Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1808: After Dark - Brain Fog
Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Raheem
Release Date: March 26, 2026

Episode Overview

This intimate, candid "After Dark" episode features Raheem, a long-time listener and type 1 diabetic, sharing his complex journey through diabetes mismanagement, family instability, mental health struggles, and ultimately, growth. The discussion centers on the concept of "brain fog" related to prolonged high blood sugar, the effects on memory, cognition, and daily functioning, and how sustained periods of hyperglycemia shaped Raheem's life story. The tone is authentic, warm, and peppered with humor as Raheem and Scott delve into serious and sometimes dark territory with honesty and hope.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Raheem’s Diabetes Diagnosis and Early Years

• Diagnosis Uncertainty ([03:10])
  Raheem isn’t sure exactly when he was diagnosed with type 1—memories are blurry due to what he calls “childhood trauma” and early diabetes mismanagement. He thinks it was around 5th–7th grade, late-1990s.

• First Memories & Family Dynamics ([04:50])
  Raheem’s mother, a CNA, spotted diabetes signs around Thanksgiving when he preferred Sprite over the big holiday meal and kept needing the bathroom. Family history included a grandmother with diabetes, but support after diagnosis was patchy.

• Early Independence with Insulin ([07:07])
  Initially, Raheem handled his own shots, even practicing on teddy bears and his father. However, after a traumatic experience with a bent needle, he soon deferred to his mom for injections.

Chaotic Family Life & Neglected Care

• High Blood Sugars and Lack of Oversight ([09:40])
  From early on, Raheem’s blood sugars often stayed in the 400–500s. He describes periods of not testing and depressed indifference:

  “I was just getting overwhelmed with it from it never going away… I was like, does this thing ever take a break?” ([09:59])

• Family 'Hustling' ([13:05])
  Raheem’s parents were largely absent due to their involvement in illegal drug sales—a fact he learned more about growing up.

  “They definitely had to make sure that there was food on the table… so yes, they made sure that the house was taken care of. Any means that they needed to.” ([13:33])

• Coping and Survival ([16:17])
  Stories of being left at the zoo by a teacher (a family client), visits from DARE officers, and advice from his mom not to "know anything" if questioned reveal layers of instability and stress, affecting self-care and memory.

The Impact of Brain Fog

• Formative Brain Fog and Memory Gaps ([40:01])
  High, unmanaged blood sugars over years contributed to a pervasive brain fog that interfered with cognition, memory, and even basic conversational tracking:

  “You asked me a question, and it would just dilute in my brain… now I actually feel like I can handle a conversation…” ([39:00])
  “There’s even been times where she’s recorded me… and I’m like, that’s not what she said at all, is it? What did I hear?” ([40:52])

• Signs of Cognitive Restoration ([41:10])
  With better blood sugar management, Raheem feels present, engaged, and more articulate:

  “Very rarely…I would say now, but you don’t think when it happens it’s not coming from high blood sugars?... I can feel it starting to rise…when I do feel the spikes coming, I can feel the fogginess come a little bit.” ([41:10])

Adulthood, Depression, and Turning Points

• Runaway Hyperglycemia and Depression ([23:33])
  Raheem openly discusses the overlap of depression with diabetes burnout, referencing his own self-neglect:

  “I knew how. I just didn’t want to.” ([24:16])

• Dangerous Apathy and Missing Milestones ([26:37])
  The self-destructive loop persisted for years: “I’ll pull it together next month… How come next month came and you were like, maybe next month?... probably just smoking weed. And then I forgot because I got high.” ([26:48])

• First Turning Point—Relationships & Fear of Complications ([27:21])
  Meeting a supportive partner motivated Raheem to begin self-care, especially once vision issues (retinopathy) appeared, and professional warnings about long-term consequences, like sexual health, hit home.

• Long, Nonlinear Recovery ([30:32])
  Even after recognizing the need for better care ("I don’t want to go blind") the path to stability was slow, with setbacks, breakups, and continued struggle.

  “It was a slow matriculation into a different lifestyle. Doesn’t happen overnight. Right. Like, you have to kind of get into it slowly.” ([31:32])

Rebuilding, Support, and New Beginnings

• New Relationship & Current Wellness ([38:12], [39:00])
  Now, with a nurse girlfriend, Raheem feels coherent and stable, with an A1C around 6.1.

  “I’m more coherent now. I’m actually, like, people can talk to me, and I can respond. Where before...it would just dilute in my brain.” ([39:00])

• Cognitive and Emotional Clarity ([40:01])
  He describes a return of presence, memory, and conversational ability, further supported by creative endeavors like a bowling YouTube channel.

  “Your mental capacity is just gonna go through the roof… I can be present.” ([39:00])

Lasting Reflections & Advice

• Self-Compassion Over Regret ([34:34], [35:26])
  Regret over “wasting years” is replaced with resolve to “just try a little bit better today.” ([35:26])

• Importance of Peer Community ([46:14])
  The Juicebox Podcast community and Facebook group were pivotal:

  “I wanted some diabetes friends… there definitely wasn’t any diabetics back then… [the community] is awesome support.” ([46:14])

• Cultural and Psychological Barriers ([53:44])
  Raheem notes his tendency to be vague—trauma, high blood sugars, and a need to avoid being “wrong” contribute to an overall uncertainty in self-reports.

• Message to Others ([55:28])
  Raheem’s core advice:

  “The biggest thing that I could tell anybody is just keep fighting. Like, you’re going to have some bad days. You’re going to feel like absolute crap some days, but if you just keep fighting, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.” ([55:28])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Childhood Trauma and Memory:
  “I don’t really know what happened for 20 years of my life… I wasn’t taking care of myself, so…memory fog…piecing some of the stories together.” ([03:47])

• On Parental Support & Responsibility:
  “As a family, we definitely all gathered around the diabetes, but it was more a thing that they told me it was my autoimmune disease…because as an adult…they may not be around…” ([08:32])

• On Depression and Apathy:
  “Did you believe it [that not caring would lead to complications]?”
  “Yeah, I just didn’t care. I didn’t want to be diabetic anymore.” ([23:33])

• On the Impact of Brain Fog:
  “You asked me a question, and it would just dilute in my brain…now I actually feel like I can handle a conversation…” ([39:00])

• On Transformation:
  “I wish if there was ever a time machine… I would go back and just absolutely slap the—you know what—out of myself…” ([34:34])

• On Support & Perseverance:
  “Because it was not—it's not linear. Like, I made a decision to do better and then better just happened and now here I am. Or… I listened to the Pro Tip series and three months later I understood how to bolus, and now I’m good. This is more…fits and starts…” ([43:06])

Timestamps of Important Segments

• Diagnosis, childhood, and family chaos: [02:14]–[14:02]
• Drug environment, parental neglect: [13:05]–[17:29]
• Cognitive fog, missing time: [23:33]–[32:54]
• Turning point: health, relationships, and brain fog lifts: [34:26]–[41:10]
• Community and podcast role: [46:05]–[48:11]
• Advice for others & message of hope: [55:28]–[56:06]

Closing Thoughts

Scott and Raheem highlight the stark reality that long-term uncontrolled blood sugars not only cause physical complications but can cloud judgment, suppress memory, and alter one’s capacity for self-advocacy and connection. Raheem’s story is a testament to the resilience required to climb back from years of burnout and alienation—his message is one of hope for those lost in the fog. The episode closes on a positive note, with acknowledgment of support systems, new beginnings, and the freedom found on the other side of brain fog.

For more resources, peer support, or to connect with the Juicebox Community, visit: JuiceboxPodcast.com.