‘I think I've found postpartum harder to manage in terms of my diabetes than actual pregnancy, but I’m literally living my best life as a mum.’
That sentence is pretty reflective of Emily Vilé’s philosophy on type 1 diabetes - not shying away from the realities of the condition she’s lived with since she was just 14 months old, but soaking up all the moments that feel even sweeter for the juggle.
This practical outlook can also be seen in the powerful content Emily posts about motherhood and life in Perth, Australia, as well as in her work as Project Lead for Perth Diabetes Care Mums & Bumps at the Perth Diabetes Care Health Hub to support mums to be who live with diabetes - a career shift that came about after she gave birth to her daughter in July 2024.
In this heartfelt episode, Emily talks all things pregnancy and type 1 diabetes, as well as the recent OCD diagnosis that has helped her to make sense of her life to date.
From careful planning, to adapting to changing insulin needs and strict glucose targets, managing a classroom of teenagers while pregnant to managing blood sugars during birth itself, Emily naturally dealt with a number of fears in her pregnancy journey, but with the help of an amazing inner circle, overcoming these challenges have made for some of her proudest achievements - not to mention life as mum to gorgeous Gia!
A beautiful episode with plenty of giggles along the way - I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did.
CONNECT WITH EMILY
Follow Emily on Instagram.
Connect with PDC Mums and Bumps on Instagram.
Join their Facebook community.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 INSTAGRAM COMMUNITY
Come and say hi @studiotype1on1 on Instagram.
SPONSOR MESSAGE
This episode of Type 1 on 1 is sponsored by Insulet, the makers of Omnipod tube-free insulin pump therapy.
Using Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery has improved my diabetes management significantly with less diabetes decisions, and of course no multiple daily injections.
How? Well, Omnipod 5 automatically adjusts insulin every five minutes to help keep me in range, allowing life outside of type 1 diabetes to get bigger.
If you want to know more, head to Omnipod.com.
That sentence is pretty reflective of Emily Vilé’s philosophy on type 1 diabetes - not shying away from the realities of the condition she’s lived with since she was just 14 months old, but soaking up all the moments that feel even sweeter for the juggle.
This practical outlook can also be seen in the powerful content Emily posts about motherhood and life in Perth, Australia, as well as in her work as Project Lead for Perth Diabetes Care Mums & Bumps at the Perth Diabetes Care Health Hub to support mums to be who live with diabetes - a career shift that came about after she gave birth to her daughter in July 2024.
In this heartfelt episode, Emily talks all things pregnancy and type 1 diabetes, as well as the recent OCD diagnosis that has helped her to make sense of her life to date.
From careful planning, to adapting to changing insulin needs and strict glucose targets, managing a classroom of teenagers while pregnant to managing blood sugars during birth itself, Emily naturally dealt with a number of fears in her pregnancy journey, but with the help of an amazing inner circle, overcoming these challenges have made for some of her proudest achievements - not to mention life as mum to gorgeous Gia!
A beautiful episode with plenty of giggles along the way - I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did.
CONNECT WITH EMILY
Follow Emily on Instagram.
Connect with PDC Mums and Bumps on Instagram.
Join their Facebook community.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 INSTAGRAM COMMUNITY
Come and say hi @studiotype1on1 on Instagram.
SPONSOR MESSAGE
This episode of Type 1 on 1 is sponsored by Insulet, the makers of Omnipod tube-free insulin pump therapy.
Using Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery has improved my diabetes management significantly with less diabetes decisions, and of course no multiple daily injections.
How? Well, Omnipod 5 automatically adjusts insulin every five minutes to help keep me in range, allowing life outside of type 1 diabetes to get bigger.
If you want to know more, head to Omnipod.com.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This episode of Type one on one is kindly sponsored
by Insulette. More on that later. What I will say
now is that we have a shiny new Instagram page
dedicated specifically to the Type one on one podcast. It's
very exciting, So come and say hi and join our
lovely community at Studio type one on one. The link
is in the episode description. Hi everyone, and welcome to
(00:25):
Type one on one, a podcast that delves into the obscure,
complex and challenging world of life with Type one diabetes.
I'm Jen Greeves, and each week, with the help of
some brilliant guests, I'll be showing that there is no
normal when it comes to handlink this whopper of a
chronic condition, because we're all pretty much figuring out the
(00:46):
messiness of day to day life with diabetes as we go.
And most of all, even though it doesn't always feel
like it, we are absolutely not alone. We're heading all
the way across the world to connect with today's guest
to Perth in Western Australia to be exact. Emily Velay
was diagnosed with type one diabetes at just fourteen months
(01:06):
old and is now a first time mum herself to
baby Gia through her own experience of pregnancy with type
one diabetes. The former teacher is now Project lead for
Perth Diabetes Care Mums and Bumps at the Perth Diabetes
Care Health Hub, supporting mums to be who live with
type one diabetes, and alongside her work, Emily is juggling
motherhood with training for a half marathon and of course
(01:29):
type one diabetes too. Hi, Emily, welcome to the podcast.
Thanks for having me Jin.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Thanks so much for joining me today. You've got a
lot going on, so I really appreciate.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
That, And I was like, oh, oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
And I do think that's something us people living with
type one diabetes often don't really credit ourselves with, Like
we understand the load, but it's also our reality. So
you can kind just get on with it, don't you juggling?
Yeah exactly, that, exactly that. And I know we've got
a lot of important stuff to talk about, but my gosh,
I need to talk to you about Almin class ONTs
(02:09):
just briefly, because I know you're a big fan and
I also you also addicted. Oh absolutely, do they have
them in Spain? Oh they have They have some real
good bakeries here.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, I can imagine. I've always loved like bakeries and
like going out for coffee and a little treat on
the weekend. And then when I was I think maybe
I had just given birth. It just sort of like
it was a craving and I was just obsessed with them.
And now I have a list of all the bakeries
(02:44):
around Perth that I need to try, and I've sort
of been ranking them, which is a you know, someone's
got to do it right.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Right, it's noble work, thank you. I mean, I was
considering setting up and Instagram page with the handle sexy
Almon Croissants. Oh my gosh, something about the crunch with
the like gorgeous inside of the friend Japan.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Yeah, exactly, Yeah, I could talk about that. My mom
thought I was joking when I told her that's what
it was called.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Really, that's amazing. Well, if I'm ever in Perth, I
know who to come to to get my list.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Comes straight to it.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Love it, love it, Okay, And yes we can eat
the other croissants like everyone listening to this podcast will
know that.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
But I'm sorry your your pronunciation of croissants is so
much better than we do it in Australia. I feel
the sounds so fancy and were like croissants.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
I don't even know if I'm pronouncing that right.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
I'm probably territory accent. I think you're you're getting it
more correct than I am.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Hey, potato, potato, Yes, how do you say it?
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Croissant? It's not that, it's not that the Australian accent
is very jarring.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Universally tastes good though, so no the Aussie accent. Yeah, okay,
So how has today been? Obviously you're joining us from Perth,
so it's the end of the day for you.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
And I had to ask people how's the day been?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Glucose wise, because it's not often you get to ask
that question and someone understands the answer.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Right, having a Really, I've just changed all my carb ratios,
so I'm in a bit of an experimental stage at
the moment with sorting that out, and I've just been
having like lots of lows and rebound highs and it's
just been quite draining, frustrating.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Yeah, the best day, but oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
What's prompted the ratio changes.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Don't mind. I switched to FIAS about a month ago
I used to be on an over rapid. I'm not
sure if it's called something different. Did you guys have
fear it's the same.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah, Fi, I did exactly the same thing. Yeah, I
switched many many years, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Oh? But for me it was a sorry one. It
was really positive. Yeah, it's amazing. So I think just
with that transition, I've been working with my educator to
make sure everything's actually, you know, as it should be.
And I think postpartum as well, because of like your hormones,
they actually aren't back to normal yet. I still feel
(05:23):
like I'm sort of battling those changes too, so kind
of constant work in progress with my dad being educated
at the moment.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, as it always is, and it's nice to kind
of remind ourselves of that, you know, Like, as frustrating
as it is, it's important to acknowledge that we are
going to be iterating and not to give yourself a
hard time when things sometimes don't suddenly make sense, you know,
as it notably happens. Yeah, And that leads me nicely
to a point I'd like to make around something you
(05:53):
posted just this week on your Instagram page, which now
makes sense in terms of what you're dealing with. But
it's balancing positivity with allowing yourself, as you've said, at
least one day a year to quote basketing the annoyance, frustration,
and grief that living with diabetes can be.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
And I mean, I'm like, I need at least a
day a month.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
But can you talk to me a bit about that
importance of allowing yourself to feel the feelings?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yeah, absolutely so. I think when I was younger, I
really struggled because I didn't know anyone with diabetes, and
I didn't really have the vocabulary to express the sort
of burden I was carrying. I used to have like
big emotional outbursts all throughout when I was a teenager.
(06:39):
And it is a sense of grief that comes along
with sorry, really out of motibike. It's not time past.
It's like a sense of grief that comes along with
like growing up with a chronic disease that if you
don't take time to sort of feel it and recognize
your your sadness, it kind of grows and grows and grows.
(07:03):
And that's what was happening when I was a teenager,
that sadness would just grow so much and it just
explode in you know, self destructive ways. So now when
I start to feel like I'm getting a bit burnt
out or I start to have those thoughts of like,
oh my gosh, like this is getting too much to handle,
I just make sure I like fully allow myself to
(07:25):
sit in that and to just take a moment do
something nice for myself to acknowledge that I have been
fighting this fight for like twenty seven years and that
does take its toll. So you know, you've got to
just feel it before you know, your body feels it
for you. If that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yeah, absolutely, because your body will tell you, yeah, that's it.
When when you're building all of that up inside and
I see it completely reflected. Yeah, exactly in my glucose level,
I was hundred feat That's a really interesting point you
raised there about having been diagnosed so young. I can
imagine that you can't remember anything before life with type
(08:08):
one diabetes, but you need you still need to go
through that processing of feelings as you become an adult
and as you become aware of emotions and what living
with the chronic illness kind of entails emotionally as well
as in.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
The day to day yeah, yeah, Yeah. And also when
you're realizing that, like you're different from your peers, that's
a whole sort of grieving process as well, which is
a lot for our little kid.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Yeah, and how did that play out? I'm jumping ahead
a bit from your diagnosis, but that sort of realization it.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
Was very cumulative, I think, Like I think it just
I started to realize that, oh hang on, I have
a teacher, your assistant pulling me out before recess to
test my blood sugars, and like everyone else is just
still doing their spelling tests. Like it just sort of
gradually I sort of started adding it up, like, oh
(09:04):
hang on, no one else is doing this except me.
And I think it manifested in a lot of ways.
But I did try really hard to fit in. You know,
everyone wants to be cool, but then when you take
being you know, you just want to have a normal,
healthy body. So I did a lot to try and
(09:25):
cover up my diabetes. I'm still like I can mask
my symptoms, like if I'm high or low, I can
mask it like you would not even know, because I
think I grew up wanting to be so normal that
I could just I just would not show any sign
that I was struggling at all. So yeah, that was
(09:48):
quite tricky, and it's it's quite hard now to sort
of advocate for myself in that way. Like if I'm low,
I just grow into the mode straight away of like
just don't show anything, and then my husband like, like,
why are you so mad? I'm like, I'm sorry, Like
I can't. I can't communicate to you that I'm low,
and it's making me feel frustrated because I don't want
(10:09):
to admit that weakness. It's a bit like you sort
of just try to just push it all down, which
is not a good way of coroping that it's sort
of just developed out of trying to be normal. I guess.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Yeah, completely understandable, completely relatable.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
From my end as well.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
And yeah, I'm wondering if there was a turning point
for you to now becoming more vocal, more empowered, and
actually it's all my turn for the motorbike, becoming more
empowered to the point that now it's your work, and
how that's kind of shifted your mindset and perspective being
able to kind of own this if you like a
(10:48):
bit more, If that's true.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Yeah, So it actually all started when I started my
Instagram page, So I think that would have been about
maybe eight years ago, I don't nine years ago. And
it started out as like an anonymous like I just
wanted to be anonymous, just a place where I could
follow other diabetics and have people who understood, because I
(11:11):
still didn't know anyone with type one lack in your life.
So after I started posting on that more regularly, people
from my normal life found it. And then some people
said to me, like I didn't even know that what
was happening to you on that day? Like that's crazy?
Why didn't you say something? And I realized, Oh, people
(11:33):
actually just don't understand what you're what you're going through.
So I just started sharing more and more and you know,
sharing some more vulnerable things, and it just sort of
just grew from there. And honestly, starting that page has
changed my life because well it's like my job now,
but just like my whole view of diabetes and lack
(11:54):
the limitations I used to think, I have been completely
turned around because it's such a positive, uplifting community and yeah,
I'm just I'm very grateful.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Oh that's beautiful. I think that's so lovely to hear.
Yea yeah, so let's go back to your diagnosis if
that's okay, I mean, just fourteen months old. What do
you know about that time, what your parents had to
deal with. And I guess the management at that time
very different from what it is now.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
So different. So I was presenting like a flu. I
was basically just a lethargic, just wanted lots of milk.
I was wedding through all my nappies and my mum
took me to the doctor and he did a few
tests and said it's just a virus, should get better
(12:46):
in a few days, just rest. But then I got
worse and worse, and mum called back that after hours
nurse helpline and they say it sounds like she's got
type one diabetes, Like you need to take a two emergency,
a stray away. And when we got there, it was
basically just surrounded by doctors. You know, I see you.
(13:10):
It was like really touch and go for a while there.
But my parents had to basically stay in hospital for
the whole week where they got education on how to
take care of me, like everything carb counting, giving injections,
doing a blood sugar test. And I'm just thinking back now,
(13:31):
like learning everything that I have to know now to
manage my diabetes in one week would have been so overwhelming.
But yeah, they just did their best, and they tried
so hard to give me, you know, a normal, normal
childhood and woke up in all hours of the night
to test my blood sugars because we didn't have CGM
(13:51):
back then. So yeah, it was a lot for them. Wow, Yeah,
a lot.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
And were they I'm assuming you weren't on an insulin
pump straight away.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
No, I wasn't on an insulin pub until I was
about five, I think.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Yeah, yeah, super tough for them. And you mentioned there
that they tried to give you a normal life. Yeah,
what sort of attitude did they instill as you grew up?
Speaker 3 (14:15):
I mean in terms of.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
What was possible living with that, Beties, because I know
for me that was super formative in terms of, yeah,
the attitude I sort of brought through life with dragging
diabetes with me.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Yeah, that's pretty much a good summary. They kind of
just they said, you just live how you would live,
and we will figure out how to manage the diabetes
side of things. So it was really nice, Like we
would go to a birthday party, you know, Mom would
just watch me from a distance what I was eating,
(14:49):
and then you know, fix it up later. So I'm
very grateful for that because, you know, even with my
parents having an attitude like that, I still had a
lot of issues around eating as a teenager, which is
just you know it calm's hand in hand and having
diabetes and having to know the carbs and everything. But
(15:10):
I think if my parents didn't have that attitude from
the start, my issues would have been a lot more significant.
So yeah, wow, credit to them.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Yeah, what's your earliest memory where there's something diabetes related
in the picture?
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I think would have to be in I was in
year two and I had a pump malfunction while I
was out on the playground. You know those things that
you do. Rollipoli is over like a little literally just
a bar. It's just a bar in the middle of
the playground and you just roll.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Yeah, okay, yeah, just a rough and tumble.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Yeah, that's it. My pump malfunctioned and it pushed a
whole bunch of inchilin in and I collapsed. And there
was an old people's home overlooking the playground, and an
old man named mister Jelly got his nurse and said, oh,
there's a there's a girl on the playground who's collapsed
because no one else had noticed, and so the nurse
(16:13):
came out and helped me thankfully. But yeah, that's our
earliest memory.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
You're too, Wow, and that's a big memory as well. Ye,
Like it's a lot for a you know, a kid
to go through.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Yeah, but I was grateful for mister Jelly. And he
might have told me his name was mister Jelly because
he thought it was cute and he could be something
completely different. But I think that's a cute nickname, great
character name.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Yeah, yeah, I could see that as as a book
character or something.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Yeah, says the day. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I love that.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
And speaking about kind of these uncomfortable experiences, I don't
know what it's like in Australia. You mentioned kind of
becoming aware through your teenagers and stuff. The transition from
pediatrics to adult care in the UK is notorious a
difficult time, Bunkie, So yeah, did you find that that
was your experience?
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Yeah, they sort of they put when you're moving out
of the pediatric service, they put to you in almost
like a half way home sort of thing where you
it's like called the transition clinic and they sort of
build up your independence around going through appointments and questions
to ask and things like that. But from there it's
(17:27):
a very jarring transition. So you're straight into the adult
service in the diabetes clinics. So there's type two diabetics,
there's you know, there's a lot of old people in
the waiting room, and it's quite Yeah, I'd say they're
quite hands off in the adult service compared to the
pediatric service, So that's a big transition. I eventually started
(17:50):
going to a private diabetes educator, which is per Diabetes Care,
and they, yeah, it's so different there. It's so much
more sort of supportive, and I've learned just a lot
more from them than the general diabetes clinic. Not that
they're not good, it's just that they're seeing they're seeing
(18:11):
everyone we've seen, you know, amputees and all that sort
of thing. So yeah, I really really enjoyed the private system.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Right, And how has that been in terms of I'm
just wondering about things like switching your pumps over and
switching your insulin fias in terms of like being able
to have that dialogue. Has that been something that's come
about since you've switched care, like, yeah, feeling more comfortable
and confident to ask questions, advocate for yourself things like that.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Absolutely, I think because my diabetes educator is like she's
won awards, like she's amazing, and she because I've seen
her for over I think five years now, she knows me,
she knows my diabetes philosophy, and she sort of explains
all my options to me and lets me choose, which
(19:05):
is very empowering. It's the same when we're looking at
all my data, she'll draw it. She will draw all
my basil rates and car break shows out on my
you know, averages graph, and she'll say, what do you like,
what do you think needs changing? And so she's sort
of built me up over the years to you know,
build that skill for myself so that I don't have
to always wait for our appointments. But yeah, she's just
(19:27):
really she's really positive and she's really uplifting. I found.
You know, some WES educators in the past have been
I felt like I've been getting in trouble or like
I had to explain myself. But with Terresa, it's like
I went high last night because I ate a whole
pizza and I messed up the carp count and she's like, Okay,
(19:48):
that's okay, whatever, how can I help you? You know?
And I just think having that sort of trust and
feeling like you're supported and not judged by your diabetes
educ is so important. So I would encourage anyone who
is not feeling that from their diabetes educated to elsewhere
because you know there are people out there who will
(20:12):
get it. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Absolutely, I think that's a really helpful message, whether you
know private care is an option for you or not.
Within the UK, within the public healthcare system is incredible,
but sometimes you know it doesn't gel or whatever the
case may be, and you don't really have a choice,
but you can change, you can advocate to change your team,
(20:34):
your hospital. And I just think it's worth reminding that
we do have choices. And also it's okay to ask
for the things you need, because that's something I didn't
understand for a very long time.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
I viewed my appointment as like I would walk in,
tick those boxes and get out of there as soon
as possible.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
That was it. Like are you pregnant, how tall are you,
how much are your way? How many high posts have
you had? Which is still a bizark question, such a
funny question like today, or it's sitting there every time
you have a hyper like drawing a little tally on
your head at seven Hyppers this.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Week and they're talking about the last six months at least,
and I'm like, oh, how long have you got.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Just ragging it up? Yeah, but it's I think it
is a.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Good reminder that using your voice you can you can
advocate your needs.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Especially if it's something you debeate, like diabetes, where it's lifelong.
You know, it's really I think important to make sure
that the care you're getting aligned we've had you want
with your life.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Yeah, beautiful. We'll take that as a quote for life
for sure. So if we can move on to talking
about pregnancy with type one because I know it's a
big part of your world now. And is your diabetes
educator someone that you now work with?
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Yeah, she's my boss.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Yeah, Oh my god, it's incredible, so full circle, I know.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
I love that. Yeah, so she is. She her and
her husband owned the clinic, and yeah, I work in
the help communications promotions tea. My gosh, I love it.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Right, Yeah, come back to that. But in terms of
planning for your pregnancy. I think you were a teacher
at the time, that's right.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
Yes, yes, that's right.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
So how did you approach that journey if you like?
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Yeah, so I basically told Theresa that I was planning
to get pregnant in the next few years at one
of my appointments, and she she's got like she's the
Queen of folders. She has gave me this folder and
it had all the information in it about what I
needed to do, the supplements I need to go on,
(22:49):
the blood sugar targets, everything. So we've spent a lot
of time sort of getting all my insulance settings right
because I was on Tea slim back then and control
aqu was it a proof of pregnancy. So I had
to go into manual mode make sure everything was right.
All my complication screenings I had to do, make sure
(23:12):
that was okay, started taking folic acid, yes, sort of.
Just it was a big focus for a couple of years.
And I think the advice is that you start planning
three to six months ahead, but for me, I think
it was probably two years ahead because I just wanted
to make sure that the changes I made weren't super dramatic.
(23:34):
I wanted to make sure it was all gradual and sustainable.
So yeah, it was a long process.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Yeah, and a big undertaking. Did you feel pressure with
that long lead and trying to those targets and coming
off an automode that you'd been used to going into
manual mode?
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Yeah? How did you find that? I because I knew
that I had time, I didn't feel so much pressure.
And I also wasn't under sort of lack a deadline,
so like everything was reduced like my target and was
reduced slowly. My you know, it was all it was
all very very gradual under the guidance of my diabetes educator.
(24:15):
So the only thing I really felt stressed about was
making sure that none of my complications were So I
don't have any complications, but I have like a history
of having some protein come out of my kidneys, so
that's just a genetic thing. But I was nervous about
that going into pregnancy, so I had to make sure
that that was all clear. But other than that, I
(24:39):
was pretty pretty confident.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
That's amazing and it really shows as well, like how
empowering that kind of good relationship can be. That's as
you know, I have spoken to other people who have
had quite different experiences, so again support for finding the
style care. Yeah, exactly in terms of, aside from the
(25:02):
information you were getting from your educator, was there anywhere
else you were looking for information and what did you
find and was it helpful? Was there anything that was
less helpful? Like speak to me a bit about that,
because I can only imagine trying to digest sort.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Of this so much online. I think I used to
spend hours looking through Instagram of people who had been
through tape one pregnancies, and there's some real horror stories
out there, and then there's some also some real stories
of people who have done it like a hundred percent
time in Range super Street and you just think, oh
(25:40):
my gosh, like how can that ever be made? So
I think definitely social media was the comparison trap for me.
But at the same time, I found it really helpful
when I was pregnant to connect with other people who
had been through it because I could sort of see, yes,
I had tough times with their blood tiedus during pregnancy,
(26:01):
but now they have a beautiful, healthy baby. So there
are so true sides to that. But yeah, I think
there's just so much information you can find and you've
got to sort of sip through it to make sure
you land on the positive side. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Yeah, and mentioned in glucose levels there speak to me
a bit about how they change through pregnancy, because I
know generally high pose at first and then insulin requirements
go completely the other way. So how was that for you.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
The first trimester. I had a lot of hypos, but
then a lot of like really big spikes after eating.
I think because I felt so sick. I spent it
was school holidays at the time, so I spent a
lot of time laying on the couch just trying not
to vomit. So my insuluence sensitivity was all over the
(26:54):
place because you know, the first trimes to high pose,
but then you know, laying day and then once I
got to about eighteen weeks, I think that's when it
started to really climb up and my insulin needs so
of just went up and off, and I think I
was on maybe two and a half time It's what
I'd usually be on by thirty two weeks. And yeah,
(27:18):
it was just a lot more increase in my bowlless
insulin than my base or insulin. So I was bowlissing
like twenty units for breakfast when I would normally bowl
less six units for it. Yeah, it was wild. It's
crazy how much insulin you get used to giving by
the end of pregnancy.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Wow, And how did you handle that in terms of,
you know, you're giving your body what it needs, but
it's very different to what you're used to, like, and
I was like my light shifts.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
Yeah, you know, because the main thing for me was
making sure I was eating enough and well enough that
so that my baby could grow and be healthy. And
then the additional challenge was bowlassing for that. So I
think for me it was sort of I just every
(28:09):
time i'd have like a fear of a high poem
when I was giving myself like twenty units, I would
just remind myself, you can have some juice if this
doesn't work out, Like it's better for you to go
lower than it needs for you to go high. And
it's sort of just you get used to it after
a while, get used to those giant doses, but it's
(28:29):
definitely hard to start. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
And were you we back in the classroom presumably throughout
some of this, Like how was that juggling?
Speaker 3 (28:36):
Yeah, so I think as soon as I was fourteen
weeks school started again. So it was it was honestly
so tricky managing teaching. Weird my diabetes being pregnant, I
think because I wasn't. I didn't show until I was
about wash Some kids didn't even realize I was pregnant,
(29:00):
even though I told them until I was about thirty weeks.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Howld were your class classes?
Speaker 3 (29:07):
So I taught Year seventy Year twelve, so between eleven
and eighteen.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
So fully formed.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Yeah that's it.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Yeah, wow, lots of energy in those classrooms as well.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
A lot of energy, and sometimes my energy was lacking,
but we got through it. I think the hardest part
was just like pre bowlising. So I think from about
halfway I was having to bowl us forty minutes before
eating lunch, so that would be in class. But then
(29:44):
if a kid got in trouble, I had to stay
in or I had to go on duty, and I
got held up eating my lunch. You know, that's obviously
quite dangerous and you have all that insulent on board.
But I just tried to make sure I had snacks everywhere.
My Year twelve I had. I had these big giant
pencil capes, which I you know, I disguised it as
(30:06):
being for my white Hord pens and whatever else, but
it actually just had like crackers, juice boxes, lollies musely buzzed.
I you twelve, saw it once and now like, are
you just carrying around a whole pantry in there? And
I was like, yes, I am.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Actually there are bing and things that play here, guys.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Yeah, yeah, So no, it was. It was quite a challenge,
but yeah, very tiring. I would not.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Recommend right and through all of this, you know, it
strikes me as so much to think about, so much,
to manage a lot of emotions, and obviously the actual
physical hormone changes as well.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
You're growing a human.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Were you able to kind of enjoy parts of the
pregnancy and kind of be in the pregnancy, if that
makes sense.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
I I like, from looking back now, I missed being
pregnant so much, and I wish that I sort of
was in the moment a bit more than I was
going through it. But I was just so anxious the
whole pregnancy, and you know, I was diagnosed with OCD
(31:18):
towards the end of it, and I think now, like
when I get pregnant again, it will be a very
different experience because you know that diagnosis kind of changes everything.
And yeah, I did enjoy parts of it, and but
I would say the overall feeling was just worry.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Yeah, yeah, oh, I'm sorry, Completely understandable. I think so
many mums out there who have been through this would
completely you know, be nodding furiously as they listen to
this because it is so much. I think, it's so
much to be growing human life anyway.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
And you just want to make sure that you're doing
the best by your baby, Like you just want to
make sure that what you're doing or like the illness
that you have doesn't sort of have an impact on
your baby, because it's not their fault and it's you know,
they're just growing. And there's a lot of guilt about
(32:19):
you know, my body can't do this, or you know,
it's sort of betraying me in this way, and I think, yeah,
just the guilt can be really consuming sometimes, But in retrospect,
it's like, oh my gosh, like I have the most perfect,
healthy baby now, and you almost wish you could have
like a magic portal where you could sort of let
(32:44):
your past self take a peek at your life now
and realize that you know you're not hurting your baby,
but it's just one of those things, you know, first
pregnancy and you're just doing your best. But yeah, there's
a lot to be nervous about, and you've got a
manager anyway you can really.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
Yeah, yeah, I'd love to talk a bit about your
experience around the OCD diagnosis, but just before we do,
I'd love to just have a chat with you about
your lovely husband Liam and sort of his role through this,
because I can imagine it's quite difficult for the partners
who a aren't pregnant and b aren't dealing with the
(33:22):
chronic condition and other diagnoses coming along the way and
all the changes. And just talk to me a little
bit about the support and what works for you as
a team through that time to ensure that you were
kind of alongside each other.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
Yeah, it was really I think it was probably a
bit of a shock for how emotional I was during pregnancy.
And he's like the most level, calm, sort of chill
guy ever, so I found it very sort of company
and anchoring that like he had such faith, like absolute
(34:01):
faith that everything was going to be okay, and so
I think in the times where I was really struggling.
I would look to him and see that he was
like unshaped, like he was. He was like, no, everything
is going to be okay. It's fine, You're fine, Like
everything's good. We can overcome whatever. And that was the
most important thing for me. I think the logistical side
(34:24):
of diabetes, like I don't love getting help with that.
You know, if anyone's gonna help me with that, it'd
be would be my mom. But in terms of like
just that solid knowing of like Liam's got my back
and he's he has faith that it will be okay
was sort of the most important thing for our pregnancy
(34:46):
for us. And also we had a few conversations about
like I felt like sort of a guilt, like, you know,
you got married to me. If something happens to our baby,
like that would be my fault. And he was like,
and that's ridiculous, Like I married you because I love you,
and like this is nothing that you don't even need
(35:09):
to worry about that. So that was really helpful too.
And then in birth he was just yeah, just unshakable
as well. I mean during the labor part not so much,
but in the actual birth he was amazing.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
Yeah, Oh, thank you for articulating that because you know,
we can talk about our own condition, but it's not
just us. And it's interesting you mentioned there about the
different roles that Liam takes versus your mum who managed
your type one diabetes for so long, and knowing who
to turn to for what. Yeah, it's a bit of
a dance, isn't it. But it sounds like you're an
(35:48):
amazing team. So yeah, it's lovely to hear.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
I'm very lucky.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
This episode of Type one on one is sponsored by Insult,
the makers of omnipod tube free insulin pump therapy. I've
personally used pod therapy to manage my type one diabetes
for years, and using Omnipod five automated insulin delivery has
improved my diabetes management significantly, with less diabetes decisions and
(36:15):
of course no multiple daily injections. How well, Omnipod five
automatically adjust my insulin every five minutes to help keep
me in range, allowing life outside of type one diabetes
to get bigger. If you want to know more, head
to omnipod dot com. So we've magically switched backgrounds because
(36:38):
there was a battery emergency made You're in the kitchen
now for the people watching. But yeah, so lovely g
R was born July twenty twenty four, so congratulations. Do
you mind chatting a little bit about the labor experience
in terms of support you had and monitoring diabetes alongside
(37:02):
making sure that your baby was delivered safely and you
will helping well.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
Yeah, So I was induced when I was thirty seven
weeks and thirty days because my insulin needs started to
drop a little bit, which is it is quite normal
towards the end of pregnancy, but there's a certain threshold
where if it goes beyond that, it can be a
sign that your percent is not working anymore. So it
(37:27):
was sort of getting close to that and a few
other factors as well where it was sort of safeer
to just be induced. So I was in the hospital.
I went in for monitoring at twelve pm. LAMB took
me in and we didn't leave after that, or it
would have been like a week over a week. So
(37:50):
I was induced on that evening and then I was
sort of just in labor gosh overnight with the balloon.
I'm not sure if you've about the balloone, but it's
probably the worst part of birth really. Yeah. I mean
I got an EPI dural after my waters were broken,
(38:11):
but so I didn't really experience, you know, the big
contractions and stuff, but the balloon is super uncomfortable. Yeah,
So that was in overnight and then Liam and my
mum went home and then they broke my waters at
about four or five am, I think, so they came
(38:32):
back in and then I labored like without any drugs
for a while, and then the midwife sort of talked
me through the pros and cons of EPI dural and
what that might mean for me, and then I just
decided to get it, which I'm so glad about because
I ended up needing an episiotomy, so without an EPI
(38:55):
dural that would have been an unpleasant experience. So yeah,
I was sort of in labor all day because I
had the ever drill. I was I was just killing.
I was having a little gnat, you know. My mom
and dad and Liam were sort of there. I think
liamb at that point was extremely nervous, so he went
(39:17):
outside a few times have a little anxious bomb.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Really understandable, it was.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
It was actually hilarious because my mum during their labor,
like but I was sort of having the contractions was
was the calm, steady one and then when I actually
started pushing that like swapped rolled like liamb just absolutely
just locked in and was right there. And then I
think the mum. It was quite overwhelming. So at least
(39:49):
I had one of them that anytime, But yeah, it
was quite full on. I was pushing for an hour
before sort of more help was caught in because g
I wasn't making the progress like they would expect, and yeah,
it ended up being it was just like a rush
(40:12):
of people. I had about I don't know ten doctors
in the room. Ga I had a shouldered dystocia, which
is where her shoulder bone get stuck behind my pubic bone.
So I had to have an eppusiotomy and four steps.
So she came out a very bruise. But in the
(40:35):
scheme of things, it was as was it could have gone.
There's a lot of complications that can company shoulder distoci
how that didn't happen to us, so I'm very grateful
for that. But yeah, it was a crazy experience. I
think I was kind of shocked because my whole labor
experience was so relaxed, and I said to one of
(40:57):
the midwifes like, why do I keep going low? She's
laying here and she she was like, oh no, like
your body's running a marathon right now. You can't feel
it because you've got the epidrils. I had a lot
of sprite and a lot of homemade musley slice that
mom had made me, and yeah, it was just a whirlwind.
Speaker 2 (41:18):
And let's talk a little bit about sweet gear and
life as a mamah.
Speaker 3 (41:23):
Yeah, yeah to me she is nine months now. She
is just like the funniest kid. I think she's got
Liam's personality. Huh. She can pull herself up. She's crawling
making all sorts of noises. My dad has taught her
(41:44):
stand up now scream and now she screamed, but it's
just like a little squeal. She practices at the supermarket,
which is nice. Yeah, it's amazing. It's the best thing.
I'm literally living my best life right now. Yeah, she's
the bit so it worth every bit of the Painfulnancy
(42:06):
for sure.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
Yeah, super hopeful and reassuring for people to hear as well,
because you know, thinking about my journey and if I
was ever to become a mother, you know, carrying type
one diabetes along that journey is daunting to approach. And yeah,
so so thank you, thank you so much for telling
that experience. Can we talk a bit about postpartum because
(42:31):
understand me, there's so much focus on the lead up
to the birth itself in terms of generally and with
type one diabetes, so well, one or two things that
may be surprised you in the postpartum period that perhaps
you hadn't considered in relation to type one diabetes. The sleep, Yeah,
my goodness, pretty much everything. I think I was just
(42:55):
oblivious to what being close partum would be like.
Speaker 3 (42:59):
I sort of thought, I my baby and cut along
the couch and that's that's what it'll be like. But
your body has just gone through something like huge, the
biggest thing a body can go through. And I think
the hormones, the big hormone drop right after you give birth,
and the emotions that come up, and like your insulin
(43:20):
needs drop straight away. Trying to get a hand of breastfeeding.
It's all a lot, and I think I wasn't prepared
for how tricky breastfeeding might be, especially getting it started.
Because Gia was born around thirty seven and a half weeks,
(43:41):
she was still quite sleepy, and her suckling reflex was
still not like one hundred percent, So I think just
trying to learn about that is something I wasn't prepared for.
And then sort of I was under the impression that
after six weeks your body insight amazing, all healed if
(44:02):
you go, but it's definitely a bit longer than that.
And I also just didn't expect how much the postpartum
hormones would affect my blood sugars as well. I feel
like I finally get the hang of it, and I
get the right settings and everything, and then something changes
(44:22):
in my body and it's just sort of starting again.
But it's definitely harder. I think I've found postpard and
harder to manage in terms of my diabetes than act
with pregnancy, just because in pregnancy was what it was
calling you every week adjusting your doses. You know you've
(44:43):
got heaps of BEG back, and you're sort of it's
for a reason, you know the end date, you know
you're locked in. But with postpart and it's like, oh
my gosh, I bothers for breakfast half an hour ago
and there was a poor explosion. So now like you
know you're just trying to your priority is always a baby,
but then you've got to be safe as well, So
(45:05):
I think a lot sort of grows out the window,
and then the hormones on top of that is quite tricky,
but I think I'm getting the hang of it now,
I think touch wood.
Speaker 2 (45:16):
Oh yeah, and has it helped having other mums online
to kind of yeah, absolutely too within that you know,
you haven't got the weekly call and yeah, that handholding
kind of experience that you had leading up to the
in pregnancy.
Speaker 3 (45:31):
Yeah, so I think we have like our social catch
ups in person as well, once a month, so we
had one on Monday, and it's just you sit down
with all these other mums and everyone's kid is like
running around doing whatever. But you can have those conversations
or you don't have to explain why your bloodgegers are
(45:52):
going crazy. You don't have to explain anything. They just
get it. Like. It's so helpful because you lean on
your support network family where you can, but it's often
hard to elaborate the feelings that you're going through with
diabetes to someone who doesn't have it. So I think
(46:12):
finding that sort of network of other moms with diabetes
has been so helpful. Yeah, incredible.
Speaker 2 (46:19):
And is that something you would encourage for other new
mums who maybe mum groups, you know, yeah, they don't
necessarily have that common thread of the type one diabetes,
which I get so much more complexity to your body
and your brain.
Speaker 3 (46:33):
Yeah that's it. Yeah, absolutely, I think peer support for
diabetes is one of the most helpful things, whether you're
pregnant or a mum or not. When I first started
going to put Diabetes Care, I joined their sort of
peer support group and it was genuinely from there where
(46:54):
I learned so much. Like that was the time in
my life where my whole management started to change and
I felt so much more in control. And it was
just from having those conversations with other people, just like
little tips and tricks here and there. The AMOUNTAIN learn
just by talking is so like, so helpful. So I
(47:15):
would highly recommend it. And I know it's scary. Before
I was, you know, when I was a teenager, I
would have absolutely turned my head from any sort of
diabetes peer support group. But yeah, it's scary, but it's
worth it.
Speaker 2 (47:29):
And obviously that's led to this career change for you.
So what prompted that and what was kind of what
did you see through your own experience where you thought, Okay,
there's something missing here, or I can help, I can
offer my teaching experience. You know.
Speaker 3 (47:46):
I think the main thing that prompted it was feeling
sort of isolated in my experience because everyone that I
connected with online was sort of international or you know,
not from wa and I just really craved that connection.
But also it was hard for me to find information
(48:10):
in a way that wasn't super academic or like I
had to slipped through lots of things. So when Ja
was about I think she was four months old, I
went to Toura's albums my dad being his educator, and said,
I think we should start a mother's group and she
was like, ook, funny, you say that. We are expanding
(48:31):
our pregnancy offerings. So it sort of just grew from
there and sort of transferred by teaching skills of like
research and summarizing and resource creation into our PDFC mumps
and bumps stuff. So it's been a very natural sort
of transition. But yeah, it's a really rewarding.
Speaker 2 (48:52):
Role, amazing, and I think it makes such a valid
point there, Like as amazing as the online community is,
we need these real world connections as well. Yeah, so
it's incredible that you've been able to only find that
for yourself, but facilitate that and nurture that for other
people with this educational piece as well.
Speaker 3 (49:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (49:11):
And Theresa, my goodness, sounds like an angel of this earth.
Speaker 3 (49:14):
She actually is. And she gets so embarrassed because I
just rag about her everywhere I go. But she's so
humble that she's the smartest person at diabetes that I know.
And her husband's also a diabetes educator and he's also
amazing past. Wow, she's just yeah, the best.
Speaker 2 (49:35):
We need the Terresas of this world. Yeah, and the
Emily's as.
Speaker 3 (49:38):
Well, and the Gins.
Speaker 2 (49:40):
Oh yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3 (49:43):
I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (49:44):
So, coming back to the diagnosis of OCD that you
received in your third trimester, I believe so was it
something around the pregnancy that prompted that diagnosis?
Speaker 3 (49:58):
Do you mind talking me through that a little bit? Sure? So,
I noticed that I've always lived with anxiety, and I
think a lot of that is maybe genetic, but a
big part of that is sort of the hyper vigilance
that you have to have when you're with diabetes, because
you're always thinking five steps ahead. You're always analyzing every
(50:19):
possible scenario, and you're always trying to prepare and prevent
and sort of keep yourself safe. And I think you
know that primal need of safety is one of the
strongest needs that controls our subconscious. So that's hyper vigilance
sort of response I think is very natural for anyone
(50:42):
with diabetes. But sort of seeing a psychologist through my
pregnancy because you know, with the hormones and everything, everything's exacerbated.
But she sort of suggested that I go and see
the team. So at the hospital I was at, they
have a specialized psych mad team for pregnancy, and she
(51:06):
suggested I go and chat to them because it's all free,
which is like absolutely amazing. I don't know about for
you guys, but for here, if you go to a
private psychologist, it's about two hundred dollars per session, which
is wild, but so it's all free for pregnancy. And
I went to see like the psychiatrists for sort of
(51:29):
my intake, and we I think we spent about an
hour an hour and a half together and at the
end he was sort of like, okay, so I'm going
to diagnose you with OCD and basically like as soon
as he said that, it just all clicked, like, of
course I've got OCD, you know, because when you think
(51:49):
of OCD, it's like someone who's obsessive cleanly lips or
washing their hands or something like that. But OCD is
like at its or it's checking your thoughts and turning
them over and over and over and seeking certainty, which
I think a lot of that has been reinforced by
(52:16):
growing up with diabetes, because you you know, you're subconscious,
is like needing that certainty that you'll say, and you're
doing all these things that could be classified as compulsions
to ensure that. So sort of, yeah, that was a
big mind blowing event for me being diagnosed with OCD.
(52:38):
But I think my life is literally ten times better
now that I have that diagnosis and I'm taking medication
to manage it. I also find it just so much
easier to have a different, a more positive mindset about
my blood sugars than I used to because I'm not
(53:02):
constantly ruminating on every mistake I made. That laterly is
pointing that sort of makes sense. But yeah, it's been
really helpful.
Speaker 2 (53:12):
I've never had anyone speak about this on the podcast before,
so thank you so much, and I can completely see
the links there, Like I use the word hypervigilance a
lot in terms of my own brain, and I don't
know how much my personality or I have no doubt
that it's been exacerbated by type one diabetes. But Chicken
and Egg, who knows that you've said that that diagnosis
(53:34):
and like diabetes made your life easier. So I'm so
happy to hear that for you that it's ten times better.
Did that diagnosis affect the way you kind of looked
back and reflect on some experiences in your life and
how you'd moved through life up until that point.
Speaker 3 (53:50):
Absolutely. I think the biggest thing for me when I
look back on my life is I've always sort out certainty,
and I think a lot of decisions I've made I've
needed to know for sure that things are going to
work out for sure for sure, and like life is
(54:12):
not like that, So I think, you know, I spent
so much of my life agonizing over decisions and sort
of thing actions that I've taken, and you know, it
takes up a lot of brain space. And similar to
what I was saying before about masking when I was
(54:33):
low or high, they also became an expert in masking
when I was feeling like overwhelmed by my thoughts. So
a lot of the time I would just go completely
internal and just probably cope. I wouldn't say it's a
positive coping mechanism, but just kind of put my head
down and tick the boxes, you know, through life. So
(55:01):
learning how my mind works and how my mind sort
of having compassion for my mind, reframing it like my
brain was actually trying to protect me in those moments
has been quite healing. So yeah, it's just it's a
lot to sort of wrap your head around, and I'm
still learning about how my brain works. But I think, yeah, overall,
(55:26):
if I had been diagnosed earlier, it would have made
a big difference. But it's just one of those things,
you know, like in Australia, it takes ages to get
into a psychiatrist and it just so happens that, you know,
when you're pregnant. Here it's much easier. So yeah, I
guess I can thank my pregnancy for that. But yeah, yeah, yeah, incredible.
Speaker 2 (55:49):
And I think, you know, speaking from different conditions or situations,
I feel like those diagnosis they're like a starting point
almost because you've got a new lens to look through
to gather information from, and a kind of map if
you like to move forward. Is that is that how
(56:10):
you've kind of found it?
Speaker 3 (56:11):
Yeah? Absolutely, I think it's so freeing too. Sort of
you can when you're when you start to experience the symptoms,
you can kind of say, oh, that's just my brain
doing that thing, or you know, it's not me, it's
my OCD sort of thing, And it's much easier to
(56:34):
sort of pull yourself out of that than before, when
I was just like running and running and running over
the thoughts and you know, I thought it was just
who I was. Yeah, So it's really helpful, amazing.
Speaker 2 (56:51):
Is there any kind of words of wisdom or reassurance
you would offer someone who maybe is in that place
where then they're not as trusting of their thoughts or
they're seeking out some help. Yeah, not as an expert,
of course, but just from your own left experience.
Speaker 3 (57:10):
I think the most important thing is to advocate for yourself,
and that can be really hard when it comes to
mental health, because I think, especially with diabetes, you sort
of you sort of want to show everyone that you're
strong and you can handle things, and you don't want
to appear like it's making you weaker, and so I've
(57:32):
found in the past and it's quite hard for me
to express or sort of advocate for myself and say,
you know, things are actually quite bad. So my advice
would be to sort of put your pride aside, and
if someone's not taking you seriously, it's okay to go
to someone else who will. I know that I had
(57:55):
you know, I've been to lots of psychologists in my
life just to pope with my anxiety. And I always
knew in the back of my mind that there was
it wasn't anxiety like that sort of had an inkling
that it was OCD, but anytime I brought it up
with them, they sort of said, no, it's just general anxiety.
(58:16):
And so either had have pushed further, maybe I would
have got the DINOSS sooner. Sorry. Yeah, that's my advice.
Just don't be afraid to sort of say really how
hard what you're going through is. And if they don't
believe you or you don't feel comfortable expressing that to them,
just please find someone who will.
Speaker 2 (58:38):
Yeah, an important message. Yeah, just to come back to
PwC a bit, Can you talk to me a little
bit about the work that you're doing for people who
aren't aware, and also because I know it's completely localized Perth,
but a lot of what you do is online, So
for people who are seeking a little bit of support
with their pregnancy or planning for pregnancy. It's specifically for
(59:02):
people with type on diabetes, so I think it's just
an incredibly helpful.
Speaker 3 (59:06):
Actually for all diabetes. So it's called PDC Health Hub,
and it's basically got a whole bunch of allied health
professionals that specialize in diabetes, so they see people with
every single type of diabetes and a couple of other
chronic illnesses too, but being focused on diabetes. And they
(59:29):
basically specialize, not specialized. Sorry, they have a pregnancy clinic
that specializes in preconception planning and then pregnancy. And then
the positive side of it is that you also get
that postpartum care, that continuity, which I definitely didn't get
through a public hospital. So yeah, that I honestly, they're
(59:54):
the most kind and just knowledgeable people. I think a
third of this aft there lives with diabetes, so they
just get it, and they just do so much advocacy
as well, which they don't have to do because you know,
they are a private practice, but they've got lack a
(01:00:15):
peer support program for diabetes in general, and then one
I'm starting up is for pregnancy. But yeah, they just
do it because they love the community and they want
to make make it better.
Speaker 2 (01:00:29):
So great people, that's what we need. Good people. Yeah,
love that. Okay, So where can people find you? Your content?
Speaker 3 (01:00:41):
And also p DC so you can find me on
Instagram at Emily's Diabetes and then you can find us
at PDC mums and bumps on Instagram as well.
Speaker 2 (01:00:55):
Amazing, and you're there creating some very powerful content, completely
relate the realities, not pretending anything is perfect, which of
course it isn't. Is there any kind of parting words
of wisdom or or reassurance? I think what you've offered
here today is so valuable. Thank you so so much.
I'm so grateful. It's I don't have experience in so yeah,
(01:01:18):
I think super helpful for listeners. Is there anything else
you'd just like to add? Maybe as a parting?
Speaker 3 (01:01:24):
I think thanks, don't be so hard on yourself. I
think with diabetes it's just so easy to just analyze
every single piece of data that we have such free
access through these days and we all need that in
minder to just remember you're a human, not a robot,
and it's okay if you have a bad day.
Speaker 2 (01:01:45):
Love that so much. Thank you so much for talking
to me, Emily.
Speaker 3 (01:01:49):
Jin, so nice to chat to you.
Speaker 1 (01:01:53):
I hope you enjoyed this episode of Type one on one.
Please remember that nothing you hear on this podcast should
be taken as medical advice. I'm definitely not a healthcare professional.
If you like what you hear, hit subscribe and do
leave a little review on iTunes if.
Speaker 3 (01:02:10):
You have time.
Speaker 1 (01:02:11):
It really helps to spread the word about type one diabetes,
and thank you so much for listening.
This episode of Type one on one is kindly sponsored
by Insulette. More on that later. What I will say
now is that we have a shiny new Instagram page
dedicated specifically to the Type one on one podcast. It's
very exciting, So come and say hi and join our
lovely community at Studio type one on one. The link
is in the episode description. Hi everyone, and welcome to
(00:25):
Type one on one, a podcast that delves into the obscure,
complex and challenging world of life with Type one diabetes.
I'm Jen Greeves, and each week, with the help of
some brilliant guests, I'll be showing that there is no
normal when it comes to handlink this whopper of a
chronic condition, because we're all pretty much figuring out the
(00:46):
messiness of day to day life with diabetes as we go.
And most of all, even though it doesn't always feel
like it, we are absolutely not alone. We're heading all
the way across the world to connect with today's guest
to Perth in Western Australia to be exact. Emily Velay
was diagnosed with type one diabetes at just fourteen months
(01:06):
old and is now a first time mum herself to
baby Gia through her own experience of pregnancy with type
one diabetes. The former teacher is now Project lead for
Perth Diabetes Care Mums and Bumps at the Perth Diabetes
Care Health Hub, supporting mums to be who live with
type one diabetes, and alongside her work, Emily is juggling
motherhood with training for a half marathon and of course
(01:29):
type one diabetes too. Hi, Emily, welcome to the podcast.
Thanks for having me Jin.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Thanks so much for joining me today. You've got a
lot going on, so I really appreciate.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
That, And I was like, oh, oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
And I do think that's something us people living with
type one diabetes often don't really credit ourselves with, Like
we understand the load, but it's also our reality. So
you can kind just get on with it, don't you juggling?
Yeah exactly, that, exactly that. And I know we've got
a lot of important stuff to talk about, but my gosh,
I need to talk to you about Almin class ONTs
(02:09):
just briefly, because I know you're a big fan and
I also you also addicted. Oh absolutely, do they have
them in Spain? Oh they have They have some real
good bakeries here.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, I can imagine. I've always loved like bakeries and
like going out for coffee and a little treat on
the weekend. And then when I was I think maybe
I had just given birth. It just sort of like
it was a craving and I was just obsessed with them.
And now I have a list of all the bakeries
(02:44):
around Perth that I need to try, and I've sort
of been ranking them, which is a you know, someone's
got to do it right.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Right, it's noble work, thank you. I mean, I was
considering setting up and Instagram page with the handle sexy
Almon Croissants. Oh my gosh, something about the crunch with
the like gorgeous inside of the friend Japan.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Yeah, exactly, Yeah, I could talk about that. My mom
thought I was joking when I told her that's what
it was called.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Really, that's amazing. Well, if I'm ever in Perth, I
know who to come to to get my list.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Comes straight to it.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Love it, love it, Okay, And yes we can eat
the other croissants like everyone listening to this podcast will
know that.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
But I'm sorry your your pronunciation of croissants is so
much better than we do it in Australia. I feel
the sounds so fancy and were like croissants.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
I don't even know if I'm pronouncing that right.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
I'm probably territory accent. I think you're you're getting it
more correct than I am.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Hey, potato, potato, Yes, how do you say it?
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Croissant? It's not that, it's not that the Australian accent
is very jarring.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Universally tastes good though, so no the Aussie accent. Yeah, okay,
So how has today been? Obviously you're joining us from Perth,
so it's the end of the day for you.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
And I had to ask people how's the day been?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Glucose wise, because it's not often you get to ask
that question and someone understands the answer.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Right, having a Really, I've just changed all my carb ratios,
so I'm in a bit of an experimental stage at
the moment with sorting that out, and I've just been
having like lots of lows and rebound highs and it's
just been quite draining, frustrating.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Yeah, the best day, but oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
What's prompted the ratio changes.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Don't mind. I switched to FIAS about a month ago
I used to be on an over rapid. I'm not
sure if it's called something different. Did you guys have
fear it's the same.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah, Fi, I did exactly the same thing. Yeah, I
switched many many years, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Oh? But for me it was a sorry one. It
was really positive. Yeah, it's amazing. So I think just
with that transition, I've been working with my educator to
make sure everything's actually, you know, as it should be.
And I think postpartum as well, because of like your hormones,
they actually aren't back to normal yet. I still feel
(05:23):
like I'm sort of battling those changes too, so kind
of constant work in progress with my dad being educated
at the moment.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, as it always is, and it's nice to kind
of remind ourselves of that, you know, Like, as frustrating
as it is, it's important to acknowledge that we are
going to be iterating and not to give yourself a
hard time when things sometimes don't suddenly make sense, you know,
as it notably happens. Yeah, And that leads me nicely
to a point I'd like to make around something you
(05:53):
posted just this week on your Instagram page, which now
makes sense in terms of what you're dealing with. But
it's balancing positivity with allowing yourself, as you've said, at
least one day a year to quote basketing the annoyance, frustration,
and grief that living with diabetes can be.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
And I mean, I'm like, I need at least a
day a month.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
But can you talk to me a bit about that
importance of allowing yourself to feel the feelings?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yeah, absolutely so. I think when I was younger, I
really struggled because I didn't know anyone with diabetes, and
I didn't really have the vocabulary to express the sort
of burden I was carrying. I used to have like
big emotional outbursts all throughout when I was a teenager.
(06:39):
And it is a sense of grief that comes along
with sorry, really out of motibike. It's not time past.
It's like a sense of grief that comes along with
like growing up with a chronic disease that if you
don't take time to sort of feel it and recognize
your your sadness, it kind of grows and grows and grows.
(07:03):
And that's what was happening when I was a teenager,
that sadness would just grow so much and it just
explode in you know, self destructive ways. So now when
I start to feel like I'm getting a bit burnt
out or I start to have those thoughts of like,
oh my gosh, like this is getting too much to handle,
I just make sure I like fully allow myself to
(07:25):
sit in that and to just take a moment do
something nice for myself to acknowledge that I have been
fighting this fight for like twenty seven years and that
does take its toll. So you know, you've got to
just feel it before you know, your body feels it
for you. If that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yeah, absolutely, because your body will tell you, yeah, that's it.
When when you're building all of that up inside and
I see it completely reflected. Yeah, exactly in my glucose level,
I was hundred feat That's a really interesting point you
raised there about having been diagnosed so young. I can
imagine that you can't remember anything before life with type
(08:08):
one diabetes, but you need you still need to go
through that processing of feelings as you become an adult
and as you become aware of emotions and what living
with the chronic illness kind of entails emotionally as well
as in.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
The day to day yeah, yeah, Yeah. And also when
you're realizing that, like you're different from your peers, that's
a whole sort of grieving process as well, which is
a lot for our little kid.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Yeah, and how did that play out? I'm jumping ahead
a bit from your diagnosis, but that sort of realization it.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
Was very cumulative, I think, Like I think it just
I started to realize that, oh hang on, I have
a teacher, your assistant pulling me out before recess to
test my blood sugars, and like everyone else is just
still doing their spelling tests. Like it just sort of
gradually I sort of started adding it up, like, oh
(09:04):
hang on, no one else is doing this except me.
And I think it manifested in a lot of ways.
But I did try really hard to fit in. You know,
everyone wants to be cool, but then when you take
being you know, you just want to have a normal,
healthy body. So I did a lot to try and
(09:25):
cover up my diabetes. I'm still like I can mask
my symptoms, like if I'm high or low, I can
mask it like you would not even know, because I
think I grew up wanting to be so normal that
I could just I just would not show any sign
that I was struggling at all. So yeah, that was
(09:48):
quite tricky, and it's it's quite hard now to sort
of advocate for myself in that way. Like if I'm low,
I just grow into the mode straight away of like
just don't show anything, and then my husband like, like,
why are you so mad? I'm like, I'm sorry, Like
I can't. I can't communicate to you that I'm low,
and it's making me feel frustrated because I don't want
(10:09):
to admit that weakness. It's a bit like you sort
of just try to just push it all down, which
is not a good way of coroping that it's sort
of just developed out of trying to be normal. I guess.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Yeah, completely understandable, completely relatable.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
From my end as well.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
And yeah, I'm wondering if there was a turning point
for you to now becoming more vocal, more empowered, and
actually it's all my turn for the motorbike, becoming more
empowered to the point that now it's your work, and
how that's kind of shifted your mindset and perspective being
able to kind of own this if you like a
(10:48):
bit more, If that's true.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Yeah, So it actually all started when I started my
Instagram page, So I think that would have been about
maybe eight years ago, I don't nine years ago. And
it started out as like an anonymous like I just
wanted to be anonymous, just a place where I could
follow other diabetics and have people who understood, because I
(11:11):
still didn't know anyone with type one lack in your life.
So after I started posting on that more regularly, people
from my normal life found it. And then some people
said to me, like I didn't even know that what
was happening to you on that day? Like that's crazy?
Why didn't you say something? And I realized, Oh, people
(11:33):
actually just don't understand what you're what you're going through.
So I just started sharing more and more and you know,
sharing some more vulnerable things, and it just sort of
just grew from there. And honestly, starting that page has
changed my life because well it's like my job now,
but just like my whole view of diabetes and lack
(11:54):
the limitations I used to think, I have been completely
turned around because it's such a positive, uplifting community and yeah,
I'm just I'm very grateful.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Oh that's beautiful. I think that's so lovely to hear.
Yea yeah, so let's go back to your diagnosis if
that's okay, I mean, just fourteen months old. What do
you know about that time, what your parents had to
deal with. And I guess the management at that time
very different from what it is now.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
So different. So I was presenting like a flu. I
was basically just a lethargic, just wanted lots of milk.
I was wedding through all my nappies and my mum
took me to the doctor and he did a few
tests and said it's just a virus, should get better
(12:46):
in a few days, just rest. But then I got
worse and worse, and mum called back that after hours
nurse helpline and they say it sounds like she's got
type one diabetes, Like you need to take a two emergency,
a stray away. And when we got there, it was
basically just surrounded by doctors. You know, I see you.
(13:10):
It was like really touch and go for a while there.
But my parents had to basically stay in hospital for
the whole week where they got education on how to
take care of me, like everything carb counting, giving injections,
doing a blood sugar test. And I'm just thinking back now,
(13:31):
like learning everything that I have to know now to
manage my diabetes in one week would have been so overwhelming.
But yeah, they just did their best, and they tried
so hard to give me, you know, a normal, normal
childhood and woke up in all hours of the night
to test my blood sugars because we didn't have CGM
(13:51):
back then. So yeah, it was a lot for them. Wow, Yeah,
a lot.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
And were they I'm assuming you weren't on an insulin
pump straight away.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
No, I wasn't on an insulin pub until I was
about five, I think.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Yeah, yeah, super tough for them. And you mentioned there
that they tried to give you a normal life. Yeah,
what sort of attitude did they instill as you grew up?
Speaker 3 (14:15):
I mean in terms of.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
What was possible living with that, Beties, because I know
for me that was super formative in terms of, yeah,
the attitude I sort of brought through life with dragging
diabetes with me.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Yeah, that's pretty much a good summary. They kind of
just they said, you just live how you would live,
and we will figure out how to manage the diabetes
side of things. So it was really nice, Like we
would go to a birthday party, you know, Mom would
just watch me from a distance what I was eating,
(14:49):
and then you know, fix it up later. So I'm
very grateful for that because, you know, even with my
parents having an attitude like that, I still had a
lot of issues around eating as a teenager, which is
just you know it calm's hand in hand and having
diabetes and having to know the carbs and everything. But
(15:10):
I think if my parents didn't have that attitude from
the start, my issues would have been a lot more significant.
So yeah, wow, credit to them.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Yeah, what's your earliest memory where there's something diabetes related
in the picture?
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I think would have to be in I was in
year two and I had a pump malfunction while I
was out on the playground. You know those things that
you do. Rollipoli is over like a little literally just
a bar. It's just a bar in the middle of
the playground and you just roll.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Yeah, okay, yeah, just a rough and tumble.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Yeah, that's it. My pump malfunctioned and it pushed a
whole bunch of inchilin in and I collapsed. And there
was an old people's home overlooking the playground, and an
old man named mister Jelly got his nurse and said, oh,
there's a there's a girl on the playground who's collapsed
because no one else had noticed, and so the nurse
(16:13):
came out and helped me thankfully. But yeah, that's our
earliest memory.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
You're too, Wow, and that's a big memory as well. Ye,
Like it's a lot for a you know, a kid
to go through.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Yeah, but I was grateful for mister Jelly. And he
might have told me his name was mister Jelly because
he thought it was cute and he could be something
completely different. But I think that's a cute nickname, great
character name.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Yeah, yeah, I could see that as as a book
character or something.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Yeah, says the day. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I love that.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
And speaking about kind of these uncomfortable experiences, I don't
know what it's like in Australia. You mentioned kind of
becoming aware through your teenagers and stuff. The transition from
pediatrics to adult care in the UK is notorious a
difficult time, Bunkie, So yeah, did you find that that
was your experience?
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Yeah, they sort of they put when you're moving out
of the pediatric service, they put to you in almost
like a half way home sort of thing where you
it's like called the transition clinic and they sort of
build up your independence around going through appointments and questions
to ask and things like that. But from there it's
(17:27):
a very jarring transition. So you're straight into the adult
service in the diabetes clinics. So there's type two diabetics,
there's you know, there's a lot of old people in
the waiting room, and it's quite Yeah, I'd say they're
quite hands off in the adult service compared to the
pediatric service, So that's a big transition. I eventually started
(17:50):
going to a private diabetes educator, which is per Diabetes Care,
and they, yeah, it's so different there. It's so much
more sort of supportive, and I've learned just a lot
more from them than the general diabetes clinic. Not that
they're not good, it's just that they're seeing they're seeing
(18:11):
everyone we've seen, you know, amputees and all that sort
of thing. So yeah, I really really enjoyed the private system.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Right, And how has that been in terms of I'm
just wondering about things like switching your pumps over and
switching your insulin fias in terms of like being able
to have that dialogue. Has that been something that's come
about since you've switched care, like, yeah, feeling more comfortable
and confident to ask questions, advocate for yourself things like that.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Absolutely, I think because my diabetes educator is like she's
won awards, like she's amazing, and she because I've seen
her for over I think five years now, she knows me,
she knows my diabetes philosophy, and she sort of explains
all my options to me and lets me choose, which
(19:05):
is very empowering. It's the same when we're looking at
all my data, she'll draw it. She will draw all
my basil rates and car break shows out on my
you know, averages graph, and she'll say, what do you like,
what do you think needs changing? And so she's sort
of built me up over the years to you know,
build that skill for myself so that I don't have
to always wait for our appointments. But yeah, she's just
(19:27):
really she's really positive and she's really uplifting. I found.
You know, some WES educators in the past have been
I felt like I've been getting in trouble or like
I had to explain myself. But with Terresa, it's like
I went high last night because I ate a whole
pizza and I messed up the carp count and she's like, Okay,
(19:48):
that's okay, whatever, how can I help you? You know?
And I just think having that sort of trust and
feeling like you're supported and not judged by your diabetes
educ is so important. So I would encourage anyone who
is not feeling that from their diabetes educated to elsewhere
because you know there are people out there who will
(20:12):
get it. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Absolutely, I think that's a really helpful message, whether you
know private care is an option for you or not.
Within the UK, within the public healthcare system is incredible,
but sometimes you know it doesn't gel or whatever the
case may be, and you don't really have a choice,
but you can change, you can advocate to change your team,
(20:34):
your hospital. And I just think it's worth reminding that
we do have choices. And also it's okay to ask
for the things you need, because that's something I didn't
understand for a very long time.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
I viewed my appointment as like I would walk in,
tick those boxes and get out of there as soon
as possible.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
That was it. Like are you pregnant, how tall are you,
how much are your way? How many high posts have
you had? Which is still a bizark question, such a
funny question like today, or it's sitting there every time
you have a hyper like drawing a little tally on
your head at seven Hyppers this.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Week and they're talking about the last six months at least,
and I'm like, oh, how long have you got.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Just ragging it up? Yeah, but it's I think it
is a.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Good reminder that using your voice you can you can
advocate your needs.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Especially if it's something you debeate, like diabetes, where it's lifelong.
You know, it's really I think important to make sure
that the care you're getting aligned we've had you want
with your life.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Yeah, beautiful. We'll take that as a quote for life
for sure. So if we can move on to talking
about pregnancy with type one because I know it's a
big part of your world now. And is your diabetes
educator someone that you now work with?
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Yeah, she's my boss.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Yeah, Oh my god, it's incredible, so full circle, I know.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
I love that. Yeah, so she is. She her and
her husband owned the clinic, and yeah, I work in
the help communications promotions tea. My gosh, I love it.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Right, Yeah, come back to that. But in terms of
planning for your pregnancy. I think you were a teacher
at the time, that's right.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
Yes, yes, that's right.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
So how did you approach that journey if you like?
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Yeah, so I basically told Theresa that I was planning
to get pregnant in the next few years at one
of my appointments, and she she's got like she's the
Queen of folders. She has gave me this folder and
it had all the information in it about what I
needed to do, the supplements I need to go on,
(22:49):
the blood sugar targets, everything. So we've spent a lot
of time sort of getting all my insulance settings right
because I was on Tea slim back then and control
aqu was it a proof of pregnancy. So I had
to go into manual mode make sure everything was right.
All my complication screenings I had to do, make sure
(23:12):
that was okay, started taking folic acid, yes, sort of.
Just it was a big focus for a couple of years.
And I think the advice is that you start planning
three to six months ahead, but for me, I think
it was probably two years ahead because I just wanted
to make sure that the changes I made weren't super dramatic.
(23:34):
I wanted to make sure it was all gradual and sustainable.
So yeah, it was a long process.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Yeah, and a big undertaking. Did you feel pressure with
that long lead and trying to those targets and coming
off an automode that you'd been used to going into
manual mode?
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Yeah? How did you find that? I because I knew
that I had time, I didn't feel so much pressure.
And I also wasn't under sort of lack a deadline,
so like everything was reduced like my target and was
reduced slowly. My you know, it was all it was
all very very gradual under the guidance of my diabetes educator.
(24:15):
So the only thing I really felt stressed about was
making sure that none of my complications were So I
don't have any complications, but I have like a history
of having some protein come out of my kidneys, so
that's just a genetic thing. But I was nervous about
that going into pregnancy, so I had to make sure
that that was all clear. But other than that, I
(24:39):
was pretty pretty confident.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
That's amazing and it really shows as well, like how
empowering that kind of good relationship can be. That's as
you know, I have spoken to other people who have
had quite different experiences, so again support for finding the
style care. Yeah, exactly in terms of, aside from the
(25:02):
information you were getting from your educator, was there anywhere
else you were looking for information and what did you
find and was it helpful? Was there anything that was
less helpful? Like speak to me a bit about that,
because I can only imagine trying to digest sort.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Of this so much online. I think I used to
spend hours looking through Instagram of people who had been
through tape one pregnancies, and there's some real horror stories
out there, and then there's some also some real stories
of people who have done it like a hundred percent
time in Range super Street and you just think, oh
(25:40):
my gosh, like how can that ever be made? So
I think definitely social media was the comparison trap for me.
But at the same time, I found it really helpful
when I was pregnant to connect with other people who
had been through it because I could sort of see, yes,
I had tough times with their blood tiedus during pregnancy,
(26:01):
but now they have a beautiful, healthy baby. So there
are so true sides to that. But yeah, I think
there's just so much information you can find and you've
got to sort of sip through it to make sure
you land on the positive side. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Yeah, and mentioned in glucose levels there speak to me
a bit about how they change through pregnancy, because I
know generally high pose at first and then insulin requirements
go completely the other way. So how was that for you.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
The first trimester. I had a lot of hypos, but
then a lot of like really big spikes after eating.
I think because I felt so sick. I spent it
was school holidays at the time, so I spent a
lot of time laying on the couch just trying not
to vomit. So my insuluence sensitivity was all over the
(26:54):
place because you know, the first trimes to high pose,
but then you know, laying day and then once I
got to about eighteen weeks, I think that's when it
started to really climb up and my insulin needs so
of just went up and off, and I think I
was on maybe two and a half time It's what
I'd usually be on by thirty two weeks. And yeah,
(27:18):
it was just a lot more increase in my bowlless
insulin than my base or insulin. So I was bowlissing
like twenty units for breakfast when I would normally bowl
less six units for it. Yeah, it was wild. It's
crazy how much insulin you get used to giving by
the end of pregnancy.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Wow, And how did you handle that in terms of,
you know, you're giving your body what it needs, but
it's very different to what you're used to, like, and
I was like my light shifts.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
Yeah, you know, because the main thing for me was
making sure I was eating enough and well enough that
so that my baby could grow and be healthy. And
then the additional challenge was bowlassing for that. So I
think for me it was sort of I just every
(28:09):
time i'd have like a fear of a high poem
when I was giving myself like twenty units, I would
just remind myself, you can have some juice if this
doesn't work out, Like it's better for you to go
lower than it needs for you to go high. And
it's sort of just you get used to it after
a while, get used to those giant doses, but it's
(28:29):
definitely hard to start. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
And were you we back in the classroom presumably throughout
some of this, Like how was that juggling?
Speaker 3 (28:36):
Yeah, so I think as soon as I was fourteen
weeks school started again. So it was it was honestly
so tricky managing teaching. Weird my diabetes being pregnant, I
think because I wasn't. I didn't show until I was
about wash Some kids didn't even realize I was pregnant,
(29:00):
even though I told them until I was about thirty weeks.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Howld were your class classes?
Speaker 3 (29:07):
So I taught Year seventy Year twelve, so between eleven
and eighteen.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
So fully formed.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Yeah that's it.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Yeah, wow, lots of energy in those classrooms as well.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
A lot of energy, and sometimes my energy was lacking,
but we got through it. I think the hardest part
was just like pre bowlising. So I think from about
halfway I was having to bowl us forty minutes before
eating lunch, so that would be in class. But then
(29:44):
if a kid got in trouble, I had to stay
in or I had to go on duty, and I
got held up eating my lunch. You know, that's obviously
quite dangerous and you have all that insulent on board.
But I just tried to make sure I had snacks everywhere.
My Year twelve I had. I had these big giant
pencil capes, which I you know, I disguised it as
(30:06):
being for my white Hord pens and whatever else, but
it actually just had like crackers, juice boxes, lollies musely buzzed.
I you twelve, saw it once and now like, are
you just carrying around a whole pantry in there? And
I was like, yes, I am.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Actually there are bing and things that play here, guys.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Yeah, yeah, So no, it was. It was quite a challenge,
but yeah, very tiring. I would not.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Recommend right and through all of this, you know, it
strikes me as so much to think about, so much,
to manage a lot of emotions, and obviously the actual
physical hormone changes as well.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
You're growing a human.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Were you able to kind of enjoy parts of the
pregnancy and kind of be in the pregnancy, if that
makes sense.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
I I like, from looking back now, I missed being
pregnant so much, and I wish that I sort of
was in the moment a bit more than I was
going through it. But I was just so anxious the
whole pregnancy, and you know, I was diagnosed with OCD
(31:18):
towards the end of it, and I think now, like
when I get pregnant again, it will be a very
different experience because you know that diagnosis kind of changes everything.
And yeah, I did enjoy parts of it, and but
I would say the overall feeling was just worry.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Yeah, yeah, oh, I'm sorry, Completely understandable. I think so
many mums out there who have been through this would
completely you know, be nodding furiously as they listen to
this because it is so much. I think, it's so
much to be growing human life anyway.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
And you just want to make sure that you're doing
the best by your baby, Like you just want to
make sure that what you're doing or like the illness
that you have doesn't sort of have an impact on
your baby, because it's not their fault and it's you know,
they're just growing. And there's a lot of guilt about
(32:19):
you know, my body can't do this, or you know,
it's sort of betraying me in this way, and I think, yeah,
just the guilt can be really consuming sometimes, But in retrospect,
it's like, oh my gosh, like I have the most perfect,
healthy baby now, and you almost wish you could have
like a magic portal where you could sort of let
(32:44):
your past self take a peek at your life now
and realize that you know you're not hurting your baby,
but it's just one of those things, you know, first
pregnancy and you're just doing your best. But yeah, there's
a lot to be nervous about, and you've got a
manager anyway you can really.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
Yeah, yeah, I'd love to talk a bit about your
experience around the OCD diagnosis, but just before we do,
I'd love to just have a chat with you about
your lovely husband Liam and sort of his role through this,
because I can imagine it's quite difficult for the partners
who a aren't pregnant and b aren't dealing with the
(33:22):
chronic condition and other diagnoses coming along the way and
all the changes. And just talk to me a little
bit about the support and what works for you as
a team through that time to ensure that you were
kind of alongside each other.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
Yeah, it was really I think it was probably a
bit of a shock for how emotional I was during pregnancy.
And he's like the most level, calm, sort of chill
guy ever, so I found it very sort of company
and anchoring that like he had such faith, like absolute
(34:01):
faith that everything was going to be okay, and so
I think in the times where I was really struggling.
I would look to him and see that he was
like unshaped, like he was. He was like, no, everything
is going to be okay. It's fine, You're fine, Like
everything's good. We can overcome whatever. And that was the
most important thing for me. I think the logistical side
(34:24):
of diabetes, like I don't love getting help with that.
You know, if anyone's gonna help me with that, it'd
be would be my mom. But in terms of like
just that solid knowing of like Liam's got my back
and he's he has faith that it will be okay
was sort of the most important thing for our pregnancy
(34:46):
for us. And also we had a few conversations about
like I felt like sort of a guilt, like, you know,
you got married to me. If something happens to our baby,
like that would be my fault. And he was like,
and that's ridiculous, Like I married you because I love you,
and like this is nothing that you don't even need
(35:09):
to worry about that. So that was really helpful too.
And then in birth he was just yeah, just unshakable
as well. I mean during the labor part not so much,
but in the actual birth he was amazing.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
Yeah, Oh, thank you for articulating that because you know,
we can talk about our own condition, but it's not
just us. And it's interesting you mentioned there about the
different roles that Liam takes versus your mum who managed
your type one diabetes for so long, and knowing who
to turn to for what. Yeah, it's a bit of
a dance, isn't it. But it sounds like you're an
(35:48):
amazing team. So yeah, it's lovely to hear.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
I'm very lucky.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
This episode of Type one on one is sponsored by Insult,
the makers of omnipod tube free insulin pump therapy. I've
personally used pod therapy to manage my type one diabetes
for years, and using Omnipod five automated insulin delivery has
improved my diabetes management significantly, with less diabetes decisions and
(36:15):
of course no multiple daily injections. How well, Omnipod five
automatically adjust my insulin every five minutes to help keep
me in range, allowing life outside of type one diabetes
to get bigger. If you want to know more, head
to omnipod dot com. So we've magically switched backgrounds because
(36:38):
there was a battery emergency made You're in the kitchen
now for the people watching. But yeah, so lovely g
R was born July twenty twenty four, so congratulations. Do
you mind chatting a little bit about the labor experience
in terms of support you had and monitoring diabetes alongside
(37:02):
making sure that your baby was delivered safely and you
will helping well.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
Yeah, So I was induced when I was thirty seven
weeks and thirty days because my insulin needs started to
drop a little bit, which is it is quite normal
towards the end of pregnancy, but there's a certain threshold
where if it goes beyond that, it can be a
sign that your percent is not working anymore. So it
(37:27):
was sort of getting close to that and a few
other factors as well where it was sort of safeer
to just be induced. So I was in the hospital.
I went in for monitoring at twelve pm. LAMB took
me in and we didn't leave after that, or it
would have been like a week over a week. So
(37:50):
I was induced on that evening and then I was
sort of just in labor gosh overnight with the balloon.
I'm not sure if you've about the balloone, but it's
probably the worst part of birth really. Yeah. I mean
I got an EPI dural after my waters were broken,
(38:11):
but so I didn't really experience, you know, the big
contractions and stuff, but the balloon is super uncomfortable. Yeah,
So that was in overnight and then Liam and my
mum went home and then they broke my waters at
about four or five am, I think, so they came
(38:32):
back in and then I labored like without any drugs
for a while, and then the midwife sort of talked
me through the pros and cons of EPI dural and
what that might mean for me, and then I just
decided to get it, which I'm so glad about because
I ended up needing an episiotomy, so without an EPI
(38:55):
dural that would have been an unpleasant experience. So yeah,
I was sort of in labor all day because I
had the ever drill. I was I was just killing.
I was having a little gnat, you know. My mom
and dad and Liam were sort of there. I think
liamb at that point was extremely nervous, so he went
(39:17):
outside a few times have a little anxious bomb.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Really understandable, it was.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
It was actually hilarious because my mum during their labor,
like but I was sort of having the contractions was
was the calm, steady one and then when I actually
started pushing that like swapped rolled like liamb just absolutely
just locked in and was right there. And then I
think the mum. It was quite overwhelming. So at least
(39:49):
I had one of them that anytime, But yeah, it
was quite full on. I was pushing for an hour
before sort of more help was caught in because g
I wasn't making the progress like they would expect, and yeah,
it ended up being it was just like a rush
(40:12):
of people. I had about I don't know ten doctors
in the room. Ga I had a shouldered dystocia, which
is where her shoulder bone get stuck behind my pubic bone.
So I had to have an eppusiotomy and four steps.
So she came out a very bruise. But in the
(40:35):
scheme of things, it was as was it could have gone.
There's a lot of complications that can company shoulder distoci
how that didn't happen to us, so I'm very grateful
for that. But yeah, it was a crazy experience. I
think I was kind of shocked because my whole labor
experience was so relaxed, and I said to one of
(40:57):
the midwifes like, why do I keep going low? She's
laying here and she she was like, oh no, like
your body's running a marathon right now. You can't feel
it because you've got the epidrils. I had a lot
of sprite and a lot of homemade musley slice that
mom had made me, and yeah, it was just a whirlwind.
Speaker 2 (41:18):
And let's talk a little bit about sweet gear and
life as a mamah.
Speaker 3 (41:23):
Yeah, yeah to me she is nine months now. She
is just like the funniest kid. I think she's got
Liam's personality. Huh. She can pull herself up. She's crawling
making all sorts of noises. My dad has taught her
(41:44):
stand up now scream and now she screamed, but it's
just like a little squeal. She practices at the supermarket,
which is nice. Yeah, it's amazing. It's the best thing.
I'm literally living my best life right now. Yeah, she's
the bit so it worth every bit of the Painfulnancy
(42:06):
for sure.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
Yeah, super hopeful and reassuring for people to hear as well,
because you know, thinking about my journey and if I
was ever to become a mother, you know, carrying type
one diabetes along that journey is daunting to approach. And yeah,
so so thank you, thank you so much for telling
that experience. Can we talk a bit about postpartum because
(42:31):
understand me, there's so much focus on the lead up
to the birth itself in terms of generally and with
type one diabetes, so well, one or two things that
may be surprised you in the postpartum period that perhaps
you hadn't considered in relation to type one diabetes. The sleep, Yeah,
my goodness, pretty much everything. I think I was just
(42:55):
oblivious to what being close partum would be like.
Speaker 3 (42:59):
I sort of thought, I my baby and cut along
the couch and that's that's what it'll be like. But
your body has just gone through something like huge, the
biggest thing a body can go through. And I think
the hormones, the big hormone drop right after you give birth,
and the emotions that come up, and like your insulin
(43:20):
needs drop straight away. Trying to get a hand of breastfeeding.
It's all a lot, and I think I wasn't prepared
for how tricky breastfeeding might be, especially getting it started.
Because Gia was born around thirty seven and a half weeks,
(43:41):
she was still quite sleepy, and her suckling reflex was
still not like one hundred percent, So I think just
trying to learn about that is something I wasn't prepared for.
And then sort of I was under the impression that
after six weeks your body insight amazing, all healed if
(44:02):
you go, but it's definitely a bit longer than that.
And I also just didn't expect how much the postpartum
hormones would affect my blood sugars as well. I feel
like I finally get the hang of it, and I
get the right settings and everything, and then something changes
(44:22):
in my body and it's just sort of starting again.
But it's definitely harder. I think I've found postpard and
harder to manage in terms of my diabetes than act
with pregnancy, just because in pregnancy was what it was
calling you every week adjusting your doses. You know you've
(44:43):
got heaps of BEG back, and you're sort of it's
for a reason, you know the end date, you know
you're locked in. But with postpart and it's like, oh
my gosh, I bothers for breakfast half an hour ago
and there was a poor explosion. So now like you
know you're just trying to your priority is always a baby,
but then you've got to be safe as well, So
(45:05):
I think a lot sort of grows out the window,
and then the hormones on top of that is quite tricky,
but I think I'm getting the hang of it now,
I think touch wood.
Speaker 2 (45:16):
Oh yeah, and has it helped having other mums online
to kind of yeah, absolutely too within that you know,
you haven't got the weekly call and yeah, that handholding
kind of experience that you had leading up to the
in pregnancy.
Speaker 3 (45:31):
Yeah, so I think we have like our social catch
ups in person as well, once a month, so we
had one on Monday, and it's just you sit down
with all these other mums and everyone's kid is like
running around doing whatever. But you can have those conversations
or you don't have to explain why your bloodgegers are
(45:52):
going crazy. You don't have to explain anything. They just
get it. Like. It's so helpful because you lean on
your support network family where you can, but it's often
hard to elaborate the feelings that you're going through with
diabetes to someone who doesn't have it. So I think
(46:12):
finding that sort of network of other moms with diabetes
has been so helpful. Yeah, incredible.
Speaker 2 (46:19):
And is that something you would encourage for other new
mums who maybe mum groups, you know, yeah, they don't
necessarily have that common thread of the type one diabetes,
which I get so much more complexity to your body
and your brain.
Speaker 3 (46:33):
Yeah that's it. Yeah, absolutely, I think peer support for
diabetes is one of the most helpful things, whether you're
pregnant or a mum or not. When I first started
going to put Diabetes Care, I joined their sort of
peer support group and it was genuinely from there where
(46:54):
I learned so much. Like that was the time in
my life where my whole management started to change and
I felt so much more in control. And it was
just from having those conversations with other people, just like
little tips and tricks here and there. The AMOUNTAIN learn
just by talking is so like, so helpful. So I
(47:15):
would highly recommend it. And I know it's scary. Before
I was, you know, when I was a teenager, I
would have absolutely turned my head from any sort of
diabetes peer support group. But yeah, it's scary, but it's
worth it.
Speaker 2 (47:29):
And obviously that's led to this career change for you.
So what prompted that and what was kind of what
did you see through your own experience where you thought, Okay,
there's something missing here, or I can help, I can
offer my teaching experience. You know.
Speaker 3 (47:46):
I think the main thing that prompted it was feeling
sort of isolated in my experience because everyone that I
connected with online was sort of international or you know,
not from wa and I just really craved that connection.
But also it was hard for me to find information
(48:10):
in a way that wasn't super academic or like I
had to slipped through lots of things. So when Ja
was about I think she was four months old, I
went to Toura's albums my dad being his educator, and said,
I think we should start a mother's group and she
was like, ook, funny, you say that. We are expanding
(48:31):
our pregnancy offerings. So it sort of just grew from
there and sort of transferred by teaching skills of like
research and summarizing and resource creation into our PDFC mumps
and bumps stuff. So it's been a very natural sort
of transition. But yeah, it's a really rewarding.
Speaker 2 (48:52):
Role, amazing, and I think it makes such a valid
point there, Like as amazing as the online community is,
we need these real world connections as well. Yeah, so
it's incredible that you've been able to only find that
for yourself, but facilitate that and nurture that for other
people with this educational piece as well.
Speaker 3 (49:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (49:11):
And Theresa, my goodness, sounds like an angel of this earth.
Speaker 3 (49:14):
She actually is. And she gets so embarrassed because I
just rag about her everywhere I go. But she's so
humble that she's the smartest person at diabetes that I know.
And her husband's also a diabetes educator and he's also
amazing past. Wow, she's just yeah, the best.
Speaker 2 (49:35):
We need the Terresas of this world. Yeah, and the
Emily's as.
Speaker 3 (49:38):
Well, and the Gins.
Speaker 2 (49:40):
Oh yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3 (49:43):
I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (49:44):
So, coming back to the diagnosis of OCD that you
received in your third trimester, I believe so was it
something around the pregnancy that prompted that diagnosis?
Speaker 3 (49:58):
Do you mind talking me through that a little bit? Sure? So,
I noticed that I've always lived with anxiety, and I
think a lot of that is maybe genetic, but a
big part of that is sort of the hyper vigilance
that you have to have when you're with diabetes, because
you're always thinking five steps ahead. You're always analyzing every
(50:19):
possible scenario, and you're always trying to prepare and prevent
and sort of keep yourself safe. And I think you
know that primal need of safety is one of the
strongest needs that controls our subconscious. So that's hyper vigilance
sort of response I think is very natural for anyone
(50:42):
with diabetes. But sort of seeing a psychologist through my
pregnancy because you know, with the hormones and everything, everything's exacerbated.
But she sort of suggested that I go and see
the team. So at the hospital I was at, they
have a specialized psych mad team for pregnancy, and she
(51:06):
suggested I go and chat to them because it's all free,
which is like absolutely amazing. I don't know about for
you guys, but for here, if you go to a
private psychologist, it's about two hundred dollars per session, which
is wild, but so it's all free for pregnancy. And
I went to see like the psychiatrists for sort of
(51:29):
my intake, and we I think we spent about an
hour an hour and a half together and at the
end he was sort of like, okay, so I'm going
to diagnose you with OCD and basically like as soon
as he said that, it just all clicked, like, of
course I've got OCD, you know, because when you think
(51:49):
of OCD, it's like someone who's obsessive cleanly lips or
washing their hands or something like that. But OCD is
like at its or it's checking your thoughts and turning
them over and over and over and seeking certainty, which
I think a lot of that has been reinforced by
(52:16):
growing up with diabetes, because you you know, you're subconscious,
is like needing that certainty that you'll say, and you're
doing all these things that could be classified as compulsions
to ensure that. So sort of, yeah, that was a
big mind blowing event for me being diagnosed with OCD.
(52:38):
But I think my life is literally ten times better
now that I have that diagnosis and I'm taking medication
to manage it. I also find it just so much
easier to have a different, a more positive mindset about
my blood sugars than I used to because I'm not
(53:02):
constantly ruminating on every mistake I made. That laterly is
pointing that sort of makes sense. But yeah, it's been
really helpful.
Speaker 2 (53:12):
I've never had anyone speak about this on the podcast before,
so thank you so much, and I can completely see
the links there, Like I use the word hypervigilance a
lot in terms of my own brain, and I don't
know how much my personality or I have no doubt
that it's been exacerbated by type one diabetes. But Chicken
and Egg, who knows that you've said that that diagnosis
(53:34):
and like diabetes made your life easier. So I'm so
happy to hear that for you that it's ten times better.
Did that diagnosis affect the way you kind of looked
back and reflect on some experiences in your life and
how you'd moved through life up until that point.
Speaker 3 (53:50):
Absolutely. I think the biggest thing for me when I
look back on my life is I've always sort out certainty,
and I think a lot of decisions I've made I've
needed to know for sure that things are going to
work out for sure for sure, and like life is
(54:12):
not like that, So I think, you know, I spent
so much of my life agonizing over decisions and sort
of thing actions that I've taken, and you know, it
takes up a lot of brain space. And similar to
what I was saying before about masking when I was
(54:33):
low or high, they also became an expert in masking
when I was feeling like overwhelmed by my thoughts. So
a lot of the time I would just go completely
internal and just probably cope. I wouldn't say it's a
positive coping mechanism, but just kind of put my head
down and tick the boxes, you know, through life. So
(55:01):
learning how my mind works and how my mind sort
of having compassion for my mind, reframing it like my
brain was actually trying to protect me in those moments
has been quite healing. So yeah, it's just it's a
lot to sort of wrap your head around, and I'm
still learning about how my brain works. But I think, yeah, overall,
(55:26):
if I had been diagnosed earlier, it would have made
a big difference. But it's just one of those things,
you know, like in Australia, it takes ages to get
into a psychiatrist and it just so happens that, you know,
when you're pregnant. Here it's much easier. So yeah, I
guess I can thank my pregnancy for that. But yeah, yeah, yeah, incredible.
Speaker 2 (55:49):
And I think, you know, speaking from different conditions or situations,
I feel like those diagnosis they're like a starting point
almost because you've got a new lens to look through
to gather information from, and a kind of map if
you like to move forward. Is that is that how
(56:10):
you've kind of found it?
Speaker 3 (56:11):
Yeah? Absolutely, I think it's so freeing too. Sort of
you can when you're when you start to experience the symptoms,
you can kind of say, oh, that's just my brain
doing that thing, or you know, it's not me, it's
my OCD sort of thing, And it's much easier to
(56:34):
sort of pull yourself out of that than before, when
I was just like running and running and running over
the thoughts and you know, I thought it was just
who I was. Yeah, So it's really helpful, amazing.
Speaker 2 (56:51):
Is there any kind of words of wisdom or reassurance
you would offer someone who maybe is in that place
where then they're not as trusting of their thoughts or
they're seeking out some help. Yeah, not as an expert,
of course, but just from your own left experience.
Speaker 3 (57:10):
I think the most important thing is to advocate for yourself,
and that can be really hard when it comes to
mental health, because I think, especially with diabetes, you sort
of you sort of want to show everyone that you're
strong and you can handle things, and you don't want
to appear like it's making you weaker, and so I've
(57:32):
found in the past and it's quite hard for me
to express or sort of advocate for myself and say,
you know, things are actually quite bad. So my advice
would be to sort of put your pride aside, and
if someone's not taking you seriously, it's okay to go
to someone else who will. I know that I had
(57:55):
you know, I've been to lots of psychologists in my
life just to pope with my anxiety. And I always
knew in the back of my mind that there was
it wasn't anxiety like that sort of had an inkling
that it was OCD, but anytime I brought it up
with them, they sort of said, no, it's just general anxiety.
(58:16):
And so either had have pushed further, maybe I would
have got the DINOSS sooner. Sorry. Yeah, that's my advice.
Just don't be afraid to sort of say really how
hard what you're going through is. And if they don't
believe you or you don't feel comfortable expressing that to them,
just please find someone who will.
Speaker 2 (58:38):
Yeah, an important message. Yeah, just to come back to
PwC a bit, Can you talk to me a little
bit about the work that you're doing for people who
aren't aware, and also because I know it's completely localized Perth,
but a lot of what you do is online, So
for people who are seeking a little bit of support
with their pregnancy or planning for pregnancy. It's specifically for
(59:02):
people with type on diabetes, so I think it's just
an incredibly helpful.
Speaker 3 (59:06):
Actually for all diabetes. So it's called PDC Health Hub,
and it's basically got a whole bunch of allied health
professionals that specialize in diabetes, so they see people with
every single type of diabetes and a couple of other
chronic illnesses too, but being focused on diabetes. And they
(59:29):
basically specialize, not specialized. Sorry, they have a pregnancy clinic
that specializes in preconception planning and then pregnancy. And then
the positive side of it is that you also get
that postpartum care, that continuity, which I definitely didn't get
through a public hospital. So yeah, that I honestly, they're
(59:54):
the most kind and just knowledgeable people. I think a
third of this aft there lives with diabetes, so they
just get it, and they just do so much advocacy
as well, which they don't have to do because you know,
they are a private practice, but they've got lack a
(01:00:15):
peer support program for diabetes in general, and then one
I'm starting up is for pregnancy. But yeah, they just
do it because they love the community and they want
to make make it better.
Speaker 2 (01:00:29):
So great people, that's what we need. Good people. Yeah,
love that. Okay, So where can people find you? Your content?
Speaker 3 (01:00:41):
And also p DC so you can find me on
Instagram at Emily's Diabetes and then you can find us
at PDC mums and bumps on Instagram as well.
Speaker 2 (01:00:55):
Amazing, and you're there creating some very powerful content, completely
relate the realities, not pretending anything is perfect, which of
course it isn't. Is there any kind of parting words
of wisdom or or reassurance? I think what you've offered
here today is so valuable. Thank you so so much.
I'm so grateful. It's I don't have experience in so yeah,
(01:01:18):
I think super helpful for listeners. Is there anything else
you'd just like to add? Maybe as a parting?
Speaker 3 (01:01:24):
I think thanks, don't be so hard on yourself. I
think with diabetes it's just so easy to just analyze
every single piece of data that we have such free
access through these days and we all need that in
minder to just remember you're a human, not a robot,
and it's okay if you have a bad day.
Speaker 2 (01:01:45):
Love that so much. Thank you so much for talking
to me, Emily.
Speaker 3 (01:01:49):
Jin, so nice to chat to you.
Speaker 1 (01:01:53):
I hope you enjoyed this episode of Type one on one.
Please remember that nothing you hear on this podcast should
be taken as medical advice. I'm definitely not a healthcare professional.
If you like what you hear, hit subscribe and do
leave a little review on iTunes if.
Speaker 3 (01:02:10):
You have time.
Speaker 1 (01:02:11):
It really helps to spread the word about type one diabetes,
and thank you so much for listening.
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