#1482 I Be Only One
You can always listen to the Juicebox Podcast here but the cool kids use: Apple Podcasts/iOS - Spotify - Amazon Music - Google Play/Android - iHeart Radio - Radio Public, Amazon Alexa or wherever they get audio.
Despite a rocky start, she quickly taught herself and is thriving as a sign language interpreter—we even explored adding sign language to the podcast.
+ Click for EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
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 back to another episode of The Juicebox Podcast.
This is Michael as she was diagnosed at 22 years old. She's 24 now. She had a bit of a rocky diagnosis, but came along pretty quickly, taught herself a bunch is doing great. She is a sign language interpreter. We talked about her maybe doing sign language for the podcast, which is awesome. This is her story. I hope you enjoy it. 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. 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 AG, one is offering my listeners a free $76 gift. When you sign up, you'll get a welcome kit, a bottle of d3, k2, and five free travel packs in your first box. So make sure you check out drink, AG, one.com/juice, box to get this offer. Are you an adult living with type one or the caregiver of someone who is and a US resident? If you are, I'd love it if you would go to T 1d exchange.org/juicebox and take the survey. When you complete that survey, your answers are used to move type one diabetes research of all kinds. So if you'd like to help with type one research, but don't have time to go to a doctor or an investigation and you want to do something right there from your sofa. This is the way t 1d exchange.org/juice box. It should not take you more than about 10 minutes. This episode of the juice box podcast is sponsored by Medtronic diabetes and their mini med 780 G system designed to help ease the burden of diabetes management. Imagine fewer worries about mis Bolus is or miscalculated carbs thanks to meal detection technology and automatic correction doses, learn more and get started today at Medtronic diabetes.com/juice box. I'm having an on body vibe alert. This episode of the juice box podcast is sponsored by ever since 365 the only one year where CGM, that's one insertion and one CGM a year, one CGM one year, not every 10 or 14 days ever since cgm.com/juicebox
Michaela 2:38
Hello. My name is Michaela, and I was diagnosed with type one diabetes just two years ago, actually, and you're how old now I'm 2424
Scott Benner 2:44
Okay, how did you figure out you had type one it
Speaker 1 2:48
was a six month process of me ignoring all of the symptoms, but it was April of 2022 that I got COVID, And it was not any real severe COVID symptoms. But what happened for me? It was just a extremely high fever for multiple days, like, I think it was about 104 and I could barely get it to go under 101 for three days. So that happened, and then I, you know, was fine, and I carried on with my life. I graduated in May of 22 and I thought life was grand. But in that process, I was slowly losing weight, and it was a slow process at first, but it, I noticed it. I just thought it was because I was being careful. I was like, trying to work out I'm graduating soon. I wanted to look nice for graduation, and I always worked out anyway. I always tried to eat healthy, but I was just being a little bit more cautious. And so I thought, oh, that's what's doing it. And then summer came around, and I'm a surfer, so I surf a ton, and I was surfing a lot and losing more weight, drinking a lot of water, but I thought, Oh, I drink more water, I lose weight. And I, you know, I'm surfing a lot, so I'm losing weight. Kind of fast forward, I wound up going to the doctor, not because I was losing weight, not because of all the other symptoms I had, but because I wound up with oral thrush, which is something that babies get, but it's like that infection in your mouth, where it like causes a bunch of sores and everything. You're not
Scott Benner 4:09
the first person to mention that before being diagnosed, by the way, yeah,
Speaker 1 4:13
I think I've heard a few people mention it on here, but that's what actually got me to go to the doctor and was like, Hey, I'm concerned about my mouth and nothing else, because
Scott Benner 4:21
it was my mouth painful and unpleasant. You're like, well, this I'm not living with right? Yeah. And
Speaker 1 4:26
I was, I was just like, I don't know what's going on. At first. I was like, mouth cancer. How would I get that? Like, I'm so confused. So like, not what it was.
Scott Benner 4:34
My elbow hurts for two days, and I'll go to my wife. I'm like, I definitely have cancer in my elbow. And she's like, I don't think that's a thing that happens to people. And I was like, All right, well, my old Well, my elbow hurts for sure. Yeah, right. So you go to what kind of a doctor? Well,
Speaker 1 4:46
my primary care is always busy, and I don't love my primary care doctor. I've just kind of kept her because I don't have to see her that much.
Scott Benner 4:54
I would love it if she could know that that's like, it just must be so, like, crushing to hear something like that. But. Anyway,
Speaker 1 5:00
I think I've seen her once or twice since I became non pediatric, so I was every other time it's like, sometimes she's great, and then other times I'm like, I don't I didn't really get much this day, so I
Scott Benner 5:11
gotta stop you. You and I are gonna get along so well. You just said non pediatric for being an adult. That was the one you're like, Oh. You're like, when I became non pediatric and I was, like, an adult, yeah, that's awesome, yeah. So you've got this woman in your back pocket in case something goes desperately wrong, yes. And what
Speaker 1 5:33
else, I guess I should preface though, whenever I see the doctor, I do have hypothyroidism that I was born with, I go to see my endo a lot, so anytime I need lab work, it's her. So that's why I don't see my primary care that often. Oh, Michaela,
Scott Benner 5:44
we're gonna pivot for a second. Okay. How did they figure out a newborn has hypothyroidism?
Speaker 1 5:49
They just ran a bunch of blood work, and at five days old, they found out. Well, I don't I think that's it might have been earlier than that, but basically, from the time I was born, they said, Yeah, her thyroid is not working right? It was under developed in your womb, and so it's just small, and it's not going to provide all that she needs. So here's medication. She'll take it every day. And so I was on thyroid medication since I was five days
Scott Benner 6:10
old. No kidding, yeah. Have you ever had it checked? Like, is it Hashimotos, or is it just hypothyroidism, or is it like something different?
Speaker 1 6:18
I've never had it checked. I believe it's not Hashimotos unless that appeared, but I don't know that. I would know because I already have hypothyroidism, so I don't think I'd really tell a difference. I've never had it checked, though. I did get my thyroid ultrasound done not too long ago, and they just said, yeah, it's all there. It's just really small. It just doesn't it's not big enough to produce enough of the hormone. So I this
Scott Benner 6:40
is going to be, I hope this is important to people, but I think I feel like I need to know this. So like, if you are born, hold on a second, I'm going to ask our friend, you know what I mean? Oh yes, if you are born with an undersized thyroid, what is that called? So that gives you congenital hypothyroidism, or thyroid hypopalocy refers to an undeveloped, small thyroid gland. Okay, could this person later get Hashimotos? Because I don't see why you couldn't be born with because, yeah, because, right. It says, Yes, someone with undersized thyroid or congenital hypothyroidism could later develop Hashimoto thyroiditis. I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm so excited by stuff like this, but I guess I'm the right person to make this podcast. It's interesting, because if you were born with a congenital issue and developed 22 years later an autoimmune issue, would it matter if you contract Hashi motors, or would you never even know? I feel like
Speaker 1 7:46
I would never know my thyroid. I feel like it's constantly changing anyway, really as yeah, as I got older, it kind of slowed down. But I do tend to change my medication probably every two years. Sometimes amounts
Scott Benner 7:58
you go up, yeah, and do you take just t4 do you take t4 t3 I
Speaker 1 8:03
just do t4 I did try t3 right after I got COVID, and I thought it was giving me blurred vision, so I stopped it. And I think that was the diabetes, but I haven't gone back since.
Scott Benner 8:15
Do you feel like you're not making teeth? You take the t4 but it needs to get translated to t3 some people like that process doesn't work as well for them. But like, what made you try the t3 were you like, overly tired? Couldn't get rested, but your TSH was good. When you think of a CGM and all the good that it brings in your life is the first thing you think about. I love that I have to change it all the time. I love the warm up period every time I have to change it. I love that when I bump into a door frame, sometimes it gets ripped off. I love that the adhesive kind of gets mushy sometimes when I sweat and falls off. No, these are not the things that you love about a CGM. Today's episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the ever since 365 the only CGM that you only have to put on once a year. And the only CGM that won't give you any of those problems, the Eversense 365 is the only one year CGM designed to minimize the vice frustration. It has exceptional accuracy for one year with almost no false alarms from compression lows while you're sleeping, you can manage your diabetes instead of your CGM with the ever since 365 learn more and get started today at Eversense cgm.com/juicebox, one year one CGM. Today's episode is sponsored by Medtronic diabetes, who is making life with diabetes easier with the mini med 780 G system, the mini Med, 780 G automated insulin delivery system, anticipates, adjusts and corrects every five minutes. Real world results show people achieving up to 80% time and range with recommended settings, without increasing lows. But of course, Individual results may vary the C. 780 G works around the clock so you can focus on what matters. Have you heard about Medtronic extended infusion set? It's the first and only infusion set labeled for up to a seven day wear. This feature is repeatedly asked for, and Medtronic has delivered. 97% of people using the 780 G reported that they could manage their diabetes without major disruptions of sleep, they felt more free to eat what they wanted, and they felt less stress with fewer alarms and alerts you can't beat that. Learn more about how you can spend less time and effort managing your diabetes by visiting Medtronic diabetes.com/juicebox
Speaker 1 10:39
Yes, yes. And my t3 was a little bit lower, not too low, but lower. And ever since I was a kid, my mom always she was like her t3 is off. She's not right. She needs a higher dosage to fix her t3 and as a kid, I never did t3 and t4 but she knew that the level of t3 was what affected my mood, my personality and everything. And so she would get my endocrinologist at that time to raise my level just a little bit, or my dosage a little bit so that it would raise my t3 and that worked just fine. I never had to take a supplement. But when I got to be older, that wouldn't work. And my endo was like, I can't raise it anymore, or you'll be too high. So let's try a t3 supplement instead. But I wound up feeling like I had blurred vision. And so I said, Is this a symptom of this medication? Should I stop? She goes, Yes, just stop it. Tell me how you feel. If we need to readjust, we'll figure it out. And I felt fine, and my blue, my blurred vision went away. So I thought that was what it was, but I'm assuming it probably wasn't. So you
Scott Benner 11:36
have cytome in the house, and you're thinking, maybe I'll try it again or no, I've thought
Speaker 1 11:43
about it, I just haven't really noticed anything that I'm like, needing it for right now. Wouldn't
Scott Benner 11:49
then, like, you're not losing hair, you're not super tired, even though you sleep stuff like that, right? Oh, cool. Then maybe you're good, yeah? Awesome, awesome. Okay, I appreciate you taking that left turn with me, yeah. So we've got thrush and we're going to the doctor, so let's go back to that.
Speaker 1 12:05
Yeah. So I went to the doctor in November. So it took me from April to November to do something about any of my symptoms. I wound up getting lab work. At the beginning of November, got my lab work back, and he ran a full panel because I had told him, like, you know, I've also been losing a lot of weight, like, I think it's just because I'm drinking more water, but can we check my thyroid and anything else that you think needs to be checked? Oh, backtrack a little bit when I said that I didn't see my primary care doctor. I just called my insurance and said, Can you just get me in with any doctor that's available? Tomorrow,
Scott Benner 12:38
I'll take anyone available. Hey, can I ask you a question? How many people have you seen lose weight just drinking water?
Speaker 1 12:44
Not many. I'm going to be honest, I just liked being able to eat whatever I want, stay skinny and lose weight, and I was living my best life. I honestly didn't think I felt that bad, and I was honestly that put my mood so high that I ignored everything else and thought life was grand. How much did you lose? About 30 pounds on how tall 520 my
Scott Benner 13:06
gosh. You must have been like, This is it. I'm finally going to be a runway model.
Speaker 1 13:10
I was to the point where I was like, this is getting a little concerning. Oh, at the end, at the end, because I had people telling me that they think that I'm looking a little too thin. And I was like, I can't do anything about it. Like, this is just how my body is.
Scott Benner 13:24
Now. I'm just a thin person, and you're jealous. And
Speaker 1 13:28
they were very kind about it. It was like, loved ones and family. But I was like, I don't know what to say. And I've always been a pretty muscular person, especially in my arms, I tend to gain muscle really easily, and I lost all my muscle everywhere. And I thought that was also normal, because that comes with weight loss, obviously,
Scott Benner 13:44
wow. And you're young too, and you know what I mean? Like, not that young people don't understand you actually sound incredibly mature for 24 I don't know if you know that or not. People tell you that I think. No, no, mature. Like, thoughtful, oh, okay, not like you're gonna make tea and sit around and watch the programs with me or anything like that. But do you find yourself to be that way? Yeah,
Speaker 1 14:03
I do. I do tend to find myself gravitating towards more like mature relationships, too.
Scott Benner 14:08
Yeah. No, I hear it in your voice. I don't know how that's the thing I can hear in your voice, but I think I do. You go to the DR du jour and they run a bunch of labs and tell me where that goes from there.
Speaker 1 14:20
So the lab work comes back, and they run a full panel. And so, like, everything was just like, high through the roof, looking bad, like I was ill, dying, etc. And so I was more concerned about my cholesterol and triglycerides, because they were, like, ridiculously high. And I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm gonna have a heart attack. I'm gonna die. Like, I was like, I was like, What is wrong with me? I was like, I'm so thin now. Like, how could anything be wrong? That's I just equated thinness to the health. And so I did see the A, 1c, and I knew it was high, but I was like, oh, 17.4 I don't know what that means. I'm sure it's not that bad. I'll just cut back on the sugar. Like I had no idea. What that meant. So I was more concerned about the cholesterol, and because I had him test my thyroid, my endocrinologist, who she doesn't specialize in diabetes, really, she has, she worked someone who does. She's a nurse practitioner, and I don't know how to really relate that, but she's knowledgeable to the extent she has to be about diabetes, but not in this in to the extent where she like takes on diabetic patients to manage their diabetes. And so she was looking at my my lab results, to look at my thyroid. And she said, your thyroid looks good, but all of your other lab work is concerning. Let's redo it. And so I said, Okay, I did notice that my thyroid was a little bit lower, like it was not on the low end, but it was a little bit lower than what I wanted. And she said, I asked her, Can this cause all of my other work to be this high, like, Can my thyroid being low cause this to mess up the rest of my lab work? She goes, yes, but not to that extent. So we redid it, and like, two days later, it was a 16.9 so not much had changed, although I was surprised. It went down that much in two days, and then I wound up not knowing what that meant. When I got the lab work back, I got a call from my insurance saying, Hi, your insulin is ready for pickup.
Scott Benner 16:05
Got the wrong person. I'm Michael, 22 years old, by the way, I don't watch programs and I don't need insulin. Did you hang up on them? Or do I mean, how does that? That's a weird call to get. No, yeah.
Speaker 1 16:17
Well, I because I saw my lab work, I knew what it was, and I the doctor, Google told me this wasn't good, but I didn't know exactly what it meant. And I pretty much knew from what I read that it was going to be type one diabetes, but I really didn't know for sure, and I was holding on to every hope I had that it wasn't, yeah,
Scott Benner 16:34
you're like, this might be from surfing. I'm just gonna wait. Yeah, who knows? I'm gonna take a little side note here. So high cholesterol, high triglycerides, in undiagnosed diabetes, is primarily due to metabolic disturbances caused by insulin resistance or insulin deficiency. I could tell you more about it, but, I mean, I think people would generally be bored. There's roles in like lipid metabolism that lead to these all different kinds of issues, but it's actually like a known thing that has a name. It's often referred to as diabetic dyslipidemia. I think I got that right. It's a hallmark, it says, of increased blood sugars out of control. Like, let me, let me read the breakdown here for you at the end, lipid abnormalities can occur if the condition is undiagnosed or not well controlled. So if you can see this with undiagnosed diabetes or diabetes, that's just, you know, not getting the insulin that it needs. Interesting, I brought that up and kind of stretched it out, because I don't know that anybody's ever said that before, and I thought it was worth making the point here. Yeah,
Speaker 1 17:35
I definitely assume I got my lab work done after that, and everything went back to normal. So I was like, Oh, that was definitely the uncontrolled diabetes, but, but
Scott Benner 17:42
isn't it interesting, though? Like, because what it's making me think is, if I'm a person with type one who has, you know, some of these lab values, you know, they're just going to medicate it, right? Like, they're not going to say to you, like, hey, what if we worked on, you know, giving you a lower, more stable, a 1c and less variability. Like, they're just gonna say, Oh, you've got cholesterol. Let's take cholesterol medicine. If you have, you know, triglycerides, let's do this. No, it's that's worth people hearing. I think. Okay, so the insulin ferries on the phone. Then what happens?
Speaker 1 18:12
I say, I'm sorry. What? I was very confused, and I was at work, so I had just stepped out of the office to take the phone call, because I knew I was expecting something about my lab work, and so when this random lady who I've never spoken with told me the insulin was ready for pickup, I said, who prescribed that? She gave me a doctor's name I've never heard of. I said, Who's that? She goes, Oh, they're taking over for your primary care while they're on vacation. I said, I've never met with this doctor, though. How do they know what insulin I need? I didn't even know I needed insulin. I said, nobody ever told me anything. And she goes, Oh, you not met this doctor? I said, No. She goes, Oh, then don't pick it up. Definitely wait and we'll schedule you an appointment with a nurse practitioner who will give you the insulin instead. And I was like, Well, okay, when can I get that scheduled? Yeah, right. Mind you, this is November 22 she goes. Our first availability is December 16,
Scott Benner 19:02
but your a 1c 16 ish, it's 17.4
Speaker 1 19:05
or 16.9 depending on which lab work you refer to.
Scott Benner 19:09
Any chance this doctor's name was Dr Bombay, no, no, it was a
Unknown Speaker 19:13
receptionist who had called me,
Scott Benner 19:14
Michaela. That's a joke you're never gonna get but older people right now are cracking up, just so you know.
Speaker 1 19:19
Oh, okay, yeah, that went way over my oh no, it went over
Scott Benner 19:23
your head. By I'm guessing. Let me see 70s, 80s, 90s, maybe 65 years. Gotcha. But you might want to go watch bewitched sometime on one of the television just that run the old TV shows. This is crazy. Like, did you ever figure out, like, why a random doctor sent an insulin prescription. I
Speaker 1 19:43
think they just saw, Oh, hey, her a one sees high she needs insulin. Here you go. And she just, or he, she, I don't know, sent a random insulin prescription in, because supposedly, my primary care was supposed to do that because she was on vacation. He took over, or she took over.
Scott Benner 19:57
I think it's dumb luck. We're all alive after I hear stories. Like this. Every time somebody says something like that, I'm like, Oh, my God, this is all just like, it's just luck. The whole thing that the lights go on, that anything happens like, my god, yeah. Okay, so I'm assuming you push harder than you know, we can't see you till whenever. Yeah.
Speaker 1 20:15
Well, I said, Okay, I'll take the appointment. But I said, What am I supposed to do in the meantime, I know that if someone's insulin dependent, they need insulin or they could die. And like, I questioned it to her, like, is this true? And she goes, yeah, just since you don't know the doctor, I would just wait definitely don't go pick it up. And so I was like, Uh, okay. And at this point, I'm on the verge of having a breakdown. I hang up the phone. I have a breakdown. I go in, I tell my boss, I have to go home. She's, like, very comforting, and I love her dearly. So that was awesome. So I go home and I tell my mom, and because I live at home with my parents still, because I would like to save money and buy a house one day, yeah, so that's the goal anyway. So I go home, I tell my mom, and she's like, Yeah, that's not acceptable. She goes, I'm so sorry that you're going through this, but at the same time. That's not acceptable. You need an appointment sooner. So I call back and I say, Okay, this is the situation. I tell them what's going on, and I tell them, I need an appointment before December 16, because two weeks from now, I could be on the floor croaking. So they said, we have a phone appointment with her tomorrow morning. I said, Okay, great, I'll take it. Oh, I guess I should backtrack a little bit too. I did ask them, if I were to pick up this insulin, how would I learn how to use it? They said, Oh, you can do a walk in clinic, and they'll teach you how to use insulin. They have it at this location. Blah, blah, blah. I said, Okay, great. I called someone else to get that appointment rescheduled or pushed up, and they said. And I asked them, should I still do that? And they said, we don't do that. I don't know what that other person told you that for i Can I
Scott Benner 21:42
say something? First of all, the person you spoke to the day before is just a person at the office with a list of calls they have to make. Yes, they don't know, I believe from Shinola is a saying that they would have used in the 50s. Okay, so and not their fault. It's not their job, right? Right? Like somebody should have said to you, go to an emergency room, right? Like, I mean, if we can't help you right now, you should go to the ER, God, it's fascinating. Yeah, this person over here will teach you to use the insulin. Hey, I'm calling to get lessons about insulin. We don't do that here. What do you like? What in the hell I want to thank the medical community right now for making my podcast so successful. Thank you so much. Like, I really enjoy making this podcast, and it's all because of those of you out there who are just terrible at your jobs. Let me just say so people don't get upset. There are plenty of people who are very good at their jobs, but the ones who are terrible at it, you really are. You're making a life for me, and I really appreciate it. I mean, Jesus, just do your job, and I'll have to go I mean, my next option is probably like, I'm gonna say cashier, you can get rid of me by just telling Michaela how to take care of herself, like, because you keep going. I'm so sorry. No, I'm getting upset. Don't be sorry.
Speaker 1 22:53
Yeah, I was just I was upset. So they said, I we have a with that same nurse practitioner. I call her my doctor. She's a doctor in my head with that same doctor that I was supposed to be scheduled with in December. She has a phone appointment in the morning. We'll get you scheduled with her. I said, okay, so she calls me, and the first thing out of her mouth was, I am so sorry you've been going through this. And I found somebody go ahead, yeah. And she was like, they should not have been doing what they've been doing to you. She goes, I know everything, like I've seen what they've been giving you the run around. She goes, this should not be happening. She goes, so first of all, I'm so sorry you're going through everything, including the diagnosis you do have type one diabetes. Here's what we're going to do. And so we discussed my daily habits, how that would work with like being type one she said, Now, are you available today? I said, Yes. She said, Okay, I'm going to schedule you with my nurse assistant. That's who you're going to be on the schedule for. She goes however, that is my lunch. I will be there on my lunch helping you learn how to use insulin, pick up your insulin before you get here. We will go through this together. So that was my saving grace. Let me tell
Scott Benner 23:55
you something that's going to make you you're going to think ill of me. I almost cried just now when you said that I'm seriously. I feel a little like, by the way, I don't know if you know this, but I went over this with Erica on one of the like, mental health issues, and it's she tells me that when I tear up, I'm crying. I just think of that as tearing up, but apparently I'm crying. So I'm gonna, just gonna say you made me cry just now that you found somebody who knew what was going on, who put you before themselves. Like, the whole like, did the right thing. That's awesome. Like, okay, all right, so you and her have lunch together. That's great. Did she eat while she was talking to I would have brought a sandwich if I was
Speaker 1 24:32
her. No, she didn't. But she she, she popped in and out, uh, throughout the appointment with her nurse assistant, or whoever the other person was that I was seeing. I don't really remember at
Scott Benner 24:41
this point at the end of that meeting, did you feel put how you felt prepared, like better,
Speaker 1 24:47
better kind of but also still devastated that I had type one and that this was my new life. So Right? No, I it was something I had to wrestle with for a little
Scott Benner 24:55
while, but to go by yourself. Did your mom go with you? No,
Speaker 1 24:58
we. I. We had a brand new 10 week puppy at the time, so my mom went with me, and then my aunt and my cousin came to watch the puppy in the car, while my mom went to the appointment with me. Oh, that was the other thing that was super nice, because my family all lives nearby, and my cousin, she has rheumatoid arthritis, so she knows what it's like to go through a diagnosis. And was very, very graceful, helpful and just like a gift from God, honestly,
Scott Benner 25:24
two things. So your cousin has an autoimmune issue too? Anybody else? Yes,
Speaker 1 25:28
my grandma on my mom's side rheumatoid arthritis. She was taking thyroid medication. For what reason? I don't know if it was Hashimotos or not. And then my grandma on my dad's side also has rheumatoid arthritis. And so I thought for sure, when my cousin got it, I was like, Oh, I'm next. But instead, diabetes got me. Instead, hey,
Scott Benner 25:46
Michaela, don't, don't lose hope. It could still happen. I'm well aware, and I'm a little nervous. No, but the other part is, you know, you're making people with crappy families very jealous and angry right now, your mom came to your appointment with you, and your aunt came along to watch the puppy in the car. Like, what do you guys like? Like a television show where everybody's happy. It's awesome. My
Speaker 1 26:08
family, my family, is pretty great. I have no complaints about my family. All of them just wonderful.
Scott Benner 26:13
It really was just, that's a wonderful story. Okay, so what's the puppy's name? By the way, Aulani. Okay. Oh, are you guys Hawaiian? No,
Speaker 1 26:21
but this kind of is related to the story. We had just gotten back from Hawaii when we got the puppy, so we thought, oh, we'll name her a little Hawaiian name. And so we did, and that's the story in itself, that I was in Hawaii with an A 1c of, you know, super high and unknowingly, and I was eating everything in the world. I definitely almost died in Hawaii. I almost went into DKA. I just didn't know it. So now
Scott Benner 26:44
I'm looking at your picture. You're an incredibly Caucasian person, yes, and your name is Michaela, yes. Do people just love Hawaii or the culture Polynesian? Is there something I'm missing? So the
Speaker 1 26:56
name isn't from there that I'm aware of. My mom got the name from a TV show. Oh, what TV show? Doctor, medicine woman. Oh, no kidding, yeah. So Dr Mike. Her name is Michaela, and so that's where she got the name. But she heard the name, didn't know how to spell it, so she spelled it, M, a, k, a, y, l, a, which then she found out that Michaela is the feminine form of Michael so it should be spelled M, I, C, H, A, E, L, A, your
Scott Benner 27:20
mom didn't have the internet 24
Speaker 1 27:22
years ago. What happened? No, no, I probably not. Lovely
Scott Benner 27:25
woman, but didn't look into the spelling your name. Okay? So she just,
Speaker 1 27:28
she just sounded it out. But there's so many ways to spell it anyway, so it doesn't really matter. That's
Scott Benner 27:32
lovely. Okay? I just, I mean, then the dog's name was what it was. And I started wondering, what was going even your last name, like, I started thinking, like, maybe your dad's Asian, and I just don't see it. Nope. Is Asian the right word? Oh, God, 2024 I don't know Japanese is maybe what I meant. Mostly, okay, I'm gonna say Japanese. I do not want to hear from you people. I'm very old. I did my best. I don't mean anything I
Speaker 1 27:56
did. I got that a lot in in elementary school, where they would think that I was of Asian descent of some sort, because of my last name, and I would show up the whitest little kid there was
Scott Benner 28:05
so, okay, okay. Michaela said Asian too. So I feel like I'm okay. I feel like that's fine, but okay. So we have diabetes now, but I don't want to start down that path till I hear a little more about what you said. I wrestled with that for a while, meaning having type one. Can you tell me a little bit about
Speaker 1 28:21
that? So I don't even know where to start. I've never been afraid of needles, because as a kid with thyroid issues, I was going to get lab work done all the time. So I got over that fear real quick, but I did have a slight fear of injections. I do not like the thought of things going into my body. Take all the blood you want, but don't put things back in really? So, yeah, it was a weird thing for me that I just like the thought of it just like, gave me the heebie jeebies, like I just hated the idea of, like, injecting something into my body. So that was something that was a struggle for me, and then also knowing that all the weight that I lost was not earned. It was something that I was gonna put back on and probably just put back more than what I wanted. And it was very upsetting to me, because as a kid, growing up dancing, I always wanted to be like, super stick thin, as thin as you could get. And so I was like, Oh, I finally got it. And then they were like, Oh no, just kidding, you're sick. And I was like, oh, okay, great. So
Scott Benner 29:16
in a moment when you overwhelmingly thought I am making good decisions. I am so healthy. I'm on the path I mean to be on. What you end up finding out is I'm not healthy. This has nothing to do with my decisions, and I am going in the absolute opposite direction of where I wanted to go. Yep, yeah. And then how long does it take you to go through that? Do you do it with a professional help with family? How do you navigate that?
Speaker 1 29:39
Mainly family and my faith in the Lord above. So those are my two, my two saving graces, and
Scott Benner 29:46
that that was it. How long do you think that process was? I want to say
Speaker 1 29:49
about maybe three months before I was finally like, okay, like, this is, is what it is. And I think that was around when I found your podcast too. And I was like, Oh, sweet. Okay, I can do this. So that's
Scott Benner 29:58
my next question. And is, how does a 22 year old find a podcast about diabetes? I
Speaker 1 30:03
was just searching for people that could answer questions, and I found Reddit, and I didn't even know Reddit really existed, which I know sounds strange for someone my age. I just didn't know I like, heard of the term Reddit, but I never used it. I didn't know what it was. Found Reddit, got on Reddit, asked people questions there all the time, and then somebody was like, Hey, listen to this. And I was like, okay, so I did, and then I found your Facebook group, and then the rest is history, I guess. Oh, that's
Scott Benner 30:24
awesome. I've found Reddit to be incredibly supportive of the podcast overall. And like, I appreciate it. I really don't, because it's a place I'm not at. So yeah, it's nice to know there are people out there making these suggestions. So tell me how it was valuable for you.
Speaker 1 30:39
It was really just because I was constantly emailing my doctor about, like, what do I do now? This is happening. What about this? This is happening. And she told me, please do that. She was she was like, I'm here for you. I'm here to help you. Yeah, but she's not working 24 hours a day. So you know there was times where it's like, midnight, and I'm like, what's happening here? And and she's not gonna be able to tell me, so I would go to Reddit, and that's when credit was like, Hey, let's do this. This will help you. So it helped me to give me a peace of mind, knowing, like, oh, somebody else did this. This is what they did, and it worked for them. Let me try it. I actually think I started with the Pro Tip series. I don't know if I started. I don't think I ever started with bold beginnings. I think I started with pro tips, and I just dived into those. And then I went from 1716, a 1c, to a 12 within one month. And then I went to a 12 to a six within, like, I think, four months. And then I've been under five for over a year and a half now. Oh, good for you. Congratulations or not, under five in fives. My God, I was gonna say, like, you got the fours. No, I wish.
Scott Benner 31:33
No. What did you find? I mean, you were on MDI at that point. Is that, right? You got into fives on MDI?
Speaker 1 31:41
I did. I was actually on fives MDI for a year before I transferred to Omnipod.
Scott Benner 31:48
What would you tell the people who tell me all the time that my content is too pump centric and that it's not for people with MDI? I'm gonna
Speaker 1 31:56
say I felt the same way at first, but then I realized that you can do the same things, you just have to be more on top of it and maybe not snack as much if you don't want to take as many injections. But that's about the only thing that I noticed was like something real difficult for me was like, oh, I want to eat the snack. I don't want to inject. So it's either I eat the snack and have to eat the snack and go high or don't eat the snack at all. So that was one thing that was, like, a little bit different for me, because I felt like you could kind of snack more on the pod and still keep your blood sugars under control. But other than that, I feel like that was about the only thing other than, I guess, like temporary basal. But I would, for me, because I surf all the time, if I knew I was going to surf the next day, I would just inject, like a unit or two less of my long lasting the night before, and then just know I would maybe dose a little bit more for my meals if I needed to, if I thought that, you know, I injected a little bit too little Yeah, but it never seemed to be a problem. If I knew I was going, I would just make sure I was I was prepared. And if I didn't know I was going, and it was a last minute decision, I would just bring snacks with me and make sure that I had no insulin in my system before I went
Scott Benner 33:02
out, is surfing kind of a mix of anaerobic and aerobic, right? Because the paddling, I would imagine kicking is aerobic, but then being up on the board is probably a lot of muscle control, right?
Speaker 1 33:13
I guess. So, yeah, I feel like it's more aero, anaerobic or aerobic,
Scott Benner 33:17
more like pumping and running, or more muscular, more running, okay, because of the paddling and kicking,
Speaker 1 33:24
yes, yeah, and then yeah. I don't know that's what my experience is, but maybe I not really paid attention. I guess, does the fear of sharks at all like, enter your life? I get that question a lot, really. Okay, where do you surf at? I surf down in Southern California. Okay, do you have you ever seen a shark I have not. However, I have seen a shark attack happen at the places I surf at, but I have not been
Scott Benner 33:48
slow down. This was out in the surf or back at the beach, or where did you say it? I
Speaker 1 33:55
was at home, but I saw it on the news. Oh, I surf there, and I was like, Oh, that's great. Oh, I see.
Scott Benner 34:00
I thought you were like, there when it happened, because I'm gonna guess, if you were there when it happened, what you would tell me is, I love surfing, Scott, but I don't do it anymore.
Speaker 1 34:09
No. And the person was fine. They just the shark, I guess, caught their board and took a little dink out of it. But
Scott Benner 34:15
no big deal. Yeah,
Speaker 1 34:19
I don't know. I have faith that the sharks don't want me. They want other things. So I'm going to keep that thought in my mind.
Scott Benner 34:25
Okay, well, listen, it's because you know what. You know why you think that? Because when you were six years old, your parents didn't take you to see jaws in a movie theater. That's true, yeah, but mine did, listen. I'm going to sound like a baby, but if I can't see all the way to the bottom, I'm not interested in your water like I live in New Jersey. You couldn't pay me money to walk waist deep into the ocean in New Jersey. I wouldn't do it. I'm a baby. You
Unknown Speaker 34:50
understand? Yeah, I love the ocean. I cannot relate
Scott Benner 34:52
not how I'm going out. Michaela, that's it. That's valid. Yeah, that's all. That's all. I also want. Fall off a ladder. I want to tell everybody right now, I spent $180 a year having my gutters cleaned because I am not having my last thought. Be it only would it cost me $180 have these gutters cleaned as I'm falling to my death. Do you understand that's I won't do it. I won't do it. So that's it. I'm not getting eaten by a shark. I am not falling off a ladder. These are pretty much the only things I'm worried about. I assume my wife's gonna kill me, honestly, like, you know, and it'll be justified. I don't think she'll do jail time, you know, that's how I always assume I'm going out. Nevertheless, I want to go back to what you said about the podcast. And thank you. Oh, of course. But seriously, like, it's really cool to hear somebody mimic back to me my intentions. You know what I mean? Because you make a thing and you think, Gosh, I hope this is how it's received. And then to hear that it was but by a 22 year old who, let's be honest, like I'm too old, like you shouldn't be listening to my podcast. It's silly, like we shouldn't find each other, but that we did and that it helped you so much, I just, I feel wonderful about that, like I'm just, I'm excited to know that that content in its form was that valuable for a person like yourself. Yeah,
Speaker 1 36:11
I love it, and I still listen to like, all the episodes, just because they're entertaining. So I find, I find it fun,
Scott Benner 36:19
excellent. So I It doesn't matter how old I am, is what you're saying? No, it does not. Yeah, I agree. I'm wearing very comfortable sweat pants. I look like a kid from my waist down. Like, if you saw me from my vision right now, you'd be like, That guy could be like, 25 I believe it. It's not that you see me walking or you go, Oh, that old man has on pretty hip pants. Ridiculous. You have any brothers or sisters? I
Speaker 1 36:40
don't I'm an only child. Oh, why? What happened there? My mom did struggle to get pregnant for a while, and then my dad and her were like, are we good not having kids? She said, Yep, we're good. And then surprise, I came. So they were like, Okay, well, we have kids now, so that's fine. We wanted kids originally, so we'll flip back to that. And then by the time I was two, she's like, No, I'm not ready for another one. That's three, no, I'm not ready for another one. And then I was four, almost five, and she asked me, she goes, Do you want her brother sister? And I told her, and I quote, no, I be only one. And she said, You know what? That's fine. I don't want to start over with another baby. Anyways. So my mom and dad were both happy with just me. It's
Scott Benner 37:19
possible that you just named your episode. I be only one. I love it. That's awesome. Yeah, I like your mom too. She's like, Yeah, you know what, you were kind of a problem. So I don't feel like I need to do it twice. Listen, I agree with her, yeah.
Speaker 1 37:33
She She says that I was just fine, but she did have a lot of work trying to manage my thyroid as a kid, because it was like, I throw a tantrum over something silly. And she's like, Huh? Like, this is not you. So that was a lot of work for her. So I wouldn't blame her. I
Scott Benner 37:47
heard you talking about that earlier, actually, and it was definitely something I was going to get back to. The idea that, like, your mom was very aware of your mood and your personality being tied to your thyroid.
Speaker 1 37:57
Oh yeah. Then when I was undiagnosed, she was like, your thyroid is wrong. Go to the doctor. And I was like, I have it's fine. I don't know what to tell you. And so we had a few arguments about that one, because I was like, I'm fine. I don't know what you want me to do. She's like, You're not yourself. And I was like, Well, I feel myself just you're not and so yeah, it was a constant back and forth of like, you need to go the doctor figure this out. I'm like, I have my lab work is fine. I don't know what to say.
Scott Benner 38:19
So how irritating is that, that your mom knows you that well, not that irritating, honestly,
Speaker 1 38:23
kind of kind of helpful, until I'm actually in the situation. I'm like, I'm fine, and sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong.
Scott Benner 38:29
Be honest, has she ever just in the middle of you having a moment? Has she ever just slid the medicine vial of like Synthroid across the counter at you?
Speaker 1 38:39
No, but she'll always be like, you take your meds this morning. I'm like, Yes, I did constantly. So yeah,
Scott Benner 38:45
that's not fun. Arden forgets sometimes. And I'm like, Hey, have you been taking your stuff? She's like, Oh my god, leave me alone. I'm like, Oh, it sounds like a no,
Unknown Speaker 38:54
yeah. That normally means no, yeah.
Scott Benner 38:56
Nobody's ever like, oh my god, leave me alone. When what they mean is, yes, I've been doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing, right? I think it's worth highlighting because, I mean, I've had your experience right? Like, I've had it with with iron, like my irons gotten low. Your personality changes, your tolerance changes, like your your mood changes, and you don't know what's happened, yeah, you know. So it's nice when somebody will reach up and say to you, Hey, have you? My wife said it to me recently. She's like, how's your iron? And I was like, I'm just mad. I But, but then I did put it in the back of my head, and I thought, I am gonna watch this now, because, yeah, maybe she's just seeing it earlier than not. Turned out not to be my iron. But it just turned out that everybody in my life was a pain in the ass that day, including some of you online. But nevertheless, I'm fine now. Okay. So how long do you do MDI for?
Speaker 1 39:50
Let me think I just started the pump this past February. Oh, so from November 22 to February of 24 what
Scott Benner 39:59
pump did you go. Of Omnipod. Oh, did you that because of the podcast
Speaker 1 40:03
I did, and because it was tubeless, and I like to surf, and I did not want to take the pump off to surf.
Scott Benner 40:07
Awesome. Okay, omnipod.com/juicebox, if you guys want to try it. Did you have a CGM with MDI?
Speaker 1 40:13
I did. They actually gave me a trial CGM the day that I had my first appointment. She said, Here, take this. You're going to want it. And so they put it on me there, and I've had one since day one. Awesome.
Scott Benner 40:23
Hey, you don't have to if you don't want to. But would you say that doctor's name out loud? Because she sounds awesome,
Speaker 1 40:28
I would. She is nurse practitioner, Margaret Guerrero, good job. Margaret. She's actually on your list, on your website, from the like the ones that people can add about being great doctors. She's on there. Did you add her to juicebox.com or did? I did not someone else had to have I was going to check and see if she was there, and she was,
Scott Benner 40:46
Wow, great job. I mean, honestly, like people who are doing a great job deserve to be shouted out like that. And she, she sounds like she really is for you. How was the transition from MDI to Omnipod?
Speaker 1 40:58
Yeah, it was interesting, because I was on g7 when I got the Omnipod five, so I did not have integration at the time, and so I kind of just used, I kind of liked it, though I liked the slow transition from manual to you're basically doing manual, but with something that doesn't have to poke you every few hours. Yeah. And it was nice to adjust my basal rates as I wanted, and play around with that. So I really knew what my rates were without knowing or without having the system do it for me. I really did like that, and so I did that until the integration basically came out for g7 and Omnipod five. I did have some leftover stash of g6 though. So when I was done with my g7 I used up the g6 is to try the automation. And at first I hated it. I did not like it. I was like, this is not keeping me where I want to be. My a 1c, is going to be so much higher. I hate this. I want the control. I'm a type A person. I do not want this thing making decisions for me. And so I was just fine waiting for the automation. And then when it came I was like, Okay, I need to get this thing a fair shot. And I definitely switched back and forth, depending on my mood and depending on if it's actually working for me that day or not, I feel like sometimes if I'm not as active, it's not good enough. So I will just switch into manual and and make sure that I have control. But other than that, I love it, and I felt like the transition was pretty smooth when I did do MDI to manual pumping to then automated mode, because I felt like it was a learning experience to use the manual pump right? Because if anything went wrong, I knew how to be in manual. I also knew what my basal rates still were. So if I had to go back to MDI, I'm not like, oh my gosh, wait, what? How do I do this again? So it's been to me, a great and smooth transition. I did not feel super stressed. I didn't feel overwhelmed or anything like
Scott Benner 42:39
that. Yeah, I think, I don't know how Omnipod feel about me saying this, but I think it's great that you that you use manual when it's necessary. I honestly, I think that's I think people who are more in tuned with what their needs are, with their insulin and proactive about it, I think generally do better. That's probably how you're keeping everyone seeing the fives. Yeah,
Speaker 1 42:59
yeah. I agree. And I also sometimes don't like where it keeps me at night, like it'll keep me at 110 which is it's gold, like it's doing its job, but I like 9100 so sometimes I'll, just before I go to bed, throw it into manual, and I know that I'll be where I want to be all night, and then when I get up and start doing things, I'll put it into automated so I don't go low, or just don't have to focus on it as much. I
Scott Benner 43:19
knew you were type A, by the way, when you basically floated the idea that you're in charge of what the sharks think. So I was like, Do you have any anxiety? Or are you just, is that just type A personality? No, no anxiety. No. Okay. Is your mom like that? Or your dad? Who's got this? My
Speaker 1 43:36
mom is type a worse, like, I don't say worse, because not necessarily a bad thing all the time, but, yeah, more type A than I am.
Scott Benner 43:43
Worse, you said worse. I think we'll stick with it. My mom's more type A than I am. She's a plus. Yeah, that's a good way to put it. Your dad doesn't care. Is he all chill?
Speaker 1 43:53
My dad is, is very, very chill. I get that from him in the sense of, like, it's weird. There's certain aspects of my life that I'm like, Yeah, who cares? It's fine. Whatever works. Like, go with the flow. My mom's not really like that. But then when it comes to, like, other things, like my grades, I was like, I have to have straight A's. I don't care what I have to go through to get it. I have to have straight A's. Like, that's where it kind of came into play. For me, was more in like, I guess goal reaching, right? And to me, diabetes is a constant goal that you have to reach. And so it kind of feels like school where I'm like, Okay, I have to get under a certain point because that's an A plus, or this is a B, and I don't like B. So
Scott Benner 44:24
Arden's changing, like, where she's going to school right now, and as she's leaving, she's like, I don't care about this. I got a good grade. It'll be fine. And then you're talking to her, and she's like, well, if I get this on that, and I'll have this, and I'm like, do you care? Do you not care? In Arden, I think there's enough of me and enough of my wife, and they fight with each other, like she's like, I'm super chill, but not really, yeah, and yeah. What did you go to school
Speaker 1 44:51
for? I went to school to become an American Sign Language interpreter. Oh,
Scott Benner 44:56
and is that what you do? It is tell me how you make. A living doing that. So
Speaker 1 45:00
you can work almost anywhere as an interpreter, because anywhere that you do things, deaf people do things too, so and they need communication access. So then there you are to interpret. I really like interpreting college classes. They're fun because you're kind of getting an education of stuff that, like, you don't have to do the work for, but you get to learn about, which is fun, but you're interpreting, and it's a fun process to interpret. And I just like the college atmosphere. So I do tend to interpret college I do this thing called Video Relay Service, where, when deaf people need to call a hearing person, or a hearing person needs to call a deaf person, I'm interpreting that phone call. So I sit in an office and I take the phone calls and I interpret the phone calls while the deaf person is on a screen and the hearing person is in my ear. Those are the two main places I do work. And then there's also what's called community work, where you just go out into the community where people need you, like the doctor's appointments or a warehouse work training or a safety meeting for this business and things like that.
Scott Benner 45:57
I don't know what's wrong with me. I think I'm a lady, because now I'm crying again. That's so nice. She's, oh, by the way, not that women cried. You know what I mean? Like, I just, I can't take it. I've said this before, but once I was like, a stay at home dad, I just sort of gave myself over to it. You know what I mean, like, and so, like, you know when ladies say, like, I feel my ovaries twitching, like I think I feel that sometimes too, like this is so nice, like you're out there doing that. Can I ask a reasonably self serving question here? Sure. Like when you show up at an auditorium, how many people are you signing? Is it signing or interpreting? How do I say it? Yeah, interpreting signing. Okay. How many people do you find yourself doing? Can you be in a group of 600 people doing it for one person?
Speaker 1 46:41
Yes, depending on the situation, yeah. Like some people do concert interpreting, which I've never done, because I find it to be a little bit stressful, because you have to know the meaning of the song to interpret it. And a lot of times I'm not very good with that. I'm like, Oh, these are the lyrics. I follow the lyrics, but that's not really what song is about. So I don't find myself doing that, but that's a good example of that, where there'll be, like, one deaf person in the entire auditorium for really famous persons concert, and just interpreting for just one person.
Scott Benner 47:07
Yeah, I take your point, because what could yellow by Coldplay be about? You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 47:12
It's just, I find interpreting songs to be difficult. Like, if you wanted a word for word interpretation, I'd be happy to provide that. But if you want the actual meaning, sometimes I'm not the greatest for that one. When it comes to songs,
Scott Benner 47:22
my thought around asking was you just made me as you were telling your story, and I was feeling so good about it, I was like, should I have somebody do this for, like, the Pro Tip series or something? Or
Speaker 1 47:34
I actually have thought about that so many times of just doing that on my free time. But I was like, I have no following, and nobody's ever gonna find it. And I don't know how I would ever do that for because sometimes the episodes are long, so I was like, I can't interpret them by myself. That's one thing about interpreting. You tend to switch off every 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the content, because your brain, like, literally, cannot interpret for that long without starting to kind of break down and and stop working, because it's a very thorough process. Some people can go longer, and they have a built up stamina for that, and that's great for them. But a lot of people, most people, I would say, actually, for their own mental well being and their physical well being, because it can be tiresome, will do every 2015, 20 minutes and switch off with another interpreter. So I thought about doing that, but I was like, Man, I don't know that that's going to work. So I've never done it, but that's funny. You mentioned it because I have actually thought about it, because I was like, man, there's so many deaf people with diabetes in the world. I would love them to hear this too. But, you know, I mean, they can read the transcripts. But some, some Deaf people aren't English language learners either. They strictly are American sign language
Scott Benner 48:34
so, oh, oh, no kidding. Oh, that's interesting. I didn't realize that you have two voices in a transcript. Do you need two interpreters? Or is that not necessary?
Speaker 1 48:45
Not necessary. It would be helpful, if for visual reasons, but it's not necessary.
Scott Benner 48:51
Is there a number in your head? If I said to you, what would it cost you to do an hour recording and interpret it onto video? Yes, there is a number in your head, okay, yes, share it with me afterwards. Okay, okay. And I don't care if it takes a while to do you could do it 20 minutes at a time. Doesn't matter to me. In your free time. Listen. I'm right now for the people, I'm reading A Christmas Carol for the podcast for Christmas, and I'm through the first Dave and I got done, and I'm like, oh my god, am I gonna keep doing this? So I know what you mean about the sitting down and like I was exhausted, like I did the first chapter of the I sat down to do the first part, you know, the Marley's ghost part, and I was just like, at the end of it, I was like, oh my god, I'm exhausted. My thought is, is like, do I have you put all this work in to find out that, like, it's not going to be used by anybody I
Speaker 1 49:41
know. I've thought about that too, but I will say I do know there's a lot of Deaf people with diabetes, type one or type two, regardless, out there in the world. So I would hope it would find them and if they'd want to be interested. But yeah, I wouldn't know for sure if
Scott Benner 49:54
you're listening to this and you're a advertiser, and you think to yourself, how great would it? Be if Michaela was signing and my logo is in the bottom corner that said sponsored by blah, blah, blah, maybe send an email, because that might be awesome. I have the same problem with Spanish speaking, by the way, but I think AI is gonna finish fix that problem. So I don't think AI is gonna fix your thing ever. Or are you one of the people who's like, AI is gonna ruin me.
Speaker 1 50:21
I have mixed feelings about it. I think it's great in some aspects of things, and then I think some people overuse it and try and depend too much on it. But I don't think it's gonna destroy the world, at
Scott Benner 50:30
least not yet, exactly. But I'm talking about, like, for your job, like, are you worried that somebody could just, oh
Speaker 1 50:36
no, yes and no. I guess I think that there could be things that will come up where it will maybe take some work away from real life interpreters, but I think the deaf community, from what they've shared with me, because it's not my world, it's not my culture or my community, but from what they've shared with me, they want face to face interactions. They want people. They want that communication with a real, live person. They don't want just some robot. That's why they don't really like transcripts as much as they prefer an interpreter. They don't want to have to write back and forth most of the time. They want interpreters. They want that like face to face communication and American Sign Language. A lot of the language is on your body, not just your hands. It's your face, your facial expression, your mouth movements, your body language, your shoulders, like everything. So it would be interesting to see AI try and achieve that, but I don't know that it would would be possible, to the extent that some interpreters can interpret that. I
Scott Benner 51:26
didn't know all that, but it doesn't surprise me as you're explaining it. That's really interesting, actually, all right. Well, we'll afterwards, we'll talk about a little bit. So is there anything that I haven't asked you about that I should have
Speaker 1 51:38
I'm trying to think. I don't think so. I remember I put down talking about transitioning to a pump, and we did that, and my diagnosis story, I guess that would be I guess that would be it. You have a
Scott Benner 51:52
little bit here about anything else. Let me ask you about this here. You said the mental capacity that diabetes requires in the beginning and how it affected my relationships. Oh,
Speaker 1 52:02
yeah. I definitely noticed myself changing after I was diagnosed. I don't know if that's because I thought I had one personality with high blood sugars, and then I realized, Oh, my personality is different from that. Now, the mental capacity it took on me was it was a lot with body dysmorphia. It's something I struggled with growing up being a dancer and seeing dancers always to me, most dancers were always super thin and skinny, and so I was never overweight, but not being that either was something I always struggled with as a kid. So then having that experience, then go back to the way I was was, was mentally loading on me, plus having to manage the sugars, plus feeling all of the symptoms go away, and technically supposed to be feeling better, but feeling worse, because I got so used to it for so long, it was just a lot. And so I definitely noticed some of my relationships changed. Some of them got stronger, like friendships and everything, but others dwindled away because they they didn't know how to handle the new way of my life. They just they, they kind of ignored it and pretended like I I hadn't changed. Nothing was different, and I'm not saying to treat me differently. I'm not saying that like everything has to be different, but they just weren't really supportive in the process. So I did notice a few friendships dwindled because of that. So it was something that was kind of shocking, but also like, eye opening at the same time. Yeah, can I
Scott Benner 53:22
hear more about that, please? So you're saying there are people in your life that you counted as close to you, and they ignored diabetes
Speaker 1 53:31
in the sense of like, oh, everything's fine. Nothing's changed. I'm like, Well, no, it has changed. Like, I have to do this now, and they would just be like, Oh, okay. Like, they just, they didn't seem to want to. I'm not asking everybody to care about it and to learn about it, but they did not seem very supportive of the things I had to do, like, if I would complain about something or, and I'm not saying I complained all the time, but if I were to complain, like, Oh, my blood sugar is high right now, they're like, Oh, well, what do you want to do about it? Like, they wouldn't, like, provide any sort of support. And so I'm the type of person that likes to talk things out loud. And like, you know, have people listen and give feedback. I like that, that kind of camaraderie of just talking, listening and making comments on what I've just said, and vice versa. Like, when they say the same, like, say something they want to share something with with me, I try and engage back in the conversation to let them know. Like, oh, I'm interested. And there's a few individuals that did not had that same response,
Scott Benner 54:24
what did that do to you? Like, why did it ruin the relationship you could and by the way, I want to say, like, I don't think you're being unreasonable about your expectations for people, but I'm asking because you are not the first person that said this. And I know people personally, people I love, who've lost relationships more than friendships, like marriages. You know when their diagnosis has happened and they don't get back what they want or need from that other person, and when you don't get it back, I don't know what happens there. Like, is it like? You know what I mean, like, once they don't mirror what you need, what does that do to. You.
Speaker 1 55:00
I think for me, it's disappointing and it's just more like, Okay, I It's and it's eye opening for me to realize what I need to do for my friends as well. Sometimes I think it can be very one sided, but for me, I was like, Okay, this is how I feel because they're doing so and so and so. It made me realize, okay, I need to be more aware of my actions and my words and my behaviors with my friends that I have and make sure that when they need something for me, that I'm providing what I think they would need or want for me, and to even ask them, like, what do you want from me? Not just to assume that they want or need this, but it was kind of a learning experience and a way to improve upon myself. I took it as something that like I could improve my relationships that I do have with instead of just saying, Oh, see you later. I don't need to be in a relationship or a friendship or whatever it is with you anymore, but I will say I didn't lose any friends over it. It was just, we're definitely not as close. We don't hang out as much. It's just more of like a an acquaintance, like, Hi, how are you? Yeah, I also debit or was like, Oh, I don't want to be in any contact with you because you did this. Like that. Wasn't like
Scott Benner 56:01
that either. Do you imagine that this drifting would have happened on other subjects as you got older? The Diabetes just maybe brought it to a head quickly,
Unknown Speaker 56:08
absolutely, absolutely,
Scott Benner 56:09
right? Interesting. Okay, I appreciate that. It's very understandable. But, and I imagine a lot of people go through it, you just seemed like you really had thoughts about it. So I wanted to let you get them out, because I get that feeling of like it's not like you're like, demanding of somebody, like, my life has changed now you should change with me. But right? It's just a human like, back and forth that is not unreasonable to think is part of a healthy relationship. Is that
Speaker 1 56:37
the idea? Yeah, I guess that would be it. And the just ignoring it to me is, like, the main thing that was like, bothers him to me, where it's like, if I would mention anything about it, was like, Oh, Okay, moving on. Like they did not want to even think about it. And I was like, does this make you uncomfortable? Like you got to tell me these things so I know what to do. But they just, they wouldn't. There was no, no, really, communication back with how they were feeling about it, either. And like, if this is something that bothers you, we need to talk about it. But if it's just because you don't want to face the fact that I actually have this now, which is not even your disease, it's mine. But I understand if that's the case, then we need to talk about it. But right,
Scott Benner 57:11
yeah, I have like, two last questions for you. So my one is, are you past the idea of something being injected into you, or does it not bother you as much? With the pot pump on it doesn't
Speaker 1 57:20
bother me at all period anymore. It took only, like, I want to say, maybe a week or two. And I was like, Okay, I'm over it.
Scott Benner 57:27
And I also enjoyed talking to you very much. So if I want to fire Arden, what do you know about Bridget Mendler? Like, can I
Unknown Speaker 57:34
I love her. I think she's great.
Scott Benner 57:36
Would you have had opinions like, Arden, if I would have had you on to talk about it? Did you not hear that episode? Did you hear that episode? No, I
Speaker 1 57:42
did. I did. I don't know if I would have had opinions like her. I feel like I'm very, like, passive accepting. Yeah, I can be very passive about things. Like, if you think one thing, I'm like, Oh, cool. I'm glad you think that. Like, I'm not gonna go in with my with my comment if I don't agree, because I'm like, there's no point. Like, I'm glad you think it. So I feel like that. That's where it would be. Kind of
Scott Benner 58:02
might not be the right one for me then, but I did like talking to a lot, so
Speaker 1 58:07
I'm glad I enjoyed talking with you, too. It's nice to actually talk with you and not just listen to
Scott Benner 58:11
you. Did you have that weird feeling where you thought, like sometimes if I was monologuing, you felt like you were listening to the podcast?
Speaker 1 58:18
No, I don't think I did. And my I never connected the dots. Now, awesome.
Scott Benner 58:21
So we were always having a conversation. Sometimes people say, like, you started talking for 30 seconds, and I got, like, lost, because I felt like I was listening to the podcast. Oh no, I don't feel like I did cool. No, you did a great job. And I stand by what I said. You're like, 37 in your mind, I'm pretty sure, oh boy, no, I think that's probably good. I bet you get that house and like, and things work out for you. You seem well
Speaker 1 58:45
thought out. So, yeah, I hope I try to be. I do try to be. Is this a
Scott Benner 58:49
thing? You find a lot of your friends doing the staying home longer to try to save money?
Speaker 1 58:53
Yeah, yeah. Most of my friends actually live at home. I only have one friend who is engaged and living on her own and will be married soon. So obviously that's a little bit different, because she's a little bit further on with other things in life. But yeah, most of my friends don't just move out on their own. Just to move out. They stay at home to save
Scott Benner 59:11
money. You're not on any timeline about being married, right? I was when I was a kid. I'm not now, really. When you were a kid, what did you think was going to happen?
Speaker 1 59:20
I wanted to be engaged by 2425 married around 2526 and then kids by like 28 and now, now I'm almost 25 I will be next month, so I don't see the marriage thing happening now. I would just like to make sure that I'm happy in life. And whatever that leads to is
Scott Benner 59:39
what it leads to. That's awesome. When do you think that changed for you when I
Unknown Speaker 59:43
ended a six year relationship?
Scott Benner 59:44
Oh, that girl? Yeah, no, I know. Yeah. No, I get what you're saying. What a piece of am I right?
Speaker 1 59:51
We're actually still friends. No, that's okay. That's okay, but I
Scott Benner 59:55
understand. Listen, you and my son are the same age, but. He has a girlfriend, and you would definitely make a baby with diabetes, so I'm good to keep you away from him.
Speaker 1 1:00:04
Yeah, yeah. I actually it's funny. You say that because there was one person I did my pump training with, and if he hears this, that's kind of embarrassing, but oh well, I did my pump training with him, and he had a lot in common. He was the same age he had and and it was just funny, because I was like, Oh my gosh. Like, we have so much in common. And then he started talking about his fiance. And I was like, Oh, okay. I was like, that's okay. We'll make a baby with diabetes anyway. So that's not probably a good
Scott Benner 1:00:25
idea. McCallum is up to, like, do you surf because and he's, like, got a girlfriend. Is that what happened?
Speaker 1 1:00:31
No, he we were talking about sea life animals and how he has sea life tattoos, and then he talked about his fiance's tattoos, or his wife's tattoos. And I was
Scott Benner 1:00:39
like, Oh, gotcha, you were almost all in before you heard about the fiance.
Speaker 1 1:00:42
I was like, I'm like, I'm interested. Like, I kind of want to see where this could go. Like, it was just a pump training. I don't know what would actually would have happened, but in my head, I was like, Oh, that's cool. And I was like, oh,
Scott Benner 1:00:51
nevermind. That's awesome. You guys. Yeah, you definitely would have made, like, Captain America out of diabetes or something
Speaker 1 1:00:55
like that. Yeah? Like, oh no, no, no. Not a good idea. Or,
Scott Benner 1:00:59
you know, I wonder, I'll tell you what. I'd love if people are listening to this now and they're like, and they're like, look, I'm an adult with type one. I have a I'm married to a type one. Our kids do not have any auto immune issues. Please call me. I would love to, well, call me. What's it? 1978 let's just send me an email. Call me. Please. By the way, none of you call me. I don't want that. Don't want that at all. And those of you who think you have my phone number, you don't, but definitely send an email about that. That'd be awesome.
Speaker 1 1:01:23
Yeah, I'd like to listen to that too. I've always wondered about that. I'd like to pick through that
Scott Benner 1:01:27
because, I mean, in the end, you start telling me there's RA on this side, there's RA on that side. I have type one. I'm not surprised by that. You
Speaker 1 1:01:34
know, I also had chronic hives, which could be autoimmune too. So, oh, my
Scott Benner 1:01:39
son got the was the how my son figured out he had Hashimotos.
Unknown Speaker 1:01:42
Mine was not related to that, but, yeah,
Scott Benner 1:01:45
it's another, like, it's like an immunity issue, like your body just over, over, attacking something, right? I guess his, my mom had them too, but she thought
Speaker 1 1:01:54
hers was from her birth control, and, like, three months later, after she stopped birth control, that went away. So she thinks that's what hers was from, but that's what hers was from, but that's still hormonal, because birth control is hormonal. So
Scott Benner 1:02:04
who knows? Yeah, hormones are terrible. Yeah, yeah, is the bane of most, uh, evil. Michaela, I don't know. I'm gonna stop because, if not, you and I are gonna talk all day long. You're awesome, like, I You definitely are just an old soul, because I'm an old man and you're just like, I like the podcast, you know, I like talking to you. Yeah, fun. All right. This is very cool, and a proof to all of you out there that I am young at heart and I will never die. I just want to say that I agree. That's my plan, by the way around. But people are like, Why are you taking the weight loss so? Like, seriously? I'm like, I am trying to stay alive longer. I didn't think about it like that when I was younger, but now I you get a little older, and you're like, Oh yeah, I'm trying to stay here. You know what? I mean, yeah, yeah, definitely. All right. Cool. Hold on one second for me, okay, yeah.
The podcast episode that you just enjoyed was sponsored by ever since CGM, they make the ever since 365 that thing lasts a whole year. One insertion every year. Come on. You probably feel like I'm messing with you, but I'm not. Ever since cgm.com/juicebox thanks for tuning in today, and thanks to Medtronic diabetes for sponsoring this episode, we've been talking about Medtronic mini med 780 G system today, an automated insulin delivery system that helps make diabetes management easier day and night, whether it's their meal detection technology or the Medtronic extended infusion set, it all comes together to simplify life with Diabetes. Go find out more at my link, Medtronic diabetes.com/juicebox dot com, slash juice box. I can't thank you enough for listening. Please make sure you're subscribed or following in your audio app. I'll be back tomorrow with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast if you're living with type one diabetes, the after dark collection from the Juicebox Podcast is the only place to hear the stories that no one else talks about, from drugs to depression, self harm, trauma, addiction and so much more. Go to Juicebox podcast.com up in the menu and click on after dark there, you'll see a full list of all of the after dark episodes. The episode you just heard was professionally edited by wrong way recording, wrongway recording.com,
Please support the sponsors
The Juicebox Podcast is a free show, but if you'd like to support the podcast directly, you can make a gift here. Recent donations were used to pay for podcast hosting fees. Thank you to all who have sent 5, 10 and 20 dollars!
