Listen to This is Type 1 Podcast, Episode 147!

Whoa, I feel like so much has happened since I last posted on this blog.

Usually, I plan and write blog posts about a week or two before they’re published here on Hugging the Cactus. But life last month made it pretty damn difficult for me to keep that schedule.

You see, I had covid (as I discussed here). And then…I had rebound covid. I’ll get into the details of what that looked like for me sometime in the near future, but I’m happy to say I’ve fully recovered. And thank goodness I did, because I was due to travel to New Orleans for the 82nd Annual American Diabetes Association’s Scientific Sessions conference at the beginning of June! Luckily, I was feeling better and testing negative just days before the conference, so I was still able to go and I had the most incredible time – more to come on that in another soon-to-be-written blog post.

As I write this particular post, I’m in a post-conference daze, trying to reflect on everything I learned, how it will apply to my job, and also attempting to decompress from 6 days of nonstop action, meetings, conversation, and travel.

But I’d be remiss if I neglected to mention something special I did prior to my conference and covid experiences: I was a guest on the wonderful This is Type 1 Podcast!

From episode 28 to 147, Colleen, Jessie, and I have each experienced so much personal and professional growth that we chat about in the new episode!

I’m honored to say I was hosts Colleen and Jessie’s first repeat guest. I’d recorded with them previously in January 2020, just a few short weeks before the whole world shutdown. They’d kept in touch with me and my activities via social media in the last couple of years and reached out for a follow-up interview because they’d recognized how much my career (and life, really) has changed since the onset of the pandemic.

So I’m pleased to share with my readers here the link to the recording! Please do check it out when you can – Colleen and Jessie are excellent and informed hosts who were genuinely so easy and fun to talk to. I am beyond grateful to them for asking me back on the pod and making a meaningful contribution to our diabetes community with all the information they share there!

You can listen to This is Type 1 on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and generally, any other place you can find and listen to podcasts. Be sure to check out their website and follow them on Instagram @thisistype1pod, too!

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Catch Me On “This is Type 1”, Episode 28!

Yesterday, episode 28 of This is Type 1 went live – and surprise, it’s the episode in which I was interviewed!

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My podcast promo shot and bio!

Click this link to give the episode a listen. And be sure to let me know your thoughts!

Here’s a little sneak peek of what Colleen and I discuss:

  • How “Hugging the Cactus”, the T1D blog, came to exist
  • My diabetes story – when I was diagnosed, etc.
  • How I define diabetes burnout (and how I deal with it)
  • My process for writing blog posts
  • My favorite posts so far
  • …and so much more!

So, now that I’ve piqued your interest…listen to the episode! I hope you enjoy it. A special shout-out to Colleen and her co-host, Jessie (who unfortunately wasn’t available when we recorded the episode) – thank you BOTH for your time. I appreciate your contributions to diabetes advocacy and the diabetes online community, and I know many, many others appreciate it, too!

An Interview with my Diabetes

Diabetes does not have a life, a voice, or a soul. But many people with diabetes, including me, tend to characterize it like it has human emotions and reactions. “My diabetes is so misbehaved today!”, “Ugh, my diabetes hates when my stress levels get too high”, and “Oh, exercise makes my diabetes very happy!” are among the sentiments that have been said countless times, in a variety of ways, by tons of people with diabetes.

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It shouldn’t be surprising that my diabetes, personified, is a cactus. 

So I decided to take it a step further with this blog post and imagine myself conversing with my diabetes…actually, it’s more like an interrogation. There are so many questions I’d like to ask my diabetes so I could maybe, hopefully understand it better. And these are the answers that I can see myself getting in reply.

Me: Hi, diabetes. Wow, 22 years with you and we’re finally just getting to talking now. What’s it been like to grow up with me?

My diabetes: WELL, it’s been a TRIP! Time flies when you’re having as much fun as me, wreaking absolute havoc in your life!

Me: Um, that’s kind of rude. But accurate, I suppose. And it leads to my next question: Why are you so temperamental? Like, one day you’ll be swimming straight in between the lines of my CGM graph…and the next day, I do and eat the exact same things as the day before and you go haywire.

My diabetes: Biiiiiitch, that’s just because I like to keep you on your toes. And I CAN go nuts whenever I want, so why the hell not?

Me: Whoa, relax. No need for the name-calling –

My diabetes: I’ll do what I want! See, look! Your blood sugar is going up RIGHT NOW just because you’re getting all flustered over this interview! Hee, hee, isn’t this fun?

Me: Thanks a lot! Whatever, I’ll just take a bolus –

My diabetes: You’re gonna need a whole lot more than that! 1.5 units to take this 250 down? That’s hilarious. So cute of you.

Me: WHY YOU LITTLE – *lunges for “my diabetes” as if it’s a physical object I can take into a chokehold and strangle, Homer Simpson style*

*Record scratching noise*

That, my friends, is where this totally made-up interview would definitely be cut short because I imagine my diabetes as nothing other than the petulant asshole that it seems to be lately. I’m dealing with a lot of stress lately, and my diabetes is punishing me with plenty of high blood sugars and sluggish responses to my fast-acting insulin.

It’s extremely annoying, but I will admit that writing this fictional interview with it was a little cathartic.