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Episode 68 - Tate talks MDI, burnout, puberty years and everything between!
204 Plays24 days ago
Tate has been living with T1D for 15 years and shares the highs and the lows! She doesn't hold back with speaking the reality of T1D life while also sharing how she balances it all.
Raquel is currently in a contracted agreement with Tandem Diabetes.
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction of Tate and Friendship Origins
00:00:23
Type One Together
Hey, everyone. I'm so excited today to be here with one of my best friends in the whole entire world, Tate. Amanda's not here today, but we're gonna have a really awesome conversation about so many things. So welcome to the show, Tate. I am so happy to be here. Thank you. Tate actually, well, she quickly became one of my best friends when I first moved to l LA. I hadn't met anyone.
00:00:46
Type One Together
And she DM'd me on Instagram. Clearly that's how I've met a lot of people these days. So weird. um But she was like, I'm type one. I'm in l LA as well. Like would love to get coffee. And I remember that first time we sat down and had coffee. Like we were instantly just instant friends. So much to talk about. The conversation just flowed. And now she's visiting me in San Diego. So it's been so fun. I also remember when we, when I DMed you, I said, Hey, we also both have 17 jobs.
00:01:15
Type One Together
yeah we Yeah, we have similar life, similar work ethic, for sure.
Tate's Background and Health Journey
00:01:20
Type One Together
Okay, but first, just tell everyone about yourself and your whole journey. Okay. Hi, I'm Tate, I am 26 years old. I'm from Rhode Island, I went to school in Atlanta, and then I moved out to LA in 2020, uh, during COVID in August, which was scary. Uh, I moved out without a job, but I was pursuing a marketing career out here at the time. And yeah, I was diagnosed with type one diabetes when I was 11 years old. I was in the sixth grade and I've been on shots pretty much that whole time. I tried an omni pod pump for about nine months in high school and then six months in college.
00:02:01
Type One Together
um However, I use a continuous glucose monitor, and I've been using that for three years almost, and that's been like monumental to my diabetes management, so I wish I got on that.
00:02:13
Type One Together
a lot sooner. um But other than that, MDI has worked well for me, especially over the past couple of years once I got the CGM2. But um yeah, I have a brother and a sister. My brother also has type 1 diabetes. He's 30. He was diagnosed when he was 3. And my sister is in the middle, and she is about to turn 30, which is really weird. um And she, my brother, and my mom all have celiac disease. So we are a poster family for autoimmune diseases, but, um, yeah, a lot of fun stuff, but, um, we're all, we're all very close. We're we're all, you know, can you share the fun facts about your brother?
Family's Autoimmune History and Achievements
00:02:52
Type One Together
Yes. Um, my brother, he is like the smartest person that I've ever met and he's like really normal, which is very annoying. Like he's not even nerdy of about it. Like he's just naturally so smart and he is the first type one diabetic to be accepted into the air force or into the military.
00:03:11
Type One Together
So people have served before with type 1 diabetes, but they've been diagnosed ah after they've already been accepted, either during training or while they're actually serving. um The reason that they don't allow type 1 diabetics into the Air Force is just a liability issue and not having proper access to insulin and needing all these medical notes for ah the physical training. He's actually a lawyer for the Air Force, so he doesn't necessarily you know fly planes around or or go on the crazy Uh, you know, extremely intense trips, but, uh, he still travels a lot and does a lot of work for them. And he had to go through all the physical training as well. So we had to get a lot of notes for that and just. Extreme recommendations and it worked out. He's just awesome.
00:03:58
Type One Together
Yeah, that's such a big deal. It's really, really
Diabetes Management Strategies
00:04:00
Type One Together
cool. um Okay, so MDI, the fact that they you're still on it is one of the main reasons that I wanted to have you on because we get a lot of questions from families. you know Obviously, a lot of people tend to switch to a pump pretty quickly after diagnosis these days, but it totally is possible to have such a great life balance and still be using multiple daily injections, which by the way, if you're not familiar with MDI stands for multiple daily injections, which just means that you're using shots. And also, not only does Tate use injections, she uses syringes, not even pens. Can you actually explain why that is? I don't know. Yeah, um my old endo that I just had to leave because my insurance doesn't take her anymore.
00:04:38
Type One Together
she would always make fun of me. She'd be like, why the heck are you still on shots? I for so long just liked what I liked and wanted to stay to what I was used to. um So that's part of the reason that I've been on them. And the reason I didn't switch to a pen when I was in like high school or college was because it was always told to me that you had to leave the pen in your body for like 10 seconds. Oh, that's true. And funny enough, my Lantis that I'm on now, I'm on a Treceba for long acting.
00:05:08
Type One Together
And they only, it only came in pen form. So I do use a pen now once a day for my truciba, but I actually kind of like it because there's been maybe two or three times in my life where I've mixed up my humalog and, and my, uh, landis.
00:05:25
Type One Together
And luckily, it's been the opposite where I've given Lantis instead of humong. The other way would be probably a lot more dangerous. um But it's nice knowing that like, okay, the pen is for nighttime. And then the s sir I like also how small the syringes and the vial both are like, it's so easy to put like, literally in like even the tiny pocket in your jeans, I don't use that necessarily, but like a coin purse, like I've put it in that the pens a little bit bigger. Yeah, so that's why I use that.
00:05:51
Type One Together
That totally makes sense. Okay. We have lots of questions that people submitted about MDI, but first I want to start with running through the different types of long-acting insulins that you've been on. You've tried a lot, and I think this is a place in the diabetes space that isn't really thought about enough how different different types of insulins can actually make your blood sugars and you really do have to find what's right for you and you might not know that there's a better option out there until you try it. So you're on tricea now, which I feel like is a little bit rare. Can you kind of speak to the other ones that you've tried to? Yeah, it was a whole ordeal. Um, I was on Lantis for probably 10 years and then all of a sudden, like three years ago, I just, my numbers were not good at nighttime. Like I was
00:06:36
Type One Together
I think also I was really honing in on my CGM data, so perhaps they weren't good at nighttime for a while and I really just started to notice, but I just decided, hey, I came to my endo and I said, hey, and you know, um I'm running a little bit high, low 200s when I wake up in the middle of the night or when I wake up in the morning, I got to try something new. She's like, yeah, totally agree. Let's try something new. So I go on insulin glargine and that's just like another type of Lantus. And I don't see any difference in that. And then I go on basilar, which is a little bit more helpful, but not totally. And the other thing too, is I'm on all of these,
00:07:16
Type One Together
long-acting insulins for like four weeks at a time to see if they're actually working. i So I did insulin glargine, glargine, vasoglar, and then the last one I did was tugeo, which unfortunately, I like, it's, it's, I have PTSD for a minute. It's so bad. I went to 400 every night for like eight nights in a row. Once I took, I would have be 150, 130 before I went to bed. And I would take 18 units, 15 units, whatever it was of that.
00:07:45
Type One Together
And it was just wild and and I would need like so much insulin to come down. Like I, it would, it would really stay up. It would be really stubborn. So immediately I was like, I'm not staying on this for more than a week. And my brother was on Truceba at the time and he said, you got to try it. And my insulin didn't cover it or my insurance didn't cover it. So that's why, uh, we hadn't tried it yet. And then we did a prior authorization. I said, I really want to try this and.
00:08:14
Type One Together
it It really works. It really, really works for me. and I don't see as much of like a spike in the middle of the night or anything like that. um I feel like I wake up with the number that I went to bed with most days.
00:08:28
Type One Together
It's so interesting what you said about the Lantis, like eventually it just wasn't working as well. And I do not know if this is a scientific reality or not. But I do think your body can kind of get used to a type of insulin as weird as that sounds like when I was on Fiosa at one point, I was kind of switching back and forth between Fiosa and Novolog and Fiosa is supposed to be extra rapid insulin So it's supposed to work so fast where you don't even need a pre-ballist most of the time, and it would kind of fade off after not that long, honestly. And then I'd switch to another vlog, and then whenever I would switch back, it would kind of work in that fast way again. So yeah, it's kind of fascinating. But okay, thanks for sharing
Challenges and Intuitive Management
00:09:06
Type One Together
that. um All right, let's just go into the pros and cons of MDI. That was the next question. you know
00:09:13
Type One Together
We might have a little battle over this. since ah yeah definitely Tell me the pros at least in the cons, you might have some. Oh, the pros is that but one of the pros, I feel a little less robotic and the CGM to me is so small that I just, I feel like it's not on me. Um, and to not be as reliant on technology is something that was really important to me.
00:09:39
Type One Together
Um, like before I was on a CGM, I would go on walks all the time with just my glucometer in my hand and like a juice or something. Like I, I value that time away from technology so, so much. So it honestly is really hard for me to have this app on my phone that I'm checking all the time now. Uh, but I think that's my biggest pro, uh, just not having that reliance be as strong. Uh, and then let me think.
00:10:07
Type One Together
I also, I think it's just nice to, Oh, sorry. i got Just get closer to the mic. i want to you talking very yeah i got We had to brainstorm. Sorry guys. Yeah. Clearly. I don't know why I'm still on shots. No, I think also, uh, when I was on the OmniPod for the short amount of time that I was, I found that my issue my My biggest issue now being on a CGM was knowing what direction my blood sugar was heading in. And that is way more monumental to my diabetes management than
00:10:43
Type One Together
went to give insulin. like I'm not someone who is ever afraid to take out a needle and my insulin at the dinner table. I don't go to the bathroom. i If anyone has questions, I ask questions. like I'm just very comfortable. I also don't mind giving myself three shots in one meal because I end up eating more than I want to. like Some people would find that really difficult. Some people are like, no, I'd rather just press a button. um for For me, it was it's easy.
00:11:09
Type One Together
Yeah, especially for kids. I think that's where it can become a struggle and I will vouch for that. We will be out having dinner like even last night and Tate will give multiple injections as needed and she doesn't mind it at all, which honestly is a reason why I believe that it works really well for you because you're not afraid to do that. Um, I personally hate giving myself shots and I think it hurts. And, um, yeah, I rather just press the button. So I'm one of those people for sure. And then I think overnight,
00:11:39
Type One Together
for me have really been easier since being on a pump that suspends insulin because I just have a lot less lows overnight. I think that I won't go into all the pros of pumping because I feel like Amanda and I kind of speak to that every single week. um it's ah It's a con of shots. Yeah. Overnight's are a con. Absolutely. i That's my biggest struggle. ah That's where I receive the biggest burnout from diabetes because it is a lot harder to juggle those nighttime sugars. um I have weeks where I'm doing awesome and I maybe have to wake up like once every 10 days to give ah a unit or have a shot or have a snack or anything like that. But then I have days where I am waking up
00:12:22
Type One Together
five nights in a row because something is off. I'm on my period. I'm working out more. I'm working out less. I'm not getting as much sleep. So I'm going to bed at a different time. I'm stressed, anything like that. It's the auto mode is something I'm very jealous of. um And when I do go through burnout periods, that's definitely something that I think about. Absolutely.
00:12:45
Type One Together
Okay. So speaking of working out, someone asked, how do you handle that? Like not being able to suspend insulin or disconnect. Obviously you already have that long acting insulin in your body and there's no taking that away once it's in. So cha ah talk to us about that. Working out is really hard, but it's, it can be really easy as well. Um, and it's all about time management.
00:13:07
Type One Together
for me. yeah ah And I've noticed that it's changed since I was a kid ah in a lot of ways. When I was ah a kid, I would start workouts fairly higher um in the 200s. And I would find that cardio really, really dropped me. Cardio still does drop me, but I'm not afraid to start at a more normal level and have a snack in between rather than start off so high.
00:13:32
Type One Together
um I love working out before I have any food or insulin on board because my blood sugar does not move. It does not move. And it's like the best ever because I can go and run like seven miles first thing in the morning. And I don't have to worry about diabetes. It's like, it doesn't even exist. So I really do try to work out in the morning if I can. However, with my schedule now, I start work at around 7 45. So I get up at 6.30 and I drive to work at 6.45 so I can get there a little bit early and I don't have time to work out in the morning unless I wake up at 5.30. So I have been working on the afternoon. I've noticed the type of workouts that I do totally has an effect on my blood sugar, ah something that's a little bit more low impact like Pilates.
00:14:24
Type One Together
that's a lot more blood sugar friendly. Um, the big cardio stuff, even like boxing, which yeah, you're not running around, but you are, it's, it's definitely more high intensity. Like that's changing my blood sugar rapidly as well. Um, so it's really just experimenting with workouts. I'm someone who absolutely loves trying new things, but I know some people, you know, they like what they like, whether it's dance or basketball or baseball, and they find a routine that works best for them.
00:14:53
Type One Together
And working out isn't easy on a pump either. I mean, it's just hard with diabetes in general. So, oh yeah. Okay. Well, what about someone asked, do you feel like you can only eat three meals a day? You kind of answered this, but yeah, let's hear about it.
00:15:07
Type One Together
Absolutely not. Um, I remember when I was younger, I tried to eat like a small meal every three hours because that's what my doctor told me. She was like, Oh, like actually the normal diabetic diet is to eat like a smaller meal every three hours. So that way, um, you're not giving yourself too much insulin or getting too many carbs, but you're also, you're having a bit of a spike, but not a huge one. And then once you need more food, it's time to eat again. And I,
00:15:36
Type One Together
I tried that for like a week. And I was like, this is not working with the way that American restaurants are portioned. Like, I can't do this. Um, I'm not hungry in three hours. But yeah, I always I'm actually someone who loves having a snack before bed, ah which I know is is uh, hot topic in the diabetes world. Cause a lot of people are like, don't eat before you go to bed because then you're going to have terrible blood sugars at night. Or it's just like another thing to worry about. But I can't go to bed that a little, not even a, not even a sweet treat, but with just something like, even if it's a piece of fruit. Um, and I, I snack in the afternoon too. I'm I'm, I'm pretty active. I want to make sure I can get through the day and feel energized. So sometimes that has to do with, um, or sometimes I have to take
00:16:20
Type One Together
insulin in the afternoon when it's not a full meal. And that's okay, too. Sometimes I don't have to take any insulin, which is awesome. If I'm like 150, and I'm about to work out, I'll have a granola bar if I know I'm going for a run. And then I'll be steady during that run, hopefully. Yeah. Okay, this is so interesting. I so just to put it out there, like the type of diabetics that I would say Tate and I are are the kinds that we'll go get ice cream if we want ice cream and figure it out. And we'll also go for an extra walk together if our blood sugar is high. Like we're doing both. And, you know, I talk a lot on this podcast about just kind of guesstimating, you know, a unit here, a unit there, which obviously can be controversial, but it works really well for me because at this point I have this diabetes intuition that has come with many years.
00:17:09
Type One Together
So I'm curious for you Tate, because MDI is typically extremely calculated, like you're looking at your carb ratio and all of those things. Do you pay attention to that now? Do you change settings very much? If so, and like, how are you tackling like a random pasta dinner when we go out for Italian? Yeah. yeah um Excuse me.
00:17:31
Type One Together
I, my insulin needs have changed a lot over the past couple, um you over the past decade, honestly. And I remember when my blood sugars were a lot higher in middle school and high school because we didn't have the technology. Um, I think also the way that the doctors I had at the time proposed diabetes management was kind of surrounding, Oh, like she's in, she's a child. Like she's a kid. Her blood sugars are going to be everywhere, but.
00:17:59
Type One Together
It did take me a while to get out of that headspace of going from a large range of numbers and a roller coaster to definitely having a more concise.
Insulin Needs and Adult Life Adaptation
00:18:10
Type One Together
control. But for me, I needed a lot more insulin when my blood sugars were all over the place. Like I need less insulin now. yeah Yeah, I need less insulin now. It's because when you're on the roller coaster, it takes so much more insulin to bring you down yeah and stay in range. Yeah. And even my carb ratios too. I think a lot of it had to do with stress and puberty. Um, I'm still stressed now, but, but I think a lot of it had to do with that. But even everyone is so different. And specifically my brother and I like, we use different forms of insulin. We have different dayto- day to day lifestyle and workout routines. He eats like a lion like he eats so much and he does not take a lot of insulin. And I think it also took me a while to realize like, Oh,
00:19:04
Type One Together
It's okay if I need more. Like it's absolutely okay if I need more. um And I think like as a teenager, like that took a couple of years until I until i realized, until I came to that realization. But in terms of bolusing and in terms of adjusting, I guess I don't really, I never measure anything out. I never measure anything out. I carb counted when I was first diagnosed, um, for a couple of years, honestly. And then I got very familiar with how many carbs are in certain products and whatnot. Um, I feel really lucky because the way that I was raised, my parents never necessarily restricted anything. Um, we were a a healthier household, but we had Doritos. We, we had ice cream sandwiches. Like we we didn't restrict anything. Um,
00:19:52
Type One Together
So i'm I'm really grateful for that. And you know my my endo gave me like such amazing um an amazing piece of advice a couple of years ago, which was I was telling her how I love making these barbecue chicken meatballs. And they always made my blood sugar spike to like low 300s, no matter how much insulin that I gave. And it was the barbecue sauce. It was always the barbecue sauce that made them spike.
00:20:17
Type One Together
And I was like, I gotta stop having them. And she was like, why would you stop having them like make them again, make them again next week, have them again, keep, make them once a week until you figure it out, um which I think made me feel really really good about not just like any food, but, or not just that specific food, but any food. Cause I could, I really could learn how certain things work. I mean, you can spike from a salad, you can spike from vegetables. Like you need, it took me a while for me to really understand that, but yeah, in terms of bolising, it's a bit of a guesstimate depending on, you know, my day today is so different, you know, like I can, I'm not someone who lives in routine. So it's all just.
00:20:57
Type One Together
seeing what's on my plate for that meal and adjusting based on how my day has gone. And I respect that so much. And if you think about a closed loop system now, it's automatically giving you some more insulin, whether that's in basal or bolus, if your body needs it, if you're going high after a meal and a body without diabetes is doing the same thing. If you need more insulin, it's producing and giving yourself more insulin. And so I think that's where some people get stuck with MDIs. They don't allow themselves to give a little more if needed but if you're always thinking that A plus B is going to equal C and your carb ratio is perfectly laid out but that's not what your body's asking for in that moment of course numbers are going to be a little bit crazier so Tate is a living example of being so successful with MDI but also being flexible and I think those two things together it's so so important okay so yeah yes you're amazing um with growth and puberty time someone was asking about that how was all of that with MDI
00:21:53
Type One Together
If you remember, it was all over the place. And honestly, the majority of my childhood management was all over the place. It wasn't until I got out of college and when I was finally put on a C jam that I really started to to hone in on on proper management, but.
00:22:10
Type One Together
Yeah, I just I, I remember I was diagnosed at 11 and probably until I was 16, my doctors were like, give yourself some grace to both myself and my parents. They said that, um which yeah It's it's hard. I also remember just being in high school and you have all these different ah commitments that you can't necessarily step away from. And currently I'm a teacher. So I'm actually like re navigating how to be in that school setting where you have to be in class at a certain time. You have to be in a meeting at a certain time.
00:22:46
Type One Together
Uh, and you can't leave. And prior to that, the majority of my career, I was working from home. And when I was working from home, I could take calls on a walk. I could, uh, you know, decide when I wanted to eat lunch that day, not necessarily during actual lunchtime. Um, so it is, it is a little more difficult to navigate. I feel like in a school setting because you can, you don't have that freedom that you have when you're an adult to to walk away or take a break as much. Yeah.
00:23:15
Type One Together
Okay, this leads us into my next conversation of just growing up with this. And I mentioned on a recent episode that a lot of my friends, including myself, kind of had this light bulb moment when they got a little bit older of, Oh, I need to take this on because a parent was asking in one of our question boxes. Like, I'm so scared that my child will never care and they'll never actually take it on. And I remember that first coffee day that you and I had.
00:23:39
Type One Together
You kind of mentioned this idea of like, oh, you're in the endo and they say, oh, well, she's just a kid. And then she's just in college. Well, you kind of explained that because that has always stuck with me. And I think parents need to hear it too. Yeah. Yeah. I really, I, I.
00:23:53
Type One Together
reflect a lot on my childhood experience with my endocrinologist team, ah mainly because I don't think they were strict enough. um I think giving yourself some grace is so important. I still have very hard days and very good days too, but I think they should have been stricter on my parents and myself. Same. Same here. Yeah. Yeah. I i was, they were periods where I don't think I was ever in the 100s for a couple of days at a time. And i remember this was pre-CGM, so it was very different times. Yeah. Yeah. It was, it was very, very different. My A1Cs were a lot higher.
00:24:32
Type One Together
Um, and I just was, I was a roller coaster every day. And I remember in high school at one point, that was when I first went on the Omni Pod pump and.
00:24:44
Type One Together
That was when I started to realize like, okay, maybe I could give myself insulin insulin at times other than meals. Like I had it necessarily considered that I might need a little bit more insulin in the afternoon or late morning or anything like that. And the omni pod made that aspect extremely easy to conquer. Uh, however, it wasn't until the CGM that I noticed, okay, this is way more important to my management and recognizing where my blood sugars are at that aha moment like I was just constantly transitioning from a different form of my childhood to the next so middle school then you get to high school then you get to college and then finally I'm done with college I move out here and I see a really mean doctor and she says
00:25:30
Type One Together
you gotta get on a, seat you gotta get on something. Pump or CGM, you gotta to get on something. I never went back to her, but I did get on a freestyle libre. And that was back when you had to scan the libre with your phone, which was pretty epic, like honestly. ah And I started to realize like, okay, this could be really resourceful. And I went home that summer and I was looking at my data. My brother had started the Libre about a year prior. And he was looking at my data with me and he said to me like,
00:26:01
Type One Together
You're not using it to an advantage right now. You're using it to check your number. You're not using it to change parts about your management. and I had another doctor say to me within that year, like you got to take control. um and That's what I did. That's exactly what I did.
00:26:17
Type One Together
and It's so interesting now because I get so worked up. If I have like a day that's 70% in range, I'm like so upset with myself. And and and even if I'm below 70% one day, I'm so upset with myself because I have so much anxiety now about long-term effects. Like that, that's something that has really hit me over the past couple of years. But then I have to remind myself like, okay, this is one day that you're having out of like two weeks of good data and you really have to not care for a very long time to receive bad results and also you could care for your whole entire life and still receive bad results. It's a luck game, it really is in some ways. It really really is and I think finding this balance you're talking about is what we're all striving for and it's so hard um but it is true like
00:27:12
Type One Together
they tell you when you're a kid or they tell your parents like, oh, she's super young. Like don't worry about it. Like we don't expect their blood sugars to be great. Oh, well now she's just going through puberty. It's not going to be great. Oh, well now she's in high school. That's a really hard time. Oh, well now she's in college. College is really, really rough. Well, now you're in the work life, you know, you're, you're trying to get balanced a new job. Oh, well now you're planning a wedding or now you're, you know, having kids and now you're busy as a mom. Like when is it, when is it actually time to care? And I think that I also have a little bit of resentment not towards my parents at all. I want to make that so clear but towards the doctors for not doing more and maybe they were. I don't have a great memory of it so it's really hard for me to say but like when I do see some of my old numbers I'm like oof you know and we didn't have the tools that we do now but um it's really really tough. Is there anything that you want to say like
00:28:04
Type One Together
specifically you wish your family did differently or that you're really thankful for because I know a lot of parents want to hear that side of it. The lack of restriction. The lack of restrictions. So good. And I think that also had to do with having a brother who eats everything and Also, my brother my brother and I had very different ah management styles growing up because he always got into a little bit of trouble with low blood sugars. um He had had a few like really scary episodes where his blood sugar went too low. For me, I always ran a little bit higher because I was so scared of that. And I wasn't scared of it because I had witnessed his lows. I think I only witnessed like one or two of them. But um for me, like I also ran on the high side because
00:28:48
Type One Together
In my head, I was like, Oh, if I'm, if I'm high, I don't have to leave the basketball game to drink Gatorade. If I'm high, I don't have to leave class. Um, I can still be, you know, 180 or 230 and participate. Yeah. I felt crazy and like crap all day. Um, but that was like my mindset when I was in, in high school. Um, my parents also, and, and this is, you know, learning after a couple of years and and me having to offer this information to them.
00:29:17
Type One Together
For a very long time, my parents compared our diabetes management styles. Um, like max is on this. You should go on this or, Hey, your brother's thinking about trying this. And he says, it's really cool. You should sign up for it too. And I've had to tell them mainly over the past, like five years or so, like things are very different for different genders, different ages, but also even like rock, hell and I have totally different management styles and.
00:29:44
Type One Together
we also react to foods differently. Like it's it's not, everyone's management is so different and I think um it really took me vocalizing that for them to understand it. Okay. Wow. This episode's so good already.
00:29:59
Type One Together
um So let's open up the burnout burnout
Addressing Diabetes Burnout and Community Support
00:30:03
Type One Together
conversation. That's a big one. um Parents were specifically asking about this. I'd love to, I don't even know necessarily where to start, but like,
00:30:13
Type One Together
Do you ever feel burnt out? Do you have any ways that you handle it? Um, yeah, let's just start there. All the time, all the time. And I'm actually in a bit of a burnout right now. Uh, I started a new role in August and it's been very difficult to adjust my old lifestyle to my new lifestyle as a teacher, um, in the school and In terms of burnout, I want him trying to give myself grace yeah as much as I can. ah But also when I do go through those burnout phases, I have to remind myself within the past four or five years, I have had moments where my doctor has said, are you eating low carb? Because my blood sugars were that good. And yeah and I have had moments where my A1C was considered non-diabetic.
00:31:07
Type One Together
and my A1C even now when I'm in a burnout period and having days that are more mid to high 70% or low 80% in range, like even days where I have like that's so much better than I ever was. And my A1C is still good. Like i'm I'm still living life to the fullest and not restricting my lifestyle, whether that's in food or activities or just my free time.
00:31:35
Type One Together
and I do remind myself like when I go through those burnouts and I still call my mom I'm 26 years old I call my mom and dad and I I I cry i like two weeks ago. I had a night where I was 270 for like eight hours and I was so upset because I didn't wake up to my alarms that night or no I was on a plane it was a red-eye and I was so upset because I was like I should i should wake up but you you don't I put yeah on my alarm socks I'm around people and I was like, I don't know what to do. Like, and I think to myself, like, should I go on a pump? Cause that's really my biggest problem. Nighttime when I'm asleep, I'm the deepest sleeper. yeah And then I have to remind myself, no, I was able to do this at one point. And if this is working for me for the 16 hours in a day that I'm awake, I'm going to make it work somehow for the eight hours that I'm asleep. So.
00:32:27
Type One Together
Yeah, it takes tastes a little bit of those reminders, but um burnout's normal. I actually took a CGM break like yeah four weeks ago because I wasted three in one day. It was like a whole debacle. um And I was like, I'm so over this. one had like One said, hey, you have to redownload the app. So I redownloaded the app and it didn't recognize the one that I had on.
00:32:50
Type One Together
So then I put on another one and it had an insertion error and then I had to put on another one and something else happened. I was like, I'm so done with this. So I took a couple of days off and, um, it honestly, it felt really good. It felt really, really good. Yeah. i like you trying There's so many thoughts. Um,
00:33:07
Type One Together
You i want me to talk about the sugar pixel to? Oh, yeah, why not? Let's do it. Um, so there is a device it's called the sugar pixel. I found out about it through one of the families that I used to babysit through the babysitting list with type one together. And they had like three of them in different parts of the house. It was pretty awesome. But it's basically, imagine a digital alarm clock, but instead of showcasing the time, it shows your blood sugar. And then it also shows the arrow like on a desktop. And then it shows the number that it increased or decreased from. um So if I go from 130 to 140, it will say like arrow up or arrow diagonal and then plus 10. And
00:33:51
Type One Together
the crazy thing about the sugar pixel is that it makes a sound like you would think the fire station is in your bedroom, because it's so loud, it actually doesn't register in some videos like the, the, um what's it called the waves of it. Yeah, one time I tried to play it for my boss over zoom. And he was like, I can't hear anything. Like it was so out of the ordinary. And, and I use this because I don't wake up to my normal CGM alarms. And I don't wake up to them. I will wake up to him every once in a while. But my brain becomes so accustomed to the sound, even when I switch sounds up to which is pretty wild. and So the sugar pixel I use at nighttime, I don't use it all the time. um I honestly I used to use it all the time, but I stopped. And the reason I stopped was because
00:34:38
Type One Together
I did find it kind of a lot, like ah a little intense. um So I really only use it when I'm kind of having a bad week, like a couple of nights in a row where I'm like, okay, spend three nights of me not waking up to my alarm. I'm waking i'm not waking up to, whether I wake up low or I wake up like 185 or 190 or 200, like I want to catch those. Those are easy to catch. So that's why I use it. And it's cool. It's really, really cool. It is really, really cool.
00:35:05
Type One Together
um And I also know like sometimes you don't want to have it on because you do have a roommate. That would be an interesting thing thing to talk about too. But like, sometimes I think we try to find the perfect fixes for every little thing. And sometimes diabetes just is what it is. And like, if I had a roommate and had that sugar pixel, I'd probably feel the same. When I go to a yoga class, I do turn off all my alarms. Like, even though I'm such an advocate within the community, it doesn't mean that I'm not a human and I don't care about those things. And Like all of that can be true and both of us can still be generally happy, fulfilled people. I don't know if that makes sense. I want to get that across. Like we have a really hard days and we have a lot of burnout and we're fine. Kind of. Do you know what I mean? it Mostly. Mostly. like Like we generally have a great life and we all have our things, right? Like it's okay. Yeah. I don't know. Okay. Um, and on the burnout conversation, like,
00:36:01
Type One Together
I just thank you for being so honest. And I also have periods of burnout like that. And I think the way that you said, like, you'll even call your mom and vent to her. or I know that we do voice messages back and forth and we're like, oh my God, Di-V is being so annoying right now. Even though that's not like our main topic of conversation at all when we hang out with having each other and having that community is so valuable and so important. um Okay. Let's talk for a second about babysitting. So Tate and I have both babysat a lot together.
00:36:29
Type One Together
she's met so many families through our list and also just through people I've met in LA when I was there who needed more help because obviously she's so amazing and trustworthy. um Is there anything that you learned from babysitting type one kids or like anything you noticed through the families that you'd like to share like from a parent's perspective like what could be helpful to know if that makes sense?
00:36:49
Type One Together
I, well, it's so interesting. I didn't have a type one babysitter when I was diagnosed, but when I was younger, like five and six, we had a type one babysitter that was in the high school. My mom called like the public school district within our town. She said, Hey, my kids go to this elementary school. My son just got diagnosed with type one for five years ago.
00:37:09
Type One Together
And we're trying to find a babysitter to babysitter three kids. So we had a type one babysitter. I remember she watched, made us watch friends like all the time. And I never had one ah ah my myself. I never, never had a type one babysitter, but I did have a lot of mentors and people type one within like my life, I guess. ah And that was that was enough. I don't think I needed a babysitter at the time, I think it would have been awesome. But I think I wasn't as in touch with my diabetes at the time. So I don't know if I would have appreciated it as much. Babysitting out here has been awesome. I, I really like kids. And that was
00:37:53
Type One Together
pretty much the reason why I decided to start babysitting. But and the families, it's very interesting how different they all manage their child's diabetes. Yeah, like ah one of the first families I met out here, ah they have a six year old now and she definitely um eats a little bit lower carb because that's what works for for them and their family.
00:38:15
Type One Together
um I have another family who really is just active all the time. um So she's constantly like drinking and taking low snacks in.
00:38:25
Type One Together
i I think all of the families are very appreciative to have a type one babysitter. um I've noticed that the siblings are equally as interested in the type one babysitter as the diabetic child is, which I don't know if my, I think my sister, maybe it's like a middle child thing, but I think she would have just gone to her room. Like I don't think she would have wanted to be involved. um But I think that's so
00:38:52
Type One Together
That's so amazing that they want to understand how their sister brothers feeling all the time. So they ask the babysitter questions too. Yeah. Okay. So let's say that one of these parents listening, they got a sitter off the type one babysitter list. They haven't met them yet. They're coming over tomorrow night. What would you suggest they do to properly prep the sitter? Because as Tate mentioned, parents are all so different and I think they forget that they manage so differently than others. And although your sitter might live with diabetes, that doesn't mean that they manage it in the same way. So what would you suggest they do to prep them? Yeah.
00:39:25
Type One Together
I always have had a phone call with a parent prior I've ah not just an email I always have a phone call. um I've actually babysat kids who are on the tandem or the Omni pod or on shots I've had to give shots to the kids I actually had a family that I've known for a while And they recently, the daughter we recently went on a pump and I was able to completely help her put on a whole new OmniPod. And um that was awesome because I hadn't changed an OmniPod in like six years and she had never changed one without her parents. Like even at school, she had never changed one. And that was just like so awesome. I think the parents were like, whoa. And I think I just went about it. Like, okay, we're going to change it and it's going to be fine. Um,
00:40:11
Type One Together
I think making, you know, I think the great thing about a type one babysitter is that we don't we don't react how a parent or how someone without diabetes reacts because we know one, how a higher higher or low blood sugar feels, but we also know that yes, it's life-threatening in some ways, but we also, we've experienced it ourselves and we're like, all right, we're gonna have a bunch of of juice right now and just sit here. Like we, I feel like we get as nervous No, I don't feel like we got as nervous. I also would say um the parent really needs to explain the management style that they have for their child in terms of
00:40:49
Type One Together
how strict they are because I have gone to houses where the control is extremely tight and it's okay that I wasn't aware of that prior but then I ended up getting a lot of texts like throughout the night like has she or is she eating right now or can you give her two two more units or something like yeah that's the most confusing part for me typically is not having clarity and now I ask for it because I know but about as a parent do you want me to text you every time I'm giving her a low treatment, every time we're both saying making sure that it's the right amount? Or do I have the freedom to do that myself? And do you just want to enjoy your night? And do you trust me? And of course, sometimes it takes a few times for them to get to that point. But some parents are like, you have diabetes, you know better than I do, like I'm out. yeah And then other parents want to know every single thing. And so it
00:41:37
Type One Together
it'll make me nervous sometimes if I'm there and I'm like, I don't know if I should be texting them about this or not. Like I don't want to bother them. I want them to enjoy their night. We're totally fine, but I don't want them to look at this 64 blood sugar and be like, is she treating it? Right. So that's a really tricky one. Absolutely. and Okay. Um,
00:41:53
Type One Together
trying to think what else if there's anything else you want to share with the community, any funny stories, diabetes camp, anything like I go to diabetes camp. I went to the same summer camp for 10 years. oh Yeah, this is good. And I was diagnosed probably right before my fifth summer there. I was diagnosed in February. So I had had it for five months. I planned on going back. My brother had gone to the camp. He wasn't still going.
00:42:20
Type One Together
But when I got diagnosed, he went to like a sports camp later on. So the nurse was familiar with diabetes. Um, it was a lot like, I don't, I wish I had a CGM at that time cause I don't know what my numbers were like when it came to like, we had like a half mile walk back to our cabin after every meal from the dining hall. Like that had to lower the health, lower my blood sugar in some ways. Um, and yeah, so I never, I never considered going to diabetes camp because
00:42:52
Type One Together
I loved my camp so, so much. And there was actually another boy a year below me who started going like a year after I got diagnosed and he was type one as well. He was a twin with type one. um And he is like still kind of indirectly in my life because he's very close with one of my friends out here, funny enough. But um yeah, I never went to diabetes camp. I volunteered at a diabetes camp when I was 23. I remember I wanted to, I miss camp. I was like, when can I be 23? And it'd not be weird for me to be a camp counselor. So I volunteered and it was awesome. It was very similar to normal camp. In my opinion, it was a lot less active, um, a lot less active Nate. They had nature. They had ropes course, they had pool. And then they had like frisbee and.
00:43:43
Type One Together
art. And I think that had to do with a lot of the resources within that specific camp. I don't think all diabetes camps are like that. But you know, we were doing soccer, basketball, kickball for gaga like all this stuff all day, like we had art, we had nature maybe once a week, but we were outside like all I came home with 80,000 bug bites. Wow. Okay, I love that you went to normal camp to for a while. And um you have been a camp counselor at Camp Conrad. That's what I said. Oh,
00:44:12
Type One Together
Wait, I thought you got so confused. I'm not gonna lie guys, I was writing down some questions that I'm about to ask Tate because I thought it'd be fun to do some rapid fire questions real quick. yeah um Okay, are you ready? This will be how we end the podcast. Number one, favorite low snack. Right now it's fruit snacks. I'll answer too, I guess. um Oh, I have a lot of fruit snacks right now too. And those like juice bottles from Target. I always get those Mont's Juice bottles because you can drink some of them and then you close it. Especially to have next to your bed. Okay. Favorite Dexcom spot? Arm. I only wear it on my arm actually. I've never worn it on my stomach. Even the G6 or you're on the G6. I'm on the G6. Yeah. I've never worn it on my stomach. I think it's because
00:44:57
Type One Together
I just like I with my arm like I don't see it. It's there. It's good. I have tried my butt before and I've had false urgent lows twice. And one of them was while I was living in London and on airplane mode and my mom and dad called an ambulance to come to my house. It was Oh my god, it was so wild. So I have not done I tried one other time at my sister's wedding to do it on my butt so that way I didn't have it with my dress but I got an urgent level arm so I had to put it on wait this is a tangent, but I think it's important really fast. yeah Um, can we talk about who follows you and what you're okay with in terms of your parents contacting you if they follow you right now? I'm not my right now my blood sugars. so i I really am in ah in a burnout right now. And I stopped sharing with my mom and not not for she does not text me ever about my blood sugars. Like she is very good about it. But personally, for me, I just said to her, Hey, I don't like what my blood sugars are looking like. I just need
00:45:53
Type One Together
ah I'm not going to share with anyone. um So I took her off. And she was like, please put me back on. Because she does. The one time she checks is first thing in the morning. So wake up first thing in the morning and look and just see how I slept. That's what she wants to know. um I didn't share with her for a while. And the only reason I started sharing with her was because before I was on the sugar pixel, I had her. She's on the East Coast. I'm on the West Coast. So when she would wake up at 7, I would have her look at my sugars and call me at 4 o'clock in the morning if but if I wasn't waking up to my normal Dexcom alarms. Okay, you brought up a great point though, like having someone follow you. Yes, it can feel safe and nice. But depending on your personality and the timing and season that you're in, it can feel like, oh, this there's this person watching me all the time. And there's an extra layer of pressure there, I think. Well, also, she I set her thing to only her thing does not go off, like she does not have any alarms that go off.
00:46:48
Type One Together
But I did set her gray to be 70 to 230 rather than 70 to 180. So in her mind, like she'll look at my chart and be like, Oh, she was in the gray all day. And I'm like, I was 210 for four hours. Like, um, and which is not bad, which is not bad. But yeah, so it's and she she really tries to understand it. I mean, she's known ah someone with it for 27 years, my brother first, but, um you know, she knows that she also doesn't understand it. She doesn't, she, and she admits that. um So she's, she appreciates when I, when I let her in, for sure. Okay. Thank you for that tandem. That was great. um My favorite Dexcom spot. I'm on G7 now and I've only been doing on the back of my arm. That's the approved spot.
00:47:33
Type One Together
But with the G6, I really loved putting it on the inner part of my bicep, is that what you would call it? Yeah, yeah. And I kind of want to try the G7 there soon. We'll see. Okay, um we did favorite lowest snack, lowest blood sugar you've ever had.
00:47:47
Type One Together
Oh, 2827 is 20 and I was in a hotel room and it was like within the year I was diagnosed. And my mom accidentally gave me 18 units of human lung instead of Atlantis. Wait, I was Yeah, that was the only time that I got it mixed up and it or not. I got it mixed up that we had it mixed up the other two times I mixed up the insulin's work.
00:48:10
Type One Together
the opposite. I took Lantis instead of Fumilong. Yeah. um But yeah, she gave me 18 units and I was just like a lot, we're a family of five. So it was like my brother and dad were sharing a bed or maybe my mom and dad were sharing a bed and my sister and I were in one bed and my brother was on a cot. And I just remember the lights were all still on and I was like, I don't feel too good. And I pricked my finger and I was 28 and I was like, holy crap.
00:48:35
Type One Together
Okay. I'm so glad you brought this up too, because so many parents make mistakes like this and they have so much guilt and it happens to everyone. We do it to ourselves sometimes. Yeah. All the time. Things like this happen and you're fine. We're laughing about it now. I don't hold it against her. It's okay. We love you. I can't wait to meet your mom one day. What number do you think you feel the best at if you had to choose like one general number? A hundred. What's your ideal? A hundred. I love that. Unicorn. Yeah. Getting a unicorn. Yeah. I agree with that.
00:49:04
Type One Together
I think 100 is like not too low, not too. Yeah. I feel, I feel, I feel more safe at like 130 in terms of like, if I'm about to go work out. Yes, definitely. Um, okay. What is just one biggest tip you would give to any type one parent out there? And then can you do one for any type one themselves? Okay. any type one parent is listen, just listen. Oh, that's good. Yeah. Because I think,
00:49:32
Type One Together
i had i I vividly remember some points where my parents were more strict. Like remember one time I came back from temple and my blood sugar was like 400. I was 13 or 14. I was like, dad, this happens all the time. It's okay. And he was like, what? This should not be happening all the time. Like this is not, that's not good.
00:49:53
Type One Together
He literally was like, that's not good. and And I needed to hear that. I did. But I also think now where I have that good balance of management, that's where I find my parents' presence to be most important um when it comes to to having good management with my diabetes. So listening, absolutely. um I did want to add one more thing. Yes. Really quick, because I forgot to mention this. um I said my brother and I's management is very different. My brother is on inhalable insulin. Oh yes. We got to have him on. yeah He's on inhalable insulin, which works within five to 15 minutes. Um, and the reason that I think it works really well for him is he, like, I think it would work terrible for me because I'm someone who if I'm one 80 and I see an arrow up, I'll give myself insulin. yeah Meanwhile,
00:50:43
Type One Together
the next reading is like 178 and I'm like, of course. Yeah. And for him, like he doesn't mind just having like a couple of free snacks and keep going. I will feel like physically sick if I were to manage my diabetes, like he does, because he will just like snack throughout the day all day, like all all the time. And That's why I think a frezza works so well for him because he just, he gives it right. He gives insulin right away. If it's too much, he doesn't mind doing that. For me, I'm like, I don't want to feel sick by the end of the afternoon. You know, of course. And that's a frezza, right? And I don't know if it's approved for kids. It's not right now. I've heard they're working on some things for at least like maybe older teenagers eventually, but I don't know. Um, but I've heard of people or I have friends that have used it more just as a one-off, like they don't use it on a regular basis, but it's like,
00:51:29
Type One Together
Oh, they know they're going to have this big brunch and cinnamon roll and all this stuff. So that's when they're going to take that because it works fast. Yeah. right yeah um And then for kids, for kids, my one piece of advice ah would be to not let it restrict them socially. yeah um I think that's something I definitely peaked in middle school. That's what ah' what I tell a lot of people. I'm like, I peaked in middle school. And I think around the time I was diagnosed, I i was fairly confident in myself already that it didn't necessarily impact how I felt about myself within like a social setting. yeah um And I didn't hold back and in any way. And I know not all kids are like that, whether diagnosed at 16, 14, 12, 10, like anything.
00:52:21
Type One Together
Um, or any age, but that, that's something I think, I think the more nonchalant you are about it, like the more cool you see him. It's just part of your life. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And we always end with a blood sugar roll call. You know me. Oh my God. Well, you know, so funny. I don't think I have readings.
00:52:39
Type One Together
What? Yeah, you're right. Sensor error. Oh no. So this is, I restarted my Dexcom and jasona I am on, yes, I am on, I used to not restart it because I was like, no, I'm not doing that. And then who taught you how to do that? You did. And then my new insurance, it costs $80 for one Dexcom. So I'm like, okay, I need to restart them. um So yeah, right now I'm on day 16. What do you guess your blood sugar is?
00:53:06
Type One Together
I don't know. I was 172, three readings in a row for the last one, but I did have a bagel with my omelet this morning and I haven't had a bagel in a while. So I'm a little nervous about that. We just had a lot. We had coffee and a big breakfast. So yeah, I might have to borrow your poker. and da um don't worry we real I am right now. Perfect.
00:53:27
Type One Together
All right. Well, I love you so much. Thank you so much for coming on. I really think this was helpful. I always forget my whole childhood of diabetes. So it's nice to hear someone else share their stuff. um And Tate also does some honey health videos on the super parents community every now and then for us and shares more of her experience there. It's a free app. It's always linked in our show notes. So go listen to Tate stuff there and we'll see you later. Adios. Thanks.