Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 25: Drew’s Story of Acceptance, Identity & Living the Good Life with Type 1
79 Plays26 days ago
In this episode of the Type 1 Club Podcast, Jacqui sits down with Drew Harrisberg, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 21 years old.
Drew offers a powerful reflection on the early days of diagnosis. From the shock and sleepless nights to gradually building confidence and trusting himself to navigate T1D. He talks about his journey to make peace with uncertainty, the lessons learned along the way and the importance of empathy, support and not expecting perfection.
💬 In this episode:
- Recognising symptoms and acting quickly
- The emotional rollercoaster of diagnosis
- How type 1 impacts every aspect of daily life and how to adapt
- Support networks, honesty, and the value of sharing the reality (not just the wins)
- Drew’s advice to go easy on yourself and take it one day at a time
This candid, grounded conversation is a reminder that you don’t have to have it all figured out to be doing an incredible job. Drew speaks with vulnerability, humour and heart. A role model, a voice that will resonate with many.
🔗 Connect with Drew:
Follow Drew on Instagram: Drews Daily Dose
Further Resources:
Type 1 Foundation Website
Follow us on Instagram
Join the Facebook Group
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Purpose
00:00:00
Speaker
The content provided in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
00:00:14
Speaker
Reliance on any information provided by this podcast is solely at your own risk.
00:00:23
Speaker
Welcome to the Type 1 Club. Whether you're a parent grappling with a new diagnosis, a caregiver seeking guidance, or simply someone wanting to learn more about type 1 diabetes, this podcast is for you.
00:00:36
Speaker
Together, let's dispel myths, break down barriers, and build a community of understanding and resilience. Join us as we embark on this journey together, because with knowledge, compassion, and support, no one should ever feel alone in managing type 1 diabetes.
Meet the Hosts and Guests
00:00:54
Speaker
Welcome to the Type 1 Club.
00:00:59
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Type 1 Club. I am your host, Jackie Kidman. I'm a mum Harvey who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in June 2022.
00:01:11
Speaker
So we're now going on to three years for us. ah That was just after his seventh birthday. Today i have a guest with me to share his story um of being diagnosed with Type 1 and living with Type 1 for many years now. So I have Drew Harrisburg.
00:01:26
Speaker
Welcome to the podcast, Drew. Thanks for having me. I'm really looking forward to this conversation. I'm glad you're looking forward to Hopefully we can we can do a good job. More me than you. So, Drew, I've kind of followed you on Instagram and so i and listened to a few of your kind of podcasts and some of the ones that you've been guests with as well.
00:01:44
Speaker
So I feel like I know a little bit about you, but for anybody else listening, could you please share with us who is Drew and also your diagnosis story?
00:01:56
Speaker
Who is Drew? What a great way to start. What a good question. Something I should ask myself a little bit more often. Well, I guess I sort of see two Drews. There was Drew before type 1 diabetes and Drew after.
00:02:09
Speaker
And I don't know if they're too dissimilar, those two people, but all I know now is diabetes.
Drew's Diagnosis Journey
00:02:14
Speaker
It's literally my world, my life. It's every thought. It's everything I do. It's my work. But basically i I'm ah an exercise physiologist and ah got diagnosed with type one diabetes in the middle of my accreditation, which was how many years ago now? I want to say I've kind of lost count, like all of the years are just blurring into one.
00:02:35
Speaker
roughly 14 years ago, was 21. twenty one And I was in the midst of getting my accreditation to become an exercise physiologist when all this unfolded. And the way it unfolded was all the signs and symptoms that most people are familiar with.
00:02:49
Speaker
The thirst, toilet, you know, tired, hungry, falling asleep all the time, like all of those sort of signs. And I i tell this story, I've told it so many times, but I'll i'll tell you a little bit now.
00:03:01
Speaker
I fell asleep in the job interview for the position at the accreditation, the ex exercise physiology department at this hospital that i was trying to get a job at. So, mean, it was it was the most bizarre situation face-to-face with the person who was trying to literally employ me and I was falling asleep at the at the office table. So that was the expectation, pun intended.
00:03:24
Speaker
So i I ended up getting that position and I did my accreditation and in the middle of that, falling asleep, driving my car, all of these signs were just showing me that there was something really terrible going on.
Turning Diabetes into Positivity
00:03:34
Speaker
And I asked my parents who were doctors for blood tests.
00:03:38
Speaker
And we we pretty much immediately found that my HbA1c was a bit elevated and a couple of other little numbers were out. and And long story short, I got diagnosed with type 1. in the clinic that my dad, an eye surgeon, worked with for like 20 years as they're, you know, he would he would see the patient with diabetic retinopathy and these eye conditions. So i got my diagnosis,
00:04:01
Speaker
in the team that he working with for so long. So it was just such a strange circumstance, this diagnosis. And then after that, I sort of went on to just make diabetes my life. I really just, I went back to university. I got a degree in diabetes education and management, although not not credentialed. I wanted to get that degree. And it was it was like a postgraduate certificate.
00:04:23
Speaker
And since then it's just, you know, what you've seen on social media, it's talking about it on podcasts. I started my own podcast. So just try to raise awareness and educate and make it kind of entertaining and fun and and positive. And I just try to do my best to make this condition something that can be spoken about easily and and kind of encourage people to talk about their condition because I just think it is makes everything easier when you talk about it.
00:04:47
Speaker
So that's been my journey up until here. I obviously left out a lot of little things in there, but that's... Yeah, I feel like you've you've really summarized that and put a nice little bow around it, but I feel like there is way more to that. Yeah, we can dig deeper.
00:04:58
Speaker
Yeah. yeah So it's interesting that you sort of kind of go like, I don't know like when. Like I have 2nd of June 2022 embedded in my mind. That was the day that Harvey was diagnosed.
00:05:11
Speaker
Yeah. And then you're just kind of like, oh,
Life Changes and Acceptance
00:05:14
Speaker
I was sort of a, is it because you, like, I know that you're probably not ah not that flippant about it, but the way that you'd sort of say, I don't even know, like how long, you know, like, and not even saying a year.
00:05:26
Speaker
Is that because you just, there was a bit of a longer process of you being diagnosed? That's a really, it's a really good question. And um'm I'm thinking about it as you're as you're asking that. I think generally speaking, I'm somebody who I'm not attached to dates. I'm actually just terrible with dates generally.
00:05:44
Speaker
But I also do think that because it was such a traumatic, turbulent time that it's a blur. I can't remember exactly. Sometimes I even tell myself the story and I'm like, is that the story? Like, is that really what happened? Like, it's just such a blur. I think it was all happening so fast and it was so scary that, you know,
00:06:05
Speaker
Yeah, I just, the date is not, even the month, I've got to be honest, I can't remember if it was in November or December. It's just, I ask my parents sometimes, they're like, no, my mom knows the exact date. Like like you said, she knows.
00:06:17
Speaker
For me, I just, I think I just moved on, like as quick as I could. I think I just ah just put it behind me. Let's go forward. And that date just does not stand out at the moment. So you're diagnosed, so, i mean, like you know, 14 years of living as a living with type 1 diabetes.
00:06:35
Speaker
And so you've you've lived more of your life without type 1, which I always find quite interesting when talking with with people around it, is that um I know that I've spoken to lots of people who were like teenagers when they were diagnosed and stuff like that, which brings its own kind of, you know, sort of trauma and and kind of adjustments.
00:06:57
Speaker
But 21, like you're, I guess you're an adult, but you're still not an adult. You know, if I could kind of put myself aware I was 21, what I was doing when I was 21, I was planning, you know, to do overseas trips and I was going out a lot. I was, you know, probably not in a very good routine.
00:07:17
Speaker
What was that like for you, 21, and hearing this and then thinking about what does Drew's life look like now? Yeah, in the lead up the diagnosis, so like from finishing school to 21, 22, life was just unbelievable. It was what you said. was a lot of travel. i was playing gigs all over Sydney as a musician and just not a care in the world, autopilot, just really living autopilot, just a carefree, amazing life, which I still have today, me just say. But back then, my memories are that life was just too good to be true.
00:07:52
Speaker
There was just... I was just cruising and I'd recently gone to South America on like quite a big trip with a friend of mine for a couple of months. And I did get sick over there and I got a stomach illness when I was in the Amazon. We were like literally sleeping in tents and eating, who knows what we're eating.
00:08:08
Speaker
And I got really sick, like literally the worst gastric illness I've ever had. And I wonder if that did something to my microbiome and sort of shifted something and which may have contributed to getting the diagnosis.
00:08:21
Speaker
But when I got back to Sydney, I was basically, my plan was to either become a musician and give it my full-time commitment and really have a go at it and record songs, play play in a band, all that kind of stuff. I wanted to be like a touring musician and or I wanted to get a job at a professional sports team like the Waratahs or an AFL team, or Sydney Swans or...
00:08:44
Speaker
a rugby league team and and become the exercise physiologist at those teams. And yeah when you get diabetes, all your plans change because it's just trying to get your head around what this new condition is. And then it just changed my path. It really just gave me passion and purpose towards something completely different.
Community and Support
00:09:00
Speaker
It wasn't part of the plan.
00:09:01
Speaker
And i just I just decided to, I actually remember the day I made a decision, like a really hard decision. um I was literally just two or three weeks after my diagnosis. I was at Bondi where I live.
00:09:13
Speaker
I was going for a swim and I sort of dive into the ocean and I just remember thinking, okay so this is my life now. I now have diabetes forever. It's not going to be cured.
00:09:24
Speaker
I need to manage it every day. But I'm in a really good position to use this condition and use my degree and my studies to help people.
00:09:40
Speaker
Even though I hadn't even figured out how to help myself yet. I was thinking like, if anyone could get this condition and make it a positive and help other people, I'm in a pretty good position to do that. And I felt like a responsibility. It was so weird. I so i will never forget this day because I just, it was like the gears shifted. I'm like, okay, this is what I do now. And then literally probably the next day I looked at courses and I found this postgraduate certificate in diabetes education. And I just made it my mission to become somebody who works in the field of diabetes and helps people with diabetes.
00:10:08
Speaker
I remember the day. I'll never forget it. You hear that a little bit with, you know, when sort of the type one diagnosis kind of happens, you hear that people kind of either, like really dive into it and be kind of kind of go well maybe this is my path or move the like try and avoid the kind of aspect of oh okay well how how can I just avoid thinking and um everything anything about type one like I've spoken to um Andy then who's the type one nutritionist and she's she was sort of the same with her diagnosis that kind of moved her to you know
00:10:43
Speaker
get further into that field and work directly with those people. Was it because you felt like there was a gap when you moved into that or you just felt like, well, I'm learning, i'm I want to be better at this, I want to make this and op seeing this as an opportunity?
00:11:02
Speaker
think i think it was all of the above. I think I was, I mean, only in hindsight do I realise this, but I was trying to become the person that I think I needed at that time. Like I wanted someone who could show me a good life, who was, you know, still pursuing their fitness and athletics and really thriving and just not letting it stop them. And I didn't have that person, hadn't met that person yet. I hadn't found a role model.
00:11:24
Speaker
I was not, don't think I was even really heavily on Instagram that far back. Was Instagram even a thing 14 years ago? I don't even know. Just, I reckon it was just a thing. Yeah. So, so like it was so new.
00:11:36
Speaker
that I had no idea that there was even a diabetes community online. Like I'd have to look for like forums on like websites. You know what I mean I just didn't understand that there was this, you know, thousands of people living with this condition who feel the same way and are looking for people to, you know find inspiration. And I think I decided to become that person. And then it was like, well, next step is I need some, like I needed to get a degree.
00:12:00
Speaker
and need some credibility in the space beyond living with diabetes. I wanted to have something behind me. tie that in with my exercise physiology background and living with type one. I felt like it was just this really strong position to to make this something that I could actually use to improve the the lives of other people. And then obviously since then, I've found so many people who I look up to and I'm i'm inspired by.
Stigma and Identity
00:12:23
Speaker
But I think yeah back then, i just it was it was the sink or swim. It was like, if if I don't if I don't make this decision to like become the role model, maybe I will be one of those people that as you say, pushes it away, puts it out of sight, out of mind, and I have a really grim future.
00:12:40
Speaker
So I think it was a coping mechanism for me, to be honest. Yeah, yeah. So did you know anybody that had type 1 when you were diagnosed? I did know a guy, yeah. There was a guy at my gym who...
00:12:53
Speaker
was like a really fit, strong guy who was like into Olympic lifting or weightlifting. And I called him and he he was one of the first people, he was the first person I spoke to who was living with type one.
00:13:04
Speaker
And I just remember having conversation with him and he's like, mate, honestly, like, life goes on you'll see it's right now as he's diagnosed it's the worst thing in the world but you'll see in a few months you get the hang of it you start to learn about food you get your doses your insulin dose correct and once you start to figure out how this machine moves you'll see you're gonna you're gonna be gonna have a great life and you're gonna be strong and you're goingnna be you know don't worry you kind of just said that and it was enough and i was like amazing let's go So I needed that. And then I spoke to like Hugh Perrett, who played for the Waratahs. He was under contract with them.
00:13:38
Speaker
And i so I met with him at the Sydney football stadium back then and had a meeting and he was the same. He's like, mate, like you're newly diagnosed. It seems like the end of the world, but just give it a few months, give it a couple of years and you're going to gain some confidence and you're going to be fine.
00:13:53
Speaker
And it was good to have that. It it was really nice to have, especially in person. To see them in person was it unbelievable because you can go on Google and find success stories of X, Y, Z. But to sit and talk to someone was awesome. And I'm so grateful they gave me their time.
00:14:06
Speaker
Like it was, what a difference it made to my mindset. So now I'll never forget what they did for me. And I have passed that on to, you know, i've I've met with so many young kids face-to-face just in Bondi.
00:14:17
Speaker
Like i'll just, their parents will message me. I'll say to them, let's go for a walk. and we'll go for I've met a kid, we went for walk in Centennial Park with my dog when my dog was still with us. I've met these kids at Bondi, we've gone for a swim.
00:14:29
Speaker
Like even that 30 minute interaction can be enough to just, it's like passing the baton. Like they'll do that for somebody else, you know, one day. Yeah, absolutely. I'm quite often like with Harvey, when I know that someone's, you know, at a party or something that's got type one, like adults, they'll like quite often, you know, come up and like, you know, flash their kind of CGM and, you know, kind of say like, you're in the type one club, you know, that kind of stuff. And, you know, he'd be like, oh, yeah, like, and you can see that he's trying to act cool.
00:14:57
Speaker
But he's also, you know, you can see him sort of like, You'd be like, oh, that's cool. There's someone else, yeah you know, yeah and just because it's, yeah, initially feels like I know as a parent it felt so isolating and I could only imagine like for a 21-year-old to kind of be going, wow, okay, where do i you know, start and having to kind of also explain it to your friends.
00:15:21
Speaker
How did that go? Yeah, it was a weird age because in in one way I got a lot of that stuff out of my system when I was a bit you know, from 18 to 20 of the partying and going out late and, you know, just being a wild kid. i did all of that, which is cool. So I felt like I hadn't missed out on anything in that way.
00:15:40
Speaker
But then... yeah sort of it took me months if not years to figure out who I was my like my new identity because you've got to re-identify with who you are like it's a really strange psychological barrier to sort of jump over my friends are awesome but I just I was not ashamed of it but I was confused about how to own it I hadn't come to terms with the yet I wasn't like I wasn't thriving with it, so I wasn't proud of how I was managing it. I just kind of had this diagnosis, this label that I was getting to know because i didn't know anything about diabetes.
00:16:14
Speaker
And then trying to educate your friends to get their support. they've They're going to give you the support, but it was was just hard to you know test my blood sugar in front of them and have to answer questions. i didn't want to talk about it.
00:16:25
Speaker
I'd go to the bathroom to give my insulin. I didn't want anyone to see it. I didn't want any questions. I hated talking about it. I just wanted it to go away. And back then I wasn't wearing CGM. So there was no sign that I had diabetes like there is today. You have these like, you know, little badges that sort of are stuck to your body, whether you're using a pump or a CGM.
00:16:42
Speaker
There's these like outward signs of diabetes. Back then it was finger pricks and I'm still on multiple daily injections. But in between those moments, which are a few seconds a day, multiple times a day, you don't know that I have diabetes,
Social Media and Awareness
00:16:55
Speaker
right? I could hide it quite well, but that was not ah productive mindset because hiding it just made it so much harder.
00:17:01
Speaker
You know, talking to Paddy McCartan on my podcast and he was saying that as a kid, he would hide it. And every time he did try to put it out of sight, it would just grow bigger and bigger on his shoulders. And it was something he was carrying. and It was a heavy load that he didn't even know he was carrying until his mom sort of one day said, hey, every time you do that, this load is growing.
00:17:19
Speaker
If you want to let it off, if you want to like deload, you need to talk about it So that was big for me. And then that's that is actually when I started sharing it on um social media. I started putting up posts.
00:17:30
Speaker
um If I scroll would probably make me cringe, but like photos of me pricking my finger and like with some inspirational sort of comments about it. And that's just how the journey started. But I think that's the thing as well.
00:17:41
Speaker
When we talk about like when you look back and, you know, like all the first steps that you did was just showing people, you know, the you know the finger prick or, you know, that sort of stuff. Like it's those simple things that make people kind of go like, oh, you know, like is that what that's, I've seen people do that or I've never understood, you know, like so that it might seem simple to you.
00:18:02
Speaker
But I think the more you get into type one, you know, there is so much that goes on. that It's actually the simple stuff that resonates with people because they're like, oh, right, I ah recognise that's what that like that thing you're wearing now, that makes sense to me, if I've seen someone else at the gym. or And it opens up for conversations, I think, as well, which is important.
00:18:22
Speaker
Absolutely. However, I feel, just sorry to interrupt your train of thought, I feel like the use of CGM in people without diabetes is making it more confusing. like the conversation is there people know what it is but people don't realize that it's like a life-saving device that people with diabetes need to literally not have horrible complications long-term and short-term like it's just become this little badge of honor that people wear to make them think that they're going to be fitter or healthier somehow i don't know what you think about that but when you see someone wearing a cgm and then you think well harvey needs this to stay alive at times so
00:18:56
Speaker
How does that make you feel? Because do you find that a bit strange that people are choosing to use a device designed for people with diabetes when they don't need it? Yes, it doesn't make me feel great. It's odd, isn't it? I also just don't see the point in that.
00:19:12
Speaker
There's no utility beyond I mean, I hate to, like, slam people because they can't defend themselves, but, like, for most people I would say... are wearing it like a badge of honor. Like, look how much I care about my health.
00:19:23
Speaker
I'm so, i care so much about my health. I'm going to use this device. You know what i mean? I think that's part of it. I don't think there is, any scientific validity beyond that, to be frank.
00:19:33
Speaker
No, and as well, like I sort of think unless you've kind of got some concern that like what um I think that you were
Managing Diabetes and Life Decisions
00:19:41
Speaker
saying in a podcast that I listened to was that you had to track your sugars for a block of time pre sort of actual diagnosis. Yes.
00:19:49
Speaker
I think unless you've got some concern there, then... why would you track it? And it would actually probably just make me feel quite sad if I, if I put one on and I could see that my levels when I eat it, you know, it doesn't really change to the degree that Harvey's does.
00:20:05
Speaker
And like, I think that that would make me feel quite, yeah, quite, quite sad about the fact that well my pancreas is working and it's functioning the way that it, that, it should, whereas I've got a child that doesn't have that.
00:20:18
Speaker
Yeah. Even when I do a finger prick just to, we you know, sometimes we sit around the table and we all kind of do a finger prick of, you know, Russian roulette. And um it just makes me feel sad sometimes that I think, oh,
00:20:30
Speaker
There's mine sitting at 4.6 and he's, you know, like ah the work we've had to get to get him to be in range. I've had the same experience. I remember when I was doing lots of finger pricks, you know, for the first 10 years I was on finger pricks and I would do a lot of finger pricks. I was doing at least 15 a day, maybe 20.
00:20:48
Speaker
cause i just wanted to, I was basically using the CGM, the BGM, the blood glucose meter as CGM. It's like lots of data points very frequently sort of, because I just wanted to get that nice, complete picture of blood glucose. But every time I'd pull it out and i was with a friend or a family, whoever, and they would ask me, can i can can you prick my finger? I'd be like, yeah, sure. And they'd be like, what's it meant to be? And I'd be like, anywhere between four and six, you're you're golden. And I'd prick their finger and it would be like 5.9. They'd be like,
00:21:18
Speaker
is that Is that good? and i That's high. like, guys, you want to see high? Watch this. Like 5.9, because it's close to 6, people are like freaking out. I'm like, guys, I can send my blood glucose up to 15 whilst trying my best to keep it between 4 and 6. Like it is so hard.
00:21:36
Speaker
Just you're fine. Don't worry about it. Yeah, so that does, it is an interesting concept that people are wearing them for, yeah, health and I just think, wow. you gotten to that point, you're probably pretty healthy, aren't you?
00:21:49
Speaker
If you feel like you have to track it like that. Well, that's the thing. The irony is the people that end up using them are the people that are so health conscious that they don't need them. Do you know what I mean? It's probably the people who have put their health out of sight, out of mind for decades that would actually benefit from a CGM.
00:22:05
Speaker
It's the ones who are these fit freak athletic people who think they're to find another gear by wearing them. You don't need them, mate. You're fine.
00:22:15
Speaker
Don't ignore the four. The four early warning signs of type 1 diabetes. Excessive thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss and extreme fatigue.
00:22:26
Speaker
If you or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms, don't wait. Get checked by a healthcare professional. Early detection and treatment are key to managing type 1 diabetes effectively.
00:22:40
Speaker
When you talk about now, you said sort of in your introduction that now you live and breathe, of course you live type one, but you you know in terms of your your work, everything you kind of do do you ever feel an element of this is all too much and I want to break? taking my time to answer this because I want to just be careful with how I word this.
00:23:03
Speaker
No, I've never i've never felt burnout. I've never, ever felt burnout. neglected my health or said, you know what, today I don't have it or I'm going to take a break for a week or, um you know, it's time to put diabetes on the back seat.
00:23:17
Speaker
You know, I've never had those thoughts. um But recently, as my life's changed a bit, I feel like I'm maturing and growing up and I'm entering a new phase of life. All of the anxieties and stresses that come along with business, with family, with all of these things are starting to build up.
00:23:34
Speaker
And i'm I'm dealing probably not as well with my diabetes as I have in the past. And I think it's just a combination of so many things that are happening at once. Whilst before in my 20s, my sole focus was just be the healthiest you can be, learn everything you can about diabetes, manage it your best. So I felt like I was in a great place to just you know devote all of my attention to diabetes.
00:23:56
Speaker
But now with all these other little stresses, as I say, it is a little bit more difficult than it once was. However, with that said, I still feel like I'm in a really good place. I still feel all the joy of life.
00:24:08
Speaker
It's just another stressor and I'm um happy to deal with it and it's okay, but it is not as stress-free as it once was. I'll put that way. Yeah, I can imagine that because I sometimes, like, I'm a parent of a child, but he's still quite young. So there's quite a lot of work that I do for him. I'm kind of his co-pancreas kind of, right you know, kind of there.
00:24:29
Speaker
um you know, I'm the one that talks to the hospital and does all that sort of stuff. Even though he's there, he would prefer me just to do it with him not being there. And sometimes i get that overwhelm of just like, ugh.
00:24:41
Speaker
you know, so I can't imagine the person, the adult that then, you know, and then also having that as your part of your job is to work with people and to support them. Do you feel sometimes that with with the work that you do and this do you feel like people lean on you a lot or do you have that, build that relationship where you're empowering them?
00:25:02
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's the what the work I do and the way I help people is I think a little different to how a, you know, a credentialed educator would help them. I, I don't see myself as someone who's going to help you to like tweak your insulin and adjust your pump settings and all like that's not, I don't feel like that's my role or or I'd be best used. There are people way smarter and way more experienced than me that can do that work.
00:25:25
Speaker
I just want to show you the path of living the good life, like really, truly having a lifestyle that is setting you up for long-term health beyond
Four Pillars for Health
00:25:33
Speaker
diabetes. Cause as you know, like when you get diabetes, your risk of comorbidities goes up. There's, you know, linked with cardiovascular disease and other um autoimmune diseases and My goal early on was to like offset that that deficit. right So let's say diabetes on paper takes X amount of years of your life because it can, let's be honest about it.
00:25:52
Speaker
I was thinking, what is the best way that I can get those years back and high quality years? So I want to find a lifestyle that I can live really well and and be happy every day and feel joy and all of these things. So that's been my mission and I'm just trying to help people do that. And that's why I'm doing this retreat in August. I want to i want people for three three nights, four days, let's live together. like Let's live this lifestyle together. feel You can feel how good it feels.
00:26:15
Speaker
And if you can take ah just a couple of tools away and and implement them, fantastic. That's the reason why I'm doing it. And I want to meet people and spend time with people you know who have diabetes. So yeah, I mean, like my my focus isn't on becoming a diabetes educator. It it it really isn't. It's just trying to be ah a set of good examples and just give people some inspiration, some motivation, and maybe the things that they need that are more simple than, like I said, like your pump settings and getting your insulin dose perfect. and There are doctors and educators that are very good at this. And the algorithm is fantastic. And the the medical devices are fantastic.
00:26:51
Speaker
ah I consider myself more of the lifestyle guy, if that makes sense. So maybe give us a bit of a like a summary of what's your kind of philosophy, the right word I'm yeah i'm thinking Yeah, philosophy is the word, I guess.
00:27:04
Speaker
Yeah. what What does that look like? Okay. So, I mean, I can talk to you about my four pillars. To me, I found these four pillars of wellness, right? So at the core, I mean, they're all equal in weight, but...
00:27:16
Speaker
I would say there's slightly a little bit more power with exercise because that will movement, I call the pillar movement because I think exercise can come with a bit of stigma, fear, anxiety. It's a little bit more structured in its term, whilst movement is very free. You can move your body in so many ways, but movement is so, so, so important.
00:27:33
Speaker
I mean, there's like physiologically speaking, what it can do to your insulin sensitivity, what it can do to your blood glucose in in like acutely in real time. You can drop your blood glucose from X to Y by simply going for a walk after meals or, you know, a gym session can improve your sensitivity to insulin for 24 hours or even more.
00:27:50
Speaker
So movement's a big part of it. Nutrition is, is, obviously everyone with type one knows how important nutrition is. I follow a dietary pattern that's different to many other people. I eat ah an exclusively plant-based diet because I just find that my carbohydrate tolerance, my blood glucose fluctuations are better.
00:28:09
Speaker
My insulin sensitivity is the best it's been. Like there's so many benefits that out I found from a plant-based diet. And I think it ticks the box of, you know addressing potentially some cardiovascular issues that can arise from poorly controlled diabetes long-term.
00:28:22
Speaker
So I feel like I'm just, in in a place where I'm controlling my diabetes and managing potential comorbidities down the track. and And, you know, my control is not as good as someone on a pump, but for someone on MDI who, you know, is giving six injections, seven injections a day, and I wear a CGM,
00:28:40
Speaker
You know, my time in range is I'm very proud of it. Like, and and it takes a lot of work, but also because I've set up this four pillar approach, it doesn't feel like very hard work.
00:28:51
Speaker
It's consistent work and I'm doing it all the time. And I know if I probably went on a pump for even a day, I would be like, wow, okay, I have been working hard, but ah it's manageable. I feel like I'm in a good place. I'm happy doing what I'm doing with the devices that I've got.
00:29:05
Speaker
And then the other pillars, mindfulness is a massive one. So, For me, it's mindfulness is just about being conscious and present and aware of everything I do will have an impact in some way, a flow and effect on my blood glucose and diabetes health.
00:29:19
Speaker
If you go through life mindlessly and you're not focusing on these things, you are leaving so much on the table because you're putting it down to, oh, well, it's random that this happened or that. I think being conscious and aware is is a huge part of not just diabetes management, but just living a healthy life in general for anybody.
00:29:37
Speaker
diabetes or not. And then daily living, which is the pillar of, I call it my six S's and I'm going to forget them now because there's six of them, but it's like sunlight. So getting outside every day, got to get a little bit of sun every day so that I'm out in nature and and moving my body steps because the benefits of being on your feet, walking, socializing, because I lost my social life when I got diabetes and I realized the importance of healthy relationships. So socializing is is massive. And I try always treat it like like a muscle. Like you've got to flex it if you want to keep it there.
00:30:08
Speaker
You will lose your friends. like i feel like there was a period where I lost my friends because I neglected them so that I could become really good at managing my diabetes. So I'm just finding that balance, getting that back, sleep, stress management. And there's another one, but I can't remember it, smile. so so And the reason smile is one of the successes is because My personality changed. I literally lost my sense of humor.
00:30:31
Speaker
And I think I was depressed, to be honest. The year after my diagnosis, um I realized I wasn't laughing as much. I wasn't smiling as much. So it's not like smile is a pillar because you have to force a smile every day, but it's put yourself in situations that bring you joy and make you laugh and make you smile because I think that is a pillar of health. Yeah.
00:30:47
Speaker
Wow, that's
Diabetes Technology and Preferences
00:30:49
Speaker
beautiful. I love that. I think that's, yeah, there's a lot there, but it's, you know, there's sort of steam simple simple things again, you know, that but but when you've got this kind of chronic illness and this weight loss,
00:31:04
Speaker
on you, it's it's hard sometimes to kind of go, okay, well, yeah, I need to sort of find something that brings me a bit of joy now, you know, that kind of stuff. And i think that we take that for granted, you know, some of the times when we're, you know, you don't have this kind of consistent, like constant kind of worry or, you know, you're managing this sort of thing.
00:31:27
Speaker
I'm just curious to know, i know that you're your MDI, ah we're we're just two weeks into going on a pump. for Harvey. and So we have been MDI. um Have you ever tried going on a pump?
00:31:39
Speaker
I haven't, no. I've never tried it. I have a psychological barrier and a physical ick about having a little mini computer with a tube attached to my body. I cannot get over it.
00:31:53
Speaker
I'm such a minimalist in how I live. Like you you've seen my Instagram. I don't even wear a shirt ever or shoes or like if you see me in Bondi, if you bump into me, 99% chance I'm barefoot and shirtless and I'm like walking into a cafe to get a coffee or I'm eating lunch.
00:32:09
Speaker
That's just how I live. And I'm always in the ocean and I'm super active. And I know you can still wear a pump and do all those things. But for me, there's something about having the device attached to me, like this physical reminder, like hanging off my body.
00:32:24
Speaker
I just don't, I can't get my head around it But also because my control is really good. Like my average time in range, I give, ah I mean, i can sort of check now, but like, you know, roughly my time in range, let's say like the last 90 days, 80% on MDI.
00:32:40
Speaker
ah god It's pretty good. Like I'm very happy with that. So, you know, if I can achieve, and that honestly, it's been like 90% sometimes for 30 to 90 days. So i've I've had this really, really good control on MDI. If,
00:32:52
Speaker
is my control was going the other way and start to get really bad. Like if I was averaging below 50%, I would sign up for a pump because I care more about my long-term health than I do about the psychology of having a device hanging off my body.
00:33:04
Speaker
So it's not that I'm completely opposed to it. It's just in this context right now, this phase of life that I'm in, I don't see the need for me personally, um but i'm not I'm not opposed to it. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's interesting because yeah, we've only just gone on to the Omnipod 5.
00:33:17
Speaker
because of the tubeless aspect of it. Is he loving it? Oh, I don't know if you'd say loving it. Compared to MDI, like no injections. I mean, it's hard to kind of, I'm i'm probably enjoying it more yeah just because it I feel like it does a lot.
00:33:34
Speaker
ah There's a lot of work that it's doing in the background that I feel like sometimes I'm like sitting there going, why is he going up? You know, like what's happening? Like why won't the insulin kick in? And I think it does a lot of tweaking for that. I mean, we're still sort of tweaking some things. He's super active.
00:33:49
Speaker
I can actually see him being you in like, you know, in like 25 years. That's awesome. I'm often, like I often show Harvey like your your Instagram of you doing pull-ups and stuff and he's always like, and I'm like, see, he's wearing a CGM and he's always like, and then, you know, he's like, oh, that's cool, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like he's super active, super fit, always says that he's the only one in our household that has a six-pack, you and he's 10.
00:34:12
Speaker
So, you know, you can kind of see where he's going with this. That's so funny. So funny. But it's been an adjustment and I think that's another thing that I felt like I wasn't kind of ready to go on to it. Definitely with the with the tubes, we were I was like, nah, he was definitely no.
00:34:29
Speaker
And it it's certainly been an adjustment in the aspect of trusting, like you're saying, like trusting that and knowing that there's insulin going in. He's enjoying it for the fact that he doesn't have to, I could just give him insulin and he doesn't even...
00:34:44
Speaker
and notice it you know I don't have to interrupt him he can be you know playing a basketball game and I can just be dosing him kind of thing yeah but it still is something new to learn which I've you know has kind of felt like another language for me to learn I you know like when he was firstly first diagnosed it was I felt like I was learning like French or some other like a you know some other language yeah And then that took me a block of time to then kind of feel the confidence of, ah okay, we can introduce something else.
00:35:16
Speaker
We were happy with MDI, but yeah, I certainly can see the benefit for him in the long run of, because his levels were, we were still riding the roller coaster, to be honest.
00:35:26
Speaker
So it's flattening out a little bit better for us. Yeah, i mean, it's early days, right? Two weeks in, yeah, you're going I'm sure it'll take many more days to get the hang of it and just get easier and easier over time.
00:35:38
Speaker
um But yeah, i I think that if one day in the future, if I get to the point where I need a psychological break from manually doing what my pancreas is meant to be doing, then I'd i'd take up that
Balancing Life and Diabetes
00:35:50
Speaker
offer of getting a pump. But, you know, if I really zoom out and take a really good look at myself of where I am and i was advising someone in my position,
00:35:59
Speaker
I would say just keep doing what you're doing. You're doing really well. That's what I would say and I tell myself that quite often. um But I would also be honest and say you you need a break. You're showing signs of anxiety or you're burnt out.
00:36:14
Speaker
It's time. ah I'm just not there. ah really I'm really just happy with where I am. And I think you're you're an adult. like you You manage it how you... you know like It's much easier for an adult than a child, I think, because Harvey will still be like,
00:36:29
Speaker
his snacks and you know like he's like oh yeah i've forgotten i'm sure that you have you know you've had those moments too but um you know you know exactly what you're putting in your mouth whereas i don't actually know if he's at a party or if he's somewhere i can't kind of i could just see his levels rising going okay something didn't go right there whereas your you're you're yeah so different yeah so different yeah it's seven to ten year old versus 20 to 30 year it's just so different You know, i've I've completely resonate with you as a mother and how you like the idea of having this, you another device with an extra layer of control and and safety.
00:37:08
Speaker
I totally get it. Like, I think my mum would probably wish that I was on one to be honest, even at this age. Does your mum still check in with you? I know that you were diagnosed at 21, but I could imagine that that would still be, and when I should say parents, sorry.
00:37:21
Speaker
But, like, does she still have an element of worry? And probably not now. Yes, she does. You wouldn't believe it. My mom's the most anxious. She was on my podcast. You'll see like she was episode, I think episode 10 or something.
00:37:33
Speaker
um She is the whole, she cried the whole episode. Like she's just such an emotional person, but like she's, she has a lot of anxiety. and but But the other thing is watching me like thrive with it has made her a lot more comfortable and she trusts what I'm doing. And, you know I've proved, I've proven to her and myself and everyone who knows me that like I can handle this on my own.
00:37:54
Speaker
I'm, very happy to take support and help from doctors, educators, my parents, anyone. But if I have to do it alone, I'm also fine. I can do this. And I think it's given her a lot of confidence and allows her to sleep at night knowing, especially since I've been wearing a CGM.
00:38:08
Speaker
I think that gave her, the just it took away one of the biggest anxieties, which are those overnight lows. And obviously we know the complications that can happen if things go wrong overnight. So that helped her, but I'm sure she's still, she's probably just too afraid to to annoy me all the time and ask me ah about it. so she doesn't follow She doesn't follow you on your CGM, does she?
00:38:29
Speaker
Absolutely not. No way. I would never let that happen. and She'd be looking at it all day. Yeah, I know. it's yeah does your um Does your partner follow you on your CGM?
00:38:40
Speaker
No one? no No, no one does. it I'm happy for Carly to follow me. like I don't mind that. we just We just haven't set it up. yeah I probably should. like It would be very intelligent to have another person at least have some eyes on it, especially Carly, but I would not let my parents do that, no.
00:38:54
Speaker
Interesting to know when I need to let go. I cannot help you with that. That's that's your journey. um Just to wrap things up, where and I know that you've you know kind of got you a few things happening with Drew's sort of daily dose.
00:39:10
Speaker
ah You've got a retreat coming up. You've got a wedding in the future. Well, you've had an engagement, haven't you? Yes, I have. The wedding is not, we haven't even discussed that yet. We're just sitting in the engagement phase. Yeah.
00:39:24
Speaker
um what what What does the future look like for Drew?
Future Endeavors and Community Contribution
00:39:30
Speaker
Yeah, i mean, sort of the Drew's Daily Dose related to stuff is a retreat in August. I'm looking to have about 15 people with diabetes at that retreat. There's actually one room left.
00:39:39
Speaker
So if anyone's listening it wants to come, one room left, get involved. I've got my insulin pen needles, which are on the NDSS, free, you know, you get your boxes each month for free. We've used them. When Harvey was MDI, we changed to them and he really loved them. He was like, I don't even feel anything.
00:39:56
Speaker
Yeah, that's good. That's a really nice testimonial. I'll just clip that and post that on Instagram later. Thank you. um And then, you know, I've just launched my podcast. so four episodes are out. I've got about eight to go.
00:40:08
Speaker
ah really awesome lineup of guests, just fantastic people who have done great things with diabetes. I've got a couple of other little ideas, little so some little brand and product ideas in the diabetes space that I'm working on, some creative things.
00:40:19
Speaker
And honestly, I don't know where this is going. I just know that each day I'm enjoying it. I'm happy with what I'm doing and I'm just going to keep doing it and we'll see. Maybe we'll talk again. We'll do a podcast in five years and we'll do a recap where he is now.
00:40:31
Speaker
Yes. Drew, I've really loved our chat. I know we sort of say, I say at the start, let's try and keep these short and we I never can. It's impossible. It's impossible, isn't it? Me too.
00:40:43
Speaker
But i I really value um your time and energy and effort that you put into the type 1 diabetes space. I mean, this is the first time we've actually officially met, but I feel like I know a lot about your sort of story.
00:40:58
Speaker
And as I said, I share a lot with Harvey with some of the stuff that that you sort of share, and I think that you do a great job with that sort of experience. positivity and um and being a really positive influence in this space.
00:41:11
Speaker
I like to summarize this, well, not to summarize, I like to finish this podcast with one last question. And that's, what is your hypo treatment, your go-to hypo treatment?
00:41:23
Speaker
Wow, it's changed over the years a lot. So, yeah, so I, I hate like eating jelly beans. Like I just, I just hate that getting stuck in my teeth. I just don't like the idea of, of eating jelly beans. So my hypo treatment at, with that said, I still have jelly beans in my bag just in case, but I use the, the sort of glucose gels that like cyclists and athletes would use.
00:41:46
Speaker
I can just sort of crack it open, get it down. don't have to chew anything. It's really quick, rapid acting. Usually has dextrose or multidextrose or something that's a fast acting glucose or juice. So I don't have to chew, but I don't enjoy eating lollies. So I just try to, whatever's liquid form that gets down the quickest. That's ah sort of what I try to do.
00:42:05
Speaker
What does Harvey do? um So now we're half a snake. So on the pump, it's dropped down his hypotreatment, half a snake or five Skittles. We do a little bit of, at night, it's juice.
00:42:19
Speaker
It's just a couple of sips of a Prima drink. And that seems to get him back up because he doesn't even really remember it when I'm just shoving a straw in his face and he just does that. It's so tough.
00:42:30
Speaker
Wow. It's so tough. He's he's good though. he's He just sits up and drinks and goes back to sleep. It's amazing. So crazy. I've never seen this side of diabetes. You know, obviously I wake up in the night with loads but I have to do it myself. I just can't imagine as a kid just being woken up and juice shoved down your throat.
Concluding Thoughts and Resources
00:42:48
Speaker
It's just such a strange condition we live with, isn't it? Gosh. Yeah.
00:42:51
Speaker
It is strange and it's quite um sometimes when I don't hear the alarm, you know, when I'm in the dead of sleep and or, you know, whatever, and then I go in there and he's sound asleep, you know, like and ah it's as a parent it's quite nerve-wracking kind of waking him up in that space, you know, particularly if he's quite low. I'm always like, oh, far out. Have I left this too long and I have this panic?
00:43:16
Speaker
you know, you just have that split second horrible. Sweating him and thinking about it yeah. gosh yeah i have nightmares sometimes that i'm so low that i've passed out in my sleep like i'll have a nightmare it's really weird that my sugar is like i'll see it on the it'll be like 0.1 it'll say like it's in my nightmare and then i'll be like dude you're 0.1 you need to get up and go to the fridge right now and then i'll like shake myself awake and i'll just take a breath i'll check my cgm it's like 6.2 and i'm
00:43:48
Speaker
So, like, that is it's trauma, you know. it's really It really is. Yeah, it's scary. Yeah, it is scary. It is scary. and it's And trying to explain that to people, I went on camp with Harvey last year and I was in cabin with three other mums. One of them was also on a type 1 diabetic mum.
00:44:07
Speaker
um And we were trying to explain to these other parents of how we have to do that through the night and they're like, what do you mean? Like, what do you mean you have to get up and you have to, you know, give them juice and they're just, you know, like, and they're like, how many times a night? I'm like, sometimes a lot.
00:44:25
Speaker
that's so That's what's so weird about diabetes. If you don't know anyone lives with it or you don't live with it yourself, it's why would you know any of this? Like it's such a unique, strange condition. You can't expect, I just don't expect anyone to know this stuff. I didn't know. any Yeah.
00:44:38
Speaker
Thank you so much for your time, Drew. Thank you everybody for listening. I hope that you've enjoyed this conversation and this chat with Drew. will put all of his details in the show notes, but Drew, do you want to quickly just say where people can find you?
00:44:50
Speaker
Yeah, I think just Instagram is where I'm most active. So Drew's Daily Dose on Instagram. And then my website has some information, you know, I've got some recipe stuff, some training programs and some info about the retreat if people want to come. i don't know when this goes out and maybe there'll still be a room left, but if if not, I'll be doing another one every year, oh at least one a year. That's my plan.
00:45:09
Speaker
Good luck with it all. Thanks so much for your time, Drew, and we look forward to bringing you another episode of the Type 1 Club very soon. Bye-bye. you guys.
00:45:21
Speaker
Thank you for tuning in to the Type 1 Club podcast. We hope you enjoyed today's episode and gained some valuable insights. If you like what you heard, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on all the platforms so you never miss an episode. We also appreciate it if you could leave us a rating and review. It really helps us to reach more listeners just like yourselves.
00:45:41
Speaker
For more updates, behind-the-scenes content and to join the conversation further, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, the Type 1 Foundation, or visit our website, type1foundation.com.au.
00:45:55
Speaker
Thanks again for listening and we will see you next time on the Type 1 Club.