#1374 Chris Ruden on Eversense 365
Chris Ruden wears Eversense 365.
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Scott Benner 0:00
Here we are back together again, friends for another episode of The Juicebox podcast.
Chris Rudin is back with us again. Today we're going to talk about his life with type one diabetes and his experience wearing the ever since 365 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 healthcare plan or becoming bold with insulin. If you are the caregiver of someone with type one diabetes or have type one yourself. Please go to T 1d exchange.org/juice, box and complete the survey. This should take you about 10 minutes, and will really help type one diabetes research. You can help right from your house at T 1d exchange, org slash juice box. If you're looking for community around type one diabetes, check out the Juicebox podcast. Private Facebook group. Juicebox podcast, type one diabetes. But everybody is welcome. Type one type two gestational loved ones. It doesn't matter to me, if you're impacted by diabetes and you're looking for support, comfort or community, check out Juicebox podcast. Type one diabetes on Facebook.
This episode of The Juicebox podcast is sponsored by the Omnipod five learn more and get started today at omnipod.com/juice box. Check it out. Don't forget to save 40% off of your entire order at cozy earth.com All you have to do is use the offer code Juicebox at checkout. That's Juicebox at checkout to save 40% at cozy earth.com this episode of The Juicebox podcast is sponsored by ag one drink. Ag one.com/juicebox, head there now to learn more about ag one, it's vegan friendly, gluten free, dairy free, non GMO, no sugar added, no artificial sweeteners. And when you make your first order with my link, you're going to get ag one and a welcome kit that includes a shaker, scoop and canister. You're also going to get five free travel packs in a year's supply of vitamin D with that first order at drink, AG, one.com/juicebox usually I have people introduce themselves, but Chris has been here so many times. I'm just going to say hey to Chris and welcome back. How you been?
Chris Ruden 2:34
I've been really good. Everything has been like the book coming out, like so, so many different things, but overall, Full Sail Ahead with speaking, Speaker coaching, book life in general, but finding more fulfillment as I get older, instead of busyness. You know,
Scott Benner 2:49
yeah, no, it's awesome. When did you decide to write a book?
Chris Ruden 2:52
So I wrote the first book, and it was great, but, like, the experience wasn't the best with publisher and a bunch of stuff like that. This other book, I decided, probably a year after my first book, I was like, Man, I want to, I want to really write this kind of book around change and getting unstuck and all that. And it took me almost two years to write, and I got lucky that a publisher reached out to me while I was writing the book. And it was a really big publisher, so like, things worked out lucky, you know, right? It took a long time to write this book, and I'm definitely super proud of it. It's something that I'm glad I'm done, though I can definitely say I'm very much glad I'm done and I'm out of it, and it's not a stressor anymore.
Scott Benner 3:30
I've written a book. It becomes its own, like little ecosystem, like you get up, it's a
Chris Ruden 3:33
monster. It is a monster. And when you add a tough publisher on top of that, the deadlines and the just the requirements that it took the last four weeks I was putting in 12 to 14 hour days. Yeah, yeah. At some point you're like, Oh, why am I doing this? Yeah. At most of the point, you're like, why am I doing this? I shouldn't be doing you're basically telling yourself all of the things. So when it finally launches, you're like, Oh, my God, this is what mental health feels like.
Scott Benner 3:59
It does feel like such a big deal. You're like, Oh, it's over, and then it's not over, because then you're out talking about it and doing all that, and then
Chris Ruden 4:06
there's so many other things, but I'd much rather be on this end of it. So I'm very happy, but glutton for punishment, you know, like, I'm thinking about, Oh, what's the next book? I'm like, Hey, listen, listen, let's relax for a second. What's this one called? This one's called The Art of changing, course. So it's about getting unstuck and change management. It's part of what I speak on outside of the diabetes and disability space.
Scott Benner 4:25
And so what do you find happens to people? What do they need to get unstuck from most, most often, honestly,
Chris Ruden 4:30
themselves. Most people live in this purgatory of life is not as good as they want it to be, but not bad enough to change so they just kind of cruise in the middle. And that could be applied to diabetes, it could be applied to so many things, but I help people kind of recognize you can't fix what you're not willing to face. So I help people face the things they need to face that they inevitably want to fix, and that happens through radical honesty and accountability and just living by example, being the person you wish you had growing up. All of it kind of relating to my story, but more so. So we all need that encouragement, that push and accountability to actually do the things that we know we need
Scott Benner 5:05
to do. So I was going to say is, like, where does that idea come from? Is it a thing that you learned about yourself or just the thing you intrinsically knew? I
Chris Ruden 5:13
think I was in survival mode for so long with diabetes disability that I had to figure it out the hard way. And I did a lot of things right, but I also did a lot more things wrong. And I felt stuck for a big portion of my life, you know, hiding my disability for so long, I didn't want people to not have a guide to get through that. And I feel like so many people think about where you would be if you didn't actually start the podcast, if you just thought about starting the podcast, if you just thought about being the person you are. Now, so many people get stuck there, and that's where dreams die and aspirations die, but honestly, that's where potential dies, and so many people will get stuck wishing they had something that they could get they just never actually try. Yeah,
Scott Benner 5:55
I often wonder how many people don't realize that the difference between accomplishing something and not accomplishing is just doing it. It's
Chris Ruden 6:02
the unsexy part of life, which is like being willing to mess up and not, I hate even saying fail, but being willing to not get it right the first time or the 10th time or the 100th time, and just having confidence or acceptance in your ability to try. We're so afraid to actually try something that we don't try and change our blood sugar management, we don't try and change our life. We don't try and change anything about ourselves, because we've accepted that who we have been is who we have to be. What I have been doing is what I have to keep doing. And we hold ourselves accountable to become the person we were yesterday. And that keeps so many people stuck doing the same thing over and over, hoping that there's some different result or rainbow at the end of the day. But it's not a new day. It's yesterday repeated.
Scott Benner 6:49
Chris, I find myself worried that I should have asked you to describe your disability a little bit for people if they don't know
Chris Ruden 6:55
you absolutely. So I was born with a physical disability. I have two fingers on my left hand. And I consider myself a limb different, amputee. So I was born with all of the fingers, they just were kind of tangled, and I had to have them amputated a few months after I was born. So my left arm is a little bit shorter. And also, I would hope, obviously, I have type one diabetes, yeah, well, that's
Scott Benner 7:16
how you make it to this podcast, yeah, I would hope, so. That's how everybody gets there. And then they tell their stories, which often have almost everything and nothing to do with diabetes at the same time. So when you talk about handling that wrong in the beginning, like, What do you mean? Like, are you stuck in with your disability? Well, I
Chris Ruden 7:35
think a lot of whether it's disability or diabetes, a glass ceiling gets built, whether by us or in combination of us and society, or what people tell you, you know, if your doctors tell you, Oh, life is going to suck, you trust the doctor, thus you believe life is going to suck. But it doesn't have to be the doctor. It could be friends, it could be media, it could be jokes. There's so many factors that kind of influence how you're going to think about this condition, or for my specific case, my disability, I believed that glass ceiling, so I had to limit myself from ever trying, because if I believed I was a monster, which I did, I believed I was broken, I lived according to that belief. And something I tend to say a lot is feelings are not facts. I'm not saying to discount feelings, but I'm saying to don't misinterpret feelings as facts. If you feel like it's never going to get better, if you feel like you're never going to improve your management, if you feel like things are just always going to be terrible, make sure you make that discernment between I feel this way and I know this thing because you don't know that that's not the truth. It's just a feeling
Scott Benner 8:42
you have an interesting perspective. It occurs to me, because people can hide diabetes pretty well if they if they try, but the thing you're born with, you can't hide that. I mean, you understand that perspective of both something like visible and invisible. But do they feel any different, or are they the same in 2015 I needed support to start making this podcast, and Omnipod was there. They bought my first ad in a year when the entire podcast got as many downloads as it probably got today. Omnipod was there to support the show, and they have been every year for nine seasons. I want to thank them very much, and I want to ask you to check them out at omnipod.com/juicebox, cozy Earth wants to help you to create a sanctuary within your home, a refuge from the demands of the outside world. They understand the significance of finding comfort and tranquility in the midst of your hectave life, and from 5pm till 9pm this time should be for you A Time to Relax, rejuvenate and unwind with cozy earth. You can transform your space into an elevated haven where serenity and renewal intertwine effortlessly, and you can do all of that for 40% off when you use the. Offer code juice box at checkout. Head over and get my waffle towels, my bamboo sheets, and don't miss the women stretch knit long sleeve bamboo pajama set. They also make them for men. Cozy earth.com use the offer code juice box at checkout to save 40% off of your entire order.
Chris Ruden 10:16
So it's so funny that you say that because I was talking to someone. For those of you don't know, I'm a professional speaker. I travel around and speak for a living on top of writing. But I got asked, When did you finally get confident talking about your diabetes? When did you stop letting diabetes hold you back? I had to think, because I was like, I've never let diabetes hold me back. I let my disability hold me back for 20 years, but diabetes, when I got diagnosed at 19, I immediately jumped and said, Oh, I'm gonna be a diabetes advocate. I'm gonna talk about it. I'm gonna shout about it. I'm gonna Oh my everyone's like, Wow, you're so confident. And that was my way of lying to everyone, including myself, because I was so afraid of facing my disability, that another thing came along that wasn't as bad to me mentally. So I was like, Oh, look over here, shiny object syndrome. Don't look at my disability. Look at my diabetes. Look how cool this is. So while it was great to become a disability, I made a diabetes advocate, and I loved that part of my life, and it's still something I do. I think I was just comfortable to focus on diabetes, because it took my focus away from my disability.
Scott Benner 11:24
But if you're standing on stage, Kristen speaking and like and for people who don't know like you and I met at a speaking engagement, right? So yes, but if you're standing on stage, you're standing up there with do we call it a prosthetic arm? What do we how do we describe I
Chris Ruden 11:37
now have a prosthetic arm, but if you recall when we first met, I actually had a glove over my hand, and what I did was I always wore long sleeves so I could cover up until that glove and I hid with the glove for almost 20 years. So I was on stage in front of people, but I was still hiding in plain sight. I became this, like, confident person that people looked up to because of social media or whatever, and then people never asked me about my disability because they just assumed I was confident, or it was the elephant in the room that you just didn't talk about. Does
Scott Benner 12:14
the standing on stage talking about diabetes build your confidence to the point where you think, like, I can expand it to this other thing. Or do you think you were using, not using in the pejorative term, but were you using the diabetes to put your arm out there to get past it? Does that make sense? That's a kind of a subconscious idea. But no, I
Chris Ruden 12:32
think if we went that deep, I would say I was so disassociated from my disability that diabetes felt good to talk about because I saw progress in myself and other people. I still wasn't comfortable viewing myself as a person with a disability, call it internalized ableism, or whatever you want to call it, but I wasn't fully comfortable. But diabetes was the condition and the friendship and the community that I needed or was fortunate to build that allowed me to start getting curious enough to say, how could I be more comfortable showing my disability? How could I be more comfortable, honestly, not even on stage or anything like that. How could I be more comfortable when I pass a mirror that I don't turn to the right so I don't see my own hand? So
Scott Benner 13:18
is it something you've thought about that, is it perhaps like getting type one? This sounds so hokey, but did getting type one save you from the other thing?
Chris Ruden 13:27
And I agree, the the Hokey factor in talking about it this way is like, oh, diabetes was the best thing that ever happened. Diabetes sucks sometimes. Let's be real, you know, like, that's that's just the reality of it. But I think diabetes did position me to make better choices about my quality of life, and one of the things that I learned to live with was the pain of not accepting my disability. And I truly do think that diabetes, or my reaction to diabetes and the community itself, allowed me to start being okay with me as a whole, instead of just me as the diabetes person
Scott Benner 14:00
a physical pain or more mental struggle,
Chris Ruden 14:04
mental struggle, for sure, like I will definitely argue that diabetes is much more difficult on a minute by minute basis, right? None of us asked for it, you know, but the mental struggle that came with the disability and feeling broken and feeling different. I know a lot of people, even in the diabetes space, share that sentiment, whether it's because of pumps or CGM or external hardware or even just lifestyle factors, they feel the same way I felt I could assume with my disability, feeling broken or different or as an outsider, and I understand that. So like that mental health struggle that I had, that a lot of people share, I use that as a way. Like, how can I help people deal with that? Because I know that changed my life for the better once I was finally able to, like, not hide my hand anymore,
Scott Benner 14:50
right? So is there a functional way to talk about getting unstuck? Like, if diabetes is creating a world where you're trapped in mental anguish or you can't see. Yourself, or you turn away from a mirror when you see your pump, or something like that. Like, are there steps to take? Or do you think it's more about just facing it and and living through it? How do you talk about it?
Chris Ruden 15:10
I hate the idea of plugging my book, so I'm just going to give you the stuff that's in the book, like, all out there. Yeah, I do have a step, I guess, step by step strategy, but part of it is like, facing the stuff you you don't want to face, and going deep enough to figure out the root cause or the root analysis, like, I don't want people to see my pump. Okay, why is that? Well, if they see my pump, I'm afraid they're gonna think less of me. I'm like, Okay, why are you afraid of them thinking less of you? Well, if they think less of me, they might not like me, and that might end up with me alone. Okay? So the real issue is not the diabetes, it's your fear of being alone. Yeah. Okay, so that's a completely different issue. We can't solve the problem until we see the problem. You know, I have a process in there, which is, see it, face it, fix it, which you really can't fix what you're not willing to face. You have to face the reality of the struggle, like, what are you truly bothered by? What is the true fear, and is it true? Is it real? Isn't there a chance that you won't be lonely because of your diabetes? Isn't there a chance that people will accept you? Isn't there a chance that everything you've been telling yourself, the story you've been telling yourself, isn't as bad or as horrendous as you've painted it out to be? If there's a chance, let's run with that now. How could we live in a way that might make it a little bit better? How can I start talking to myself a little bit differently? Then it starts to go to internal communication, and then we can go external. But that's really where I start. Okay, I also,
Scott Benner 16:31
by the way, like the idea of, if you're with a person who would abandon you, either emotionally or physically because you have diabetes, then maybe, like, lucky you for finding that out. Look, there's no doubt that staying motivated and eating healthy during the holiday is challenge. A lot of you that listen to the podcast know that my health journey has been interesting over the last couple of years, but one thing that I have not wavered on is drinking, AG, one every morning when I get out of bed, I love being able to get all of my vitamins in one easy drink. It's that simple. It's what's kept me moving the simplicity of drinking, AG, one, it tastes great, and that's a bonus, but the ease of use may be the best part for me. You get up, you mix it in cold water, knock it down, and get on with your day. So whether you want to finish out 2024 strong or start 2025 on a new foot this year is for you try ag one for yourself. It's the perfect time to start a new healthy habit, and that's why I've been partnering with ag one for so long. And ag one is offering new subscribers a free $76 gift. When you sign up, you're getting a welcome kit, a bottle of d3, k2, and five free travel packs with your first box. So make sure to check out drink. AG, one.com/juice box to get this offer that's drink. AG, one.com/juice box to start your new year on a healthier note.
Chris Ruden 17:55
100% agree. 100% agree. If they're willing to abandon you for X, they're definitely willing to abandon you for y, z and everything else. So consider yourself lucky to be distanced from people who should have never been in your life in the first place. I
Scott Benner 18:10
agree. Okay, so Chris, I love talking to you about this stuff, but people should go find your other episodes where we you and I Oh, yeah, we always do
Chris Ruden 18:17
deep dives. And I know like we're only constrained by the amount of time we have in a day, and that's barely a constraint for us, because we could Yap forever. I
Scott Benner 18:25
keep talking. By the way, I've recorded so much today. My I came back upstairs and my wife goes, Are you recording again? I'm like, yeah. She goes, How many times is this? I said, Well, my schedule got messed up. I'm recording three times today. And she goes, aren't you tired? Like, no, I love it. So I love
Chris Ruden 18:39
it, though it's always genuine. That's what I love. Like, you really serve the people that like. People that like listen and you just give you put people in a position to learn instead of forcing education down their throats. So I like, I love that. I appreciate
Scott Benner 18:48
it so. But let's learn about something specific today. So you wear ever since 365 is that? Right? Yes,
Chris Ruden 18:54
and I'm so excited that I'm able to wear that I've worn ever since for years, but the new 365 is insane.
Scott Benner 19:02
Okay, but I want to tell people just because, again, I like to be completely transparent. Like, are you a paid spokesperson? Do you, like, how do you quantify your relationship with a company? So
Chris Ruden 19:11
I am an ambassador, so I get paid to do certain engagements or anything like that. That has been a role I've been a part of for probably three or four years.
Scott Benner 19:20
Okay? I'm gonna be even more clear. Like, are you being like, will you be compensated for this?
Chris Ruden 19:24
I am not directly compensated for this specific episode. Okay, all right, there is no invoice going out for talking to you today.
Scott Benner 19:31
Scott, send this money now, okay, like, wait, I'm
Chris Ruden 19:34
sending an email. I'm like, should I be like?
Scott Benner 19:37
But the idea is, you get amount of financing in the year, and part of it is doing interviews and stuff like that. This is one of them. Is that fair?
Chris Ruden 19:45
Yes, okay, yes, that's fair to say, and that's something that it can only be honest conversation. So I only feel comfortable getting compensated for something I can honestly vouch for. No,
Scott Benner 19:54
and listen, you've been on the show. You're not a Rando like, you know what I mean. So, yeah, to be perfectly honest. That's what I thought was, is I want to get somebody to really tell me about this, and I need somebody that I know will speak about it like right from their perspective. So just tell me you used to use a different CGM, I imagine. Is that right? Yeah, I've
Chris Ruden 20:13
used a ton of, like, traditional CGMS. Okay?
Scott Benner 20:16
How long have you been using an ever since CGM I've been on ever since, roughly four years, four and a half years. Okay, that's a long time. Yes, so you started off with the first product. How is the new product different from the other iterations of it? I guess is my question.
Chris Ruden 20:32
Well, I can say going back, the first ever since that I was ever on, only lasted for three months, and then the most recent one, which was e3 lasted for six months. And that was incredible. To go from, you know, traditional CGM being 10 to 14 days to three months to six months. That was wild. But to be here now with a year only changing my sensor once a year like that's an unimaginable amount of time to not change sensors to me. No, I
Scott Benner 21:00
mean, the longer you can make gaps in between when you're touching your devices, I think the better. And listen, a lot of devices are limited by the fact that they're inserted. You know, like you can't leave your pump on forever. Your pump said, I get all the reasons, but I think the touch points are it's important to eliminate as many of them as possible. And this obviously does that. So I'm going to just take you through the whole thing, right? You probably didn't have it a traditional route, because you You probably didn't have to call your doctor to get it set up. But the idea is, you find a place to get it inserted, either with a with a physician. But I want to start there. You get to that appointment. What is that appointment like?
Chris Ruden 21:35
So when I have my appointment, I have my specific time I go in for my doctor down here usually does it in the morning. On specific days, I go into the room, they create a sterile field, they mark out where they need to take the sensor that's been in previously. You know, my situation is off label, because I have a physical disability in my left arm the way I was born. I have to be off label and I go back in the same arm, but it's on label to switch arms. So anyone who gets the ever since 365 switches arms when they get a new sensor. Yep, for me, they find where the actual sensor is. They lidocaine the area, and they have their old, very specific process on how they do that. He removes the sensor for me, and places the new sensor. And then he uses steri strips, not stitches or anything like that. And then he put tegaderm over the spot, and then I'm good to go. We've got it the process down to less than three minutes for both insertion and removal, and sore
Scott Benner 22:39
for a couple days, just like, a like, but nothing past expectation.
Chris Ruden 22:42
I would say my soreness like, I can't recall a time where I was sore for longer than shortly after the event, because there's lidocaine. You don't really feel anything. Oh, okay, but I'm good to go to work out, whether it's the next day or the day after.
Scott Benner 22:57
That's awesome. So now the sensors in your arm. What do you do? You put on the adhesive. But the adhesive is different than what people are thinking of when they think of medical adhesive.
Chris Ruden 23:08
It's hard to imagine, unless you like really hear this out, we get a new adhesive daily, which is incredible, and we have the choice between clear and white. So it's a silicon based adhesive that is strong enough to hold but easy enough on the skin to not really encourage skin irritation whatsoever. And if you look at the data, you know skin irritations are very minimal compared to acrylic type adhesives that are commonly seen in traditional CGM. For me, I choose either white or clear, and I'm able to put that adhesive on, I get a clean, fresh piece of adhesive every day. So
Scott Benner 23:44
you take one off every day. Do you wait to put the next one on? Or not necessarily, you can just slap it on and keep going.
Chris Ruden 23:50
What do you mean? Do
Scott Benner 23:50
I wait? I mean, like, so today's Wednesday, and I end of the night, you take off the adhesive, or in the morning, whatever you do, do you like, let it air out. Do you like, like, what's the process? Like? No, I
Chris Ruden 24:01
don't. I don't have to, like, let it air out, or anything like that. Usually, I take the adhesive off. I will put the actual transmitter on a charger. It charges for roughly 10 to 15 minutes. I do that while I'm in the shower. I get out of the shower, I slap a new adhesive on, and then I'm good to go. Okay,
Scott Benner 24:15
all right. So there's no feeling of like, I'll need to let this thing breathe for a while, or no, like that. Okay, there's
Chris Ruden 24:20
no even thought, I think that's the crazy part as we're talking about it. I'm like, it's so ingrained, and it's such a simple process to me because I've done it for so long. Even though the 365 is new, the adhesive process is similar. It's so slap and go for me that I'm like, Oh, what do I actually do when I have to break down what I'm doing? I'm starting to get
Scott Benner 24:39
that feeling. It's like, I'm like, go through a step by step, and you're gone. I take it off. And take it off, I put it on, moving again. But
Chris Ruden 24:44
that's the crazy part. Is like, I'm doing diabetes differently. It's so weird that even with 365 now it's such a huge jump for me that I haven't had to think about it. And you know, with diabetes, like, it's really nice to get a break mentally. I get to take naked showers. That's incredible to me.
Scott Benner 25:01
How do you manage you you're using a pump. Are you? MDI,
Chris Ruden 25:04
I am on the world's longest pump break. I think we're going on eight years right now. I'm still considering it a pump break, because I will eventually go back on right now I am on. MDI, okay,
Scott Benner 25:15
and just a regular pen, like, you're not using, like in pen or something like that. It's
Chris Ruden 25:19
no regular, regular injections. And I actually use old school syringes. I just prefer it that way. Oh, okay.
Scott Benner 25:24
Oh, nice. So your vials and needles, yep. Oh, look at you. You are old
Chris Ruden 25:29
school, old school. But then I have, like, the most advanced CGM, and in my experience, you know, so it's really funny when people see the CGM, like, Oh, he's all tech. They see my prosthetic, or I'm like, super tech guy, and then I pull out the syringe and vial. They're like, what?
Scott Benner 25:42
Why do you prefer this syringe?
Chris Ruden 25:44
I just trust it more. I know what I inject goes in. I've had other times with pens in the past that you hold it down to inject, and when I pull out, I see some drops out that affects, like anxiety and mental I'm like, Oh my How much did I not inject? I don't want any extra thought you like the control I get that like, peace of mind with the syringes, personally, awesome. Okay,
Scott Benner 26:06
so the silicon adhesive gets changed once a day. It is the way you explain the transmitter, which I think is about the size of an Omnipod, give or take. Is
Chris Ruden 26:15
that a fair enough I'd have to see like an Omnipod in person again, but I would imagine it's a little bit smaller, but okay, I'm not sure about
Scott Benner 26:22
specification. So the adhesive sticks to you. The transmitter sticks to the adhesive. Yep, yep, okay. And then I learned recently that the sensor under your skin is actually being powered by the transmitter it
Chris Ruden 26:34
is. So that's why the transmitter sits on top of the sensor, and that's how it's able to send data to your phone. It's awesome, isn't it? Like who thought of that? You know what I mean? Past that, the transmitter vibrates. That, to me, is such a huge point, especially because I talk about mental health, there's been so many times with traditional CGMS for me, where I was in the movie theater or on stage even, or in a meeting where I'm getting this incessant beeping. I saw a funny post of a traditional CGM on social media and like, Oh, you think you're going to sleep. Here's the song of my people. And it was just the beeping, you know, like the crazy beeping. Being able to have vibratory patterns that alert me if I'm going high or low, without screaming to everyone that I have diabetes is such a nice way to take back control of how I manage my condition. And I don't always want everyone to know, like, Hey guys, there's a stage five alarm going on right now. Sometimes it's nice to have the option of, like, staying internal. You know, wait, so do you set the levels that it vibrates at? Yes, and I know if it's high or low based on the pattern recognition how many buzzes it does, and there's also predictive high and predictive low. So all those vibratory alerts are relevant to where your blood sugars
Scott Benner 27:48
are. So basically four different vibes, and you know the difference between them, which
Chris Ruden 27:52
is fantastic. You know, it's such a great feeling to have that and not be like, Oh man, I can manage this without anyone knowing, right? That's peace of mind.
Scott Benner 28:02
That's awesome. Now, you're people can go listen, but part of, I guess, your journey through life is that you were a fairly scrawny guy at one point, and you are not that. Now, that's fair to say. That's fair. So you lift a lot of weights. You're active. Is this thing ever in your way? Is it ever a problem? What's your experience using it with your activity. So I've
Chris Ruden 28:21
never had an issue where it like falls off because of sweat or anything like that, personally. But even if I ever did, I could have the adhesives and change the adhesive so it's not an issue. I personally don't have any issues like that. I am a very sweaty person, but luckily, it stays on the entire time for me. So there's no like peeling edges that you often see with, well, at least I did, personally, with traditional CGM, you had it on for so long that that thing was holding on for dear life, because I changed this thing daily. It's really nice that. One, the white adhesive is actually white. It's no longer gray or dirt, you know, yeah. And two, if I want to go clear, I can go clear,
Scott Benner 28:59
and there's nothing once you pull it off, like you don't have to rub off extra that's stuck to you or glue it.
Chris Ruden 29:04
There's no adhesive residue. For me personally, it's just just good to go. Well, in
Scott Benner 29:08
fairness, you are a very sweaty person, which I think we should make into a t shirt. But I
Chris Ruden 29:12
am a very sweaty person, and, like, I think because of, like, having exercise, being a guy who was probably supposed to be 140 pounds, but is 200 pounds, you know that I'm sure adds to it. I'm not the most cardio forward person. You won't see me running a marathon, let alone scurrying to the refrigerator. If
Scott Benner 29:33
you cut a door jamb close and you knock off the transmitter, you'd literally just pick it up and just stick it back. I
Chris Ruden 29:38
just put it back on. Oh, even if I go to an event or something, say I'm working with ever since at the booth, like as a patient ambassador, the amount of times I take off the transmitter and put it back on, oh, is insane with the same adhesive. I think the record was like 21 times, and the adhesive still stayed in my skin. You can see there is no redness. From taking it off 21 times. Can you imagine taking off a traditional CGM 21 times? Do you have to make that face when you pull off the adhesive? The Heritage no face? And I think that's the big tell. The biggest tell is being able to, if you could hear that I just took it off, and I promise you, I made no face. Even if you had the camera on, you would see no face. It's so crazy to me that, like it's gentle enough to not hurt me personally, yeah, but it's strong enough to stay on, Chris, you just took the transmitter off and put it back on while we were talking. Yeah, I can do it three more times right now. And that's, that's the amazing part, is done. Okay? You know, obviously you don't get readings when the transmitter is off, right, right? But if something were to happen, emergency, say, I'm in the airport, I'm running, there's a cute Dotson dog that I just have to pet, and I happen to, like, throw off my transmitter. I throw it back on, and my whole day isn't ruined because I have to search for supplies.
Scott Benner 30:54
Is this a real story about you petting a dog in an airport?
Chris Ruden 30:57
I wouldn't admit. I can neither confirm nor deny, but I will do anything to pet a dog, so that's that. Okay.
Scott Benner 31:03
So now accuracy, I guess I want to know you've worn other stuff. So what are your findings?
Chris Ruden 31:10
So I can only speak from my personal opinion. I think everyone should when they talk about their own diabetes. The reason I could not use traditional CGM, mostly was because of accuracy, or a lack of accuracy, which built a lack of trust and a lot more anxiety. This condition is already super tough, so anything more that's inducing anxiety to me is a no go. I had a lot of big discrepancies that caused trust issues, and I told myself I would never use a CGM again. I lied because someone got me to try this, and when I tried it, I was like, Oh, wow, okay, I actually trust the number. And anytime I checked against my meter, it was very, very accurate, to the point where I built trust again in a CGM, okay, I trust my numbers. I don't second guess my numbers, and I use my app accordingly. If it says that I am good to go to trust my numbers. There's not a second guess there, which I love again. One less thing to worry about with my diabetes management.
Scott Benner 32:10
Okay, yeah, I love that. When you thought at some point I can't wear a CGM before, ever since, was that a sense of loss, like you wanted the data, but you just, you know, I'm saying, like, was your experience so bad at that point that you were just like, I don't care, like, take it away. Or did you
Chris Ruden 32:24
nail nailed it? It went from I want the data to the data is not worth it. The data is not worth the headache that came with it. And it was so upsetting because I saw, I know CGM is good for everyone. If anything, we want access for more CGM to reach more people. I truly believe everyone with diabetes should have some sort of access to a CGM. It's a game changer, CGM in general. You know, seeing so many people do well with CGM, and seeing how it worked for me, it was so frustrating. So it went from I want the data to nope, I'll just do I'll prick my finger 10 times a day, and that's just what life's going to be. And I kind of accepted that. So I guess I did want the data at a certain point, but the problems that I faced overwhelmed the solution that I saw from CGM at the time. Okay, all right,
Scott Benner 33:18
so over four years using this thing. You haven't used the pump in a long time. Is there part of you who's like, I do want to hear about like, because you talked about trust and you're delivering your insulin with syringes. But is there part of you that's like, I want one of these algorithms. Man, everybody's running around with an algorithm. They're not getting low anymore. Like, is that a thing that's in your in your mind? Like, I can't wait for this. Ever since 365 to work with a pump.
Chris Ruden 33:41
You are stealing my words, because I literally cannot wait for it to integrate. That's the only time I'll go back to a pump, is once this does potentially integrate, and I'm very much looking forward to that my philosophy with diabetes management for myself, have the flexibility to try things and change things in order to improve. There are different seasons of my life where I prefer different types of medication or processes, and I am very open to the idea of using a pump again, especially once it integrates with this product.
Scott Benner 34:16
Okay, all right, so you're all in then for the technology. I'm
Chris Ruden 34:21
all in for the technology, not because it's new or different, but because I've built proof and credibility and confidence in using this product. That's why I'm so adamant. Yes, I'm a paid ambassador of this product, but the reason I am a paid ambassador of this product is because I use the product and I trust the product, and I live with the product for X amount
Scott Benner 34:41
of years. Because, have you ever had a sensor fail that had to be replaced early?
Chris Ruden 34:45
No, and that's the insane part. I have never had a sensor retire early, and I've had 14 sensors over the course of four and a half, five years. No, no kidding. Think about that. Think about that with traditional CGM. I couldn't say. I've had a majority of my sensors make the full life of the sensor, you know. So for me, the confidence knowing that it's going to go the full time, at least in my experience, and looking at the data, having a 90% survivability rate, I believe that's it. That's extremely impressive. When you look at traditional CGM,
Scott Benner 35:18
is there something about it that you don't like, because there if I said to you, like, Hey, tell me about your ever since. Like, what's bad about it? Like, is there something that pops to mind?
Chris Ruden 35:27
Not necessarily bad, but big dreams for me, to have no transmitter would be beautiful. You know, to have full pump integration would be incredible. I guess what I truly want is to just continue seeing advancement. I'm extremely happy with the 365 but I know as patients this innovation that continues to happen, I want to see more of it. I want to see my life with nothing, nothing on, you know, completely. And I look forward to a day where we can get there, hopefully. But that's really the issue to me. Okay,
Scott Benner 35:59
outside of your work, right? You bump into another type one. They're like, Hey, what's that? Because I'm sure it's not a thing. They recognize the transmitter. And when you start talking about it, I'm sure you're not selling people. But when they ask, how do you talk about it to them? Because if you ask me about I don't know the algorithm that my daughter uses, for example, I could tell you what I like about it. What do you say about 365 when people ask you about it? So
Chris Ruden 36:26
I, unfortunately, have become a pickleball player, and I think that's just acceptance of my age at this point. I love playing pickleball, and I was playing the other day, someone specifically was talking about diabetes. I was like, Oh, I have type one. And he's like, Oh, do you have one of those? One of those CGM things? I'm like, Oh, I do. Like, oh yeah, my partner, or whatever, has one of them. I can't remember the name. They said the name. I was like, Oh, that's cool. I have this one. It's different. I take the transmitter off, and I saw his face, and I put the transmit on, and instantly he's like, what is that?
Unknown Speaker 37:00
He's like, Tell me more. That's
Chris Ruden 37:01
always my little party trick. It's really not me selling the product. It's me showing my experience, you know, like the reason why I love this being able to take it off and put it back on. God forbid, it tore or something took off. If I take it off 10 times, that's not going to be 10 charges for new sensors. You know, I talk about the vibration because of the mental health component of being able to manage it privately, but most importantly for me is accuracy. At the end of the day, to me, accuracy is the most important feature for me with a CGM, and I've proven time and time again to myself that this has been the most accurate CGM for me.
Scott Benner 37:37
That's awesome. Do you shower with it or sometimes, but not always
Chris Ruden 37:41
sometimes. I mean, a lot of people like to charge the transmitter while they're in the shower, and I try and do that, but there's times where I do shower with it. It's not that it's a problem, but I like to try and create routine. So while I'm in the shower, the goal is to charge the transmitter.
Scott Benner 37:55
I'm gonna ask a more personal question, sexy time. You take it off for sexy time?
Chris Ruden 37:59
I do not, Oh, I do not take it off for a sexy time, because it does hold now, God forbid, let's say a completely hypothetical situation where you know, your transmitter does fall off and ends up on the other person and you both laugh. Of course, completely hypothetical, but you just put it back on and you're good to go. No worries about losing a sensor. You know,
Scott Benner 38:21
that's awesome. What am I not asking you about? Like, I feel like, you know, it's funny. I'm going back to what you said a second ago. Like, part of me is like, this is going to be such a long conversation where Chris explains all this, but now I'm realizing, like, it's not, it's kind of simple.
Chris Ruden 38:33
So, and that same here, I was like, Oh, I'm gonna have to explain it specifics. Like, the science is way above my intellect. You know, when it comes to, like, how it's the inner workings are going, but I think that's the key of this to me. It simplified my life and my diabetes management in the sense of, I don't it's one CGM for one year, and that's, it's really that simple. I want to over complicate it, but I'm very fortunate that this has made my life just a little bit easier when it comes to managing tech that helps me manage my condition. So
Scott Benner 39:05
people know calibration, right? It gets inserted you and calibrate it once a day for the first 13 days. Am I right?
Chris Ruden 39:13
I think 14 days, but 13 or 14? Please confirm? Yeah. I'm not sure on that, but yeah, so with the former ever since e3 it was twice a day for the first 21 days. I believe this one is once a day for the first 14 days, I believe. And then and then it's once a week. Oh, so I think I don't want to get into like, arguments about what's better, what's preferred, but I do want to say this, I always advocate for a CGM that is extremely accurate, and if calibrating increases the accuracy, even at once a week, I'm going to calibrate because you don't want to see IgM. You don't want to continuously inaccurate glucose monitor. No one wants that, you know. So if that calibration hell. Me maintain this level of accuracy that I have never personally seen before in a traditional CGM, I am all for it. And what I found is that so many people of my friends that I personally talk to, they end up checking. They don't call it calibrating. They call it checking to confirm their traditional CGM, okay, and I'm like, that's that's pretty much a calibration. I'm just gonna let you know that's a calibration, but you just don't like the word calibration. I
Scott Benner 40:25
get that. Yeah, no, listen, I I've said it before. I'll say it again. Like, there's times where I'll say to Arden, like, Hey, I think we should just, you know, maybe do a finger stick here and check, yeah,
Chris Ruden 40:32
finger stick, check. We just don't the word calibration is so I think there's, like, a negative connotation around it, which, again, I get because we're making these great strides and accuracy is everything to me. Yeah, no. I
Scott Benner 40:43
mean, you want the you want the information coming back to you to be as good as possible. That's for certain. Do you find that what your CGM tells you matches your a 1c like your is what it's telling you match your expectations of or match your outcomes? I mean,
Chris Ruden 41:00
I will definitely say this. That is a new question that I've got that I will create into a social media post to follow that, because I find that it tracks with when I do check against my meter. But now that I check a lot less, I would love to do a direct comparison of my numbers as it relates to my a, 1c, I can't say that there's a discrepancy off the top of my mind, but I would love to confirm and say for sure that's 100% the
Scott Benner 41:26
case. It's nice to know, because that's fascinating. Yeah. Well, people, that happens. People all the time. They're like, you know, my CGM says my, A, 1c, should be about this. Then I go get it checked. It's either higher or lower. Like, does that mean that the accuracy the CGM is off? Yeah, that's
Chris Ruden 41:38
a great point to make. And, like, that's something I would love to do and kind of track for me. I My a 1c is where I think it needs to be, and my management with ever since is where I think it needs to be. But it's always good to go from, oh, I think we're good to, like, confirmed data doesn't lie.
Scott Benner 41:55
No, no, it's, I mean, it's worth looking at. Okay, how long have you had type one, since 2009
Chris Ruden 42:02
so how many years is that? 14 years, 19 years, then
Scott Benner 42:05
six. Wait, hold on, 2019 2021, 223, like 15 years. Yeah, 15 years.
Chris Ruden 42:12
Wow, I'm getting old.
Scott Benner 42:14
Yeah, overall. Listen, Chris,
Chris Ruden 42:15
don't talk to me about being old. Okay, you haven't aged a bit since you started this podcast, I think that's it's disallowed you from aging.
Scott Benner 42:23
I do get to act silly for a living. I do think it keeps me young a little bit Absolutely. Yeah. Also, I tell anybody that'll listen, my hair stays dark. I feel good, so it's a cheat code, having dark hair. Wow. How long ago do you think we met that 2017 maybe 2018 you would freak out if you saw me now. Yeah, yeah. I started using a GLP, like, 18 months ago, and I probably, wow, I probably weigh like 55 pounds less than the last time you saw what?
Chris Ruden 42:48
Yeah, that's so insane. Yeah, that's great. That's on that. That's
Scott Benner 42:51
huge. Thank you. No, it's awesome. Actually, this morning, I was at my lowest weight since I started doing this. That's amazing. Then now I can't wait to bump into you somewhere, because you're gonna, you'll be like, Whoa. What? Just wait. It's probably
Chris Ruden 43:02
take my transmitter off for you. And you're like, I already know that trick. I'm like, oh my god, Scott,
Scott Benner 43:09
you show me your transmitter trick. I'll show you the incredible disappearing Scott trick.
Chris Ruden 43:13
That's beautiful. I'm here for it.
Scott Benner 43:15
I appreciate, I feel, I feel good. Do you know any people using glps Now with type one off label? I know
Chris Ruden 43:20
a few of them, and they've all been really happy. I had a former client, you know, I used to do personal training. I worked with her for so long, and she just really struggled with her weight, even when controlled diet. And we tried so much, and she came back, and she's like, I finally figured it out, she dropped like, 90 pounds, yeah, and it gave her, like, a whole new lease on life, which kind of changed my personal opinion on all of that. And I'm I saw what it did for her in her life, and I was like, wow, I think there's a case for for a lot of stuff that is outside of our comfort zone, and we should be more curious to learn. That's all I should say, is like, we should be more curious to learn, instead of certain that things will or will not work. I
Scott Benner 44:00
have a couple of episodes with people whose insulin needs have dropped so significantly, it's startling,
Chris Ruden 44:05
and see that that stuff is fascinating. And I again, not to bring it back to my book, but I do talk about one of the big steps to actually changing is to go from certainty to curiosity. So many people are certain that the way they live their life is going to be forever. Instead of being more curious as to, like, how might I go about this differently, even for you having the curiosity to try something it's worked out well for you and something you're proud of. So I think curiosity goes a long way. And curiosity is what led me to try ever since, and now to be on ever since 365 so I think just in general, I love to give people advice of, be curious enough to ask, like, how might I do this a little bit differently? How could this potentially help me in the future?
Scott Benner 44:46
Listen, I've been this year specifically I said I'm gonna, I'm gonna let more people, like, not let people come on, but I'm gonna look for people who are using glps off label, right, like, and let them come tell their stories. And as I started doing that, I thought. I'm gonna take it from some people for this, you know what? I mean? Like, it's gonna, it's gonna start with the like, that's not for people with type one. It's for, you know, oh yeah, I already know, like, how it's gonna go online and everything. I had somebody tell me I'm a shill for Big GLP. I'm like, okay, oh yeah, you know, like, like, the whole thing. But then I end up with a 15 I talked to a mom of a 15 year old girl who's had type one diabetes at the time for like, three or more years. She's using all the insulin, and now she's off her pump and only using her basal. Like crazy, Isn't that insane? Yeah. And by the way, it'll go back eventually, like she it didn't cure. Like, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that like she's in the middle of some slow, probably lot of progression, and this medication helped her. I talked to a 50 year old guy who's off insulin for a while, like, has got antibodies, is type one, like, that whole thing, and he knows he's like, one day it's gonna come get me, you know, he's like, but for now, is this awesome? And I'm like, I'm gonna let people tell those stories. And as soon as you do that, as soon as you're curious, you hear from people about like, this is going to cause confusion, and people are going to think they don't need I'm like, no one's going to think they don't need insulin, because we say 1000 times while we're talking to them that, you know, like, right? Like, don't be scared of learning about new things is basically
Chris Ruden 46:13
learning about something does not mean you have to do it by me talking about ever since 365 it's not like someone's knocking at your door to insert it right now, like it's not the case. It's it's more so, like, knowledge doesn't hurt, if anything, it only helps you. And maybe it's not for you, but maybe it's for someone you know, like that, we have to be more curious as to like, what are all of the options on this table of diabetes that none of us asked for in the first place, right? I think we owe it to ourselves to we owe it to patients and providers and everyone to see the world or the world of options without bias. Yeah, you know, just give things a chance to understand them, even if you don't agree with them. Understanding is not commitment to a way of life. It's just understanding. I've
Scott Benner 47:00
had to tell people more than once, like, it's a podcast, I'm not actually knocking them over and making them do it right? It's not
Chris Ruden 47:05
like you were literally giving people this medication. You're talking about your personal experience. Same with me, my personal experience. Yeah, at the end of the day, part of the internet just wants to see the world burn sometimes, and I get that you're whatever reason you're doing okay, but if you're around long enough on social which I know you have been to, everyone will say everything about what you do. Everyone has an opinion. You know, there's people who think my mental health advice is is bad or stupid or dumb or doesn't really help, and there's people who love it, and there's people on all parts of the spectrum who will support or not support you, yeah, but at the end of the day, if your intention is to genuinely help people, focus on the people you're genuinely helping, and don't focus on the people trying to bring you down for no reason. Yeah, don't listen.
Scott Benner 47:45
I'm not for everybody. I completely understand that that's okay. Yeah, it's not just okay. It's necessary. Because if I try to make myself for everybody, then I use an old phrase, but then I'm milk toast and I'm soggy and bland and nobody, nobody cares,
Chris Ruden 47:57
right, right? So, and you are most certainly not milk toast.
Scott Benner 48:01
So I do my thing, right? And then, you know, like I said, I recorded 1000 times today. So earlier today, I recorded with a 30 year old woman who's had type one diabetes for about four years. She's just almost described having a baby with type one as not tough. And why? Because I listen to the podcast, and she talked about how she got through her depression and how because she found community. How did she find community? First of all, her doctor, lovely enough, paired her up with a person, which I thought was awesome. I love that we need more of that. Her therapist basically gave her a type one buddy. I was like, that's awesome. I love that. And then she said she found the podcast, and now she listens to those interviews, and she finds her community by listening to the people on the podcast. And not eight seconds later, I was online and someone said I just had to unfollow your podcast. I had enough of you, and I went, Okay, fair enough. I got one on that hand and one on that hand. I'm like, okay, yeah, it's good. Like, so I just said to the guy, I'm like, I appreciate the feedback. Everything's not for everybody, you know, but I can sit back later and I can think, well, that 30 year old girl and her healthy baby and like I did that, you know what I mean? To some degree, like she did all the don't get me wrong. She did all the hard work. She understood things, she put them into practice. I made my experiences available. Some people picked it up and did something with it. Some people didn't. I'm having you here today for the same reason. Ever since is a sponsor the podcast, right? They're not sponsoring this episode, but they sponsor the podcast. And, fair enough, I'm an advertiser. And for them, the more I learned about this thing, the more I was, like, this is not a thing. People are going to intrinsically try to find out more about, like, the idea of inserting it's going to make a lot of people go, Ah, no, thanks. And then, like, then they're never even going to hear the rest of it. So, like, we got to have a couple of these conversations. I want people to know about this,
Chris Ruden 49:43
and I think that's the big thing, is there's always going to be resistance when there is something that is different, right? Because we, and I, again my book, not to bring it up again, but we align ourselves with familiarity, and familiarity is the comfort that we kind. Attached to so I had to get a little bit unfamiliar when I got my first, you know, insertion, or placement of the sensor. Years and years ago, I heard that it was like a placement and an insertion. I'm like, Oh no, no, no. And I was like, wait a minute, that's my knee jerk reaction. Let me learn more of it. Because truly, education pretty much ruins fear. Fear is based out of lack of education. For most, you know, parts, especially with things like this, once I understood, I was like, oh, oh, it's that small. Oh, it's there's no like, recovery. I'm not like, out, I'm not going to the emergency room. I'm not they're not using a chainsaw. Like, Oh, okay. I'm a little bit more open to this. We are always going to be against what we don't understand. And this happens throughout history, you know, radio said TV was never going to work, because no one's going to sit down in their home for hours a day and stare at a square radio was like, No way that'll ever happen. And you can trace that kind of logic back eons, decades, centuries, because people are always against what they're not familiar with, until it gets more widespread and then people like, oh, yeah, that's a great idea, right? That's what I truly feel like this is something similar. So being open to new technologies or strategies, even if it's not for you, being open to the idea that it might be for someone you care about, would you remove access to something that might be for someone you care about? Absolutely not that goes for doctors, people, patients, and everything in between. Yeah, no. I mean,
Scott Benner 51:23
you just said what I was thinking, really, if the 365 is not for you, then whatever. Right on, but at least you know about it, like, you know, like, if you're a person who doesn't get adhesive, and I listen to Scott, I've never had a compression level, I don't know what you're talking about, then right on. Like, I get not switching, but I don't get not knowing about it. That is
Chris Ruden 51:40
right there, right there. You get not switching, but you don't get not knowing. You wouldn't want someone to get on something that is not for them and just and on the other side of that coin, you wouldn't want someone to be denied information of something that would change their life, or could change their life, you know. So the more information the better. The more quality information, the better in this world that we're in. For me, I love this product. I love what it does for my management lifestyle, and I'm very proud to talk about it. And when people undoubtedly say things that they don't like about the product for the way they manage their condition, I have to gently but assertively remind them, just because it might not work for you right now doesn't mean it doesn't work for me. Yeah, no, I'm
Scott Benner 52:24
with you, man. So I hope people go look into it. I hope listen, I hope they go look into everything, and then they come out with the thing that works best for them. Absolutely, 100% I don't want you to, I say this the same way every time, and I feel stupid for repeating myself. But I don't want you to wake up one day and look back and go, wait. How's everyone doing this now, like, I didn't hear about that. I don't know about this and and to find out later that maybe your health could have been maybe your physical health, maybe your mental health could have been easier, happier, etc, if you would have just, like, known about a thing. Like, so I'm out there, like, trying to ring the bell. I hope more companies come on and talk about more stuff. And I want everybody to, like, you know, share their thing, so everybody can find what works for them best.
Chris Ruden 53:02
I really respect that, because it's really the an anti dogmatic approach to life. It's allowing the correct information to be on the table so that people can make informed decisions, not decisions based on stigma or ignorance or fear, but informed decisions you don't know what you don't know, but it's worth trying to figure out and expand your familiarity so you can make the best decisions for you and your family. Yeah,
Scott Benner 53:28
I'll have to say you and I, our conversations sometimes drift off to like, behind the scenes content creation stuff, but I'll do that here for a second. Like one of the loveliest things somebody online said to me one time was like, Look at Scott. He's taking an ad from a company and their competitor, like Way to go, and I think he meant it flippantly, but what I took from that was I was able to build a thing that's large enough that I can bring you all the options, not just the one that got to me first. Yes, I am really proud of that, because I also work with a lot of great people who understand that? Like, that's it. Like, the podcast is big enough, like, you might have your ad on here, but it's going to be on here with somebody else who's selling a similar product as you. And at least everybody gets to hear it. They get to hear it for free, and then they can go decide. But it took a lot of effort to get big enough to be able to do that, I guess is what I'm saying. Like, so I'm almost, like, oddly, it's going to sound bizarre to people who are not in this space, but I'm proud of myself that you'll hear an ad for different pumps, or you'll hear an ad for different CGM or something like that, because in the end, I just, I really genuinely want you to do the best that's for you. And this is very likely could be the best for some people, and they might never find out about it, because, you know, things they've heard that make it sound scary, when maybe it just isn't. I think
Chris Ruden 54:43
anytime people hear monetization or people getting paid for something, they immediately think, like you're the devil, like you're a terrible person for taking money for something, but then everyone takes money for the job that they do. Really weird dichotomy there. But yeah, I think understanding the level. Of emotional intelligence it takes to be able to talk about products that you don't personally use because you understand it could help people who want to or might want to personally use them that can be very difficult to go past your I don't want to say beliefs, but like, what aligns with your current management strategies, and to talk about other products in in a curious and inquisitive way. I think that deserve, that deserves a lot of respect, and that's past just you and your podcast right here it goes to like, how you the person listening to this podcast? Think about life, if you are curious again or inquisitive enough to say, this is how I do things. But how do you do things? That's how we create more community and honestly, humanity, when we stop saying, My way is the way, and that's the problem. I think that's why so many people fight online and in person, they go from like, your way is not my way, because my way is the way, and you don't understand that your way is not the way. It's just a way, right? It's so hard to pull back from that. You know, I
Scott Benner 56:07
always say in the argument between us and them, everybody thinks they're us.
Chris Ruden 56:11
That's very good point. And there's a funny image where two people are on the other sides of six and nine, and they're like, six, no nine, no six, no nine. It's like, perspective really does change everything, and if you're willing to walk around a little bit and see it from a different vantage point, at least you could understand or have the humanity to hear people out, right? And I find so many people when I talk about a product, like, ever since 365 who've like, Yeah, but it doesn't do this. And I'm like, that's one, that's not what I'm talking about too. Okay, right? Yeah, okay, like I don't, I don't know if you want me to argue. I'm showing you what I like about the product I choose to you for my diabetes management. Yeah, this surprisingly was not about you. Surprisingly, I know, I know it is your world and we just live in it. But maybe I'm talking about my management. You know, I'm not
Scott Benner 57:04
gonna cry. But if people think it was easy to like, do the thing that I just said, which is, like, talk to companies selling similar things, it was very scary for me. Oh,
Chris Ruden 57:13
for sure. I can't even imagine, because you're like, Are people gonna think this way of me? Like, these are two different companies. Like, Oh, they're competing. But at the end of the day, your goal is not to service one company, but rather service one people, which is people with diabetes. So at all costs, I'm not doing
Scott Benner 57:31
anything different than anybody else is doing. I'm trying to pay my bills and save some money so I can retire, and
Chris Ruden 57:36
in the meantime, you're actually giving great value. So like, if that means opening up true perspectives, that's a lack of bias. I think everyone should see all of the facts before they make a decision. And that's why people get stuck, is because they make decisions based on a limited degree of facts or feelings. So
Scott Benner 57:54
anyway, go use whatever CGM you want, but you should look at this, because that's it. That's interesting.
Chris Ruden 57:58
Find what works for you. But I promise you, for me, I love the benefits that I've experienced with ever since 365
Scott Benner 58:05
Yeah, that's awesome, man. And tell me again, how many sensors have you worn?
Chris Ruden 58:08
Like, 14 total?
Scott Benner 58:09
Wow. And now you're once a year. Now
Chris Ruden 58:11
I'm once a year, which is wild. My doctor probably misses me greatly, but
Scott Benner 58:15
that's okay, well, but now it takes you from, I mean, it took you four years to wear 14 or about right now, it's going to take you 14 years to wear the next 14.
Chris Ruden 58:23
That's insane. I never did the math, yeah, but that is pretty wild. And I think it's going to be kind of like a shock to get that notification. Like, oh, new sensor. I'm like, a year has passed already. Like, yeah, how much really happens in a year? You know,
Scott Benner 58:37
Crystal, feel his mortality through his ever since. Reminder gonna be awful. It's like my diabetes birthday. That's
Chris Ruden 58:42
what it's gonna be. It's awesome, man, I
Scott Benner 58:44
appreciate you doing this with me, and thanks for taking the time, of course. Man, I
Chris Ruden 58:48
appreciate the talks always. Yeah, I'll
Scott Benner 58:49
see you again. Hold on, Chris, thanks, man.
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Are you starting to see patterns, but you can't quite make sense of them. You're like, Oh, if I Bolus here, this happens, but I don't know what to do. Should I put in a little less, a little more? If you're starting to have those thoughts, if you're starting to think this isn't going the way the doctor said it would, I think I see something here, but I. Can't be sure, once you're having those thoughts, you're ready for the diabetes Pro Tip series from the Juicebox podcast. It begins at Episode 1000 you can also find it at Juicebox podcast.com up in the menu, and you can find a list in the private Facebook group. Just check right under the featured tab at the top, it'll show you lists of a ton of stuff, including the Pro Tip series, which runs from episode 1000 to 1025 thank you so much for listening. I'll be back soon with another episode of The Juicebox podcast. You.
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