#1040 Not Cleopatra

October 13, 2023Scott Benner

Elizabeth is a 36 year old type 1 who was diagnosed at 18 months old.

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Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, and welcome to episode 1040 of the Juicebox Podcast

this is Elizabeth. She's had type one diabetes since she was 18 months old. And she has a number of other things like she's got it. It's interesting. I don't want to tell you, you know, I hate doing this. This is such a good story. I'm not going to tell you anything. You just you have to listen. As a matter of fact, the title of the episode will not make sense through the entire thing. You have to listen to like an outtake at the end to find out why the episodes called this and you still might not figure it out. I don't know what kind of a detective you are. Anyway, while you're listening, please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan or becoming bold with insulin. Real quick 40% off your entire order cozier.com with the offer code juice box, free year's supply of vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first order at drink ag one.com forward slash juice box and you get 10% off when you use my link better help.com forward slash juicebox that 10% is off the first month don't forget that diabetes Pro Tip series has been remastered it goes from Episode 1000 to 1026. And there's a contour add in them and there's really something special going on in that you should check it out. If you are a loved one has been diagnosed with type one diabetes, the bold beginnings series from the Juicebox Podcast is a terrific place to begin listening. In this series Jenny Smith and I will go over the questions most often asked at the beginning of type one. Jenny is a certified diabetes care and education specialist who is also a registered and licensed dietitian and Jenny has had type one diabetes for 35 years. My name is Scott Benner and I am the father of a child who has type one diabetes. Our daughter Arden was diagnosed in 2006 at the age of two. I believe that at the core of diabetes management, understanding how insulin works, and how food and other variables impact your system is of the utmost importance. The bold beginning series will lead you down the path of understanding. This series is made up of 24 episodes, and it begins at episode 698. In your podcast, or audio player. I'll list those episodes at the end of this to listen, you can go to juicebox podcast.com. Go up to the menu at the top and choose bold beginnings. Or go into any audio app like Apple podcasts, or Spotify. And then find the episodes that correspond with the series. Those lists again are at Juicebox Podcast up in the menu or if you're in the private Facebook group. In the featured tab. The private Facebook group has over 40,000 members. There are conversations happening right now and 24 hours a day that you'd be incredibly interested in. So don't wait. So don't wait. Check out the bowl beginning series today and get started on your journey. Episode 698 defines the bowl beginning series 702, honeymooning 706 adult diagnosis 711 and 712 go over diabetes terminologies hit episode 715 We talked about fear of insulin in 719 the 1515 rule episode 723 long acting insulin 727 target range 731 food choices 735 Pre-Bolus 739 carbs 743 stacking 747 flexibility in Episode 751 We discussed school in Episode 755 Exercise 759 guilt, fears hope and expectations. In episode 763 of the bowl beginning series. We talk about community 772 journaling 776 technology and medical supplies. Episode Seven at treating low blood glucose episode 784 dealing with insurance 788 talking to your family and episode 805 illness and ketone management. Check it out. It will change your life

Elizabeth 4:36
My name is Elizabeth. I am a type one diabetic who has familial hyper cholesterol EMIA as well

Scott Benner 4:47
as start off right out of the gate. We're gonna talk about that. Trying to make me look stuff up on the internet. Hold on a second.

Elizabeth 4:55
If I can spell it for you if you'd like oh,

Scott Benner 4:58
don't let me take a shot first. Okay, okay, familial, I know, Oh, watch this. It's one word to hypercholesterolaemia or whatever.

Elizabeth 5:08
familia, strong anemia.

Scott Benner 5:11
Okay. Familial than that word you said is the genetic disorder that affects about one and 250 people and increases the likelihood of having coronary heart disease at a younger age. Oh, throwing must have been a fun day. Oh, it was great. How old are you now?

Elizabeth 5:27
I am 36. Now,

Scott Benner 5:29
when were you diagnosed with type one?

Elizabeth 5:32
When I was 18 months old.

Scott Benner 5:35
Okay. In the beginning, yep. Yep. And when what? You want to say I'm sorry?

Elizabeth 5:44
Okay. No, I just I feel super grateful that I don't know life without it. I've just always, this is life.

Scott Benner 5:53
Can you go into why that makes you feel grateful? Yes, yes.

Elizabeth 5:57
So I hear from, you know, people I know students of mine who talk about how they have this child who's eight years old and was just diagnosed, I don't know that I don't know, my world being turned upside down. It's always been this way. I've always had to pay attention to carbs. I've always had to, you know, be on a sliding scale and think, okay, my blood sugars, this one, you just take this much insulin, I just ate this many carbohydrates. So I need to take this much insulin. I was never a kid who just was able to eat and do whatever I wanted. And then all of a sudden, my world was turned upside down. And I'm super grateful for that.

Scott Benner 6:46
So this, this feeling of feeling grateful is from watching other people who got to know a life without diabetes before. Correct. Okay. And do you feel like what does it? Do you see their experience and think I'm very glad not to have that experience?

Elizabeth 7:08
Yeah. Yeah. I'm very glad to not know the before.

Scott Benner 7:15
And what if I made the argument to be like, what if you just got it this year? And you would have had 35 years without it? Would you have been okay with that? Is it because you were diagnosed as a child that you imagine that in your scenario, you would also be diagnosed as a child, but more like an eight year old or 10? year old? Yeah, yeah. So you see my point? Like, what if you got it when you were 50? Do you think you'd still say I'm, I'm, I wish I would have got it when I was 18 months old?

Elizabeth 7:39
Well, if I got it when I was 50, it'd be type two. And so it'd be

Scott Benner 7:45
No, well, I don't mean to interrupt you. But I have a countless number of adults who have gotten type one diabetes at every, like, literally every age up into like, 70 years old, like 6550 45, it could happen to anybody at anytime.

Elizabeth 8:01
Oh, that's interesting. I did not know that. Yeah.

Scott Benner 8:05
So it's, I'm glad to be the one to tell you actually, because it's, um, it's been very enlightening to, to have this conversation. So I don't I mean, I don't have the exact numbers. But there's part of me that wishes I would have made a list from one to 100 and put a checkmark next to each. And everybody's names, you know, as they came along, but ya know, I've spoken to somebody in every, you know, in every generation of their life. So anyway, but So okay, so then that's why you were having trouble answering my question, because you didn't think that was a thing?

Elizabeth 8:38
Yeah. No, I had no idea. I had no idea. My again, my like, my whole life. I've had like this thought, this thought of, oh, I'm super grateful that I got it when I was 18 months old. I hear these super sad stories about these young kids who have this great life and then all of a sudden, type one diabetes just turns everything upside down. I can't even imagine being 50 years old.

Scott Benner 9:07
And knowing a whole life about it, right? If I'm Fried, fried your mind early on in the episode, and you've kind of fried mind because it just occurred to me, you're only 36 years old, but you've had diabetes for 36 years. So you're you have like an old perspective of type one in a younger person's Yeah. Experience. It's interesting because so if you were diagnosed around the 80s Am I right about 8787? Correct. And so you were right at the time where your parents would have been given you regular an MPH Right?

Elizabeth 9:45
Exactly. You got it. That's what I grew up taking.

Scott Benner 9:49
How long how long did you do that for?

Elizabeth 9:51
Ah, how long did I like take just take shots are regular and MPA

Scott Benner 9:56
regular mph. I'm assuming you use a faster acting insulin now but how long Until, until that happened.

Elizabeth 10:02
Oh, gosh, good question. I think I started taking human log um, was it around

Scott Benner 10:13
the pump? Did you get a pump? And it happened or?

Elizabeth 10:16
No, no, I started Can you mock? Ah See, like when I was like 15? Probably. Oh, wow, okay. Yeah, I think I was late to the party.

Scott Benner 10:26
That's, that's 2002. I did that with my fingers. I added 87 and 15. Together, I got 2000. So that is later. So So was it a situation? Well, first of all, you might not know because you were a kid. But I guess let me ask this first. Were your parents managing your diabetes? Your whole life? Or was it a thing that fell to you? And if so, when?

Elizabeth 10:52
So it fell mostly to me. Yeah. So when I was young, I was primarily with my dad. But with my dad, and him actually being around are two different things.

Scott Benner 11:13
So you live at the same address? Correct? Yes.

Elizabeth 11:15
Uh huh. I had to sibling Well, now, let's be honest. I had one sibling who helped me with my diabetes, the majority of the time, and also I'll say his name, my brother, Wade. He helped me test my blood sugar. He helped me take my insulin. So my brother Wade helped me a lot. Yeah, when I was 15, I went to live with my mom. Okay. And my mom basically was like, What the hell? I know. It's, it's, we're in the 2000s. Now, we're not using this. Let's go see an endocrinologist and get with the times.

Scott Benner 12:05
Can I ask a question? Sure. Did you not have a lot of contact with your mom for the first 15 years?

Elizabeth 12:10
No, I had a lot. I say no. Dammit. Elizabeth's thought that. Yes, I did. I did. I had a good amount of contact with my mom, but she

Scott Benner 12:20
didn't feel like making input about the diabetes until you lived with her.

Elizabeth 12:24
So she tried. As far as I know. She tried to make input about the diabetes. Do you have do you have another podcast about like, putting the fun in dysfunctional? Let's talk about drama. I got Mmm hmm.

Scott Benner 12:42
Yeah. I was just trying to discern if like she, you know, kind of the way you put it made me feel like it was like something she noticed for the first time, but it was something she had sway over for the first time. Correct. Gotcha. Yes. And then I have one last difficult question.

Elizabeth 12:58
Oh, I? Oh, yeah.

Scott Benner 12:59
Are you okay with

Elizabeth 13:00
that? Nothing's nothing's that difficult before it.

Scott Benner 13:03
How do you end up with your dad having custody? In the in that time? Like? Yeah, what? Right? Yeah. Like, my point is a lady has to try not to get custody of their kids. So how did that happen?

Elizabeth 13:20
Yeah, I right.

Scott Benner 13:24
Okay, you're sure you don't want to say it doesn't matter to me. But is there?

Elizabeth 13:28
No, yeah. So honestly, I truly believe I truly believe that, that my dad like paid people off and like that, oh.

Scott Benner 13:42
That's not what I expected you to say. But okay. You because like his you. It's interesting, like you suggest you suggest that your dad's not around very much that you're kind of raising yourself along with your siblings. But yet somebody thought he was the better choice for you to live with that. That's the part that confused me.

Elizabeth 14:00
Yeah, yeah, I know. I know. So, when I was older, I, I got the court documentation. My mom gave it to me. Um, so I was able to read through it. And it still to this day, it does not make sense to me. How he got custody of me. It doesn't. Okay, I've read through so much. And I'm like, what, how did this happen are to

Scott Benner 14:31
figure out okay, well, we're not going to understand that that's fine. So it's okay, so I'm sorry, I waylaid but you're 15 you're with your mom now. And she's like, Hey, this is this is not how people do this. Let's make a change. What and then what did you do? What was that change that happened?

Elizabeth 14:47
I started taking human log. And I was I was still taking NPH but I started taking something called What was it called? Love. When Wente um, it was just a night. Le en te I'm pretty sure that's how

Scott Benner 15:09
it was spelled. That's how people say it when I hear them say it to lenti. Yeah. How is it supposed to be said? No, I think that's right. I think you got it. Yeah. Yeah.

Elizabeth 15:19
So I, I did that I can, you know, took that those insulins until I was see, when did I start pump therapy? Well, it was the same year that my mom died. So it was 2006 2006 is when I started pomp therapy.

Scott Benner 15:47
Holy. It was with you were only with your mom for years before she passed away. Yeah. Oh, my God. You in here? Are you trying to bum me out? No. So how, Oh, God. So you're 19 your mom passes? Unexpectedly or expectedly? Well,

Elizabeth 16:08
I was I was 21. Okay, sorry. I'm barely 20 when she passed away, yeah. Sorry. What was your question?

Scott Benner 16:17
Was it expected or unexpected?

Elizabeth 16:20
Um, a little bit of both. So she died from cirrhosis of the liver. She, as far as we knew, had been sober for two years. And at some point, she secretly began drinking again. Gosh, you know, alcoholics, they, they hide it very well. And so yeah, that day. My lived 10 minutes for my mom left me a voicemail. She had come down and put a post it note on my front door. And she wanted my husband at the time and I to come up and have dinner with her. And so I you know, I returned her call. I'm calling her back. I'm calling the house. I'm calling the camp phone. She was she was the like, groundskeeper at a kid's camp. Actually a kid's camp when I went to diabetes camp as a kid. Dude, I just knew. I knew. I'm like,

Scott Benner 17:33
okay, when she didn't answer the phone. You thought something was wrong? Yeah,

Elizabeth 17:37
I'm like, She's not answering the house phone. She's not answering the camp phone. I could have taken a 10 minute drive, but I just knew what I was going to find. So anyway, my stepdad went home. And I get a call from my little sister's dad. And I didn't get calls from him. So I answered the phone. He's like, Hey, I'm like, hey, my mom's dead, isn't she? And he was like, Yeah, she is. So I mean, like, right away. I knew that she she had begun drinking and my mom and I were really close. She was my best friend. So it it all came out. That she was like by the pool. There were there were no kids there for camp. And so yeah, she was she was like, come up have dinner. Let's go swimming. You know, Camp doesn't start for a few days or something like that. Yeah, there was a there was a cocktail. Right next to her. And she was lying by the side of the pool.

Scott Benner 18:46
I'm sorry. Do Do you have any impacts from her drinking in on your life? I do you have like, are you? Are you a drinker? Or do you like, like, stay away from it on purpose? Or can you can you connect any of that stuff?

Elizabeth 19:03
Oh, absolutely. So for say like, three years after she died? I would not. I just wouldn't touch it would not touch this stuff. I party in high school. And like, I thought my mom was so cool. You know, like my mom would like, buy us alcohol like oh my gosh, my mom so cool. And then after the fact, I was like, No, Your Mom's an alcoholic. And yeah, I there's been times in my life where I've thought

Scott Benner 19:47
Do you have a problem? What made you what made you question yourself?

Elizabeth 19:54
It's it's the amount that I It was drinking in in one day. It just in that particular day, okay. Yeah, yeah. But then, like the day before that and the day after. I was like, not at all. Drinking. Yeah. So yeah, I've always in the back of my head. I've just been like concerned about that.

Scott Benner 20:31
No, I would I would understand. You are at a point your life you don't assume you don't think you have trouble like a problem with alcoholic? Your mom did? Right? Nope. Okay. Okay. How did drinking at an earlier age in school impact your diabetes? Or did it not? Because you were just because of the management style?

Elizabeth 20:51
Yeah. I didn't really manage my diabetes. Like for a long time? I didn't. I know, I didn't pay attention to it. I didn't care about it.

Scott Benner 21:09
Nobody was tracking it. Now, like from a parental aspect.

Elizabeth 21:15
Not real. Yeah. Yeah. My mom was Yeah. Like, you know, back in the day, you've got this logbook. And yeah, you write down what your blood sugar was, you know, every, you know, like, bolusing has been around for ever. And, but, but me personally, I didn't. Okay, you remember how I said that? My mom was my best friend. Yeah. My mom was more my friend than my parent. Okay. So, so now when I went to live with my mom, I really didn't have a whole lot of like, parental. I didn't have parental guidance anywhere.

Scott Benner 22:12
Yeah, I'm getting that okay. So and you have a doctor that was helping you or was there were you just kind of on your own and you and not caring about it?

Elizabeth 22:22
So when I I did I had this doctor who gave me the heebie jeebies. This doctor freaked me out. But, but my dad was just always like, he's the best. He's the best. He's the best pediatric. Okay, fine. And so I saw him or, I mean, years from he's not the doctor who diagnosed me. But I saw him. Yeah, for years. Like, even when I went to live with my mom, I continue to see him. You my a one C's were. Hi. Okay. My my whole life. Right. And until I like, took it seriously, and we can, you know, we'll probably get to that. But yeah, I'm a Rambler. You're off track

Scott Benner 23:21
doing fine. I have a question. I have a question though. Your agencies were high. What does that mean? Can you put a number to it? Were they being tested? Or you just assume they were I?

Elizabeth 23:31
Oh, no, they were being tested because I was going and seeing this this endocrinologist who gave me the heebie jeebies my whole life, but was the best so I continued to see him. He was like, what, like, smack my butt because he would be like, you know, you can you can give you can give shots right here in the you know, in the tushy. And he would like grab my butt. And like, say, like, you can right here, like in the tissue. Oh, are

Scott Benner 24:00
you in that I was happening?

Elizabeth 24:02
I was my whole life. He did that my whole life. Um, I'm like, this just creeps me out. Y'all want me to freak out your dad

Scott Benner 24:12
in the room when that was happening? Yeah. Yeah. No one never said. Don't slap my daughter on the butt. No,

Elizabeth 24:20
no, no, never. No, he's the best we keep going to him. He's the best. He's the best. One Okay, maximum pinches my butt. Anyway, okay, so I'm like in the teens, man.

Scott Benner 24:38
Like when you were you were older and younger. And you're a once he was in the teens the whole time?

Elizabeth 24:43
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like, it was bad. No kidding. It was bad. It's real bad. Which is Which again, is why I'm like, why does this guy have custody of me?

Scott Benner 25:00
Yeah, well yeah, it's possibly just pimping you out to the doctor is very strange thing is really bizarre. You Yeah, you are a half an hour into this. And if you told me right now I'm making all this up. I'd be like, Oh, that makes me feel better. No. I'm not okay. I'm not horrible. I mean really hard to put into words. And, and, and then when you're you're actually on your own when your mom passes you were married at 20 Ah, okay, so, Elizabeth. Okay, go ahead.

Elizabeth 25:35
Hi. Um, I was married

Scott Benner 25:38
twice. By the time you were 20.

Elizabeth 25:41
That was my second marriage.

Scott Benner 25:44
How old were you when you got married the first time? 18 How long did that last? I guess I should ask. No longer long months. Now. Can we measure it months or a year? Second one didn't last long. I don't know. I don't imagine. No. Why were you marrying guys?

Elizabeth 26:00
So? You know?

Scott Benner 26:03
I mean, I do know, but I'm waiting to hear if you know, yeah. Yeah, no,

Elizabeth 26:06
I know. I know. Now. Yeah. I know. Now. I wanted a man to love me.

Scott Benner 26:17
No kidding. That's, I'm sorry. You found yourself in that situation? Yeah, it's suck. When did you figure out not to do that? How old were you? Are you gonna say 37? And you're 36? Right?

Elizabeth 26:32
No, no. Okay. Because my husband now and I have been married for almost two years. Oh, good for you. Yeah, finally,

Scott Benner 26:42
is your seventh husband? No, sir. I'm just using her

Elizabeth 26:46
time's a charm.

Scott Benner 26:48
I was just teasing you. So you were married at 18? Married at 20. And then not married again? Till 34? Correct. Did you feel unloved in between those times?

Elizabeth 27:00
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I thought I was just like, the defective. I thought like, I'm never gonna find someone. I can't. I can't do this relationship thing. Like, I'm just I'm not. Yeah, I just was like, No, it's never gonna happen. I'm just going to be, I'm just going to be single forever.

Scott Benner 27:27
But that leave. Was there a hole there? Like, I'm assuming you felt? I mean, I'm assuming you felt abandoned by your mom's death. And by your dad's lack of desire to be valuable to you. So do you feel like do you feel like that hold that entire time? Or do you find other ways to to make that go away?

Elizabeth 27:51
So I filled that hole with music. Really?

Scott Benner 27:56
No kidding. How so? Playing it listening to it?

Elizabeth 27:59
listening, listening? Yeah, I have a guitar, but I need to play it more. I I'm not great at it. My actually my husband got me it for Christmas last year. Yeah, I shouldn't play it more. If you ever

Scott Benner 28:17
try a therapist or talking to someone outside of your life?

Elizabeth 28:20
Yeah. Yeah. I've gone through a lot of therapy actually. Actually, my mom, like when I went live with my mom, she had, like this checklist of things. Because she like knew that I had not been taken care of. Like, went to the podiatrist, we went to the ophthalmologist, we got me in therapy. So yeah, she had this whole entire list. But she did it in little bits. Because she didn't want to overwhelm me. She just knew that I had not been taken care of. So she she did what she could in the little amount that that she had to try to

Scott Benner 29:13
you getting into a better situation. Yeah. Yeah. It sounds like she was dealing with her own stuff, too. So yes, that's difficult. Do you have any kids? By any chance?

Elizabeth 29:24
I do. Yeah. I have a 12 year old child, Addison. And the reason I say child is Addison is non binary. And I'm like, we're pretty open about it.

Scott Benner 29:44
Did you did you have did you have Addison with your second marriage? After that, all right. I gotcha. Yeah. Oh, Elizabeth, you were you were a party there for a while, huh?

Elizabeth 30:00
Actually, you know why? In high school, there were two lenses and we we were really good friends. And my nickname was Liz party. Actually.

Scott Benner 30:16
I was trying to be jovial but I didn't know I would hit on it on a fact. Sorry. No.

Elizabeth 30:23
Yeah, I just I was searching. I was searching for just I just wanted to be loved. And I was searching for it. And finally, when went, you know, in my 30s Finally, I found it. Yeah. No, I was. I was not married to Addison's biological father. Thank God, because He is just a POS.

Scott Benner 30:51
Do you find that you were? I mean, I guess this is probably just something people say at this point. But I want to see if it was true for you think did you look for men that inevitably were going to hurt you? not intentional. I don't imagine it was intentional. But do you think it was? Do you think it was happening? Oh, yeah.

Elizabeth 31:11
Oh, absolutely.

Scott Benner 31:13
Okay. How do you break that cycle?

Elizabeth 31:17
I didn't. I didn't break that cycle. I met my husband. And he was just so freakin sweet. And good to me. Yes, he broke the cycle. You got lucky. Yeah, I did. I got really

Scott Benner 31:39
lucky. Let me ask you. Like, think of the I don't know the guy before your husband is still still a bad like still not good for you? Yeah, yeah. So you really did trip on this guy by mistake? Yeah. Uh huh. How did that happen? How did that happen? Did you change the people you were hanging out with? Did you find yourself somewhere? You usually weren't? Do you know? Can you think back to how you met him?

Elizabeth 32:01
Oh, yeah, I know how we met. It's, it's very interesting. So myself and three other ladies. We created the singles group on Facebook, okay, years ago. And each of us eventually left it. But the way that it would work is when when you would leave, you would pass your baton, you would pass your administrator baton to someone that you thought could continue to run it well. And so I rejoined it years later, and I was super happy to see it, like still going strong. And I wasn't looking for anything really. I just was, like, bored. And that's that's where we met was in this Facebook singles group that myself and three other women had created years ago, it was still going strong. And that's, yeah, that's, that's where we met.

Scott Benner 33:12
before. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's right. That's a lovely thing. Was you did make it for yourself. Really. You made the group and you have found some more conquers. But then you found your husband, and now you're happy? Yeah, good for you. Yeah. And you're young, too. Because it's a long story. And it feels like like, I mean, honestly, if you told me this story, and then told me you were 55 I'd be like, Oh, this makes sense. Like, you don't I mean, like, a lot tap in here, right? It could fill a full life, but you're not really. I mean, you're not really started yet. You know, it's hard to think of when you're 36 I'm sure you're like, you know, I'm old. Trust me. But, but you're not here. You know, I mean, you're not you have a lot of life left. You met somebody you've got a child, you know, I'm assuming you love and and I guess see, there we go. They have a child you love. And you have a lot of time left with them with a new family and you'll be young when your your child moves on down to college as well or into the world wherever they end up. I mean, that's only six years from now. You'll only be 42. When that happens. You get the chance, you know, it's really cool. That's really cool. Yeah, it really is. Do you feel that? Do you feel like there's been a big shift in your life?

Elizabeth 34:27
Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

Scott Benner 34:29
Do you wonder Do you ever wonder who you'd be if you didn't get saddled with I don't want to speak ill of your parents. But I mean, I don't see how I couldn't like if you didn't get if you didn't get saddled with two people who were the on that level parenting. Do you ever wonder what would have happened to you?

Elizabeth 34:46
Oh my gosh. I don't. I don't because with without all of it without all of the Bad. I would not be who I am. Oh,

Scott Benner 35:05
that's a really great answer. You are happy with who you are.

Elizabeth 35:08
I am good. Yes. Very, very good. All right. So

Scott Benner 35:11
when did you figure out to take care of your diabetes?

Elizabeth 35:15
When I found out that I was going to be a parent? Oh, the

Scott Benner 35:18
old pregnant thing made you do? Yeah. Huh. Pregnancy made me do it.

Elizabeth 35:23
Exactly. Yep. I was 23. And I was like, Okay. Well, we have got to make some serious changes. No, no more of this party and crap. We need to get it together, dude. So yeah, I see you taking it seriously. Yeah,

Scott Benner 35:44
you shut down the party and you paid attention to your diabetes as well. The party I'm sorry, was the party drinking? Or was it drugs to

Elizabeth 35:53
drinking and marijuana? And then

Scott Benner 35:57
the diabetes thing though, you're 23 You've had diabetes your whole life that you're not managing in any way. So how do you begin to learn what to do? Like, did you always know when you just weren't doing it? Or did you have to learn from scratch?

Elizabeth 36:10
Yeah, no, I always knew and I just wasn't doing it. Okay.

Scott Benner 36:14
Can I ask what you thought was gonna happen? When you weren't when you weren't taking care of yourself? Did you just think it was gonna magically be okay, or did you think it'll be bad, but that's in the future?

Elizabeth 36:24
I didn't. I didn't care. I just was like, Addison. gave me something to live for. I understand. I was just surviving.

Scott Benner 36:41
Yeah. No, I understand. Well, that's lovely. Do you ever. I mean, Addison is a little young for you to put that on. Do you think you'll ever share that with them at some point or have you?

Elizabeth 36:54
I'm Addison and I have a pretty honest relationship. So, I mean, I haven't said those words. To Addison.

Scott Benner 37:04
Maybe it's an adult, you know, like, once it's not a burden. And that it doesn't feel like a responsibility. It might be nice to it might be nice to know that as an adult. Like, yeah, I don't mean. Yeah. I mean, I can see why you wouldn't say now, but, yeah, 10 years from now, something like that. Might be a nice thing to know. Anyway, it's up to you, obviously. But, but So okay, so baby's coming. I gotta do something. You just start taking your insulin the way you're supposed to. I mean, are you supposed to be carb counting by then? 2000. Right. You shouldn't be right. Yeah, you're not right. You're still doing the regular mph since you're 15. So so what were you doing just shooting your basil and not bolusing for meals? Or how were you handling food before you've pulled it together?

Elizabeth 37:53
Yeah, so yeah, I would you know, Bolus, and then I would I, basil, and then I'd Bolus when my blood sugar got high. Okay, I'd be like, Oh, my blood sugar is high. I'm gonna take insulin to bring this down and

Scott Benner 38:12
you're high because you feel high or you're high because you're testing and you know, you're high.

Elizabeth 38:17
I would feel high and then I would test and confirm that I was high and take the proper amount of insulin for it. And when we I ran a high alarm

Scott Benner 38:25
when we say high high enough for you to go okay, I guess I'll give myself some insulin 300 Yeah,

Elizabeth 38:31
three, yeah, three hundreds. Yeah.

Scott Benner 38:33
So you started feeling sluggish and nauseous or however it made you feel and that made you think alright, I'll pay attention to this. So then how do you I mean, I assume that you go to an OB I'm assuming the OB gives you the big talk right? You have type one diabetes, this baby's not going to come to term if you don't like you probably got the full court press from them right? No, because anyone tried to help you

Elizabeth 38:58
know, they don't disguise the OB I went to which this is something I regret. I wish I had done more research and chosen a better OB. The OB I went to I was his first high risk patient.

Scott Benner 39:15
Well, listen, your bar is set pretty low. If he doesn't grab your ass. You're pretty much like this guy's All right.

Elizabeth 39:20
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah, I mean, he's not he's not been to my but

Scott Benner 39:26
yeah, look, I've really upgraded I don't even mean that. I mean, obviously that's horrible. I'm not laughing. I'm laughing if you're that you're finding yourself in these situations, you know? But yeah, I get but but serious. Being serious. Like you. You had a fairly low bar. Like it might not have been a conscious thought. But I'll tell you what, when you go in there and you don't get manhandled, I bet you're like this is better. Yeah, you know, yeah. Sad, but I bet you it was true. So yeah. So you get a doctor who's never handled a high risk pregnancy before. Yeah. And so you're on your own to figure this out. So how do I how am I? How do you figure it out?

Elizabeth 40:04
A lot, a lot of reading, you know, a lot on the internet and a lot of just remembering what I already knew. I knew it. I knew how to do this. I just had to put it into practice.

Scott Benner 40:20
That's great. And you got it done a healthy pregnancy.

Elizabeth 40:24
Yes, Addison is, is very healthy. Actually, this kind of leads into the familial hypercholesterolemia. There are a couple of genes that I have passed on to Addison. We've done genetic testing to find this out. I have passed down this gene. And they also have this familial hypercholesterolemia. It comes from my dad's side, it came from my grandma, to my dad, for my dad to myself, and then three more of his children. There's one of his children that does not have this did not get the gene. Also, another gene that I didn't even know I had until last week actually causes basically epilepsy. Addison was diagnosed with epilepsy last January. So, so Addison is, you know, has their own struggles, epilepsy and familial hypercholesterolemia.

Scott Benner 41:39
I swear to God, what a word hypercholesterolemia. What what are the impacts of that on your seriously gluten, you have even gotten like a, like an easy to pronounce thing. But what's the implication take a medication to have to eat a certain way? Like what what's the management of it? Like?

Elizabeth 41:57
Right, right? Yeah. So I have been taking statins since I was 11. Statins are the kind of that's what they've used for years to lower cholesterol. And then I began taking something called Ezetimibe. That's the generic the brand name was called Zebadiah. Like a year and a half ago. And then last year, I'm going to ask my husband, was it last year, I tried to start taking Repatha? Was it here in Colorado? Or was it in Utah? Okay. Last year, I started taking Repatha. Okay, it's it's injectable, is it's called a K nine inhibitor. Okay. And the canine is a well, P canine, I think is what it's called, actually, that is what my gene, this gene that's mutated, is not stopping. And so this PKI inhibitor that I inject that was a game changer, no kidding.

Scott Benner 43:11
It impacted your your cholesterol, the way you were hoping.

Elizabeth 43:15
Oh, my gosh, so much about that so much. Yeah.

Scott Benner 43:19
So this is like, is this like a monoclonal antibody kind of a situation? What is this? I tried to figure it out. And because listen, I mean, was I don't want to be a bummer, right. But you didn't manage your diabetes for 20 years, and you have a thing that gives people heart attacks before they're 50. That's a bad combination.

Elizabeth 43:38
It's a very bad combination. Yeah,

Scott Benner 43:40
yes. So this is exciting for you to find something that works.

Elizabeth 43:46
Yes. Yeah. It was so exciting. When I went and got a lipid panel done after taking Repatha. And my LDL cholesterol was 48. I was shocked and delighted. People without FH. That's what that's easier than whatever. Familial Hypercholesterolemia just FH. People without this. They don't even have LDL cholesterol of 48. Wow. I was like, Oh my gosh,

Scott Benner 44:26
this is amazing. Listen, a little googling. Repatha is A human monoclonal antibody against the PC, SK nine protein as potent cholesterol lowering therapy. I'm just impressed that I knew it was a monoclonal antibody. Yeah. I'm learning stuff while I make the podcast. Very cool. I'm hoping everyone else's too, but well, so that's super exciting. And is is Addison using it as well.

Elizabeth 44:54
No, Madison, right. Yeah. Addison is taking us statin and Is that am I not taking any injectable? Right now Addison's terrified of needles and yeah, only 12. Oh, but you

Scott Benner 45:09
would prefer using the injectable, but it's the needle phobia that's stopping you.

Elizabeth 45:16
It's the so Addison's just not old enough for it. Yeah.

Scott Benner 45:19
Do you think that eventually?

Elizabeth 45:22
Oh, for sure. Yeah. I really don't care that much that, like you're afraid of needles? No, I'm going to inject you with this. To your heart.

Scott Benner 45:35
Do you have? Have you ever had Addison checked for type one? diabetes markers?

Elizabeth 45:42
Yes. Anywhere? There are? Oh,

Scott Benner 45:45
that's good news. I'm glad. Yeah, me too. That's great. I'll tell you what another thing I'm proud of is I have been talking around using a pronoun for the last 10 minutes. I'm doing an amazing job at it. You're doing great. It's really, it's a muscle like you have to work it a little bit. But I really did. I can find my path through the sentence without it being choppy or awkward. Or, like, you have to listen back if you want proof of it. But yeah, like because I don't know what the right thing to do. And instead of confusing myself by like fumbling over the right thing to do. I'm finding a way to talk without the without he him she her. Yeah, and I'm doing it. Oh, that's all. How, how was that for you? Like, when does that as they come to you and say, I'm non binary?

Elizabeth 46:33
Well, Adam, actually Addison came out to my husband first. Okay. My husband and Addison have a really awesome relationship. Um, yeah, that's, that was like number one for me. My kid has to like you, if my kid doesn't like you get out. Yeah. They sent Brad like a meme saying that they were a lesbian at first. Okay. And it's it's changed a couple times. But Addison has finally found their identity. And I have told Addison, before they could even understand what it meant. That, who ever they were, whoever they loved, as long as Addison, and whoever they were with. treated each other. Well, yeah. I, I loved him.

Scott Benner 47:32
Well, I just had to imagine. Yeah, I just had to imagine after the upbringing, you had in your experience, you're going to be the last person to judge somebody? Uh, huh. Yeah, exactly. That just seemed obvious to me. Okay, so I want to make sure that we've talked about everything that you want to because I have kind of a heart out at one hour today, and I apologize. I have a meeting coming up from my mom's health, I have to get on a phone call. So I let me just ask you like, is there anything we haven't talked about that you wanted to?

Elizabeth 48:03
Well, last thing is my my dad. I'll make this quick.

Scott Benner 48:09
Don't make it quick. But just I just want to make sure we're moving in the direction of wrapping up. That's

Elizabeth 48:14
all got it. Got it. Yeah. My dad. When I was a kid, I remember seeing my dad with these big scars up his arms, up the back of his legs up on his chest. He had a quadruple bypass surgery. He had two heart attacks that I know of. He passed away. Let's see. Seven. No, I was 24. But four years after my mom passed away, and he died of a heart attack. And like, I had already started managing my diabetes. And I was like, That is not going to be me. I am not going to be a statistic. This is not going to get me. And so I started talking to my cardiologist about like, Okay, this thing has haunted and taken members of my family for decades. Yeah. What I want to know, I want to know the root. I want to know where it comes from. Yeah. And so when this genetic testing started, he was like, hey, I want to I want to talk to you about something. And I was like, Heck yeah, let's do that for you. It seems, and that is how we found out this little tiny gene that chills on the end of the liver is what has caused this

Scott Benner 50:00
and it got your dad the FH got your father? Yes, yeah. Wow, look at you, you you, I have to say, in a number of ways, you know, people always talked about like breaking a cycle, but in a number of different ways you've accomplished that with very little help from other people. It's very cool. Now it's very, very cool. A lot of people would have given up, you know, like, honestly, Yeah, I bet you did. You know, What stopped you from giving up,

Elizabeth 50:30
seeing my mom not give up.

Scott Benner 50:33
Just want light. Because you know, your notes. It's funny. Your story is not captured in the notes that you sent me. But oh, yeah. Yeah, but but which is fine. But my wife asked me last night. She's like, Who are you interviewing tomorrow? I said, a woman named Elizabeth. She said, what does she want to talk about? And I opened up your note, and I thought, and I read it. And I said, I think she just wants to tell me, she's a survivor. And that's what I took from what you wrote, like I not that you said that. Now I understand. But when I read what you wrote, I thought, this is a person who's been through a lot. I'm going to learn about what they've been through. And I think they want to leave me with the idea that they that they fought, fought a big foe, and they won. And that's all I said, so does that resonate with you at all? Or was that just

Elizabeth 51:18
Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I agree. Yeah.

Scott Benner 51:23
I mean, it's hard not to after hearing the story, honestly. I mean, jeez, you could have like, I mean, there had to have been a moment you just you must have gone to a bathroom once inside the door and been like, what is happening?

Elizabeth 51:35
Yeah, yeah, pretty much. What did I do

Scott Benner 51:39
holy? Is no one gonna step up. Like, I'm gonna do this myself, I guess. Like, oh, my God. I mean, you're like really? Like because of your, like you said earlier? Like, you feel like you're a little all over the place. Do you have ADHD? Are you just a little all over the place? I'm a little all over the place. Fine. It's not a big deal, by the way, but because that's your style of talking. Your your story comes out in like chunks. And, and in, like, some people's stories come out very smoothly. And they almost feel like, I don't know, like you're spreading warm butter. You know, but but yours came out more like the butter was out of the refrigerator. And we were having to get it soft to put it on, which is fine. Like, which is absolutely fine. But because of that it sticks in my head. Now an hour later in chunks like, My my, my parents split up, I ended up with my dad, which right away made me think something's wrong. Like moms don't lose their kids like that. You know? And then you're like, I don't really know why we're not together, which then told me you're not judging your mom's situation. And then you because it would be easy to say I wasn't with my mom because she was an alcoholic. And that's how my dad was able to get me get but you didn't see it that way. And then you start telling her story, but you tell her story without judging her. And then she dies. And I'm like, Holy hell, like I already thought you had enough. Like I thought, Alright, she'll grow up with an alcoholic mom. That'll be tough. No, no, mom's dead. Mom's not just dead. I'm married already. I'm not just married. I'm married for a second time already. And as you kept laying it on, I was like, where's the part where she walks into traffic or tries heroin, Blake like, and yet that part never came up in the story. You just kept going. And then you get pregnant, and you're like, god dammit, I'm gonna fix this. And then you did. It's insane. And I'm just saying Good for you. I'm at a loss for words for what to say. Like, they should put a statue of you up in front of something. Seriously, no, like, like, I'm from Philly, they should take that rocky statue down and put one of you up there. Like this is just like you have more than your fair share. And now I'm really left as I go back over it again. Wanting to say again, how cool it is that you're only 36 Like it feels to me, Elizabeth, I've interviewed really older, like people who are older, like I told you 60s 70s I think I interviewed a woman or under 100th birthday once. And but, but one thing I want to share with you. And then I'll let you say whatever you want to say before we go but I want to share this thing with you. I've learned a thing I think is going to help you. When you talk to people in their 60s. And they refer back to times in their life. It feels like they're talking about someone else. Or like they've had three lives. And so right now this probably all feels still very like, part of like your current story, but there'll be a day where you'll sit down and tell somebody you know, I got married when I was 18 and when I was 20. And it will seem like it was someone else. And it won't be a part of your current narrative. It'll just be like what made you you but it won't but it won't be this fresh. Not that you've seen burdened by it because you by the way, oddly, Elizabeth do not seem burdened by any of this. I'm assuming you're smoking a lot of weed. But but uh But if you live in Colorado, I heard that part I was like, there's definitely like a mighty x in Elizabeth's house is what I was thinking. Or a vaporizer of any kind. I didn't mean to just pick one. So, um, but, but I mean, I really think I found myself thinking that so many times while like, a 65 year old woman tells me a story of she lived an entire life with a man, like, like a 20 year life, they raise children. And then he passed, and she met someone else, and lived an entire another life. Like, it's just, that's gonna happen to you one day, like, you're gonna look back on that and not, it's not going to feel the way it feels now. And I'm excited, like, I will be dead by then Elizabeth, because I'm much older than you. If by some chance I have a podcast 20 years from now, I want you to find me because I'll interview you. For sure. Sirius okay, really? What a wonderful story. Do you have anything you want to end with?

Elizabeth 55:59
So last thing, the reason that my dad was so set on me being there is I was literally money in the bank. He went on medical retirement. And so he got a Social Security check for himself a spouse. Have you had one? And any child under the age of 18?

Scott Benner 56:19
Oh, touching it back. Exactly. Yeah.

Elizabeth 56:23
So I I think that's, I feel that's a big reason why he fought so hard for me to live there. Literally. Money in the Bank.

Scott Benner 56:33
Yeah. Well, listen, he joke's on him because he ends up giving you the best gift of all by dying.

Elizabeth 56:38
Yes, yeah. Yes. Yeah. You very much.

Scott Benner 56:41
You looked at that situation? You thought I gotta get out of this. Yeah. And if he lives on forever, you don't get pressured like that about your heart? Yeah. Wow. Um, I mean, listen, it sounds callous. But you know, it just it just kind of is what it is. And you don't see like the person who cares. Don't I have one last question out of left field? Maybe a little but do you have any? I mean, you're married. Right? Your husband walks through the kitchen slaps you on the butt? Does it make you feel weird? No, not at all. You're okay. Yeah. Yep. That's all I was just wondering. Like not by the way, if I had for $50, and you made me bet on the answer to that question. I would have said Elizabeth okay with us. But I was just wondering if it was something that lingered with you? No, not the worst thing that's ever happened to you. So it didn't really stick with you? No, it's not. Yeah.

Elizabeth 57:34
It's just a weird thing that doctors so frickin weird.

Scott Benner 57:39
There's, there's, there's another odd thing you'd never say your life was so messed up that a Hanzi doctor as a child, you're like, no big deal. I can handle that. Whatever. Yeah, we're gonna just have to let that go. Because I got bigger problems. Hopefully, Elizabeth, you somehow have my favorite interview I've done in like a month. Like, you know, really, really, really wonderful. Oh, my God. All right. Well, I wish I spoke to eat because I could ask you if there's little vaporizers are really the way to go. But I would have no context for it. So I'm just gonna say goodbye and ask you to hold on for a second. Okay. All right.

Hey, a big thank you to Elizabeth for coming on the show and sharing that story with us really incredible. That's pretty much it. There's no ads. But there's a little bit at the end here with me and Elizabeth that will explain. Sorry, I needed a drink. That will explain the title. I think we'll see what happens. We'll see if you get it. Don't forget the diabetes Pro Tip series has been remastered or runs between Episode 1001 1026. And there's a very special offer in one of the ads that you'll find within the series. You should check it out. Don't forget to check out the private Facebook group Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes, there are now over 42,000 active members. And there's a conversation happening right now that I guarantee you would enjoy. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast. You introduce yourself keep it kind of brief and then we'll start talking. Alright. Excuse me. I apologize. I'm gonna turn my head alright. In fairness to me, you burped in my ear before your microphone came on. Oh, where there was a really weird sound that happened. One of the other I was like,

Elizabeth 59:39
I may have Cough. Cough. I'm sorry.

Scott Benner 59:44
Sorry. It was hilarious because it can't because here's what happened before we start recording. It came on. And I have I mean I've done this close to 1000 times. This is the first time I've thought this one could be like someone Fine with me. Because your name is Elizabeth. Oh, so I thought maybe, maybe this is going to be the time you know. And so I started the recording right away because I was like, well, if somebody definitely want to record it, and so, um, so I can let people hear it. And then the the audio comes up and I hear and I'm like that said, this is the time like someone's gonna belch for an hour into the microphone, under the guise of them being Liz Taylor and I'm like, I'm in I'm up for this. Like, I'm gonna sit here for an hour and let them do it, you know? Oh my gosh, so that when you said hello, I was almost disappointed. Oh, it was almost like it's a real person. Damn it. Anyway, sorry, no

Elizabeth 1:00:49
person anyway, I don't have purple eyes. And I do have a bunch of diamonds either. I'm really gonna burst your bubble.

Scott Benner 1:00:58
Okay, go ahead, introduce yourself.

Elizabeth 1:01:01
Okay, so yeah.

Scott Benner 1:01:05
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