#839 My Real Self

February 2, 2023Scott Benner

Gail has type 1 diabetes and a number of other issues. She is also a returning guest.

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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends and welcome to episode 839 of the Juicebox Podcast

Hey, today I'm speaking with Gail, she has type one diabetes and a number of other issues that she's going to explain to you right up front so I won't take time telling you about them here. While you're listening to Gail and I make chitchat, please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Please Always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan or becoming bold with insulin. If you are a person with type one diabetes, or the caregiver of someone with type one, please go to T one D exchange.org. Forward slash juice box fill out the survey. That's it. I just finished the survey and you've helped people with diabetes. You've helped research for type one diabetes, you are going to be part of the solution at t one D exchange.org. Forward slash juice box. It is not often that by answering simple questions about diabetes, you can help but here we are. And this is it. Gail is actually a returning guest see if you can figure out who she is. Before we tell you later in the episode

this episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by Dexcom go take a look at the Dexcom G six right now@dexcom.com forward slash juicebox. And if you're interested in that Dexcom G seven, it's going to be coming out anytime now. And we're planning on switching my daughter to it as soon as possible. dexcom.com forward slash juice box has all the information you need. The podcast is also sponsored today by Omni pod. Now you know Omni pod makes the Omni pod five and the Omni pod dash figure out which one you want at Omni pod.com forward slash juice box.

Gail 2:15
My name is Gail. I am type one diabetic and I have been for 35 years. I also have MS celiac disease, undifferentiated connective tissue disease. And that's about it. There's a couple others but yeah, that's it.

Scott Benner 2:32
Hold on. How can you say how can you say there's a couple others but whatever.

Gail 2:37
You know, minimal right odds and that kind of thing.

Scott Benner 2:42
Don't give short shrift to Raynaud's. Okay, and that sort of thing. Keep going. What's that sort of thing?

Gail 2:51
I think I think that's all of the diagnosed autoimmune diseases.

Scott Benner 2:57
Not that you're here. But you have stuff. It's not autoimmune. No, I don't look at you.

Gail 3:04
Unhealthy otherwise,

Scott Benner 3:06
you're the champ. Alright, so sorry. Well, let's pick through this. This is a this is a an hour's worth of talking for certain. 35 years with type one you were diagnosed when you were 30. When you were a year old?

Gail 3:20
No, when I was eight. Okay, I'm 43

Scott Benner 3:24
it took the math from Miguel. But that's not a big deal. No, don't be sorry. So if you're 43 Now 38 When you were diagnosed? 35 years ago is a long time. My rough math tells me that was like the 90s

Gail 3:38
ish 8686 That's

Scott Benner 3:41
the nice and

Gail 3:44
not Not really.

Scott Benner 3:48
I liked that you're going to be difficult. Difficult. I just mean, not let me just say whatever I want to say. Okay, so let's talk about the well actually, let me ask was type one, your first diagnosis. It was okay. About the time my friend was diagnosed, so he didn't have a good goal of it. How was your go?

Gail 4:13
Ah, I, from what I remember. It was just I took NPH and our twice a day and ate at certain times. And that was about it. I mean, we did blood sugar checks and stuff, but it wasn't. I don't know.

Scott Benner 4:31
She just completely disappeared. Like got cut off. Finally, a nice repair or rhythm going to feel it was common. We're like, Oh, she's talking. We're gonna get a little storytime here. Storytime and then gal is gone. Probably not dead. Right. Probably like I don't think something fell on her house or anything. Now will she call back? There she is. A second.

Nothing bad happened right? Like a tree didn't fall through your house or something like that.

Gail 5:11
Sorry about that. No.

Scott Benner 5:13
Okay, just push a button.

Gail 5:15
I think I must have Yeah, were you futzing? I was

Scott Benner 5:23
no big deal. You're taking your shots eaten on schedule this kind of it you were starting to say

Gail 5:30
that was pretty much it. Yeah. So it was I remember taking the shot in the morning. You know, you mix the end in the our. Yeah, mph in the art and then it would take it at like six o'clock at night. I just remember my dad had to be home from work by six to eat dinner.

Scott Benner 5:44
Oh, this put a put rules on your father. It did. Yeah. Because we were eating at a certain time. I gotcha. What was maintenance? Like, we go to a doctor with frequency. were you shooting for goals or levels? Or was it just girl still? Keep going?

Gail 6:06
I just think to stay alive. I don't really remember a whole lot. Right? Other than what I did, I must have had that many lows, because I don't remember being all that often.

Scott Benner 6:16
When I should say when do you recall? Like, kind of moving your care to something more modern?

Gail 6:23
I'm probably when I was in college, maybe. Okay. Wait high school. Went to Lantus and homologue.

Scott Benner 6:37
still shooting it with a Yeah, yeah.

Gail 6:41
I didn't go on a pump until before I had my first son. So he's 14. So I probably went on a pump maybe 1516 years ago.

Scott Benner 6:50
Okay. And did you go on a pump, but back then you went on a pump specifically to get pregnant? Yep. Okay, because that was the that was the consideration back then. Right? tighter control, quote unquote. US upon right. Okay. Yeah. Did that work?

Gail 7:06
Um, yeah, I had tighter control. I don't know. If I remember once in college. I remember. I remember I was home for the summer. And I think I hadn't even to you when I was nine, something from what I remember. But then I know when I was on the pump, I got into the sevens.

Scott Benner 7:26
Definitely an improvement. And that was just just function of moving to a pump, and being able to cover like quick snacks and things like that address high probably

Gail 7:35
probably just paying, you know, closer attention to it that way too. Because it was going to have a child. So I wanted to do better.

Scott Benner 7:43
Yeah. Was Was Was MDI after regular and mph. Was that was that the biggest shift? Or was the pump bigger shift? I'm probably probably the pump. Okay.

Gail 8:00
All right. Because when I went from just two injections a day, I was more excited about being able to eat whenever I wanted with doing MDI.

Scott Benner 8:11
Okay, so it was it wasn't it wasn't as much about like, health considerations as it was about like day to day stuff. Gotcha. Yeah. Okay. And, I mean, if you were a nine on MDI, we don't even know what you were before that.

Gail 8:26
I'm guessing. No, I have no idea. I don't remember. I had I know I had to go get blood tests, but I just I don't remember what the results were.

Scott Benner 8:35
Now, the goals were different than for sure. So, yeah. Okay. So after type one, what comes next? Celiac? Can I guess? Let me guess. No, no. Okay. Well,

Gail 8:53
it was thought thigh roids. Oh, did I mentioned thyroid? Thyroid? Thyroid? Thyroid? Um, this is I'm sorry, I threw that one in there. I don't remember if that one was, I don't know. I should say I don't know if that one was actually auto muted. I had a multinodular goiter that I got removed. But my thyroid levels. My TSH were normal. At that point in time.

Scott Benner 9:21
Do you take a medication now? It takes them three. But you've never been checked for antibodies?

Gail 9:33
I don't know. No, I don't know. Antibodies for everything else. So I was like, Oh, I don't know.

Scott Benner 9:40
I have a bucket of antibodies scattered? Definitely. Probably. Yeah.

Gail 9:44
I have to think

Scott Benner 9:45
so. Has anyone ever said Hashimotos to you? No. Okay. Well, I mean, I guess if you're managing it well. It probably doesn't matter. You know what I mean?

Gail 9:58
There's not much I mean, I don't have thyroid so there's not.

Scott Benner 10:02
Oh, wait, they took your entire thyroid.

Gail 10:04
They did.

Scott Benner 10:06
Oh, wait a minute. Oh, I didn't recognize that I know about the goiter, I didn't realize that it meant the whole thyroid was gone. Okay, so how do you find that? Like, is that I guess you didn't have much experience with because you weren't having TSH problems. So you don't know.

Gail 10:25
Not that I remember anyway. But I know I, because I had been seeing the endocrinologist then because I wasn't really seeing my family care doctor. And then when I went to the pump was when I went to an endocrinologist. I think he was checking it like during an exam, and it was, he could feel it. Yeah, the bump and then I just kept growing.

Scott Benner 10:45
Gotcha. So they removed the whole thing. And it's been through managing it. Do you have side effects from not having a thyroid? Or is it managed pretty well with the centroid?

Gail 10:56
Pretty well at the centroid up until maybe six months ago.

Scott Benner 11:01
Start getting tired.

Gail 11:03
Yeah, my TSH got up to seven something.

Scott Benner 11:07
So did you leave? Was there like a big change for you weight gain something like that.

Gail 11:14
Now, well, I did gain some weight, but maybe 1015 pounds. But that one came out of nowhere. So that's kind of long story. So my endocrinologist who I was seeing quit his practice. And I had the bloodwork done because I had been fatigue. But that's another thing because I have fatigue because of all the other things. So I had had like annual bloodwork for anyway and it came back at seven and he had quit my endocrinologist quit so I was kind of stuck. And until I could get a another one an appointment with another which is until another four months or so. So I saw a an integrative health nurse practitioner and she did the bloodwork there and she put me on I believe it's called Saito mil. Yeah. Z T three T three. Yeah. And then everything is evened out since then.

Scott Benner 12:10
And that did that. Push your seat? Your TSH back under two.

Gail 12:14
It's just under two right now. Wow. So

Scott Benner 12:17
no, increase to the sense where just the addition of this Item No. Yeah. That's excellent. Okay, I like how when you started this, tell it you were like, this is a long story. And I thought to myself, well, it's a podcast cow. So perfect. Okay, so, second was thyroid, how do you remember how old

Gail 12:40
um, let's see, that was probably two or three years before my son was born. So 16 years ago, ish. 43. So whatever that was, whatever.

Scott Benner 12:54
20 Whatever. Let's go with that. Hold on. 47. I'm gonna take the foreign turn the three I'm gonna carry the one now it's seven to get the 13 and then 27. Sure. I like sounds alright. So okay, so here's the interesting part. And why I asked, you went 19 years without something new happening. You were just type one for 19 years. And for most of that time, you were just regular and mph kind of like boom, boom, hitting it here hitting it there decided to have a baby moved to the pump. Thyroid pops up thyroid after the birth or before

Gail 13:30
before

Scott Benner 13:33
and then then you got celiac.

Gail 13:39
What else do I have?

Scott Benner 13:40
So right now I had celiac MS and the connective tissue.

Gail 13:46
Ms came before celiac. I know what celiac I probably have a lot longer than I ever got diagnosed with it.

Scott Benner 13:53
But we were just talking about the diagnosis though. Like so. What do you like looking back? Uneasy stomach? Gas bloating? Yeah, like that. Yeah. So if, if you can, with hindsight, tell me celiac was after Typhon.

Gail 14:11
Yeah, okay. But I would say probably, I don't know probably even into when I was a kid. I wouldn't be surprised like MIT's

Scott Benner 14:19
we're gonna give celiac a one a with an asterix. I'm setting up your life like a horse race in front of me on a whiteboard just okay, then that's fine. For no one. Honestly. It's just to keep the conference. MS is an extra sign.

Gail 14:37
MS is next day that I got diagnosed with three months after my son was born my first son,

Scott Benner 14:44
okay, what's diagnosis of MS look like?

Gail 14:48
I had so I had like sharp pains and my fingers and like two of my fingers on each hand. And I didn't go see anybody Got it. I just, you know, I was pregnant and had a baby and everything like that. So then I finally made an appointment with my, I don't know why I went to my primary care doctor, but I chose to go to him because I thought maybe it was diabetes related. I don't even know what I thought it was, but I went to see him and he said, we'll do a an MRI to rule out Ms. And then it rolled it in with, I think three or four lesions on my brain

Scott Benner 15:25
go well off of sharp pain in two fingers. The doctor was like, that's gonna be Ms.

Gail 15:32
Apparently that's how we figured it out. I'm sure I told him something else too, but I don't know. There's fatigue. I mean, he had a newborn so I don't I don't know.

Scott Benner 15:42
I'm just saying like that's, you still have a doctor? That's well done. No, he retired. These people. Just leave left and right. Gotta go. See. Goodbye. I need more. I need more Synthroid. Okay, see? Right. So, um, so you get that diagnosis? I mean, can you put yourself back in that time? Is that crushing? What does that feel like?

Gail 16:09
That one was pretty bad? Because, yeah, because I, you know, I have a three month old and my grandma had just died. And I got the MS diagnosis. So that was a lot to handle at one point in time.

Scott Benner 16:22
Your grandmother, get hit by a train? Or did she have some illnesses? She was 89. She was old. So yeah, her time?

Gail 16:31
Yeah, it was that time was

Scott Benner 16:33
that's, that's nice. I kind of find that lovely. For some reason that, you know, like, she just she made it to the end, it feels like,

Gail 16:40
Yeah, I think she did quite a good life. So.

Scott Benner 16:43
So that is, how long is it just pain in your fingertips?

Gail 16:50
Um, that kind of went away? It's a good question, because I haven't had that for a long time. I don't know, at some point after the pregnancy, maybe six months later, it kind of just disappeared. But I had also got a medication for MS at that point in time. So I don't know. That's, I mean, going on the medication doesn't make your symptoms go away, though. So

Scott Benner 17:15
what is the medication? Probably slow things

Gail 17:19
supposed to stop the progression of the disease.

Scott Benner 17:23
And the disease is these lesions that appear? Right. Okay. Did the existing lesions ever go backwards? Or? No, no, no, is there they're there with it? Or what they are? How often do you look for more? Do you wait for symptoms? Are you on some sort of a

Gail 17:40
schedule? Every year I get an MRI.

Scott Benner 17:44
What it's been a while now does it has it progressed or has the medication work?

Gail 17:50
So I was on what was called beta serum, which was another injection. It was like an every other day injection. So as on that, oh, probably two, two and a half years. And then I went off of that to have my second son. So I was off of that for maybe a year and a half and then went back on. And then I had my first official, quote unquote, relapse when my oldest son was in probably kindergarten, when he was probably five or six. And I had like, I can't remember I had to because I've had two relapses. But I've gotten back probably 95% of what I lost during those relapses. So the first one, I think it was my left side on that one. So it was like my vision went walking and my eyes were not tracking together, if that makes sense at all. So to wear like an eyepatch, because I couldn't. I couldn't see at the same time I was getting double vision and that kind of thing. Anyway, so I don't remember what I was asked was beta share on that I was on for a while. Okay, that was the first one.

Scott Benner 19:00
I was asking about whether the medication stopped the progression all but it sounds like you had two instances so far.

Gail 19:07
Yeah. So I had so I had the first relapse and then stayed No, we switched to. So how I understand it is the MS medication can kind of run its course and your body just becomes accustomed to it. And you need to switch so I had switched to what was called a Boggio. And I had had another relapse within like six months after that one. So then my neurologist suggested I tried to Sabri, which was the infusion, which was a monthly infusion. And that one kind of resets your whole immune system in a way and since then, I have not had a relapse.

Scott Benner 19:43
Interesting. When you call it when it's a relapse, it's a it's a something different happens.

Gail 19:51
It's yeah, it's like basically there's another lesion that shows up and it affects whatever it's going to affect which can be pretty much anything

Scott Benner 20:00
depends and these lesions always happen on the brain.

Gail 20:04
So I don't have them on my spine, but they do happen on your spine as well. They can.

Scott Benner 20:09
How do you you know, I don't know if it was on the recording. I'm struggling to remember if I said this to you before we started or not. But I said, I didn't. I thought you weren't nervous because your voice is so settled. But now I'm starting to think you've just been through some shit. And in this is your level of like, normal. Yeah. Am I right about that?

Gail 20:35
Yeah. Okay. It's I don't know, it was like coming off like I don't like there's no emotion. Because you're

Scott Benner 20:41
coming into knowledge just No, no, not emotionless, like, listen, I wouldn't. I wouldn't expect somebody to come on and say, hey, I want to be on a podcast. I have MS. Celiac type one. We haven't even gotten to some of the other stuff this this this. And you're just going to come on and start crying. Like I imagine that people have it, like, in a place where they can talk about it. You don't sound emotionless to me, you sound to me.

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Gail 26:03
Probably not. Yeah,

Scott Benner 26:04
you look to me, like, you'd be like, Oh, we gotta move to the left and get underground. And, like, you know what I mean? Like, you just You seem like, you know, I keep saying this in the podcast recently. But I can't for the life of me. Somebody's got to write it and tell me who said it. Although somebody probably said it hasn't been up yet. But somebody told me about how astronauts think about how basically everything around them is trying to kill them. So they order it by what's gonna kill them. Next, they fix that problem. Then they go to the next thing, they go the next thing like you have that vibe to you. So, yeah, and you've had it like, like, I I heard it three minutes into the conversation. So and, um, and to make my point, you had another baby after you thought you had Ms. Like, I think that's like a baller move. Oh, you know what I mean? Like,

Gail 26:56
you know, it was my neurologist that because I did see a neurologist who I didn't care for and we switched from him and went to a different one that my family care doctor who came up with Yes, recommended and we went to her and she said she was all for it. And I think that just kind of made me feel like that it was okay.

Scott Benner 27:16
Do they talk about? Did they talk about multiple multiple sclerosis? Like it's an autoimmune disease?

Gail 27:23
I'm not I don't know. It's not really ever brought up? No. I mean, maybe occasionally with me because she knows of everything else I have. So I don't know. It's not

Scott Benner 27:37
I don't know. I mean, a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of nerves. Wow. Oh, by the way, girl, it's rare. I know. Everything you have is rare, by the way rare. Yeah. No, but you've probably never won the lottery. No, no, this doesn't translate to other good things like is ms autoimmune or inflammatory multiple sclerosis T cell mediated autoimmune disease in which inflammation and sustained by Okay, so when they give you this um, tell me again, what you call the the infusion. What's that medication

Gail 28:12
is called Tysabri.

Scott Benner 28:16
You said that, like, you know, I wouldn't be able to spell it. Oh,

Gail 28:20
Tys ABRs.

Scott Benner 28:25
Got it. So you said kind of like, when you told me like it kind of resets your immune system. I thought I wonder if it's working on any of her other stuff. So is Are there benefits besides Ms. Four that medication for you?

Gail 28:40
Not that I'm aware of? No,

Scott Benner 28:42
you haven't seen it impact? Raynaud's celiac, anything like that? No. Okay. All right. You were one of the people when somebody says hey, I can't get COVID I'm compromised. That's from the medication. Right? You are compromised.

Gail 28:59
Correct?

Scott Benner 29:01
How much? What did you do during COVID? And I guess probably what are you still doing?

Gail 29:08
During COVID we didn't we didn't go out too much. You know, I would wear a mask or whatever, all that stuff and I've been immunized. I've had both I've had both boosters now. I'm everybody My house has had their their shots and everything. No, but nobody in my house has gotten it. Knock on wood.

Scott Benner 29:28
We haven't either. I should I should knock on Sunday as well.

Gail 29:32
Right? Yeah. Well, that's a you know, there's been doctors too that have said because of all the autoimmune issues I this is all theory. So I don't know if it's really true, but that I don't get sick very often, like with colds or flus or anything like that. I don't may say that. It could be because your immune system is just working overdrive all the time. That you don't get sick like that, but

Scott Benner 29:58
I don't know. I remember thinking and the first couple of years of Arden's life like wow, this kid's never sick. You know eight other kids, they got like, my son got sick and ear infection, things happen to him. You don't even look at our nose like this kid's like, Superman. She never, I never thought I never thought the things like that might not be good. But there we are. Alright, so we're gonna, we'll circle back around a little bit, but just tell people how Raynaud's presents.

Gail 30:26
Right nods. So that's, I don't know when that one popped out. But it did at some point. It's, um, so like, it affects me more in the winter than it does in the summer. But my fingers in my hands will. It's like, it almost looks like like you're dead persons that are wasting it. But the blood all drains out of your limbs is what it looks like. Turn Blue turn like kind of a bluish white.

Scott Benner 30:53
Is it a pretty good, super, super good? Was it like something? Like is it nice? At least could you? No, no. So it's how long does it last for when? Like, is that a flare up situation? Or is it constant?

Gail 31:09
Just happens whenever. Gotcha. don't happen. Like in the wintertime, or in the summertime, it can happen if I'm indoors in the in the air conditioning and then go outside. Like my toes will do it.

Scott Benner 31:20
Do you prefer warm weather in general?

Gail 31:22
I do. Yes.

Scott Benner 31:24
Do you live somewhere warm? No. Always what I well, so interesting. Yeah. Why would you not pick up a move immediately?

Gail 31:33
I would like to at least

Scott Benner 31:36
see of these bastards that you're attached to hold up? Yeah, they don't want to move so your toes can stay? Pink? Right. Time I hope any autoimmune with your kids.

Gail 31:53
My youngest has. He has the marker for celiacs. Okay. He does not have it necessarily yet. But he has the

Scott Benner 32:04
marker. Interesting. So no symptoms.

Gail 32:08
He so that's he just had his a well, child checkup last month. So we're gonna get him tested. Pretty soon he was he talked about having stomach ache. So with the celiac from how I understand it is it's like if you have the marker, you need to get tested every couple of years just to see how you're doing. And he didn't want to get the blood test. So we said then you can go gluten free if you want. So he did. And then we went to his wellness checkup. And she said, Because I said something about his thyroid too. Because he's not. He's kind of short. And isn't like, I don't know what he could just be short. I don't know. But I you know, I worry about things like that. And things like that. Yeah, yeah. So So I said, Can we get that checked? And she said, Yeah, so we're gonna get it all checked. At the same time.

Scott Benner 33:00
Yeah. And, you know, if his T TSH comes back over to don't let them tell you it's in range, right? Yes. Okay. I do. Good. Good.

Gail 33:09
She's stressing, she's testing for the antibodies on that one. So

Scott Benner 33:14
yeah. Well, the next time you get the next time you get a blood test for fun. You want to get that antibodies test. I mean, that thing's gone now. Why don't we just let it live? Let it die, let you know. Okay, so now the connective tissue thing. What is that called?

Gail 33:34
undifferentiated connective tissue disease.

Scott Benner 33:37
When does that pop up?

Gail 33:41
That was probably started getting symptoms I want to say fall of 2018.

Scott Benner 33:49
Okay. And the description of this, you know online. undifferentiated connective tissue disease is a term suggested by Leroy 30 years ago to denote autoimmune disease that does not meet criteria for established illnesses such as systematic lupus sclera DOMA Derma toma say this I don't know surgeons, syndrome, vasculitis, rheumatoid arthritis like you shouldn't get some of that or all of it just a mixed bag.

Gail 34:25
So you have to have so i i favor lupus and Raynaud's. And that's all part of UC TV. So lupus, I've got I think three of the four things you have to have to have lupus.

Scott Benner 34:42
And one of those things.

Gail 34:45
I knew you were gonna say that I don't

Scott Benner 34:48
have a Lupus,

Gail 34:49
lupus and I'll tell you if I've got it wrong.

Scott Benner 34:51
Symptoms fatigue fever, joint pains, stiffness and joint pain, joint pain. Yes. So, fatigue, yes, butterfly shape rash on the face. No skin lesions that appear or worsen with sun exposure. No fingers and toes that turn white or blue when exposed to cold. That's right. So you you have you got at least two. And then if you count the cold Hold on, is there more? Hello internet? Chest pain. Shortness of breath. Not dry eyes.

Gail 35:32
Yes. Oh, that's shoguns.

Scott Benner 35:36
Headaches, confusion and memory loss.

Gail 35:40
Sure. How you qualify that? I don't know.

Scott Benner 35:47
What keeps you Gail from one diving off the tallest building, you can find how a solid how you're staying positive?

Gail 35:55
I don't know. I just said I did it. It is what it is. I don't I feel better than the last time I talked to you. So that helps. So

Scott Benner 36:04
okay. You feel better? Is there things are improving?

Gail 36:10
Yeah, like the Plaquenil, which I am on for the UCTV has taken the joint pain. I don't want to say completely away, but to a point that is definitely tolerable. And it's not there all the time.

Scott Benner 36:23
Well, that's good. How long have you been feeling better?

Gail 36:28
Now, I don't know, maybe 678 months?

Scott Benner 36:32
And you attribute that to the new medication? I do. Is there a concern that it will stop working?

Gail 36:42
No, I haven't really thought about that.

Scott Benner 36:45
So I'm like Santa Claus over that happiness doesn't kill Have you considered it might not work anymore. You're like, Shut up idiot. Oh, my gosh. What made you want to come on today?

Gail 37:05
This is the I don't know. Follow up from the last one. Because I said the last time that I thought I was more doom and gloom and I thought that that was what I was in the office.

Scott Benner 37:16
Alright, so now we've got a good background. Do you remember what episode you were on before? By any chance?

Gail 37:20
No, five, something. I don't remember what one though?

Scott Benner 37:24
Let me see if I can figure it out. God knows. So when you were on? Previously on whichever episode I'm about to figure out, you're on? Did you come away feeling like that? Just when you listen back? Were you like, Oh my god. That doesn't sound like who I feel like I am.

Gail 37:43
That was before I listened to it. But yeah, that's what I was like. I wonder if that's how I came across? Because it's not how Yeah,

Scott Benner 37:53
right. So this was let me did I call your episode? galeforce? Yeah, Gail has type one diabetes, a number of other autoimmune issues. You know, you know, it's bad when I just say, and a number of other autoimmune issues because of I started listing them out. I'm afraid people will look on their podcast, like, Oh, my God, like, what are we doing here? But, but so. All right. So we got done recording, and you just felt like, I've laid my life out. And I don't like the way it sounded. Is that about right?

Gail 38:25
That's in my head? Yeah. Yeah, that's what I was worried about. Okay.

Scott Benner 38:29
And, and did you make steps towards addressing that?

Gail 38:34
What do you mean? Oh,

Scott Benner 38:35
did you change something? Did you start meditating?

Gail 38:39
Oh, no, I think I just started feeling better. Because I don't think I felt that well, when I talk to you. And so it was fairly new.

Scott Benner 38:48
Right? And but you don't recognize it when it's happening. Is that right? Probably like day to day you don't think oh, I sound bummed out or? I don't like.

Gail 39:01
Yeah, I doubt it.

Scott Benner 39:02
Yeah. Do you think your family knows?

Gail 39:05
I'm sure? I'm sure they see a difference.

Scott Benner 39:09
Nobody mentioned it. Nobody had the balls, Gil to speak out.

Gail 39:14
I don't think they're afraid of me. But no, I mean, I don't know. I don't think so.

Scott Benner 39:24
You don't need anything? Yeah. Like nobody's just looking at you and be like, Hey, your husband hasn't said hey, you've been more pleasant or you look like you feel

Unknown Speaker 39:32
he has not? No.

Scott Benner 39:34
I would do it. i i I pride myself in honesty over my own happiness. What do you think of that?

Unknown Speaker 39:45
I don't know. Probably not

Scott Benner 39:47
a good idea. But sometimes no. Yeah, but there have been times where I've said to Kelly, I'm like, you know, hey, what you're doing right now. It's really working for you like you seem happier with or like you feel better or whatever. Yeah.

Gail 40:00
I mean, he's he said stuff like that. Yeah, probably so yeah.

Scott Benner 40:03
Okay. All right. So what do you feel better now that because oh nine because I gave you like, basically like I gave you an opportunity to kind of go through things again and re Explain yourself. Do you feel better about how you said at this time? Or do you think it's just so what it is that you can't dress it up?

Gail 40:22
Probably both. I don't there's I mean, there's nothing really to dress up. It's just, yeah, it is what it is. It's not. I mean, you can't really wow. Yes. And then I also feel better. So you feel better. That helps. That helps a lot.

Scott Benner 40:39
Have you been able to add, like, physical activity into things that like to help people? What, besides the medication? Is there anything else that kind of made things better?

Gail 40:50
Um, why I have jogged for the last, I don't know, 10 years or so. So that that kind of went, it didn't go completely away when I was feeling worse. But that's gone back up. I want to train for another half marathon one more time. That kind of thing. So I do that. And I've been swimming, which helps with the joints. Ages not helping with joints as well. So there's that with running. But

Scott Benner 41:21
where do you feel that you're? Where to? Where do you feel your knees, your ankles? Where does it

Gail 41:27
knees, knees more? So now anything

Scott Benner 41:31
that's helps it? No, no, it's just random. And that's

Gail 41:35
that that drink thing like the knee pain in the hip pain that that more to me is just because I'm getting older. And there's arthritis in there and that kind of thing. I have a

Scott Benner 41:47
hard time arguing with that. Because I just had what I was told, like, Oh, we're gonna clean your knee up. And I was like, okay, so you know, guys, like no big deal. Like the MRI goes, I'm just gonna meniscus this little torn. I'll trim it. And then I wake up. And there he is. And he goes, so um, you know, we'll talk tomorrow at your appointment. But there's more in there than I thought. And I was like, Oh, great. You know, and then he shows me these pictures. And, you know, arthritis. I don't know how to, like, quantify arthritis. I'd never thought about it before. But it was just this fuzzy Ness, the fraying of like, ligaments. And he, you know, he basically cut all the framing out. And he says, hey, the outside of your knee. Looks like you're 20 years old. I was like, right. And he goes the inside. I mean, I don't know, you'll definitely need a replacement and five years and I was like, wow, we were just use your bedside manner. Guy is so smart. He's just like, says what he thinks, which I guess I appreciate but he's like, but maybe 10 years, maybe never. And he does that. Like maybe never at the end. I'm like, was that the hopeful part that I'm supposed like, feels like you're telling me I'm getting my knee replaced one day, you know? Well, huh. But it sounds like Yeah, but it was really. I don't know. I'm 50 You know, like I it shouldn't have been like some like surprising thing. But when he said it, it was I was like what it is? Yeah, I was like, oh, that's gonna happen to me. Like, that happened. Other people. You don't I mean, I'm a podcast. Like I should be treated differently. Yeah. And you as an example, I don't know if we talked about this last time, but sometimes I stalk people while I'm talking to them. You're like this adorable little person.

Unknown Speaker 43:37
I'm an adorable little adorable little

Scott Benner 43:39
person. Like let me guess from your photos. What do you like? 5556? Uh huh. Right. just adorable. It's like a little nice way about you. That your face is pleasant. You don't mean like you You make me think that if we were in high school together, you would have been like the energetic friend that everybody liked. That's funny. Is it anywhere near accurate? No. Not at all. A horrible person Gail who

Gail 44:04
know just kind of nerdy.

Scott Benner 44:07
Okay, but within your little nerdy group, right? No, suppose I love how difficult you argue I it says something about me that I absolutely love talking to you. And you fight me every step of the way.

Probably true. This is my own fault. I'm now looking at my own relationship. And I'm going Oh, I see. This is my fault. I like oh my god. Do you hassle your husband like this or do you let him live?

Gail 44:46
He says I do. I don't I don't see it. But yeah,

Scott Benner 44:50
let's just say you're right. How, how aware are your kids about your situation.

Gail 45:03
They know I mean, they know everything.

Scott Benner 45:05
Yeah. Do you think you have lupus would somebody characterize you that way?

Gail 45:10
That, you know, when people because explaining the UCP the whole thing is, I don't know, it gets confusing. And it's just easier to just say Luba because I, I whether it actually ever progresses to that. I don't know. But, um, that's where it's leaning toward.

Scott Benner 45:31
Okay. All right. I usually don't ask a question like this, but I think it fits here. I mean, I need you to. Maybe you don't know. Right? But like, what's your plan? Like? Do you have like a plan? Do you get up in the morning with a goal in mind? Do you work?

Gail 45:55
Oh, I work. So before I had my first son, I worked as a paralegal. And then I went part time in private practice. I was in prosecution side and then I went to private practice, because I worked part time with after he was born. And then my second son was born and I stay at home. So I don't I do like work from home stuff like legal dictation stuff. Transcription. I should say that dictation. But, um, so I do that. And then it's not, you know, it's just like, some extra money. But then I'm also the CASA volunteer. I do that as far as the future goes, I don't know. I don't know. My youngest son, just he's finishing up fifth grade, and I have another one going into high school. So I'm not needed as much. You know, the older they get?

Scott Benner 46:48
I don't know, your health is basically like, it's not up to you. For the most part, like the type ones the only thing you probably have some like sway over right?

Gail 46:58
Yeah, pretty much.

Scott Benner 47:02
Did I ask you this last time, but of all these things, if you could give one of them away? Which one would you give away?

Gail 47:10
I don't remember if he did or not.

Scott Benner 47:12
I always find this question. Interesting. Because nobody answers it the way I expect them to usually. Like so if I said to you, we can get rid of one of these right now. Like I'm, I have my finger where I think you're going to answer but what would you say?

Gail 47:27
I would probably say connective tissue disease.

Scott Benner 47:30
See, I thought you're gonna say Ms.

Gail 47:34
That that one's been kind of at bay. So that's probably why I don't pick that one.

Scott Benner 47:37
Yeah, the connective tissue has the biggest impact on your day to day.

Gail 47:44
Yes, or it has most recently.

Scott Benner 47:46
In what ways recently? Well,

Gail 47:49
I mean, just because it's the most recent diagnosis, but like. So the way it came out how we figured it out was because I had frozen shoulder but in both shoulders at the same time, which is not common, I guess. But that one, I still I'm like on freezing right now. So it's, I have more range of motion, but it's still there. On both sides.

Scott Benner 48:13
How are they working?

Gail 48:16
I had physical therapy, and I did cortisone injections. I don't know. I don't think really either one did that much help. I think it's just been time. I could have I met with a an orthopedic person last winter, like our last fall. And we kind of gave it. I said, I think that is starting to unfreeze. So let's see where we are in December. Because they were an option that it could have done was manual manipulation under anesthesia. But then it's like I understand it. It's real intense physical therapy afterwards, like really bad. So I don't know, December came around and it was starting to feel better. So I just let's just let it unfreeze itself because i i In the orthopedic guy said to, he said with the connective tissue disease, I don't know that it's going to do it could help. It could not. It was a 5050 Flip because he didn't he didn't really have anybody with connective tissue disease that had frozen shoulder. So he wasn't sure how it would all work together.

Scott Benner 49:21
The connective tissue disease they besides the symptoms, the zero blood test or other testing they can do for it.

Gail 49:29
Yeah, that was the Oh, anti nuclear antibody, I think.

Scott Benner 49:36
Okay, and that comes back, like pause

Gail 49:38
that came back positive, but the most like I think the last three blood drives I've had it's come up negative since being on the Plaquenil. So it's, it's like I was saying remission but in remission, I guess

Scott Benner 49:54
because of the medication. You stop the medication you go back to

Gail 49:59
where you are Probably yeah,

Scott Benner 50:01
I don't know. And that's, that's the monthly that's not the plan. That's a pill, isn't it? Okay. And then the other one is the infusion monthly.

Gail 50:12
But I don't take the infusion anymore, right? Because it's not working. Because it stopped working Gotcha. Yell? Yes.

Scott Benner 50:24
How was your type one doing?

Gail 50:26
Um, so I, when the infusion quit working, I went on a medication called Boo maerdy for the MS. And that caused flushing incidents, which then made my blood sugar skyrocket, it would be like so I'd be I don't know that it happened two or three times a week is how often would happen. We tried all the other medications that helped try to make that not happen. But it kept happening. So it I would be, you know, say I was 95. And then all of a sudden it would go move, and I'd be up to 300 within 10 minutes. And, you know, then I'd spend the next however long getting it back down. So, that being said, my last day he went see was, I think five nine. So Well, I'm sure that this I get another one next week. And I'm sure that that was going to have gone up some but we'll see

Scott Benner 51:27
where those spikes. Were they at least consistent like when you saw them. Was there a way you could Bolus for them?

Gail 51:36
I was taking a prize a forum to bring them down. It's a good idea probably. So I did do Bolus is but it took forever to get it down.

Scott Benner 51:44
Are you looping? Yes, you loop and use a freezer for spikes and for meals.

Gail 51:50
I use I don't use it for as all the time just for spikes mostly. And then if I'm going to have a really high carb meal that I will How did you not usually

Scott Benner 52:01
the doctor was cool about giving it to you when you asked.

Gail 52:04
He didn't want to at first and they said I would like to try it and he said okay, so then he wrote a prescription for

Scott Benner 52:10
man of conviction

Gail 52:15
was the one that quit to

Scott Benner 52:19
doesn't have a stick to nature. Whether it be in personal conversations or professionally. I would like to try a president No, please. Okay.

Gail 52:33
So that's how that works.

Scott Benner 52:35
I find that you went a little look into my mind. Gail, I find that the most disturbing thing you said in the last 46 minutes.

Unknown Speaker 52:44
Because what why No, if yes. Is there like? It means he has no real opinion. Yeah, if he has no opinion, then he has no knowledge. Because he's not working off of anything. He just heard something. No. And you went Come on. And he was like, Yeah, all right.

Gail 53:04
Yeah. I don't think he'd ever prescribed it before. So I don't know.

Scott Benner 53:08
I don't care, then he shouldn't have said no, he should have said, you know, I've never really prescribed this before. Why don't we look into it? Not?

Gail 53:16
That would probably have been a better option. Yeah, no.

Scott Benner 53:18
I mean, come on. No, no, really? I mean, okay, if you want it. So, have you had any? So I mean,

Gail 53:26
he did I shouldn't say he said no. But he advised of all the things that were not necessarily good. And I said, I still want to try.

Scott Benner 53:34
So the side effects stuff that's on the sheet. On there, she Yeah, you know, I, you know, I put in a Frezza episode out today. Oh, really? Yeah, that's what do they call that? coincidental? Yes. Nothing magical, really. But so have you had any of those things? Like the coughing or?

Gail 53:56
No, no, I have not had any issues with it.

Scott Benner 53:59
Yeah. I mean, you must feel like, this is me putting myself into your situation. But you must feel like whatever. Like what could possibly go wrong. Right. Like, at this point? Yeah, who cares, right. Do you even wear a seatbelt?

Gail 54:12
I do. I do care what's gonna happen?

Scott Benner 54:18
Yes. Have you ever had that thought? Where you're like, I have to be out of bad things that have gonna happen to me. Like, I must have never thought that I guess nothing about your situation that says that something that he isn't about to happen?

Gail 54:33
I mean, no, I mean, no,

Scott Benner 54:38
I don't really think that you don't feel that way. They're

Gail 54:41
not really okay. Well, that's cool. Not most of that most of the time. Maybe when the first diagnosis comes around, but

Scott Benner 54:48
so if you were at a party and someone came up to you and said, Hey, you want to start heroin, you wouldn't be like, sure, whatever. You'd be like, No, I would like to stay alive longer, please. Correct. That's good news. Do you ever want a win? Like what's it like to not be able to get like, like, what did it feel like for this new medication to work? I guess is my question like, like, that's a win, right? You got to win. They don't come that often for you, I would imagine.

Gail 55:15
No, I don't. I don't. I don't know if I'd do it as a win. I guess I could. Isn't. Because I feel better. I just I don't want to take any more medication. I don't. That would be a win to me is not having to take any more. Like just be insulin. That'd be.

Scott Benner 55:32
Yeah. Isn't that funny? Not funny. But interesting. The idea of like, this thing that so many people curse all the time, you're like, Could we just get back to me having diabetes, right? Yeah. Just for people's edification in case they don't go back and watch the other episode. It any other like autoimmune through your parents lines?

Gail 55:54
My dad's side. Yeah. He's got rheumatoid arthritis. And I'm not sure what else. But oh, he had the goiter, too. He had a multinodular goiter he had is taken out maybe three or four years ago. Yeah, my my grandma had the same thing. Okay.

Scott Benner 56:11
And she lived at night you said? She did? You're not like I wouldn't be like any words of listen to people. But I feel like you'd be like, No, not really. I don't have anywhere to go.

Are you listening to the podcast though?

Gail 56:33
I am clueless. I listened on my runs.

Scott Benner 56:35
Thank you. How am I doing? Let's let's move this on to me for a second. Give you a break. So am I getting any better at it?

Gail 56:46
I think you've done about the same for the last I don't know. However long I've listened. You're so

Scott Benner 56:51
is that bad? No, no. Okay.

Gail 56:55
I did listen to a couple of really old ones. I don't know how long ago. So you've gotten better since then?

Scott Benner 57:01
Yes. Yeah. Okay. I mean, it would stand to reason. But even just the microphone being better, right is like, oh, yeah, it's a huge. Yeah, of course. Huge difference. I just I just a moment ago, when you said that I was like, God, I've made no strides whatsoever. Like, well, at least it's consistent at a level that you're okay with, right?

Gail 57:24
Yeah, I mean, what? I don't know, what do you mean? Give me an example. What are you, I just think

Scott Benner 57:35
you're gonna leave it. You're not? I am not. No, I know. You're not. Again, I'm gonna have to reevaluate my own my own relationships. Because as you started talking, I was like, Why is she messing with me right now? And then I'm like, she's not Scott. She's really nice. She's just being nice. To cover my mouth. I don't know. Like, am I letting people talk more?

Gail 58:06
Yeah, yeah, I would say on that one.

Scott Benner 58:08
By um, when I talk more, do you find yourself thinking like, shut up? Or do you think there must be a good reason he's talking more today?

Gail 58:17
Sometimes. It just depends on on the situation. What the situation? Yeah,

Scott Benner 58:21
yeah. Listen, I have to be honest with you. I've listened to episodes where I've thought, wonder why the hell I didn't stop talking there. And then, you know, there's times when I've thought, I wish you all knew that I was talking for a good reason. And I don't want to like you and anybody who's come on, but sometimes people don't. They don't have the gift of gab, sometimes you got to fill a little bit. So you know, but I know it goes either way. I'm not unaware, I've been using a thing where I can see my percentage of time talking versus the other person. And I check it once in a while to just make sure I'm somewhere near 5050.

Gail 58:58
You know what I mean? Like during the episode, you

Scott Benner 59:01
can't do it during the episode. It's afterwards, you have a process that does a does a transcript for the show. And it'll actually tell the percentage that I spoke versus the percentage that somebody else spoke. And I like I like about a 6040. Because I also do ads and bumpers and everything. So if it comes out about 6040 it's about right. So like I'm actually looking now at a couple of them. Like I just did one with Jenny where we were 6040. Here's one where the the person I interviewed was 68% to my 32% What do you think of that?

Gail 59:42
They must have had a lot to say.

Scott Benner 59:45
Maybe I was sleeping? Can you imagine if it was just I was like just keep talking because it's fine. I don't actually usually feel that I've never the amount of times that I've been I've done a podcast where I thought please I don't I want to do this is only like once or twice and it's usually because I don't feel well or something like that. Sure. So here's one with me and Jenny 5446. Okay, go tell me. Yeah, I figured that part out. It took one nasty email from somebody. I was like cheese. Alright, hold on, I'll go. I'll check myself. Let me go. Yeah, Gail, this is not an invitation for other people to send nasty emails about. They want changed in the podcast. I don't want to hear your complaints. But well, that's pretty much it. How much does your husband help you with all this? Are you just on your own? Like, you talked about all the medications and obviously different symptoms and things that happen and pains and etc? Like, how much can another person be helpful to you? And how much do you want

Gail 1:00:53
I mean, he helps when I when I ask or I mean, he offers to, like if he knows on extra, extra tired one day he'll, you know, he'll step up and do more. That kind of thing. And he does that. Anyway, I should say. He's a good guy. I don't I don't know.

Scott Benner 1:01:14
Your answered tracks your answer tracks that you've been married somewhere between 19 and 23 years. Am I correct?

Gail 1:01:22
It'll be 18 this year.

Scott Benner 1:01:32
So your husband Oh, him? Yeah. I mean, like he loves the kids.

Unknown Speaker 1:01:40
He loves me. I know. He goes.

Scott Benner 1:01:41
Somewhere right now going. I mean, like, I haven't thought about killing her recently. Probably true. Do you think people who have not been married as long hear that? They think like, oh, that won't be me.

Gail 1:01:56
That won't be me. I know. Exactly. Yes. I'm sure I thought that same way.

Scott Benner 1:02:01
The other magical words from when I was young. She's not like that.

Let me tell everybody, something. We're all like that. I totally agree. Yeah, all of us. The more your age, the more you'll be like that. It's not a thing that you can fight against. So that I did wrong, and you're gonna do right, or bla bla, bla, bla, bla. You go ahead to have a poached egg with somebody 15 years in a row. Every morning, or whatever your thing is. You think you think this marriage is just a structure of like old government right to keep us to gather and keep the family together and stuff like that? Like you're fighting against something? That's not natural right now. So I was everyone else.

Gail 1:02:57
thought about that before? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know.

Scott Benner 1:03:01
Gil, tell me a little something about young nerdy Gil. Like, what? What do you remember about her fondly?

Gail 1:03:08
I shouldn't say what do I remember? What

Scott Benner 1:03:11
about young nerdy Gil? Like something fun? Do you remember about yourself from your youth?

Gail 1:03:16
Oh, I don't know that. I was so nerdy. I was just really quiet. So nobody, I was always afraid to talk to people. So I don't I don't know why. But I don't know. I think I'm the same person as I was like, the part of me that's talkative was there. I just didn't like let it out.

Scott Benner 1:03:37
Because you're uncomfortable around other people.

Gail 1:03:39
Yeah, well, yeah. What? I was just worried about what people thought about me and self esteem, that kind of thing.

Scott Benner 1:03:46
Do you still feel that way? No, no. What stopped it?

Gail 1:03:51
Um, therapy.

Scott Benner 1:03:53
Oh, nice. Do you still do that?

Gail 1:03:57
No, he quit too. So

Unknown Speaker 1:04:08
you're shocked me?

Unknown Speaker 1:04:17
Did he see?

Gail 1:04:23
I don't know.

Scott Benner 1:04:28
Is he still in practice, then he just doesn't see you.

Gail 1:04:32
Moving on to something else.

Scott Benner 1:04:36
Oh, that's the most surprising thing you've said. So,

Gail 1:04:43
a good stopping point. So it's

Scott Benner 1:04:46
Oh, you were like it's fine. I'm pretty good now. Thanks. Yeah. So you actually work through some of the ways you felt as a person in therapy. Stuck track through your entire life pretty well and being an adult good For you took a lot it took a while. How much did it cost? You think round numbers?

Gail 1:05:06
I don't know.

Scott Benner 1:05:09
Do you think 10s of 1000s? No, no, not that much. Okay, good. Good. Good. Are you on anything? Have you ever been depressed?

Gail 1:05:20
Yeah, I've taken manager presses before I am not now. No.

Scott Benner 1:05:24
Okay. Do you need to be?

Gail 1:05:27
No, I don't think so. Okay.

Scott Benner 1:05:30
I mean, if you did, literally no one would judge you. You understand that right?

Gail 1:05:33
I do. People wouldn't matter, but

Scott Benner 1:05:37
no one that heard this would judge you. If at the end, you were like I do this we'd all be like, Oh, that tracks. You know.

Unknown Speaker 1:05:45
I can see why.

Scott Benner 1:05:45
I mean, you don't do drink. Socially? Did a weed or anything like that?

Gail 1:05:53
No, I was for the connective tissue pain, but I don't anymore. I haven't. Wow.

Scott Benner 1:05:59
What's not you did not help. But did you feel weird doing it? And you're just no because

Gail 1:06:03
I just just feeling better to where I don't didn't feel like I needed a

Scott Benner 1:06:07
nice was the weed helping before the plaques? Plaquenil Yeah. Yeah. We did help.

Gail 1:06:16
Just like edibles.

Scott Benner 1:06:19
edibles. Oh, okay. You weren't smoking, or vaping. No, I don't. I don't know. Oh, look at you drawn a line in the sand. Okay. Hi, Ron. I don't know what you did a friend.

Gail 1:06:29
Good morning. Let's Chelsea and her husband

Scott Benner 1:06:32
ever steal your weed. Were you ever like, hey, that's for my connective tissue disorder?

Gail 1:06:37
No, no.

Scott Benner 1:06:39
I see. Did he? Did you feel judged for doing that? Was it? Was it a difficult decision to make?

Gail 1:06:44
No, he was pretty encouraging about it. It's something

Scott Benner 1:06:47
you would have told other people.

Gail 1:06:50
I have told a couple people that I mean, not a ton, but yeah.

Scott Benner 1:06:54
Nice. You weren't hiding? Did the weeds lead to extra sex? Is that why he was good with? No, because that's the only reason I can I wouldn't judge anything that lead to extra sex. I'd be like, What do you smoke meth? That's fine. We're having sex afterwards. I mean, I don't love the teeth part. But okay. Okay, all right. How do you think we did this time?

Gail 1:07:17
I feel better this time.

Scott Benner 1:07:19
Yeah. What do you think is different? Is it just that you feel better?

Gail 1:07:24
Probably, because it's more of me. Like, what my real self? Like instead of not, yeah. Right.

Scott Benner 1:07:32
So you, to me, your episode, besides being shocked by how many people have literally abandoned you professionally, is the episode to me is about a couple of things. I think talking to you highlights perspective in a really amazing way. It just, you know, if you're just living with type one diabetes, and you're running around with your head down, like, you know, somewhere out there Gail's got 17 Other things happening, and she's she's going you know, I used to have perspective, okay. I also think that it highlights how important it is to feel as good as you can feel. And especially if you just have type one or you or you have thyroid, celiac some things that are manageable through your actions, or, you know, a simple medication or something like that. The idea that and you know, I used to talk about a lot more when the podcast was younger, but I don't know if I say it enough anymore. You deserve to be the person you are. And, and some people get that. I know it's not fair, some people just get that. But if you keep your blood sugar in a lower stable range, you get to actually feel like yourself, if you put your thyroid levels where they belong under to not at four or five, or it's okay, you get the feel like you're supposed to feel, you know what I mean? If you if you've got if you've got celiac, and you don't eat gluten, you get to feel the way you're supposed to feel like, it's important. You know, and if you can get to the other side of it, because it's not always easy. If you can get to the other side of it, it pays you back like you. I mean, we're just saying you feel better now, but your life is better now than the last time we spoke. Right? Well, that's what this was about me plus laughing at you in an appropriate place. You know, it's hard to laugh at a person who has MS.

Gail 1:09:26
No, I could I could see.

Scott Benner 1:09:28
Like, I have to like, like, when would you jump on? I say to myself, treat gal like everybody else. And you're not the only person I have that conversation with like, there's some people I look at their litany and I'm like, don't treat this person any differently than you would treat her but I don't know if that's right or wrong. It's just that's how it occurs to me like that. That's what you would want. I guess I could have asked you what you would have wanted, but

Gail 1:09:52
that's it. Well, yeah. But yes, that's what I would. I don't like yeah, I don't need special Treatment?

Scott Benner 1:10:00
Yeah, I would find it insulting. Actually. Yeah. If I was you. I could be 100% wrong as I don't have.

Gail 1:10:07
Yeah, well, yeah, I see both ways. So yeah.

Unknown Speaker 1:10:11
But I mean, not that I'm like, I guess always

Gail 1:10:14
have consideration for it too, I guess. But yeah,

Scott Benner 1:10:17
I wouldn't have broken into some like ham fisted 1980s MSX joke or something like that. Like, I don't mean that far. I just mean, like, you're a person, this is your life. I don't see why we would treat it any differently than anything else. You're talking about? Unless you were uncomfortable with and then I would assume you wouldn't be here? Because Correct. You know me well enough to know what's about to happen. So,

Gail 1:10:39
I mean, I'd laugh about it. So. Yeah, so you have a good sense of humor. If I didn't laugh about it, then maybe I would approach it differently. I'm okay with

Scott Benner 1:10:49
it. Good. That's excellent. Did little young. Like y'all play Dungeons and Dragons or just No? Look at you. Like, no, I don't do what those people do.

Gail 1:11:00
No, no. Okay,

Scott Benner 1:11:02
how did you um, were you quiet when you met your husband?

Gail 1:11:08
Ah. So, the first time I met him, no, but then. On our dates. Yeah. So it was very quiet. Did

Scott Benner 1:11:18
he pursue you romantically? Or did you pursue?

Gail 1:11:24
I think I pursued him.

Scott Benner 1:11:26
Okay. Nice. He was remembering if you're remembering correctly. Well, you've been married for 18 years. How long have you been together?

Gail 1:11:39
Probably 25 ish.

Scott Benner 1:11:43
Wow. Like, it's you

Gail 1:11:45
know, we did it a while before we got married. All right.

Scott Benner 1:11:49
Gail, Gil, this is weird, because I do believe I could talk to you forever. And it wouldn't have to be it wouldn't have to be about anything. Like if this was just four hours of us just like going back and forth like this. I feel like it would be a good use of my day. Bye. For now. Were you just like, was did that strike you oddly? A little bit. Ah, that therapist should have stayed a couple more weeks scale. gdb to tell me I can tell you that you're worthy of love. Do you need me to say that? No. No, it just it was funny. You pause you're like, Oh, thank you.

Gail 1:12:35
Well, I mean, yeah, yeah. Didn't accepting compliments like that sometimes. Yeah,

Scott Benner 1:12:42
yeah. It's um, I don't know like you. It's funny. You don't you don't check a couple of my boxes for easy conversation like your your speech pattern and mine don't mix. But I but I don't have trouble waiting for you. But there are some people but but there are some people that when I have to wait for them, I hate it. But I don't hate it. I don't hate it with you. For some reason.

Gail 1:13:06
My Midwestern slow ness is that.

Scott Benner 1:13:11
Yeah, that. But there are times when it's happening, where I'll literally like take a piece of this whiteboard. And I'll right like slow down on it. Because and there are times when it happens. And I'm irritated by it. And I have to let that go while we're talking. It doesn't bother me with you. And you and you. I don't know. I don't know why we get along. So do you feel like we get along? Well? I do. Yeah. I'm not gonna lie to you. If it wasn't for a couple of these diseases. I'd put you on my shortlist. If Kelly dies is what the shortlist is called. I don't think my insurance can handle all this. I don't think I'd be able to take care of you know, I just I just somebody I really liked a lot who works with me with one of the advertisers is leaving their job. And we were having that conversation yesterday which happens you know, you these long relationships with people that are business and, and, and we were getting done. I was like, you're definitely on my if Kelly dies list, and she's like, she's like, we are so good on the phone together. I was like, right, we should never meet each other. This would be how our relationship would be just on the phone. We're very good like this. But she laughed and she did not reciprocate. So no, I didn't hear her go like Oh god, you're on mine. She must have seen a picture of me. I'm guessing

Gail 1:14:40
you actually you. I mean, I don't know you obviously but the way you carry yourself reminds me of my husband a lot.

Scott Benner 1:14:48
Really? And he's a very smart handsome man. Is that correct?

Unknown Speaker 1:14:51
Yes. Yes.

Scott Benner 1:14:54
What about what do you think about it? Like,

Gail 1:14:57
I just there's just, I don't remember it was like Long time ago that I heard one episode that you were talking about. I don't remember you were at the school or something. And a lady like told you to go a certain way in the parking lot. I cannot remember what it was off the top of my head. It was, I don't know, and it pissed you off. And you just kept, I don't know, who drove by and waved at her instead of doing what she told me to do. Because some of you said you don't like being told what to do or something along those lines.

Scott Benner 1:15:28
Yeah, that I think is a psychological issue. But I am not good with being told what to do. I'm better at it. That's my husband. Yeah. I'm assuming I grew up with somebody telling me what to do. And I didn't appreciate it when I was younger, probably. But it helps you sometimes. Like there are times, you know, right before you and I spoke I got off the phone with. If you don't care about this, tell me and I'll stop talking. But my my mom just beat cancer. So 79 years old, she beat it, beat it like she's in remission. And very cool. Found out on a Friday. Yay, my mom beat cancer. The next day, my mom got COVID. So anyway, more happened that weekend, which I won't be talking about yet on the podcast, but you'll hear about one day, it was a weird weekend. Anyway, my mom gets COVID The next day after being told that she's in remission. And they immediately move her because my mom was, you know, I don't know what they call it. They don't call them kennels when you're old. But whatever it is, you don't I mean, and it's like a kennel for people. Let's be honest. Yeah, it's a nice one. But she lives in a room, you know, she's got some stuff a television, and you know, and they move it to another part of the place where the, they call it the COVID wing, and they tell her, you have to stay here for 10 days. So Oh, four or five days into it. My mom calls me and she's like, I am feel better. I'd like to get the hell out of here. And I was like, Mom, but they said 10 days, you know, I think it's a protocol. And she's like, I don't care. And I was like, okay, so I begin calling people and saying, Look at what can we do to get my mom out of there sooner? We can blah, blah, blah. Okay, so like the eighth day comes around. And they call me up and they say the doctor wants to keep your mom here for 20 days. I was like, No, you're not doing that. And while he's worried because, you know, she just she's, you know, just finished chemo. And I said, you're worried about a 79 year old lady that had a complete hysterectomy treated the pain after that with Tylenol and Advil. And then six months later, after six rounds of chemotherapy was in remission you're worried about. And she kicked cancer, the COVID was gone in four days. I was like, what is it you're worried about? Exactly? She said, Well, she can be more susceptible. I'm like more susceptible to what something worse than ovarian cancer chemotherapy and COVID. What are we talking about? I was like, she's okay. And I was thinking if it gets her, she's at, let her go. I told my mom that my mom laughed. She's like, thanks a lot. I'm like, I was trying to make your point for your mom. And so. But then today, I got the call. Today's her 10th day, and they are gonna give her a PCR test today. She needs to be negative. They'll do it again tomorrow. If she's negative, they're letting her out. And I'm telling you that the only reason my mom isn't spending 20 days in that room is because of however it is. I'm wired. Because my brother brothers heard it. And they were like, Oh, that's a shame. I was like, huh, perfect.

Gail 1:18:34
That would be my husband. Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Benner 1:18:37
And if it's the right thing to do medically, well, I'm not getting in the way of that. But yeah, this is just some arbitrary thing. You know, going back a half an hour to your story where your doc, you're like, Can I do it for us? He's like, No, and you're like, come on. He's like, Okay. I just thought like, this guy is saying something, because it's written down on a piece of paper in front of them. There's no reason for my mom for 20 days. Thinking about it. Yeah. So sometimes you come up with like, oh, and sometimes it's really helpful. Yeah, I guess there are times that I've come off poorly. And do you want to hear one last story? Sure. This is about my mom's kennel again. So there's an emergency Bell, right? Because you're old and you're gonna fall. And you need to be able to like, you're not getting out of this one. You know, you gotta be able to call from home. For months, my mom has told me and I've been there and seen it. There's a little like deli bell in her room, like a little ding, ding, ding ding. I said, Mom, what's what's this bell for? You know? She says, Oh, the emergency bell doesn't work. And, and so they gave us this. I said, when you ring it does anybody come? And she goes, No, not usually. Great. And then I'm there a couple of weeks ago. I said, Mom, the break on your walker is not working right. And I tried to fix it, but it was really broken. So I ordered a part four. And, and I and we made sure that the staff knew Hey, my mom's one. One of the breaks on her walker doesn't work, right. Okay, okay, we'll send somebody up to fix it. So apparently a guy comes up to fix it breaks it worse because it was working a little bit and then says there were you should call the company and just leaves the room. So they leave her now with a walker with only one break. So my mom's you know, doing her business one day she stands up gets a little wobbly reaches for the Walker, the walker thing goes out from under she falls forward hits her face on the wall is laying on the floor, fresh from the bathroom with blood pouring out of her nose because she's on blood thinners because you're 1000 years old. And and you know what she did? She pulled the emergency bill, which doesn't work. So after we found out my mom was okay, which she is and everything was fine. I got on the phone, and I said, you know, we need the emergency belt to work immediately. And they said, Oh, yeah, we're trying we're working on it's hard to get people out to work on blah, blah. So I'm talking to my mom about it one day on the phone, and one of the nurses is overhearing our conversation. And I hear this voice go, I'm sorry to overhear your conversation. But they're never going to fix that pill if somebody doesn't make an issue of it. And I said, Are you telling me to make an issue of it? And she was? Well, you know, I wouldn't want to say that. But please, no problem. I said, I'll get your bell fixed. So we get on the phone with people. And it very immediately becomes obvious to me that they're just worried about being sued. My mom fell, she hit her face. And they're and they're talking. They're literally talking like, like lawyers gave them bullet points. And I just finally said, I said, Listen, you don't know me, you don't know my mom. Nobody's suing you here. Like we just want the bell to work. I said, my mom's old. The other people on the floor are old. They need this bell. It's a big deal. Like get it fixed. It should be the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning. And then they tried to this thing that people do now like, well, you know, with COVID, I'm like, don't give me you can't get the bell fixed. Because a COVID. Like stop it and fixed fix the bell. And they kept making excuses. And then the one person on the call says, Well, I just want you to make sure you understand the bell works in her room. It just doesn't work at the nurse's station. And I went, why did you say? So she repeats it, what she shouldn't have done. And I said, if I buy two walkie talkies, and I give you one, and I have one, and they are our form of communication, and mine works, and yours doesn't work. I said, Angela, do we can have walkie talkies. She's like, well, it works in my in your mom's room. And I said, Angela, I dare you to say that one more time. So then the conversation escalated. I don't remember what happened next. But it ended with me. I might have been yelling. And I think I finished by saying the next time you call me it will be to tell me the bell works. And I hung up on them. And like a couple of minutes later, one of them tried to call me back and I just you know the little thing you can do on your phone or you can say I'm sorry, I'm busy right now I sent her. She waited a couple of hours and texted me. And I responded to her text and I said are you texting me to tell me the bell is fixed? And she said no. And I said then please don't contact me again. And three days later, Gail, you want to know what happened? Yeah, that bell works fine now. So um, anyway, my mom times that sort of takes yeah, sometimes you need just the squeaky wheel. And sometimes you need a wheel that yells at you and says the F word. So yeah. I mean, I tried being nice. I just I called I was like, Hey, I just need you to fix the bell. You know, and they, they weren't going to do it. They were gonna make excuses, and they weren't gonna get it done. That's all. So I like your house.

Gail 1:23:54
It's not that hard.

Scott Benner 1:23:56
Just do your I said to her. I was like, yeah, what's more important today? Then a facility who says they're going to protect old people from having an emergency system that works. I said, what what could be more important for you to do today? There should be nothing else. You shouldn't pick up your phone. I don't want to hear you talking to your family. There's no don't eat lunch until the bell works. It's not hard to get it done. Get it done. And then later, I went to see my mom before she got the COVID and I walked down the hall and this nurse looks at me and just winks at me and gives me the thumbs up and keeps walking right past me. I must be delayed. You told me to get that. Thank you. Yeah. So anyway, I don't know why we did all that. And if anybody made it this far, they're real fans of the podcast scale. So I want to thank them all for listening and say thank you to you for coming on the show. I really do.

Gail 1:24:49
Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Scott Benner 1:24:51
I really do love you. Alright, hold on a second. I

want to thank you all for coming back on the show and sharing her real self with us. I'd also like to thank Omni pod and remind you to go to Omni pod.com forward slash juice box see if you're eligible for that free 30 day trial the Omni pod dash, or if you're interested in the Omni pod five. I'd also like to thank Dexcom, makers of the Dexcom G six, and the forthcoming Dexcom G seven dexcom.com. Forward slash juice box see the speed, direction and number of your blood sugar right there on your device or receiver. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast. Hey, check out our private Facebook page Juicebox Podcast type one diabetes 33,000 members and going we add about 300 new people every week. You can be one of them tons of great conversation and insight from people just like you and from people who have been around diabetes a lot longer.