#568 Diabetes Variables: Full Moon
Diabetes Variables: Full Moon
Scott and Jenny Smith, CDE share insights on type 1 diabetes care
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.
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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.
Scott Benner 0:00
Hello and welcome to Episode 568 of the Juicebox Podcast.
Hey guys, welcome back to another diabetes variables episode with me. I'm Scott and Jenny Smith. Jenny, of course works at integrated diabetes, and you can hire if you'd like at integrated diabetes calm. The diabetes variable series has been going over listener submitted variables for type one diabetes, today's variable is a full moon. And I don't mean when you pull your pants down, I mean the thing up in the sky that's made out of cheese. Now that I've said the moon is made out of cheese, I probably don't need to tell you this. But just in case please remember while you're listening that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan are becoming bold with insulin. My friend Jenny Smith has had Type One Diabetes for over 30 years. She holds a bachelor's degree in human nutrition and biology from the University of Wisconsin. She's a registered and licensed dietitian, a certified diabetes educator and a certified trainer on most makes and models of insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors. If that's not enough, she's pretty freakin awesome.
This show is sponsored today by the glucagon that my daughter carries g vo hypo Penn. Find out more at G Vogue glucagon.com forward slash juicebox. Jenny, is there any chance that a full moon is a diabetes variable
Jennifer Smith, CDE 1:50
in the grand scheme of considering everything, I mean, my mom was a school teacher, like elementary middle school teacher. She didn't have any kids who had diabetes. But she saw enough children. She she could put a finger on the date of the calendar when the full moon happened. Because of the way that kids acted. She knew it was a full moon time she just she knew it. I actually saw an article the other day is something about mercury being in retrograde until like October 18 or something this month. And so it was from school teachers. And they had noticed that their kids were much more irritable, anxious fatigue, not paying attention. Even the the highest rate graded kids in the classes were having like issues. So I mean, that has I don't think that has anything to do with the moon. But it's something in terms of like whole, like astrologically whatever.
Scott Benner 2:54
I don't know about that. I can tell you that a friend, a lifelong friend of mine is a police officer. I mean, lifelong, he's getting ready to retire is how long. And for as long as I've known him, there's a time where he'll just be like, hey, like, you know, sometimes people know cops, sometimes they stop at your house, he's standing outside your talk, but right. And as consistent as could be every month, he'd be like, I gotta go. He's like, tonight's gonna be crazy. And I'm like, why? And he's like full moon. He's like, he's like, there'll be more car accidents. There'll be more assaults. He's like, I just it's I don't know, man, he goes, it just happens, you know, so.
Jennifer Smith, CDE 3:31
So as a variable? Could it have some impact on blood sugar? I think not directly. But indirectly, as we've talked about all of the variables in diabetes already. Things like anxiety, things like appetite, or attitude, or fatigue, or I mean, all of these things, if they're being if they're being impacted because of the placement of the moon and the phase of the moon and whatnot. That could then impact the blood sugar, right?
Scott Benner 4:07
So there's no direct line. It's not like the moon and your blood sugar starts coming up for real physiological but what if a full moon makes you anxious or weight? Or something like what is it I mean, the moon for not
Jennifer Smith, CDE 4:21
sleep as well. I mean, we had a whole episode, we talked all about sleep and impact on blood sugar, so you're not sleeping as well or you're more tired or whatnot. All of that. Are there stress factor variables on the body? that could impact your blood sugar? So yes, there's not a direct like line from the moon to your blood sugar that's like, this is what's going to happen now. But indirectly, I think
Scott Benner 4:42
so. Maybe there are other ways that it impacts you. Okay, yeah. And so that's a funny one. Well, yeah, I mean, but it got set enough that it made it on the list. So I like you know, listen, in fairness, breathing is also on this list. That's people's people trying to be funny. You know, but I really just thought like okay obviously a full moon doesn't have anything to do with your blood sugar but if it is impacting people like you said like maybe there's other things that come from that that then in turn impact your blood sugar so they indirectly it does then right you know, right
Jennifer Smith, CDE 5:17
that's all I'm gonna What a perfect time of the year for talking about a film.
Scott Benner 5:21
I'm gonna put this up around Halloween and it gets Yes. All right, well thank you very much for doing that little care fairy welcome. Hey, don't go anywhere. I'm going to be talking more about the moon in just a second. g evoke hypo pan has no visible needle, and it's the first pre mixed autoinjector of glucagon for very low blood sugar in adults and kids with diabetes ages two and above. Not only is chivo hypo pen simple to administer, but it's simple to learn more about. All you have to do is go to G Vogue glucagon.com forward slash juicebox. g Volk shouldn't be used in patients with insulin, Noma or pheochromocytoma. Visit g Vogue glucagon.com slash risk. Alright, let's talk about the moon for a second. How often do you think a full moon occurs on Halloween on October 31? The answer is only once every 18 to 19 years. The first full moon after Halloween is November's moon, which is traditionally called the full beaver moon. Say Aren't you glad you waited? The full moon after Halloween is thought to be the time when the deer rut where mating season for the year is in full force. You know what I mean? Like they're out there just like Thumper and away. Thumper was the bunny and Bambi. I mean, for those of you who are not 1000 years old, okay, a little more about the moon. So as you may know, there is a lot of superstition around full moons. I've gone online and tried to find some fun things tell you about them. First of all, I can tell you with a fair amount of confidence that werewolves don't happen in full moons, but people think they do. werewolves are not real people. My God if you think they are, I'm so sorry. This here says oh, this is interesting. menstrual cycles are affected by the full moon 2011 study showed evidence that a full moon affects the periods of women 16 to 25 years old. They have no reason for this. It has not been fully explored. But the findings do point to a full moon influencing a woman's menstrual cycle, which I guess then technically would impact your blood sugar. So Ah, seems that sea turtles lay their eggs during a full moon. Because of the know the higher tide takes them further into shore and makes a better place for their nests. This is a little sketchy, but a recent study says that the gravitational pull of the moon may have something to do with the amount of births. Statistics have shown a high rate of babies being born on around the supermoon. They call it unexplained. And I can also find a number of articles that will say that that's absolute bs so you know greatest all. This is interesting one study monitor brain activity on sleeping participants and it showed that it took longer to fall asleep during a full moon than during other phases of the moon. It also found less brain activity related to deep sleep and shortened sleep times all around. There have not been many studies on it. But if you're having trouble sleeping during a full moon Hmm. I alluded to this earlier, emergency rooms get busy many er doctors think that a full moon really does have an effect on the number of patients admitted as well as the strangeness of the injuries that they see. Interesting little website. The crime rate goes up. I said that too. Oh, moods change. Research has shown that the moon's gravitational pull may very well be responsible for messing with our emotions. Those with unstable personalities or personality disorders may be extra sensitive to the moon's poll. So on average, the moon is 238,855 miles from Earth, and it seems it can impact things. One of those things might be your blood sugar, dum dum dum. That was supposed to be scary music I can't afford like sound effects and stuff. Although I did pay for this music. A huge thank you to one of today's sponsors, g Vogue glucagon, find out more about chivo hypo pan at GE Vogue glucagon.com Ford slash juice box, you spell that GVOKEGL you see ag o n.com. forward slash juicebox. I just want you to know that there are so many stories about the moon and weird sex stuff. I did not get involved in it while I was looking But turns out that might be something to, at least people think it is. Hey, make sure to check out those other diabetes variables. They're right there in your podcast player, and at Juicebox Podcast comm
you also don't want to miss the diabetes pro tip series, the defining diabetes series, how we eat after dark. There are so many to choose from. Check them out at Juicebox podcast.com and diabetes pro tip.com. And if you're a US resident, go to T one d exchange.org. forward slash juice box. Fill out the brief survey that helps people living with Type One Diabetes, super simple questions. Completely HIPAA compliant, completely anonymous takes less than 10 minutes, you can do it right on your phone, right on yourself. You're going to help people living with type one, you're going to support the podcast. I'm trying to get to 2000 completed surveys by the end of diabetes Awareness Month. So one month from now. Go go go. If you all stopped and did it right now. Just based on how many people I know are listening to this episode. Not only would there be way more than 2000 but you might you might hear a pop like an audible out in the world that would be the minds of the people at the tail end exchange just blowing they just be like Oh, I can't believe that happened. That'd be one day exchange.org forward slash juice box.
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#567 Constant Struggle
Constance has type 1 diabetes and a host of other medical issues.
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.
+ 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 welcome to Episode 567 of the Juicebox Podcast
on today's show Constance is here Constance has a number of medical issues one of them is type one diabetes. I went back and forth about whether or not this should be an after dark episode because one of her problems involves her private lady area but you're all adults you can handle it. There's no reason this needs to be an after dark episode. When I was recording it, I felt like this episode started slow and finished strong. And when I went back to do the Edit I I agreed with myself so there you go. I agree with myself. Please remember while you're listening that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice medical or otherwise please always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan. or becoming bold with insulin or like you're gonna like Constance, I found her to be genuine and very sincere. I have a couple of seconds here so let me remind you T one d exchange.org. forward slash juice box go take the survey takes less than 10 minutes you just have to be a US resident who is the caregiver of someone with type one or a US resident who has type one, you answer some simple questions. And boom just like that you've helped people with type one diabetes. This show is sponsored today by the glucagon that my daughter carries. g vo hypo Penn. Find out more at G Vogue glucagon.com forward slash juicebox. today's podcast is also sponsored by trial net trial that is available at no cost to relatives of people living with Type One Diabetes. It is a Risk Screening that identifies type one in its earliest stages, often years before symptoms appear. Early detection allows you to take steps to try and change the course of the disease trialnet.org forward slash juicebox tell them the Juicebox Podcast sent you.
Constance West 2:12
Um constant constants last currently, I will eventually change my last name. I have been a type one diabetic for 13 years now. And I just have like a complicated medical history. I don't know how to you
Scott Benner 2:32
know, I know it's hard to introduce yourself. Wait, but I loved what you just said. I'm trying to figure it out. You will change your name eventually.
Constance West 2:40
Oh, yeah, sorry. I got married in February.
Scott Benner 2:43
Oh, I thought you were like I will make a conscious decision to change my last name at some point. Or I was thinking you were thinking, I think I will get married.
Constance West 2:52
Oh no, I am married. I'm a married woman.
Scott Benner 2:55
Oh, you're a married woman?
Constance West 2:57
Sure I am.
Scott Benner 2:58
I'm a married man.
Constance West 3:00
Great. I'm 2626 Yeah, I was 13 at the age of diagnosis.
Scott Benner 3:11
Okay. Alright, so you're, you're right at the, you've split your life now. 13 years with 13 years with that?
Constance West 3:18
I have and you know, it was really funny. The day that I had my 13 year anniversary. I was working at the hospital that I was diagnosed. And it was a really it was kind of crazy. My job I work as a certified nursing assistant at one of our major hospitals in the area. I'm not going to say the name because I don't think I can. And they worked there for five years. But I haven't diagnosed there and it was it was good to be there. Like I'm running around crazy doing my job. You know, I'm on my feet for 12 hours straight and I texted my husband and I was like there better be cake when I come. Like if any anniversary day. I'm in cake. It's today and he had gone out and rehab a bakery close by and he had gotten me my favorite piece of cake and I just sat at home and I was like okay, this is good. I've never spent my anniversary my diabetes anniversary actually working before so I think it was good to come full circle and just, you know, 13 years previously, my life had changed forever.
Scott Benner 4:30
Yeah. Did you have any like, like flashback key moments during that day where you walk down and you remember things?
Constance West 4:36
Oh, no, our hospital has changed completely and the 13 year time frame. We have like two new readings. And the emergency department is no longer where it used to be. And so it there were no like flashbacks. It was really funny. When When I was diagnosed my diagnosis story was I had just started junior high in junior high up here starts in the sixth grade. And so you're at a school with sixth graders to eighth graders. No, sorry. Seventh to ninth graders. ninth graders and
Scott Benner 5:26
that was a child right? Because if not your dog can speak English. Oh, that's my dog. Yeah, what did it just say?
Constance West 5:35
Mom?
Scott Benner 5:35
It did right?
Constance West 5:37
Yeah, he says mom they both say mom, they're German Shepherds. We have a boy German shepherd and a girl German Shepherd, Lucien Atlas and they both say mom,
Scott Benner 5:47
Constance, I don't want to panic you but there are aliens in your house posing as German Shepherds. And you should probably run away
Constance West 5:55
right now. I mean, Lucy alerts me if our blood sugar so she's bad.
Scott Benner 6:00
Does she say anything? When it happens?
Constance West 6:03
No, she'll, she'll jump on my chest like unusually. So Kyle, my husband works evening shift. Or actually, they moved on to night shift recently. So within the first first like three or four months, we got her. He was working a lot of overtime. And one night, she just jumped on my chest. And I mean, she was fairly like 35 pounds at the time. And she would not get off of me. And I finally did a check my blood sugar with with not with my Dexcom at the time, and my blood sugar was low. And she's continued to do that. So she will alert me at my lowest when I'm sleeping and like my pump doesn't catch it. Or my Dexcom doesn't catch it fast enough.
Scott Benner 6:54
Because it's an alien. Listen, I know you love her and everything, but you have to leave the house. Your husband works at area 51 overnight, and he brought the dogs home is all this correct? No, no, like you're lying now to protect the dogs. That's crazy. Do you have a diabetes alert dog that chained itself? Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
Constance West 7:18
And so when I like when my head hits the pillow, like I'm so busy when my head hits the pillow on. Like, ruin Kyle's home, we'll lay down to watch a movie and I'm gone within the first five minutes. And so whenever she will, like jump up on the bed, and she'll start whining. He always like pushes me because like, check your blood sugar.
Scott Benner 7:40
How lovely and sweet. It says if you're newlyweds almost What a lovely story. The dog will all fall asleep from working so hard all day, then the dog will wake my husband up to let him know my blood sugar's low, and he kicks me Ah, just like you imagined at the wedding. Don't you think?
Constance West 7:59
Yeah. I mean, we've we've been together and living together for three years. So I mean,
Scott Benner 8:06
you Imagine all the people listening are like the shine rubs off in three years does it?
Constance West 8:12
Yeah, well, I've been married since March. I don't know it's no different than when we weren't married. So
Scott Benner 8:17
he kicked out when you were single as well.
Constance West 8:20
I mean, is it single? If you're in a relationship and you live together?
Scott Benner 8:25
I mean, I think technically it is. Yeah.
Constance West 8:28
I don't know. I always thought of myself as married to him anyways, because we were just like, together.
Scott Benner 8:34
There was no constants by by way of where you grew up. So I can't I can't trust your social construct ideas. Because
Constance West 8:43
Oh, no, that's not that's not a norm over here. I can tell you that for sure. Yeah, nope, nope. Nope.
Scott Benner 8:52
Alright, so you're 13 you're diagnosed it's only 15 years ago. So you came out with good insulin right? What did you get?
Constance West 9:03
We got human login. lantis. Actually, can I just backtrack for a second?
Scott Benner 9:09
You can say no, I'm just teasing you.
Constance West 9:13
And the hospital of I did have like this last anniversary. And March. It was really funny when I was diagnosed. So like, we had been trying to do a workup for actual cancer because I was so sick and like, there is not really anything that the doctor could figure out my PCP and so and mana was also going around at the junior high was and and so this was like a several week thing. I was so tired. I was not really actually paying a lot. I was drinking a lot. And they couldn't figure out what was going on, but they never did a glucose test. And then all of a sudden one day where And they're and they're like, Oh, we run an aliens t test. And I actually found that a winsenior a one C is 10.3 you need to go to the hospital. So we go to the hospital and like, we're in the emergency department and we're waiting for that new chronology team to come back and some like general surgery resident is just like looking at me to make sure I'm okay as we're waiting for endocrinology to come down from clinic. And he goes up in your mouth because they're doing their system check. And he goes, Oh, my gosh, your uvula goes the wrong way. And then, like I had a whole herd of residents who came in through in and out of the emergency department room as I'm waiting to see the chronology and they all just want to, like open my over wanted me to open my mouth and check my uvula because they've never seen that you do that went forward and not backwards.
Scott Benner 10:51
Listen, does it really does it still do that? Yeah. Yeah. First time, we're aware of it.
Constance West 10:57
Yeah. And so that was like, that every year will get me because that's really what I remember from that day.
Scott Benner 11:05
Or you feel it goes the wrong way. Oh, my. That's so bizarre. It can't even be the title of the episode. You know, one time constant. Somebody said to me, can I tell you a funny story? And I was like, Yeah, they told it. And I thought the whole time they're telling I was like, This is not funny.
Constance West 11:22
Maybe that wasn't funny. It's always funny to me that
Scott Benner 11:26
I was amused This time, I'm just telling you there was the one time while the person was telling the story, and all I could think was like is not funny at all. So you're okay, so tons of people look at your uvula. I also am interested and I think everybody should be you can tell a person who's living with autoimmune issues because you're like winning you're a funny story. People thought I had cancer. But it wasn't anyway, I just have and what do you have? You have type one, but you have other stuff too.
Constance West 11:59
Yeah, so I have type one diabetes, I have hashimotos I have I always forget and so I had been told that I have sjogrens disease, which is your immune immune system attacking your glands that secrete so like your mouth. And then those vagina Sorry, I'm gonna say that word a lot. And then Lycan sclerosis, which is the immune system attacking the genital tissue and
Scott Benner 12:38
Okay, so you're a little soft spoken so let me just say a couple things first, so you had so I never can say this because they put dots above letters and when they do that you've lost me but sjogrens disease show show grins I just order of your immune system identified by two most common symptoms dry eyes and dry mouth. Do you feel like you have that or you're just somebody tells you?
Constance West 13:05
No so i i do have dry mouth and I do have dry eyes and then they can do an AMA and anti nuclear antibody test which is like kind of the standard and at the time that I was told I had that it was it was showing positive maybe it was for something else at the time. But I have a neurologist that just went and did labs and my ama is completely negative so he's like, I don't think you have shell grinds anymore if you ever had it, but I do have constant dry eyes and constant right now
Scott Benner 13:37
can last for years or be lifelong. Now. The next one lynchin school right skin lichen sclerosis,
Constance West 13:48
yes, lichen sclerosis, or we can call it LS because it's also called bat.
Scott Benner 13:53
Why don't we do that. So I want to say sclerosis again, in a long term is a long term skin condition that mostly affects the gentle and anal areas. It causes your affected skin to become thin, white, and wrinkly. It turns you into my grandmother. It is due to inflammation and other skin changes in the affected area. Common symptoms include itching, irritation, and painful sex. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, less than a rare condition. By the way, which always makes it feel worse in my mind, because they're like, you know, all the countless millions of people on the planet. Only 200,000 a year get this thing and they're like, great. So what's your first diagnosis in your life?
Constance West 14:40
Well, I also have pelvic floor dysfunction
Scott Benner 14:43
on pelvic floor dysfunction. That pops right up on Google. That's interesting.
Constance West 14:52
And then my, my pelvic floor muscles are hypertonic
Scott Benner 14:56
you're okay? your pelvic floor muscles are hypertonic Yes. And that doesn't mean they're like a bubbly drink at all.
Constance West 15:06
No. So hyper just like high blood sugar hypoglycemia, they are. Constantly contract it. Sugar high, or high tone.
Scott Benner 15:16
Okay, pelvic floor contractions can also be measured internally with a paragon meter, which is a tampon like sensor that can be placed in the vagina or rack them. I mean, they say, only go one way with that can also be used to diagnose pelvic floor dysfunction. Have you had this test?
Constance West 15:40
Yeah. So what is it called specifically a urodynamic test. So they like go in. And what they do is they put a Foley catheter in to the urethra, and they start filling the bladder full of normal sailing. And then they also have the little probe that you were saying, and the vagina, and then they measure how much the bladder can hold before it starts contracting and then making the pelvic floor muscles contracting. And at that time, my bladder could only hold 62 L's before it started having contractions equivalent to childbirth. And so 62 ml is two ounces.
Scott Benner 16:25
Okay, let's go slow, because this isn't happening to me, and I'm getting upset. Let's go with what was your first diagnosis? And how old were you? Was it the diet? Was it the diabetes?
Constance West 16:38
It was a diabetes at 13.
Scott Benner 16:39
Okay. Which now seems like passe if I if I may say,
Constance West 16:45
No, honestly, yeah, my diabetes is the only thing like, people are like how you do it? I'm like, Oh, no, like high right? not do it.
Scott Benner 16:54
Yeah. Honestly, it probably is the least of your issues, right?
Constance West 16:59
Yeah, I think so. I mean, other than like, when you have a really low blood sugar, and you feel like,
Scott Benner 17:05
right, no, no, I understand. And by the way, it's cool that you curse because you got my you're supposed to go you can go from one way to the other, but not the other way. Joke earlier and you left under your breath. And I really appreciate it because it's early morning, we should tell people it is a day I'm here is the earliest i think i've ever recorded an episode. Not to say that it's super early, but it's five o'clock where you are right? Yeah, yeah. Right. Yeah. So we thank you very much for doing this like this. It was and what happened? You had a doctor's appointment, and we kind of got our things messed up. But my schedule so full, like, there's not a lot of options. So yeah,
Constance West 17:43
I have a doctor's appointment, and I thought that it was Eastern Standard Time. Which I was like, Yeah, fine. 5am my time No problem, but it was Pacific Standard Time.
Scott Benner 17:52
Yes. It's no big deal. I'll sleep tomorrow. Great. Yeah, it's not a big deal. Actually. I'm joking. I'm fine. I think you might give me a nice day. I should probably get up earlier to begin now. People are like, wait, he's not up at eight o'clock. Usually I am up at eight o'clock. I'm just not usually working at eight o'clock. Yeah. Alright, so what comes after the type one?
Constance West 18:13
Um, what was really cool about my NGO, she was constantly when they withdraw, they even see she would also draw t three and TSH and so she caught my hash not not even hashimotos but hypothyroidism really early, so I was on 25 micrograms of love of pyroxene. Until then, like from, I think it was 15 I was diagnosed with that. So 15 all the way to 20 before we even need to do it dose change.
Scott Benner 18:49
really early that she caught
Constance West 18:51
it super early. And then I'm 22 now it's just been a freakin roller coaster of trying to get it under control. And I think we finally have
Scott Benner 19:05
and doing it just with T four.
Constance West 19:09
We have no way I do love and by Roxanne and then lift those hierarchies. By running why Oh fine. By running?
Scott Benner 19:19
Is that a T three? Yeah. So not sight. Oh, have you tried sight? Oh, no, no, no. Okay. That's just a brand thing. So now you have a good seat. For people who don't understand or test my remembrance of this. You are you don't you can't you're not making the T four but you're also having trouble picking it up. Right? So the T three helps with that. It's all in the thyroid episode people. It's one of the one of the stranger things that I'm not good at remembering is that
Constance West 19:51
Yeah, so I believe if my nursing education has stuck in my brain long enough, t three is converted to T four To go to the south,
Scott Benner 20:01
there's there's there's something about when you don't convert it when you don't pick it up well you can,
Constance West 20:06
right. Right. And I just I think what it is is just it's not fast enough. It just doesn't work fast enough and I have seen a difference since starting the lie of irony like I've always had fatigue and the fatigue is a little less again I'm a very busy person, but I'm just constantly fatigued if I could sleep all day long I would probably sleep 20 hours a day.
Scott Benner 20:30
That is a real serious implication of thyroid issues that people are just they're tired even when they get their medication right they can still be tired Yeah, yeah did t three give you a little kick? Or no?
Constance West 20:47
Does anything we just saw my end last week I was like can we titrate down on the GSA can go up on the on the cheap three a medication on like I just want to see if that's more helpful because at this point, it's working But could it work better to push boundaries? Yeah, I have
Scott Benner 21:07
to be careful with the what is it I'm thinking of like you can start getting like teeth grinding or heart palpitations. Stuff like that.
Constance West 21:18
Yeah, there's a very narrow therapeutic range for thyroid meds so I'm aware and I do get those if the dose is off at all I will get them and they will come full force and and just message and ask for a lab and then they adjust but she was like yeah, we can do that. And it should be about the same amount that your your body should normally make but your thyroid toast so
Scott Benner 21:43
great. Okay, so do you have any other problems like in that those years getting it together where your your hair keep falling out? Or issues with weight or anything like that?
Constance West 21:56
I never had issues like wait until recently. I've always had been hair does get thinner. They did find a nodule on my file, right? So we get that checked every year and make sure it's not cancer. cancerous.
Scott Benner 22:13
But yeah, just like it. The nodules are sorry to cut you off the nodules indicate hashimotos Yes, right. And that's, that's a common if you have hashimotos you're gonna you will likely see so what do you get like ultrasound? Mm Hmm,
Constance West 22:29
yeah, but if we they also tested for antibodies and they found them which was the confirming diagnosis because you can have a nodule without having
Scott Benner 22:39
the antibodies? Yeah, right. Okay. All right. So what came next?
Constance West 22:47
What came me sjogren
Scott Benner 22:55
sjogrens was next. Alright, so can you kind of put into context for people like dry eyes dry mouth is it a constant is it something it flares How did it How does it present?
Constance West 23:08
Yeah, it's kind of the dry mouth is definitely constant. And so what they tell you to do is say like either eat candy Keep your mouth Keep your mouth full of saliva by eating candy throughout the day. Sorry I have diabetes that I can't just be candy willy nilly so that was never an option and so chewing gum was how I would try to keep it kind of what and keep your mouth with the amount of saliva it's supposed to have and secrete enough saliva Jimmy able to eat and then the dry eyes It's they just it's kind of it can be intermittent like from screen all the way through summer usually it's pretty bad when it gets drier
Scott Benner 23:59
and that's used like wedding drops or
Constance West 24:03
and I have when it gets really really bad I have specific ones for that I mean suppression of that a go lacrimal gland I think it is to like actually moisten the eye I'm not exactly sure how it works and I just said the completely wrong thing um but yeah, so it's like an immune suppression drug for your eyeballs doing it's really bad I use those but yeah, there's not really anything else that they can do for
Scott Benner 24:41
the dry mouth just the irritating or I guess it could have other impacts too right like you can end up with like more cavities because of that there's
Constance West 24:49
right and so that's what happened was I got more cavities and I maybe maybe the sjogrens has been lifelong and it just intermittently enough that it which is sticking my teeth but by the time that I was 18 I had shown many cavities and at this time I mean I was looking at my a Wednesday when I was diagnosed was 10.3 but I couldn't go back and see labs all the way back in the highest that I ever had after that was like an 8.6 so my diabetes has never really been out of whack far yeah, it's not it's been out of whack if you ask my parents but whatever, um, and my diabetes should not have caused it their dry mouth or the decay and they're not that happened and so the time that I was 18 I had to have like $30,000 worth of dental work done which insurance was did pay for which was great. Because there was just so much decay going on, I'd show fast. And then at the age of 20, or vine, I my two front teeth, I was I was I was working i think i think i was at work and I was eating something and just both of my two front teeth just snapped. Holy crap. Wow, they just snapped and I had had a couple of other cavities that were working their way through on the upper and the bottoms after all of this dental work. Three years prior to running to the dentist and the dentist was like well we can spend another $30,000 trying to fix all of these or we can just take all of your teeth out.
Scott Benner 26:45
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Unknown Speaker 30:17
And Kp ventures
Scott Benner 30:19
constants, I have to tell you when I said that I didn't know that I have my hand up like I have it on the Bible in a courtroom. I just went, when I heard dry mouth, I thought, oh, like, you know, if people sleep with their mouths open, for instance, a dentist, they'll say that's one way you might end up with getting a cavity because the bacteria and you feed it with it anyway, but but I didn't know you were gonna sell that. That's insane. Yeah, wow. No kidding. So they just took out your teeth and set you up with dentures.
Constance West 30:52
How old? Were you? 21
Scott Benner 30:55
Happy birthday. So yeah, a lot of people go out drinking, or some people get dentures. So I'm going to stop for a second before we get to the other issues and ask you buy them five years ago, 21 years old? What's the psychological impact on you? With all this? Like, how do you handle this?
Constance West 31:15
You know, it's it's just the card that I was given. I there's no way to handle it. I can't stop and break down. I do stop and break down like when something's really affecting me. I do and I cry and I cry and cry and my poor husband will just sit there and try to help me and he has no idea what to do. And then I get up literally it'll be like okay, I'm done crying now I'll get up and I'm like, Okay, well I got to go on I got to keep doing what I got to do. And that's that's it like there's my motto is like every day gets better like yeah, today right now this feeling shocks. It sucks. But I'm doing things that will have a prolonged effect in my life. And hopefully I won't have to be here forever. And it's it is just kind of like what gets me through the day. I will say you usually ask people if there's any other autoimmune funky stuff going on and families. I'm the only one with anything wrong. I am one of six children. My parents don't have any siblings. Their parents are mostly all dead. But there is nothing autoimmune. Oh, sorry. My great, great grandfather we've learned before he passed away that he had hypothyroidism But it wasn't until like way later in life, he had only been on it for like, two years.
Scott Benner 32:49
Like mental issues even that.
Constance West 32:51
I mean, my dad, um, my dad had dental issues, but his Purdue to a dentist in his 20s leaving, like a needle in his gun. Yeah,
Scott Benner 33:07
okay. Don't say that again. Okay. Look, none of us want you to say a dentist let the needle in your dad's gum again, because that is going to kill everything. That was the chilliest thing anyone's ever said to me on the podcast. I was like, it just ran right up my spine. Okay, all right. Hold on a second. Well, the truth by you really got me with that one. The. The truth is, no one else in your family can have an autoimmune disorder passes because you took them all okay? You literally
Constance West 33:35
literally I joke with people and I'm like, I just want my genetic lottery.
Scott Benner 33:40
You You just you're greedy. And you took every one of them. Okay, so we're left with like, Hey, can I guess was pelvic floor next?
Wow, look at me getting good at this. All right.
Constance West 34:02
Well, I would say no, I would say these things. So I would say pelvic floor dysfunction as long as I can remember is the same as lichens sclerosis, and I'm going to say with Lycan sclerosis, the only way to actually make a current confirmation for Lycan sclerosis is they do a biopsy of the skin tissue which might give you a tingle as well up your spine. So they did want to recently but I have been on topical steroids for that in the area for well over a year and they had me stopped for a few weeks and it came back as contact dermatitis, which is just inflammation of tissue. And it didn't come back as like an fluorosis but with the way that my tissue clinically looks, the doctors like we're just gonna retest in a couple of months. If you can handle being off the steroids and see if it comes back positive because she's like, there's no way this is isn't like in sclerosis. But the only way to like actually get the tissue to kind of go back to its normal is just up the stairway. But let's go back pelvic floor dysfunction, and the lichen sclerosis. So for as long as I can remember I would tear in the genital area and not like real bad. But it would just happen and then it would do a little awkward floor and it heals, it's fine. And pelvic floor dysfunction, I have always had like heavy periods, which is part of the hypertonic pelvic floor. And so basically what it is, is like my pelvic floor muscles, they're a big bowl and they hold like they hold our the uterus and the vagina and then it holds the bladder and everything kind of follow the diaphragm. While mine is literally like above my navel. Basically, like my pelvic floors so far up, it's so tense, it's so far up. And so it's always caused issues for sex, I just didn't know that was a thing. Um, and so two years ago, I out of nowhere got a kidney infection. And I think that kind of threw at all for loop. Because sense getting that kidney infection. And I honestly have no idea where that can even infection came from, I actually think it's from the lakes here. Because I was swimming in the lake a couple of days prior. And I, there was no way that I would have I've never had a kidney infection before. And so I go in, because I started King blood one night, and they do the scan and everything and you're like yeah, kidney infection, and it gets worse and it gets worse because like when you go in with your symptoms, it takes three days, at least for the antibiotics to kick in. And it was over a long weekend. So of course, you can't get into see anybody right away, and the antibiotics weren't working. It's kidney infections are so painful. And then once that was relieved, I always had like, in my urethra would burn, burn, burn, burn. And so I was still having that symptom of this burning urethra on and off. And then I started having cramping. That will literally drop me to the floor. And so I was referred to a euro gynecologist and recipe which is putting just fluid in the bladder to check if there's any tears from the infection and there wasn't and so they kind of just sent me on my merry way. And said, Here, take this medication if you are having the urethra spasming, and it'll be fine. So I dealt with that. Up until last July, so we're talking like a full year.
Scott Benner 38:25
I have a couple of symptoms. So the um, they the steroid medication and the issues with the LS is that internal or external? That's external, external, okay. And the pelvic floor like what are the real world implications of it, like in your day to day life? How does it impact you?
Constance West 38:50
Yeah, so, um, I can't, we can't have sex. I will just have spasming. Again, it'll kind of just like, drop, I kind of have to like, drop whatever I'm doing. It used to literally dragged me to the knees. It doesn't do that anymore. So I have like a team of doctors that we're all kind of like working together, but not in the same clinic. So I'm not actually on the same team. But I I so we had COVID that hit right. And so I went from not seeing my PCP at all. And I couldn't get into an appointment with her like they weren't doing in person appointments, but I had a tear that happened in March of last year. Yeah, March 2020. That lasted all the way till like, middle of June. And I mean, it was pretty deep. It was pretty bad. And like okorafor wasn't working and I call the office and I was like I need to get in, I need to see somebody and I need to see somebody in person because I need somebody to look at this like, this is no longer like it was so hard because it's like, oh, we're in the middle of a pandemic. And the pandemic was so new at that time. But I was like, I cannot do my daily activities of living because it is just so painful. And so I went into my PCP, and she looked at it and she was like, This is not my specialty. And she sent me back to the Europa ecologist. And the euro. gynecologists was asking all these questions and just questions that they hadn't asked before or maybe I wasn't getting the right answers. It's so hard to know which, which it was. And she was like, okay, she looked at everything. And she was like, Oh, my God, this is not my wheelhouse, either, like, I cannot help you here. But I can help you with the like urethral spasming I was complaining of in feeling. And finally, we had we scheduled another follow up appointment. Once I got the confirming diagnosis. She sent me to a VA the general dermatology of general dermatologists,
Unknown Speaker 41:18
which there was,
Constance West 41:21
I had no idea. But the funny thing was like, I went to the original dermatologist, but i three days prior, I had gone to your dermatologist as well, because I had a couple of moles that popped up and were weird. And they were scaring me. So I went into the dermatologist and she didn't look at my bachelor scan at all. And so this virginal dermatologist looked at everything. And she was like, yep, this is like an sclerosis. But the urogynecologist had already started me on, it's helpful. They does all the topical steroids. And we were doing that at that point, because I think it took three weeks to get into her. I had been doing it every day for three weeks, which was too much of it to get a biopsy. So I
Scott Benner 42:10
got a couple of questions. So when you say you can't have sex is that constantly or during flare ups?
Constance West 42:18
I have not had a time that I've not been cleared up.
Scott Benner 42:21
Okay. And so when, when you I'm assuming you've tried sex?
Constance West 42:27
Yeah. And I happen. It's so funny prior to this pelvic floor dysfunction. My husband and my husband had a couple, like long term girlfriends prior to me. Were actually like old, high school sweethearts, just an old story. That takes quite a while to tell. But he had several girlfriends and he was like, I've never not gotten them to orgasm, and I've never I've never gotten the I never orgasm so fast. Because my husband Oh my god, he'll orgasm in two seconds. I'm not kidding you. And he gets fired me. It's the worst thing ever. Especially if I'm trying to enjoy myself. And so we always forget that was something wrong with him. I was like, there's something wrong with you. We need to get you into some sort of therapy. So you're not just going every two seconds.
Scott Benner 43:29
So you're in bed, so you're trying to have intercourse and you're in pain.
Constance West 43:33
I'm in pain. Yeah.
Scott Benner 43:35
But the implication to him is there's like 7000 vaginas on him. Right? And yeah, doing the hard work. And so he Yeah, like, okay, so yeah, I'm gonna have to beat this out, I imagine but so you're like amazing stuff, right? No,
Constance West 43:57
no, it's it's funny. I I don't know if this when I was 18. I was doing my CNA classes. And the first time I actually ever saw a penis was when they were shoving or urethral catheter in. JOHN at one of our major hospitals, and I was like, gross. So penises really grossed me out? Honestly, I'm gonna be honest.
Scott Benner 44:17
We did. Let me ask a serious question on that is Was it hard to date for you because of all of your issues.
Constance West 44:26
I'm hard today I've never been one to like date date. If I went on a date with the boy it was because I already liked them and saw something in them that I thought would be acceptable as a boyfriend. I had one relationship that lasted for years. And then the one previous to Kyle was a year and a half and he ended up ghosting me just out of nowhere. And then I've been with Kyle for three years.
Scott Benner 44:58
So what do you do? Do you just take One for the team once in a while. Yep, sure to I'm sorry.
Constance West 45:05
Yeah, I mean, he tries god he tries as hard as you possibly can. And so a week, we can have sex. I don't want let's see. How do I explain this?
Scott Benner 45:21
I don't know. But go ahead and try.
Constance West 45:23
Yeah. Um and I have no qualms about explaining it, but um, let's see, okay, so things will get there will be touching and touching is sometimes okay. I really have to be in the right mindset. I have to be calm. They gave me some muscle relaxers that are really helpful. So it's not like we can't just out of nowhere spontaneously have sex. I have to take these muscle relaxers. 45 minutes to an hour beforehand, which does not work very well with my husband when he wants to have sex. I'm like no, let's do it. Now
Scott Benner 45:59
does it turn into cardio you take the muscle relaxers then run away from him for 45 minutes
Constance West 46:06
but the muscle relaxer really does help and so we'll take them a little slow relaxer and kind of will help relax everything though he will touch me and try to get and like It'll take a while to get the juices flowing. How would you say yeah imaginal juice flowing?
Scott Benner 46:30
I think if I said that I don't think it would go over well but I'm sure it's fine.
Constance West 46:37
To get the juices flowing I want that if we're okay then he'll try to penetrate if you want to get technical and if he doesn't come within 10 seconds and my body will actually reject him like my muscles will reject him out of my body
Scott Benner 46:57
No kidding
Constance West 46:58
no not kidding at all. That happens all the time.
Scott Benner 47:02
Okay hold on do you I mean asking because of the part of the country you're in I guess more than anything Have you tried like drugs like recreational drugs?
Constance West 47:15
No I don't I don't
Scott Benner 47:18
you don't seem like a person who would try that which is but I wanted to see if it was bad enough that I honestly thought to myself that was going to be your answer but but I just thought maybe it's been Have you ever talked about it
Constance West 47:32
like in therapy know like
Scott Benner 47:34
between the two of you like maybe we should try smoking weed and doing this or something like that.
Constance West 47:40
Oh, I mean my husband's like sweet I just don't i well i could get drug tested at anytime I'm in nursing school and I'm also working
Scott Benner 47:48
so so not that I'm saying to do this but has does alcohol have any impact on it?
Constance West 47:53
Um, so I can't drink alcohol either because I also have chronic yeast infection.
Scott Benner 47:59
Of course you do right? No, I don't know why I didn't just assume that I'm sorry. I'm
Constance West 48:04
literally chronic from well before even being diagnosed with the diabetes I can remember having yeast infections and they've been ongoing since so they're it's like this with my my, which was the reason I emailed you and asked if you wanted to do a after dark episodes. So like I have the chronic yeast infections that have never gone away. I have dumped every infectious disease doctor I've seen are still trying to figure it out. And then I have the lichen sclerosis, which came back as contact dermatitis, which is its own thing and then the pelvic floor dysfunction. When I have a seizure when I have a tear, which is another word for it because fissures and tears The use gets inside it makes it more inflamed which sets off my pelvic floor.
Scott Benner 48:51
Wow. All right, well, well, this is a this is an after dark so I'm gonna just I'm gonna ask you another question. That seems like an obvious question. Pretty sure I know the answer to but I feel like for we need to understand fully doing. No, I wouldn't either. By the way, if I was you just I'm just I was just like I would ask. Are your hands super soft? How does this work?
Constance West 49:20
My husband's just really patient.
Scott Benner 49:21
Well, no, he's the same. I'm pretty certain. By the way,
Constance West 49:28
it's so funny. It's so funny. Our girl dog Lucy she's in heat right now. And she told me as I was leaving for work yesterday, he was like she got on top. Alison started helping him the other day. And I was like, same thing when I'm trying to have my period. I just want to help you. I was like, it's the hormones that are released me. I was like, yeah, it's done, and I just left.
Scott Benner 49:50
None of this impacts your desire, though. I mean, I'm assumed like, Oh,
Constance West 49:55
no, I love my husband. I want to have fun with my husband. He Doesn't my brain doesn't work with my vagina?
Scott Benner 50:03
Do you do stuff to? I'm just gonna ask you like, do you do things that, like, do you, like, bring like the back of your knee into it? Or like what do you do to like any? I don't even know what to say I'm a bit of a loss here. I only know the classic ways to do it. So, but do you see what I'm saying? Do you guys get like try to figure something out? Or do you I mean,
Constance West 50:30
we've definitely definitely tried so I, I, in October, I had surgery, they put in a neuro and nerve stimulator of my sacral nerve. So like usually they'll do this for people because pelvic floor dysfunction is usually usually happens after pregnancy, right? And it usually happens in the elderly population. And again, that's usually usually hypo tronic muscles where they are have just been too stressed either due to age or pregnancy that they are not tight and mine are too tight. So if you were to like, if we were to turn on the video, I could show you like usually your, your pelvic floor muscles actually sit in your pelvic floor where you're like, you know, your legs Connect, you know, it says they're mine. It's above like my belly button and basically, and so the pelvic floor muscles and move kind of like all of the organs up with it. You could say, constants are we had
Scott Benner 51:34
when you said yeah, if we had the video on you could show me You met with your hands that you were gonna show me? vagina, right?
Constance West 51:40
No, I don't want. You don't want to. Believe me? I've never personally seen it. But I'm sure you don't want
Scott Benner 51:49
to tell you like because if that's where you were going, I've recorded like 600 of these and that would have been the first time somebody said, if you put this on and show you my genitals. I knew you meant like you were making some hand. Just Yeah, yeah.
Constance West 52:06
Anyways, yeah, we did this like diary log or me peeing, and like the spasming I was feeling. And at that time in October, I was paying like 16 times a day, I'm in my first semester of nursing school, I'm driving three hours, at least every week I I work a very high demand job that I have on my feet for 12 hours, three days a week right now. And I'm going to be a bedside nurse, you know, you're on your feet for three shifts for 12 hours a week, once I'm done with nursing school, going to the bathroom 16 times a day, is not effective. To get any of that done. Like let me just be clear, you're in the bathroom. your urethra is spasming as you're trying to stop peeing, and then your pelvic floor contracts. And it's just you end up sweating sitting there on the toilet. Like you're, you've just eaten really bad takeout? Like, right 16 times a day. And time today,
Scott Benner 53:12
I want to tell you something. There's something interesting going on about you, right? Because at your core, you're kind of a proper young lady. And no, but no, no, not hold on, hold on. But you have so many things going on. You really don't have the time to be proper. And you've read right, but I think you have it. Do you think if none of this had happened to you? Would you be a little bit of a teetotaller? Or do you think you'd be going crazy? What do you think your core feeling is about life?
Constance West 53:42
My core feeling about life? I think my sister's kind of like me. Yeah, I think I would kind of be the same thing. I just have a lot less
Scott Benner 53:50
going on. Yeah, no, but your attitude is impeccable. By the way. Like I seriously, you have so many things going on with you that if it was the 1600s people would think you were a witch and put you on trial. Like oh, yeah, sure. 100% you'd be at a witch trial. So she makes men's Pierce's explode. I think that alone would have gotten you burned. So um, but you have an amazing attitude, like even wanting to like tell somebody about this is is really lovely. Because you're not the only one I would imagine. And I can't imagine that a lot of people are excited to run around and tell these stories. And your husband is obviously a person who loves you, which is that I mean, that's lovely in and of itself. Especially when I asked about the mouse stuff and you said you because I just assumed that's how you guys got through.
Constance West 54:47
Now, you know, he'll ask me and I'm like, Nope, not today.
Scott Benner 54:50
Yeah, he's a boy. We asked constantly. It's literally like one of our headcount. I was at a funeral once and that's what I was wondering about. So Oh, God. We're tortured.
Constance West 55:02
No, I'm like you have lefty, like, go hang out with lefty.
Scott Benner 55:08
Do you make most of the money?
Constance West 55:10
I'm not currently he does, but I will in a year,
Scott Benner 55:14
I was just thinking like, maybe he was like, all right, but such a good. What made you want to be a nurse, I'm assuming having scads of medical issues.
Constance West 55:25
Oh, it was definitely the care that I got in the hospital when I was diagnosed because the diabetes educators that I had, as well as until I was 18, with the care that I had at the hospital was diabetes educators. So they were just wonderful. And I hated my endo that whole entire five years, I had the same endo minus the times that she was pregnant, and she was pregnant, like three or four times when she was on leave, but um, my diabetes educators were just wonderful. And I find as a type one diabetic, at my core, because if you really were to boil me down to one disease, I would just say type one diabetes, because it's the it's my longest lasting disease, it's not going anywhere, it just, it can affect everything else. And I just want to be helpful to future diabetics and families. And I, I think that's why I enjoy listening to your podcast so much is because we speak so much truth. And like, diabetes educators, and a lot of times it's because I can't speak the truth of what diabetes is actually like, and the peaks and valleys. But just being that person and knowing that these families were going through such a, it's traumatic, it's shown dramatic having diabetes on a daily basis, I feel like it's traumatic. Some days, not every day, but it can be dramatic, and just having somebody to be like, Okay, this is what we're seeing, this is what we're doing. what's not working, because we would do that with my, with my certified diabetes educators, the nurses, because they had had diabetes for forever. One of them Her name was Barb, she's still actually at the hospital. And she was diagnosed at the age of four, you know, and so if we were ever having any problems, we would call her not the hospital and say, Hey, this is what what's going on? What's what what do you think? What should we do? And it's just, and the only way to be a certified diabetes educator is through being a nurse or through be a nutritionist. And I've taken nutrition classes and classes, I could have become a nutritionist, but in case something were to ever happen to my husband, and I was a single mom, and I needed to find work as a nurse, you can find more work than as a nutritionist, so I went with nursing. Hmm,
Scott Benner 58:01
good for you. That's really I mean, it's the whole stories mean, it's terrible. Obviously, I have nothing but compassion for you. But the way you handle is is astonishing. Why do you think why do you think you're able to do that? It's a question nobody ever is able to answer but
Constance West 58:21
yeah, and doctors asked me that too. They're like you can't be living in a body with all this happening going on at once. I'm like the head guy. Can I share Yeah, I'm doing it and I'm doing everything else that everybody else is doing so I can do it and I am during it. It doesn't mean I don't have times that stop me and I have to kind of readjust what I'm doing. But I I honestly think it's just like, I lived for so long with the diabetes know when I was diagnosed, my thought was okay, I'm just gonna make it to 18 you know, like we were given basically, and this is 2008 I don't know why the doctors did this, but they were like, you're probably gonna end up dead sooner than later. And again, yeah, yeah, they they gave my parents a max of 30 is what they said. Really? Really? Yeah. I don't know why.
Scott Benner 59:23
stoned out of their mind they can't think you guys gonna stop smoking the weed long enough up there right?
Unknown Speaker 59:29
Do you know Ben?
Scott Benner 59:31
What's now that didn't stop anybody in the upper northwest to be in the elite? Do you think that we've been illegal stop people from smoking weed?
Constance West 59:40
Oh, no, no, no, no. Everybody's smoking and now anywhere you go.
Scott Benner 59:45
Just it's it's just everywhere. It's a cloud of wonder like well, you guys should be able to get decent stuff. It shouldn't be that bad. No, I mean, it's just listen I've spoken to a lot of people. And I don't think that people have a good attitude, or what would be perceived as a bad attitude on purpose. I don't think anyone's reaction is mindful. Meaning I don't think something happens to somebody and then they go, Well, let me decide, will I be upbeat and cheery about this? Or am I gonna act like a prick? Like, that's not what happens, like, whatever your reaction is, is your reaction. But I mean, were your parents like, fantastic parents? Did you have like an I deal with childhood until you were 13? Or do you just have is this just a good disposition? Is there anybody in your family that has your disposition that you could point to? No, you're just gonna live your life like this is it? This is what I get. Yeah.
Constance West 1:00:48
And I think again, diabetes, because like, I could literally die in the middle of the night, and all blood sugar I have my ANC just came back the other day, 6.0 I am flying, you know, but something could happen, you know, my site could fail. And before I wake up, I die from some, you know, I can get I live my life. I was like, I could get into my car, and I could freakin die because some moron hits me, you know, and that's just kind of like, I'm going to do the best that I can. I'll be here like, and it is what it is like, diabetes is not going to stop me. And there have been several people who throughout my life have tried to stop me because of my diabetes, mainly educators and telling me, I wasn't worth the time. I wasn't going to make it. I was too dumb. And it just wasn't worth their time because it would take too long and I wasn't worth it.
Scott Benner 1:01:41
causes. I've been speaking to you for 57 minutes. Now you've not come off as dumb once. Why would someone think that about you?
Constance West 1:01:49
I'm probably because I was 13 at the time. And all 13 year old. Are
Scott Benner 1:01:55
you going to? Where was your endocrinologist in the middle of the woods or something? What? Where did you? I mean, I watched Grey's Anatomy. So I think of Seattle as being the hub of good health care. Is that much.
Constance West 1:02:08
I mean? I have I could. I could talk to you for
Scott Benner 1:02:17
this. I'm laughing at myself, because I have co mingled a television show with reality in my mind. I was out in Seattle recently. And no, yeah, right. And then I was disturbed to find that I think Seattle grace from Grey's Anatomy is actually a set in Los Angeles and not
Constance West 1:02:39
in Seattle.
Scott Benner 1:02:40
So people were like, do you want to see the Space Needle? I'm like, No, we're Seattle. Grace.
Constance West 1:02:46
No, it's not a real hospital at all.
Scott Benner 1:02:48
Yeah, I found out It's okay. I was actually so busy when I was there. timewise I didn't see anything. Well, that's unfortunate. Yeah, I saw that mountain that finally. Yeah, I love the there's a I think I've mentioned in another episode, but there's a colloquial phrase that people use around there. They say when the mountain is out. It doesn't rain here. Yes. But when the mountain is out, isn't actually a sensible statement. The mountains always out. It's when the sky is clear. But yeah, the idea and it was lovely. Like the first person that SAW said it to me, I thought like, Oh, that's nice. They don't understand English. And then that's fine. But then when the fifth and sixth and 20th person said, oh, wait till the mountain comes out, so you can see it. I was like, Alright, this is the thing these people say. Did you see it? Did you see Mount Rainier? One day? I got a really great look at it. Yes. Is it not breathtaking? It's astonishing. And I will y'all see
Constance West 1:03:47
the mountains are like dirt compared to us. So it's amazing.
Scott Benner 1:03:52
I think the most fascinating aspect of it was that we arrived on a Saturday night. And I remember being a traffic light and it was late at night. Don't get me wrong, like one o'clock in the morning, right? So it my time so it was probably 10 or 11 your time. I was exhausted, we were sitting at a traffic light. Can't see anything, obviously because it's dark. The next day you're out I'm sitting at that traffic light again, I don't see anything. Three and four days go by. And finally we're at this place and I get a text from from Chris, the guy that put us up for the first week for put me in coal up and then coal moved on to housing, but he said Oh, when you get out of there today, you're going to see the mountain and I was like, Oh, great. And what astonished me was that in the 35 minute ride back to Chris's home from where we were, the mountain was almost always visible. All I could think is we had taken this ride about a dozen times already. And I had no inclination of where the mountain was. And that was fascinating to me. Like just to turn a corner and be like, Whoa, that was not They're yesterday so I get this thing I do get the saying when the mountains out because it feels like it just decides to appear. Literally Yeah, it's very cool. There really is. Anyway Is there anything else wrong with you that we didn't talk about?
Constance West 1:05:20
My husband has bipolar
Scott Benner 1:05:23
that's not that's not you though.
Constance West 1:05:25
No, but I mean I have a sunny disposition and you're in your thought process and others would not Um, but yeah I it's funny because his his you know, like a chronic illness and we just got the diagnosis in like a finally, we've been dealing with really bad severe depression. And I don't get me wrong as a teenager, I was definitely like, defiant, I would make my mom mad because I would give myself and for for my genes or your on my blood sugar would stay around to 10. And I wouldn't care and I wouldn't, I wouldn't, I would not check my blood sugar, but I would take my insulin and you know, I kind of was just a little different with it. I don't be on it. I still don't want it, but I deal with it. And then one day, I was like, Okay, well, this is not getting me anywhere, I'd better just take care of it. And so you know, my, my definite motto is even with everything that is going on. And even though my pelvic floor socks and my skin is caring, and I have a yeast issue that nobody can freakin figure out and get rid of. Every day gets better. And that literally is my motto, like, everything sucked right now. And it might suck this second. But tomorrow is a new day. And tomorrow, it'll get a little bit better. And I'll look back in 10 years and be like, Wow, look at how far I've come. Because even just like the 13 years of diabetes, it's come so far, the fact that I have an insulin pump on my head, and a continuous glucose monitor that works and works well. is just amazing. And my husband is so early in his diagnosis with his bipolar, he's just like, I don't know, I can't I can't function. I can't do anything. And like, it's so like, both chronic illnesses, right? This is not going to go away, we have to figure out how to deal with it. And I I just take on that motto and he has not yet. So hopefully one day he will. But I just I think it you really do just have to like, be honest with yourself and tell yourself that like, this really sucks. And I don't have answers right now, I don't have a way that is conductive to actually having sex that will work with my husband, but maybe in a couple of years, everything will slow down and hopefully it will be able to have sex and you know, it kind of is what it is and possibly having the new diagnosis of pcls. And which I'll find out today. It's just like, well, I just got from it. Another goddamn thing. Another sorry. I don't mean to say that like that. But like, you know, one more thing, like and we had, we had our anniversary the other day and our dating anniversary, and I had that day gotten back the high testosterone. And I was like, I don't even feel like a woman anymore. Like I can't have sex. I now have more testosterone than I have estrogen in my body. I've already had an IUD, like that was one of the immediate things I did when we got together. I was like we're not having children until if we can even have children. I was like we're not having children until I'm done with nursing school. So we're going and getting an IUD and going off of oral birth control. And the main factor was like I'm allergic to latex and non latex condoms are so expensive when we were trying to have sex. And so I got an IUD and even with the IUD, and my testosterone is like through the roof, and I'm like, oh, when is this ever going to just stop? And I sat there I was all pretty. I was making for the first time for a year and I started bawling at dinner. I mean, just reached over and grabbed my hand and he just sat there and was quiet. And I had my little moment and I wipe my eyes and I was like All right. Let's change the conversation.
Scott Benner 1:09:48
What were some of the things that led you thinking you might have PCs?
Constance West 1:09:52
Oh, I'm in May my I had bilateral upper and lower. Like it feels kind of like an electrical socket is hooked up to my nerves. That just happened literally overnight. It was the, it was the legs one night, and then the following morning it was my arms. And then June 6, I was at work and I was charting and my middle finger became completely immobilized. And then it spread to all of my fingers on my right hand, and then my wrist got contracted in a very weird position of what kind of like it was sitting on a mouse as well. And it got stuck like that. And we went to the end, because it at that point, I had to leave work, but nothing was resolving it. I couldn't move it. I could not move my fingers. I could not move my hand by myself. I could not move my wrist, but I couldn't move my elbow on that right side. And so they they did an extra CT scan, they did an MRI and they were like we can't figure this out. Here's a brace. Here's a sling, go home and follow up with these doctors. So one of them was a neurologist. And now I forget the question.
Scott Benner 1:11:11
I was wondering about, like what you saw about PCs? Like what made you? Oh,
Constance West 1:11:16
yes. So the neurologist was like, literally spent an hour and a half in the room with me a couple weeks ago. And was like I think it could be sleep apnea. He was like, it could be neuropathy. It could be an eye switch. It was not a nice thing got nothing against Ms. But we don't need another autoimmune disease. Because pcls because of the fatigue you always had. And I say sleep apnea. Yeah, you did. Okay, Batman. Okay. All right. Oh, he ran, he ran a bunch of labs, and the testosterone came back high and said, Here you go go to a gynecologist.
Scott Benner 1:12:00
I live one last question for you, then I can let you go. Oh, you're fine. So I am wondering, does How do I how do I wonder this? Your husband? Has he been depressed? Most of the time you knew him? You just have a diagnosis of bipolar now.
Constance West 1:12:25
How husband has been clinically depressed for my god health? 15.
Scott Benner 1:12:34
So do you. Okay, that's fair. So do you? How does that how do you make a decision to be with a depressed person? Is it is it? You love them before? You know? So then? Or is it? Is there any piece of like you feeling like, there's so much wrong with me? That and he's accepting of that I need to be accepting of his thing. Like, what's that dynamic? Like? Does that make sense? Question?
Constance West 1:13:01
So yeah, he, we were together like our freshman year of high school, and then his parents are going through a nasty divorce. His mom moved to Indiana with him and the rest of the kids, right? So they were there for 10 years, and we've been best friends. You know, like, we ended our relationship, fine, you know, whatever, we were 14, um, and we've just been best friends. And we'll talk to each other throughout it. And like, he would always come to me with things that were going wrong with in his relationships. And I'd be like, dude, you gotta like, fix yourself, like, you're kind of the problem. And eventually, his girlfriend's would ditch him. And his, so that went on for 10 years, forever. And then, my parents left for Indiana, 10 years ago, because of my dad's job. And my boyfriend, previous to Kyle just ditch. He just, like stopped responding to any of my text messages. And I couldn't get ahold of them. He's alive. He still friends with my sister's husband. But just completely dropped off the face of the planet for me. And my husband, I was talking to my, my husband now. And I was like, I don't know what I'm gonna do. Like, my parents are literally leaving in a week and like, I have no place to live. And he was like, I'll just come be with you. I was like, Alright, so I'm on an airplane, and we drove home. And we've been together since but like, I knew he had depression. I didn't know the extent of it. Right? Right. Because like if you're talking to somebody over text message, it's completely different than active living day to day, you know, and so the first he came in June, that year, three years ago, and so our our winter here, good stuff. So bad, like, you literally will wake up the sun doesn't rise until like 9am. I feel like probably not right but and then it's gone. You know, like we have a couple of hours of overcast. And so it got really bad and I would come home I was in school, I was finishing up my prereqs for nursing, I was still working full time at that time. So I was working three hour till 312 hour shifts, and I would come home and he was working at Lowe's then and he would just be in bed, and he hadn't moved, if he wasn't working or if he had gone to work, he would come home and and be like, go back to bed. And I was like this is not acceptable. And I was like if you want to stay with me, you need to go get help. Like you need to go to the doctor and either get some sort of pharmaceutical help. And you need to get a therapist and you need to start working through you're like this is not acceptable. This is not how a normal person lives their life. And it's not it's not okay, like I cannot be at school, I cannot be at work worried if you've even gotten up to like, eat today, basically. And I do like all the cooking and all of the cleaning and the making of the food just because I'm so particular with what I eat, and I need to know the amount of insulin I need to take, you know. And so he was like, fine, and then he got on meds. So he's been on meds for three years, but I just have continuously gotten worse and worse. And even with all the medications and medication changes. And he started seeing a psychiatrist who was like, Yeah, I think this might just be your expectations with how you thought your life would be at this point are not how they are. I see this a lot and men your age, try this medication. And it just at that point, it's like I do I love him, I adore him and it's when he is okay and his mood is stable. He's totally fine. It's it's the depressive aspect of like, he gets so deep, so deep. I don't even know how to explain it. But it's just like, and for me with diabetes and the lifelong illness, it's so hard to understand that because I'm like, you just need to get up and go freakin shower, go shower. Like just do a normal thing. And I mean, I am going to be a nurse, I understand the mechanics and the science behind what's going on, but actually living with it. Right? Right. It's so hard. Like I literally it's a hormone thing. It's an imbalance man,
that's what I tell him all the time. Like, what would you do if I didn't take care of my diabetes, especially when things get bad? I'm like, if I didn't take care of my diabetes, and I had to have worst case scenario, something amputated. You wouldn't want to be with me. You don't want to take care of me. Like you wouldn't. You would end up regretting being with me at some point, whether it was a decade or two or three, you know, I'm like you are doing the same thing. You're not taking care of your illness and you're not taking care of yourself and you're not doing justice to our marriage over to me and he that really resonates with him and he's like, Okay, Okay, I get it. I see it. And so
Scott Benner 1:18:27
Huh, does that does that get him to try when he's feeling
Constance West 1:18:32
Yeah, yeah. And I mean it will make him It will make him cry. Like he. I think that's like my big gun is like Hey, dude, like come on. You see how hard it is. And I'm not saying that like you're bipolar isn't hard. But like you need to get out of bed. You I know it's hard to get it to an extent but like, we have a life to live and I'm not going to live my life like this. So you need to so no
Scott Benner 1:19:03
matter what's going on for you or for him, you want to do you want to just whatever the best foot is you want to put it forward.
Constance West 1:19:12
Yeah. And my my husband will say if you were tasked him me at my core, you would just say she just never stops moving. Never. She's just go go go but that's just if I stopped literally again I would totally for 20 hours. I wouldn't move and he he will he'll be like can you just slow down for 10 seconds just slow down. Just Just be here with me and I'm like fine.
Scott Benner 1:19:43
You have done something here today that I appreciate very much. Honestly being this like, clear about all the different issues. Is is really is a lovely thing you've done for Bayliss. I
Constance West 1:19:58
do. I do want to say Lightroom fluorosis is actually I asked the I asked the virginal dermatologist I asked her what population of people with like authorises, do you see, I have diabetes and she told me 90% whether that's type one or type two, she goes, usually it's later in life, it'll pop up, and they will get it. Because again, it's an autoimmune issue if the immune cells are attacking the skin, and it's, it's crazy. And so, if you're going to a dermatologist, women with Type One Diabetes, if you have children, you probably don't have to worry about it. Please have them look at your skin, your vaginal skin, you have a higher rate of having like an sclerosis, because you have type one diabetes, and then lichen sclerosis, if it goes unchecked, and we're talking like 2030 years, if it goes on without being treated, you have a higher chance of getting squamous cell carcinoma and it's so hard to treat. So please just have your dermatologist look at your vagina. Yeah,
Scott Benner 1:21:09
that's it. That's our takeaway. Have your dermatologist look at your vagina. That's definitely Yeah, 100% i think that i think that's,
Constance West 1:21:16
um, get a biopsy, please get a biopsy first. Don't start treatment without a biopsy. that that would be a two.
Scott Benner 1:21:22
All right. So listen, next time anyone calls with one of these ideas? We can't do it this early in the morning. I just as we're talking, I was like, I looked up at the clock. And I'm like, it's not even 9am yet at one point, I'm thinking. But it's important to talk about and I again, I really do appreciate you doing this. I want to wish you luck at your doctor's appointment today. I hope you hear good news.
Constance West 1:21:50
Yeah. I mean, it's pretty definitive that like, I've had ultrasounds before and I do have this better on my own my ovaries at all time. So it is just like how do I how will be treated information.
Scott Benner 1:22:08
All right. Well, I hope you get good answers. And I really appreciate you doing this. If you
Constance West 1:22:13
Well, thank you.
Scott Benner 1:22:14
Thank you for everything that you do. Oh, please. If you thank me, I'm gonna be upset. It's okay. You don't need to thank me or anyone else by the way. You have a pass on on needing to thank people you've got enough going on that you don't even care about me. That's fascinating. Like it really is something. Your parents still in Indiana.
Constance West 1:22:34
Yeah, they're still in Indiana. They're still there. Gotcha.
Scott Benner 1:22:37
Okay, so your your update Yo, by the way. Is your vitamin D
Constance West 1:22:42
low. No, that was checked you vitamin D is fine. Interesting. Of all the things. No, why not? Well, I've been taking vitamin D for since we moved here. Yeah, yeah, I've always taken it. There was just something that they're like, Hey, we tell people when they move here, you take vitamin D. That'd be 12. So it's just something that is part of my vitamins.
Scott Benner 1:23:02
I take it myself. A huge thank you to one of today's sponsors. g Vogue glucagon. Find out more about chivo Kibo pen at G Vogue glucagon.com forward slash juice box. you spell that GVOKEGL Uc ag o n.com. forward slash juice box. also want to thank trialnet for being a sponsor of today's episode, go to trial net.org forward slash juicebox. To get started, don't forget to tell them that the Juicebox Podcast sent you. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back soon with another episode of the Juicebox Podcast.
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#566 Vikki Became a Diabetes Educator
Vikki is also the mom of a type 1.
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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.
Scott Benner 0:00
You're listening to Episode 566 of the Juicebox Podcast.
The key is a diabetes care education specialist. She's also the mother of a child with Type One Diabetes. Today she comes on the show in an attempt to tell us about moving to that career. I say an attempt because you know, I'm going to think of a bunch of questions and then I mean, who knows what we end up really talking about, but that's not the point. You're gonna love the conversation. So don't be so judgmental. Nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast, please remember this please, please, that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, please always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. We're becoming bold with insulin. You do not have to consult a physician to follow me on tik tok at Juicebox Podcast on Instagram at Juicebox Podcast. The private Facebook group that's called Juicebox Podcast Type One Diabetes you don't have to ask a physician before you take the T one D survey at T one d exchange.org. forward slash juicebox these things are all those are free well things you can just do that. Alright? For this ham fisted, I don't want to tell you it's Sunday night I'm doing a bunch of ads and I'm a little I'm a little woozy. Not gonna lie to you. But don't worry, when I recorded the episode sharp is attack this episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the Contour Next One blood glucose meter. Learn more at Contour Next one.com forward slash juicebox you're also sponsored we are also sponsored whose way we are also sponsored today we it's me I do the whole thing I do the booking the scheduling the editing, the social media, and then I say we as if there's some grand group of people here. I guess I can't say I I'm sponsored today. I mean, I could but that sounds terrible, right? That doesn't sound like me. Me Me. The whole thing's about me. Yeah. Oh, how about this, the podcast is also sponsored today. By touched by type one, go to touched by type one.org Ford slash juice box to learn more about them. And to see if they've got tickets to their big dance extravaganza that's coming up, which I bet they do. So go look touched by type one.org. fidget delivery. I'm sure you had. I'm recording By the way, but I'm sure you haven't read this. But there's a book about hitting a baseball. That says something to the effect of if I tell you, if I say Vicki, no matter what you do, the next thing you do should not be imagine a pink elephant with purple dots on it. The your brain immediately conjures a picture of a pink elephant. So that's why they tell you in sports, not the like you don't tell a kid you know, don't strike out. You tell them to hit the ball. That like real little ideas like that, because your brain manifests things anyway. Don't fidget. Don't fidget do not go ahead. Introduce yourself first.
Vikki 3:15
Okay, um, my name is Vikki. I am a certified diabetes educator or a now a Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, my nurse and a parent to three boys including 110 year old boy with Type One Diabetes.
Scott Benner 3:32
So my question I was gonna ask you is do any of those boys play baseball?
Vikki 3:35
They do not. They are not particularly athletic. There's just not ever enjoyed it or excelled at it. And so I have to coerce physical activity out of them.
Scott Benner 3:48
They're not particularly athletic. I gotcha. The reason I said because I'm gonna have to leave in what I said at the beginning. Because if you ever notice with a man on third in a child's baseball game, the coach feels encumbered and they have to walk out to the pitcher and say, Okay, now look, we got a man on third here, just make a good pitch. And inevitably, the next pitches in the dirt bounces behind the catcher and the man on third walks home. It's almost like you're taking time to point out to the pitcher, hey, don't forget the guy on third who you're trying desperately not to let score. And it just it makes it happen. I'm telling you, it's a it's the biggest mistake a youth coach could make. So that's from me to anybody listening who coaches kids playing baseball. Don't remind them there's a man on third make a good pitch, because you might as well just tell them roll the ball up there. Anyway, there's a lot of words you don't know because your kids don't play.
Vikki 4:40
Right? I knew it was labor intensive baseball in particular, that it was several nights a week, so I never really encouraged it. That seemed like a lot of work on my part.
Scott Benner 4:49
Yeah, I've said it here before but we actively made sure my son did not know what soccer was because my wife doesn't like it.
Vikki 4:57
That's smart. Yeah. It's
Scott Benner 4:59
the greatest thing I'll tell it in two seconds is that we were stopped at a red light. And there was a men's league at this park, where hundreds of men were playing on like three or four fields. My son's like, what are they doing? And my wife looks over and looks back, she goes, I have no idea. We just sat there quietly and drove away when the light turned green. That's so funny. If you've ever talked to her, she'll tell you about being drugged to soccer games for her sisters through her whole life. scarred her. She did not write again, she does not like soccer. Anyway. So Vicki, you are on the show, because I asked if somebody can remind me what I said,
Vikki 5:38
if someone had was a CTE, or had recently become one, and so I was certified, it's been a little over a year now I think at the time that it had been just that a year or something like that,
Scott Benner 5:48
yes, thank you. I need other people in my life to remind me of what I mean and what credibly handy, I have to tell you, like, it's way better than having to remember for yourself. So my, my reasoning behind that was that people ask about becoming CDs, a lot of nurses that listen, and people who are looking to educate themselves as an adult. And I thought we could walk through it now. My super secret, like, you know, secret for myself wanting to do it is because I'm trying to make a whole bunch of Juicebox Podcast thinking CDs in the world. And then one day I'll take over the world with with the chip that Bill Gates put in your vaccine. Well, March to victory anyway, that's a different thing. So when did you become a nurse?
Vikki 6:43
So I became a nurse in 2006. It was my second career. I was a teacher first, and then I got married and went to nursing school.
Scott Benner 6:53
Wow. So you were a teacher as a as a younger single person? Yes. What made you switch careers? Can I ask?
Vikki 7:01
Well, I had wanted to be a doctor. And then I discovered beer in college and didn't study as I should have. And teaching didn't require that GPA. So I was a science teacher for four years, and just always knew I wanted to be in medicine. And so when I got married, I had someone that could support me while I went back to school.
Scott Benner 7:27
So now Vicki, I have children who are almost through the education system, as far as at least High School goes, but are you trying to scare the living hell out of all the young parents in the world?
Vikki 7:35
No, we can edit that part out. I just, no, no, we're
Scott Benner 7:39
leaving it in. That's hilarious. Be careful when you're talking.
Vikki 7:46
Now, just high school was so easy in college. I went to Georgia Tech. And so it was very humbling. And my grades suffered because I didn't realize I was going to have to put a whole lot more effort into it. And then I just decided it was way more fun to not put effort into it.
Scott Benner 8:09
So it's not your It wasn't your intellect because you went back around and did it again. Was it maturity?
Vikki 8:14
It may have been Yeah, it was the first thing I was pretty sheltered, I guess. And
away from home and private, more so than I'd ever been. No, it was a public
Scott Benner 8:26
school. Your your high school was, was public.
Vikki 8:29
No, no, that yes, yes. Sorry. Yeah, that was public. I just was kind of a homebody and didn't go out much. College was different. I found my people, you know how you. I feel like sometimes, high school wasn't great. But college I found people I connected with more and have more fun.
Scott Benner 8:47
Gotcha. Would you have been up a more social person in high school? Do you think if you met more people that you jive with? Where do you know, it's funny This is your like, I've listened this podcast enough to know that we're never going to talk about how I became a CT. Don't worry, we will. I'm just fascinated because I've seen a number of people come out of the private high school system with these great grades and they get to college, and they go, Oh, I don't think I'm as smart as I thought I was. But sometimes their grades are bolstered by the private high schools desire for their parents to keep paying for private high school.
Vikki 9:26
Right, right, right.
Scott Benner 9:28
You know what I mean? It wasn't the case. No, it doesn't sound like it because once you went back and did it, you were fine.
Vikki 9:34
Yeah. But you know, oh, no, I probably shouldn't mention the other school. I feel like the other school that I got my my nursing degree from was it was just very different. And honestly, I found those classes way more enjoyable, the atmosphere more enjoyable. Georgia Tech is a it's an engineering school and it's it's just very rigorous.
Scott Benner 9:58
I guess. Gotcha. No I am interested to understand Okay, so you were a teacher. So everybody now when you go back back to school night, just look that person in the face and think I wonder if they're here because they want to be or because
this teacher was formed by myka Loeb
Vikki 10:20
with Miller Lite.
Scott Benner 10:25
Okay, I didn't expect that this much fun. Um, so, okay, so you go back to nursing to and then what kind of nursing Do you do and for how long do you do it?
Vikki 10:35
Okay, so I, my first nursing job was on a step down cardiac floor. And so I dealt with patients with heart failure. Patients a couple of days post heart attack, people that had had angioplasty had a stent placed. So I did that for how many years about five years, and then when my twins, so I have three boys, the oldest is 13, the youngest younger two are 1010 year old twins. And when they were born, it was too much work to go to work, if that makes sense. Like, their dad did the best he could. But I felt like I had to spend four more hours when I got home after a 12 hour shift to clean up the mess he made to be ready for the next day. And so I just stayed home for until they went to preschool. So about two and a half years after that,
Scott Benner 11:33
okay, I'm not this has anything to do with anything. But was your husband really messy? Or are you just type A and you didn't like it not being the way you wanted it?
Vikki 11:42
He what he's my ex husband now. Oh, um, he is very messy. Yes, it. And so now he's in his own house down the street. And he can be as messy as he wants with a maid once a week. And I don't have to deal with that my house stays clean for days. It's amazing.
Scott Benner 12:00
We figure out what's wrong with the house. So okay, so 13 and 210s are the 210s and everybody's a boy. What What age was your child diagnosed that
Vikki 12:15
he was diagnosed while we were on vacation? At five. He had started kindergarten that year.
So yeah, that was what does that make it? It'll be five years in September.
Scott Benner 12:30
Five years in September, so like, it's 21. So they go back to like, like, 1995 9696
Vikki 12:40
Wait, what? What? When he was diagnosed? Yeah.
Scott Benner 12:44
Oh, no. No, I mean, 2016 Yeah, I took that.
Vikki 12:50
What kind of mouth are you doing?
Scott Benner 12:52
They taught me in middle school. My my paid attention to it. Sorry. 2006 2016 is when he was diagnosed. Okay. And when did you become a nurse?
Vikki 13:05
I became a nurse in 2006. So I had been a nurse for 10 years, but I hadn't. I guess I had been back to work a year and a half before he was diagnosed, something like that.
Scott Benner 13:15
Okay. So what was the diagnosis process like in your house? Did you? Were you you were there the entire time? It was on you mostly.
Vikki 13:27
When before he was diagnosed? No. Right after I'm
Scott Benner 13:29
sorry. When he was diagnosed? Was it something that was kind of handled by the whole family or did it fall mostly to you? How did that go? In the beginning it
Vikki 13:36
was. So he had just started kindergarten and he started on a couple of months into it started wetting the bed again. And I thought it was just being in kindergarten schedule was different. We have fall break here in Georgia. And we had gone to visit my aunt moved Destin, Florida. And while we were getting ready to go to the beach, I noticed I got them all some ice water, he drank his and about 20 seconds and then asked for more. And then he had to go to the bathroom. And he asked to go to the bathroom like three more times the next hour. And it was the first time I'd had a chance to really sit down with that information. I was like at the beach with my boys. And he was being super fussy. And usually he's like my most easygoing child. And I just looked at it and I was like, Oh my goodness, that those are the totally the symptoms of type one diabetes, which in my mind, that was like a inherited thing. I guess I didn't know enough specifically, I just knew the signs. But I texted their dad. We were still married at the time and told them that I was like, I'm probably being crazy but called a pediatrician. You've got all these symptoms. Just find out what they say make an appointment, and so he made an appointment for like the next week because in my mind, it wasn't an emergency. But then, as the day goes by, I'm just thinking more about it. He's getting crappier and crappier. And we're staying with my aunt who is a vet. And so I asked her if she could check his urine. And it's the same dipstick they use for cats that for humans, so we went to her office, and she was like I was I was praying It was a UTI. And she said, there's no bacteria, but it's, what is it for plus glucose? And I was like, Well, what else could that be? because surely, it's still not diabetes. But I tried to talk myself out of doing anything about it until the next day, or until we got home. And then finally we're like, no, we're going to the urgent care, or no to the emergency room. And then they had to take us by ambulance to the Children's Hospital. And luckily, my niece was with us, and she could take my other two boys and watch them. So anyway, we went to Pensacola Children's Hospital, I believe. And I had to call their dad and he had to jump in the car and drive there. And it was just a whirlwind of education and
Scott Benner 16:12
insanity.
Vikki 16:13
insanity. Yeah. And we were out of state. So they couldn't make an appointment with an endo. In Georgia. And that was a big struggle, too. Because when I called them when I got back into town on Monday, or whatever, they were like, we can see you in December. And it was like September, when he got diagnosed, and he's five years old.
Scott Benner 16:37
Hey, we thought he had distemper, but it turns out this is diabetes. We're gonna need to see him a little sooner, please. Yeah. He's that fascinating when you're talking to the scheduler? I know they don't know all the time, right? Because it is really what you're doing. You're talking to a scheduling nurse, but they should still know. You're telling them your five year old has type one diabetes, they were diagnosed at a state and they're like, Oh, that's no problem. Can you come in three months from now?
Vikki 17:00
Real? I'm like, no. So we were about to go to the emergency room and just get admitted that way. Because, you know, they put you on, I think he was on like five units of levemir and was going low every single night. And we had no idea what a honeymoon period was, or any of those things. We just know, we were just constantly feeding the insulin that they were on, he has to have 45 grams of carbs per meal. And he has to take these five units of insulin. So I posted on Facebook, and several of my Facebook friends had suggested camp kudzu, which is a camp for children with type one diabetes, and coincidentally, their fall family camping was the next weekend. So we went and we met an endo there who gave us a you know, a number to get in like the next week. So it was awesome. It was meant to be
Scott Benner 17:53
to wander around that camp, just looking for anybody to help you at all. Yeah, so please, we're like come on, written on a piece of cardboard, like recently diagnosed, no one will help.
Vikki 18:03
Please. They, they had you raise your hand like who was the most recently diagnosed? And we of course one because it had been like three days. And so yeah, we got to talk to the doctor. And he gave us a number to call to get scheduled right away, and they fit us in. So that was great. That's fascinating, but it was still always turned.
Scott Benner 18:25
Aside from that. It's just like now in hindsight, right? It's fascinating, but that's what happened. Like, I know, you know, just imagine if somebody said to you now like, Hey, I think you have, I don't know cancer? Can you come back in three months? And we'll check to make sure. We'll just see. Fine. I mean, is your heart in arrhythmia? Try not to run out the steps too fast till we can get you in here. Such an interesting like, response from medical people. Mm hmm. You know, that's really fascinating. Okay, so started off with injections. You said this sounds like there was a bit of a honeymoon period? What were the what were your findings over the first like six months that was it completely overwhelming? Is he alive by luck? Did you start figuring it out? Did your nursing get in the way or help?
Vikki 19:12
I think it did. I found I had no idea how insulin worked. I thought somehow it was magic. And it just knew what it was supposed to do. It would do what it needed to do. And that's something I've learned in my professional experience since is it absolutely is not magic. You know, I heard a doctor say this once that insulin works until it's done. It's not smart. It works until it's done. And so that's what I have said almost every day of my career since is you have to be the smart one. You're the brain behind the operation, and it took several months to kind of get a better understanding of that. They pulled way back and he was off long acting for several months and just did a tiny bit of the rapid acting With me on
Scott Benner 20:02
how much do you weigh when is diagnosed, like
Vikki 20:05
40 something 4444
Scott Benner 20:09
foot weight on after he was diagnosed? You know, I
Vikki 20:12
don't think he had had it very long. I looked at pictures and I think I caught it pretty early. I like to think I did. Because I don't remember him being particularly thin. But he used to be taller than his twin and they are not identical. But he used to be taller than his twin and his twin shot up. And honestly, this may have happened anyway. But his twin has now been bigger ever since.
Scott Benner 20:35
It's possible. We're gonna call this episode diabetes made me short. So have you had his thyroid checked?
Vikki 20:44
But prior to that? We have since Yes. So his dad has both celiac and hypothyroidism. So yeah, they're, I mean, I think they would have been checking for those things anyway. But
Scott Benner 20:56
one day, a long time ago, a young Vicky met a man who gave her a messy house and a kid with diabetes. The reason I asked is because Arden was the smallest person in her school for the girls for a really, really long time. And then she got I guess we should probably like do a whole episode about this at some point. But she got make we thought she was dying. like she'd come home from school and lay her head on the countertop. And she'd fall asleep like facedown on the countertop. And she was just racked. And we eventually like okay, maybe this is her thyroid, and we got a checked in, you know, her labs were, you know, in range, I'm making air quotes. And the, in the, you know, the hospitals like Well, we're she's in range, we don't usually treat this and I was like, Oh, you're just gonna treat it. And so, so they gave her medicine and she stood right back up again. And then she and now today, Arden is 579 she's one of the tallest girls in high school.
Vikki 22:05
Oh, they caught up. Yeah, he's not shorter than me. He's still a good size kid. He is smaller than his brother. Right? Um, his. His dad and I are fairly tall and so
Scott Benner 22:19
either short compared to you guys, maybe. Yeah, that's funny. Arden talks about that. She's like, when I'm with my friends at school. I feel like a giant and as soon as I come home, even though we're not incredibly tall people, we are all taller than her. She's like, I feel short in the house. So but but my point is, is that if you get that test, and you know he's got a TSH of like, 2.1 Don't let Don't let them tell you that's in range. It's common is what that is. Okay. All right. Yeah,
Vikki 22:46
he gets his labs again this summer. We just went to the end of the day, actually. So next set. next appointment is the yearly lab. So I will Yeah, pay more attention to
Scott Benner 22:57
that episode that I did with Dr. Benito about thyroid is, it's absolutely, like, comprehensive. And she will treat anything, like anything over to like so.
Vikki 23:08
Yeah, well, I'm gonna make sure his dad listens to that, because honestly, I have not been invested in how well he manages his own. So
Scott Benner 23:16
well, you know, it's interesting to note that I'm trying to get you guys back together. I'm not doing that. But, you know, when you're unregulated, hypothyroid or hashimotos, you can be a bit of a jackass. And it's hard to not saying your husband was maybe Listen, maybe this is all your fault. I don't know. I'm just saying that. I'm just saying that. It really alters who you are. Okay. And it's not it's not. It's not in any way seen by the person that's happening to like, they don't know they're being jerky. Okay, we're short tempered or unreasonable. I like to tell people privately, I don't think I've ever said it here. But we couldn't get a doctor to give my wife a thyroid medication for seven years. And it really like ravaged her. And she was always in range. But you know, they'd be like, Oh, you're in range. And finally I threatened a doctor and I was just like, Look, just give me I said, is the medicine gonna hurt or if you're wrong, and he said no one I'm like, but then just give it to her. And I said, because I've already dug a hole on our property to put her into so because I'm gonna snap and kill her one day, because she's really unreasonable sometimes. So like, we're all laughing like, you know, like a bunch of married people laughing in a room. And and I'm like, but seriously give it to her. And I would say that within a week, she turned back into the person that I remembered
Vikki 24:35
was really amazing. That quick, yeah, it was
Scott Benner 24:39
very fast. So it's worth it's worth, it's worth looking into. And even if he are being medicated, you might not be being medicated enough. And the difference between just your GP giving you Synthroid and a doctor who really understands thyroid function that can look at those labs and say, we are not medicating the number we are medicating the symptoms until that until you find somebody that will do that you don't know where you're at. So that's my advice about thyroid All right, good luck would not be if you like turned back into like some great guy and you're like, damn it Oh No, I'm just kidding. Don't tell me about your life. I don't care. I don't try to do that. I want to find out how to be a CD. So at what point do you say and it's not a CD anymore I know but you're not going to get me to say the other thing. So we should you say it when it's your turn.
Vikki 25:36
When did I might get it wrong because they changed it like a month after I took the test.
Scott Benner 25:41
Okay, what point did you say to yourself, I'm gonna do this.
I'm going to keep going with what I did in Episode 565, which is read to you from the private Facebook group what people had to say about the advertisers. So today we're going to talk about the Contour Next One blood glucose meter which you can learn more about it Contour Next one.com forward slash juice box. Jess says she loves it because it's inexpensive and it's super accurate. She says I love how cheap the Contour Next One is for being so accurate. She got a couple of them so she keeps one upstairs by the bed downstairs and wonder purse gives her one less thing to think about because she knows she has a Contour Next One nearby. When he says that the second chance test strips or her farm. Her fervor are her favorite part about the Contour Next One. It's fantastic. She said if the first drop isn't enough, you get to do it over again without needing a new strip.
You Angie keeps it and she keeps it simple. She says Contour Next One small, simple to use accurate. Julia says the accuracy is amazing. I have two of them. So if I'm ever concerned that my other gear isn't right, where stuff is disagreeing, I pull out that meter and give it a look. I like what Jonathan says here Contour Next One. I've used it for a long time and it just works. So that's a little bit from some of the listeners here's some from me. Contour Next One comm forward slash juicebox amazing website explains everything you may be eligible for a free meter. There's test trip savings program that you could be eligible for the Contour Next One may be cheaper in cash than you're paying for a different meter through your insurance. I know that's hard to wrap your head around. It's great, it's small, it's easy to use, easy to hold easy to transport bright light for nighttime viewing Second Chance test trips. It's the best damn blood glucose meter I've ever used Contour Next one.com forward slash juice box now let's move over to touched by type one Amanda says my daughter virtually attends a touched by type one dance class. She loves that everyone in the class is just like her and smiles when ever she hears anyone else beeping there's some other stuff here about touched by type one from listeners but I actually have to tell you about their dancing for diabetes extravaganza which is coming up pretty darn soon. Are you can see this yourself if you head over to touch by type one org but go to their programs tab. And you'll see there that the 21st annual dancing for diabetes showcase which features award winning dancers and raises funds to support those touched by type one diabetes is happening on November 13 2021. At 7pm in the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets begin at $15 and are on sale right now. I see a button it says Get your tickets much what happens if I click on? Oh, I can buy tickets. That's perfect. That's exactly how it's supposed to work. Touched by type one.org. Go to the program's tab. Get your tickets. Where's this at? You're asking it's in the Walt Disney theater. The Walt Disney theater. I think it's probably named after Walt Disney. If I'm guessing Oh, look at how nice the theater is. There's a picture here RP Damn. Well Disney theater Orlando, Florida. Hey, if you're local head over and check out dancing for diabetes presented by touch by type one touch by type one.org we don't forget Contour Next one.com forward slash juicebox. links in the show notes links at Juicebox Podcast comm support the sponsors support the show.
Vikki 29:50
I kind of just looked into it. So after I went back to work when my twins went to preschool, I worked in a call center still as a nurse, but no longer at the bedside, like in a hospital, so I was working for a department called population health and our health system created it to help support our Medicare population. So I was making phone calls to them, after a hospital stay to try to make sure they could get their medication, they have transportation, they understood their disease, and weren't going to go back to the hospital as a result of what brought them there in the first place. So I was doing that and just peer in which is like a healthcare term for as needed. I was just filling in when my kids are at preschool, or I had childcare. There was somebody on my team that was diabetes specific, and only focused on diabetes on the Medicare patients on our list who had diabetes, I'm and I kind of would, would talk to that person all the time. And then as I learned more and more after Theo was diagnosed with kidney was I, that person started asking me questions like it was interesting. So that person who had the role prior to me, became pregnant and decided to quit. So that job was open. And so it was announced by my manager to the team that this role was open. She wanted to see if we had any internal candidates. And I reached out and I was like, well, I talked to my then husband and asked him how he felt about me going full time. And he was like, I think that's a great idea. And I emailed my manager, and within like two minutes, she was like, Oh, yes, you'd be my first choice. Can we talk right now. And so she was super excited about it. And then I was super excited about it, it was actually a friend at work that it said you should do this. Because before that, I was like, I don't work full time. I just take care of my boys mostly. So anyways, this friend that really pushed me into doing it. But she told me as part of the role, they wanted me to become a CDE. And so I really lucked out because it is hard. It's a challenge to get that number of hours, you need to be able to test for it. So you not only have to be certified or licensed in a particular discipline, you also have to have the experience so
Scott Benner 32:25
and that's hours at your job like so you need them to put you with diabetes patients over over and over how many hours do you need? I forget the number 1000. Right.
Vikki 32:35
And the majority of it had to be within the last calendar year, I think they may have changed things a little bit due to COVID. But most of it had to be fairly recent. All of it had to be within five years, and most of it I think within the last 12 months. So I was diabetes specifics on it. And all I did, but even you know, 40 hours a week, which you can't really count every hour. You don't count
Scott Benner 33:01
chart where when you?
Vikki 33:04
Yeah. So I didn't keep careful records. I was audited. I have another coworker that tested at the same time. And she did not keep the same records. She was not audited. And then luckily oh my goodness, I was not Luckily, I was audited. So I had to turn in my log time. But
Scott Benner 33:25
you had good specific records in that. Yeah. So that was
Vikki 33:29
the lucky part was that I had been keeping careful records. And with no patient information, but just like I don't know, I made up a number and would say what date and how much time I had spent with each of them. I diabetes specific education.
Scott Benner 33:46
I think I could turn in the podcast, I might be able to get through.
Vikki 33:48
I think you could I think you could if you have they're really particular about the disciplines. They're expanding that a little bit I think maybe like personal trainers can get it now and health coaches and social workers and they've kind of expanded who's able to get it, what disciplines they'll allow. But most people, in my experience have been either a nurse or a dietitian. Yeah, I
Scott Benner 34:11
don't really want to do that I was just being
Vikki 34:14
really there's not a lot of glory in it.
Scott Benner 34:16
I've had a lot of conversations, a lot of people diabetes, I might be able to get to 1000 hours I'm thinking Wait, tell me again, what year that was that that whole decision was made?
Vikki 34:27
So that's a really good question. Um, I think it took me When was that?
Scott Benner 34:37
I'm looking for like the day they were like, Who wants this job? And you're like, I'll do it.
Vikki 34:41
I think it was three years when I took the time the job full time. So I think I decided that in like January of what was three years ago.
Scott Benner 34:51
2018 2018. So your son, your son had had diabetes for a couple of years at that point.
Vikki 34:56
Yeah. A little over a year at that point. Yeah.
Scott Benner 34:58
Excellent. Okay. So So how much of what you were experiencing? Having a child with diabetes? Is? What's my question? How much of it did you see in the actual training? I guess?
Vikki 35:17
Well, that was something that I thought quite a lot about. So most of the training, I think, is geared toward patients with type two diabetes 95% of people diabetes have type two, and then they always err on the side of caution. So it's whatever they can, you can't really make a hard and fast rule that applies to everybody. So a lot of what I've learned, kind of hindered me a little in studying and I kind of had to have two different sides to my brain, like what, you know, the ADA recommends, and what I'm actually going to do with my child, like, cuz they're, they have to be very conservative, because not everyone is paying attention. Even me, like I've been, I have a new job now. And I don't have that same flexibility where I can look at his Dexcom every 10 minutes to see what's going on, I kind of have to trust that, that he and the school nurse are doing what they're supposed to be doing. So I want things there's not as much bumping and nudging lately. So it is it's very different.
Scott Benner 36:25
So there's what works. And there's what you need to know to pass the test,
Vikki 36:29
basically. Yes. And but a lot of the test was, I think, kind of subjective. Like, what would you do in this situation? You have to figure out what is the most important thing for the patient? And there's, you have to put on like a social worker hat for a minute and be like, well, what can they afford? What can they realistic, three, accomplish? Like, what can you like, safely? You know, because not everybody has the same home life, not everybody has the same resources, we are all coming from a different place. So
Scott Benner 36:57
plain English, do you have to assess people's intelligence? Yes. And their ability to understand what you're saying? Yes, very
Vikki 37:05
much, because I think I talked to, to most of the patients in my former Job had type two, but some had type one, and someone had it for a long time. And if they wouldn't have been on my list, had it been well managed. I only got people with a onesies overnight for most of the time I did this. So they were not very well controlled, not tightly controlled. And one of them flat out asked me, How often does your son go to the emergency room for higher low blood sugars. And I was like, well, he's never been since diagnosis, I've never had to take him for that. I mean, he's had to go for a stomach bug now. But when he was diagnosed, I was convinced we were going to be there all the time. My my ex actually moved out, he moved back in just because we thought every one of us was always going to have to be at the doctor with him. Anyway, you know,
Scott Benner 37:57
I met a child, once one at one of my speaking engagements. And the emergency room was a regular part of their monthly diabetes plan. Oh, like they knew they were going to be in the emergency room multiple times a month. And I was I was absolutely fascinated by it. And two parents who were trying really hard and seem to have Yeah,
Vikki 38:19
it's not for lack of effort. Yeah. And I felt Not always.
Scott Benner 38:23
Well, yeah, and there are some people, right, who were just like, I don't care, I'm not gonna take care of myself. Like that's with anything, I would imagine just diabetes. But I'm still fascinated about the idea that it's such a, it's such a bureaucrat, bag, bureaucratic feeling like that idea of like, you know, there's what you need to get through the test. And then there's what you could actually help people with. And these two things do not have to exactly correspond with each other.
Vikki 38:51
Yeah. But but I get it, I mean, it's not going to work for everyone. And not everyone has the time or inclination to manage it that closely. And they don't have two separate tests for type one and type two. So I kind of understand how it's set up the
Scott Benner 39:09
way it is. So then what happens? Do people get to people get through the examination, become an educator, and then either become like a buy the book, this is my job. And this is what I'm supposed to say to you person? Or there are some CDs who take the time to explain the intricacies is it just does that then become personal preference or personnel? I
Vikki 39:33
think so. And you got to do what your employer allows you to do. So.
Scott Benner 39:38
You can't say too much even if you want to in certain situations. Gotcha. So you can be looking at somebody and the answer might be, hey, just Pre-Bolus but the person you work for doesn't let you say that and then you're stuck and you can't say,
Vikki 39:53
Oh, well that one I I would push but the whole concept of bumping and dodging that I've learned from your I don't know there's no way, but most of them are type two. And really I'm like, I Another thing I always say is exercise is magic. It makes such a big difference, particularly with the type twos who are so insensitive to insulin. When you just get up and get a couple 1000 steps a day, everything works the way it's supposed to.
Scott Benner 40:19
You know, it's funny, when you hear people say that, first of all, you're 100,000,000%. Correct. But think of the first thing that you can think of that you can't get people to do generally. It's exercise. And then right, we're like, oh, now you have diabetes. You know what your answer is? I would just exercise visors. You'd be like, yeah, I haven't done it the first 37 years, but that's probably how I'm gonna handle it tomorrow. Thanks a lot. It's like, it's like, it's like saying that the answer to racism is telling people not to be racist. It's a very like, it's you know, you mean like,
Vikki 40:46
it's so simple that it would never work well, and
Scott Benner 40:49
you can't change the nature of people is what I'm saying is like, right? It's it's like, it's like when it's like, it's like, if you were to meet somebody who was grossly overweight, and you said to them, all you really need to do is eat better. Like, thanks. I didn't know that I really thought these Cheetos were good for me. I got you've really strike me up. I appreciate your time. Like, it's one of those weird things that your people do things the way they do them the answer to making it better can't be don't do the thing you do. I know that's, I mean, it's the obvious answer is the right thing to be told. It's an unreasonable thing to expect somebody to just magically pop up and do one day.
Vikki 41:28
Exactly. Yeah, well, I tried to create small goals with them just, you know, add little five minute walks, get up during commercials,
Scott Benner 41:37
you're actually giving them little ideas that might trick them into doing things that are better for them because the truth is, they're not just going to get up and be like, I'm going to walk two miles every day.
Vikki 41:48
Right? We'll just walk to the mailbox today.
Scott Benner 41:51
Well, it is it is like that at some for some people like that
Vikki 41:55
it is unfortunately especially I've worked with Medicare patients and most of them are older and a lot of them had you know, knee problems hip problems. So you work with what you got, I was like even if you're just lifting soup cans, some amount of activity. And then for the type twos, usually they tell you 30 to 50 grams of carbs per meal, you know, lower end if you're female, higher end if you're male and or you know, particularly active so it's different with type ones. We're, you know, doing carb ratios for type twos, you mostly they have a fixed amount of insulin. And we just tried to eat the same amount of carbs basically. So
Scott Benner 42:38
my mom's in her like mid to late 70s and she was very active like going to the gym, right? Right up till COVID and then as soon as COVID hit and she became more sedentary hurry once he started to go up. Oh, yeah, yeah, that activity and so then I just saw I think she was kind of staving off or rising or a one see just by being incredibly active, like she'd get up in the morning, go to the gym, you know what I mean? And then I finally said to her, I was like, Alright, well look, you're gonna end up on medication. You know, if this rolls around again and another quarter when he tests your blood sugar again, I said I would just go low carb if I was you. And she's waiting now to go back in here. But it's she lost weight with a low carb and I think it's gonna work for but it's specific. She lives in a small place. You don't mean like you just said like, lifting soup cans. Like there's part of me that's like, Oh, that's brilliant. And there's part of me that thinks like, trying to put myself in a 75 year old person's mind. And I'm trapped in a small apartment doing curls with some chunky soup. Would you not sit there thinking like, Oh my god, like what has become of my life? My life? Yeah, like yeah, I would just be like, oh, maybe I'm done. You know, like what am I doing? I've already seen the prices right? I'm doing curls with soup cans, it might be time to go. And you know, I just what I'm being serious though, is I'm saying like, it must be difficult to hear things like just walk to the mailbox because they're not. They're still people and they they're not stupid. They're like, Oh my God, that's my life. Like, that's gonna be exercise my knee, you know, and like you said, some people have real problems, hips, knees, stuff like that. Really is it's, I mean, it's obviously the progression of life. And it's not sad. I mean, like, I guess I'd rather have a bum knee at 78 and not make it to 78 but it's just it's the fact of all this. I feel like it gets overlooked sometimes. Like we're also quick. You know, people listen to the podcast or even people who you know online who were very specifically managing, you don't realize like you're, you're the small percentage of people. Like most people are not bumping a 130 blood sugar. You know, most people are like, my blood sugar only went to 190 day I had such a great day. You know, that's how, how it works for most people. Most people don't have glucose sensing technology, you know, they can't afford it. If they had it, they might not know how to use it. And, and the idea there is that you're looking for ways to help those people and then somebody like you or me rolls in and I'm like, hey, my kids Hey, one says five, nine, I really would like it to be five, five. Can you help me the CDs? Probably like what? you doing? Great. Shut up.
Vikki 45:22
Why don't you want to change anything?
Scott Benner 45:24
Leave me alone. You're my easy one.
Vikki 45:27
Yeah, I got told that today, the doctor was like, no, no. I've seen real problems. And I mean, I still feel like our control is nowhere near where I want it to be. But you know, I have three kids, I work full time. I do the best I can. And my kid, he will ignore every single alarm. So if I'm not like sitting in front of the phone, like he could be high for who knows how long and he won't tell me he's low until he's like in the 50s. So anyway,
Scott Benner 45:57
I there are times I've walked into orange room, and I go, you must hear the alarm should go real, and shall go. My phone's not making any noise. And I'm like, don't hear as I hear it from your room into my room. And you know, and so, then you're standing there looking at her, she's looking back, and then her phone beeps and she goes, Oh, it's starting to work now. And I was like, Uh huh. But I don't think she's ignoring it. I don't think she hears. Yeah, I really don't. And I think she's 16. And you know what I mean, like, all that other stuff. But you're right, like, people need help, and help. You know, when, when I say people need help, like, when kids need help, what they really need is a person who is willing to exercise some part of their life out of their life and fill it back in with helping you with your diabetes. Like that has to be part of my job. Once it's part of my job, then I look and I pay attention. Like, you know, Arden grabbed a snack this morning during school. And she like, didn't do a great job with the Bolus. And so I went in, and I was like, hey, that's not working. And she's like, I did everything I was supposed to. And I was like, Well, you didn't, are just waiting to happen. You know, and, and so, but she doesn't see it that way. And she will eventually like, eventually, she'll be through it enough and she'll care enough to see it. But for now, she's a kid and she's like, Look, man, I did I count the cars, and I put the insulin in, and I waited, and this is what happened. And, and now, but now the point is now she's sort of like, so what are you going to do about it? Because she's not 100% sure what to do after that sometimes? Yeah, you know, like the recurrent thing, I think, I think I think left on her own ardens a one c would probably be more like, six, seven. I'd be guessing 6567 on our own. You know what I mean? I'm the other point and a quarter. Basically, that's where you come in. Yeah, I'm like them. I'm like the guard that you know, I don't really score much, but I play a little defense. So anyway. I don't want to I don't know how to ask you this question. Okay, is it a valuable endeavor doing what you do? Or does it feel fruitless?
Vikki 48:11
No, I think it's very valuable. I I feel like I was in the position to help a lot of people have a better understanding of the importance of exercise of how insulin works in their bodies, the importance of nutrition. I mean, it fell on deaf ears a lot there are still people plenty of patients that would just stop answering my calls I think they felt like I was judging them if I if I didn't like their blood sugar's and I tried to be just you know, this is a number it's not a reflection of your character. It just gives me you know, it's a point in time it gives me an idea because I'm not there with you. And I thought it was it's been my favorite job it's been the most rewarding job that I've had and I think I've touched the most number of lives I don't think I've saved everyone but healthfully you know, all those studies they've done about Tiger control gives you you know, five more years of vision and however many more years of good kidney function so I think it did make a big difference and it had the potential for doing even more for a lot more people so
Scott Benner 49:28
I'm certain It was definitely rewarding. I'm certain it has I just wanted you to tell people I to be perfectly honest, if you would have said no, I've wasted my time and I shouldn't have done this I would have thought not expected to say that. I wanted you to tell people because this podcast makes CDs sometimes. So it is not uncommon for me to get a couple of notes a year from people who become CDs because of the podcast.
Vikki 49:51
That's awesome. And yeah, if you're able to and can get those that experience I mean, don't do it to be rich, because that's not gonna happen, but that's not the reason you will you have have the potential to help a lot of people it's and it's, you know, most people that you will touch has type two diabetes, but you know what? They're the ones that are suffering the most.
Scott Benner 50:14
And you could go to, like you could go to a children's hospital that and work in their division just for like type one if you I mean, if you could find a way into that that exists for some people, right where you don't actually talk. They have diabetes educators there of course, yeah. Right. But if you're just going to be one out in the wild, you're going to see people mostly with type two,
Vikki 50:32
yes, right? Yes. Because that's what most are? Yes.
Scott Benner 50:38
If If I said, How many out of 10 CDs? would be? What's my question? How many out of 10 CDs? If I type one diabetes? How many out of a random sampling of CDs would be valuable for me to have? And how many? How many of them? And how do I know the difference? If I'm the Gosh,
Vikki 50:59
well, I asked them really leading questions. So honestly, it depends on what room you're in, I think, but very few. We switch into practices, because nobody wants to try anything. Nobody was open to discussion. And they didn't seem like they wanted to learn they. And this was the doctor. And then the nurse practitioner we saw they just we don't we don't have any experience with that I wanted to try the iPod for my son. We don't have any experience with that. And I'm like, Well, can I find someone to come talk to you about it? No, no, we're not going to do that. And then finally, we went to the pump earlier than I thought we were going to because I just I wasn't satisfied with the control we have with MDI. And so I don't know one or two, it really, um, and all of them will have valuable things to say, but some more helpful than others. Because they are taught by the book, and the book tells us, you know, X, Y and Z, but we know in actuality unless this person has used insulin or cared for someone who uses it has to use inject insulin, they just they don't really understand how it works.
Scott Benner 52:15
Have you ever heard me say if a doctor says no, you ask why?
Vikki 52:20
I haven't. But that makes perfect sense. And it's why I left my last practice.
Scott Benner 52:24
So when people say no, what they're really saying is, I don't want to be involved in that. Or I don't understand it. Or we don't sell that pump here. Or whatever it ends up not sell. But we don't back that pump here. We don't we have no, you know, experience with iport. For example, like who would care it's important to like, inject through. Well, how much experience would you have almost cursed Vicki? How much experience? How much experience would you need with it to figure it out? Like could a YouTube video not do the same thing for me? You know, like, yeah, like, that's really some chicken stuff to say I don't have experience with iport. Exactly.
Vikki 53:01
Yeah. And How hard would it be? Yeah. So it was not the answer I wanted. And I, my ex wanted to give them like, I think we gave him like two more appointments. And I was like, I'm done.
Scott Benner 53:12
What Not only that, but two more appointments to six more months. Exactly. Right. It's not like you can email him a day later and go, Hey, you sure about what you said about the iPod. Give you another chance to change it. I'll tell you, I sometimes send like I can send Arden's ci, CD or or endo an email it says, Hey, I want to try fiasco. Send me a prescription. And they just go what pharmacy? Oh, that's amazing. It's that easy. And so, but I've built a rapport with them. And for those of you listening are like Oh, yeah, well, you're the guy from the podcast. I don't think they know me as the guy from the podcast. No, I don't think so. Like I they're aware of it, but I don't know that. I don't know that they're aware of the scope of it. Like I might just seem like a nice guy with a podcast. Do you know what I mean? And so which is fine I'm not looking for them to think of me any differently. I'm saying that I've proven to them enough times that the things I've said or asked or desired to do have made sense to them and and borne fruit so they're like, Oh, he's usually right about this stuff. Like what do we care? Let him have it. Even when we're dealing with Arden's like thyroid stuff or something. I'll send an email and I'll be like, I think we need to do a blood test for this and they'll be like okay, and that's it like Arden got an iron infusion yesterday that I'm telling you that if I would have waited for doctors, she'd never would have gotten like I got her that iron if you
Vikki 54:38
and for you for advocating that that's really important
Scott Benner 54:40
it and it's a need, you need to do it because it just no one's going to think outside of the box. Like those of you who are like oh my God, my endo is amazing. They have diabetes, and they know everything and they told me about the podcast like that is not most people. Yeah. Yeah. So you have to Everybody can't just change their endo is the other thing you don't mean,
Vikki 55:04
right? Sometimes you only have one choice, just gotta, you gotta go,
Scott Benner 55:09
you got it you at some point, you have to say, look, this is your, you have this job and you're agreeing with me. So this is good. Sometimes you need to, the way I think of it is sometimes you need to look at your doctor and go, that's the nice person with the prescription pad. And they give me the stuff I need. And I do a little smiling and waving while I'm there. And then I go figure things out for myself. So I guess. So there's a lot of value in your being on and I appreciate it very much. And I guess what I'm trying to get across to people is that there are different I hate to just be so blunt about it. But there are different levels of patience. As far as understanding and ability goes. And there are different levels of doctors as far as understanding and ability and desire goes I guess desire fits on both sides. Right? Right. You need to know who you are. And you need to know who you're dealing with. Right? And then you need to adjust and get what you need. That's how I think of it. I don't know how I would think of it if I didn't understand this stuff as well. Or if I would just be in there and feeling lost. And just hoping to God that somebody was going to help me or tell me to do the thing. I needed them to tell me. But right that is not how the world works, whether it's medicine or something else, honestly. So at some point you have to be what's the word I want? I think at some point, you have to be pragmatic about how things really are versus how you wish they were. Right. Okay. Yeah. Does that make sense? Because it does. Okay, so what are some? Can you give me any helpful tips for people listening? Like, how can they deal? Like, with an endo that's not on board, but they can't switch through? Switch?
Vikki 57:00
You just got to keep asking and reframing it. I mean, it always helps to be polite, and you know, come with evidence. And ultimately, I did have the flexibility where I could switch. I did give them several chances. But you just got to keep trying, I guess. My new boss says no, just means not today.
Scott Benner 57:27
Just keep asking. Yeah, basically, I have to admit, I've never once been told no about anything and thought, well, that means that I guess that's over. Always.
Vikki 57:38
And that's the attitude you have to have, especially in this world of diabetes. You can't. Yeah, you have to be very flexible
Scott Benner 57:47
to ever see that terrible movie called Fred Claus with Vince Vaughn. Right? And now for all of you. For everyone listening who's always been like, I thought Scott sounded like somebody and they're like, it's Vince one. I hear that a lot. So you don't you're not the first person to think. But um, so there's this part in the movie where his girlfriend has broken up with him, and she's hanging out a window. And she's like, we're done. He's like, I'm not done. It's the the idea of it always made me giggle. Like the idea of like, I'm not done, I still want to try like, and she's like, I don't want to try. And he's like I do and like, I know it's not a perfect apples to apples. You're talking about personal relationships when women tell you no, it's it's No. But I'm saying when you're when your endo tells you No, it's how can I get around this?
Vikki 58:33
Yeah, how can we reframe it come back to it? Because I mean, because there's no reason why they do want to help patients. And if you can kind of pry a little bit more and find out Oh, they just don't feel like learning
Scott Benner 58:49
where they don't want to be on the hook suddenly exposed. How much of it is that they don't want to be on the hook if something goes wrong.
Vikki 58:56
Oh, well, there's a liability factor as well. That's true,
Scott Benner 58:59
okay. So if you want to switch insulins, or anything like that, because it really doesn't matter, like you could give me every kind of insulin and I could, I could figure out how to use it. Like it's not a big deal like that. That's not a big deal. If you want to change meters, or pumps or stuff like that, there's nothing that your doctor should know or not know that would stop you. Like, if you don't like on the pod and you want to get something else. And your doctor is like no, no, you know, stay with the Omnipod you should be like, No, I don't want to I'm trying to switch or vice versa, or whatever I wouldn't want. I want to try and get an algorithm you don't they don't get just to tell you know, like, I don't know how else to frame it for people. They're not your parents, and you're not alive. You know what I mean? Like you're paying them and you'll want an insulin pump, get an insulin pump. You know, if you want to change insulin, I had people tell me all the time, my doctor said that wasn't a good idea. And I was like you're a one sees eight and a half your doctor doesn't know what a good idea around diabetes or you're a one c wouldn't be eight and a half like if you could try Then you wouldn't be talking to me. I'm a stranger, with no medical degree. Like imagine like how poorly things are going that you have sought me out is sometimes how I feel about it. You know, like, no one should make it to me, but yet, so many. Yeah, great, thanks. Well, thank you. That's your very kind. That was nice. Thank you. Let's just let that soak in for a second. He said, I appreciate that. I just think that it's important for people to know it's it's good to hear that a person like you who's already the parent of a child with Type One Diabetes still works for somebody who has guidelines, and there are certain things you can and can't say, and that you're going to run into doctors who are going to say no to things for reasons that have that are not based in any reality whatsoever. Just we don't do that here. And you know, I always try to joke through it on the show and say that, you know, usually, you know, the insulin your your practice uses has a lot to do with how pretty the salesgirl is for the insulin company you're practicing.
Vikki 1:01:02
I'm finding that Yeah, and that's
Scott Benner 1:01:04
not me trying to be funny. That's, you know, the most, you know the truth. Yeah, yeah. If If fiapf sends in a guy who's like six, four, and has steel blue eyes, and looks like he just lifts things all day long. Your doctor might be like, you know, what really handsome man told me to try fiasco. And here it is, give it a whirl. It's not that far off from how people like it's not. It's not like dirty, it's not um, it's not. It's not unseemly. It's just how people's minds
Vikki 1:01:34
work. And, you know, associate it with
Scott Benner 1:01:38
somebody pleasing to look at wanders in and tries to say to me, Hey, I try this meter, you're like, Alright, well, okay, I'll try it, like, you know, and if somebody you don't jive with says something that's really makes a ton of sense. You might ignore it. You know what I mean? Like he, right? It's just my favorite. My favorite reviews of the shows are from people were like, I hate that guy. But that podcast is so good. Like, I love that, because that means that the contents so good, that they're little, they're literally willing to overlook, they're
Vikki 1:02:08
willing to put up with your person, don't like me, I'm like that.
Scott Benner 1:02:12
But to me, that's a great, that's a great review. That's the content of this podcast is so good. I'm gonna listen to it, even though I don't particularly like the guy. And that's amazing, like, and so but I'm just saying most of the times people don't have the ability to do that if you know,
Vikki 1:02:29
right? That's not typically how things work, right?
Scott Benner 1:02:33
It's just like, you have to be a little realistic about how the world works. So be persistent, knows not no, nose, nose just means not today, that's very funny.
Vikki 1:02:43
Be kind Be patient. If that's your only option, then you just got to keep working it but yelling and screaming, and it's not gonna end well.
Scott Benner 1:02:53
It makes me wonder why, like, Jenny works at a place, right? That's very progressive. I'm sure. I wonder why more doctor's offices don't take that tactic. It's because they can't control the patient who the patients are.
Vikki 1:03:08
Right? I mean, they're not home with them. And they, yeah, they're just trying to be err on the side of caution for everybody. And so that just means that they're a whole lot more conservative. They will over Basal everybody. And anyway,
Scott Benner 1:03:24
so it's mass market. Its mass market. Yes, yes.
Vikki 1:03:27
They weren't good. I don't I don't know where I'm going with that.
Scott Benner 1:03:32
Let me let me see if what I'm thinking is right, then there are so many different kinds of people, and so little time to speak with them and interact with them, that we are just going to give them enough information that they're not going to drop dead today.
Vikki 1:03:47
Yeah, I mean, that's what they're trying to do. What's best for the most amount of people and that's what I tried to have my type twos understand is, this is supposed to work for your average day. But if you're, you know, not feeling well, or it's raining, and you're just sitting on the couch, or if you're running a marathon today, it's not going to, you're not going to get the same result. So your doctor can only treat your average day so that's what they're doing is trying to figure out what's going to be safest for the most amount of people
Scott Benner 1:04:19
knowing full well that that could mean that you might have a Thursday and a Friday where your blood sugar's in the four hundreds you can't get out of bed and you're knocked over and that's just the cost of doing business because I don't feel like we can do a better job and help as many people the same time
Vikki 1:04:34
unfortunately, but if that person I don't know every situation is different. But I mean we do encourage everyone to report those sorts of things. And so then hopefully they are paired with somebody that can talk to them and find more information and find out what led to that and
Scott Benner 1:04:53
you know, you just said that everybody listening is like yeah, I tried that once they call me back seven days later. By the way, you who were told come back in December when your kid was diagnosed or come back in December when you were diagnosed in September like yeah, so is there is there a sentence that gets you out of it? Like is there like again ardens 504 plan right? There's all these like, you know rules from the doctor's office and then at the bottom of it there's one sentence that says that the parents can override the 504 plan whenever they want
Vikki 1:05:31
Yeah, I think it we have with this medical management plan I have to look more closely at it all the nurses have been really helpful and flexible with me and they'll all call me before they do anything they don't like follow it to the letter or anything because every day is different and so honestly if we have the time for conversation we're going to have a conversation and think about because they keep changing when PE is and changing when recesses and what if they danced in music class and like every day is different
Scott Benner 1:06:05
and they're willing to stay flexible with you? Yes, so yeah, so my point is is that that sentence you know, the parents can override anything in this order that gives the nurse the freedom to think outside the block the outside of the box with me right even though I haven't spoken to a school nurse I quite literally since the end of second grade so I'm just using as an example but I'm saying as a as an educator as an endo isn't there a sentence that you could give people permission to think outside of the box instead of trapping them in the idea of I follow the rules that didn't work that's just diabetes I have to sit here and feel crappy.
Vikki 1:06:45
Gosh, there should be and they should have that in the in the office note and then when I read the office note I can go by that but it's not
Scott Benner 1:06:58
so there's there's no simple fix for this then.
Vikki 1:07:02
Oh, no. Okay. No, but and because then that could be used to someone could take it the wrong way and think oh, that means like I have all these patients that would hold their insulin my blood sugar was only 120 this morning, so I just didn't take my basil and anyway,
Scott Benner 1:07:23
so there are people who don't understand that enough and then they get fooled by something and make the wrong decision. Yeah, so
Vikki 1:07:28
yes, it's like you know, stopping your antibiotics when you feel better like they just think oh, well today I don't need it. Like well that's not how it works.
Scott Benner 1:07:36
Why this conversation is so interesting to me is because it mimics government in my mind the idea that you know, it's easy to sit back and look at a figurehead and say Oh, they made the wrong decision again, they made the wrong decision for you. And they might not be trying to make your life perfect or anyone's life perfect. They're just trying to keep everybody alive. And then if that really is what we're talking about here is that Yeah, when you're overseeing so many people there's no way to make them all happy or in our case all healthy or as healthy as they can be. So you're just going for keep the lights on keep the water running keep the heat on let the food show up at the stores some people are going to experience terrible crime some people are going to get sick and die some people are going to fall through the cracks that's the nice way of saying it in government right some people fall through
Vikki 1:08:27
most people
Scott Benner 1:08:28
and most people will be okay so that's why the podcast is valuable for people who want and have more better Yeah, better Yes, because it's a ecosystem where that's what's spoken about I go Okay, this was great. Oh, by the way, how do you become a CD?
Vikki 1:08:53
I saw the documentation Yeah, so
Scott Benner 1:08:55
you you get the hours and then
Vikki 1:08:57
you have an hour's anything then you apply for the test you have to be approved to apply for the test and then you go and take the test and it was oh gosh, how many questions was it? Now I can't remember I think I looked it up but then my computer just went to sleep on me. But it was one of those time tests and was better than I thought it was going to be.
Scott Benner 1:09:25
What's
Vikki 1:09:26
your score like right away even though they they still have to like officially recognize it so that takes a couple of days and then they send us a certificate to you a little bit later but you'll get the score right away?
Scott Benner 1:09:38
Well, is it expensive to take the test?
Vikki 1:09:41
My company paid for it but it was I want to say 175 so not cheap now so it's certainly not something you want to keep retaking.
Scott Benner 1:09:50
Somebody's got to get me a stolen copy that test I want to take it
Vikki 1:09:56
well they have in the study materials are so expensive. Because there's so little few resources, I guess, yeah, like the book, they'll tell you, you have this 500 page book you can study from. And it's like $250. And I didn't buy the
Scott Benner 1:10:11
book. I don't, I wouldn't have read it anyway, I know how to use manual
Vikki 1:10:14
for some from somebody. And then there's some apps you can use. Those are kind of helpful. The APA guidelines are always important. And so they tweak the test every year because the ADA updates their recommendations every year.
Scott Benner 1:10:28
Okay. I just want to take it cold turkey and see how I do on it. Well, if anybody's got one, Senator, that's all I'm saying. All right.
Vikki 1:10:37
Well, I mean, it's all computerized. So if they did, they did some wrong.
Scott Benner 1:10:41
A lot of people listen, if anybody's got that test on me. Okay. And so what? I want to give it a try and see how I do. But No, but seriously, it's this has been enlightening. You've been really honest. Are you okay, with your name being in this? Are you sure? Yeah, I
Vikki 1:10:57
didn't give you my last name, right. I was told just to not mention the current company I work for, and Otherwise, I'll be fine. I, I hope everything I said was,
Scott Benner 1:11:07
it was very honest. And it was your opinion, I appreciate it. And I and I, and here's why I think it's important to say, because people listening need to understand, not that not that doctors aren't on their side, right. And I don't want it to come off that way. Or that your endo doesn't care about you. But that there is a bigger game at play here. And this is overall the best most people can do. And I'll say it right now to your ask for people who do find and those who are willing to tell them more, you know, more secrets and tricks and stuff like that. That means that endo over time has sniffed you out as a person who's not going to screw up, right and hurt yourself. And so they're willing now they're going out on a limb by saying, Hey, listen, Jeff, or think about a Temp Basal right here. You know what I mean? Like, that's them. That's them going out on a limb. And they're not just they can't protect themselves by saying nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical, or otherwise, please always consult a physician to your doctor, can you imagine if they are the physician? Yeah. Can you imagine? You go to Dr. Smith, he could sit down and go, Hey, how are you? And you go, good. Dr. Smith, how are you? And he goes, Well, before we get started, I just want to let you know that nothing I say in this room should be considered medical advice. Now Pre-Bolus dammit, you're killing yourself. Like Yeah, like it just, they don't live in the same world. And it's just, it's too much. And you know, you can't, I just I'm trying to figure out how to mass reach people, and give them better, a better chance. And that's why this conversation I think, has been really valuable. And I think it's very valuable for people listening. So they understand that it's not in competence. Sometimes it this is designed, and it's it's not going to change. So you can sit around and hope and beg and yell at people if you want to. But this is not going to change. And it's not just in diabetes, it's in every form of healthcare. Yeah. So everybody just, you know, stop acting like you're 12 years old, and a unicorn is gonna fly in with, you know, balloons for you. It's not gonna happen. You got to take care.
Vikki 1:13:17
Yeah, I think they're doing the best they can with what they have. And most people do ultimately want to help people and improve their outcomes.
Scott Benner 1:13:27
But you got to help yourself to at some point.
Vikki 1:13:29
You really well, you got to make sure that you have a job.
Scott Benner 1:13:33
Well, no, yeah, I'm saying here to practice. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Not you. I mean, the other people, the people coming in, like, you've got to help yourself, like thinking about it as a patient. Like, at some point, if you're not seeing the outcomes, or living the life that you think is possible. It is not because it's not afforded to you and it's afforded to somebody else's, you don't know what to do, and you need to find out what to do. And if your doctors not going to tell you, or if anyone's not going to tell you go to somebody who will share that stuff with you. That's all Do you have you been through the pro tip episodes?
Vikki 1:14:07
And most of them I haven't been able to listen in a while but I know it's the I used to listen to them on walks when I work from home for a year. That's when I walked my dog I would always listen one gotcha. I'm gonna re listen to them and then I want my son to listen. I'm gonna try to anyway I might have to bribe them. But
Scott Benner 1:14:23
you know what? I'm seeing a lot of people doing that now and I gotta be honest with you. It's alright with me. Like I don't see like I see people are paying their kids to listen to the pro tip episodes.
Vikki 1:14:32
What's your currency? What do you want today? anyway?
Scott Benner 1:14:34
Exactly. Yeah. Is it Legos? Is it cash? Let's just talk turkey here.
Vikki 1:14:41
What does it take?
Scott Benner 1:14:42
What what I'll tell you there's gonna be a teenager on I probably won't record till the summer with him. You might not hear this for anyway you. It's gonna be a while, but the mom reaches out to me. I have a long conversation with the kid back when I think he's 16 or 17 I I feel like I straighten everything. He understands what's going on. I just got a text from him yesterday. And he said he finally pulled it all together. And he was texting to say thank you and all this stuff. I said, Do you want to come on the show and tell people about this? And he said, Yes. So you're going to get a real, really good conversation from a kid who is thoughtful and caring and loving and worried and worried about himself, but still just kind of couldn't pull it all together. And you know, and it was hard on him and his parents and everything. And he's gonna talk about what what Finally, you know, made it peak for him and got him over the hump, but that sounds great. Yeah, look forward to that. It's very cool. It really is. And I genuinely appreciate you doing this. taking the time out. Oh, it's been my pleasure. Seriously, you were you had a good time?
Vikki 1:15:47
I did. It was less scary than I thought it was gonna be. Are you nervous? I'm okay, now you're okay.
Scott Benner 1:15:53
Now, how long did it take you? I usually think it's about 15 minutes. Yeah, probably right in there. I can feel people changing around 20 minutes. At least send it up. Just so you know that around that same time, a voice in my head says I'll bleep this out, Vicki. Okay. So I start the episode and I pick through and I get enough information, I think, okay, these are the things I'm going to get through over the next hour. And then I can hear a voice in my head to say this up, make this good. And then I feel an incredible amount of pressure to put together a good show together, off the top of my head, cuz I don't have any notes about you here. I just, I just when we started, I was like, Oh, this is Vicki, she became a CD, she's going to talk to you about how to become a CD. And I was like, that's cool. And then that's how we started. So then I feel this immense pressure not to like waste your time or wasted people's time who are listening or anything like that. I might be more nervous than you are.
Vikki 1:16:45
But you did a great job coming up with questions because I was like, did he send me something initially that I forgot or lost or what?
Scott Benner 1:16:52
Now there's no prep, it's all whatever falls out of my head. That's all well, that's awesome. You have a gift. Well, everyone's gonna walk us wrong. Just Say No. Well, not today. But you hear me like really shucking and jiving and talking fast. I've lost the thread. I'm just trying to be entertaining at that point. Whether I fail or not, I'm not certain.
Well, a huge thanks to Vicki for coming on the show, and sharing everything that she shared with us, which was a lot as you can tell, because you heard it. Thanks also to the Contour Next One blood glucose meter, please head over to Contour Next one.com forward slash juice box. And you can learn more about touched by type one by finding them on Instagram, Facebook, or it touched by type one.org. Remember, if you're in the Orlando area, and you want to see a shindig and extravaganza dance party, right there in front of you on stage, go get some tickets touch by type one.org. Hit the program's tab, you're almost done. If you're enjoying the Juicebox Podcast, please do two things. First thing, tell someone else about the Juicebox Podcast. That's simple. I mean, I mean, it'd be nice if you open up their app and show them how to listen to a podcast to if they need help, because some people don't understand podcasts, but just telling them big deal for me. And I appreciate it. Second thing, go where you're listening and leave a beautiful five star rating and review write a beautiful rating. Like if they say your app allows three stars then get all three stars. If there's five stars, you get all five of them. And then after you do that you say something really thoughtful about the podcast that will help someone else decide to listen. That's pretty much it. The show grows because you tell people about it. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of the Juicebox Podcast.
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