#1261 Unexpected Personality Shift

Nicole shares her journey of managing her daughter's unexpected type 1 diabetes diagnosis and the impact it had on her family's life.

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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends and welcome to episode 1261 of the Juicebox Podcast.

I'll be speaking with Nicole who is the mother of a child with type one diabetes. Before her child's diagnosis, the kid experienced some pretty major personality shifts that included talking about suicide, becoming transgendered and becoming a cannibal. Nicole has celiac and diverticulitis, and she's had most of her colon removed. There's some hypothyroidism in here, as well as a great story. Please don't forget 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. Don't forget, if you use my link drink ag one.com/juice box you'll get a free year supply of vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first order. And if you go to cozy earth.com and use the offer code juice box at checkout, you're gonna save 30% off of your entire order. I know that Facebook has a bad reputation, but please give the private Facebook group for the Juicebox Podcast a healthy once over Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes

Today's episode is sponsored by Medtronic diabetes, a company that's bringing people together to redefine what it means to live with diabetes. Later in this episode, I'll be speaking with Jalen, he was diagnosed with type one diabetes at 14. He's 29. Now he's going to tell you a little bit about his story. To hear more stories with Medtronic champions. Go to Medtronic diabetes.com/juicebox or search the hashtag Medtronic champion on your favorite social media platform. This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the only implantable sensor rated for long term care up to six months. The ever since CGM ever since cgm.com/juicebox.

Nicole 2:15
Hi, my name is Nicole. I am from Argyle, Texas. I have three kids, an eight year old son, a 10 year old daughter and a 12 year old daughter who is type one diabetic.

Scott Benner 2:26
Okay, hold on a second. eight year old son 12 year old daughter with type one. Yeah.

Nicole 2:33
And a 10 year old daughter as well. Gotcha.

Scott Benner 2:36
You didn't have to tell me you were in the South because a moment ago you asked your husband to bring you the piece of paper. And

Nicole 2:43
when that came out of my mouth, I knew you were gonna make fun of that.

Scott Benner 2:46
I'm not making fun of it. It was amazing. I was watching like my mic. The barber mandrill hour with my grandmother. And does anyone remember that? I'm very old. I just I don't unfortunately, there's your that's good. That means you're. You're not 50 years old. How old are you? I'm 40. There you go. That's a good age. Okay, three kids married because I heard the husband helped them with the headphones set up. Yes. Live in Texas. And your oldest has type one. When were they diagnosed?

Nicole 3:23
almost about a year ago. A year?

Scott Benner 3:27
Was it something you were expecting or completely unexpected?

Nicole 3:31
Oh, absolutely unexpected. Yeah, I had no idea. There's no I'm sorry. Nobody. Yeah. Nobody in our family has it. In our extended or anything.

Scott Benner 3:42
Yeah. Any how about with you or your husband? Any other autoimmune issues?

Nicole 3:46
I do. Yeah, I have. I am. I mean, I don't know if you would count this as autoimmune but I'm intolerant to a lot of food. I always thought that I was celiac, but I've never been diagnosed. They always say I'm not but I feel so much better when I don't eat certain things. My mom has tons of autoimmune issues. And celiac does run in our family. So

Scott Benner 4:11
you run through some of your mom's stuff. Yeah,

Nicole 4:15
I mean, it actually started when she was about my age. She had diverticulitis. She's had surgery to take out a lot of her colon, ankylosing spondylitis, interstitial lung disease are just a few of the things that she's How old is she now? She's 70. How is she doing? She's doing okay. She was diagnosed with that interstitial lung disease probably about six months ago. And that's been struggling. That has been a struggle for sure. She goes in and out about with things as you do with immune to see like immune disorders. So, but she's doing she's doing pretty good. They don't really understand her interstitial lung disease because it's not like a typical interstitial lung disease. They're seeing a lot of different and types of lung diseases now that are I don't know if it's COVID. You know, you don't want to blame it on that. But certain things that have just come about lately that are just not explained in the typical way.

Scott Benner 5:12
The internet says it's rare, a group of disorders that causes progressive scarring of lung tissue. interstitial lung disease refers to a group of about 100 chronic lung disorders characterized by inflammation and scarring that make it hard for the lungs to get oxygen. Yes, yeah, I'm sorry. Okay, well, that's your autoimmune tree right there. So,

Nicole 5:34
yeah, yeah. And then, of course, my grandmother had some stuff and my husband's grandmother's celiac and oh, so I mean, it makes sense.

Scott Benner 5:44
Yeah, no kidding. Just not a thing you would expect. Because yeah, yeah. Nobody, Nobody. Nobody. When you're growing up. No one says to you now, Mommy's got spondylitis. And. Right, right. Yeah, that's stocks, and talk a little bit about your eating stuff. What, what do you avoid that makes you feel better? And what does feel with better mean?

Nicole 6:07
Well, prior to her diagnosis, I had some bloodwork done, because I was just feeling terrible. And, in fact, some of the things that she had been feeling around the time of her diagnosis I had been feeling but you know, I have normal blood sugars. So I never was told anything about that. But I'm sure it's unrelated. But I have anxiety. And I have a hard time with gluten and dairy specifically, like I'm highly intolerant to those two things. According to my bloodwork, and just my life. I mean, when I was little, I was diagnosed as dairy intolerant. And then as I got older, I kind of just started eating whatever I wanted. And I noticed that it just really affected everything in my life. So I just cut it out. And I feel a lot better. But after her diagnosis, I went crazy and started eating everything I wanted, because I figured, like, I guess I was like depressed. And I just thought I could eat whatever I wanted at that point, because it was like nothing else matters. I gotta take care of this kid.

Scott Benner 7:04
Good god.

Nicole 7:05
Yeah. I was like, who cares about me? You know, I'll just, I just have to focus on her. So turn to do anything, which is the wrong thing to do.

Scott Benner 7:20
You don't have to say that. We all know. Yeah. But yeah, you're up in the plane. You're like, we're doing it. We have three kids, everything's fine, blah, blah, blah. Then one day, you're like, let's just crash this thing into the ground.

Nicole 7:32
Right? Like I was focusing so much on what she did and what she ate. And all of her things that I just kind of put all my needs. You know, all of what I know is right for me back in the backburner, so to speak. sounds

Scott Benner 7:44
fairly common. Yeah. Tell me what your anxiety looks like day to day.

Nicole 7:51
Before she was diagnosed, I had I mean, I guess I had just, it's hard to explain. Somewhere around puberty, I got I think maybe I've always had anxiety, just like an underlying anxious personality. And I tend to overthink things, which, obviously, in the world of type one, diabetes can be kind of a bad thing. Because I mean, as you know, it's not like you can really control it. Yeah, you can control what you can control. And you can't, we can't. So it's taught me a lot about that part of my personality in order to just calm down and take a deep breath and do your best. It's actually been kind of therapeutic for me to be honest. Because my whole life, I've spent overthinking things and kind of just ruminating too long on the things that go wrong and beating myself up about it. So that's just kind of

Scott Benner 8:44
how I was how I'm how's your energy? My energy? Low? You feel rested after you sleep all night? No. Do you? Have you ever had your thyroid checked?

Nicole 8:55
Yes.

Scott Benner 8:57
What was your TSH?

Nicole 8:58
My it was normal. I don't know the exact number. I've had it checked twice. And in fact, I just went to a hormone doctor. And she said, I have no testosterone. Like none. It didn't even show up in the test. So that's something and then I'm low progesterone. So I don't know. My you know, my mom's also I didn't say this, but she's hypothyroid. Yeah, so

Scott Benner 9:23
Nicole, you sound so yeah. Is there a way for us to while we're talking to find out what your TSH was because I'll say normal, but I'm going to tell you that over two or so probably needs medication. And if you're having hypothyroid symptoms, and you're over a two a good doctor would give you a little bit of Synthroid or something.

Nicole 9:40
Let me check while you're talking. It might take a second

Scott Benner 9:44
also Nicole, do you know how to make a hormone? No, don't pay them. I tell you something while you're looking. What? I hold that stupid joke in every time for 10 years when somebody says hormone And I realized today it's never going to stop that feeling I have until I just say at one time, so I'm saying it here was funny.

Nicole 10:06
I'm glad you got that out. Yes.

Scott Benner 10:08
I just I swear to you, I don't know how to tell you that every time someone says the word hormone, I think you know how to make a hormone. Don't pay them. That's not the worst dad joke ever.

Speaker 1 10:22
But nevertheless, yeah, so and I really want to know what your TSH is because you sound like you have hypothyroidism. You just I just sound like it. No, you do anxiety. Tire? Yeah. Does your hair fall out? Yeah, it's trouble losing weight. Yes.

Scott Benner 10:38
Are your nails brittle? Yes. skin dry?

Nicole 10:41
Yes. Yeah.

Scott Benner 10:42
Let's find that TSH number. Hold on. It's coming. Let's guess it's like a four. And your doctor said that's in range. And then that was the end of it. 1.6 Damn it. Not right. 1.6 1.6 should be okay to let you down. Damn. Did it vacillate? Has it ever jumped up and gone back?

Nicole 11:03
I don't know. I would have to go to my old doctor's records and find that which might be

Scott Benner 11:09
oh, do it on too much time. No, no. Yeah, do it on your own time. But if it's ever bounced around, I don't know be at 1.6 would be tough to get somebody but you have so many symptoms.

Nicole 11:20
I know and I have really low B 12. So I am on some shots for that.

Scott Benner 11:27
Are you gonna get some testosterone?

Nicole 11:29
I did. Actually I had my first injection last week. Oh, so what

Scott Benner 11:34
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Speaker 2 13:04
I was going straight into high school. So it was a summer heading into high school

Scott Benner 13:08
was that particularly difficult,

Speaker 2 13:10
unimaginable, you know, I missed my entire summer. So I went to I was going to a brand new school, I was around a bunch of new people that I had not been going to school with. So it was hard trying to balance that while also explaining to people what type one diabetes was. My hometown did not have an endocrinologist. So I was traveling over an hour to the nearest endocrinologist for children. So you know, I outside of that I didn't have any type of support in my hometown.

Scott Benner 13:38
Did you try to explain to people or did you find it easier just to stay private?

Speaker 2 13:43
I honestly I just held back I didn't really like talking about it. It was just it felt like it was just an repeating record where I was saying things and people weren't understanding it. And I also was still in the process of learning it. So I just kept it to myself didn't really talk about it.

Scott Benner 13:57
Did you eventually find people in real life that you could confide in.

Speaker 2 14:02
I never really got the experience until after getting to college. And then once I graduated college, it's all I see. You know, you can easily search Medtronic champions, you see people that pop up and you're like, wow, look at all this content. And I think that's something that motivates me started embracing more. You know, how I'm able to type one diabetes?

Nicole 14:24
I did I just have no, no, no, I do feel like I have more energy though. I'm gonna say that. I don't know if it's the what does that effect where you think something? Yes, exactly. But I don't, I don't think it is I have more energy. It's a little bit harder to sleep.

Scott Benner 14:39
But how are they going to track it? And do you get more they're gonna do

Nicole 14:44
a blood other blood test at two months, and every you know, so she's just giving me a little bit every week and then blood tests, see how it's working, see how I'm feeling and then go from there.

Scott Benner 14:57
And I like this for you. Okay, so maybe maybe This mimics thyroid, and I'd love to know if that's the case. I mean,

Nicole 15:03
she did say I have the antibodies, thyroid antibodies. Oh, so she thinks I'm in the beginning stages of Hashimotos.

Scott Benner 15:13
Then would a tiny little bit of Synthroid not be?

Nicole 15:16
I don't know, I could ask her I would I mean, what that yeah, because

Scott Benner 15:20
first of all, I want to be right. But secondly, I want you to feel better.

Nicole 15:23
I do to dress me.

Scott Benner 15:27
Obviously, I want you to feel better, then I want to be right. But I thought it was funny or the other way. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, it just you sound classic. And I mean, the numbers obviously, not indicative, but Right. If she says you have, if she says you have the antibodies, then would the tiniest little bit of Synthroid not be

Nicole 15:49
valuable? Yeah. Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, I can ask her and see what she says it's a

Scott Benner 15:55
short life, Nicole. And I know, I know, short to be living like that. You don't I mean, I know trust me. So tell me a little bit about how we figured out that your oldest has type one.

Nicole 16:08
She started she got sick, classic, right? She got sick. And she after her. obvious symptoms went away. She still wasn't feeling right. And I didn't know I could. She was having a lot of anxiety. And I kind of thought, well, you're like your mother, probably. But I thought it was preteen issues. To be honest. She's almost 12, she had just started a new school, she, she seemed to have grown a lot. And you know, just her body is changing. And I thought maybe she was going through something emotionally. So I took her on a little mother daughter trip. And I just wanted to talk to her about things and see if there was anything on her mind that she just wasn't telling me and that she was going through because I couldn't really pinpoint anything, you know, physically that would be wrong with her. And it wasn't until that trip that I kind of noticed that she was, you know, urinating more frequently. She just didn't want to eat as much I would offer her all the sugar and treats and she kind of just not really want it, which is strange for her and we went back and she said she actually felt better. And she went back to school and got back into soccer. And I noticed that she was kind of acting like herself again. Okay. So I think it was obviously because she was doing athletics and her blood sugar was more stabilized at that point after the holidays. And then about a month later, we decided to go on a ski trip. So we were driving through the mountains on a 13 hour ski trip. And she had to go to the bathroom. What seemed like every 30 minutes. And my husband and I were just like pulling our hair out. Just what is going on. What are you drinking back? Do you have like a trough back there that you're drinking out of? We don't know about. And we feel bad looking back on it because we were kind of I mean, we were a little mean about it.

Scott Benner 18:05
We're trying to get somewhere we just

Nicole 18:07
you have three kids in the car, you know, everybody's got it's just madness. And we thought she was just being dramatic. But she ended up peeing in her seat at one point. And that's when I looked at him and I said there is something wrong. And then we got to the house we were staying in in Colorado, and I told my mom about all the symptoms, and my mom is actually a nurse. She used to be a pediatric nurse. Not in that way. She was in the hospital doing surgeries and stuff. So she didn't know too much about it. But she said, you know, it kind of sounds like diabetes. And I looked at her like, you're effing crazy. Like there's no, there's no way like, come on. And of course, my mind was going straight to all the worst possible scenarios at that point, like cancer and stuff like that, because she had been losing weight.

Scott Benner 18:55
Okay, that is that your anxiety by the way, go and write the answer. Oh, for sure.

Nicole 19:00
Like do not give me a Google for symptoms, because and that's why I didn't Google her symptoms, because I was I knew that I would do that. You know, I knew that I would assume the worst even though it was probably nothing. Which of course it wasn't. And my dad who's like the most laissez faire person alive. He was like, Uh, I think there's something wrong, you know, and he's, he never thinks things are wrong. Like he, you know. So we actually left early from the ski trip, I got her an appointment with her PR her doctor immediately. And I said, you know, she's going to the bathroom a lot and she's lost weight. And they're like, oh, that's probably a virus. There's stuff going around. It's super, you know, blah, blah, blah. And I said, I don't know, she's drinking a lot. And that's when they're little antennas went up and they finger poked her and she was at what like 460 or something and told us to go to the hospital.

Scott Benner 19:54
So yeah, and your mom was like I got it right. Finally.

Nicole 19:58
I know. I know. Insight is You know, it's like she didn't want that. But I think she was pretty, you know, content with knowing that she knew.

Scott Benner 20:09
That makes sense. Listen to call what I know is the mother daughter, like, dynamic is fascinating.

Nicole 20:15
You're like my mom. Yeah, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Scott Benner 20:18
It's just fascinating in general. Like, I know, there's a split second where none of this was about your daughter. And all of it was about I don't want her to be right. And

Nicole 20:27
say, I told you so. Yeah, all that. Finally, I

Scott Benner 20:30
got her. Your mom's like, I got her. I knew I'd get her eventually. Anyway, well, that's Yeah. So did you go to the hospital in Colorado? Did you make the trip back? No,

Nicole 20:39
we made the trip back. So we had left a day early, so I could get her back. Because and also, I was thinking maybe it was a little bit of altitude sickness, because, you know, she was nauseous and not wanting to eat and just feeling over, you know, malaise and stuff like that. So I just thought, you know, could be explained by that as well. So, yeah, would have been nice. Yeah. Would have been nice.

Scott Benner 21:02
For sure. Yeah. But it sounds like I mean, fairness. You guys have a touch of the autoimmune. So yeah, yeah. Glad to know. I mean, all this stuff. It sucks. But it's better to know than not to know.

Nicole 21:16
For sure. Yeah. And now I do know, I mean, you know, before, I never feel like I lived such a easy life. I would say before all this and not that this is the worst thing that could ever happen to somebody. But when something like this happens, it does put things in perspective, you know, about your health and just being thankful for when everybody's healthy, you know? Yeah,

Scott Benner 21:39
certainly. I understand. Okay, so how long do you think this was happening before you caught it and ended up in the hospital?

Nicole 21:48
Looking back? I think January is when? So January of before that February, so maybe four, six weeks, something like that? Maybe Maybe, yeah, four to six weeks? And

Scott Benner 22:01
did it answer your questions about what you thought was her teenage angst?

Nicole 22:06
Somewhat? Because I know that affects your brain? You know, your blood sugar? Yeah, because that's all I thought she was going crazy. Like, I thought she needed to see a mental doctor. Really? Yeah, yeah, I thought she was because she had been learning all these new things in her life about, I mean, I don't want to say the word but like, she somehow she heard about suicide. And somehow she heard about transgenderism and things like that. And she was like, what if I do that? What if I'm an ISIS? What is going on? I mean, it's all of a sudden, she just started reeling on these questions and just thinking these thoughts that it was hard to talk her into reality. I don't know how to explain it.

Scott Benner 22:47
So not something that she had considered previously that all the sudden she was going down rabbit holes on she like

Nicole 22:52
she had talked about cannibalism. I was like, What are you doing?

Scott Benner 22:58
What she considering it? Yes. She

Nicole 23:00
was like, what if I am like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold

Scott Benner 23:03
on. Yeah. In the span of six weeks, your daughter said, what if I'm in the wrong body? What if I'm supposed to be eating human flesh? And what else?

Nicole 23:11
And what if I commit suicide? I was like, Oh, yeah. Where

Scott Benner 23:16
you and your husband in the other room going? What if we left this one in Colorado?

Nicole 23:19
I yeah, I just I didn't know what I I was looking up therapists, you know. I had no idea what was going on. And then when her blood sugar's got stabilized, all these things just kind of dissipated. I mean, she was dealing with obviously with a whole new

Scott Benner 23:38
She's not answering any of these questions any longer. No,

Nicole 23:40
not anymore. She just she's got, you know, she's able to talk herself through logic now. I mean, before it was just yeah, there's

Scott Benner 23:49
a episode of the podcast called altered minds where Jenny and I picked through pretty specifically how high low blood sugars impact your ability to like, have cognitive stability. Yeah. And so the high or vacillating blood sugars, and then, even just different thinking than you're accustomed to? It doesn't surprise me at all. Yeah, I was gonna say the topics are just in the zeitgeist, but I don't know where she got cannibalism from that was I

Nicole 24:15
that went through me as well. I would have been like,

Scott Benner 24:18
Oh, my God, what did we do?

Nicole 24:21
She heard about, like, people marrying their own family member and was like, do what am I supposed to marry my sister? And I was like, What do you mean, I'm telling you to rabbit holes? Yeah. And I didn't understand how to even approach it because I don't think she was coming from a place where she could even

Scott Benner 24:40
understand the conversation. Right, right. Wow, that's interesting. Also, maybe don't let her have tick tock.

Nicole 24:47
No, she does not have tick tock because she doesn't have any of that stuff. And that's why because I'm I'm a mom that's like, doesn't let them do much. She

Scott Benner 24:56
doesn't have that social media and you're a little you Have a little rural Is that correct?

Nicole 25:01
Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty we go to a Christian school, a private school. And, and she I was just like what is happening? I have no idea where she's hearing these things from what you know,

Scott Benner 25:15
now that she's feeling better if I was you, I would at very least ask where you found out about cannibalism and then call it that person. Yeah. So yeah.

Nicole 25:26
Maybe Maybe they were reading Lord of the Flies or something. Who knows

Scott Benner 25:29
that something? Wow. Okay. Yeah. And then and how quickly after the insulin starts working, do you think oh, wow, her personality is completely back pretty

Nicole 25:38
quickly. I mean, once her blood sugar's got stabilized, I saw the light back in her eyes, you know? It, just, you know, that went away. And I didn't really realize her eyes were just kind of fading, you know, and she looks tired all the time. And but after her blood sugar's got him or her. Everything got her whole look and demeanor changed back to how she used to be.

Scott Benner 26:03
Well, so that's something Well, I'm glad obviously glad you figured it all that. Yeah. But talk about, then what comes next? Because your note to me is pretty simple. It's about it says newly diagnosed and the struggles that come with it, basically, like what yeah, what happened next that?

Nicole 26:18
Well, I mean, I kind of told you, obviously, I'm high anxiety, and something like that, with a person who's high anxiety can really throw you for a big loop, to say the least. So

Scott Benner 26:32
what was happening to her before diagnosis started impacting you, which by the way, I'm just going to come out on in your defense and say that we'd all be thrown off if our kid was like, Maybe we should be cannibals. Right, right. But then from there, the diagnosis, I assume is incredibly impactful for you. Can you tell me how that made you feel first off

Nicole 26:51
guilty, at first for sure that I missed it, and that I was just so naive to her symptoms and what she was going through? And then obviously, I do something that caused this, is it something they did when she was pregnant? Is it you know, like, I'm googling, of course, Dr. Google over here, doing all the things that I shouldn't be doing. But I found you pretty quickly. And that really helped. I'm going to tell you that right now. I don't want to cry. But I might, because you put reason behind things. And you You made things really simple to understand. And a time where I felt like chaos could really take control. I just listened to your podcasts like, all day, every day, I feel like just to the you know, the ones that tell you the simple things, and then I listen to other people's story, I would kind of go through the newly diagnosed stories and listen to those just to kind of feel like I wasn't alone. And that really, really, really helped. Because I didn't know anybody. And I also needed to just get my head clear on the situation and, and what I need to do in order to be the best caretaker for her. And so I wasn't sleeping, that was the thing, and I lost about 15 pounds, because I was just not eating for three months, I decided to go to the doctor and get some happy pills. I could just get through that time. And that actually really helped. And I think I probably should have been on those pills for quite a while longer than I have been.

Scott Benner 28:23
Do you think even prior to pre diagnosed cannibalism, this would have been helpful for you? Yes.

Nicole 28:29
And I because I had always been like, I can handle it. You know, I can do it. I'll just exercise eat right. There are things sometimes i There's times when we need that help. You know,

Scott Benner 28:41
I'm gonna tell you, Nicole, I think your thyroid is at the basis of Yes, I really do. Yeah,

Nicole 28:48
I wouldn't be surprised for sure. Yeah,

Scott Benner 28:51
I think you have to lean on a doc because here's what I would say. I'm not a doctor. I think that's obvious, but because I think it's obvious because I'm heavily considering calling this episode diabetic cannibal. So I think I'm not a serious person, maybe. But I know that that TSH is so low, but I wonder if maybe it's a T three problem right now. Like maybe you're not, maybe you're not converting your T four properly. Right. And or, like, I don't know, like something's that you have too many symptoms for it not to be the thing. And there are a lot of people running around thinking they're depressed and anxious. Who just have out of whack? thyroids to

Nicole 29:30
Yeah, yeah. So I could see that. I mean, I'll go back and talk to her about it and see and tell her Mr. Scott said,

Scott Benner 29:39
see the guy on the internet who has access to a computer and a microphone to me. But, but I'm glad you're feeling better, obviously one way or the other. Yeah. Yeah. But but that's interesting that it took this for you to do you think you ever would have addressed that for yourself if she hadn't been diagnosed? No.

Nicole 29:59
Why not? I think I saw it as a weakness that I needed to deal with on my own. And I think that her diagnosis allowed me to say, Okay, I literally cannot get through this time. Like, I can't function unless I do something to better my mental health. And, yeah, so I

Scott Benner 30:23
wonder all the time, not just now but bring it up now because you're, you're talking about it, but I wonder what it is about some people, that gives them the idea that there is perfection, and that somehow not like your, I don't know how to put this, like your physical meat bag body that you are not in charge of that you didn't get to pick? Like, right? If it has, you know, a system where it doesn't work quite as well. Like, how is that a? How is that a reflection on you? Like,

Nicole 30:52
how is that feeling? Yeah. How's that meet? Yeah. Right. Yeah. Cuz

Scott Benner 30:56
like you're, you're you. I mean, listen, this is a little, but you're the thoughts in your head. That's who you are. And then this thing transports you around your body. And it's like, if Mother Teresa was driving an old beat up Pinto, like would, would she not still be Mother Teresa?

Unknown Speaker 31:15
Mm hmm.

Scott Benner 31:16
But your body's a little banged up? And you're like, Oh, I'm not. I'm not. I'm failing somehow. Does that make sense? Yeah,

Nicole 31:23
it completely makes sense. It really made me want to be as a mother, as a father, I'm sure a lot of times to in different ways we sacrifice things about our body and our mental health so that we, because we think it's helping our children, right. But I realized in that moment, that I'm not gonna be able to be her caretaker and do this. If I don't take care of myself, right and get and get better. I mean, it was like, do or die situation, it maybe not physically, maybe I would have survived and all that. But mentally, I wouldn't have been the mother that she deserves, or my other two children deserve if I didn't get help. Yeah,

Scott Benner 32:03
I don't know why we don't put more importance maybe on the unit, like the family unit, meaning like, why are we so focused on a meet a guy, I'll meet a girl, I'll make a baby, I'll keep it alive. And then I'll make sure it learns something. I don't know that something is how to, you know, change a carburetor or how to like, be an accountant. But I'll make sure it learned something. And then it's got to go, right? Because that's good for it. It's got to go on its own go away. And I'm not saying that your kid should live with you till they're 35. But but the knowledge that you're there even right, even even as an adult is very valuable, for sure. And you drop in dead when you're 50. Or, you know, whatever,

Nicole 32:47
right? isn't good. Mom's going into mental institution when she's 40.

Scott Benner 32:50
I call my mom and ask her this, but she's right now going. Right? So I can't get to her. Like so you being functioning properly, you know, is is important to her as well. And we say those things by saying like, put your mask on before the person next to you. But that's not giving it its proper amount of consideration. Like you're trying to build this ever changing structure. That is, you know, coach and player, father and son, mentor and Palawan. Like, you know, all like it's not just, hey, here, I kept you alive. Get out. Right, you know what I mean? So now that you Yeah, me and your dad are gonna argue until one of us gets cancer, because that's right. I think that's how a lot of people think about their

Nicole 33:44
lives. I do too. I see that. And a lot of people and I don't want that know, my family.

Scott Benner 33:52
I don't want the last 20 years of my life just me trying to outlive Kelly. So I go beater. Yeah, yeah. Because Because if you're married for a while, that a little bit.

Nicole 34:03
And it can and a lot of people, they just go through the day and think I didn't mess up my kid too much today. Maybe I did, but whatever. I don't know.

Scott Benner 34:15
Yeah, no, I know. I just like you take care and you're taking care of yourself. I like everyone doing that. I like you feeling your best. And listen, if you're depressed or anxious, you're depressed or anxious. But if it's just because of your thyroid, I don't like ignoring it for five years while somebody goes all the numbers right. You still have the problem? Yeah, yeah, you don't I mean, so how is she dealing with the diabetes and how she tried to eat her insulin pump yet?

Nicole 34:40
She hasn't done that. But she it's a journey. She definitely has better days than others. The beginning was kind of a struggle just to for everybody to understand what you can and can't do and and how school is going to work and obviously like I said she goes to private school. Little and she doesn't have a 504 plan there. I mean, they, they take it in, but they don't legally have to follow it. Okay, so that worried me because at when we put her in that school, we obviously she had just started going there, I didn't want to take her out, because that would just be a huge change again. And obviously she's been going through a lot. So I wanted to keep her in that school. After she was diagnosed, I went in and met with the nurse, the lead nurse is a K through 12. School. So they have two nurses for the entire school. And she immediately said she needs to be on Dexcom. I follow all my type one students on their Dexcom. I haven't right here in the office, we have two nurses. I mean, she made me feel so much better. And I was shocked at that level of knowledge and understanding at the private school level.

Scott Benner 35:46
But you think that was just because they had prior experience? They

Nicole 35:49
did. They had a few other girls that are type one that are older than her so and that nurse used to work at like one of the biggest public hospitals in Dallas. And so she was pretty familiar with it and helpful. Okay, so that made me feel a lot better that she's in their care. And it still does, how

Scott Benner 36:09
did it actually work out? Like meaning? Like, did you were you getting the outcomes that that effort? indicated? Yeah. might come? Yeah.

Nicole 36:19
Yeah. So I mean, listening to you, because I mean, to be honest, the endo was not much help. I mean, then the people at the hospital I, I just thought that it was I mean, you know how it is, you're in there, you're taking in information, but you're kind of you don't, it's crazy. Yeah, it's a crazy time. But listening to you and your podcasts, and just from other people's experiences. And at that point, obviously, we were MDI, I was able to just kind of that knowledge is power, you know, and I, it made me more confident and how I cared for her. I think her first agency was like, 6.3, after diagnosis, which it was, like, 11.4 diagnosis.

Scott Benner 37:03
So can I ask, maybe I want to say not ask, I don't maybe I'm going to thank you. I'm having a bad day. Oh, no, don't feel bad for me. I do this thing, where a person like you who I've never met before, 40 minutes ago, comes on starts telling me about a thing that I've done for them, and comes to the verge of tears has to stop themselves from crying. And yet on the backside, my job is so not personal, like, half of my job is to make the podcast, right and to conceive of ways to help people. And that all goes, I think exceedingly well. And then the other half of my job is the delivery of that to people who I don't know, can't see and don't know how to find. And that has recently, in the last handful of months been thwarted by of all things. Apple, the largest distributor of podcasts in the world is apple, the apple podcast app, people who hold Apple iPhones in their hand. And they about four or five months ago changed their algorithm. And now when I go to you have no idea how much work it is just to get a person to pick up their phone and subscribe to this podcast, it is a massive amount of work right to get that accomplished. And it used to be that that person would download a certain number of episodes every time they went into the app. And that was sort of regulated by the app. And Apple decided that they didn't want you to have quite as many. So they just turned it off a little bit. And so try to imagine if every person downloaded two episodes. Now they download one episode if every person downloaded 10. Now they download five, etc, and so on. And so my ranking hasn't changed. I still exist in the podcast world exactly where I have. But people are downloading fewer episodes, because you don't recognize how much your how much of your consumption is actually driven by the app telling you here's another episode. Okay. And so now that that's gone, people listen to the episode they show up today. And they listen, today's episode, they go, okay, and then they go off and go on their way and do something else. In the past, they'd get done the episode and the app would be like, Yo, here's another one. Or you might have missed this one for two from two years ago, but it's not doing that anymore. Oh no. And so that is impacting in two different ways. So in the first way, it's that people aren't staying involved in the information long enough to have good outcomes right? not everybody, but some people, the people who needed the pat on the butt, like stay in here, listen to one more. They're drifting away. And you're also not hearing the ads as much. And because of that, like ad clicks go down. And when ad clicks go down, and advertisers go, and then when they make that noise, then suddenly Scott works at Walmart. And like, they do you see, I'm saying, Yeah, I do. And so, I sit here, I was gonna use a Yiddish term, even though I'm not Jewish, and you're from Texas, but unfocus? Because I'm upset constantly, because I'm trying to figure out a way to make more people who have your experience. And believe it or not, the impediment at the moment is someone at Apple who was like, let's just try a little bit like this. And it's really frustrating. Frustrating. Yeah, yeah. And at the same time, there are so many people competing for your time. And so little time, that it all just sounds like noise. And I very desperately don't want to turn into a person who's like, subscribe and download, tell a friend, like, please listen to like, it just it sounds so simple ish. That's just not who I am. Right. But at the same time, your experience with the podcast is a lot of people's experience. Yeah. I don't want it to fade, if that makes sense. Yeah. I want a real job. Yeah. Like, I want to be clear. Yes. No, I really, I very much don't want a real job. No. But that aside, I think this podcast is perhaps so far, the most valuable thing I've seen for people with diabetes in the life. Sure. 15 years, and I've been involved in it. And in 20 years of art and having diabetes almost 18 years. Yeah. And so it's a strange thing to have something that works. So well be knocked off course by something that has almost nothing to do with it. But yet, somehow everything to do with it.

Nicole 42:11
I know. Yeah. Some guy like you said, just deciding to make that decision can affect somebody's health. And

Scott Benner 42:19
yeah, isn't that and that's exactly my point. Like, I'm not going to tell you that I wrote a letter to Apple trying to explain that, but I am not, by the way, as I was writing it, it was like, no one's gonna read this. But like, I'm like, I know what you guys are doing. Right. And by the way, I do know what they were doing, I'm going to bend that what happened is, is that some podcasters were putting out bullshit content to bump up their download numbers, so they could ask advertisers for more money. Okay, but I'm not doing that. I'm actually putting out content. Yeah,

Nicole 42:53
I don't penalize the people who are doing the right thing, right.

Scott Benner 42:56
I'm doing everything on the up and up, delivering great content for people five days a week. And now suddenly, I'm being treated like somebody who's trying to game the system. And in the end, what that means is that someone else isn't going to make it because it's isn't going to make it to the end. The the health and happiness because I'm also an acquired tastes like you can't just listen to me once and then be like, Oh, my God, this is amazing. I kind of like, I can come off like a dick sometimes. So like, like, you gotta hang in a little bit to get the vibe. You know what I mean? Right. Anyway, it's a, it was really nice to hear you say what you said earlier. And the reason I brought this all up, is because I actually like the rest of my day today is going to be spent trying to figure out how to get people from the Facebook group to try the podcast. And yeah, it just felt like I was depressed by the idea that this is what my day was gonna be.

Nicole 43:54
I can do an ad for you. Well, that's I wish I could help you

Scott Benner 43:59
know, you're very kind and like, countless people could. Yeah, but to who?

Nicole 44:05
I don't know, maybe on the Facebook group, they can you could have them share, like, once a week or something somebody like me share their experience and point them to certain episodes that they found really helpful. I don't know, Nicole,

Scott Benner 44:19
that's a great idea. And let me tell you something, no one's gonna do that. Up first, and that's fantastic. Yeah,

Nicole 44:28
I think they would I think they would I think you're under estimating people.

Scott Benner 44:32
No, I'm I know they went I've seen a lot of people do it. It's it's just they have a life to get it. Like you can't ask them to make my thing their problem. And that's how it feels. Sometimes it's just I say it all the time. 50,000 people in that Facebook group, like 30,000 of them a day are active. If they all just right now when and tried a series That would be, we'd be exactly where we need to be. But like it's impossible to get people to, to move. I guess. So.

Unknown Speaker 45:07
I don't know. Anyway,

Scott Benner 45:09
that's my boohoo story. Anyway, from my perspective, it's I said depressed earlier that I'm not depressed about it. But it's hard to get. It's hard to get motivated.

Nicole 45:22
Oh, I understand that. Yeah. It kind of threw you for a loop. And now you have to kind of you're always reassessing things. It seems like there's nothing like in I'm sure in your world, in the podcast world, they changed something like that. And it just like you had a system. And now you got to rethink things. And it's frustrating. There's

Scott Benner 45:39
no way around it, by the way, right? Like, I watched it happen. It was back in, I want to say September 2023, the end of September, maybe. I mean, I was I was doing so well, and everything was going so great. And I was like this is it. Like, I can really blow this thing up, and blah, blah, blah. And then all of a sudden, they were like, what if this happened, click, and then I was like, Oh, it wasn't too bad. But then I realized not everybody upgraded their iOS yet. So now over the last five months, as a person picks up their phone and goes, Oh, I'm gonna try iOS 17 Now, and then they get the new podcast app, and then boom, suddenly, they're not getting the episodes as much. And they think it's me. They just think the podcast isn't coming out as much. Yeah. Because people don't really understand how they don't pay that close attention to how things work. Right? You don't I mean, so if the content is not in front of them, then they just think I'm not making it. Yeah, yeah. So anyway, that was it. I don't want to say almost threw myself off the roof. But I don't do that. I did consider self cannibalism that day. Don't do that either. myself from my foot up and see what happens. Hey, that's a way to make the news. Podcast, go viral podcast are eating his foot to be taking forever. Anyway, sorry, I apologize. I know, and then I feel bad. I really do.

Nicole 47:03
No, don't feel bad. And I mean, just take heart that you are making a difference, you know, and it's, it's not going to waste for sure. And eventually, I mean, not eventually you will, you are making a big difference. So let me

Scott Benner 47:18
say I don't think any of this is a waste and to help. And I genuinely mean to help one person is, yeah, is really, I think I would, I would say at the kingdom of heaven when I got there, okay. Like, I'd be like, I helped one person, I'd be thrilled to say that right at the end of my life. But that's not how the reality works. The reality is, you listen, you get helped. You also click on a link, those people pay my electric bill, I get to make more content. So the next person gets the listen. Like, that's, that's the cycle. And if it doesn't work that way, then seriously, then I have an electric bill. And then I have to go do something else. Yeah. And that's, that's the thing I am trying very hard for not to happen. Yeah. But it's and I can joke about I don't want a real job. But like, I'm never going to help people like this again, in my life. You don't I mean, like on the scale. So anyway, I'm going to cry now. Because no, don't get an apple. I know. And let me stick up for them for a second. I'm going to bet that Madison Avenue came to them and said, Hey, we're getting screwed on ad rates on podcast for data that seems like aren't real downloads. And they probably fixed a massive problem, and along the way, screwed over a few people who didn't deserve it. And I happened to be in that very small bucket. Yeah. So and there's no way to fix that. And they're not even ever going to know, unless one of you has diabetes and works at Apple and then

Nicole 48:54
change it in the health realm of podcasts. Who knows? I don't

Scott Benner 48:57
know yet. Well, Nicole, here's the other fix, right? A billionaire, a millionaire, with the discretional income, feels very helped by the podcast and contacts me privately and says, look, what do you make on this advertising? Let me give you 10 years worth of it, just go make the show. Right? And then that be it that's not gonna happen either. But like, all I need is enough support to pay my bills. I just want to retire one day, you know, and help people like I just would like to do that for the rest of my time. And I don't know. Hopefully, we'll figure it out. But well,

Nicole 49:33
have faith you'll figure it out. Thank you something. I mean, you're like I said we making enough difference with a lot of people. And I it's probably hard to tell from your, your vantage point a lot of times but there are a lot of people out there rooting for you, obviously. So I appreciate your work.

Scott Benner 49:50
And I do I do know that I want to be clear like I'm not even complaining. I'm just trying to lay out the like this is it and every second that gets put on this is a second, I don't put into the AI thing that I'm building for people with diabetes, or the podcast or a new series that I want to make that I can't. Like, I can't seem to start this new series, because I wake up every day thinking. I got to save the podcast. Yeah. And by the way, that's also ridiculous. Because this day, I was number 27. In medicine on the Apple podcast list, like so like, Yeah, but if you see the big picture, anytime you start sliding the wrong way. You're like, I'm three years away from this exploding. And you have to like, you have to move it in the other direction. Like, it's, you know, anyway, it's not that much fun making a podcast in case everybody thought it was.

Nicole 50:43
Is it cyclical as far as podcasts listening? I mean, sorry, this is completely off topic. But when my daughter was dying, like so in the winter, when people are diagnosed, I feel like people are diagnosed and like more people in a specific time of year, maybe that's wrong. But viruses do you think feel like more people listen to you when they're diagnosed versus when they're, you know, one two years in? Well,

Scott Benner 51:06
you are talking to the right person to Scotty stares at this, like the Torah trying to figure it out. And so January is always a great month, there is absolute truth to the idea that people think that the renewing of the year is a renewing of what they're going to accomplish. And so there's always a big push in January, I tried to drop in some incredibly interesting stuff. This year, I did the cold wind series in January thinking like, oh, maybe I can grab some more listeners. I think that worked pretty well. Then it's all around. Holidays. Okay. Yeah. And so the first holiday that screws you is Easter. The other thing that screws you is football. Yeah, the Fourth of July. And then when school's out, like in the summertime, that takes the moms away from being able to listen as much. And then they flood back after school goes back. It's almost feels like January, January and back to school feel like the same? If that makes sense. Yeah, then the lead up to November 3 week of November is always big, because people are thinking about eating

Nicole 52:12
and holidays. How am I gonna get through this?

Scott Benner 52:17
As soon as Thanksgiving comes, there's a slow drop off that goes right to the end of the year. Okay, it's very cyclical, like you can see it happened over and over again. But that's not the problem. Like I want to be clear. The amount of people listening to the show are not the problem. It's the amount of episodes that their app grabs. That's the problem. The people are still there. But the downloads have been decreased by Apple, and not by the people or their desire, but by the the app not feeding them the episodes. The episode.

Nicole 52:52
Yeah. Which is how we do things like

Scott Benner 52:55
listen, everyone wants to think they're making their own decisions. But no, when Netflix says The next episode will be up in 15 seconds. There's a little like cokehead in your brain. That's like god damn right. Let's do it again. Yes, yeah. Yeah. And if that doesn't happen, you walk away. Yeah.

Nicole 53:11
Yeah, everybody's struggling for our attention, or pining for attention in some way. So they're gonna get it somehow, might as well be you.

Scott Benner 53:19
There are times that are stronger, and times that are weaker. And again, this sounds like complaint. It shouldn't sound like complaining. If you're listening and you think I'm complaining, I don't think you're hearing what I'm saying. But I am the biggest diabetes podcast in the world by a stretch. The second one, which I don't even know what it would be is, I would imagine that if you took the next 10 and added them up, they don't do what I do in a day. That's not what scales, right. Like, it's not how you get to more and more people help more and more people. And it's not how advertisers hang in, right? So that's the entirety of the entire thing. So what all I need is people to subscribe, and then, you know, listen, that's it. And if they if listen, if it helps them, tell your doctor, like all that stuff is incredibly valuable. But you know, I don't know, I have to be honest. When I launched the Facebook group, I did it for people who asked for it. But on my end, I thought, Oh, this is going to make more podcast listeners, but I think it's possible that it didn't work that way. Really. I think the Facebook group works so well for people. It's like their crutch like they're Yeah, they almost don't need the podcast. Right? Which is interesting. Yeah, because the podcast is so much more than the Facebook group but if you feel like you're doing okay, then why do I have to go find the diabetes pockets? You won't know till you get here that I don't know if you heard the episode the other day where the last 30 minutes of it the girl talked about her like her s&m lifestyle for half an hour. You will not hear that. Oh my God, please don't do not miss that. And you're not getting that in the Facebook group. You don't like the entertainment aspect of it or me bitching about right my life or whatever.

Unknown Speaker 54:58
Anyway, oh my gosh. It's funny, it's

Scott Benner 55:00
all bizarre because, yeah, this shouldn't even be a job.

Nicole 55:03
You know what I mean? Well, I don't know why not? Because

Scott Benner 55:08
like a job should be bending something or painting something or fixing something or helping. I don't know, like, it's I make a podcast.

Nicole 55:16
I don't know, it's weird to think that there's a whole spectrum of people that are able to just talk for a living do this, but it's Yeah, but it is. It's more, it's more important than you're giving it credit for. So thank you. I appreciate it.

Scott Benner 55:31
What exactly about listening to it helped you like was it just like nuts and bolts stuff like Pro Tip series, bold beginnings, that stuff?

Nicole 55:40
I think so I think it was definitely just the control aspect of at the beginning, just getting things under control as far as understanding how certain foods work, because when you're at the hospital, they don't tell me, the nutritionist came in with a box of Froot Loops for her to figure out how to dose for the first day and nothing against Froot Loops, whatever, but my we don't feed my kids, you know, we don't feed them Froot Loops or any cereal hardly at all in the house. Anyway. And so I was kind of shocked when she came in with that. And I thought, okay, how does that, you know, I don't know, I wasn't mad, but I was like, now she's like sugar, this is what I can eat for breakfast. But that's not something that we would normally feed our kids anyway. Not that that's a bad thing. People should do what they want to do as far as that goes. But

Scott Benner 56:26
she's not eating Froot Loops to begin with. And you're in the hospital. She's

Nicole 56:30
like, shocked at like, I thought this is if anybody from hospitals are listening, you should talk to the parents before about their kids, previous nutrition before you come in with what you're going to dose for, et cetera. Yeah, I guess I just feel like getting to know that families lifestyle prior to coming in and talking to them about it can help you. I don't know why you wouldn't do that. Yeah,

Scott Benner 56:54
instead of coming in with a lollipop and a bowl of sugar and go now lick lick this. Right,

Nicole 56:59
especially, it's just a little shock. You know, it's not that she went out the normal breakfast that you would have, and then Bolus for that, you know, so. But whatever. You know, I've never, I haven't been really pleased with the entire healthcare system. As far as it comes to diabetes. What's your experience been? Just like that, like, just treating everybody the same? You know, and I understand why they do it. But there's no personalization, there's no, I don't feel like they try to get to know you as a patient at all. They're just kind of like, they go through the numbers they go through, you know, what, oh, you look good. Like, bye, you know? And if you have a question, they're like, well, she seems to be her numbers look fine. And, and it's not like, well, at this time of day, I would like it to be this or why is it not? You know, around 100 At night, like it used to be? And how can we adjust that it's just the kind of look at me, like, I'm crazy, like, I'm expecting too much, or that my kids doing a lot better than maybe other kids. So why do I care? You know, why should I worry so much? And it's not that it's just, I just have a question, you know,

Scott Benner 58:07
that fascinates me that idea of like, other people aren't doing well, either. Right.

Nicole 58:11
And it's that all the time with I feel like it's the, the endo and the nurse practitioners, you know, you're like, you're just compared to the last person they saw almost, or something. And I, I just like it to be more personalized, like I'm paying money, you know, to go see, and, by the way, we don't have typical insurance, we have Medicare. So after six months, her diagnosis isn't even covered to our insurance. So it costs a lot of money for us out of pocket to go see these doctors, and they treat us I noticed in the beginning that it's just what the insurance is want, you know, so they think you're a part of the insurance, like, what they'll cover what they'll talk to you about versus what you want to talk about, or what you don't know. Yeah. So

Scott Benner 58:57
it's incongruent, if what you need versus what they're willing to pay for. And then because that's what they're willing to pay for, that's what the doctors offer. Yep. It's only in the last 10 years really, where they be like you should meet with the nutritionist. Right. And that's because the insurance companies will cover nutritionists so then they hire a nutritionist, then they go, you should meet with the nutritionist, because we can build for that.

Nicole 59:18
I used to sell insurance. So I understood kind of it was this was pre exchange, Obamacare, you know, whatever you want to call it. So it's changed a little bit now. But it's just so much different now. It's just less tailoring more what the insurance will cover. And they just put you in that group and send you on your way. So

Scott Benner 59:38
oh, the nutritionist is here and they brought Captain Crunch with them. Right? Right. Right. Nutrition is under the captain are going to explain everything to you now. Yeah. And by the way, you're gonna Bolus for that Captain Crunch. Your blood sugar is gonna go to 300 Stay there for two hours. Come back down and we're gonna say, Hey, if you Bolus and it comes back down, it's all

Nicole 59:58
fine. I know. That's just That's exactly the experience I've had. And it's just so frustrating. So, I don't know, I literally only want to go just to get her a one seat checked and be on my way, because I don't find it helpful to talk to them. So, but you gave me that confidence. You know, I feel like a lot of people don't have that, because they just assume these doctors and whoever's in a position of authority knows best. And many times they do, you know, they're there. For like the worst case scenarios, mostly. But if you really just want to take your health into your own hands, it's so much easier to do, you know, with through people like you and technology out there that are at our disposal, that I sometimes think that they wish wasn't there.

Scott Benner 1:00:48
Oh, wait, you think they wish what Tommy?

Nicole 1:00:50
I don't know. Because I brought you up actually, at my last and the chronologist appointment. And the nurse practitioner was like, Oh, he had somebody on there. I don't know about him. And I was like, why? She said, Because I said, By the way, my daughter's numbers are good because of him. So but whatever. She said, Because he had a guy on there that did the keto diet, and I just think that's really, really unhelpful, or a bad thing for diabetics to do. And I was like, It's a guy I said, but he doesn't follow that. And he says that you should eat, you know, dose for what you eat, or you need to learn how to insulin works. That's the whole premise of the podcast. And she just kind of scoffed at me and just walked out. We're

Scott Benner 1:01:32
gonna expect people not to take a tiny sliver of information. Anyway, they want to

Nicole 1:01:40
just assume you're, that's what I'm saying. They assume that you have nothing in your mind, you know that you're that you're just like the lowest of IQ, basically, when you're in there. Yeah. And that if they if you hear any information other than what they tell you, then it could be harmful. Or some, you know, that's how I assume, right?

Scott Benner 1:01:59
And by the way, if you've been listening to the cold wind series, this this year, you might hear a lot of people who are in those positions of power telling you we don't know what we're doing.

Unknown Speaker 1:02:08
Yeah, yeah.

Scott Benner 1:02:09
So you know, it's interesting, isn't it? 1200 episodes, and they heard one person, one who did a keto diet, and they're like that whole podcast not good.

Nicole 1:02:19
Exactly, exactly. And that's how people are about all these things. Now, it's like you hear one person says one thing on one thing, and then to whatever that cliche, and now that person is associated with that one thing, and they'll never live past it. It's just ridiculous. In this

Scott Benner 1:02:35
scenario, the nurse or the person who's making the, the observation is only making it from their perspective. So she probably met somebody at some point who did a keto diet, and it didn't work well for them. She's like, Oh, he said, keto, it's not good. So here's a great example. Let me see if I can find this for you. When you want to end on some bitching here, I'll bet with a second. That's one more Christian than that. Let's get to let's see here last night. So part of my job that I don't get paid for is I have to deal with lunatics.

Unknown Speaker 1:03:09
Online,

Scott Benner 1:03:10
not often, but every once in a while. So last night, someone put up a very reasonable post about a bunch of people being diagnosed around their house or something like that a bunch of kids, right. And someone then said, like, I'm an I forget, they were in healthcare at some point. And they said, You know, I really think that there's a lot of new diagnosis from COVID. Now, let's be clear, this person was not making some like COVID conspiracy comment, right? COVID is a virus right? Viruses often precipitate type one diabetes diagnosis is in people who already have the antibodies? Well, and

Nicole 1:03:53
it's been proven, by the way, like there was a study that came out and it said, 20% increase in type one diagnosis, like since the beginning of COVID.

Scott Benner 1:04:01
Yes. And by the way, if a different virus would have happened, right mass, then diagnosis would have went up from that, because I don't have time to explain to you every time. But if you don't need to, it's just common sense. It is very common for a person who has type one diabetes, auto antibodies to have a virus, then their immune system gets bumped, puzzled, and goes after your beta cells in your pancreas instead,

Nicole 1:04:23
especially after a new virus that nobody's ever seen before. So

Scott Benner 1:04:27
being you've got diabetes, right, so this is not a this is not a it's not even sure not a controversial statement. And, you know, as soon as that happens, I have people who helped me with with my group, that post gets marked as keep an eye on it, because at some point, it's going to attract lunatics, like like a rotten banana and fruit flies, okay, like it's just, it's going to happen. And so it starts to go in the little bit of the read, you start seeing it lean and you're like, oh, here it comes. And then somebody who clearly It is coming from like a fairly tinfoil hat like perspective, you know, is starts ranting about COVID It's the vaccine and blah, blah, blah, I'm like, Okay, here we go. Like, by the way, I ain't sticking up for the COVID vaccine one way or the other, I'm just telling you, like, I see how this conversation is gonna

Nicole 1:05:19
go. Like, it's just, there's no, nobody's gonna get anywhere in that conversation

Scott Benner 1:05:24
gonna go bad quickly. Yeah. And so it starts to go bad in a sub thread of this thread, the rest of the, by the way, the rest of the post is going fine. It's this one sub thread, it starts getting kinky. And then the person gets very aggressive and starts, you know, like, snipping at people and being nasty and everything. And so when that happens, I go up to the top of the tree, and I cut the branch so that it all falls off. So I take out the initial like, comment that was made by the person who, if I'm being like, if I'm being honest, from my perspective, it felt to me that they had specific COVID beliefs that they were commingling with what was being said, so that they could make the argument.

Nicole 1:06:07
Yes, to get that out there. Yeah. Because that's what they want to talk about. Yeah. Not

Scott Benner 1:06:11
because they were trying to have a conversation about what everybody else was talking about, right? So I cut it away. And that's it. And I put a nice note with it, like, Hey, listen, you know, I think it seems to me maybe you're, you know, commingling your beliefs with what's being said, here. This isn't what these people are saying. They're not saying COVID Call us diabetes. You know, they're saying that a virus can proceed type one and like, you know, and it's common knowledge and well researched and everything. And I said in your comments are starting to feel a little antivax. And I have to be honest with you, the Facebook algorithm looks for those. Right? I don't want the Facebook police looking at us. This podcast helps a lot of people. So does this Facebook group, we don't need a problem. I can't have this kind of conversation. Anyway. There's a rule about COVID conversations for this exact reason. It's why I removed your thing. Hope you have a good night, blah, blah, blah. Right? As soon as that happens, it's 1145 on a goddamn Monday night. All right. And this is what I'm doing. Yeah. And I'm like, oh, and now why is that important? It's important because 150 new people come into the podcast group every four days. And I don't need them thinking that the group is full of conversations and arguments and ranting and raving. Right? Right? Because it's a very small part of what happens. My group is really good. And so like, so we trim that away. Okay, well, 54321, here comes the direct message from this person. You know what I mean? And right away, you know, your liberal agenda. Oh, Lord, my liberal agenda.

Nicole 1:07:48
Oh, you shouldn't refer you need to refer that person over for my happy meds.

Scott Benner 1:07:55
Oh, my God, actually. So one of the people that helped me with the board was like, this is usually the Saturday night drinky group. This isn't Yeah. And so. So listen, I'm socially liberal in my thinking as much as that I hope that everybody gets a fair chance. And I would like them to, but I'm fairly conservative financially and like with other things, and I've never told you what I think of the COVID vaccine or anything like I've never spoken about it at all. Like, you don't really know what I think about that. Right. Right. And, and yet this person right away is like, you have disagreed with me. You err on the side? Yeah, yeah. If you don't like what I said, you're, you have a liberal agenda. And I was like, or I have an agenda where I don't let crazy people rant and rave, right? I don't think this person is crazy because of their opinion. I genuinely don't, I don't know that their opinions right or wrong. I think they're crazy because of the crazy way they're talking

Nicole 1:08:55
right online to a bunch of strangers. And it's, you're not going to change anybody's. Yeah, I know, not

Scott Benner 1:09:02
because of what they were saying. Yeah. Well, they were saying it. Now I'll take a deep breath, because this isn't going to end. I'm gonna get another direct message back. And it's going to be telling me I've been through this so many times the call, I actually know how it's going to go. This next part is going to tell me about all the wrong things that everyone else said. And then like clockwork, it comes. There's literally a comment that says this, and blah, blah, blah, and that's not right. And this has admitted and I'm like, oh my god, it's midnight now. And I'm like, okay, and then I don't respond because I'm like, What am I going to do? Right? And then I know that the next step is coming. Do you know what the next step is? No personal group. No, no personal attacks, I'm leaving this group. But first, don't just leave.

Nicole 1:09:50
Let me tell you real quick and then I'm gonna leave first of all,

Scott Benner 1:09:52
to insult you in every way that I can conceivably think of. And then I'm gonna leave. It's not His personal like, like hits, like you're pathetic. Which by the way, that's a that's a quote. You're pathetic. This is nonsense. This group has been falling apart for years. Like it's the biggest, most active valuable diabetes Facebook group in existence. Yeah, it's falling apart. I knew it. But now I'm out. Because now you said, right. I can't like and I'm like, Oh my God. And, and

Nicole 1:10:27
I'm like, sorry for you guys. I feel sorry for those people to be honest. I mean, I did. You almost like, there's, there's no winning that, like, obviously, that's what they want. But they're not going to do it in any part of their life. I mean, they're just going to, as soon

Scott Benner 1:10:41
as I tried to do the right thing, which was competently explain what was happening and why this was really about the health of the group and not about this conversation at all. As soon as I was willing to go back and forth. Oh, my God, I was like, I know this isn't gonna go well. And it certainly did. I enjoyed being called pathetic at midnight and being told that the effort I've been putting in for the last 10 years that has helped you and many people like you, was absolutely just disgraceful and falling apart. I was like, Oh, my God, now I let that run off me. Like I honestly, yeah, if you and I weren't talking about today, I don't think I'd ever bring it up. But it's just, it's another part of my job. That, you know, no, one's compensating me for, like, like, it's not like, like, I wanted to be asleep. I want to be clear. But you know, and anyway, that's it's fast. But But I brought it up, because it's the same mechanism. As the nurse who said, I heard the words, keto. I'm out and didn't

Nicole 1:11:46
even ask me about how, how did you achieve, you know, I can get that point was like a 5.9. A one C? You know, the second time we nothing about this guy has really helped me. It's just that one thing I heard about him gives me, you know that he can't be that great.

Scott Benner 1:12:05
Yeah, cuz yeah, you sat there and said, I have a five nine, a one C with my daughter who's 12 years old. This is not common. MDI, you're right. All this stuff, I wanted you to know that this is where I got this information from and why I'm doing so well. And that person basically turned and said he's got a liberal agenda.

Nicole 1:12:23
And I honestly, I think that it's these people like, not everyone, I'm sure there's wonderful nurse practitioners and endos out there, of course, and of course, they're held to systems that I mean, they work for corporations, most of them, so they have to do what they are told, you know, and they don't have a lot of time to spend with a patient. I understand all these things. But when somebody's telling you something that works for them, listen to them. I mean, give them give them a moment to explain how they achieved that. And you're not helping them, you're not making them want to come to you for anything, the if you just kind of throw that

Scott Benner 1:13:00
away. Yeah. So she, I'm assuming she I'm sorry. Yeah. So so she is incapable of helping you to this success on her own, but does not want to hear about how you accomplish it. Right. So is her goal to help you? Or is her goal to keep you reliant on her?

Nicole 1:13:20
I honestly, I look at it almost like a pyramid. It's like the worst you're doing the better a patient you are. I hate to say that, but sometimes I feel that way. And I don't know. Like, maybe they're more willing to help you if you're having a hard time. But but that's not how it should be. You know? So

Scott Benner 1:13:38
you were about to say it's like a pyramid scheme, weren't you?

Nicole 1:13:43
I hate to say that, but sometimes that healthcare, I mean, it kind of is so do look at it.

Scott Benner 1:13:48
But it sucks. But yeah,

Nicole 1:13:52
I don't think that they're wanting you to stay or keep up, stay unhealthy are bad things to happen. I'm not saying that. I just think that it's not even the way that it set up. The corporations in the system? I don't think it's meant to. For everyone. Yeah, they don't know how to say it. But I think that if you're a capable person, you're able to take care of yourself outside that system. Um, of course, you need it for some reasons, you know, go get your blood work, blah, blah, blah. But it's just a blessing that we have people like you that are able to take us to that next step, you know, and before I can't even imagine I say this all the time. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. But can you imagine 30 years ago growing up with this, and not having all these resources and technology. I thank God every day for that. Because, I mean, I literally wouldn't be able to do any of this or have faith that my kid could go out there in the world and deal with this disease and stay healthy.

Scott Benner 1:14:52
Well, I'm genuinely happy that it's been valuable for you sincerely. Yeah. Yeah. And I appreciate you being willing to say it and being willing to say it to the doctor and Oh, I'll

Nicole 1:15:00
say it over and over again. You're very nice. Stop me.

Scott Benner 1:15:02
I appreciate it very much. So I appreciate you being part of my liberal agenda today. Doesn't matter who I vote for. Isn't that interesting? You don't mean like,

Nicole 1:15:13
yeah, no, it's it's crazy that the leap that it takes to get, because, look, I'm conservative. But and I'll tell you, I'll be the first one to tell you like, I none of my family took the vaccine, you know, whatever. But I don't care if you did, and I don't care if you have opinions, you know, whatever. But the second you start getting testy with people and mean about it. Yeah, then it almost looks like you're not not confident in what you believe. enough to just say, like you said, the post wasn't even about that. It was about Yeah, COVID can make, you know, whatever. Maybe the two things can be true

Scott Benner 1:15:52
at once. You know, I can't go to sleep, by the way, while you're letting your crazy out on my board. Right. Right. It was attacking. And by the way, if you point that out to those people, they go, No, I'm not. I'm just telling them what's right. And what's wrong. I'm like, Oh, my God, like, dial it down a little bit. Like, I don't know, like, I just I always see those people. And I'm like, Oh, my God, your spouse must just be like hiding in a closet somewhere, right?

Nicole 1:16:16
That's what I was thinking when you were telling me about

Scott Benner 1:16:20
going yell at somebody who loves go yell at somebody who loves you leave me alone? Or just say what you think and move on? And move on? Exactly. There are conversations happening in that group constantly with people who disagree with each other. Right? Lovely people who have differing opinions who list their opinion, and then move on. Don't come back every five seconds going, Oh, yeah. And this and this, and this, and you and this, and what are you doing? Oh, so you're a healthcare professional putting things in quotes. I'm like, Oh, my God. Listen, if you want to, if you want to see the other side of it, you send your kid to a Christian school, I assume you're a fairly religious person, you call yourself conservative. I've been completely clear on this podcast a number of times, I don't believe in God.

Nicole 1:17:02
Right. Yeah, I know, you know, yeah, we'll get your

Scott Benner 1:17:06
diabetes information here. Like, means like, and

Nicole 1:17:10
the thing is, is like, you can still be helped by somebody who doesn't believe the same things that you believe. I mean, and if you think that they have to believe the vaccine was created to kill people, or whatever I don't know, like, that doesn't take away from what their, their core, you know, what they're doing and what they're helping with. And, and like I said, three things can be true at the same time, but it doesn't matter what you think about that specific subject, you are here because your kid has diabetes, and you want to get them better or yourself better, or you want to, you know, live a more complete and healthy life. Yes.

Scott Benner 1:17:47
Obviously, the vaccine was developed to test the populations willingness to fall in line, so that later we can be subjugated. I

Nicole 1:17:56
love conspiracy theory as much as the next person, trust me, I could get I could go down a rabbit hole, but I have to stay attached to realities. Listen,

Scott Benner 1:18:06
they're not not fun conversations. But yeah, you can't actually figure out if they're true or not.

Nicole 1:18:11
I mean, it's a thing and to argue as if it is true. And if you don't believe the same thing, then everything you're saying is invaluable.

Scott Benner 1:18:20
Nicole, I believe you understand my position. Yeah. Like, I'm not telling you, you're wrong. I'm telling you. What are we doing right now? Like, talk five people in a Facebook thread into this? Okay, you got them. Now what?

Nicole 1:18:33
But it's funny that you related it to the endocrinologist office, because I said that one thing?

Scott Benner 1:18:40
Oh, it's that thing to me. It's the same thing. It is the same

Nicole 1:18:43
exact, it's like a religion or it's a it's a conspiracy. I don't know what it is. But yeah,

Scott Benner 1:18:49
I don't want to listen, I'm not gonna bore you. But I've Yeah, I don't know where else to say this. Because if I start talking about it on a regular episode, I'll go on for two hours. But I have the very quick story is that I just began keeping chameleons a few months ago. And I random Yes, it is. And I didn't know anything about it. And it was kind of dropped in my lap as a gift. They're very difficult to do. And there's a lot of technical stuff that you need to know to accomplish it. And the information you get from pet stores is not accurate or good. Sound familiar? Sound like diabetes do a little bit right. And so I had to go off into the world and find a person who was having a lot of success, and figure out how to mimic their success. Sound familiar, Nicole? Right. And then I did all that had my success. And then I started paying attention to the person as a content creator. And every once in a while just like I did today, you get overwhelmed with the mountain of that you have to overcome to tell somebody about how to well hydrate their chameleon or to how to Pre-Bolus for their meal. And you start seeing them as a person who's trying to get through the roadblocks that Apple puts up the road boxset Instagram puts up that Facebook puts up that all these things happened to get you this information. And I looked one day and I went holy, this guy named Bill is me. Mm hmm.

Unknown Speaker 1:20:11
He Scott,

Nicole 1:20:13
chameleon, chameleon world.

Scott Benner 1:20:15
And I'm Bill of diabetes. And he and I are having the same exact thing life. Mm hmm. And the same, the same problems, the same interactions with good people and with people who are a little nutty, and with people who are defending their ego and with people who are defending their opinions and their perspective, and I'm like, Oh, my God, it's the exact same thing. And then I was like, everything's the same.

Nicole 1:20:40
It is. Yeah, that's funny. Yeah, it is.

Scott Benner 1:20:44
Everything just breaks down into these small subsections of how people react, and then how they react inside of the ecosystem, and how the ecosystem can handle it or can't handle it and how the person at the center of it is put in charge of trying to keep it all from spinning off its axis. And I'm Bill and Bill is me. I am Bill and Bill. i There's a Beatle song in there somewhere. Anyway, fascinating. And I've spent the last couple of months not only learning incredibly well from a man named Bill strand, how to manage chameleons. But I got a mirror held up to me. And I was like, Oh my God, that guy's existence is my existence.

Nicole 1:21:26
Yeah. I wonder what the online chameleon world is like? It's

Scott Benner 1:21:30
exactly like the diabetes. It's exactly the same. I wonder

Nicole 1:21:34
what the conspiracies are there. Oh, yeah. Oh, interesting. Here's

Scott Benner 1:21:38
one for you. Here's a major argument in the chameleon world, right? How you hydrate your chameleon. So chameleons don't drink like you can you don't put a bowl of water out for them, for example. But if they're dehydrated enough, they will lick liquid off of like dew off of leaves and places like that. So there are people who like massively soak the cages so that they the chameleons Can, can drink? Well, a handful of or more years ago, and this is me talking a little out of school because I don't have the depth of history on this one the other people do. But people realize that if you use fog, to bring up the humidity in the cage overnight, that the chameleon breathes that in overnight, and then does have no need to drink. The caveat there is that if you don't dry out the the enclosure, then you could get mold and fungus and the communities could have problems on their feet from touching wet branches and everything. So there's a balance to have between the humidity, and then drying that humidity out over and over again. Right. And they argue about that. The same way people with diabetes argue about low carb. That's funny. It's insane. how similar it is. Oh my god. Anyway, oh my gosh, chameleons are very well hydrated. And I don't spray them incessantly with water to accomplish that. And I learned how to build my own fogger which I'd be happy to explain to you Nicole at another time.

Nicole 1:23:06
I'm going to be taking on the chameleon listing role. Can

Scott Benner 1:23:08
I tell you something about this Fogra that I've built also work as an amazing humidifier in your home.

Nicole 1:23:13
Oh, yeah,

Scott Benner 1:23:14
I can see that. I live in Texas. So maybe you do need my help. I don't know it can get pretty dang humid here. So I imagine the winter it's not but am I wrong? No. The winter

Nicole 1:23:24
isn't as humid for sure. But the summers can be pretty brutal. For sure.

Scott Benner 1:23:28
Cool. You've been really lovely to listen to my complaining and then to say nice things in between. So I'm so happy for you and your daughter and please get your thoughts on that and send me a note and I'll

Nicole 1:23:41
let you know message you if I hear anything from them, but appreciate it.

Scott Benner 1:23:45
I really do. I hold on second for me. Okay.

Jalen is an incredible example of what so many experienced living with diabetes. You show up for yourself and others every day, never letting diabetes to find you. And that is what the Medtronic champion community is all about. Each of us is strong and together, we're even stronger. To hear more stories from the Medtronic champion community where to share your own story, visit Medtronic diabetes.com/juicebox And look out online for the hashtag Medtronic champion. I want to thank the ever since CGM for sponsoring this episode of The Juicebox Podcast. Learn more about its implantable sensor, smart transmitter and terrific mobile application at ever sent cgm.com/juicebox Get the only implantable sensor for long term wear get ever since. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast. If you're not already subscribed, or following the podcast in your favorite audio app, like Spotify or Apple podcasts, please do that. Now. Seriously, just to hit follow or subscribe will really help the show. If you go a little We'll further an apple podcasts and set it up so that it downloads all new episodes. I'll be your best friend. And if you leave a five star review, oh, I'll probably send you a Christmas card. Would you like a Christmas card? I was looking for a way that we could all get nice and tan and meet each other and spend some time talking about diabetes. How are we going to do that? On a juice cruise? Juice cruise 2025 departs Galveston, Texas on Monday, June 23 2025. It's a five night trip through the Western Caribbean visiting of course Galveston, Costa Maya and Cozumel. I'm going to be there. Eric is going to be there. And we're working on some other special guests. Now, why do we need to be there? Because during the days at sea, we're going to be holding conferences. You can get involved in these talks around type one diabetes, and they're going to be Q and A's. Plenty of time for everyone to get to talk, ask their questions and get their questions answered. So if you're looking for a nice adult or family vacation, you want to meet your favorite podcast host but you can't figure out where Jason Bateman lives so you'll settle for me. If you want to talk about diabetes, or you know what, maybe you want to meet some people living with type one, or just get a tan with a bunch of cool people. You can do that on juice cruise 2025 spaces limited. Head now to juicebox podcast.com and click on that banner. You can find out all about the different cabins that are available to you. and register today. Links in the shownotes links at juicebox podcast.com. I hope to see you onboard. The episode you just heard was professionally edited by wrong way recording. Wrong way recording.com

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