#1856 Beverly Hills Braun

Summary

Juicebox Podcast #1856: Beverly Hills Braun

Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Dr. Beth Braun, Health Psychologist, 50-Year Type 1 Diabetes Veteran
Date: May 21, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this heartfelt, candid conversation, Scott sits down with Dr. Beth Braun, a health psychologist celebrating her 50th “diaversary” (anniversary of diabetes diagnosis). They explore the evolution of living with type 1 diabetes, how care and technology have shifted, emotional strategies for thriving with diabetes, and the critical importance of changing language around food, shame, and support. Beth shares her personal journey — from childhood diagnosis and familial advocacy to professional expertise and empowering others.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Childhood Diagnosis and Early Management

• Beth’s Diagnosis Story: Diagnosed at age 5, after classic symptoms surfaced unexpectedly during a family trip ([03:31]).

  • “We figured out I was diabetic… I couldn't go five minutes without a drink.” (Dr. Braun, 03:31)
  • Her mother’s intuition was key: “He tells her, ‘You’re being a neurotic Jewish mother.’ And she goes, ‘I’m not. This is not my child.’” (Dr. Braun, 04:06)

• First Years of Management:

  • Used urine testing; finger-prick tests were rare and painful. One shot a day of NPH insulin ([05:06]).
  • Camp Firefly at age six fostered a sense of independence ([04:26]).
  • Carb counting and sliding scales weren’t part of early care ([10:40]).

• Family Advocacy: Beth’s mom became a JDF (now Breakthrough T1D) leader, and Beth was poster child for the Philadelphia chapter ([06:22]).

Progression of Care and Technology

• Technological Evolution:

  • Blood testers in middle school — large and painful ([09:50]).
  • Movement to carb counting and multiple daily injections wasn’t until the 1990s, post-college ([11:26]).

• Getting “Modern” Care:

  • New care strategies, including the insulin pump and CGM, came after burnout and complications around age 30, thanks to empathic physicians ([12:39]).
  • “Getting into [Dr. Ann Peters’] hands — she spoke to me like a person with diabetes instead of a bad diabetic. She got me on a pump and gave me the motivation to take care of myself.” (Dr. Braun, 13:27)

Complications, Burnout, and Mental Health

• Burnout & Complications:

  • Experienced burnout and shame, especially when care was judgmental ([12:39]).
  • Developed retinopathy (treated with laser) and later, painful gastroparesis ([24:59], [18:20]).
  • Dr. Mark Pimentel helped treat gastroparesis with a daily antibiotic ([19:08]).

• Impact of Old-school Care:

  • “No idea” what her A1Cs were; focus was just on taking shots and occasional testing ([13:53]).
  • Now sees the value in tighter control and the power of support systems ([19:37]).

Relationship with Food and Shame

• Disordered Eating Roots:

  • Food access was restricted as a child, triggering sneaking and feelings of shame ([35:11]).
  • “I grew up with so much shame about food... hiding this and you can't eat that...” (Dr. Braun, 36:34)

• Language and Framing:

  • Advocates shifting language: Not “good” or “bad” food — just healthier or less healthy; numbers are information, not moral judgments ([39:02], [38:53]).
  • “It’s not good or bad food... You’re not testing, you’re checking. It’s not a bad number, it’s information to build the dose on.” (Dr. Braun, 38:53)

• Social/Familial Dynamics:

  • Outside perceptions and unsolicited advice around what she “can” eat persist into adulthood, even among friends ([37:13]).
  • Beth sees education as her tool when confronted with this: “Let me educate you a little bit. In the olden days with diabetes, we couldn’t eat this. But now everything’s based on carbohydrate.” ([38:14])

Psychology, Brain-Body Connection, and Mental Health

• Academic and Professional Path:

  • Knew from her teens she wanted to be a psychologist for people with diabetes ([31:42]).
  • Studied brain-body connection, stress management, and holistic approaches ([28:16]).

• Behavioral Insights:

  • Emotional states and blood sugars are deeply intertwined: “If you’re at 200 and you get agitated, that is because the part of the brain that says, ‘don’t be a bitch,’ isn’t getting the message soon enough...” ([46:05])
  • Anxiety, burnout, and depression are common; stabilization of glucose aids mental health but support or therapy may also be needed ([48:33]).

• “Buzzing” and Sensory Overload:

  • The beeping and buzzing of modern diabetes tech can add to distress ([48:12], [50:59]).
  • “They are just exhausted from the beeping and buzzing, and ... the depression comes when you’re running high.” (Dr. Braun, 47:08)

Strategies for Living Well with Diabetes

• Resetting the Spiral: Start with BG stability for both physical and mental relief ([49:38]).
• Community and Support:
  • “There is nothing good about diabetes except for one thing: the community.” (Dr. Braun, 56:59)
  • Online connections and in-person support groups foster validation and reduce shame ([55:31], [56:16]).
  • “When they leave [my talk], I want them to not feel so alone out in the world to diabetes.” ([38:53])
  • Role models, both for adults and children with T1D, are powerful sources of hope ([59:56]).

The Evolving Promise of Care

• Hope for a Cure:

  • For the first time in decades, Beth genuinely believes a cure may be coming ([17:17]).

• GLP Meds and Food “Noise”:

  • GLP-1 medications can help with “food noise” and insulin resistance; however, food relationships still need healing ([52:46], [53:19]).

• Empowerment:

  • Changing self-talk, practicing self-compassion, getting the right professional support, and finding diabetes community are keys to “living well.”

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “All day long, we balance our food. Can I eat this? How many carbs? Will this have fat in it that hits me in two hours? Do you know anyone else that has to do the math to eat pizza?”
  — Dr. Beth Braun, 33:11

• “In the same day, food can save our lives, or it can kill us.”
  — Dr. Beth Braun, 33:57

• “I started taking my own advice.”
  — Dr. Beth Braun, 23:18

• “You're not a bad person... There are ways to build a healthier relationship with their diabetes and themselves. Some steps are so easy. For example, think about what you say to yourself all day, how you put yourself down.”
  — Dr. Beth Braun, 39:02

• “If you’re going to an endocrinologist that does everything right... but makes you feel so much shame about your diabetes, it’s not a good relationship. You need to work with someone who motivates you.”
  — Dr. Beth Braun, 44:20

• “There is nothing good about diabetes except for one thing: the community.”
  — Dr. Beth Braun, 56:59

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Timestamps for Major Segments

| Time | Segment Description | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------| | 02:33–06:12 | Childhood diagnosis, camp experiences, early care | | 09:50–13:44 | Technological advances, adolescent/college care | | 17:17–20:25 | Hopes for cure, complications, gastroparesis journey | | 24:59–27:38 | Burnout, retinopathy, shame and secrecy about T1D | | 28:16–31:42 | Academic path, behavioral psychology, self-experiment| | 33:08–36:50 | Food relationship, disordered eating, shame | | 38:53–43:36 | Advocacy, education, support strategies | | 46:05–49:38 | Anxiety, depression, breaking the spiral | | 55:31–58:36 | Power of community—online and in-person | | 59:56–63:07 | Role models, positive T1D visibility in society | | 64:51–66:34 | Where to find Dr. Beth Braun, wrap-up |

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Practical Takeaways

• Language and Framing Matter: Changing how you talk to yourself and others about diabetes and food can reduce shame.
• Innovations Help—but Community is Key: Technology eases management, but support groups, advocacy, and empathetic care are just as critical.
• Addressing Burnout Requires Kindness: Medical stability is a foundation, but thriving requires self-compassion and external validation.
• Role Models and Representation: Seeing others succeed with T1D encourages healthy risk-taking and optimism.
• You Are Not Alone: Whether through events, online forums, or just knowing others “get it,” connection alleviates isolation.

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Resources & Connect

• Dr. Beth Braun:

  • Instagram: @doinDiabetes
  • Email: askdrbethmail@[domain].com
  • Free “Ask the Therapist” support groups via Breakthrough T1D (see social media).

• Juicebox Podcast:

  • Website: juiceboxpodcast.com
  • Facebook group: “Juice Box Podcast Type 1 Diabetes”

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Summary by: [Your Podcast Summarizer]
*Use this summary for a deep, empathetic understanding of the experience, evolution, and psychological realities of living boldly with Type 1 Diabetes.

Transcript

[A]

Friends, we're all back together for the next episode of the Juice Box Podcast. Welcome.

[B]

Hello everyone. I am Dr. Beth Braun. I am a health psychologist and I specialize in type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

[A]

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 Juice box podcast type 1 diabetes on Facebook. My Grand Rounds series was designed by listeners to tell doctors what they need, and it also helps you to understand what to ask for. There's a mental wellness series that addresses the emotional side of diabetes and practical ways to stay balanced. And when we talk about GLP medications, well, we'll break down what they are, how they may help you, and if they fit into your diabetes management plan. What do these three things have in common? They're all [e-mail] up in the menu. I know it can be hard to find these things in a podcast app, so we've collected them all for you@juicebox podcast.com now 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. Usmed is sponsoring this episode of the Juice Box Podcast and we've been getting our diabetes supplies from USMED for years. You can as well usmed.com juicebox or call 888-721-1514, use the link or the number, get your free benefits check and get started today with usmed. Today's episode is also sponsored by the Tandem MOBI system, which is powered by Tandem's newest algorithm, Control IQ Technology. Tandem MOBI has a predictive algorithm that helps prevent highs and lows and is now available for ages two and up. Learn more and get started today at tandomdiabetes.com channel juicebox. The podcast is also sponsored today by the Eversense 365. The one year wear CGM. That's one insertion a year. That's it. And here's a little bonus for you. How about there's no limit on how many friends and family you can share your data with with the eversense now app.

[B]

No limits Ever since hello everyone, I am Dr. Beth Braun. I am a health psychologist and I specialize in type 1 and type 2 diabetes and I will be celebrating my 50th diversary next month no kidding.

[A]

Beth, can I ask how old you are?

[B]

Well, in my mind, I'm 36, but obviously I was diagnosed when I was 5, so do the math.

[A]

Okay, well, you and I are just about the same age, and I'll be 55 this summer.

[B]

Happy birthday.

[A]

Thank you. You born in 70?

[B]

Yes, sir.

[A]

Look at you. Okay, so diagnosed at 5. I mean, let's talk about that for a second. That's pretty interesting. So 50 years ago, being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes meant what for your upbringing? Like, what did your parents do?

[B]

Okay, you remind me, in a way, of my mom. And it must be the East Coast. Go, getter. I'm going to do anything for my kid. I. First of all, we figured out I was diabetic at Great adventure at exit 7A or whatever it is.

[A]

No kidding.

[B]

No, I swear, I couldn't go five minutes without a drink, and they kept giving me fruit juice. Go figure.

[A]

So you went from the super duper double looper to diabetes.

[B]

Yeah. And it was spring break. I remember because I was eating jelly beans and so on, and I was in kindergarten. And the next thing I know, my mom brings me to the doctor, and he tells her, you're being a neurotic Jewish mother. And she goes, I'm not. This is not my child.

[A]

Something's wrong.

[B]

Something is very wrong. And so they did a blood test or they did a urine test back then. And for the first, I would say five, eight years, I did urine tests, and at six years old, they shipped me off to Camp Firefly. I was the youngest camper. And that it was all to gain independence. It was all to have a way of life.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, what.

[A]

But what was your management like? Were you shooting, like, once or twice a day? Was that it?

[B]

Oh, once a day when I started. And one shot of nph.

[A]

Okay. Geez. All this is shocking to me. But the most shocking thing is I didn't know Jewish kids got jelly beans. I thought that was specifically for Easter. Am I out of my mind? Maybe.

[B]

Well, you know, we were. We. We tie dyed eggs and, you know.

[A]

Look at you. Awesome.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

It suddenly made me think, oh, are there people out there who eating jelly beans? No.

[B]

I did until 75. You know, that was it. That was the last year of beans.

[A]

Your mom's like, we're gonna save a ton of money on these jelly beans now. Well, how long sending you to camp at 6. Would you have been sent to camp, a different kind of camp, if you were six and not having diabetes, do you think? Whereas you're like family. Like a camp family?

[B]

We were a camp family, but yes, every summer in Nepoc and things like that, but not till we were a little older and I went to day camp. So I came home from Camp Firefly and went off to day camp.

[A]

Have you ever. I mean, I'm imagining your mom's not with us anymore. Am I right?

[B]

Right.

[A]

Okay. So did you ever talk about that time in your life with her as an adult?

[B]

Well, she went on. We lived next door, down the street from Lee Ducat, who founded at the time JDF, which is now Breakthrough T1D, and connected with her. She officially made me poster child of the Philadelphia jdf. And my mom worked her way up to president and then worked her way through international jdf. And in her memory, I travel all over the west coast doing breakthrough T1D mental health talks.

[A]

Oh, how nice.

[B]

Thank you. Yes. But she. At the time, she wasn't working. She was a career mom and just happened to catch this while she was in between jobs.

[A]

How many brothers and sisters do you have?

[B]

I have a brother who's four years younger.

[A]

Okay, just the two of you, then?

[B]

Just the two of us. And within a month or two of me getting type 1 diabetes, he got asthma. Oh.

[A]

Are there any autoimmune issues that run through the family? People have celiac or thyroid or anything like that?

[B]

All the women in my family have thyroid issues.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But now I look around the holidays and I'm like, oh, so I'm the lucky winner.

[A]

You got that one. Do you have other autoimmune yourself or just the type one?

[B]

Oh, God, yes, I do. Rheumatoid arthritis and hypothyroidism. So. Yes.

[A]

Yeah. How's the RA impact your life day to day?

[B]

It doesn't. Honestly. There are days I'll have a flare. Maybe after, you know, a wild weekend, things will hurt. There are times things hurt quite a bit when I'm under a bit of stress.

[A]

Okay. Beth, what's a wild weekend look like when you're 55?

[B]

Well, for example, I'm speaking in Las Vegas this weekend at the breakthrough T1D.

[A]

Okay. So travel and eating in restaurants and. And running around, not sleeping. Stuff like that.

[B]

Things like that. Or the ADA conference. But this weekend is also March Madness. So once I finish speaking, I'll be watching a lot of basketball.

[A]

Oh, in a bar or by yourself somewhere?

[B]

In the sports book?

[A]

Yeah, in the sports book.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

Oh, yeah. You're going to be in Vegas.

[B]

I'll be in Vegas.

[A]

I've never you know, I've never been to Vegas, but my brothers and I, we just made plans to go see a concert there next year together.

[B]

So I hope it's at the Sphere.

[A]

It is. Yeah. We're going to go to the Sphere and see a concert.

[B]

All right.

[A]

Oddly enough, I. I messaged my brothers. I don't know how you grew up. We grew up really broke. And I was like, look, we should. I said, I'm in my mid-50s. Brian's, you know, 50. My other brother is, you know, in his mid-40s. And I'm like, we've never done anything like this before. We're really close, but we never do stuff like this. I was like, let's just do it. And so we worked it out, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. Nevertheless. Okay, so the RA only pops up if you exert yourself too much. That kind of stuff going back to when you were a kid doing the one shot a day. When does it change for you? At what age do you remember your care modernizing, and how many times do you think it's modernized again over those 50 years?

[B]

Good question. So the first modern technology I got was in middle school. My first blood tester. But the thing was huge, absolutely huge. I couldn't carry it to school, and the fingerprints hurt so badly. I was also taking guitar lessons at the time, and I had to give that up because it hurt too much to do both.

[A]

Yeah, okay.

[B]

But we tested twice a day. And you had an idea of where things were.

[A]

Did you adjust off of those tests or were they just sort of. I don't know, were they just sort of like, oh, it's what my blood sugar is, and then keep going, or is there something to do with that information?

[B]

Well, you didn't have a sliding scale back then. You might have given a little more regular, but you weren't working off of a sliding scale. We weren't counting carbs back then.

[A]

No, no, no. Yeah, but. But did it. Did the test make you think, okay, well, I'll do a little extra at dinner or tomorrow or something like that, or less or more?

[B]

A little bit. But you didn't go off the numbers the doctor gave you.

[A]

So everything was feel and vibe. Like the doctor started you somewhere and then you kind of adjusted off of that?

[B]

Exactly. Exactly.

[A]

At what age do you get to get off of that standard and end up with, like a short acting and a long acting?

[B]

It started adjusting after college.

[A]

Okay, so in your 20s, okay.

[B]

Yes. Where you're doing, I mean, I was giving more injections during college. Maybe I was up to four a day. But then after college, when I went to graduate school, I was definitely starting to count carbs.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Which was huge. I grew up. You don't eat sugar.

[A]

Okay, yeah, that was just that. That was over after you were diagnosed.

[B]

You don't eat sugar unless you're low.

[A]

Wait, help me on the calendar. After College is what, mid-90s for you?

[B]

Yeah. Early 90s.

[A]

Early 90s. Okay.

[B]

And the doctors are like, this is how you count carbs? I thought he was crazy.

[A]

Really? Do you remember why it seems so out of bounds, the suggestion.

[B]

I learned it one way. And why? What do you mean? I shouldn't eat pasta and bagels. I eat a bagel every day.

[A]

No sugar, though. Don't worry, no sugar.

[B]

It was. I mean, you were watching things change in front of your eyes. And then when I turned 30, I ran into some pretty bad diabetes burnout. I hate admitting that to the world, but I had these doctors that were really challenging me and judging me and telling me what a bad diabetic I was. And my parents left me to do diabetes on my own, basically, until I turned 30 and I started getting gastroparesis symptoms. And my mom, being the advocate that she was, got me in with the world's greatest doctor, Ann Peters. And getting into her hands spoke to me like a person with diabetes instead of a bad diabetic. She got me on a pump and she gave me the motivation to take care of myself. Wear the first CGM from Medtronic.

[A]

What do you think your outcomes were like in those first decades there? Like a 1Cs. Do you know where they were? Do you have any context for it?

[B]

No idea.

[A]

No idea. It wasn't a focus of care back then for you?

[B]

No.

[A]

No. What was the focus? Are you taking your shots? Are you testing? That's it, right?

[B]

Are you testing? Are you taking your insulin?

[A]

And you're standing up and talking, so you must be okay.

[B]

I have all my fingers and, I mean, it's a miracle I'm here. Really?

[A]

I mean, in your opinion, is that just because that's how it was, or do you think you were getting substandard care? You've probably heard me talk about usmed and how simple it is to reorder with usmed using their email system. But did you know that if you don't see the email and you're set up for this, you have to set it up? They don't just randomly call you. But I'm set up to be called if I don't respond to the email because I don't trust myself 100%. So one time I didn't respond to the email and the phone rings at the house. It's like, ring. You know how it works. And I picked it up, I was like, hello. And it was just the recording. I was like, you asked Mad doesn't actually sound like that, but you know what I'm saying? It said, hey, you're. I don't remember exactly what it says, but it's basically like, hey, your order's ready. You want us to send it? Push this button if you want us to send it. Or if you'd like to wait. I think it lets you put it off like a couple of weeks or push this button for that. That's pretty much it. I push the button to send it and a few days later box right at my door. That's it. Usmed.com juicebox or call 888-721-1514 get your free benefits checked now and get started with usmed Dexcom Omnipod Tandem Freestyle. They've got all your favorites, even that new eyelet pump. Check them out [e-mail] juicebox or by calling 888-721-1514. There are links in the show notes of your podcast player and [e-mail] to USMED and all of the sponsors. Today's episode is sponsored by a long term CGM that's going to help you to stay on top of your glucose readings. The Eversense 365. I'm talking, of course, about the world's first and only CGM that lasts for one year? One year, one CGM. Are you tired of those other CGMs, the ones that give you all those problems that you didn't expect? Knocking them off, false alerts, not lasting as long as they're supposed to. If you're tired of those constant frustrations, use my link eversensecgm.com juicebox to learn more about the Eversense 365. Some of you may be able to experience the Eversense 365 for as low as $199 for a full year. At my link you'll find those details and can learn about eligibility. Eversense cgm.com juicebox Check it out.

[B]

I don't think I was getting substandard care. I think we didn't have the ability to get as much information as we do now. There was no Google. There was no chatgpt, things like that. So the only time you got information was when you went to the once a year JDF update or you saw an article in the paper or when you went to your doctor every couple of months.

[A]

Yeah, I see. Yeah. Yeah. There's just nowhere to pivot from. I mean, there used to be. What diet was it? Diabetes Forecast magazine or something like that.

[B]

I would get pen pals out of Diabetes Forecast magazine and my dad would read it diligently and since 1976, I would hear, oh, we're so close to a cure. We're so close to a cure. I waited and waited for a cure, and now in the last two, three years, for the first time in my life, I believe there is a cure coming.

[A]

Something's out there, right? I don't know if it's a. I mean, maybe it's a functional cure or something, but I just interviewed somebody doing the trial out of Chicago. I guess I'm getting ready in a week or so. About a week, I'll be interviewing the guy running that trial. So, yeah, I mean, that stuff's exciting. But it didn't help you in 1982 for sure. So what did? Like, how come? I mean, you said you, you had the onset of gastroparesis. It sounds like you might have been able to. Were you able to rectify that or slow it down? What did you do? Did it go away is what I'm asking you.

[B]

Did it go away?

[A]

You know what I mean? Like, is it impacting your days?

[B]

It was greatly impacting my days at the time. I was just finishing my PhD. I was in dire pain. I was bent over in pain. My diabetes doctor compared it to stomach cancer pain. And I traveled around going to different doctors. And then I was living in LA at the time. Lo and behold, the man with the cure was right at my hospital, Cedar Sinai. And once I got to him, Mark Pimentel, he was able to cure me. And it comes back every now and then. I have a flare, but it is pretty in control now.

[A]

What was the thing that they did for you?

[B]

I take an antibiotic daily, Rifaximin. And he also got my. Motivated me to be even tighter in my diabetes control.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And he changed my diet greatly.

[A]

Yeah. So changing your diet, getting things better. But do we have context for what a betterment is? Like you back then, do you know what your A1C was back then?

[B]

I would say I was in the high sevens, but then brought it down with Ann to about a seven.

[A]

Do you think the gastroparesis is from a high sevens, a 1C. Or do you think that you were experiencing more, much more variability than that? Lots of high highs. Like was that seven come to by a bunch of highs offset by a bunch of lows?

[B]

Oh, it was 30, 25 years of being out of control.

[A]

Okay, so you were bouncing constantly.

[B]

Well, a, we didn't have technology like we do. You could, you had to prick your finger to know where you were. We didn't have these fast acting insulins, but it was long term diabetes at that point. Longer term with the lack of technology.

[A]

How many times in a course of a day or a week or however you want to measure it, do you think you were low and had to do something about it with food or

[B]

carbs back then or now?

[A]

Back then?

[B]

Oh, at least two, three times a week.

[A]

Okay, two or three times a week you were in a situation where you're like, oh, I'm low, I'm in trouble.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Okay, I understand you didn't have the measurement tools back then, but hindsight, do you think your blood sugar Was frequently over 250? Let's talk about the Tandem Moby insulin pump from today's sponsor, Tandem Diabetes Care. Their newest algorithm, Control IQ 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 [e-mail] tandem 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 auto bolus.

[B]

Not frequently, but enough.

[A]

Okay. And that was mainly being controlled by no sugar. How are you dealing with all the bread and everything? I guess you don't know. Isn't it interesting now because now you have all the context for these measurement ideas that we have now and asking questions in reverse, you don't know the answer to them any better than I do. I don't know I was staying alive. I did the things they told me to do. I didn't need sugar because that seemed to make sense. And then I moved up when technology moved.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

That's all you really could do. And then you feel, I would imagine, lucky to be where you are right now with your health.

[B]

Well, part of it was my motivation changed. Suddenly I was called Dr. Beth Braun, which to me was so meaningful. And I started working in an office at Cedars with a pediatric endocrinologist, and she's referring me clients, and I'm helping kids with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. But how could I expect people to practice what I preach if I'm not practicing it?

[A]

I gotcha. You almost had to, like, at least live up to the. The line you were drawing for them.

[B]

Absolutely. And then I started becoming much more educated in diabetes, and I think I. They say the brain doesn't mature till you're 25 or fully stop growing, and I think that was part of it for me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

At 25, I grew up, and at 30, I was handling patients. My first job at a therapist at Beverly Hills high. I was 26 years old. I had to grow up.

[A]

I wonder if it would surprise you to know how many people over the age of 25 into their 30s tell that same hindsight story.

[B]

Isn't that interesting? Yeah.

[A]

And it's incredibly common when I talk to people all the time, just like, I don't know what happened. I just. I reached a spot and I decided, or it seemed different to me all of a sudden. The other thing I hear very frequently from people is for the love of another thing. So I met a woman who cared about me, and I wanted to get married. So I started taking better care of myself. I had a kid. My kid got diabetes. I. I decided I had to be a good role model. Like, there's a lot of those stories that come out in the course of conversations.

[B]

Yes. And I think working under this woman who was always helping me find better ways to take care of myself, I really admired my boss at the time, so it was great to go to conferences with her, and I was learning and learning. And then at 28, I got my first complication before the gastroparesis, which was retinopathy.

[A]

Oh, no. Did you have to get the injections?

[B]

No, they did laser back then.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[B]

And that totally straightened me out. Anything that I wasn't doing, wait.

[A]

It straightened you out because it fixed your eyes? Or straightened you out because you thought, I don't need any more laser shot into My eyes both. Okay, you're like, well, if this is the fix, I'm going to try to get ahead of this a little bit. So then if that happened, would you say that you previously to that had the knowledge to do better for yourself and just weren't? And then the confluence of all the things that you went through in your life and your perspective shifts. That's what got you to put those things into motion.

[B]

I think in high school, I wouldn't tell anyone I was moving around, going to different high schools. I end up at Beverly Hills High. As a kid, I'm not. Hi, I'm Beth. I'm the diabetic kid. I just wanted to be a popular kid, so I was embarrassed back then in college, I had friends that knew that I could trust, but I was partying, I was carrying on. I was going to games. And then I learned because I was taking. I studied behavioral health, and I was taking anatomy classes and behavioral modification classes and started experimenting on myself.

[A]

Oh, hold on a second. I want to hear about that. But first, carrying on. What does that mean? Alcohol, drugs, sex. What does carrying on mean?

[B]

I mean, I'm at University of Arizona. We're going to clubs at 18 years old and things like that. Not sleeping well. Not. Who takes care of themselves in college?

[A]

Yeah. I don't know. I didn't. They didn't let me go to college, but people were like, who's gonna pay for that?

[B]

I went, oh, right.

[A]

Valid point. Okay, so you were just, you were doing the college thing.

[B]

I was doing. I was being a college kid. I mean, I wasn't in excessive drug use or, like, I didn't have an alcohol problem, but I was certainly at parties.

[A]

Yeah. So there was drinking and some, some. What do we call it? Light drugs, weed. What are we talking about, Beth?

[B]

I, I.

[A]

The 80s, some cocaine. Beth, what are you trying to say here?

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

No, never.

[A]

I like that you're not going to say what it is, but if I say something too much, you'll be like, no, that's a no.

[B]

That's the hard no. I, I expect it was the time to experiment, but.

[A]

No, I hear you.

[B]

But I also knew back then that I was scared to try things because I was aware of diabetes.

[A]

I just had a girl on the other day, she was like, 28, and she said, I don't drink because she's like, I don't need whatever problem that's going to bring. And. But she was talking about her diabetes when, when she was mentioning it. Okay, all right, so you Started. So you learned stuff in school. Tell people what you do. Like, what is your. You said you have a PhD?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

What education were you getting in between them? In between the dancing and the clubbing? What. What education were you getting back then?

[B]

You know, I'm going to give a huge shout out to University of Arizona because I was in the psychology program and I loved what I was learning. I loved learning about sleep psychology and sports psychology and so on, and went off to grad school and studied behavioral medicine and health psychology. That gave me the opportunity to learn about holistic techniques, stress management, biofeedback, the whole brain body connection, which wasn't discussed when we were young.

[A]

So then what did you do? You turned, you took everything you learned and you were like, I could probably help myself.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

And so tell me how you did that.

[B]

The minute I started hearing about the brain body connection, I could not believe how much that related to me, and I started taking it seriously. But also I could see the difference just sitting in class all day of what my lows and highs did to my study. So I wanted to be in tighter range. So brain body connection, how. Any medical issue. Is it psychosomatic? I never heard that word before. But are these shoulder aches and headaches in my mind, are they really there? Is my stress causing this, or am I having something muscular? Go on.

[A]

Yeah. I'm a big fan of John Sarno's books.

[B]

Sure. I love him.

[A]

Yeah. And they helped me throughout my life, too.

[B]

Good.

[A]

Couple things he said in one of his books that really stuck with me. If you go to work and have a really stressful day and you come home with a headache, you don't think your brain is broken. But if you go to work, have a stressful day, and you come back home and your back hurts, you think your back's broken. The idea that they. How did he put it? He said prior to World War, the end of World War II, people didn't. Didn't complain about back pain. That if you gave an MRI to a thousand healthy people, you'd see that, and that none of them who are complaining about back pain, you'd see slipped discs and bulging discs in, like a large portion of them. And just the idea that you, you know, once you're upset about something and you think you're hurt, it can kind of magnify from there. You pull a muscle and you go, there's something wrong. I'm hurt. And then you start to favor it. And then before you know it, it hurts more and more. I got Through a tough spot in my 20s, just by telling myself quietly, not out loud, but there's nothing wrong, your back's not broken. You're okay. And it really did. It was a really great help to me as a younger person. So it's very cool that you were able to do that, too.

[B]

Dr. Sarnos is brilliant.

[A]

Yeah. A couple of his books are really valuable. Anyway, so you found more stuff like that, and now did you go into that field? Because this is always something I'm interested in. Did you go into that field because you thought, I need help? Or did you not realize the connection between the help you needed and the education you were about to get?

[B]

I have known I wanted to be a psychologist for diabetes since I was a teenager.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I was having a temper tantrum in my room and a hormonal one. And I said, when I grow up, I want to help people be able to talk about diabetes. Because my mom was dragging me around as a teen to therapists, and they would have a bowl of M and Ms. Out or a bowl of Hershey's chocolate. And I kept thinking, is this a test, or are they so dumb that they don't think to take this away while I'm here? And that also kicked off the strange eating patterns I was having as a young person.

[A]

I know that this isn't. You know, there's a big difference between an actual eating disorder and even disordered eating. I think there's an argument to be made that every person living with diabetes has an incredibly odd relationship with food. I don't think you can avoid it.

[B]

No.

[A]

You know, to be perfectly honest, and I don't. And you could be ultra low carb all the way up to just, you know, I count my carbs and I eat what I eat. Like, anywhere in between on that spectrum. Like, you are having thoughts and feelings and having to make considerations around food that most people do not think about.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Yeah. It's really impactful.

[B]

I think of it this way, and I've said this in so many of my talks all day long, we balance our food. Can I eat this? How many carbs? How many this? Will this have fat in it? That hits me in two hours. Do you know anyone else that has to do the math to eat pizza?

[A]

Yeah. No one else thinks about it the same way. Even Thanksgiving Day. Oh, I get so sleepy later, if you want to grab them and go, I'd love to test your blood sugar. I bet. Even though you don't have diabetes, I bet your blood sugar is up in the 160s right now it's sitting there making you feel this way. But they know. They'll take a nap or wake up and it'll be gone. And you never have to look more deeply into it than that.

[B]

In the same day. Food can save our lives or it can kill us.

[A]

Yeah, that's a weird relationship to have with something.

[B]

And so look at society and how we celebrate, you know, oh, it's Valentine's Day. Here's a box of chocolate. Oh, it's Easter. Here's your Easter candy. Oh, every holiday gets a matching Hershey's rapper.

[A]

Oh, forget the holiday. Friday we get pizza on Sunday we go for Chinese on like, you know, like, it's just everything, constantly. You get up in the morning and you're in a rush. I don't have time to poach an egg. I gotta do something here. Like what? None of your options are good. Like running out the door options. None of your stop at the store, you know, in the middle of the day because I'm working. Options are valuable. It's easy to tell people, oh, just eat clean food. And I, you know, we talk about it all the time and different episodes, but where are you supposed to get that from? And what about all the. And what about all the pressure and the impact and the hidden damage it does? Being worried about it or feeling guilty about it or feeling ashamed about it or whatever else comes up in the. In your head that doesn't exactly bubble up into actual words, but has an impact on your life all the time?

[B]

Well, I was sneaking food as a kid.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Here you're wondering about my partying, but I had a stash of Hershey's chocolate that.

[A]

That's like the party is under my pillow, okay?

[B]

And I. And this was food I would steal from my dad.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Or my brother was allowed gummy bears and I wasn't. He could drink Yoo hoo and eat entamins. Tasty cakes. I couldn't. I wasn't allowed.

[A]

Philly, she's tasty cakes. Everybody else is like, the hell is she talking about?

[B]

That's like, tasty cakes were the best.

[A]

That tell people a frozen crumpet much better than a room temperature crimp it.

[B]

They are the same as some of the excuse my French crap you buy in the market. A chocolate covered little cake with peanut butter. I was the chocolate peanut butter girl. I would go to my best friend's house and there'd be jars of candy everywhere. And her mother didn't. She did care what I did, but I Don't think she realized how much eating.

[A]

Well, and what's the impact on that? When you have to steal from your brother and steal from your dad, there's. That's not a great feeling, right? Because you're doing it. But, yeah, you're ashamed.

[B]

I grew up with so much shame about food, and I'm hiding this and you can't eat that, and that's a bad food, and that's a good food. And then I grew up to become this person that travels and lectures on let's change the language.

[A]

Yeah, well, that's really what it is, isn't it? It's just the way you talk about it and the way you communicate it.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's not good or bad food. It's unhealthy or healthy food. Or you come to my house, I have candy. I might go low, but people look at my house and they're like, why do you have so much candy? You're diabetic.

[A]

You get that from people still.

[B]

Oh, you now know what I do for a living. And I'll be walking down the street with a close friend taking a bite of something and say, you shouldn't eat that. You're diabetic.

[A]

How do you deal with that as an adult with your background, what do you do in that situation?

[B]

I am not nice. I mean, I try to be civil, but I'm like, are you kidding me? Do you know what I do for a living?

[A]

But they don't know, right? Like, isn't that person trying to help you in that moment?

[B]

Well, they better know what I do for a.

[A]

No, no. I mean about the food. Like, if. If somebody know. If somebody's a friend of yours and they know you have diabetes, but they don't have a ton of context for it. And you, I don't know, grab something that they associate with not being for diabetics for whatever reason, and they say that to you. Is that not a loving statement from them? Like, can you eat that? Doesn't that mean, like, oh, are you going to be okay? Should that hap. Like, I understand how you feel about it, and I don't disagree, but I'm wondering, like, do you think they're being shitty?

[B]

No, no, absolutely not. And in all honesty, I respond, I go, let me educate you a little bit. In the olden days with diabetes, we couldn't eat this unless we had low blood sugar. But now everything's based on carbohydrate. I love educating people.

[A]

Good. That's awesome. I give a lot of public Talks. And I find there's things people are interested in me talking about more than others. And you kind of like, develop kind of a niche of what you do. So when you go out and give your talks, what's your goal? People sitting in front of you, what do you want them to leave with?

[B]

When they leave, I want them to not feel so alone out in the world to diabetes. So if you were sitting in one of my balancing your relationship with food talks, which is one of my favorites to do, you would realize 30 to 40% of people with type 1 are dealing with disordered eating. And you're not a bad person. I want people to understand that there are ways to get through it, and there are ways to build a healthier relationship with their diabetes and themselves. And some steps are so easy. For example, think about what you say to yourself all day, how you put yourself down, how you, oh, I'm. I'm 250. What did I do wrong? Well, I'm 250 because I'm nervous about my meeting at 4:00, or I'm dehydrated, I haven't had a sip of water all day, and how to correct it. And if we can change our conscious thinking to a healthier way of speaking to ourselves. And I love teaching parents as well, you know, let's change the words we use. You're not testing, you're checking. It's not a bad number. It's information to build the dose on.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And things like that. And people come up to me afterwards and they ask if they can hug me, which, like, sure, I could use a hug too. But they're just so validated and they feel so seen when they feel so judged by the doctors. Every doctor you go to relates your diabetes. Oh, I have a bad knee. I think it's your diabetes. No, it's not.

[A]

This morning. My daughter's 21 and she's getting ready to graduate from her undergrad in psychology, actually. And I'm looking at her graph to make your point. So I'm gonna go all the way back to 1am last night, where Arden's blood sugar's pretty much been between 75 and 85. 2am, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. She has to get in her car and drive to school because she's meeting with her counselor to make sure she's graduating on time because she's switched. She switched majors at one point. So she's. So she goes because a, she'd like to graduate, you know, when she as soon as she can, because she wants to move on, to get a different degree. And. And two, because she's hoping to walk with her friends. Because if it doesn't. If it doesn't work out, then she's like, I'm not even gonna walk if I can't do it with everybody. You know, in my age group, people I know. I can watch her blood sugar go up as she approaches the meeting, and then it stays up. She hasn't eaten anything, and she's on an automated system that is bolusing and working and everything. But she now has an impact from nervousness, concern, worry, I don't know, rushing around. I have absolutely no idea what. But then, so I don't know, like, I'm kind of watching it at home as it's happening, and all I can think is I wonder if she's getting good or bad news. Is this adrenaline? Is it like.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You know what I mean? Like, what is this that's hitting her? And she walked through the door and she's just so happy, and she's like, guess who's gonna walk with. With her friends? And then she told me all about it. But now I realize, and for anybody else wondering, Arden's blood sugar went from being stable between 75 and 85 for, like, 10 hours to being at its height 180. Am I looking at that right? 182. And it's all just like that meeting. It's just. You can watch it happen over the timeline of the meeting. That's it. You know what I mean?

[B]

Yeah. I have predictable highs. For example, I do a once a month support group for breakthrough t Wendy. And right before the meeting, even though I'm leading it, I created the slideshow and so on. About 10 minutes before it starts going up, middle of the meeting, I am peaking high in the 2002. And then it takes about a half hour afterwards to come down.

[A]

To come back down. Do you ever bolus for it ahead of time?

[B]

No.

[A]

Try to get ahead of it. Why not? Tell me why not.

[B]

Because I know it'll come back down. And when I did experiment and do that, I dropped.

[A]

What system do you use now?

[B]

I'm on namobi.

[A]

So you're using a control iq Plus. Have you experimented with it since you've been on that pump, or did you experiment with it earlier on a manual pump?

[B]

I experimented with it recently. And the drop happens afterwards when I

[A]

come back down because all the adrenaline goes away?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay. Yeah. I mean, that makes complete sense to me. I was Just wondering what your experience was. Huh? What else do you want people to know? Why are you here?

[B]

Why am I here?

[A]

Not on the planet, on the podcast.

[B]

Well, I think I had a friend recently say to me, you're so lucky. You know your purpose, and it is to help people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. But I want people to know that they're not alone, which I've said. But that having a good relationship with your diabetes also comes from your support system. So if you're going to an endocrinologist that does everything right according to the books, but makes you feel so much shame about your diabetes, it's not a good relationship. You need to work with someone who motivates you. Having the right endo and the good relationship with your diabetes educator will be a game changer.

[A]

Yeah, I wish everybody could find thoughtful doctors. I actually started a website because of it. It's got like 230 doctors on it now from there that listeners sent in because it's hard sometimes to find a person who's motivated to help, who understands you, understands diabetes. It's a tough mix. It's on my website. If people care, it's juiceboxdocs.com My question to you is going to be, do you have a practice? Yes, you do. How much do you see overlap between anxiety and type 1 diabetes? And do you see it as a symptom of having an autoimmune issue or something you can't fix? Or do you think that the anxiety might also be because of the inflammation and the autoimmune stuff? Have you thought about it?

[B]

Yes, I think about it every day. It's twofold. When we are having fluctuating blood sugars, you then get into your brain not synapsing the same as someone without type 1. If you are at 200 and you get agitated, that is because the part of the brain that says, don't be a bitch, isn't getting the message soon enough before the words come out. When you are having to do an exam or something, then, and you're anxious about the exam, you're going high, then you're in a bad mood, then you're not doing as well on the exam because you're high.

[A]

And then that snowballs. They start impacting each other. The blood sugar impacts the anxiety, the anxiety impacts the blood sugar. You get caught in a loop.

[B]

It's a spiral. And then there's also, you know, if you look at something like depression and anxiety, it's very common in diabetes. At a time, it was one out of four people living with type one have experienced it. I don't mean they live with it constantly, but they live with it. And then I have many people come into my practice with complete burnout and diabetes distress, and they are just exhausted from the beeping and the buzzing, and I don't want to do this, and they turn off their cgm. The depression comes when you're running high, for example, because you become insulin resistant. And then it becomes harder and harder to bring it down. You're angry at yourself, you feel ashamed, you feel hopeless or helpless. And it's also a cycle.

[A]

Yeah. You also have brain fog in that situation. And there's just a lot of different impactors. What do you suggest for people? Like, do you think that stability in your blood sugar is an impactor, a main impactor, and then you can address anxiety outside of diabetes?

[B]

Oh, good question.

[A]

I'm full of these questions. Go ahead.

[B]

Right. I think it would definitely help to get your numbers in order. 100% will help with your mental health. Will it cure it? No. If you're in a depressed state, you need to get some form of support. Talk to a therapist, join a support group. There's all types of holistic treatments regulating your nervous system, but you will start to feel better because you're not walking around at 250 or 400 all the time. You will be thinking clearer.

[A]

Yeah, that's the. Pretty much the. I don't know, the base of the focus. I've had doing this podcast for so long, which is, I think that if you can just lower your A1C by, you know, closing up your variability, try not to get too high or too low, that. That leads to a lot of different successes in physical and mental health.

[B]

I agree.

[A]

Yeah. And it's tough because when you're in a. You call it a spiral. But like, when you're. When you're caught in that loop. Right. It's easy to point out. It's even easy to point out. Like, there are five factors keeping you in this loop. Well, that's great, but it's spinning out of control, and each one of them is stopping me from impacting the other one. So how am I supposed to, like, reset and start over? And I think that the most reasonable place to start is with your blood sugar, because if somebody can help you walk through. I gotta get my basil right. I gotta make sure my insulin to carb ratio is right. I'm gonna make sure my sensitivity is good now. My settings are good now. Maybe I'll have better Outcomes, maybe I'll have fewer highs, fewer lows. I won't be eating all the time to fix the lows. And then, you know, a week, a month of that, maybe will. Will lead to some sort of calm, you know what I mean? Or just a, just a space where you can exist for a minute without like frantically chasing these, these things. And then who knows what will present itself next?

[B]

Well, you're lowering the inflammation in your brain so the neurons are firing better, you're getting better uptake of serotonin, of dopamine. You're sleeping better because you're not buzzing. So that's a big part of it. Then your self esteem goes up because you're taking care of yourself.

[A]

Buzzing is an interesting way to put it. I know exactly what you mean. There are people in my life who, when I come in contact with them, I feel like they're vibrating. And when you stop and pick those people apart, sometimes they're stressed out, they're anxious, they're, you know, they have other. Sometimes they have mental health issues or whatever, but they, they stand next to them. I feel like they're moving, you know, and it always makes me wonder, God, how do they feel? If I can feel it over here, what's going on inside of them?

[B]

Right, right. I meant the buzzing from the pumps.

[A]

Oh, well, guess what? I meant that. So. Yeah, yeah, but you're saying smart too. But like, I. That's what it made me think of. Do you agree with what I'm saying? Like, or.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. You feel their anxiety or their, their toxicity almost.

[A]

Yeah, they're vibrating. I sometimes feel like.

[B]

And then I think because the prevalence of disordered eating or an unhealthy relationship with food is so high in type 1 diabetes and probably type 2. And I want to say 50% of my practice right now is binge eating people. That's a high amount. I have a full practice. It's building that healthy relationship with the food with diabetes and with your conscious thinking, I had a horrible day today. I'm going to go home and invite my boyfriends over, Ben and Jerry, and maybe they'll bring their friends, Keebler elves, and it'll be okay.

[A]

Oh, Ben and Jerry ruined that ice cream when they sold it. But I hear what you're saying. Are GLPs helping people with this?

[B]

Yes. Cutting down the food noise.

[A]

Yeah. Gotta be a big deal. Plus, I think it lowers inflammation, which I think is incredibly valuable for people with type 1 or people with autoimmune issues. I see people with type One who have insulin resistance on top of that are being helped immensely with it.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You know, but that's not a thing. You can't prescribe that, right? You don't. No, no, you don't prescribe. And so when you see somebody who feels that way, does your word carry weight with their physician and their insurance?

[B]

I give them the tools to go back to their doctor if they want to, but I am not a let's rush to medication type person. I am. You have to get along with food for the rest of your life.

[A]

Yeah, well, it's easier to get along with it when it's not attacking you, though, right? You know, I can just. I can only tell you from my personal experience, I don't have type 1 diabetes. I've been using a GLP for three years, and it has fundamentally made my life better in more ways than I can kind of quantify right now for you.

[B]

Oh, it has so many benefits. So many benefits. But let's say you still have to get along with the food and you still have to be your own biggest cheerleader.

[A]

But again, how do you do that if you're caught in the whirlwind? So it's an easy thing to say. So one thing. May I please take this from where I mean it from? I'm a big fan of therapy and talking and understanding how your mind works. And I know you're aware of the podcast Erica's on. She and I are always talking about something around this. But the one thing that frustrates me about therapy is that it doesn't mean just because you understand that it's going to happen and life is finite. Like, I don't want to spend 10 years figuring out my relationship with food when I could inject this stuff. And me and the food could start on a level playing field right away, and then maybe I could work on it. Do you know what I mean?

[B]

Well, I still see many of my patients on the GLP is still having unhealthy eating.

[A]

Oh, yeah. I don't think they don't need the therapy stuff. I don't think it's one or the other. I think, like, could it not be? I mean, a crutch to help you get going?

[B]

It could definitely be a crutch. And I don't think everyone needs to rush off and have therapy. There's so many ways to help yourself. Yes, Come to therapy, please. But there's so many other ways to help yourself. Get into a support group, start going to diabetes events, show up at my free Education group online.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, go online and just meet other people who have diabetes. That's incredibly valuable.

[B]

It's priceless.

[A]

Hard to mimic in person sometimes, because it's not. I mean, listen, you know, those events, you. You go to them and you're speaking at them. I mean, I've done every JDRF event, and, like, I've probably done one in, like, 20 different states. And they're wonderful and put on really well. But you're lucky if 200 people show up at 1.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And so when there's a state full of people who need help and. And that help is presented to them, and yet it only attracts 200 of them, then to me, that says, that's not an answer for those people. For a lot of those people online, really, I'll probably say over and over again, unless it falls apart or fails at some point. But my Facebook group is incredibly valuable for that.

[B]

I love your group.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. And, like, you gotta go find reasonable, lovely people like you who have similar situations that you have going on, because it brings some of that calm. It takes some of the vibration away. And then again, like, you know, you make a small change for yourself and then kind of re. Acclimate again, and then you're surprised. I find at the doors that open up for other change.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You know, I hate to sound like a yogi, but I feel like I almost sound ridiculous sometimes.

[B]

No.

[A]

Because I didn't grow up this way. You understand? And, like. But it's just so obvious to me at this point. Go meet other people.

[B]

Go meet. There is no. Nothing good about diabetes except for one thing. The community.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. It really is lovely.

[B]

It really. There's nothing. But you meet these people. I do these walk and talks and events for kids and just talking with the other parents and hearing their secrets and letting them voice themselves and to stand in the room. I have chills saying this. To be able to stand in a room where everyone understands the frustration of a Dexcom failure.

[A]

Yeah. I do touch by type one every year, and that's been growing. They had like 1100 people at their event last year. It's been growing and growing and getting bigger. And last year I went to Friends for Life for the first time, and I don't really know how to explain, but when you collect a whole bunch of people together who have type 1 diabetes, that stillness happens.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I watch them all relax, and then the space feels more relaxed, and then suddenly it eliminates the diabetes portion of it. I did a. I did a. A cruise last year with like 100 people I know and got them all together and they just immediately all had something in common. And there you were. It was so. It was a, a really wonderful experience. Enough so that I did. I'm like, I'm going to do it again. So we're going out again this year. I knew it was going to happen. I knew it. Academically, it's different to be there while it's happening. Does that make sense?

[B]

Yes. Well, I was going to share a quick note. First of all, I have clients going on your cruise. So there you go.

[A]

Hi everybody.

[B]

But how I know about this is, is I run a woman support group and I took it over from a therapist who did research back in the 80s and 90s measuring how a 1Cs drop when you join the group. So does support group for type ones bring the numbers down. And her dad was a well known endocrinologists and people were so surprised by how strong of an impact it was.

[A]

I can't tell you how many people have told me that listening to the podcast helps their, their management so much. Yeah. And when I used to, when I first heard it, I've said this so many times, but I really felt it's really impactful. The first time somebody said it to me, I said, oh, is it because I taught you how to pre bolus or account? And they were like, no, I knew how to do all of that. And then it gets explained to me over and over again that there's some. It's like a touch point. And the touch point keeps you grounded somehow and the grounding leads to you taking better care of yourself without feeling overwhelmed by the effort that goes into it.

[B]

Oh, it's. And to see people just like you. I think another helpful thing, especially for younger type ones. But I recommend it. Find your role models. The fact that I watched opening weekend of March Madness and knew four kids were playing with type one or the last three years in the super bowl, someone or two people with type one were playing in the Super Bowl.

[A]

Yeah, no, it's really cool. It really does help. I interviewed Mark Andrews mom one time. It was so interesting just to listen to the lady who raised a kid with type 1 diabetes who became the tight end of the Ravens.

[B]

Right.

[A]

It was just a really interesting situation. I've also even my daughter who has her own group of people with type 1 diabetes that she kind of supports a very personal, small group of people. But even when she was younger I remember seeing. Gosh, who was it? God. He's been on the podcast A couple of times. I love this guy, the cross country skier. Why is his name alluding blanking on his name, but he skied across the screen one day in the Olympics. I was like, hey, that guy is type one. And I watched her stop and really watched what he was doing for a minute before she walked away. And I don't think cross country skiing is on Arden's list of things she's interested in, but there it was, it just, you could see, like, oh, that guy. And then I said, oh, he wears an omnipod. And she's like, oh. And then it just, it's just a little comfort point, you know, and it moves away.

[B]

For me, it was Gary Clark, Gary Hall Jr. And he was diagnosed right before he was in the Olympics. And everyone said, you won't be able to swim. And then he got to my endocrinologist and she's like, we're going, let's go. We're going to the Olympics.

[A]

Why can't you do that? Right?

[B]

Of course you can swim.

[A]

Yeah. Well, that's just, that's the time. Or people who don't know or doctors who don't know. Right. By the way, I'm sorry, Chris Freeman. I don't know how Chris's name escaped me. He's. I actually, I love the way Chris. I don't think he does a lot of stuff diabetes related like he used to, but he's one of those people. Like, he, he speaks very, I think, clearly and honestly about what it takes to take good care of yourself. And, And I, I like the way he talks about diabetes. Anyway, he skied across the screen one day and I. And Arden was interested and I felt like she got some sort of comfort out of it for a moment.

[B]

Yes. I, every time I see Jean Smart win an Emmy, I'm her silent cheerleader here. Like, that Woman has type 1 or. I read the Sonia Sotomayor book, and these people are amazing. You can sit through taping a show and handle your Type 1. When I was a little girl first diagnosed, my true role model was Mary Tyler Moore.

[A]

Oh, sure. Yeah. How did you guys even know back then she had diabetes? Is that like, just. Was that in the Diabetes Forecast magazine?

[B]

I think she was pretty open with it. Or people in the diabetes world knew.

[A]

On the flip side, how does it make you feel when you see a person who. Not that anybody needs to be a role model. Right. If you're famous, it doesn't mean you have to be a role model, but when you see somebody who has type One, and then it's kind of clear they don't really understand it very well. You must have. Yeah. You must have seen it. I've seen it, too. So, like, does it make you think, oh, gosh, that's a shame, or good for them that they don't. They're apparently doing okay and they're not really burdened by it or thinking about it too much.

[B]

I see people that I know have type one. I see this more with men and women who will be out and about, go low, and have to go to the concessions and get something. I'm like, you don't carry anything. How do you not carry anything? Or they don't wear a cgm, or they don't want to know the latest and greatest because they don't care. And I talk to them. I have friends like this. I have people I see out in the community, and I try to educate them a tiny little bit without being annoying. I did. I did convince one friend to go on the cgm. He said, I changed his life.

[A]

Yeah. That's wonderful. I have to tell you, we're up on an hour. But, Beth, maybe my favorite part of you is that when if I say something that you find impactful or you agree, you don't restate it, you just make a great noise that makes me know that you understand me. I said something and you went, yeah. And I thought, oh, she got it. We don't have to talk anymore. This is great. Where can people find you?

[B]

I'm all over the place. No, I am at Dr. Beth Braun. Easier to find me on Instagram at doindiabetes D O I N or there's other ways.

[A]

Go ahead. I'm sorry.

[B]

Yeah, I was going to say, if you have questions about anything I said or something that might be helpful, just shoot me an email. And it's a really simple email. Ask Dr. Bethmail.

[A]

Very cool. I appreciate you doing this. It's really, really terrific.

[B]

The work you're doing, Scott, is so impactful. Every diabetes event I go to, and it's quite a bunch, everyone talks about your podcasts.

[A]

Oh, that's nice to know. I got yelled at on Instagram yesterday, so this is nice. Thank you.

[B]

Yeah. And whoever's yelling, whatever. They don't.

[A]

That person had a very strong opinion about something I should be doing that I'm not doing. And I was like, you should start a thing on your own and do it. Don't. Oh, yeah, yeah. What's that? There's a old line in a movie I can never remember. But I just felt like I'm. Like I'm not you, you know, you're you. And I'm doing a thing already. I'm. I don't have infinite time or infinite compute cycles in my brain. I'm doing the thing that I think is valuable for people. It's proving out to be so I don't have the bandwidth for the thing you think is important that I should be doing. I'm sorry. By the way, I agree with you. I agreed about the topic and the idea and the whole thing. I just don't have. It's just not possible.

[B]

People just want to argue on social media. Scott, really quickly, there is one other place I have a wonderful free resource and that's my breakthrough. T1D Ask the therapist support groups and I put all the info on my social media, but they are typically the last Tuesday of the month at 12 o'. Clock.

[A]

Okay, that's lovely. So you can find that through your social media too.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

Great. Well, thank you so much for doing this. I really do appreciate your time.

[B]

Thank you for having me.

[A]

That's a joy. It was really lovely. Hold on one second for me. Okay. This episode is sponsored by the Tandem MOBI system, which is powered by Tandem's newest algorithm, Control IQ plus Technology. Tandem MOBI has a predictive algorithm that helps prevent highs and lows and is now available for ages 2 and up. Learn more and get started today at tandomdiabetes.com Juicebox the conversation you just enjoyed was brought to you by usmed usmed.com juicebox or call 888-721-1514. Get started today and get your supplies from US MED. Are you tired of getting a rash from your CGM adhesive? Give the ever Eversense 365 a try. Eversensecgm.com juicebox beautiful silicone that they use. It changes every day, keeps it fresh. Not only that, you only have to change the sensor once a year. So I mean, that's better. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of the Juicebox 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? Foreign. 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 lists 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 Rob at wrongwayrecording. Com.