whatever in Philadelphia, why do you put fresh soft pretzels at the walk? Like, is it just to be cruel? Are you like, hey, here's a bunch of newly diagnosed people. Let's give them a soft pretzel. Look at them.

[B]

Wow. Wow. Now go walk off that. Go for a walk.

[A]

Go for a walk and see if you don't end up with a 400 blood sugar anyway because you don't know what you're doing and you're in a panic. Exercising. I mean, seriously, there's a couple of Graham crackers at hospitals and. And soft pretzels at walks. Like, what is. I mean, there ought to be a table that says, do you know what you're doing? If so, look behind the curtain. And behind the curtain is a pretzel, Right? Because every. If you're not from around here, you don't know those soft pretzels are. They're perfect. I mean, they hit. They hit you right in the core of your. Whatever the part of your brain is that makes you feel like you're having an orgasm while you're eating a hot, soft pretzel with a little salt on top. Little yellow mustard. Are you kidding me? And now the places around here, you know, they sell cinnamon sugar to dip them in.

[B]

Good. Awesome.

[A]

And cream. I don't get any of that, by the way. Even I don't understand a chocolate pretzel, if I'm being honest.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Pretzel needs nothing. It needs mustard. It doesn't need anything else.

[B]

Yellow cheese dip even?

[A]

No. What am I, a monster? It's a pretzel. It's already perfect. Okay? As a matter of fact, if I talk about it for three more seconds, I'm going to end up with one today. So we have to stop right now because I'm going out. I'll be driving past the place. You guys should move here.

[B]

You can eat a pretzel and get a massage at the same time.

[A]

These people don't know I'm getting a massage today, Danielle. But you just, like, told them.

[B]

I forgot. It wasn't recording.

[A]

I ate a pretzel while being massaged. You don't think the person doing it would call the police? They'd be like, there's a lunatic in here eating a. He's asking for mustard. Please come help me. And not brown mustard. He said, that's disgusting.

[B]

Sorry about that.

[A]

Hey, everybody, guess what? I'm getting a massage today, okay? I got it as treating himself. I got it as a gift two Christmases ago and waited so long to do it that it was expired when I called the place and they were nice enough to set it up for me. Anyway, my wife wanted. Am I sharing this part? Yeah, whatever. My wife was like, I got this massage at this place specifically because there's a person there that has a great deep tissue massage. And I know that's what you want. I said, awesome, thank you. She read reviews, blah, blah, blah. I go, I call, I set the whole thing up. They offer me one of two people to do the massage. And I just very casually just chose the Female name when it was thrown at me, and I didn't think anything of it. I get downstairs, my wife's like, did you get it set up? And I was like, yeah, it's great. I'm gonna go. And she goes. I said, thank you again. Sorry it took me so long to do it. I was very, very cordial. And then she said, you did it with this person? And I went, oh, no, I did it with the other one. And she goes, why? And I said, I was faced with a male name and a female name, and I picked the female name. And she goes, but that's not the person that does the great deep tissue. I said, the lady on the phone said she did a great deep tissue massage. And my wife's like, but I read the reviews and the guy. And I was like, ah, I ain't looking for that. And by the way, for no real reason, I don't even care. I wouldn't care. I really wouldn't. But I was like, but when you. When you asked me, I was like, no lady name. I'll take lady name. Thank you. So anyway, judge me if you will. I don't care.

[B]

I'm not judging.

[A]

Yeah, I'm just getting a massage. All right. So how are things going? A year later?

[B]

I feel. I definitely feel steadier. I feel more empowered. I feel less guilt, less need for perfection.

[A]

Mm.

[B]

I think so her. So her A1C was 10.8 on diagnosis, and her first follow up, A1C was 6.1.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And so putting that in perspective, I knew that she still had highs through that, and we were still able to achieve a really good solid A1C first go around.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And so then it was like, okay, she doesn't have. It doesn't have to be perfect to see better results.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And so, yes, we still pre bolus, and yes, we. You know, she had pancakes for breakfast this morning. And yes, technically, they were only 40 carbs. She got way more insulin than just 40 carbs. Because now we know. And that's empowering to feel like we. We have a better grasp on it. And don't get me wrong, there's still. You think you do everything right, and you still see those double arrows up. It's been a while since we've had them, but they still happen. I don't beat myself up anymore about it, because what do I do? Just give more insulin and it's going to come down.

[A]

Where on that timeline does the. What was the medication you said you were taking?

[B]

I started that medication just about two months ago, because I was leery about it.

[A]

Okay, so you started it two months ago. Has your outlook on the diabetes changed as well?

[B]

Yeah, I'm just. I'm just a calmer individual in general.

[A]

All right, well, I'm not usually for all this, but for all you people out there who. When you hear me tell somebody to calm down, you think, oh, I should probably calm down to tell them again, the name of the medication.

[B]

Methylphenidate.

[A]

I mean, listen, kids, give up.

[B]

If you truly. If you truly have ADHD and. And licensed professionals telling you that you tick the. The correct boxes, I wouldn't be afraid to try a medication.

[A]

Right. I mean, otherwise you're a meth head, right? Because.

[B]

Yeah, otherwise. Otherwise, yeah, you are a stimulant junkie. And, yeah, if it's hard for you to remember to take your medicine, it's like, you know, for me, if I remember to take it, that's the problem too. You take your thyroid medicine, you have to wait so many minutes before. And by then the day has started, and so then you're coming back. Oh, yeah, I forgot to take my medicine. I could tell because I'm bouncing off the walls and not staying on task. So if you're forgetting to take the medication, you likely have adhd. If you're striving to want to take it, you probably don't.

[A]

You probably have a habit. Danielle's like, listen, you can get, like, checked over by a doctor and they check you out, but here's the criteria, really. If you want it, you don't need it. If you can't remember it, it's definitely for you.

[B]

Probably necessary. Yes.

[A]

That's some homespun wisdom right there. That's awesome. It's funny. Oh, my God. Can we call this episode Mrs. Dolittle?

[B]

Sure.

[A]

Yeah. That you'd be okay with?

[B]

I don't. I don't. I honestly, I don't care.

[A]

I don't.

[B]

I took my methylphenidate today. You call it whatever you want to call it.

[A]

I love. You're like, hey, baby, everything's good. Wait, did you try weed? Did weed not work?

[B]

I have in the past. It's been a long time, and I know. I don't like that feeling of, like, loosey, goosey, sort of lost control kind of feeling. And I know there's different strains and different. Different ones do different things, but I just. It wasn't for me, I don't think.

[A]

Did you. What was my question there? Did you have a lessening of anxiety with the weed? Not, no, not like this.

[B]

I was more kind of the opposite. I couldn't sit still and I was like, why am I feeling like this time slowing down? Oh my God, what is happening? What is happening?

[A]

Have you ever tried pulling mushrooms out of the cow patties? That might help.

[B]

No, no. I did experience dabble in college with some extra non prescription things. Yeah, that wasn't good for me either. It was more reckless than anything I.

[A]

Want to say with air quotes. There's a doctor that's been emailing me like crazy to come on the podcast to talk about their ketamine facility. And I'm like, interesting.

[B]

Are you gonna do it?

[A]

I mean, the website looks like it was made by a nine year old. It's throwing me off, you know?

[B]

So when this doctor hears this episode.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, listen, do a better job with your website and email me. Maybe you can.

[B]

Come on here. Yeah.

[A]

Stop making it feel like three hippie friends started a business together and, and I'll. And I'll look a little closer at it. I don't know. Also the, you know what throws me off is that comedian Whitney Cummings, she was like a few years ago pretty heavy into the, into the ketamine and it looked like it was making her crazy. So I don't know if maybe that was being.

[B]

If she's the poster child for it, then I don't know if that was. Maybe I'll go a different direction done.

[A]

Incorrectly maybe or whatnot. But I, I'll tell you, like what I would do is anybody who's in those trials for psilocybin and that therapy that they're doing, I would, I would love to talk to anybody who's done that. I think that would be great.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because wouldn't be me. Wouldn't be you. Would you do. If that was legal. Let me ask a question. If it was legal to go into a center right now and they give you a little bit of a, I don't know the technicalities around. They give you a little, a little psilocybin, little trip and then they do that therapy through. Because it's like a guided therapeutic thing.

[B]

Yeah. Where you take like the psychedelics and.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, I think they're. Listen, there's studies going on at Hopkins and a number of other places right now about it. Right. So if that were, if that was the thing and they said to you, look, we're going to dig out your trauma, we'll get rid of this anxiety, would you try something like that?

[B]

Oh, maybe, maybe.

[A]

I think I Would. I think I would. And I. And I've never done that.

[B]

Maybe if it were a sure thing.

[A]

Sure. Well, listen, you want a sure thing.

[B]

In life is a sure thing. But. But that would be helpful.

[A]

Yeah. The only thing I'm sure about that.

[B]

Like there's no chance you could get any worse.

[A]

What a lovely way to put that. You're like, listen, if I'm.

[B]

Maybe it won't get. You don't have to reassure me that I will be cured of all of these mental health woes, but don't want.

[A]

To be out of your mind when it's.

[B]

Can it also. Can you guarantee that it won't make it worse?

[A]

I believe this is a very low dose. Now, having said that, I don't know that. I have no idea. I'm sure it's. I'm certainly not telling you to go do it. Nothing you hear in the juice box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan or use the mushrooms. So. Yeah, thank you. I think I would do it though. And I don't even know what my. I mean, I. I'm aware of what my trauma is. I don't. I feel like I've done a good job with it. I feel like I can exist pretty well the rest of my life, but I would like to know what it would be like if it just didn't exist anymore.

[B]

That's. I think that's a fair point. Yeah, absolutely.

[A]

I think, I think if somebody could dig into my. Into my head and take out that the person who gave birth to me and the person that adopted me, abandoned me, I think that'd be good for me if I could get rid of that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know what I mean? I'd like to keep a little bit of that fear of being. Having my ass kicked as a kid. I think that keeps me. That keeps me motivated a little bit.

[B]

I am, I am. This is all resonating.

[A]

Oh, is that. Is that how they told Danielle to be quiet?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Wait, how old are you?

[B]

I am 35.

[A]

Well, I didn't know we were allowed to hit kids in the 90s. I thought I was in the 70s.

[B]

Oh, I still got good old fashioned spankings.

[A]

Did you get a belt?

[B]

No, I didn't get a belt. It was. It was more. It was more hands from the dad than anything. Yeah. Yeah. Well, an emotional trauma from my dad. He was one of those people that. From the outside looking in. He was dad of the year. Right. He coached me in basketball. And was at all my games and felt like a really present father. And then behind closed doors, he was hateful, manipulative, and just a really sour person.

[A]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You know, after a baseball practice one day, I watched one of Cole's teammates, like, get run into, like, in the car by their dad. And you, Even though you couldn't hear it, like, you could see it, you.

[B]

Know exactly what's going on in there.

[A]

Like, the face and the screaming and the pointing and the kid shrinking and everything. And the kid grew up to be a shrunk person, too, then. And. And got out of it eventually, which I was always happy to see. But my God, like, I. I don't know what that guy thought he was. I don't know what he thought they were. They were 12.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know what I mean?

[B]

Like, I mean, work. I mean, because like I said before, therapy is. I'm not. I've been in and out of therapy, and I'm a huge advocate for it. I've worked through that. I mean, can you imagine? That man coached me in basketball from second grade through high school.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It is so hard to be the coach's kid.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Especially with somebody who had a personality like him.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That, you know, nothing was good enough. I was supposed to be this. I mean, he was living. I mean, in hindsight, he was living vicariously through me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I was a reflection of what he never did as, you know, a teenager or an athlete. And he wanted me to fulfill those prophecies, those. Those dreams of his.

[A]

How tall are you?

[B]

I mean, I'm 5 7.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

So I'm not. I'm not tall, but I'm scrappy. Scrappy. And I have a three point shot that would knock your socks off. I've broken some records. I was all state in Illinois. I mean, I wasn't. I mean, I was. I was decent.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But he kind of ruined it for me. And I. I didn't play in college just to be an.

[A]

Oh, really? You could have.

[B]

And you were like, I could have played in college. Not D1, but D2, D3. And I purposely didn't.

[A]

Yeah, I don't want it because you don't want to be involved with him anymore. Just the fuck. Listen, I've made some good decisions in my life and some really bad ones. But one of them was at one point, my wife said, maybe you should be a coach on one of these baseball teams, because I think it would be. Cole would get a more fair shake. And I Said, I think that's a bad idea. Yeah. I don't think that. I'm looking at these other guys and they're ruining their relationships with their kids a hundred percent.

[B]

I will never coach my kids. I will always be their cheerleader if they decide to play basketball, for instance, and they want tips, tricks, they, you know, I'm here if you want it, and otherwise I'm rah rah sispumba on the sidelines.

[A]

Just. Yeah.

[B]

Being your biggest fan.

[A]

Anyway, I'm never gonna forget watching that guy yell at that kid. So, I don't know. I, I swear, I'd love, I would have loved to. Said to him, like, what do you think's about to happen? Like, are you gonna yell it and you're gonna yell it into him? He doesn't, the kid doesn't have whatever it is you want him to have. He does. He currently does not possess it.

[B]

No. And you're. You're basically just stealing the joy and the fun of it from that child and. Yeah, exactly.

[A]

And it's. There's no shade on the kid either, by the way. It just wasn't really his thing, you know, and they, and I think it was because his body style fit it that they were trying to force it into happening. That makes sense.

[B]

Yeah. That's terrible.

[A]

He just didn't have a love for it. So I don't know. And the kid's vomiting all the time, like, upset, and I mean, look what you're doing. And then they'd say that there's something wrong with the kid. I'm like, you're yelling at him all the time.

[B]

I, I, Yeah, yeah. That's asinine.

[A]

Yeah. Everybody's an idiot. Not me, though. Not me and you, Danielle. We're smart. We know.

[B]

Yes. Huh? Huh. Take it from me. Yeah.

[A]

Well, listen, you lived through it.

[B]

I did.

[A]

Yeah. Nobody expected anything out of me. I just got my ass kicked for being smartass. You know, I think it is maybe appropriate to mention in the first recording of my 12th year, not 12th season, 12th year of making a podcast. By the way, I don't want to brag, Danielle, but did you know that fewer than 200 of the four and a half million podcasts that exist have as many episodes as mine?

[B]

I saw your post about that. All the statistics.

[A]

If you say I made a post about it, then it seems like I do want to brag. So just, just say, oh, no, that's crazy.

[B]

Well, no, it's. It's educational.

[A]

Yeah. I'm very proud.

[B]

Continue to support so he. I can continue to do this.

[A]

Thank you. No, no.

[B]

Look at how many people failed, you know, or weren't able to, to produce with me or prior to me.

[A]

And I don't even mean just like in diabetes or like in the space in general. Like, there's four and a half million podcasts only fewer than 200 of them have produced 1700 episodes. That alone is crazy. The. The show is entering its ninth year of being in the top 20, top 30 of the U. S category, which is, like, unheard. If you go look at that category. It's a lot of podcasts made by companies and corporations and like, little old me with my independent podcast, which is. Which is pretty great and also, I think speaks volumes about the support that I get from people listening.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

But I'm excited about that.

[B]

Full disclosure, before coming on here, I had gone on to chat GPT and I was like, hey, I'm going to be a guest on the juice box podcast. Any tips or ideas or information that I need to know going into this, and I chat GPT knew who you were, knew your style of interviewing. It was actually pretty helpful. I have to send you what my response was.

[A]

Oh, would you show that to me? That's awesome.

[B]

Yeah, I can email it to you.

[A]

Hey, what's up? OpenAI I see you.

[B]

Yeah, they did. They were like, he will carry the conversation. He will lead you along. He likes to talk about different personal experiences, not just about diagnosis, but digging deeper into different aspects and. And what have you. So, yeah, I mean, it was spot on.

[A]

I swear to you. I find that invigorating and a little violating all at the same time.

[B]

Yeah, true, true. I. I can imagine.

[A]

Well, I mean, it's my fault. I'm. I'm the one having the conversations. Boy, isn't that something? Yeah, yeah, I'll. I'll. I. I'll tell you. Can I tell you one thing I did with. With an. An AI model recently?

[B]

Please.

[A]

Beyond stuff for the podcast, which is I'm putting a bunch of stuff together that I think you guys are going to like. I am. I'm not good at figuring out social media, so I, I don't understand the Facebook algorithm the way I'm. I don't know, made. I'm not the target audience for a Facebook post that's popular, but I wrote one recently and I was like. And it really was popular. And I was like, oh. I'm like, I must. I don't know how to do it again. So, like, I read it and I thought okay. Like, I'm just trying to get people to the content, right? I don't know what to do. So I took the content, I said, look, I wrote this Facebook post. It was really popular. Can you please break down why it might have been popular and help me to, like, mimic that in my future writings? Because I don't understand how to engage people on Facebook and that's a. It's frustrating because I do a great job of engaging people in audio, right? Like, if you hear me and you don't hate me, you're gonna really like this.

[B]

What kind of feedback did you get?

[A]

It actually gave me back, like a report on it, and I haven't read it yet. It gave me a report. It gave me an AI model to. In case. It said, in case I don't want to write them, I could just drop the, the text from the episodes into a. Into a prompt and it could help me write them. And it's given me a five, a six minute audio overview where it's going to explain to me what it learned. So I haven't listened to that yet.

[B]

Interesting.

[A]

That's. I mean, that's the thing. I mean, that's just a tiny look at how people are. Are using AI in ways that you wouldn't expect. I just don't know how to. I can sit and wonder, but I can't keep up with it. And I'm too busy to, like, make it my job. I can't afford to hire somebody to tell me, like, how do I. And I also don't want to be a person who's like, you just write something engaging. I don't, I don't want to do that. Like, I want to understand why people were engaged by it. What is it about? Because I did write it. Like, so what about that post made it interesting to people? Because I'm writing to you. I'm not writing to me. Like, if I was the audience, my posts would be like, hey, this episode's about Danielle. Here's what happened to her. Go listen to it. And I would hear that and go, goddamn right, let me go listen. But that's not how most people work. Like, so. And maybe that'll help me get other people to management stuff. Like, maybe this is going to lead it to. Because that's one of the bigger problems that we have with the podcast, is that it's difficult to get people out of the Facebook group into the series. Like Bold Beginnings and stuff like that. So I wonder how I could maybe like, hearing your success and other people's success with it. I wonder how I could entice people out of that red written world into an audio world and give them the experience that you had. That's what I'm.

[B]

So you're saying that there are people that get into the private Juice Box podcast group, but then don't actually listen to the podcast itself?

[A]

Oh, Danielle. There are people who, like, comment on things and go, what's this podcast you're all talking about? So. So the Facebook group has become like.

[B]

A support group, but they don't know why. It's called Juice Box.

[A]

Yes. It's its own entity. It's so valuable for people that it attracts people outside of people who listen. It started as a place for listeners to talk about the PODC podcast, but I build it up to a thing that just. It's just not that anymore.

[B]

Gotcha.

[A]

Yeah. And there are probably plenty of people listening to this who are like, I wouldn't log on to Facebook if you paid me money. But I'll tell you what, that's a great support group.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

If you got Facebook just to be in that group and you had diabetes in your life, I think it would be valuable for you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So anyway, what have we missed? What have we not talked about anything at all?

[B]

No, I think my big takeaway for people was just I wanted to advocate for parents to take their own mental health seriously when having a child with diabetes, because there are, as we know, there's no days off. I just think that everybody in this. This vicinity can benefit from some kind of mental health rejuvenation, so to speak, because, you know, I hope I'm not alone in this, that it didn't just affect my relationship with myself. You know, it affects your relationship with your spouse. You know, never feeling like we get a day off, having resentment grow between us sometimes. Like, we're not fighting each other necessarily. We're fighting because we're never off duty. Right. And I just. I just wanted to Give other type 1 parents permission to prioritize themselves a little more because we do. We prior to prioritize the health and safety of our kids. Well, that we don't do the same for ourselves.

[A]

Yeah, no, that's a great message.

[B]

I would. I just want to empower more parents to take care of themselves, too.

[A]

Awesome. That's. That's a great message. Everybody should take her seriously. You don't have to get medicated, but.

[B]

No, it doesn't have to start with medication. It has to start with just owning your own it and. And wanting to do Better for yourself, so you can do better for your kids.

[A]

I would also say if medication is the answer, you're not going to get any shade from me about it, like, whatever.

[B]

Or me either. I am medicated. No big deal.

[A]

Arden looked me right in the face last night and she goes, do you remember the time we went to Atlanta to visit Cole? And I was like, yeah. And she goes, and we went to the. To the aquarium. And I was like, yeah. She goes, I saw a picture of that the other day. And I was like, yeah. And she goes, wow, you were really fat. And I went, oh, awesome. And. And when she said it, I wasn't insulted. Like, she was, you know, joking. And I was. I was happy to joke with her, but my. My quiet thought in my head was, I am so glad I tried that GLP medication. It really has changed my life. And I wonder. Yeah, I just think life's too short to fight with something over and over again and lose the same battle, you know?

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

So, yeah, in mental health, I think of the same way, like, if you. If there's a way around it, I don't know why you're trying to go through it all the time, you know, and you're not.

[B]

And as much as we feel like we're masking it, we're not.

[A]

Of course not.

[B]

I think for. For type 1 parents, good diabetes control is masking anxiety. Right. Hyper vigilance for a lot of people. You know, you think these parents are fine and their kids are doing so great and they're actually just suffering in silence.

[A]

Mm. Yeah.

[B]

So.

[A]

No, I hear you. It is. Anyway, I think whatever works, works. And you should try to lessen your load and not just mask it, but to actually, like, do something to alleviate the stress. Because it is not your fault that your father screamed at you about basketball or that you got kicked under a coffee table like I did, or you were sitting in a car being screamed at on a baseball field or, you know, or whatever else happened to you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, like, it's. It doesn't mean you need to live like that forever. It's not. It's not a self fulfilling prophecy. If there's a way out, take it.

[B]

Yep. That's 100%.

[A]

Yeah. Awesome. You are awesome. This is a great first episode of my 12th season of the Juice Box podcast. 12 Ding puts me in some pretty limited categories about how long the podcast has been going, about how many downloads it has, about how many episodes it has. I feel really good. I feel a little prolific, actually.

[B]

Yeah, I'm proud of you, Scott.

[A]

Hey, and y', all, thank you so much.

[B]

I'm proud of you.

[A]

Oh, my God. That's awesome. How many times have you seen a cow give birth?

[B]

Personally, I choose not to see cows.

[A]

But you could, though, right?

[B]

I could. I could. Does the husband go help along for some out calls? Yeah, but then that would mean. Who's watching our children? Our village is rather small. Actually, my husband and I are going on our first date night in a year. Basically, we have finally found the courage to let somebody else watch our kiddos while we step out for the night. So slow and steady. Steady and slow.

[A]

I hope that night doesn't end with you in the car and your husband shoulder deep in a cow.

[B]

Or pregnant.

[A]

Oh. Oh, no, absolutely.

[B]

I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Our family is so completely complete. We have four beautiful children. And that is where it ends.

[A]

Oh, Danielle, I just assumed you sewed your vagina shut. Is there like.

[B]

There wasn't.

[A]

That could still happen.

[B]

I mean, it's. It's on my husband to do the old snipper Rooney.

[A]

Oh, sweetheart, no, no, don't. No, no. This is. You're gonna have five kids. You got to be very careful.

[B]

I. I have never been one to handle birth control very well. I've tried multiple different types, and they've all made me cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. And so. So it is on my husband to make this permanent.

[A]

I would say that when he starts making that face, you yell, how much money's in the checking account? That should stop him. Okay.

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

Tell him how much college costs during sex.

[B]

I think that'll everything else diabetes supplies.

[A]

When you're making love. Yellow college cost. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. We have four children.

[B]

Sexy.

[A]

Start taking the numbers times to get by.

[B]

4.

[A]

Talking about, you know, inflation.

[B]

Hot and bothered. Let me tell you.

[A]

That'll slow the whole thing right down. It would stop me. I'll tell you. Right in my tracks anyway. All right, hold on one second.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Dexcom sponsored this episode of the Juicebox podcast. Learn more about the Dexcom G7 at my link dexcom.com juicebox Today's episode is also sponsored 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 installation, 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. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of the Juice Box Podcast. If you're not already subscribed or following the podcast in your favorite audio app like Spotify or Apple Podcasts, please do that now. Seriously, just to hit follow or subscribe will really help the show. If you go a little further in Apple Podcasts and set it up so that it downloads all new episodes, I'll be your best friend. And if you leave a five star review, ooh, I'll probably send you a Christmas card. Would you like a Christmas card? Hey, I'm dropping in to tell you about a small change being made to the Juice Cruise 2026 schedule. This adjustment was made by Celebrity Cruise Lines, not by me. Anyway, we're still going out on the Celebrity beyond cruise ship, which is awesome. Check out the walkthrough [e-mail] JuiceCruise the ship is awesome. Still a seven night cruise. It still leaves out of Miami on June 21st. Actually, most of this is the same. We leave Miami June 21, head to CocoCay in the Bahamas, but then we're going to San Juan, Puerto rico instead of St. Thomas after that. Basteria. I think I'm saying that wrong. St. Kitts and Nevis. This place is gorgeous. Google it. I mean, you're probably gonna have to go to my link to get the correct spelling because my pronunciation is so bad. But once you get the Saint Kitts and you Google it, you're gonna look and see a photo that says to you, oh, I want to go there. Come meet other people living with type 1 diabetes, from caregivers to children to adults. Last year we had a hundred people on our cruise and it was fabulous. You can see pictures to get at my link juiceboxpodcast.com juicecruise. You can see those pictures from last year there. The link also gives you an opportunity to register for the cruise or to contact Suzanne from Cruise Planners. She takes care of all the logistics. I'm just excited that I might see you there. It's a beautiful event for families, for singles. A wonderful opportunity to meet people, swap stories, make friendships and learn. If you have a podcast and you need a fantastic editor, you want Rob from Wrong Way Recording. Listen, truth be told, I'm like, 20% smarter. When Rob edits me, he takes out all the, like, gaps of time. And when I go and stuff like that, and it just, I don't know, man. Like, I listen back and I'm like, why do I sound smarter? And then I remember because I did one smart thing. I hired [e-mail].