Diabetics Doing Fitness Activism with Adriana Mendez

[00:00:00] Rob Howe: Welcome to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast. We're back with new episodes in 2017 telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics across the world. I'm your host, Rob Howe, and if you'd like to get involved with Diabetics Doing Things, all you have to do is shoot me an email or reach out via Instagram. Hey everyone, before we get started, I just wanted to say thank you for listening. We had a great first year of the podcast, but none of it would have been possible without you and your support. I love getting messages, emails, and comments from type 1 diabetics all over the world. It really makes my day. So keep sharing, searching, and commenting, and I'll keep tracking down the people behind the amazing type 1 stories out there. Now, let's get back to the episode. Hello and welcome again to Diabetics Doing Things. We're back with new episodes for 2017, and I'm very excited to introduce my next guest, Adriana Mendez from Phoenix, Arizona. Welcome to the show.

[00:00:58] Adriana Mendez: Hi, thank you. I'm excited to be here.

[00:01:01] Rob Howe: We're excited to have you. And for those of us listening who don't know you already, give us a little bit of an intro and how long you've been living with type 1 and just a little

[00:01:14] Adriana Mendez: bit more about you. Like you said, I'm from Phoenix, Arizona, and I have lived with type 1 diabetes for 26 years now. My, like a lot of us like to call it, diaversary was December 24th. I was four years old when I was diagnosed, so I don't remember much. And I like to be very, very active as far as exercising and doing things like that.

[00:01:41] Rob Howe: And I'm really excited to talk about your, you know, fitness and exercise regimen because As you know, that's a point where a lot of type 1s struggle just because it can be very difficult to monitor and manage your blood sugars around a difficult exercise regimen. So really excited to get your perspective on some of that. From the other thing as well, living and growing up with type 1 and really not remembering life before it, talk a little bit about what that was like as a young child.

[00:02:17] Adriana Mendez: Yeah, I was four, like I said, and I remember bits and pieces. All I remember is sleeping a lot and my mom trying to feed me, me not eating, and I got to the point where I was so thin that I couldn't walk and she had to carry me to the hospital. I was taken to Phoenix Children's Hospital. As soon as we arrived, they told her that I had type 1 diabetes or juvenile diabetes back then. Nobody knew what it was. Nobody in my family has it. I'm the only one. I like to say that I'm the lucky one. Because nobody else, not type 1, not type 2 in my family. So I stayed there for two weeks. It was December 24th. So I was there for Christmas and for New Year's. I remember running from my mom every time I had to get a shot and hiding in the closet. I just hated it. I was so scared. And until this day, I do not like shots. It's just, it's so hard to, I feel like it gets harder for me as I get older rather than it getting easier. And then school was another challenge. So having to go to school, back then nobody knew what type 1 diabetes was. It was something that people just didn't talk about and didn't hear much about it. So having to go to school, I did miss a lot of school. I had a few, scared my mom a lot. One time I didn't get off the bus. She went to school and the teacher said, no, she got on the bus. I made sure she got on the bus and she and my mom's like no can you check the classroom and sure enough I was in the classroom with my head down because I didn't feel good and the teacher had asked me to just put my head down and I had passed out from a low blood sugar oh no wow that's uh what a story yeah very very scary so it was scary it was scary but it you know we got through it I I survived I know a lot of people say it's it's nice that we have all these gadgets but back then we didn't and And it really does make life easier. But I also know that we're able to survive with all these cool gadgets that we have nowadays.

[00:04:37] Rob Howe: Yeah, and I think that's something that, you know, nowadays, and even I was diagnosed, I guess, I just had my 12-year anniversary. Actually, I was diagnosed on New Year's Day. So very similar timing in terms of time of year. And it's funny, I meet a lot of diabetics who, it always seems like it's around some sort of holiday.

[00:04:57] Adriana Mendez: Yeah.

[00:04:58] Rob Howe: Nobody's ever like, oh, yeah, I just got diagnosed on a random Tuesday. It's always like Labor Day or Christmas or New Year's or Thanksgiving, something like that. But that's something that's very interesting as well. So, you know, when you were four years old, obviously, like you said, 26 years ago, the treatment options were much more limited than they are today. And even, you know, meters and such were, you know, much more invasive and took a lot longer. Talk a little bit about that. Did things get easier for you as you introduced and talk about how do you treat your diabetes today, whether a pump or a CGM or any other sort of injections? How do you treat today?

[00:05:40] Adriana Mendez: Yeah, well, back then I started off with my big meter that I don't remember what meter it was, but all I remember is that we would put a big drop of blood on it and then wipe it off. and I know that if it was like a kind of yellowish color my mom wouldn't even bother putting it in the machine she'd just rush me to the hospital because I was super low at that at the range and after that I got the OneTouch where you had to put a big old drop of blood as well but you didn't have to wipe it off and you would get a number in like 60 seconds and then um then finally we got the the smaller meters i i have been doing shots for two years now and i did um the pump for about nine years and i tried all kinds of pumps and eventually gave up two years ago when i had a pump malfunction my tubing came undone while i was at work and I kept bolusing, kept giving myself insulin and my blood sugar just kept going up and I didn't know what was going on so I just kept giving myself insulin and nothing was working. Finally, I got to the point where I just felt like I was dying and I said, I'm going to go home. I clocked out, got in my car and I smelled insulin and I looked down because I had the infusion set on my thigh and there was a big spot of insulin. So, I pulled down my scrubs and I see that the tubing was undone. It came undone from the infusion set and drove home. Probably shouldn't have done that, but I drove home, got home, took 12 units of insulin and just laid in bed all day. And I felt so, so, so sick. After that, I decided I was no longer going to pump.

[00:07:28] Rob Howe: So I've been doing shots for two years now. Yeah, I had a similar experience once with a pump when I was in college, I, uh, the tubing had come out of the infusion set, but the sticker, like the, the site was still on and hadn't really moved. So it was kind of a weird, yeah, it was very similar. I had a really high blood sugar, about like 500 or so, uh, in the middle of the night. And yeah, it was kind of a, it's kind of a scary experience. Yeah. I had to, and you know, did a little bit of, just took a couple of days of rest and injected and then went back. But yeah, certainly I think it's interesting to see how, uh, different people treat and I know a lot of people that use you know strictly injections and then a lot of people

[00:08:08] Adriana Mendez: obviously they use the pumps as well. Yes and I tried so after I decided to get off the pump I tried Lantus which was working fine for a little bit and then I had to switch to splitting the dose because I was getting high in the evenings and then I was thinking about going back to the pump because Lantus wasn't working for me. And at that time, they came out with Toujeo. So I tried that, and it worked great. It was working really good for me for a few months, and then I started getting those highs again and that Dawn Phenomenon in the morning. And then I was introduced to Tresiba, which I've been using for about, I want to say, five months now, and I absolutely love it.

[00:08:53] Rob Howe: Fantastic.

[00:08:55] Adriana Mendez: Mm-hmm. And I think that's encouraging.

[00:08:57] Rob Howe: Oh, sorry. No worries. I think that's encouraging too, right? That even if you don't get it right the first time from a treatment option, like there's a wealth of different options today for type 1s to, you know, find what works for them.

[00:09:11] Adriana Mendez: Yes, absolutely. It's so, so nice that we have so many different medications now. And we have plenty to choose from. And if something doesn't work, there's always something else that hopefully will.

[00:09:26] Rob Howe: definitely uh now i want to shift gears a little bit i want to talk a little bit about your like training regimen and sort of and your fitness life and a little bit about cycling as well um so something that i always run into and i'm sure you do as well is uh when people who are type 1 talk about exercise they always do it a little bit hesitantly because uh there's so many unknowns and your body can respond so differently uh you know from day to day, even if you're eating the same thing or performing the same sort of intensity of workout. How do you find balance? How do you prepare to go to the gym? And how do you fit being a type

[00:10:03] Adriana Mendez: one into your fitness regimen? It was really hard at first. I got a lot of help from my friend, Mike. I met him online on TuDiabetes.org. And he gave me a lot of tips. I also read think like a pancreas, which helped me a lot. And basically, for me, exercise is the only time that I can really, really manage my diabetes. I know it's different for other people and they have a really hard time managing their blood sugars. But for me, I've gotten to the point where I know exactly what I'm going to do and how much insulin I'm going to take or how much insulin I'm not going to take and what I'm going to eat. And it works out perfect. So if I'm going to lift weights, I know that is, that is going to raise my adrenaline. So I'm going to end up with the high blood sugar. So before lifting weights, I always take a little bit of insulin. And I got to the point where I wasn't needing insulin anymore because my exercise was the same. I wasn't changing it up. So it had been the same for about a year. And I wasn't needing insulin anymore. But my blood sugar stayed steady. So that was great. But now that I've changed my routine, I once again need insulin. So I take two units before I work out. And that keeps me between 100 to 160 for my blood sugar. and I won't work out if I'm high. So if my blood sugar is above 180, I won't work out. So I always plan my workouts during the times that I know my blood sugar is the most steady, which is either early in the morning or in the evening.

[00:11:58] Rob Howe: So, and how does that play into, you know, you mentioned that you don't work out when your blood sugar is high. I totally agree. I feel it's not necessarily from a danger standpoint in my case, but I just feel so crappy whenever I do. So how do you plan your days around your workouts? You know, obviously, every week you're looking at your calendar and you're saying, this is when I'm going to work out, this is my routine. How do you make sure that you're going to be in the right range to get your workouts in when you do?

[00:12:30] Adriana Mendez: I basically eat the same thing every day. so I just because I know what works for me I don't want to have uh say pizza on the days that I'm going to work out because pizza is always hard for me I'm either I either go low right after I eat and then I end up high a couple hours later so I avoid certain foods I make sure I eat my protein, my carbs, and something like lean protein, so like chicken or fish, and then sweet potato or quarter cup of steamed rice, and then my vegetables. So it's, my meals are pretty boring. They're not that exciting. But when I don't work out, I do like to indulge in hamburgers

[00:13:21] Rob Howe: and pizza and pasta. I got to throw Chinese food into that mix as well. That's one of my favorites, but it's so hard because it lasts a long time. And oftentimes I'll split up my bolus and do like, and do sort of the delayed response just because it sits in your stomach and it just won't, the insulin up front is usually not enough. So yeah, always, always a challenge when you're indulging. But yeah, I think, you know, I feel like it's important to tell people that it's okay to eat boring, like give yourself permission to eat boring meals, because that's going to help you get the results that you want, whether that's better control, or you have some sort of fitness regimen or goal that you're that you're working towards. Consistency in everything, but especially in fitness is very key for that. Absolutely. I agree. So let's talk a little bit about how you specifically are maybe preparing for, you know, what are you working towards now? Obviously, you're very fit and like continue to have that as a part of your life. Is there something you're looking forward to or like a milestone that you have on your calendar that you're working towards? I'm looking as of now,

[00:14:33] Adriana Mendez: I'm looking at maybe doing a bikini competition. It's something that I've always played with in my head. I always think that's probably something I want to do. And I think this year,

[00:14:44] Rob Howe: that's my goal to finally do it. And how are you going to change what you're already doing

[00:14:51] Adriana Mendez: to make that happen? I have to really, really, really, really work on my low blood sugars. I tend to run really low because I'm afraid of high blood sugars. So I'm always snacking on Skittles or candy, candy like that. And I really, really need to work on that. It's something that I've had an issue with for a few years now where I run really, really low. So for me, 70 and 60, I don't consider a low. but I still have to take candy for it because I don't want to go lower. That's something that I have to work so that I can make sure I can get to my goal and do a bikini competition this year.

[00:15:38] Rob Howe: So do you find yourself, when you run low, do you find yourself overcorrecting for your snacks? Is that sort of part of it or because you don't want to run high and just giving yourself too much insulin?

[00:15:51] Adriana Mendez: Right. One is because I'm eating all this sugar to correct the low. So I'm running low most of the day. So I'm eating little Skittles here and there or Starburst or whatever. So I'm consuming more calories than I should. And I don't overcorrect. A lot of the times, the times that I do overcorrect is at night when I go super low, when I'm like 40. And I'm like losing my vision. That's when I overcorrect. But it doesn't happen often. So the working on the LOS is mostly during the day where I'm just like eating my calories in Skittles and Starburst or any sort of yummy candy.

[00:16:36] Rob Howe: Right. No, I definitely understand. I think, you know, that's the balance is trying to make sure that, you know, nothing will stop you from living the life that you want to. But then also having that balance, that's always a challenge.

[00:16:48] Adriana Mendez: Yeah.

[00:16:49] Rob Howe: Yeah. So I want to focus on some, you know, you've shared some great stories about, you know, some lows that you've had and also your, you know, diagnosis. I want to talk a little bit about, you know, how you prepare. What do you bring in your bag when you go to the gym? I know you mentioned that you're, you know, very concerned about low blood sugars and you don't work out when you're high. So how do you, you know, prepare ahead of time and what do you keep on you when you

[00:17:13] Adriana Mendez: go to the gym? Oh, I'm, I'm going to say this. I am a bad diabetic when it comes to carrying stuff. I'm so used to working out and I'm so, I know exactly how my body's going to react that I don't usually carry anything with me other than a protein bar. And I eat that after my workouts. If I do get a low, my gym has a little, like a little sports store where they have sports drinks and I'll just buy a Gatorade and I'll sip on that. But I usually don't carry anything with me at the gym. So I don't have like a gym bag full of snacks or anything like that. The only thing I carry is my protein bar and a water bottle.

[00:18:00] Rob Howe: Well, make no mistake, that doesn't make you a bad diabetic, right? And I think that's important for us to think about too and talk about because no matter how much you prepare or if you always have something on you, maybe you just had a day where you go extra low and you need something else. So, you know, I've talked to people in the past about, you know, even at even weird remote locations, there's almost always a vending machine or, you know, some way that you can get that sugar in you. I mean, let's face it, everything, every processed food, every packaged food has carbs or sugar in it. and you know if there are no you know machines around it's not it's no shame to ask for help or ask somebody else for a snack or a Gatorade or something so exactly I remember this was probably nine years ago I was out hiking in Colorado with my cousin and we took a trail we like took a wrong turn in a trail it's weird every time I go hiking something terrible happens not not it's not like terrible like accidents or but it's like some unforeseen error always gets us like way longer of a hike than we bargained for so we had like one water bottle that we brought with us and we're only planning on doing like a one mile hike like no big deal well we took a run turn and it took us like around a hill and in this like ravine and up and down it was like five miles and it took us a lot longer and so we ran out of stuff and we had been exercising so my blood sugar was pretty low we hadn't had anything to eat and so i remember when the first people that we saw walk by in like two hours because we were basically like by ourselves i was like hey do you guys have a gatorade i can have and uh yeah they did and they were very nice and and let me and let me have it actually so um wow there's there's always if you're not afraid to ask there's always somebody that's uh that probably has some sort of sugar or food on them yeah yep exactly the answer is no

[00:19:59] Adriana Mendez: anyways if you don't ask it's always gonna be no so might as well ask right what's the worst that

[00:20:04] Rob Howe: could happen they could just be like no i don't i don't support diabetics who are having lows that's just my yeah exactly so um oh no no no worries i think um so you know for you as you look forward uh you know to the next year um and you know potentially doing your you know first bikini competition. Um, you know, what do you, what else are you hopeful for from a diabetes perspective? Are you, you know, just any, anything exciting that you, that you see and, um, you know, tell us a little bit about your Instagram account as well, the one type and kind of, you know, how you

[00:20:44] Adriana Mendez: interact with people over there. Um, I hope I'm hoping that I can still keep doing the rides for ADA and JDRF. I like to do their 50 and 78 mile rides or 75 mile rides and I like raising funds for them. It's something that I've really fallen in love with and I do it only for the cause. I don't ride for any other cycling programs or anything like that. I strictly do it for ADA and JDRF. So I hope to keep doing that and I hope to be able to keep raising funds for them and my account, oh my gosh, my account is about everything, mostly exercise and the cycling. I like putting my cycling pictures up. I like to show people that no matter what, you are able to do whatever you set your mind to. So diabetes is so hard just to manage and add exercise or anything to it. It just makes it 10 times harder. But it's not impossible. And that's what I like to show on my page is that no matter what, you can do it. If I can do it, anyone can do it. I like to keep it positive. I don't like to I'm not big on feeling sorry for myself and I just like keeping it really positive and I think it comes across as that.

[00:22:19] Rob Howe: and I think that's so important obviously like in this community I think I've talked to other people with diabetes related accounts and they all sort of share the same sentiment that if we can just even brighten up somebody's day that's worth it right just one person at a time one day at a time just encouragement because some days we're going to have days where we're down as well so it's really important that we're able to you know support each other and kind of band together and just know that you're never alone. There's always somebody out there that will lend a ear to listen and I'm glad that there's another account out there like that.

[00:22:55] Adriana Mendez: Yeah, absolutely. I love the messages that I get always telling me that I'm an inspiration to them, that thanks to me they started working out or thanks to me they tried something new because they see me always doing different things. So that means so much to me and that's why I keep doing it because I know I'm inspiring others.

[00:23:15] Rob Howe: well I'm so glad that you're continuing to do it as well and um you know look forward to seeing your journey uh wherever it may go awesome thank you so thanks so much for coming on the show um and we look forward to uh to the release and uh for those of you at home that want to follow Adriana on her journey uh on Instagram that's the one type and um we will obviously tag her

[00:23:40] Adriana Mendez: in the post from there as well. Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

[00:23:45] Rob Howe: Thanks for listening to Diabetics Doing Things. Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly emails and behind the scenes content. And if you or someone you know has an amazing story to share, send an email to rob at diabeticsdoingthings.com.