#1886 Game Set Match

Summary

Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1886—Game Set Match (June 25, 2026)

Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Eric Gilbert

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Episode Overview

This candid and heartfelt episode features Eric Gilbert, who has lived with type 1 diabetes for an astonishing 54 years. The conversation delves deep into the realities of living with diabetes across multiple decades, exploring both the practical and emotional challenges. Eric opens up about the complications he’s faced—including severe vision issues—and the evolving landscape of diabetes management. There’s a strong focus on the need for better mental health resources for adults with type 1 diabetes, the persistent burden of daily care, and a passionate call for recognition and community support for long-term survivors.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Living Through the Evolution of Diabetes Care

• Diagnosed in 1971 at age 3, Eric’s earliest memories involve traumatic hospital visits and early, primitive care techniques.
• “I was treated a lot like a leper back then because, you know, people didn’t really know what diabetes was. So my mom reminded me… that there were certain parents that wouldn’t let their kids play with me because they were afraid that their kid would catch what I had.” (Eric Gilbert, 02:16 & 05:31)
• Early home management was challenging for his mother, who became his primary caregiver with little support or information.
• Eric describes the lack of understanding and technology: “How do you test for, for, you know, sugars in your blood? Well, how to pee into a little paper cup, take a little eyedropper, pull out some urine, put it in a test tube…” (39:08)

2. Family Support: A Lifelong Necessity

• Eric’s mother remains actively involved, even at his age of 57: picking up prescriptions, reminding him to eat, and supporting his wellbeing.
• Emotional depth: “She’s the one that when things are bad, I know I can go to her.” (15:17)
• Complexity of accepting support while striving for autonomy: “...even though you've been at this for 54 years, you're nearly 60 years old, you completely accept the idea that support is necessary for you, but it's still difficult to accept the support all the time. Sometimes it feels like too much.” (14:44 – 15:09)
• Host Scott relates as a parent: “She needs help. She wants help. She doesn't want help… And these things, they're all happening at the same time.” (16:12)

3. The Emotional Toll & Mental Health Gaps

• The “neverending” nature of diabetes: “I don't want this damn disease. I never asked for it. So me having to ask for help in my mind says that, oh, I'm not a complete person because I need help with this, even though it's out of my control.” (17:07)
• Host and Eric trade mutual feelings of sadness, anger, and exhaustion—highlighting the universal, lifelong psychological burden.
• Eric advocates powerfully for mental health support: “There is… a tremendous lack of mental health support for type ones. And this is something I've struggled with for a very long time, trying to find some help.” (27:02)
• Disappointment in major diabetes organizations for failing the adult T1D community: “They only care about the kids. They don’t care if you've had type one for, in my case, 54 years. I am like a black hole to them. They only want my money for donations, but they're not willing to help me with anything.” (30:56 & 31:08)

4. Advocacy for Long-term Type 1s

• Eric believes there aren’t enough long-term voices: “I don't think there is enough advocacy out there for somebody that's had type one for 50, 50 plus years... but you. You can live successfully with this.” (26:14 – 27:00)
• His purpose for coming on: to offer hope and reality for those early in their journey as well as push for more holistic care, particularly around mental health.

5. Physical Complications: Eyesight and Gastroparesis

• Discusses severe complications: over 10,000 laser shots, seven vitrectomies, detached retina, and ultimately losing an eye after a volleyball accident (54:01).
• “So that killed my right eye... So I lost my eye back in 1997.” (54:15)
• Developed gastroparesis in 2010, resulting in major weight loss and extensive medical treatments.
• Remarkable resilience: “But did I let that slow me down? No... I went to law school and starting in ‘99. I went through law school with one eye.” (55:38)

6. Diabetes Technology: Reluctance & Real-Life Management

• Eric today manages with a CGM and multiple daily injections (MDI).
• His A1C is impressively in the low 6s (“My last year I've been 6.3 and 6.4”—60:22).
• “CGM is life changing, especially for me. I am so desensitized to highs and lows, I can’t catch them. And so without the CGM, I probably would be in a lot worse shape than I am today.” (61:34)
• Host encourages trying insulin pumps, acknowledging both the practical barriers (eye loss/depth perception, device placement, insurance issues) and the psychological resistance to change.
• Eric is honest about being “set in his ways,” but appreciates the nudge to reconsider: “I mean, I, I am thankful that the CGM technology came around. Yeah.” (62:59)
• The emotional aspect of new tech: “Now I've got another thing attached to my body... Some perceived freedom from this damn disease.” (70:08 & 70:31)

7. Modern Medications: GLP-1 Agonists

• Recent addition of GLP-1 has been significant: “My Humalog pen now lasts like 13 days whereas before it was six to seven... I lost, you know, 30, 35 pounds at this point and it has done wonders for the management of the diabetes.” (63:18 & 64:07)

8. Community & Support Gaps for Older Adults

• Eric finds local diabetes support groups less useful, as they’re focused on newer challenges he’s long since managed: “I want to engage and figure out how, how has one dealt with the burnout for multiple decades?... That's what I want to hear.” (75:56)
• Host points him to T1D to 100 as a resource focused on aging with Type 1 (74:03).

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Family:
  “She’s the one that when things are bad, I know I can go to her.” (15:17 – Eric Gilbert)
  “You can never not be a mom if you’re a mom.” (07:49 – Eric Gilbert)

• On Living with Diabetes:
  “It's draining and it's difficult mentally a lot of the times.” (08:42 – Eric Gilbert)
  “It's never ending.” (21:07 – Eric Gilbert)
  “I think I live a good life, yes.” (21:16 – Eric Gilbert)

• On Burnout:
  “How can somebody live with a disease, a chronic disease, for 54 years and not have some issues?” (34:32 – Eric Gilbert)
  “This is something that I can never take a vacation from. This is a 24/7/365 issue.” (34:32 – Eric Gilbert)

• On Organizational Failure:
  “They only want my money for donations, but they’re not willing to help me with anything… we can take care of the physical side of things…. But I just see that there is a huge lack of acknowledgment about the mental side of things.” (30:56 – Eric Gilbert)

• On Change & Adaptation:
  “[A pump is] a different lifestyle thinking that scares me... Because I've been doing it this way for so long.” (70:31 – Eric Gilbert)

• On Resilience:
  “Did I let that slow me down? No. I… went to law school and… graduated.” (55:38 – Eric Gilbert)
  “If I give up, what does that mean? I’m dead.” (82:41 – Eric Gilbert)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [02:35] Introduction to Eric Gilbert, diagnosis story
• [04:10] Early memories of diabetes, 1970s treatment, social stigma
• [06:36] Mother's role and support
• [13:40] Ongoing emotional support, dependence, and autonomy
• [15:17] The complexity of accepting ongoing help as an adult
• [27:00] Advocacy for long-term type 1s and lack of adult support resources
• [32:21] Industry and organizational gaps in mental health support
• [36:55] Physical complications: gastroparesis
• [54:01] Vision loss and devastating impact of diabetes complications
• [60:22] Current diabetes management: CGM, MDI, goals
• [63:18] Medication update: impact of GLP-1 agonists
• [70:08] Psychological barriers to new technology/adaptation
• [75:56] Value (and limits) of diabetes community support for older adults
• [74:03 & 75:10] Resources for aging with Type 1: t1d2100.com

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Memorable Moments

• The volleyball accident that caused total loss of Eric’s right eye just as his sight was saved after years of grueling surgeries. (54:01–54:28)
• Eric’s unexpected humor about his insulin pens and CGM: “My Humalog pen now lasts like 13 days… that’s really cool. That’s like some badass shit right there.” (64:07 & 64:32)
• Honest reflection about fear and change: “A different lifestyle thinking that scares me. Because I’ve been doing it this way for so long.” (70:47 & 70:55)
• The show’s proposed title: “Game, set, match” as a metaphor for diabetes’ ongoing battles, victories, and random losses. (54:15, 82:18)

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Final Thoughts

This episode resonates with anyone affected by chronic illness—be it as a patient, parent, or provider. Eric’s story is a testament to resilience in the face of relentless adversity. At the same time, it’s a clear-eyed critique of the shortcomings in support—especially around mental health—for adults with type 1 diabetes. Both the host and Eric model vulnerability, candor, and the power of community, even (or especially) when the system falls short.

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(End of summary; advertisement and outro segments omitted.)

Transcript

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Hello, friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Juicebox Podcast.

[Eric Gilbert]

There were certain parents that wouldn't let their kids play with me because they were afraid that their kid would catch what I had.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

You have questions. Scott and Jenny have answers. There are now 19 Ask Scott and Jenny episodes. That's where Jenny Smith and I answer questions from the audience. If you'd like to see a list of them, go to juiceboxpodcast.com up into the menu and click on Ask Scott and Jenny. Subscribing to the Juice Box Podcast newsletter is this easy. You type juiceboxpodcast.com into a browser, scroll to the bottom, put in your email address, click sign foreign. This episode of the Juice Box Podcast is sponsored by the Contour Next Gen Blood Glucose Meter. Learn more and get started [e-mail] juicebox this episode of the Juice Box Podcast is sponsored by Medtronic diabetes and their MiniMed 780G system designed to help ease the burden of diabetes management. Imagine fewer worries about missed boluses or miscalculated carbs thanks to meal detection technology and automatic correction doses. Learn more and get started [e-mail] Juicebox Today's podcast is sponsored by Cozy Earth. Go to cozyearth.com and use the offer code juicebox at checkout to save 20% off of your entire order. That's 20% off of your entire order. Clothing, towels, all kinds of accessories, anything you can think of, men's and women's. I'm wearing stuff right now that they make. I dried myself this morning. Cozyearth.com use the offer code juicebox save 20%.

[Eric Gilbert]

All right, so my name is Eric Gilbert.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Eric, how old are you?

[Eric Gilbert]

57.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

57. You have type one yourself?

[Eric Gilbert]

I do.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

How long have you had type one?

[Eric Gilbert]

54 years.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Wow. You were three, huh?

[Eric Gilbert]

I was three.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

You weren't just three. You were three 54 years ago.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yes.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Oh, I can't wait to talk to you about this.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah, 1971 is when I was diagnosed.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

The year of my birthday.

[Eric Gilbert]

Exactly.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

How do you like Eric? When you're filling something out online and you have to scroll back in the year and it just takes forever to scroll that wheel to your birthday.

[Eric Gilbert]

Your thumb gets sore after a while.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

And then the thing that I'm noticing, I mentioned this to my wife recently. It used to be when I was younger and I scrolled, there was still a lot of dates behind my date, and now there's not as many behind me anymore. Like, it's Almost like they're like, yeah, nobody born from here back is alive anymore, so we don't actually have to go to that. It's very upsetting.

[Eric Gilbert]

That's right. Well, you know, surprisingly, my grandmother is 105 years old.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Is she really?

[Eric Gilbert]

Yep.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Good for her? Or is it good for her? Or is she like. Is she like, Eric, I got. Why won't he take me? Like, what's her. What's her quality of life?

[Eric Gilbert]

She's pretty good, all things considered. She's up in a facility up in Wisconsin, and so she runs the roost there. Look at her.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

That's pretty awesome.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Well, listen, what's your first memory of diabetes? I mean, you're diagnosed before you would even remember it, right?

[Eric Gilbert]

So, yeah, I mean, some of the earliest memories I have is being rushed to the hospital to. Well, being rushed to the hospital is very little. To have my blood drawn, to have them checked, to see if my blood sugar was high. Another real vivid memory I have at a very young age is being extremely sick and being rushed to the hospital, and then the medical staff trying to put an IV in me, and they couldn't find a vein, and so they ended up sticking the needle into my shin to get fluids into me.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Eric, you remember that at 3 years old?

[Eric Gilbert]

Oh, well, I don't know if I was three, but it was, you know, three, four, five. And, yeah, the pain of having a needle shoved into your shin bone at that age is a lasting vivid memory.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Geez. I would. Oh, gosh, that's not a great. Not a great memory to have.

[Eric Gilbert]

No.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Did it get better from there, or what was it like? I mean, what was it like growing up with diabetes over 50 years ago?

[Eric Gilbert]

Antiquated. I was treated a lot like a leper back then because, you know, people didn't really know what diabetes was. So my mom reminded me when we were talking recently about this that there were certain parents that wouldn't let their kids play with me because they were afraid that their kid would catch what I had. So I just remember a lot of chaos and turmoil very young because, you know, at. In 1971, in the early 70s, my parents were still, you know, young and trying to figure out how to keep me alive plus also raise their other baby son. So it was. It was a lot of chaos and then just all of the unknown about the diabetes at that point. The infancy of, you know, research and a true understanding of what diabetes is and how to treat it.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Oh, gosh. Your parents struggle a lot. Do you think with it or was it because it was probably, what, one injection a day? Was it kind of out of sight, out of mind mostly, or have you ever talked to her about.

[Eric Gilbert]

Was a second full time job for my mom because she was, when I was diagnosed, she was given a vial of insulin, say, keep your son alive. She was learning just as much as I was at that time. My dad was involved, but not as intimately as my mom was. You know, she had to cook meals for me all the time. She had to, you know, keep me alive and keep my, you know, raising my brother at the same time. So that's, that's a big responsibility and duty for her.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. Did you talk to her about it as an adult? Do you know what her, I mean, her experience was? Did she ever share that with you?

[Eric Gilbert]

I, I don't think we've specifically talked about that.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Do you have the kind of relationship where you talk about stuff like that? You just don't talk about diabetes?

[Eric Gilbert]

We. She's always asking questions about the diabetes at this point. She trying to, I mean, I guess you can never not be a mom if you're a mom. So she's always concerned about my well being, making sure I'm doing everything still I need to do, making sure that I'm getting to doctors appointments, you know, things like that, helping out wherever she can. You know, she, she picks up prescriptions for me when she goes to Costco and things like that. So it, it's, it's. She's still very, not as, she's not as involved as she was when I was little, but she still is an active participant in my management.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

How does that make you feel that she's still interested after all this time?

[Eric Gilbert]

Thank God.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. Why? Tell me what that support does for you.

[Eric Gilbert]

Well, I mean, this is, and especially having diabetes for 54 years, it is draining and it's difficult mentally a lot of the times. And so she's concerned about that. She's concerned about my well being. She wants to see me succeed. And so, you know, she just takes an active role in making sure I'm doing okay. She, you know, at this point, she knows the signs of me getting low and so she will give that nudge of do you need something to eat or should we stop so that you can get something to eat? You know, things like that. So I'm a crucial.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

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[Eric Gilbert]

So. Yes, I mean, I appreciate that she still is interested in my well being and making sure I'm doing well. There's been so many things over all the years where she has had to play a major role in my life because of the diabetes with all the complications and all that stuff that I'm sure we'll get into. So she'll, you know, she was very, very involved. I mean at certain points of my life she was, you know, my primary caregiver in my 20s and 30s. Yeah. Just out of necessity.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

So hard for her to let go of it. Do you think?

[Eric Gilbert]

I'm sure, I mean she's been involved with this since day one also. And but, but she is also getting freedom to take care of myself. She, I mean for lack of a better description of it, I'm sure as a young child she babied me about it. But that was out of the both of us learning and learning how to deal with this. So. Yeah, so, I mean it's, I'm very fortunate that I've had such strong family support, at least from my parents. But it's still, it's a struggle. I don't feel necessarily seen all the time as, you know, like especially with my mom, sometimes I wish that I wasn't seen by her. But you know, that's just the mother's love for her child.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

So. So even though it's interesting, isn't it? Even though you're really, even at this is really interesting actually. So I'm gonna try to wrap my head around this. So even though you've been at this for 54 years, you're nearly 60 years old, you completely accept the idea that support is necessary for you, but it's still difficult to accept the support all the time. Sometimes it feels like too much.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yes.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

How do you square that circle?

[Eric Gilbert]

Well, it's, it is a necessity. I couldn't do this alone. I have friends that are supportive. I have friends that try to understand, but it's not the same as with my. Like with my mother, she understands it. She's tried to keep up with understanding the evolution of the care for diabetes. My friends are sounding boards. My friends are shoulders to cry on. But she is, you know, she's the rock. She's the one that when things are bad, I know I can go to her.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah, well, I mean, Eric, it's. It shouldn't be lost. Anybody listening that you're. Again, you're 57 years old, and that made you emotional?

[Eric Gilbert]

Yes.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. You know, that's. I don't know. I don't know exactly how to unfold this completely because I'm. Obviously, I'm in your mom's position, and my daughter's had diabetes now for, gosh, almost 20 years, and I see the same thing. She needs help. She wants help. She doesn't want help. She doesn't want to think she needs help. And these things, they're all happening at the same time. It's not like one day you feel one way and one day you feel the other way when you're asking for help. I mean, you're going to tell me if you feel that way. But when you feel like you need help or you're asking for help, at the same time, there's another force inside of you. It's making you feel bad for asking or making you feel like a child for needing it. Is that fair?

[Eric Gilbert]

I think it's fair. I think the way I see that statement of yours is. Is while it's correct, at least in my opinion, in. In the way I think of things is I don't want this damn disease. I never asked for it. So me having to ask for help in my mind says that, oh, I'm. I'm. I'm not a complete person because I need help with this, even though it's out of my control. Now, that is probably not good thinking because. It's. It's probably not correct thinking because while my mom is willing to drop anything to help, and I'm sure you are, the same way with your daughter, we have to. We have to suck down our pride to ask for that help. And that's never easy for anybody,

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

I think. And to me, Eric, you already said the thing that I feel like is the core of the problem. You said, I don't want this. And that's the thing that strikes me, because sometimes Arden and I'll sit and talk about this Stuff, and they're difficult conversations because she is sad and angry at diabetes, at me, at things that she shouldn't be. I feel the same way. And when you let all the emotions out and you let go of all the. I mean, the conscious stuff and you just let yourself be in it for a second, the only feeling I'm ever left with is, I don't want this to be our situation. It just is. And.

[Eric Gilbert]

Right.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

You know, and what a. There's the defeating piece of it, right. When you. When you boil it all right down you go, oh, we can fix all this right now if we could just make the diabetes disappear, which we can't do, so we can't. So then that's where the problem begins to bubble up from. And then that's. That's the first step of you losing perfection, whatever the perfection of your personal relationship is. On the day one, when you're a little baby and she's holding you right there, right. That first fracture happens. I don't know when you want to pick up a toy and she wants you to come into the other room or you don't want to eat, and she. And so there. These little fractures happen constantly between your consciousness and desires and her consciousness and desires. And mostly, as humans, we're good at, like, growing up with those things and keeping our relationships together. It's this thing right here. This diabetes thing is just. It's way bigger than the rest of it. And you. I think you can put safeguards in place and put great thinking practices in place and have good mindset and perspective and all of that. And all that does is. Is. What do they say, puts lipstick on a pig? You know what I mean?

[Eric Gilbert]

Yep.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. And so at the bottom, it's always going to be that feeling of, I don't want this to be happening to me, and. And me thinking, I don't want this to be happening to you, but at the same time, me thinking, this isn't what I had in mind when I became a parent either. So.

[Eric Gilbert]

Right. Yeah. None of us signed up for this.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Exactly. Yeah. I'm sure there was an easier way to say what I just said. That was probably it.

[Eric Gilbert]

But.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. Anyway, I think it's just really interesting to hear a person with your years of service in this thing, which I think maybe is how we should think about it, your decades of service in this diabetes thing and hers as well, and everything else that comes with it, and to hear that you're still having the same feelings that probably an 8 year old has a 5 year old has a 20 year old, has. With diabetes. Yeah.

[Eric Gilbert]

It's. It's never ending.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. But, but having said that, Eric, do you think you live a good life?

[Eric Gilbert]

I think I live a good life, yes. Yeah.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Well, how. Well, let's figure out how to do that then. If that's the situation. How do you, how do you get to the point where you can say that 50 years in

[Eric Gilbert]

a lot of, A lot of support from my family. Yeah. From my parents. That, their tireless efforts to help me. I'm sure it's the same with you that, you know, you're willing to do whatever you need to help your daughter no matter what. And that's the way they were, you know, as, as a 3, 4, 5 year old. I think my mom was, she was trying to absorb and learn as much as she could about diabetes so that she had a better understanding of it and then could translate that into how she cared for me. And so, you know, I'm sure. And I, I don't speak from that, from that parental side of things. I only know because I live it 24 7, 365. And so I can't, I can't put myself in, in my mom's or your position to understand that side of things. Yeah. Because I don't have the perspective that's. I'm not the parent of a child with it. I am the child. And so, you know, in the early 70s and 80s, my mom was, like I said, a tireless, tireless advocate to learn as much as she could to help me survive.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

One of the most disappointing parental moments I've had is when you get down to saying to your child, I'm so sorry, I can't explain this. Well, you really won't understand unless you have your own kid. And because when somebody said that to me, I was like, what, a cop out? You know what I mean? But it's, I'll tell you, of all the things that you can't understand without the perspective, there's one of them right there. Like, I can't, I can't articulate the drive inside of me to protect those kids. I don't, I don't know how. I can't put it into human words. It is only a feeling, you know, and, and therefore you get stuck in this situation. I've been in the exact same situation you've been in, probably where you're just, you know, the person on the other side is like, I don't want this or need this. And you're saying you don't understand. I can't not do this. Like, like. And then you. And then if you're a good parent, then you have to swallow all of that and then stop. And that's really difficult. That's. That, that really is the idea of, like, sometimes you just got to let a high blood sugar be high for a little while so they can figure it out, and that you hope that they manage it in a healthy way and it becomes a habit that helps them long term, but that you're not in charge of it turning out that way. That's a hard thing to like, It's a hard thing to accept, I think, when you're raising kids. Do you have kids, Eric?

[Eric Gilbert]

No. I don't know.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

When you have kids, the idea that you're going to raise them to some sort of success and happiness, it. It changes and morphs over time. Because I think the goal changes and morphs over time, which makes it all feel much more acceptable when it pivots and morphs. But when your end goal is a lifetime of health and you get farther and farther away from that, when decisions are made, you can't pivot with that.

[Eric Gilbert]

You.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

You don't. You don't start thinking, like, I really hope this kid's A1C stays in a safe range. And then all of a sudden it's a 9 or a 10 and 11, and you go, okay, well, I guess that's okay. It's be right. Because it's not so right. And if you push back, you're gonna. You're gonna break your relationship up. And if you don't push back, there's gonna be a health issue.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yep. Yeah, exactly.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

You know, the only answer, Eric, is you did the right thing. Don't have kids.

[Eric Gilbert]

Wow.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

You can't win, man. It's a win. It's a game with no winning strategy. You know, Even when you also, like, keep in mind, when I say it's a game with no winning strategy, the saying you always want the thing you don't have is 100% true. And it never shines brighter than when you parent a child. Well, because they'll just find a different thing to be disappointed in, because I think they're supposed to feel that disappointment to separate from you so they can go be an adult on their own. But then again, the health issue stops that from happening.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yep.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Sometimes, man, it's a shit show. Yeah, right.

[Eric Gilbert]

Exactly. Exactly.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Well, what?

[Eric Gilbert]

What? And we. And we live it daily.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

It's it. Right. Oh, not just daily. Right. It shifts by the hour.

[Eric Gilbert]

Sometimes by the minute.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. What made you want to come on and chat?

[Eric Gilbert]

Because. Well, so for a couple reasons. One, I don't think there is enough advocacy out there for somebody that's had type one for 50, 50 plus years. I don't think that people hear enough from somebody like me that's had it for over 50 years to see that, you know, like in your daughter's case, 20 years, well, that seems like a lifetime, which it is. But you. You can live successfully with this. With this disease for as long as you want.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Eric Gilbert]

And so I, you know, I. I think one of the biggest. One of the biggest issues I see is that there is, excuse me, a tremendous lack of mental health support for type ones. And this is something I've struggled with for a very long time, trying to find some help. And a year ago, I started with a new doctor who is a, you know, diabetic specialist, and she has. She has. She's a concierge doctor that I found here in my town, and she also has a counseling degree. And so in addition to all the work we do about the control issues, we've been getting into the. The mental health side of things. And, you know, she's. She's been a lifesaver. And because, like I said, I've tried for years to find help on how to deal with the diabetes. And I've talked to, you know, various therapists and whatnot, and. And nobody can relate. I was at a breakthrough T1D event a number a couple years ago, three years ago. And so, like, one of the. The big wigs from back in New York was there. And so, you know, they opened the floor up to questions. And so I asked a question about what's breakthrough doing about helping with, you know, the mental health side of things for diabetes. And the guy deferred to a panelist that was there, and it was a mother of a child that had type one. And her answer was, we'll see a therapist. And that just struck me as a horrible response. And it filled me with anger and murderous thoughts towards this person because of. I mean, I thought it was a flippant response, especially, you know, as this thing started.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

One setting too, right?

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, you know, and there was. There were a number of people in the audience that were type ones at that point. You know, I had like 51 years, and so they recognized that, or they asked anybody with over, like 40 years to stand up. And there was only like three of us. And then after 50, there was just myself and a Guy that was like in his 70s. And so to have that answer really set me off. And it just, it just reconfirmed where I think there's a huge lack of support for all of us type ones.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

What would you. So, I mean, I hear the story like you asked the guy attached to the organization, he's like, I don't know, ask her. And she goes, I don't know. So I get that. I mean, that's defeating in itself. But what would a good response have been? Like, what would you appreciate, would have appreciated a hearing?

[Eric Gilbert]

I think something to the effect of, you know, what? We, we're doing something at breakthrough T1D. You know, let me give you some resources or here's my email. Email me and I can get you in touch with those resources.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

It would have been nice to know that they were working towards it and. Or had already thought about it and they had a mechanism for spreading it.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yes.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Okay, but they don't. In your experience, that was not offered.

[Eric Gilbert]

No. And it's just, you know, this will, this will be my little soapbox. I mean, I think like with especially Breakthrough, they only care about the kids. They don't care if you've had type one for, in my case, 54 years. You know, I am like a black hole to them. You know, they only want my money for donations, but they're not willing to help me with anything. And that's been my experience over the years, not just with them. I mean, 10, 12 years ago I was in a bad place and I called Jocelyn's to see if they had any sort of direct mental health help. And I mean, I got passed around from department, department and nobody had a solution, nobody had an idea. And there was, you know, they couldn't even refer me to somebody that was, you know, had a specialization in dealing with people with T1D for their mental health side of things. Yeah, because, you know, we, we can take care of the physical side of things. I mean, hell, we've got so many different things that help the pumps, the CGMs, all that stuff. But I just see that there is a huge lack of acknowledgment about the mental side of things.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Listen, I try to put effort into getting pump companies to make content with me that will help people use their pumps better. Because I even think that happens there where they're like, look, here's the thing. And then you say, well, how do you use it? I don't know, you gotta go ask your doctor about that. And then you go, you know, and by the way the FDA does not allow pump companies to. To give you direction about how to use their devices. Actually, device manufacturers in general cannot act like doctors. They're not allowed to. So forget that they're not allowed to. But then they go, I don't ask your doctor. You get to your doctor, Your doctor goes, I don't really know much about that pump. And then, I mean, okay, great. So we're pumping out new content in the form of technology all the time, but not really teaching people how to use it very well. And then I'm, I, I've tried over and over again to make content that will hopefully help people understand nuts and bolts ways of using their. Their devices better. Even using the insulin better. Nobody even teaches you how to use insulin. Like, that's just. This is your ratio. Count your carbs. God bless.

[Eric Gilbert]

Like, Right.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Awesome. Thanks.

[Eric Gilbert]

Have at it.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah, yeah. A little more to it than that, but okay, buddy. Right. And at the same time, like, I could put myself easily in the shoes of the people at the JDRF who are saying, like, look, here's what we're. This, this is what we're focused on. We are not focused on the thing that you need. But then you're saying, well, if you're not, who is? Because no one else seems to be either. Right? Yeah. So is that just a thing that you either need one of those organizations to decide to be valuable in that space, or do you need its own organization to pop up? And then who pays for that? And then how do you get the word out about it so people even know where it is at the time? That almost makes the argument that it needs to be folded into a bigger place that already has attention and you know where to go. Like, you think of them when you're going somewhere. Right? It's. Right. Why going to the hospital can be frustrating when they can't help you because you're like, well, where else am I supposed to go in this situation?

[Eric Gilbert]

Right?

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

You know, like, boy, do you think it's a limitation of society more than it is a limitation of jdrf, for example. It's hard not to be mad at them, though, right? Eric, you've been at this a long time, right?

[Eric Gilbert]

Right. And yeah, I mean, they're. They're high on my list these days because, like I said, they just want the money. They don't care about. If you're not a child, you know, by the age of, what, 16, 17, 18, you're an afterthought to them. And so it's frustrating in all Honesty, I don't feel like, outside of my family, my friends, Dr. Sloan, the, my, my doctor I was mentioning, I don't feel like I have support. I don't feel like I have the support where I need it the most on. Not necessarily a daily basis, but on a regular basis. Meaning the, the mental health side of things. How can somebody live with a disease, a chronic disease, for 54 years and not have some issues? How is it that, you know, I mean, and now talking to you, you understand, because you, you live vicariously through it with your daughter and you do this podcast, but this is something that I can never take a vacation from. This is a 24, 7, 365 issue. And as you said earlier, minute by minute, hour by hour, you know, thing that we have to address, that weighs, that weighs mentally on somebody. I mean, that's a big burden to carry. So how, and I appreciate your question of how do we do this? How do we make this available? And that's, that's the crux of the problem.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah, you don't know. You're busy living with it. You can't fix it too. Like, you need, you really do need somebody else to put their brain onto it and.

[Eric Gilbert]

Right. And, you know, and, and at this point in life, I wish that, you know, 10 years ago when I started, you know, identifying these issues, I wish I would have had the ability to go back to school and get a, A different degree than what I have so that then I could have maybe, you know, been that, that counselor for all these people.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

What does, what has worked for you over the years. You said you had an issue about 10 years ago. Would you share what that was?

[Eric Gilbert]

So I've had a number of issues from the diabetes over the years. Back in, starting in, like, 2010, I started having stomach problems.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

And,

[Eric Gilbert]

and so from, like, December of 2010 until January of 2011, I lost 60 pounds. And it was, you know, I went through testing, so much testing, and it was determined that I, I have gastroparesis. Okay. And so that was why I lost 60 pounds, because I couldn't eat anything. I couldn't keep anything down. Anything I ate came right back out. And so, I mean, it got so bad that at one point, my doctor at the time was thinking that they're gonna have to put a feeding tube in me. And that did not sound appealing. And so I ended up going out to the Mayo Clinic out in Arizona. They had a gastroparesis, excuse me, program out there that I went to, and I learned about things and you know, got educated on, on how to deal with yet another side effect of the diabetes. You know, different eating, keeping the blood sugars down so that they don't go high. And that's what set it off. And so now, yeah, it's just another thing I live with as a result of this diabetes.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. Hey, do you listen to the podcast with any regularity?

[Eric Gilbert]

I listen to it a couple times a month.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Well, that's pretty regular. That's regularity. But you're aware of how I try to talk about it, about understanding how the insulin works, understanding how the food's impacting you, that stuff. Is that a thing that would have been valuable for you to know sooner? You just said what did they teach you? And the things they taught you are not, not incredibly like uncommon ideas modern day. But I'm imagining as you were growing up, people didn't talk to you about stuff like that, right?

[Eric Gilbert]

No, no. I mean, what, what technology we have in the 70s and 80s is, I mean at time, at the time it was revolutionary. Now, I mean, I think, I would guess the majority of people don't even know what we used to do. I mean, you're probably familiar with it, but when I was a little kid, I mean, how do you test for, for, you know, sugars in your blood? Well, how to pee into a little paper cup, take a little eyedropper, pull out some urine, put it in a test tube, five drops of urine in the test tube and drop a tablet in it. Yeah, it fizzed and then it gave you a, a color spectrum blue to like dark orange. Blue was you had negative sugar in your urine and orange would, meant that you had high, high sugar in there. That's what we had. It wasn't until early 80s that they started coming out with the. You could test your blood sugar by pricking your finger and then putting out on a little strip. And then, you know, you had a meter that would read it. Yeah, but

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

probably feels like, like a 10 lifetimes ago, I would imagine.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah, exactly. You know, insulin back then was, I mean it was pig insulin derivative. We had two types, NPH and regular. The NPH was, you know, eight hour lasting. And so you would do that. And I, you know, I, I had a doctor back then that was a pediatrician. Endocrinologist. Endocrinologist. So, you know, he was, he was very involved in diabetes and diabetes research and so he always gave me the latest and greatest. I think it was high school when I first started doing multiple injections a day through all the research that was being done at the time and you know, anytime I would have to tell a doctor or a nurse or end up in the er, you know, that I was on multiple shots a day, they're like, oh, well, you must be a really brittle diabetic if you're doing so many shots a day. But no, that's how your non diabetic body works, by having constant insulin throughout the day. That's what I'm trying to mimic. And so, you know, everything was such a shock back in that time period when I was first diagnosed. But I think there's, at least for me, I think there was a lack of understanding about the bigger picture of diabetes.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

And, and every. So every time something shifted or changed, you run into a person who really knows the way before that, but not this way. And then they become one of those people where it's like, oh, you don't, you, you must be brittle. For example, you're shooting so many times, so you're following, you're following new teachings by being, you know, trying to, trying to honestly line up the insulin with the impact of the food, right? And then, then you're impacted by a person. You run into a person who says, oh my gosh, you must be doing this wrong because of this, because they don't understand the new idea. And then the next idea comes and it keeps happening. It keeps happening. Do you think that if someone from a big organization who is clearly not helping people in your situation right now, do you think they'd say, well, yeah, well, we're trying to do the thing though. Like, we're trying to get to the next thing. Like, we're not, we're not an organization that like is here supporting you day to day. We're an organization who is trying to make Teasyield work, make CGMS work, argue with, you know, legislators about something. Actually, I just remember something very recently like JDRF had a big, actually that Eladon trial that's going on right now. I interviewed that doctor and he gave a lot of credit to JDRF for their, like, basically their work in D.C. about making things easier for him to do his work. And. But it still seems incredibly unfair to me that you as the person with diabetes, by the virtue of the day you're diagnosed or that anybody is diagnosed, you were planted on a timeline and that timeline keeps shifting, but it's not there for you anymore. Meaning insulin gets better, pumps get better, people come up with algorithms that work better. Organizations are busy fighting for the next thing you know, at the government level or whatnot, and you're back here going, oh, no. Like, I'm the one living right now with the stuff that's available right now, and I need this kind of support. My hospital doesn't offer it. Just go talk to a therapist. How? I don't even. How am I going to find a therapist, even understands diabetes? Like, I'm sitting here listening to you. And I think that your converse, your story is incredibly valuable to hear, and I think it'll be incredibly valuable for everybody listens to it. But my concerning takeaway 40 minutes in is that the only person that this conversation is not going to help is you. Does that make sense?

[Eric Gilbert]

Well, it does. And if I can help somebody else, hey, great, I've done something that makes me feel good because I'm helping somebody else. And I mean, we haven't even touched on, you know, some of the other complications I have. But I think your, your premise about, you know, these companies focusing on the next. The next big thing is, is, yes, they are. They are working tirelessly trying to figure out how to cure this. I've been hearing for 54 years that a cure is right around the corner. You know, let's, let's stop that false hope because it's been 54 years in my case, and there's still not a cure. Let's instead say, look, we are working diligently to make management the easiest it can so that you avoid complications. But further to your point, these, these organizations, they, they serve an important role, like you said, the whole D.C. thing, the funding of all these research projects. But I think they could, because who else is going to be. You have type 1 or breakthrough T1D, JDRF, American Diabetes Association? I mean, those are the big ones. I don't know you even know if the American Diabetes association is still around. But they are the ones that are in the public eye. They're the ones that the public, you know, probably is, are. Are easiest to find, those organizations. So why can't they incorporate somehow getting that mental health side of things? Because it's, it's, it. It's not something that you can separate out. I wish I didn't have to, you know, have all these, you know, issues with my mind, because that would make life much easier. Not just for me, but for everybody. But how, how do you, how, how do you deal with this on a daily, yearly basis? It's not easy. Technology makes it easier, but that still, it still is a dream mental drain.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Can I ask you two questions that both might be Difficult to answer. Of course, if I tell you, let's just make up a scenario, right, where they do cure type 1 diabetes, but it's 300 years from now. So you said, even if I'm not helped by sharing today, hopefully it'll help somebody else. So what if your life being part of the. I don't know, part of the petri dish where they figure out how to die, you know, how to cure diabetes 300 years from now, like, even though you won't be alive in 300 years, if I told you that was definitely going to happen, would you say, okay, fine, I understand, you're not helping me, but eventually we're getting to it. Or does that timeline make it like. Because right now what they're saying to you is, five more years, five more years, five more years. Which I think is. I think it's cruel, by the way, to say that to people. Yeah, right. But I get how it keeps people engaged. They think lends hope to people. I think it kind of does the opposite. It's my opinion. But. So my question is, is that if you knew that what they were doing right now was going to lead to a cure in 300 years, would you stop? Would it. Would that stop you from feeling cross about how it's being handled right now?

[Eric Gilbert]

No.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Okay. And if they told you, listen, we can help you with the thing you're asking for right now, but then we're not going to get to the cure in 300 years, would you say, well, that's better serve the people that are here now? Or would you say, no, no, no, leave me be, let's go for that?

[Eric Gilbert]

I would say, let's see if there's a way that we can find a medium between those two extremes.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Eric Gilbert]

Because why should I be discounted now when. When I'm here now? I mean, there. There should be. They should be able to balance it. Great, I. I lead the way. 300 years from now, it's no longer, so be it. You know, there's nothing I can do about that. Quit torturing me. That there's a cure right around the corner. It's not fair, as you know, as what you said, but there's got to be a way to balance it.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

I'm with you, Eric. I'm just. I'm trying to play devil's advocate in a couple.

[Eric Gilbert]

Oh, yeah, no, no, no. I understand.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah, I'm. I'm with you. I think that it should not be difficult for large organizations to put a strike team of people together to build even if it's just a list that you can email to somebody or a website you can go to to like search in your area to find, you know, a therapist that's either cash, pay or otherwise. And if those people don't exist, is there not something you could do to, I don't know, incentivize young people going off to college to pick this up as a, you know, as a focus? I think that too, when they're always telling us like there's not enough endos, well, spend some of that money on incentivizing people to be endocrinologists. You know what I mean? What about like, you know, you got to go to med school and med school costs X number of dollars, but guess what? If you become an endocrinologist and dedicate 10 years to people with diabetes after you graduate, how about we'll pay 15, 20% of your, of your student loans or we'll give you a set amount of money. Or like there's other ways to spend this money to try to spread good in the world. And I don't even know that it takes that much. I'll say something now that I think is, I hope it doesn't sound self serving. I certainly don't mean it that way, but I think I motivate a lot of people to go into endocrinology and being a nurse practitioner and helping people in the here and now. And that's just leading by example really. You know, like there's a lot of ways to, there's a lot of ways to push towards good.

[Eric Gilbert]

Right. And you're fortunate to have this platform that is so informative and it helps people.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah, but can I. Yeah, but, yeah, but it's not fortunate I made this on purpose.

[Eric Gilbert]

Sure, exactly.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

They could, they could try and they. By the way, this is going to sound like I'm talking about somebody specifically. I'm out. I see all kinds of organizations with like this high mindedness that like they're going to kind of copy the thing that I've done or you know, know, try to do, but they always do it wrong. They always make it too corporate. They always make it boring, they always make it dry, they always turn it into something perfect on paper that nobody's going to spend their time with. And then they'll, they'll quietly and privately say, look, we made it available, they didn't want it. Well, you made something available that doesn't fit into people's lives is what you did. You know, like it has to be like, you know, for for corporate people who are always running around saying stuff like, meet people where they are. They sure as hell don't. They're not good at meeting people where they are. They're good at meeting people where they think it looks good.

[Eric Gilbert]

Right?

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah, Right.

[Eric Gilbert]

You know, I mean, so I think, and this is just my perception, that nowadays, you know, meaning the last five, 10 years, I think that with the evolution of all the technology we have it, it has helped alleviate some of the complications that, you know, us type ones face. Surely, you know, better understanding, keeping your A1C's and range and. And all that stuff. But, you know, one of. So back in the mid-90s, starting 93, 94, I started having retinopathy issues. And I. Eventually, after. So starting, like I said, like in 93, I did my first laser. Laser shots of my eyes. 94, 95, 96 is when I went through living hell with my eyes. Over the. Over that period of time, I had over 10,000 lasers in. In both my eyes. I had like 7 vitrectomies where they go and they suck the fluid out of your eye because it kept filling up with blood. Had a detached retina. And finally, you know, I was. I was three years of all this. My doctor was finally able to save both my eyes. I go out and playing volleyball. I got hit in the eye with a volleyball. And so that killed my right eye. No, So I lost.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Serious?

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because, you know, the eye was in a weakened condition at that point from all the surgeries and all the lasers and stuff. So, yeah, so I lost my eye back in 1997.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

No shit. Game, set, match. Eric, that's terrible. Ooh, also a great title for your episode.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah,

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

well, you go. You go through all that and you're like, that's it. I'm back to life. And then life hits you in the face.

[Eric Gilbert]

Like, literally, literally, literally right in the eye. I'm sorry. Yeah, so it does. It does. And so, you know. But did I let that slow me down? No. You know, I. I have. I have vision on my left eye these days. It's not a hundred percent, but I can live. I've had to learn how to readjust everything. I. I had to stop playing, you know, a lot of contact sports at that point back in the late 90s because of the depth perception. I've had to learn how to drive more cautiously because of the depth. Depth perception. I can't drive on open roads at night. I mean, I could get around the city with. With enough street lights and Stuff, but I can't drive on the open road. And I, you know, I decided at that point in 97, 98, that I didn't have enough challenges. So I went to law school and starting in 99.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Did you really?

[Eric Gilbert]

Yep. And so I. I went through law school with one eye.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Are you an attorney now?

[Eric Gilbert]

I am.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Oh, lovely kind of law practice.

[Eric Gilbert]

Right now I am between jobs, but I had been doing construction litigation for a number of years.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Okay, well, that's really, that's impressive, man.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so when I got done with law school and passed the bar, my right eye started. It became so painful that I couldn't live with the pain, so I had it removed. And so now I have a prosthetic.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Oh, do you really? Do people know?

[Eric Gilbert]

Yep. Yes and no. I. My right eye is, you know, semi closed on a permanent basis and the eye does not. Does not move as much as the left eye. But the procedure I had, I went to a doctor in Fort Worth, Texas, that was a specialist in nucleations. And so he did an implant where he tied all the nerve endings to this implant. So the eye does move a little bit, but I still look like there's something wrong with my, with my face, with my eye.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Fascinating. They can do that. I knew a kid growing up, his father had. I mean, colloquially, I mean, we just call it a glass eye. Right? But like, yeah, the kid, the kid didn't know for a long. Until the kid. Till the dad told him he didn't even know. And I was like, that's stunning. How did you not like. But, you know, I guess you're just used to how people look. You don't think twice about it really. When you're younger, do you wear a patch or do you, do you. How do you feel about it?

[Eric Gilbert]

No, I mean, it's, it's. I have a prosthetic iron.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

So that's how you do it. Yeah, that's how you roll. Did you ever wear a patch?

[Eric Gilbert]

Only after procedures, you know, because you had to have it bandaged up and whatnot. But how, you know, as it.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

I'm sorry, go ahead. No, I was going to ask how having one eye made law school more difficult.

[Eric Gilbert]

Oh, it was, it was very difficult because everything is about reading. And so, you know, what. What took somebody maybe two hours would take me four or five hours. Just because it's difficult to, you know, read smoothly from line to line because it, you know, it's. Makes. It. Makes it difficult to track. And so, yeah, so, I mean, you know, Law school took a lot of work, long hours at the library and studying all the time. But, you know, it was worth it.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

You think it was worth it?

[Eric Gilbert]

Yes, I think it was three jobs.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Now you're probably like. Well, I don't know about right now, but it was before, right, Right.

[Eric Gilbert]

It was something. It was a goal I wanted to do do. And so it was worth it in that sense that even just with, you know, the one eye, I could do it and I did it.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Showing it to yourself? Yeah. Yeah. Do you think AI is going to mess with attorneys?

[Eric Gilbert]

Yes.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. Because it's. Because they can read and understand so quickly.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah, but they don't. It's the, you know, it's all the hallucination stuff where they make up cases and whatnot, and that's where.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Eric Gilbert]

People are getting in big trouble.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

They get past that, though, and then what, like law clerks, like, that's gonna. That's gonna hit people like that pretty hard, right?

[Eric Gilbert]

I. I still think they're gonna have. Have the hurdle of unauthorized practice of law. And that's one of the. The state rules in a lot of states, you know, that if you're not an attorney, you can't practice. So, you know, eventually they'll figure out how to get past that too, or

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

they'll make somebody get certified to run the AI for this, for the scenario or something like that.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah, something like that.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

It's interesting. Yeah, man. So just to talk about your care for a little more, like, you've obviously, you know, talking about your eye. You've had other issues. You know, do you. Are we not listing any of your other complications? Can we just get them all out in the list and make sure we know what they are before we move forward?

[Eric Gilbert]

Those are the main ones.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Okay. We have them. So.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yes.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Your care today, obviously, is insanely different than it has been. Probably. You've probably iterated through diabetes a number of times over the years, but how do you characterize how you manage today? Like, is. Are you. I'm shooting for a five and a half, a 1C guy. Or like, what's your goals?

[Eric Gilbert]

Goals are to. To have an A1C as close to six as possible. My. My retina specialist doctor down in Dallas, Texas, you know, he. He's happy with things under 6 5. So, you know, the last. I think the last year I've been six six three and six four.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

That's awesome. And how do you accomplish that today? Like, what's your technology?

[Eric Gilbert]

I have a cgm.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

And your mdi. What are you Injecting insulin or do

[Eric Gilbert]

you use a. Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah. No, I still use. I still use pens. I.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Sorry that you're so old school. Mdi, Multiple daily injections. You were like, I don't know. What's that mean?

[Eric Gilbert]

Yes, exactly. I thought that was a new pump or something.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

That's great. That was. That's the first time that's happened in a while. You were like, mdi. I don't know what that is.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

So you're just with, with the help of a CGM, you're managing with injections into a mid sixes A1C.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yep.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Fantastic. That's wonderful. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, talk to, talk to people for a second. I mean, how big of a leap is continuous glucose monitoring?

[Eric Gilbert]

Oh, it's life changing, especially for me. I am so desensitized to highs and lows, I. I can't catch them. And so without the cgm, I probably would be in a lot worse shape than I am today. You know, my CGM was going off last night. I'm like, you know, this is a great dream. I keep hearing this beeping noise. I must be at a concert or something. No, I was 52. So I finally woke up and had a Coke quickly and, you know, would I have woken up if I didn't have a cgm? Who knows? I don't have to worry about it. Luckily.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. No, it's a big deal. And do you adjust during the day like you. I imagine you inject if you get a little too high, that kind of stuff.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yes. Yeah. I, you know, at this point, it's just second nature. Oh, you know, you want to have a donut, that's six, maybe extra units. Pop that in there. Have the donut, French fries and hamburger. That's probably 10 extra units, you know, if you, if you get a large fry or something. So it's just, you know, by now it's second nature. But, I mean, I, I am thankful that the CGM technology came around. Yeah. And I started using. I started using the DexCom in 2011.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Okay.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

That's early. Do you, when you think of French fries as an example, do you think like, oh, I just know French fries take extra over the carb count. Or do you actually think about the fat impact of it or how, how does, like, when you're, like, taking care of it in the moment, what's your thought process?

[Eric Gilbert]

I need to do extra insulin because of the, the fries and the carbs.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Okay.

[Eric Gilbert]

And, you know, it's, it's interesting. I Recently. So things. Things for me have kind of changed over the last eight, eight months because my doctor got me in a GLP1. Oh, yeah, because. And it. And it's been great. I lost, you know, 30, 35 pounds at this point. And it has done wonders for the management of the diabetes. My. My Humalog pen now lasts like 13 days where. Whereas before it was six to seven, my Tracebo lasts another week, week and a half than it used to just because I'm taking so much less insulin.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. It's interesting to hear how you quantify it. It's not like if you asked me, what does a GLP do for your daughter, I'd say, oh, it significantly decreases her insulin to carb ratio, her basalt, her sensitivity. And you were just like, hey, the pen lasts a lot longer, man. I'm using less insulin. Like, that's really cool. That's. That's like some badass shit right there. You just.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

You're from a different era, man. That's awesome.

[Eric Gilbert]

Right, Right. I mean, and it's. It's. Like I said, it's been incredible what it has. The GLP one has done for me. I mean, it's, you know, granted, yes, it helps suppress the appetite, and so that's, you know, that's been helpful. But I was, you know, at. Before I lost all the weight, I struggled. I mean, I worked out, you know, almost daily and would. Could get nowhere losing weight. And, you know, it's the, The. What they call the desensitization to the insulin when you're, you know, have the extra weight. And so, I mean, holy cow. It's. It's been pretty. It's been cool that losing that much weight has had such an impact on the. The control. The diabetes.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Oh, man, I see it with people all the time.

[Eric Gilbert]

It.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

It really is faint. I mean, your insulin sensitivity either rises or your insulin resistance goes away. You can think about any number of ways. It doesn't really matter.

[Eric Gilbert]

Right.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

It's just. It takes less insulin to do the same job. You're probably. You're probably getting low less frequently too, I would imagine. Is that happening?

[Eric Gilbert]

I think I'm more steady.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. That. That's another.

[Eric Gilbert]

Over time more stable.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Eric Gilbert]

Right. Overnight still is a problem. That's where I've. I've had issues with that for a very long time.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

What's your basal insulin? What are you using? Like Traceba or.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah, traceba.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Okay. And you shoot it in the evenings.

[Eric Gilbert]

In the mornings.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

You shoot it in the morning and you're still getting low overnight? Sometimes.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yep.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

So what do you think that is? Do you think it's last meal of the day, you're too heavy handed with that last meal or what do you think it is?

[Eric Gilbert]

I think there's any combination of it. You know, the, like you said the last meal of the day, that what my activity level was throughout the day. If I did more activity, you know, I have a tendency to drop in the middle of the night. You know, if I have too much of a snack before I go to bed, oh, then it, do I get high and have to do a couple units to help bring it down and then does that crash me? And, and, and so it's always just, it's frustrating, especially at night living by myself. You know, I think there's, I worry about it to an extent.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

But like I said, you know, you're a great person. So I'm just asking your perspective. I'm not telling you you're doing something right or wrong. Okay, for that's not for you. You seem very reasonable. This is for the people listening. If I said to you, eric, why don't you go get an insulin pump that has an algorithm running it that would at midnight detect that it thinks you're going to get low in a half an hour and cut your basil off and stop that low from happening. Why is that not an attractive idea to you?

[Eric Gilbert]

So I see the benefit of that and the benefit of the pump in general. But my problem with the pump is that, you know, a lot of them go on the back of your arm. And so with my one eye and my depth perception issues, I have a tendency to run into things. And insurance only pays for, you know, whatever it is, one or two a month or whatever the amount is. And so if I get, if I get knocked off, I'm out, you know, whatever amount of money it costs. And so then, you know, you're losing the insulin in that. And so while it's not conducive to my lifestyle at this point, maybe at some point it will. My doctor keeps, you know, having discussions with me about that, but I just

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

follow up question, are those things, are those the things you're imagining will happen or you've tried it and that's what happened?

[Eric Gilbert]

Oh, I've tried, you know, like the CGM on my arm, back of the arm, running into a door jam and ripping it off or you know, getting it caught on something because, oh, I misjudged where that opening was.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Well, because you can, I mean, you can wear pump sites on Your abdomen. You could put them there. You could. I mean, my daughter wears her pumps on her legs sometimes or arm. Not her. She doesn't particularly enjoy her arms. She does her abdomen a lot. Her thighs. I see people do it on the top of their butts. Like, there's all kinds of different places people wear stuff. I. I would. Yeah, and I'm sorry. I would be worried that. I mean, I'm worried it's the wrong. You're a grown person. Like, you're older than I am. But, like, all I would tell you is that try not to let your past experience, like, dictate what you think is going on now. Because.

[Eric Gilbert]

Sure.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

I mean, even if you could get a couple of samples and try it for a half a hot minute, like, maybe that would happen. Like, you know, instead of making a complete switch over. I mean, I'm just telling you, like, GLP down weight, using less insulin algorithm, trying to stop your lows. You might. You might love that. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah.

[Eric Gilbert]

No, and it's. It's. You're not the first person to tell me I should look. Look into that and, you know, it's something that I will, you know, consider at some point.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Set in your ways, Eric?

[Eric Gilbert]

Very much so.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Eric Gilbert]

Very much so.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

We all are. I was just wondering.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah, right. Yeah. No, I. And. And I think. I think part of it, too, is the mentality of. Damn it. Now I've got another thing attached to my body.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Okay? Why does that matter?

[Eric Gilbert]

Some perceived freedom from this damn disease.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Okay, what if I said to you the freedom would come from not getting low as much, not being able to sleep more? Could you not see that as an exchange?

[Eric Gilbert]

It is a different lifestyle thinking that scares me.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Okay, Because.

[Eric Gilbert]

Because I've been doing it this way for so long. I. I mean, I. Like I said, I don't doubt that there is much to gain from it. I mean, I think that's the evidence is. The evidence exists, that it makes a difference. So I'm just, you know, I'm just set my ways, I guess. Antiquated thinking.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. I mean, it's interesting because you. You. You're a bright guy. I. I didn't think you didn't know the things I was gonna say. I think it's just more interesting to listen through people's. You know, why. Why can't people change? Like, right. You know, because the truth is that, I mean, you. You know, you have electricity in your house. You must have enough money to, like, make this move if you have to I mean, you're in between jobs. That's fair enough. Like, but I'm imagining you'll be working again sooner than later, so, I mean, I don't know, man. Like, I think it's worth trying, and then if you don't like it, like, fair enough, whatever. But to say that it's definitely going to be a problem or, you know, I'm, it's something attached to me or another, like, I mean, you, you won't know till you do it right. You know? And, and it's just, I, I, I can tell you right now that I watch my daughter use it, and the amount of effort she has to put into it is so insignificant compared to what you're describing. Even it, it's, and I think it's just gonna get better too, you know? Like, I, I mean, I, I know you're probably been living for 50 years of people telling you, hey, it's gonna get, it's gonna get cured. Obviously you don't believe that at this point and with, you know, with good reason. Right. But I would imagine that that, like, it's just going to keep getting better probably sounds like the same thing to you, but it, I'm telling you, I'm watching it get better really quickly, like, real.

[Eric Gilbert]

That's interesting.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Really, really quickly. It's happening super fast. And I don't know, they're just, they're great tools. I'd be sad if my daughter wasn't using a pump because I think it would add to her burden in the way describing imagining that a pump would. If that makes sense. Right. And sad. Sad's the wrong word. Like, if you're out there with MDI listening right now, you're like, don't be sad for. I'm not sad for you. Like, like, I'm just saying I think you can do whatever you want. I think that's great. I think you're leaving a lot on the table by not at least giving it a shot, I guess is my. Is the way I should put it, right?

[Eric Gilbert]

No, and I understand. I appreciate that perspective.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah, I imagine you do. You're a thoughtful guy. I'm enjoying our conversation.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Anything that we haven't talked about that we should have or anything that feels like it got left out,

[Eric Gilbert]

you know, at this point, I don't think so. I mean, I think we've covered did okay. Yeah.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

I appreciate it. And I appreciate you doing this too. And you're right. There's not enough voices around this time of life with all this. I, I thought earlier to mention the T1D to 100 website. I don't know if you know that one. I'm gonna pull it up here just so I make sure I have it. It's. It literally is t1d2100.com it's to help people navigate type 1 diabetes as they age.

[Eric Gilbert]

Oh, interesting.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Run by a lady named Joanne Milo. She's been on the podcast. It's a talk about it. But she's pretty, you know, locked in. In the space and, and you should. Older person with Type one. I'm sure she won't like it when, when she hears that I said that. But she's a, she's a, she's a person of a certain age with type 1 diabetes who's really focused on, you know, that there's people I know, there are people who listen who are, you know, older too, and simple concerns about, like, how do I place my pump when my hands get shaky or how am I supposed to see these screens or do these touch screens and stuff like that. Like a lot of things that you don't think about when you're designing for, you know, a younger person. Like what happens when you get older and.

[Eric Gilbert]

Right.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

And do I lose my technology then? Is that what happens? Like. Or, and I mean. Or is there going to be some support? And I mean, if we didn't learn anything from your conversation, we should have learned that there's probably not support. So you really are on your own a little bit. Yeah. Unless, I mean, is community valuable for you at all? I didn't mean to act like we were going to stop talking then ask you another question. But for a person like you, who's lived for this many decades with it prior to the Internet, have you found the value of other people with Type one, whether they're virtual or in person, or is that a thing that missed you because of your age?

[Eric Gilbert]

I think it has to a certain extent missed me because of my age. I know that there's a fledgling support group here in Albuquerque that's just kind of getting going that, you know, a couple people are trying to start and I've gone to a, an event with them, go to one with them this week. Good. But it's, it's the, the, it's the different perspective that I, I just can't necessarily grasp. You know, I. There, you know, somebody like me. I've, I've seen so much, I've gone through so much. I've dealt with so much that there's the, the, the discussions are incongruent. From where I'm at, You know, I, I want to engage and figure out how have, how has one dealt with the burnout for multiple decades? You know, what, what types of solutions or what types of steps do you have that helps alleviate that? That is, that's what I want to hear. As opposed to, well, you know, how do you use the cgm? Okay, you know, that's valid and I'm not trying to discount it, but it's that the different levels of things, you know, can I help somebody understand how to use the CGM to an extent. Stick it in, follow it, you know, learn, learn how to use it. You know, that's very simplified. But I think there's value to them, to the communities. I just have not exposed myself to those.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Well, as you do that, take my suggestion, if you would. Of course, it's not as much about you showing up and being like, I know how to do a thing. This is it. Now you listen and do it, too. I would say tell your story and just let that be what you give to it, and then hope that they listen to your story and are able to reverse engineer and say, okay, well, I haven't been at it as long as he has, but he has real perspective that I don't have. But then be open to taking that same thing back from them, because while they probably feel to you like they don't have as much knowledge or time in the simulator, what they have that you don't have as a starting point, that is a starting point that is more modern than yours is because I can tell you that I think the worst mistake you can make as a person who's been living with diabetes for five decades is to not appreciate enough to get over the nervousness that this thing is not the same as it was when you were younger and that you could reset yourself and start over in this new world if you wanted to. And at that point, it probably would lend, I would think, not just health support, but mental health support, too. Because a lot of the burden you've been describing over the conversation, it could be a burden based on your management style and your expectation of what diabetes is. I'm saying maybe it doesn't have to be that. Don't fight it. Go with it and see what happens.

[Eric Gilbert]

Sure, yeah.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

If you were diagnosed today, if you were diagnosed today, somebody would say to you, we're going to get you a continuous glucose monitor. Which one of these pumps do you want to try? And you wouldn't say, oh, I don't want that thing stuck to me. Or. But you would go, is that how we do it? Okay, fine. Give me the thing.

[Eric Gilbert]

Exactly.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Whether you ended up with a T Slim or a Medtronic or an Omnipod or a T Twist or any of these other pumps, you'd quickly learn that, hey, this thing stops me from getting low, and my A1C is in the sixes. And, you know, it's not so bad, you know, like, it. It's. I, you know, I got to change it once in a while. And trust me, by the way, all that burnout stuff you're talking about, it's going to apply to this new stuff, too. Eventually, you're going to get sick of swapping your site or you're going to have a site go bad while you're at the movie or something. Like, you know, I mean, like, it's all going to happen, right? But your baseline changes, like your. Your expectation baseline changes, your health baseline changes, and hopefully you're. Hopefully your, like, mental burden changes. I. I think one of the more interesting things about all of this is, is that if I took somebody who was diagnosed last year and somehow was able to upload your feelings and experiences into them, they would probably realize that their shit ain't so bad. And yet.

[Eric Gilbert]

Right.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

And yet. Because that's the only perspective they have. Their shit's pretty bad. And you know what I mean? Like. And so, like, everything is just what you know. And I'm saying, you know, maybe there's some hope, you know, maybe there's some hope, Eric, that one day that, you know, the thing, you know, will lend you comfort when you try the new thing. And that's what I would. I would. That's what I would encourage you to do, honestly.

[Eric Gilbert]

And that makes sense.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Eric Gilbert]

You know, and I. I appreciate that, that perspective and your willingness to say those things to me, because I need to hear it.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah, well, man, listen, man, you came on here to help people. I'm just hoping to help you a little bit, too. And them, by the way, while they're listening. Because most people feel the way you feel about. Especially if they've had this longer, right? Like, what are they going to do? And even if they haven't had it longer listening to your conversation. I mean, listen, Spoiler alert. For those of you who are listening that haven't been around it this much longer, I'm not saying your life isn't difficult, but try to imagine your life through Eric's lens, you know what I mean? And maybe take a second to go, huh? My pump shuts itself off before I get low. It's pretty awesome, you know, Anyway, I really do appreciate you taking the time to share all this with everybody and me.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah, I appreciate the opportunity to be able to share it.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Oh, it was awesome. A great time. Really.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Okay. Well, I, I'm definitely going to call this one game, set, match.

[Eric Gilbert]

Okay.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Just because there wasn't a lot of light heartedness in this and certainly you getting hit with the volleyball is not one of them, but it was. I do think it's a kind of a. I think it can kind of be a poignant thought process here, which is like you fought through a thing and fought through it and fought through it and came, came out the other side and then it still kicked you in the balls one more time. And, and, and, but I don't hear a guy giving up, and I think that's really important.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah. Because, you know, if I give up, what does that mean? I'm dead.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah. Yeah. Right. Well, yeah, right. Like there's two options. Get up and keep going or don't. And.

[Eric Gilbert]

Right.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Eric Gilbert]

Yeah.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

I choose you. All right, Eric, thank you. Hold on one second for me, okay?

[Eric Gilbert]

Of course. Thank you.

[Host (likely Scott or Jenny from Juicebox Podcast)]

You just had a great time listening to the juice Box podcast. You're on a high. You want to do something else? Go to cozyearth.com and get yourself some beautiful sheets, towels, clothing, and don't Forget those dryer balls. 20 off when you use the offer code juicebox at checkout cozyearth.com Use the offer code juicebox at checkout to save 20%. Listen to that deep voice. Go do it. I'd like to remind you again about the MiniMed 780G automated insulin delivery system, which of course anticipates, adjusts and corrects every five minutes 24, 7. It works around the clock so you can focus on what matters. The juicebox community knows the importance of using technology to simplify managing diabetes. To learn more about how you can spend less time and effort managing your diabetes, Visit my link medtronicdiabetes.com Juicebox I'd like to thank the blood glucose meter that my daughter carries, the contour next gen blood glucose meter. Learn more and get started [e-mail] juicebox and don't forget, you may be paying more through your insurance right now for the meter you have than you would pay for the contour next gen in cash. There are links in the show notes of the audio app you're listening in right now and links@juicebox podcast.com to contour and all of the sponsors.