B (4:01)

I'm going to be honest, the state and the county provide tremendous resources for the child and so we're not out any money in terms of having a foster child. Obviously there is no money that we could put on the time and energy piece of it though.

A (4:22)

Sure.

B (4:22)

But that is a, you know, that is a price that we're more than willing to pay and give, if you will.

A (4:28)

And my other question was I just did the math on the age of the baby and how long you've had diabetes and the whole story and did you get a newborn as a foster?

B (4:38)

It was, yeah. So our child was.

A (4:42)

Yeah.

B (4:42)

Essentially a newborn, just about six weeks old. Yeah.

A (4:45)

Had a name when it arrived?

B (4:47)

Yes.

A (4:48)

Okay, I'm just going to ask you don't feel bad answering this one way or the other. Do you love the baby?

B (4:56)

Absolutely.

A (4:57)

Yeah. Do you love it? Do you think the way you love your two natural kids?

B (5:01)

You know, Scott, it's different. I was telling my kids recently that my wife and I were talking, I was telling them about how I love my wife, but that that love is a different type of love than loving my children. And I do feel like that's that's very real difference between the two. I feel like that's kind of the same for our foster child. It's a different kind of love. And I don't know how else to describe it, but yes, there's absolutely a love there that shares many kind of characteristics and overlap is with your biological children. But I'll be honest, I mean, it takes time to form that bond, especially as. As a dad, I feel like my wife was able to form that bond really quickly and easily. It's taken me time, but now that he's, you know, nine months old and able to interact with us more, and he's all smiles and just a really happy baby, it's just been a lot easier to kind of feel that connection, if you will.

A (5:56)

Zach, if that baby leaves, that lady is going to pull you on top of her in two seconds, and you're going to end up with a third kid. I just want you to be careful, okay? She's. She's going to be like, oh, my gosh, the baby's gone. I love the baby being here. So you're saying romantic, physical attraction for your wife, intellectual attraction for your wife, that love is one piece, is one way. The. The love you have for your kids is more of that like, I jump in front of a bus feeling. Right. Like a connection. That's really difficult. I hate when people say, you'll understand when you have kids, but, man, there's a reason people say that. Yeah, like, you will, like, you know, like, you. You could turn. It could turn a lot inside of you on a dime when you have kids. Right? And so there's that. And in the middle is the baby. Try your hardest to describe the affection.

B (6:52)

You know, it's knowing that you're giving something to this human, this child that they needed so desperately. They can't give you anything in return, and that's completely okay. And you know that you're just there to give to that child as much as you can. And it certainly resembles more the, like, I would jump in front of a bus for you kind of thing, or jump in front of a, you know, a bullet for you. But that's kind of the best way I know how to describe it. Scott. In other languages, they have multiple, multiple words to describe love. You may have heard it said, like, snow in other countries is described, like, 70 different ways.

A (7:35)

And.

B (7:36)

And love is described a number of different ways in other languages, too. And the type of love that I'm referring to is more of an agape type of love. The unconditional jump in front of a bullet for you type of love. Very sacrificial.

A (7:50)

Yeah, I'm going to say something stupid, but I think it gets to a point. You're. I don't know, for some reason, there's a dastardly villain, and he's got you at a cliff, and it's your firstborn, and the. And the, you know, the. The foster says, look you got to leave one of them here and, you know, the other one you can take with you. That's not a hard choice, right? I mean, it's a hard choice, but, like, in the end, you make that choice. But where does. Like. But now suddenly your firstborn's not there, and the. The dastardly villain says, hey, you got to toss that kid off this cliff. You're going to fight then, right? Is that the. Did you see what I'm saying? Like. Like, and maybe this is unfair to ask you and I don't know even how we got down. I'm just enjoying our conversation. When you take out your kids from the equation, you'd fight for that kid just like you would fight for any other living human being in front of you.

B (8:44)

Yeah.

A (8:45)

You know, but do you think harder because you have this connection over the last nine months is my question.

B (8:50)

Yeah, well, I would love to sit here and. And say that I would. And I will say that I would. Until you're in that situation, you don't know how you're going to respond. But, you know, in this kind of terrible, ethical, philosophical question you're asking me. Yes. If you're asking if I'd lay down my life or, you know, do something for a foster child, I absolutely would.

A (9:11)

Right. Because listen, because in the same situation, you're walking down the street and there's five strangers there, and someone says, hey, you got to toss yourself or over the cliff or I'm going to, you know, I don't know, hit one of those people with a trial. You're like, well, good luck, everybody. I got to get the hell out of here. And like, so, but. So there is a connection that's built in just that short time with the foster kid.

B (9:28)

Oh, absolutely.

A (9:29)

Yeah. It's really awesome. Do you see it as, like, because you brought up religions, like, is it more like service the way you feel about, like, church? Does that make sense?

B (9:38)

It's not service out of, you know, I feel compelled or like I have to do it to get in good graces. I think it's. It's more driven out of this kind of motivation. I've seen the impact that giving sacrificially can have on a human life and want to give that. And I mean, you know, selfishly, we receive a lot by doing it too. We get a lot of love from Hux or from our foster child. And. And so it's. It's kind of bi. Directional.

A (10:06)

Listen, I try not to sound like a. I was going to say douchebag. I don't want to, but I just try not to sound like a douchebag when I say this, but I get way more out of this podcast than you guys do. Like, seriously. And I've. And I've been told by you and other people how valuable it's been for you, and still you have no idea. Like, you were getting the short end of the stick. Like, you. You guys have, like, just being out there and having this. This connection, this, like, sightless connection with somebody. I've. I don't know, it's elevated me as a human being immeasurably and given me, like, perspective and comfort and joy and sadness and all kinds of things that I didn't expect from it. So, yeah, I. I hope everybody, you know, takes. Takes that conversation they're having at home, or wouldn't it be nice to help a kid and puts a, you know, takes whatever that next step is and goes into the other spot. You're glad you did it. Do you ever have moments when you think like, I wish we wouldn't have done this, or has that not happened yet?

B (11:06)

No. I've had moments where I've thought to myself, I could really use a break, but I've never had a moment where I'm like, I wish we. We hadn't done this.

A (11:16)

Okay.

B (11:17)

Yeah.

A (11:17)

Well, I think that's telling, especially because you're going through a fresh diagnosis, because it would be easy for you to get hosed up with diabetes once and be like, I can't believe, like, I barely have enough time to figure this out for myself and we're taking care of someone else's baby.

B (11:31)

Yeah.

A (11:32)

Then you haven't thought that then. It sounds like a real. A real good fit for you and your family. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. Really well done as a. An adult runner with three kids and a lot of other things in a profession, everything. You run early in the morning. When do you run?

B (11:50)

I do. I get up at 5. And that's where I do most of my running, in part because, as we talked about earlier, I don't have any insulin on board. And kind of the dawn phenomenon is something that I always have a spike in my glucose between 5 and 9 or 10am and so my run helps to kind of tamper that some. I don't have to worry about taking any carbs beforehand or any insulin. And also everyone's asleep still, so I can do it and not feel like I'm not missing anything or, you know, that I need to be there.

A (12:23)

Oh, my God. You've already gone for a run today.

B (12:26)

You know, today I didn't. You want to know why? Because I was prepping for this podcast. I was like, I got to make sure I have my ducks in a row.

A (12:31)

Okay. Awesome. I was like, you're impressing me. If you've run out. Ran. Came back. Hey, so this is interesting, you being the person with diabetes, think I can go out and run because everyone else is asleep. And as a parent of a child with type one, I am an early riser, too. Not five o', clock, because that's insane, but I do. But I do like to be up by seven, and I always think, like, there's all this great time where people are sleeping, that I could get other things done. But I'm always. I am going to use the word burden. Burdened by the idea that, like, be it back in the day, like, I didn't want to leave the house because Arden was asleep.

B (13:12)

Oh, wow.

A (13:13)

And I. So I have spent. And I'm saying this because I hope I'm sharing it with other people who felt the same. I have spent an unpleasant number of hours of my life just standing quietly in my own home because you don't want to, like, you don't want to wake anybody up. Like, so you're not going to vacuum. You're not going to bang around, like, you know, I mean, it's not the time to go start doing the laundry. I don't know. Our laundry is on the second floor. If you don't have your laundry on the second floor and you have a second floor, you're making a huge mistake. And so, like, there's not a lot of things to do there. And I have come as close to being resentful as I've ever been about that wasted time in the morning. Like, I really. Sometimes I stand there and I'm like, I could be. So many things I want to do right now, and I just. I feel like I can't leave the house because what if she gets low out of nowhere, and then, you know, it doesn't happen? It's just like, the feeling of, like, maybe it could. And then even yesterday, I had to run out in the morning. She's 21 now, but, you know, she's not feeling well. She got. We all got sick. And so Arden sleeping in a little bit before a class. Kelly's working. Son's away on a trip, and I needed to go out to do something, and I'm in the car, and I'm 10 minutes from my house, and I get beep, beep, beep. And, like, it wasn't a hard thing to fix. Like, don't get me wrong, right? Like, it wasn't a big deal, but it did, like, give me that tin inside. Like, I was like, oh, that's why I don't leave early in the morning when I get up. I'll tell you what, I don't resent Arden, but I resent diabetes. Like, I was a young guy, and I love doing stuff in the morning, and I just. I stopped doing stuff like that because of this. And then the, you know, CGMs make it easier and everything, but we didn't have those in the beginning, too. Yeah.

B (15:03)

You know, Scott, I think part of what has made accepting diabetes easier for me is hearing stories like yourself and others who have kind of one had this psychological stress for a child. And I would say that, you know, for me, that would be so much harder than it being myself. And then also, as technology has advanced, you know, it makes monitoring and responding much more manageable and simpler. I don't want to say it's easy, but it's certainly made it more manageable and simpler. But like, that psychological stress you describe, like, that is not something I have to live with for a child. And I really. I sympathize and empathize with those who do have to.

A (15:43)

Well, you're kind. And I'll. I'll shine the light back on you for a second, because I don't think we spend enough time talking about the fear you felt being told to pre bolus for a meal. You know, from having conversations with people over and over again. I'm never going to understand. I mean, listen, first I should knock on wood. I hope I'm never gonna understand that for myself, but I have no idea what that feels like to, like, be told like this push this stuff inside of you, it's gonna make your blood sugar fall if it falls too far. You're gonna get dizzy, sweaty, pass out, and have a seizure. And by the way, go ahead, put it in there, and then just chill out for a while before you eat. Yeah.

B (16:22)

And don't forget, don't forget to eat

A (16:24)

and don't forget, I hope that baby doesn't cry and that you don't run upstairs to grab something for somebody, and then the next thing you know, you've ran up and down the stairs six times and you've got the bolus going and you forgot to warm up your food and blah, blah, blah. I'll tell you, it seems like such a small thing to an outsider, I bet. But after making this podcast, this is my 12th year. I'm starting right now. After making this podcast for so long, I have so much compassion for that one little problem about around diabetes and, and, and thank God people shared those stories with me because or I would have never known and I would have and I'd be spending my whole life telling my daughter like pre bullish, you gotta do this like blah blah blah and it's wrong if you don't. Instead when it doesn't happen, I understand. And then that's just part of the malleable nature of this. Whatever this show is seriously, right. Whatever all this is. You, you, you have a cgm, you have a pump. Use an automated system. Do you like the system you're using? Are you thinking of changing or you have benefits from it you'd like to share with people? Like, what would you tell them you've learned in these first couple of months? Let's talk about the Tandem Mobi insulin pump from today's sponsor, Tandem Diabetes Care. Their newest algorithm, Control IQ plus technology, and the new Tandem Moby pump offer you unique opportunities to have better control. It's the only system with Autobolus that helps with missed meals and preventing hyperglycemia, the only system with a dedicated sleep setting, and the only system with off or on body wear options. Tandem Moby gives you more discretion, freedom and options for how to manage your diabetes. This is their best algorithm ever and they'd like you to check it out@tandomdiabetes.com juicebox when you get to my link, you're going to see integrations with Dexcom sensors and a ton of other information that's going to help you learn about Tandem's tiny pump that's big on control. Tandemdiabetes.com juicebox the Tandem mobi system is available for people ages 2 and up who want an automated delivery system to help them sleep better, wake up in range and address high blood sugars with Autobolus, Why would you settle for changing your CGM every few weeks when you can have 365 days of reliable glucose data? Today's episode is sponsored by the Eversense365. It is the only CGM with a tiny sensor that lasts a full year. Sitting comfortably under your skin with no more frequent sensor changes and essentially no compression lows for one year, you'll get your CGM data in real time on your phone, smartwatch, Android or iOS, even an Apple watch. Predictive high and low alerts Let you know where your glucose is headed before it gets there. So there's no surprises, just confidence. And you can instantly share that data with your healthcare provider or your family. You're going to get one year of reliable data without all those sensor changes. That's the Eversense 365. Gentle on your skin, strong for your life. One sensor a year. That gives you one less thing to worry about. Head now to eversensecgm.com juicebox to get started.

B (19:50)

Yeah, I do like the system I'm using. You know, I, because I'm so active, I wanted something that was going to be conducive and easy for me to, to run with. Summer, winter, you name it, I wanted to be able to run with it. I want to be able to, you know, do stuff with my kids and be active. And I felt like the system I went with allowed me to do that. Honestly, I probably did more scientific research on the different pumps and systems than most do, at least through the lens of what's the data, what are the publications show, things like that. And my assessment was that they all are going to work essentially equally effectively. It's more about boiling down to preference. They're all going to have similar time and range and, you know, A1C benefits. And so it's more about picking one that kind of fits your lifestyle. So the one I've picked, I have.

A (20:42)

Hey, stop for a second. Yeah, I know everybody that listens to this show and since I take ads from pretty much every pump company that exists, I'm imagining all of them right now going like, come on, say us. Say us.

B (20:56)

I know, I'm trying not to.

A (20:58)

I'm to trying.

B (20:58)

I'm trying not to.

A (20:59)

Just do it, do it, do it. Which one did you pick?

B (21:02)

I don't want to because look at you. Because I do pump trainings. I'm sorry, I just.

A (21:08)

Don't be sorry. Don't be sorry. You'll tell me afterwards and I'll be the only one that knows. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They're all like, right now, they're like, oh, this sucks also. Hey, guys, what's up? I know you're out there, so. Oh, that's. But listen, I couldn't possibly agree with you more. I have to tell you, like, you know, there's, there's a cynical way to look at it. When I'm, I'm looking at my advertiser list up in front of me right now. I got Omnipod, Medtronic, Tandem, Twist, just signed back up yesterday. Hey, Twist. Thank you. And I realized that, like, there are attributes or, you know, physical components to these things that make one of those pumps the absolute right choice for somebody. And I would tell you, I don't know if people would believe this or not, but, you know, I. Most of my interaction is with marketing and companies, and I don't think one of those people would tell you, I wish you had my pump, even if you belonged with another one. I don't see that with people. I mean, listen, they're out there doing their job and, you know, trying to sell things and swinging hands like everybody else in the world. But, like, I've never. I've had private, thoughtful conversations with people from every one of those companies. Not one of them would voice their thing on you if they knew something else was better for you. And so I take your point. You should get the pump that works best for you. And I believe that. I genuinely do. And it's funny, because I one time I saw someone online that was like, scott's got every pump company advertising on that podcast. How did he do that? And I think I did it because, genuinely, you should get those choices. You shouldn't just hear an ad for one of them. You should hear them all and get to go decide for yourself.

B (23:02)

And that patient choice piece, I love that you commented on that. I think there is a tendency for, you know, endocrinologists and prescribers to maybe have a preference towards one versus the other and let that kind of preference or bias influence what they relate to the patient. But I have to give a shout out to my endocrinologist. You know, absolutely. He said, look, here are a few options, but I want you to go home and do your own research, look at all the options, and come back and tell me which one you want. And so I'm grateful for him for letting me do that, because it did two things. One, really encouraged me to do my own research. But then, two, I really bought into the system that I chose, and I think that's helped with satisfaction and enjoying the product overall.

A (23:47)

Because you felt like you chose it and you chose it for good reasons.

B (23:51)

Yep, exactly.

A (23:52)

You're invested in making it work for yourself at that point, too.

B (23:56)

Precisely.

A (23:57)

Yeah. No, it's the way it should be. How did you become a pump trainer so quickly?

B (24:01)

If I'm being honest, the pump was so transformative for me that I said, look, here's my background. I'm a pharmacist. I have 10 years of clinical experience, and this product has been really transformational. For me. And I asked if there are opportunities to help train people and went through the certification and as that.

A (24:25)

So Zach, you're working somewhere. You train all pumps. You train a specific pump.

B (24:30)

A specific one.

A (24:31)

And that's why you don't want to. So you work for the company?

B (24:34)

Well, I, you know, I work for a university. I do. I'm contracted to do some of the pump trainings for new starts for the company. So, I mean, I guess I do in a way. I don't know if I could. Yeah, in a way, right? In a way.

A (24:49)

I got you. Oh, that's so good. You just a level. You just don't want to shout your thing out. That's very nice. Good for you.

B (24:55)

Cool.

A (24:56)

What have we not talked about that we should have? What are we missing?

B (24:59)

Can I tell you a funny story?

A (25:00)

I would love it.

B (25:01)

Okay. So last night I was talking to my kids about coming on this podcast and my kids have, have had a, a small degree of psychological stress about my diabetes. They've seen me have lows on, you know, the soccer field, coaching them and different things like that. And so they're, they're very in tune with kind of my day to day decisions. And if they hear my CGM alarm go off, they're like, dad, are you low? Those types of things. And last night I told my daughter, I said, I'm going on the juice box podcast tomorrow. And my daughter looked at me with this really kind of puzzled look and she goes, dad, is that where you talk about how juice boxes aren't healthy? And I just shared a good laugh with her and I thought, I have to tell Scott.

A (25:42)

That's awesome. I was, where was I the other day? Oh, a person in my family got a phone for Christmas. So the old phone went back and we traded in for cash. And I was, I was back. I am the. I am the shopping. I was, it's not my phone. I was the one trading it back in. So I was back and I was trading it in and the guy helping me said, I don't know what he said, but he asked me what I did for a living and I said, oh, I make a podcast and I'm in the Apple store. So, yeah, he's a 24 year old kid. He's like, you know, I feel like to him I must have the best job in the world, you know, and. And he was like, he's like, oh, what's it about? And I said, oh, it's. You wouldn't care. Like, it's about type 1 diabetes. I said, do you have diabetes? And he goes, no. He goes, but a lot of people in my family have Type one. And I went, oh, well, then you would care. I think it would be helpful for them, you know. And so he goes, what's it called? And I said, juice box. And he just looked at me, like, so strangely. And I said, you know, a lot of times people with type 1 diabetes use juice boxes to, you know, bring their blood sugar back up if it falls out of nowhere. And he went, oh, they do, right? And I was like, yeah. And he goes, oh, that makes a lot of sense then. But the second before, he was like, juice box. Like, what the heck is that?

B (27:05)

Yes.

A (27:06)

And I get that a lot from people. They're either people, like, think it's people with type 1 understand why, but other people are, like, very thrown off by the name of it, so. And you're probably always talking about eating well around those kids, right? Right. Am I? Yeah.

B (27:22)

Yeah. We just talked about kind of New Year's goals and things and talking about some dietary stuff with them, so. You're exactly right. They're like, this doesn't seem consistent with our conversation at the dinner table two

A (27:33)

days ago, dad, that's going on a thing called juice Box to talk about eating nerds ropes or something. I think he's got a whole private life we don't know about. Also, don't listen to him anymore because he's not letting us have any juice boxes. Oh, my gosh. You know, I just had a conversation with a dear person in my life last night, and I stopped myself from just, like, being like, stop that. But I was more aggressive with my opinion than I have been in the past. And they've got a kid struggling with something a little bit, and they were like, you know, and soda. And I went, wait, soda? And they said, yeah. I mean, drinks a lot of soda. I was like, but aren't they, like, 15? Is. Yeah. Where are they getting the soda? And there's a long pause, and I'm like, stop buying soda. And I said, is it sugar? Soda, like. And they're like, yeah. And I'm like, is like, well, diet soda, Sugar. It's all soda. I'm like, hey, listen, I'll make that argument along with you. I don't think, generally speaking, we should all be, like, knocking soda back, diet or otherwise, but if you're going to drink it, and this is the problem you're running into, and I'm sure we can make arguments about the additives, and so. But My point is, is like, let's drink the one without the sugar first. Like, let's at least try to and stop buying it. And it was funny because there was a moment in the conversation where the person was like, I could hear in their voice, like, yeah, I mean, I am the adult buying the food. And I'm like, yeah, like, you're in charge.

B (29:12)

Yeah.

A (29:12)

And. But it was so interesting because not a dumb person, very thoughtful, very concerned, very worried about the kid. And yet, like, there was a disconnect between, like, their worry and the fact that, you know, there was coke in the house. And I was like, I don't understand. I'm really confused by that. And I think so does just one of those things. And maybe juice boxes are too. It's just so ingrained in society. It just feels like a freebie maybe.

B (29:39)

Yeah.

A (29:39)

You know what I mean? I don't know how I feel about that exactly, but, like, I can't imagine why any of you listening buy soda, like, with sugar in it, like, diabetes or not. Like, I don't understand that. But I. I've said it a million times in the show. Every time I go to the grocery store, there's just a thousand people down that aisle. They're. Some people leave with just a cart full of soda. Like, they went to the grocery store just to pick up soda. And I'm just like, I don't. And I'm not. Like, I'm not a person's like, have water. Like, drink something else. Like. But my God, I don't know. And I'm also. Whatever. Like, again, like, I didn't end that conversation by saying to that person, like, you're a bad person or everything. I'm like, I understand. Like, I really do. I'm like, but if I was you, I would. I would try harder not to do that, you know? So. I don't know, man. It's a tough world. It's tough to talk about stuff like that. But so how do you do it with your kids? Like, when there's something they really want, how do you limit that and explain it and make it so that it's okay?

B (30:40)

Yeah, we have. So, you know, let's say we're having a dessert on the weekend. My wife and I've gotten to where we. We let the kids get it themselves if they. We tell them they have to get a serving size. And so often a serving size is way, way less than what you or I would. Would eat. If it's ice cream. Right. We're going to have Three serving sizes and not know it. But for the kids, we have a scale, and they weigh their ice cream or their, you know, whatever the snack is. And that's how we've tried to instill this kind of moderation mindset. And then, similar to what you said, we just don't buy certain things. So, you know, we don't. We don't do soda potato chips is a weakness of mine, so we just don't buy it. Those types of things, decisions at the grocery store, which, by the way, my wife is the one that does our grocery shopping, and so it makes it easy for me because I'm not there having to make the decision.

A (31:31)

She's doing a lot of that, I'll tell you that. I think that's part of what saves my family sometimes is that I'm just. I'm frugal. So, like, if I'm in the grocery store, I. I wouldn't buy. I could want something as much as anything, and if I look at it and the price doesn't make sense to me, I would never pick it up. Like, I just never. But. And potato chips is such a good example, because I don't know what happened after Covid, but suddenly a bag of air cost $9, and I'm like, it's so true. Who's buying those? And. But yet they're running out the door like, people are buying them. And I'm like, my God. I was like, there's. If my wife ever goes with me, she'll pick something up and I'll grab it. I'll go, there's a handful inside of this. I'm like, are you comfortable paying $6 for a handful of anything? I'm not, but I will. I have to give a lot of credit to the GLP medication because, you know, as a, you know, a Nacho, for example, or a Dorito or something, like, in that vein, you said a weakness. I could eat, you know, a number of handfuls of those in, no problem. Just walking past the bag, and I just. I can't do that anymore. And there is something. And I think this is the thing you're trying to teach your kids with the scale. Maybe, like, at the very least, understand what a portion is. But maybe there's a moment, too, when you have, like, a portion of ice cream where you go, this just isn't even worth it. Like, I just. And I have that feeling sometimes. Like, sometimes I'll see, like, a chip, and I'll think, what am I gonna have three of those? Cause that's all I'm really gonna eat. And, like, I might as well just not. Yeah, I might as well just not. I have found to be very valuable, but it only got taught to me because of the medication.

B (33:16)

Well, and you know, Scott, I. I don't know the exact same experience you're describing, but if I could kind of overlay it onto the type one, I say no to a lot of foods because I don't want to deal with the aftermath. Like, I don't. I don't want to have five pieces of pizza because then I'm up until midnight trying to bat my glucose down. And so I have a lot of moderation just because of the aftermath that I don't want to deal with, which is a different reason than what you're describing. But it gets at the same thing, which is a deterrent.

A (33:48)

It really is. It's just some sort of a deterrent. Something that's strong enough that it doesn't make me upset, but it does force me into the right direction when I'm decision making.

B (34:02)

You're better for it?

A (34:03)

Yeah. Oh, no, for certain. Like, absolutely for certain. I know a person whose teenage daughter has benefited from just a very low dose of a GLP and lost, like, 25 pounds pretty quickly, but still needs probably to lose, like, 25 more. And the doctor is fighting with them about the medication and doesn't want to, you know, won't prescribe it. And, you know, even though the whole family has kind of like the same metabolic issues, so the people, like, you know, one of the parents is on a glp and they just basically are rationing it, giving some of it to the kid.

B (34:44)

Oh, wow.

A (34:45)

And, you know, Scott, I'm a pharmacist.

B (34:47)

This, like, gives me the heebie jeebies.

A (34:49)

Well, Listen, that kid's 25 pounds lighter in two months. They go back to the doctor and say, all right, look, we did it. Look at how much better off she is. And the doctor still persisted and said, no, I won't prescribe it. And I'll have to tell you, I don't understand that at all. This family's trying as hard as they can to make this case. And so the kid's gonna run out of the medication at some point and not be able to do it. Now what do you do when the £25 comes right back again? Like, are you not gonna help? I don't understand that part of it. I actually, my advice. My advice was I. I said to the person, I'm like, did you see the John Mulaney stand up special where he talks about his drug addiction. And the person on the phone goes, I don't know what you're saying. I was like, all right, well, I think like, one or two standup specials ago, John Mulaney talked about his addiction. And in that conversation, he said. People said to him, like, I don't know, how do you get drugs? And he goes, you just go online, you find the doctor with the worst reviews. They'll give you anything. Oh, man, I knew that would make you uncomfortable, so I shared. And so. And so I said that last night. I said, look, you just got to go find a doctor who cares more about getting paid than they care about, like, anything else. I was like, because there's no reason not to give it to the kid other than it's not indicated on the label for the age. And because you also know that we're all going to wake up a year from now and that indication is going to be changed. So, like, I don't know how you look at the outcome. And you can extrapolate from there.

B (36:21)

Yeah.

A (36:22)

And by the way, how many people do you think are sharing medications? Does that happen a lot?

B (36:28)

Certainly it does. I don't know. In terms of GLPs, how many are. I think access has become, you know, increasingly easier. You know, you see a commercial for it every time it's on tv, whether it's a third party or, you know, directly through the manufacturer. All kinds of ways to get it now. But, yeah, bootlegged, bootleg GLP ones. Like, it's a thing.

A (36:52)

Well, this isn't even like it's. This is basically. So what the adult is doing is the adult was going. The adult went back to their doctor and said, I need a bigger dose, when they really didn't.

B (37:06)

I see.

A (37:06)

And it's injectable. So they're pulling out what they need and then giving the other person the rest of it. Wow. I think that's probably happening all over the damn place. So it just. It's weird. Like, all that aside, like, I'm not saying to do that. Like, that's not what I'm saying. Like, I'm saying I'm talk to a person who's doing it. My point is that I don't know, as the doctor, how you don't. How you can see that benefit and then just go, nope, sorry, I don't want to be involved in this. Like, and that's why I said that you should go find a different doctor that is more, you know, amenable to Writing off label, because that's really what you're asking to do. Because the insurance isn't going to cover one way or the other. They're on the hook for the money. They just need. They just need the script. And, you know, you talk to the kid, the kid's happier, doing better. You know, clothing size is going down, not out of breath, like all this, like, great stuff, like. And you look at the rest of the family, they clearly. I think some of it is their misunderstanding of nutrition, and I do think a little bit of that is geographical and maybe financial. But the rest of it is you look at the mom, you look at the dad, you look at the older sibling, this kid is on the way to that. That's happening. You know what I mean? And you have a real opportunity to stop it from happening for her. I don't know, it just seems. It seems weird to me not to help. So, I don't know.

B (38:35)

It reminds me of a similar trajectory as statin medications to lower LDL. When I was 30, my LDL was 160. And this is when I was pretty healthy. And I asked my primary care to go on a statin, even though I technically wasn't indicated. And the reason was because I believe in the lifetime cumulative effects of having a low LDL cholesterol and how that impacts cardiovascular health. And I could see a very similar argument with obesity and maintaining a healthy weight over the long term. We just don't have that data yet. I'm sure that's why there was hesitation.

A (39:14)

Yeah, no, I bet. I'm assuming it's coming too, actually. Did you know that. Oh, what had just happened? The World Health Organization. Gosh, I forget the wording of it, but they're calling obesity an epidemic. Let me find it real quick. According to the. Give me a second. We're no longer just gaining weight. We are in the midst of a structural health collapse. It's affecting one in eight people on the planet whose latest fact sheet on obesity is a collection. Let's see. Yeah, they're pushing back. So, like, they're saying it's not about willpower. It's, you know, it could be your environment. And they're accelerating their plan to stop obesity. Basically. Sugar. They. They're pushing for sugar. Taxes, marketing restrictions, front of pack labeling, primary care, integration for medications. Like, so that's. I mean, I don't know. Like, I'm sure there are plenty of people don't. Don't give a. What the World Health Organization thinks. And maybe there's some people that do. But, I mean, that's a big move for them to classify it that way, so.

B (40:27)

Yeah, yeah. And I hope I, you know, I haven't read what you're describing, but I hope there is just as much emphasis on the cognitive behavioral piece as there is the medications. Medications absolutely have a role, but the cultural element, the behavioral element, like, that's all so, so important. And I think it's hard to talk about because it's hard to do. Behavior change is hard.

A (40:51)

Right.

B (40:52)

But I hope that it also gets the kind of headlines that it deserves.

A (40:56)

I completely, I have to say, first of all, I completely agree with that. But I am also a person who knows that those different impactors put me in the position I was in. And if you told me you have my lifetime and not really my lifetime, you have a couple of years before my health clearly clicks off the wrong way to go grab my parents, fix their economic situation, their understanding of nutrition, and their resolve before it impacts me. What I would tell you is that's not going to happen.

B (41:25)

Yeah.

A (41:25)

And, and as sad as that is, and don't get me wrong, we should be doing. I like what you're doing a lot with, like, showing kids portion size and, and restricting, you know, like, saying, look, I'm not going to put that food in my house. I think that's all very smart, but if we can't count on people to even understand that that's necessary. And once it's necessary, you know, maybe they're hooked by whatever the hell's in their food and, you know, or they're limited by choice, whatever. I don't think we should all be standing around arguing about how to stop it from happening once it's happened. I know. I'm making the alternative argument I did earlier where I said, like, let's not let the house catch on fire. But this isn't as easy as not, not falling asleep with a cigarette in your mouth. Like, there's. There's more to it than this. And my wonderment is if you treat a generation of kids and adults who are already in this situation and change their mind the way mine's been changed about food, will we not then spawn the next generation of people who don't think about food that way? Doesn't that sort of fix the problem by fixing the sim, by, by fixing the disease? You just got to wait long enough like, you and I won't really see it happen. We'll be too. Well, you're. You're younger than me, but, like, but I'll Be on my way out when maybe people are thin again and eating better. Yeah, that's how it seems to me. I don't know, like I could be also 100% wrong.

B (42:55)

Well, I mean, it's aspirational, but I will say that the, you know, there's some sound reasoning there and you know how it is when you're doing one thing right, it's easier to do other things right. You're eating better, it's easier to exercise and vice versa. And so if being on a GLP1 is, what is that one thing? And then you start doing the other things better, like that's a win. Win.

A (43:15)

Yeah, yeah. I mean, listen, I, in the end, like weight is going to, it's going to, it's going to be the thing that gets you at some point. Like you're not, you know, it's overly simplified, but I don't see a lot of really heavy 80 year olds walking around. So like, you know, at some point it, it's going to catch up to you in some way or another with your heart, with your mobility, with something. Like something's going to get you at some point. And maybe it's just the, I don't know, like maybe you just got to blow the whole thing up to start over because it's too far gone to fix. And, and you know, I mean, everything's money, right? So no one's going to stop making potato chips. Right.

B (43:58)

But if everyone, unless we stop buying them.

A (44:01)

Well, yeah, and, but if everyone's on a GOP and looks at them and goes, I don't want that, maybe they'll have to go into a different business and maybe then there won't be as many potato chips and maybe it'll drive the price up and nobody will touch them and it won't hit people who are disadvantaged economically because they won't be able to buy. Like, I don't know, like, maybe there's other levers to pull to get out of this is what I'm, what I keep wondering. And I'm also, I mean, I probably. It's hard to make this argument right now for me, but I'm really not a person who yells like, take a pill for it. Like, I would like your personal responsibility to jump in. But I also see people with metabolic issues that I don't think all the running in the world would fix. So I don't know, man. It's very complicated.

B (44:45)

And anyway, it's complex.

A (44:47)

Yeah, no kidding. You've been. Can I ask you a last question? What Made you want to come on.

B (44:52)

You know, when I listened to your podcast and it kind of helped give me the confidence, especially early on after my diagnosis, you know, there was kind of, well, that would be pretty cool to be able to, to go on there and share my story, but then also share some of what I've learned about, you know, exercise. And then, I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like I bring a little bit of a unique perspective given my healthcare background and some of my professional experiences. And so I figured I'd give it a whim. Honestly, I was surprised when you responded. I figured, oh, no, there's no way he'll get back to me.

A (45:22)

No, please. First of all, I got yelled at recently for not having enough men on. As if I'm the one who, like, goes, I don't get the guests. The guests come to me. Somebody's like, you don't have enough men on. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, easy. I ain't in charge of who emails. So. But no, you're exact. You, you did exactly what you thought you were going to do. And obviously I hope it's obvious to you that your, your story is going to add very nicely to the tapestry of the podcast. So thank you very much. I appreciate it.

B (45:50)

Well, thanks for that, Scott. I appreciate you having me. It's been fun.

A (45:53)

No, I, I'm glad you had a good time. I'm sure you have to go save the world or do something right now or carry a baby across a burning lake or whatever. You sound like a superhero to me, Zach, by the way.

B (46:03)

Oh, my gosh, give my wife credit, too. She's been super helpful through all this.

A (46:07)

Awesome. Yeah, no, no, I, I didn't get to ask you about that, but I, I, I just imagine she has been. Although I, I also imagine when you're like, I have to go for a run to bring my blood sugar down, she was probably like, oh, sure, okay. I'll take care of these. I'll take care of the three kids. You go out and jog. Everything's fine, right?

B (46:23)

Yeah.

A (46:24)

All a second for me. Yeah. The conversation you just heard was sponsored by Touched by Type 1. Check them out, please, at touchedbytype1.org on Instagram and Facebook. You're gonna love them. I love them. They're helping so many people. @touchedbytype1.org the podcast episode that you just enjoyed was sponsored, sponsored by Eversense CGM. They make the Eversense 365. That thing lasts a whole year. One insertion every year? Come on. You probably feel like I'm messing with you, but I'm not. Eversensecgm.com Juicebox the podcast you just enjoyed was sponsored by Tandem Diabetes Care. Learn more about Tandem's newest automated insulin delivery system, Tandem Moby with control IQ/technology@tandemdiabetes.com Juicebox There are links in the show notes and links@juicebox podcast.com okay, well here we are at the end of the episode. You're still with me. Thank you. I really do appreciate that. What else could you do for me? Why don't you tell a friend about the show or leave a five star review? Maybe you could make sure you're following or subscribed in your podcast app. Go to YouTube and follow me. Or Instagram TikTok. Oh gosh, here's one. Make sure you're following the podcast in the private Facebook group as well as the public Facebook page. You don't want to miss please do you not know about the private group? You have to join the private group. As of this recording it has 74,000 members. They're active, talking about diabetes. Whatever you need to know. There's a conversation happening in there right now and I'm there all the time. Tag me. I'll say hi. How would you like to share a type 1 diabetes getaway like no other? Join me on Juice Cruise 2026. You may be asking, what is Juice Cruise? It's a week long cruise designed specifically for people and families living with type 1 diabetes. It's not just a vacation, it's a chance to relax, connect and feel understood in a way that is hard to find elsewhere. We're going to sail out of Miami and the cruise includes stops in Cococay, San Juan, St. Kitts and Nevis aboard the stunning Celebrity Beyond. This ship is chosen for its comfort, accessibility and exceptional amenities. You're going to enjoy a welcoming environment surrounded by others who get life with type 1 diabetes. I'm going to host diabetes focused conversations and meetups on the days at sea. There's thoughtfully designed spaces, incredible dining and modern amenities all throughout the Celebrity Beyond. Your kids can be supervised and there's teen programs so everyone gets time to recharge, not just the kids going on vacation, but maybe you get to kick back a little bit too. There's going to be zero judgment, real connections and a whole lot of sun and fun on Juice Cruise 2026. Please come with me. You're going to have a terrific time. You can learn more or Set up your deposit@juiceboxpodcast.com juice juice cruise get a hold of Suzanne at Cruise Planners. She will take care of everything. Links in the show Notes links@juicebox podcast.com When I created the Defining Diabetes series, I pictured a dictionary in my mind to help you understand key terms that shape type 1 diabetes management. Along with Jenny Smith, who of course is an experienced diabetes educator, we break down concepts like Basil, time and range, insulin, onboard, and much more. This series must have 70 short episodes in it. We have to take the jargon out of the jargon so that you can focus on what really matters, living confidently and staying healthy. You can't do these things if you don't know what they mean. Go get your diabetes defined juiceboxpodcast.com, go up in the menu and click on series. Hey, what's up everybody? If you've noticed that the podcast sounds better and you're thinking like, how does that happen? What you're hearing is Rob at Wrong Way Recording, doing his magic to these files. So if you want him to do his magic to you wrongwayrecording.com you got a podcast, you want somebody to edit it, you want Rob.