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Episode 38: Teen Life with Type 1
2 Playsin 1 day
In this episode, Jacqui chats with Emily Mason, a teenager from Tasmania who shares her experience of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 13.
Emily speaks openly about becoming critically unwell before diagnosis, returning to school just days later and navigating life as the only person she knew with type 1. Now using pump therapy and playing football, she reflects on growing confidence, managing diabetes alongside sport and finding connection with others living with the condition.
It’s an honest and hopeful conversation about growing up with type 1 and learning to thrive.
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If you'd like to share your story with our podcast listeners, please email: podcast@type1foundation.com.au
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Transcript
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. Reliance on any information provided by this podcast is solely at your own risk.
Introduction to the Podcast
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.
00:00:54
Speaker
Welcome to the Type 1 Club.
00:01:00
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Type 1 Club. i am your host, Jackie Kidman.
Harvey's Diagnosis Story
00:01:05
Speaker
I am a Type 1 mum to a boy named Harvey who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in June 2022 the age of seven.
00:01:16
Speaker
Today i welcome a guest, Emily Mason. Emily, welcome to the podcast and thank you for your time. Well, thanks for having me. It's so great to be here.
Emily's Diagnosis Journey
00:01:24
Speaker
So Emily, I would love for you to share um your diagnosis story um with everybody. Yeah, of course. So I was diagnosed on October 15th in 2023.
00:01:37
Speaker
i was 13. thirteen So this was just after the school holidays. Like it was the first week that I got diagnosed. But prior to that, we were camping in Bruni. And i was like really decayed at this point. We just had no idea though.
00:01:51
Speaker
Yeah. And we'd gone for a walk. Like we were doing a bunch of bushwalks and I was like crying and I didn't know why. Cause I was just so exhausted. And mom was like, Oh, come on, you can do it. It's not even that far. And I was bawling my eyes out cause I was just so exhausted. and I was sleeping all the time. Like I never was a day sleeper and like I've always been active. And then I was just falling asleep on the couch. Yeah.
00:02:14
Speaker
And the day before my diagnosis, it was the last e school holidays and mum was like, why don't you invite a friend over? and I was like, oh, I don't know if I feel up to it.
00:02:25
Speaker
And mum was like, oh, you haven't had like any friends over, just invite one over. So I did, I invited my best friend over. And I was drinking so much water and it like enough that she noticed, like I'd had like two full Frank Green, one liter drink bottles and she'd only been there for 30 minutes or so. And she was like, you're drinking a lot. And I'm like, Oh yeah, I don't know. I'm just very thirsty.
00:02:50
Speaker
And then I was going to the toilet like every few minutes or so. And I was never like, she was just like, well, well This is bit awkward because she was just having to sit there while I was going the toilet.
00:03:04
Speaker
um And then I was like, ah she'd been there for not even an hour yet. And I was just like, oh, I think it's best if you go home because I was just feeling so drained almost.
00:03:14
Speaker
And, yeah, mum got home that afternoon. She took one look at me. She was like, oh, something's not right. I'll get dad to take you to the GP. So dad got home and took me to the GP. We went the...
00:03:27
Speaker
We didn't go straight to the emergency because we didn't think it was that bad. We just went to the after-hours doctor. And he pricked my finger and I think I was 28 and took my ketones and they were just reading high.
00:03:42
Speaker
And so he went back into the consultation room and he goes, oh, it might be diabetes, but we're not sure. So he refers me for a blood test the next day and sends me home. Oh.
00:03:53
Speaker
Yeah, that was something. That was exactly how like the doctors reacted. At the hospital.
Coping with Initial Diagnosis Fears
00:04:00
Speaker
Yeah. So I went home and went to the blood tests and then mum was like, oh, I'll just book you in to our like family GP.
00:04:09
Speaker
And we go there. She like looks at me, does my finger prick. It's reading a bit long because I hadn't eaten much that day. And she was like, oh you need to go to the hospital now. You can go by ambulance or you can drive. And it was just so quick after that, like, yeah.
00:04:24
Speaker
pushed out the door and went straight hospital and they had, like, we walked in and they knew who I was and they put me on the bed and started putting me on insulin and fluids. and That must have been quite surreal being a 13-year-old girl um and having, you know, obviously it sounds like for a few weeks this was a building up, you know, of feeling off.
00:04:45
Speaker
And then then you're into your now in hospital probably starting to feel a little bit better, but now you've got this this diagnosis of type one. Tell me being a 13 year old girl, what was that like?
00:05:01
Speaker
Well, normally when you hear diabetes as a teenager, you don't go so you don't know the different types. So I've gone straight to what did I do wrong?
00:05:12
Speaker
Like did I eat too too much sugar? Because that's the only diabetes I'd ever learned about was kids online saying, oh, that's like diabetes in a bowl when it's like a bunch of ice cream. So that's like all I really knew. And then they're like, oh, well, you have diabetes, but it's not it's not what you did. It's just how your body's rejected its own insulin.
00:05:33
Speaker
I can imagine you were quite, was there an element of like fear of what does this mean for, you know, like you said, you're quite active. Did you sort of worry that that was going to hinder your life or change stuff?
Managing Diabetes in School
00:05:47
Speaker
and Yeah, well,
00:05:50
Speaker
The first few weeks I really hit it because I went back to school. I was there for five nights and I went back to school pretty much the next week. And I kind of hit it because I didn't know, like the only people that knew were my best friend and the office ladies. That was about it.
00:06:08
Speaker
And I was at a school when no one else had it. i was the only person. So, i yeah, I did not really show anyone and I feared, like,
00:06:19
Speaker
with sport because I play football, is this going to mean that I can't do it or am i going to have to get special treatment and stuff like that? Yeah, I can imagine that sort of thought process. So were you in grade six or year seven when you were diagnosed?
00:06:34
Speaker
um Year seven, so it was my first year at high school. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, and I went to a like no one else from my primary school went to that high school, so it was people I did not know.
00:06:46
Speaker
Right, so when you say only your best friend knew she wasn't even at school with you. Yeah, well, yeah, there was my best friend and then there was my friend at school who knew because I was just told her why I wasn't at school because she was like one of my closest people there.
00:07:00
Speaker
Wow. So then when you, you know, you start to get a bit more confident with, so are you doing manual injections and um going up to the office to do that or who's, how are you managing?
00:07:12
Speaker
I had the office lady who was really sweet. Like she was, she let me have most of the control over it. But, yeah, at the start of recess and lunch, I'd go down to the office and they had this, like, room on the side. It wasn't even, like, a the room for sick bay or stuff. It was just another room on the side, like, in a spare office. And she I'd go there and she'd be, like, she'd ask me what my levels were and she'd write that down and how many carbs and how many units of insulin I was doing it. And then I'd do it and then I'd leave. And how did that make you feel, having to go up to the office every day, twice a day at least? Yeah, I wasn't.
00:07:50
Speaker
too keen at the start like mum on the my first day back mum had this meeting with the office lady set up and I kind of cried and refused to go because I didn't want to be late to class and everyone would be like oh why weren't you here last week and now why are you late and have all these questions thrown at me so mum said okay that's fine you don't have to go dad and I'll just go Yeah, and having – because people started to notice that I was going the office every – at the start of recess. Well, they'd see me in there and they'd be like – start asking questions and I'd be like, oh, well, I just got diagnosed with diabetes so I'm just dealing with it in there.
00:08:26
Speaker
So I'm assuming that did you have any – like did you have a CGM at that point? Yeah, I had – the Libre 2 and I just bought some patches and I was like this was me feeling quite confident and I went to school one day and I was in class and I it was like a bit lower so people could see because I i wasn't that afraid of it anymore and then one kid comes up and they this is like a girl in my grade comes up to me and goes oh what's that and I say oh it's just a dog glucose modeda because I got diagnosed with diabetes and she goes oh my goodness how much sugar did you eat and that really crushed
00:09:02
Speaker
Me and my self-confidence a bit. And I came home mum and I was a bit upset and I was like acting all moody and she's like, what happened? And I explained it to her yeah. You know, like whenever i kind of think about being a teenager anyway, you know, it's such a it's such a challenging time.
00:09:23
Speaker
like you said, you're just learning. You know, you you yourself, when you were diagnosed, you said that you thought, you know, you only knew one type of diabetes and that was, you know, what people were saying. It's like, as a diabetes in a bottle or diabetes in a bottle, you know that sort stuff.
00:09:39
Speaker
Yeah, that's why i don't really blame people when they say stuff like that because, honestly, if I think back before I got diagnosed, I didn't know either. So it's not their fault. It's just some people just haven't been exposed to it.
00:09:51
Speaker
How did you sort of change that from going from that girl that was upset and, you know, for someone that came to you and said, gosh, how much sugar did you eat to what you just said then about it's not necessarily their fault? How did you change that mindset? Because I feel like that's such an important message for young people.
00:10:09
Speaker
Yeah, well, I was really crushed after that had happened. But if you think back to before you got diagnosed and you saw something on the back of someone, arm you wouldn't know what it was and you wouldn't know what type one was or how it happens. And it's not their fault. It's just the exposure hasn't happened.
00:10:30
Speaker
And yeah, also one day someone came up to me and I spotted it and I had it on my leg and were like, oh, is that a glucose monodyne? I was like, yeah. And she's like, oh, my brother has type 1. That was really nice because it was like, oh, someone isn't like knows what it is and it's not me having to explain it because they just already know.
00:10:51
Speaker
Yeah. And do you think going like now a few years in, do you feel like people are more aware Yeah, well, I definitely think there's a bit more exposure now than what it was when I got diagnosed, which I know was only like two years ago, but I still think the exposure is growing. So I went, the school I was previously at, I went to for year seven and eight, where I got, the years I got diagnosed.
00:11:16
Speaker
And then this year I've moved to another school closer to home who also have a lot more knowledge on type one because there are eight of us there. And, yeah, they're all take they're all taking, every teacher who interacts with a type 1 student is taking the level 3 type 1 course because there's so many of us there now that a lot of them need that knowledge.
00:11:44
Speaker
So is this a year 7 to year 12 school? Is that how? Yep. And any of them in your grade, in your year level? Yeah, I have a girl who I actually connected through endocrinologist.
00:11:58
Speaker
and They asked if I wanted to meet someone. So she was the first person I met with type 1 and she's in one of my classes this year, which is really nice to not be the only one. Yeah, that's awesome. And do you find... that you all manage your type one sort of differently, like currently. So you started off, you said that you were doing, you you wear a CGM, that's in terms of, and then, and and doing manual
Adapting to a Medtronic Pump
00:12:21
Speaker
injections. Is that what you're still currently doing or have you moved to...
00:12:25
Speaker
Another system or? So last year in January, i moved to, well, in December trialled Medtronic and then January I permanently moved to Medtronic and then currently on Medtronic pump. Ah, so over 12 months you've now been on a pump.
00:12:44
Speaker
Ah, wow. And how are you how do you find that? I find it a lot easier. I understand some people prefer not being on a pump and just having that freedom, but I don't think I could, I couldn't really do the whatever, however many injections a day plus corrections and stuff, which is why I really love Med20 because they it has automatic corrections, which is really helpful for me. So I can kind of forget about it during the day and then just bolus really quickly and then it's kind of done.
00:13:18
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. If you or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms, don't wait.
00:13:33
Speaker
Get checked by a healthcare care professional. Early detection and treatment are key to managing type 1 diabetes effectively.
00:13:43
Speaker
You also mentioned that you you play football. So I'd love to hear how you've gone with with that and what you do with your with managing your type one through games and stuff like that.
00:13:58
Speaker
Yeah, so i actually started footy last year and that was my first year playing. And the first thing I did was I went up to my coach and I said, just so you know, i have type one. Sometimes I'll need to come off the field and like treat a low or a hyper.
00:14:17
Speaker
And he was like, yeah, that's fine. We can get the runner to run anything out to you this need as well. Which was really great. So at my first game, I think I went a bit high and my pump was going off. So the runners grabbed my pump and he's gone up to me and he's like, oh, just come over here for a sec. And I've like said, okay. And I've put it in for a second and given a tiny, like a unit dose. And he's, he's gone, you're good. And I'm like, yep. And I took it off and I gave it back and he ran
00:14:47
Speaker
back just feeding which is really great sorry i'm not familiar with the metronic um tech but um because my harvey's on the omnipod but i'm imagining that so the which is has a controller but i'm ah i'm assuming that your cgm is still talking to your pump even though it's not connected is that is that what's happening yeah well they have to be within like I don't even know how many metres before they disconnect, but I normally play on a if I'm choosing to play ah position, i normally choose closest to the bench. So it will kind of stay connected. So you still you you still have an element of like precautions there.
00:15:30
Speaker
that you So that you are still getting some some readings? Yeah, I still kind of know that if I am going to low, it will alert me as well as if I'm feeling it. So you get, do you get sense, like ah obviously when you go low, you've said you get a that's that sort of feeling. Do you get a sense if you're a bit high?
00:15:53
Speaker
sometimes feel almost like a little bit foggy. and like almost dazed, which I can kind of tell when I'm a bit high.
00:16:05
Speaker
If I'm sitting like around 10, won't feel it. But then if I'm sitting around 13-ish, then I'll definitely feel it. And normally I do sit a bit higher in the games because of the adrenaline.
00:16:16
Speaker
And even if i haven't eaten anything, I'll shoot up anyway and then I'll just crash straight after the game. so do you just let it... kind of go or you might just give yourself just a little dose like you were saying before. What do you do with that?
00:16:30
Speaker
if i If it's reading 15 or a above-ish, then I will give a little bolus. and But if it's not really reading above 13 or 12-ish, I'll just leave it because I know I'll crash afterwards.
00:16:45
Speaker
And normally after the game, I'll eat half a banana because obviously I drop quite quickly the second the game finishes, like the adrenaline's over. I'm starting to sit down and rest and stuff.
00:16:57
Speaker
So having half a banana or one glucose tablet will normally just bring you up and let me sit at about 6 minutes.
Balancing Sports and Diabetes
00:17:05
Speaker
It sounds like you're becoming very attuned to your body, which is an interesting thing for 14-year-old, 14-year-old girl in particular.
00:17:16
Speaker
um I'm curious to know because there are very, and you don't have to answer this, i don't I don't know if this is ah an appropriate question or not, and hopefully it is. But one of the questions that I've got is around as a as a teenager, you know, with type one there is an element of, you know, what what you're putting in your mouth is needs to be, you know, managed basically.
00:17:44
Speaker
Like ah our diet culture, i guess, can be can be concerning for for young for young young young people. You add in um the type one where you have to be really conscious about everything you put in to your body. It has to be recorded and documented basically in some way you need to cover the carbs and the insulin and all that sort of stuff.
00:18:04
Speaker
How do you manage that? Yeah, well, sometimes, like, I don't normally breakfast on the weekends and I'll wait till 11 and I'll start to see myself drop and it's like, oh, well, i have to eat now before I go low. Or if I've just done exercise and I do low and I'm like...
00:18:23
Speaker
Oh, well, now i've just done all that exercise, but now i have to go and eat something because I've dropped so low after that exercise. Like the other day we did like a run walking with school and I was, I'd finished my run and I was, I dropped off a cliff. Like I was at nine and now two point eight with arrows down and I've had to have some juice and tablets and it's like, I've just done all that exercise and now I've got all this stuff in my stomach and it's, yeah. Yeah.
00:18:54
Speaker
So do you you, and you, you feel like, yeah, like it's frustrating that, yeah, you've just done this run and you feel really good, but then you've got to sort of shove all this sort of glucose and sugar into your body that, you know, you think like, oh, but, but do you, your mindset has to sit a little bit differently to everybody else's, doesn't it? Because it's not like.
00:19:15
Speaker
yours is there to um for particularly for fuel and for to keep your levels within, you know, as safe range, um whereas some people might view it as, well, I shouldn't be eating that because I've done that run or I shouldn't i can eat that because I've done that run. you know what I mean? Like so it's hard to find that sort of balance.
00:19:37
Speaker
I think a lot of people view it as I've done that run so now I can eat But I feel like I've done that exercise, so maybe I should not eat as much sugar because i've just I don't want to put it all back on and ruin all my hard work.
00:19:53
Speaker
But then I end up having to and it's like, well, most of the time I will treat it with glucose tablets because I find that's not only quicker for me, but it makes me feel a bit better about eating after something.
00:20:07
Speaker
Mm-hmm. I guess you're sort of looking at it as in like a bit of a like an optimisation as well, you know, like that you're trying to become fitter and healthier and stronger um and then you will have these moments where you go low and you do need to have that glucose to, um you know, to get you back up. But it's around choosing...
00:20:30
Speaker
um the difference of, you know, eating a whole big bag of chips versus some juice and glucose tablet or something just to, you know, like, yes you've probably got a much better grasp on food and nutrition than a lot of 14 year olds Yeah, well, that's what I feel like I've really learned with type 1, and even my whole family agrees, is we've cut out a lot of things that were really
Dietary Changes Post-Diagnosis
00:20:58
Speaker
unnecessary that we used to have. Like, we have gone, like, full no sugar drinks in the fridge. Like, there's none in there.
00:21:05
Speaker
um When we used to have maybe a few sugar drinks in the fridge, and we've... started to use like low carb rolls and low carb bread like my whole family it's the low carb bread because it's not only better but it's just more convenient if we all have it almost and then if going grab that roll then you know that it's you know you're right you know you know what that carb ratio is rather than if you're like oh is this one low carb or is this one not or you know kind of helps you to do the maths pretty quick and just to go back a little bit so When you got diagnosed, was it anyone else in your family that had type 1? Like, did you feel like you union knew other than what you'd heard around the just the type 2 diabetes or the the other types?
00:21:48
Speaker
No one that I was close with had ever had type one. There was one boy in my primary school class who was in a lot of my classes growing up who had it. And I didn't really know anything about it. The only thing I knew was that when he was having recess, it means recess was pretty close because he would have it a bit before us. That was the only person I really knew with it. And my brother had a friend, but we weren't close with them, obviously.
00:22:15
Speaker
So you're kind of, you know, about to turn 15 and you've got, you know, doing your your footy stuff and um and schooling and all that sort of stuff. Do you feel that type one is a hindrance to you or do you feel like it's just something that just comes along with you?
00:22:32
Speaker
I honestly feel like it's something that's just going to come along with me wherever I end up.
Aspirations in the Medical Field
00:22:38
Speaker
Like, after I got diagnosed, I really wanted to do something in the medical field. Like, I never wanted to be a nurse or a doctor because i just couldn't deal with that kind of stuff. But after getting diagnosed, I wanted...
00:22:49
Speaker
pursue a path in medical or even like diabetes endocrinologist stuff like that but yeah I don't think it will slow me down like it may bring me back a bit sometimes like today i had to come out of school for five minutes to change my sensor but yeah I don't think it will stop me Oh, that's awesome. Well, you did say when you emailed me to to come on the podcast that you said that you felt like you were thriving. And i I feel like that is a very inspiration inspirational kind of term or a word for for a young a young um a young woman to or a young person to you know to use that when they when they talk about type 1, which is you know, you don't get that.
00:23:32
Speaker
I think we get a lot of the the negatives on um type one and particularly in the teens. And i know there's probably going to be times when you're like, oh, you know, I'm really tired and I can't bother doing this or can't, you know, like that sort of stuff. I know that, you know, you're probably going to have those moments, but, you know, it'll definitely just blend into your kind of lifestyle. And I feel like you will really make it work for you. I think that it's very inspiring for young people to to hear your story. So I'm really, really grateful that you um you reached out to me and and shared i mean shared so openly openly with us on this podcast.
00:24:07
Speaker
So thank you. Thank you. is there anything else before we wrap up that you wanted to share with the the Type 1 community? Yeah, well, one thing that really helped me after getting diagnosed was connecting with other people who had it.
Building a Type 1 Community
00:24:21
Speaker
so going to all the Type 1 events, like I attended the Christmas party in Launceston a month after I got diagnosed. And I did the one walk last year and I'm doing it this year and I'm doing an event in Parliament just up here on the 18th of March. Wow. And all these events really is something i look forward to because it's just getting to connect with other people.
00:24:49
Speaker
Yeah, and I made so many friends through it as well. Yeah. And how do you connect with how do you connect with those people? Like obviously if they're in your town or, you know, where you are, that's easier. But do you do a lot of more connection on social media and stuff like that?
00:25:03
Speaker
Yeah, well, I went to one of the – it was like just like a day camp up in Devonport and I'm still talking to a girl I met there. just over social the media, even though I don't, like I haven't seen her since, I still talk to her almost every day.
00:25:18
Speaker
and i have a friend who's pretty close by who I went on a camping trip with not that long ago. That's so good. And that's such and such ah a great and important message, I think, because, you know, I even say that being a type one mum, you know, I say, you know, to to people, you need to connect because, you know, you can feel like you're the only one you know, that that has this and is going through this. And then and then you connect with someone and then you sort of you speak the same language. you You know, you can completely understand each other in a different way, like which I think is really, really important to to do, which, you know, is you're so right that by just connecting with people and and jumping into those events and stuff,
00:26:03
Speaker
um it's super important just you know to feel like you're not alone so well done to you emily um you're very inspiring and i really do appreciate you giving your time um and energy into having a chat with me i like to wrap up the podcast with one last question but you probably already answered this question what is your go-to hypo treatment ah Well, my go-to hypotreatment is different to my mum's.
Preferred Hypoglycemia Treatments
00:26:29
Speaker
So I would probably go for juice or something like that, but my mum makes me have glucose tablets and they taste flavoured chalk.
00:26:39
Speaker
it's Yeah, but that's probably – if I'm on the go, glucose tablets are my go-to, and if I'm at home, then juice. Yeah, I'm sure juice is a lot easier to drink overnight too than it is trying to eat one of those chalky – Chalki glucose tablet.
00:26:54
Speaker
yeah Awesome. So thanks again for joining us, Emily. And i just wanted to thank everybody for listening to this episode of the Type 1 Club.
Podcast Conclusion
00:27:02
Speaker
I really hope that you have enjoyed this episode and I look forward to bringing you another episode very, very soon.
00:27:09
Speaker
Take care. 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, sure to subscribe to our podcast on all the platforms so you never miss an episode.
00:27:24
Speaker
We also appreciate it if you could leave us a rating and review. It really helps us to reach more listeners just like yourselves. For more updates behind the scenes, content and join the conversation further Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at the Type 1 Foundation or visit our website, type1foundation.com.au.
00:27:45
Speaker
Thanks again for listening and we will see you next time on the Type 1 Club.