Diabetics Doing Worldwide Adventures with Anna Pintsuk

[00:00:00] Rob Howe: Welcome back to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast, where we're telling the amazing, untold, wacky, weird, and inspiring stories of type 1 diabetics from across the world. I'm your host, Rob Howe, and I wanted to let you know that we now have over 500 years of living with T1D on the podcast, and we're on track to be over 1,000 by the end of the summer, which is pretty exciting. I also wanted to chat about my new email series, Friday T1D Feels, where I send you a personal note, no fancy graphics or anything like that, about what I've been thinking about in the world of type 1 diabetes during that week. If you're into that, just go to diabeticsdoingthings.com and sign up. I'd also like to take a minute to talk about hashtag coverage to control. JDRF is raising awareness around the fact that most of us don't get to pick the insulin pumps we have, just the ones our insurance will cover. Just imagine if your cell phone was like that. Except this isn't a phone, it's what keeps us alive. So let your voice be heard and tell your insurance company that T1Ds and their doctors should decide what kind of pumps they use, not the companies. I'm looking at you, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield. Let's get this right. Okay, enough chatter. Let's get back to the episode. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Diabetics Doing Things. We're telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics all around the world. And I'm very excited for today's episode because we're stretching out a little bit further across the world to Vienna, Austria. My guest today is Anna Pintsuk. Anna, thanks so much for coming.

[00:01:35] Anna Pintsuk: Thank you for having me.

[00:01:37] Rob Howe: Well, it's my pleasure. I'm really excited for our interview today. For those of you who are on Instagram, you might know Anna as Onnepe. and I think that's just as I was looking for it it's just like your name spelled phonetically right o-n-n-e-p-e yes which I thought was really clever I was wondering I was always you know as I was kind of working through this morning preparing for the interview I was like oh this is a really cool kind of play on words so so tipping my hat to you oh thank you it's very funny because the o

[00:02:13] Anna Pintsuk: is like also the symbol for type 1 diabetes from IDF. So it was so funny.

[00:02:21] Rob Howe: Right. The actual like the blue O, the blue circle, right? The blue circle, yes. So talking about type 1 diabetes and looking at your bio, obviously you were diagnosed in 2011. So, you know, just a little bit around six years ago. Kind of talk about what that was like and, you know, how old you were and some of the adjustments that you had to make.

[00:02:45] Anna Pintsuk: So I got diagnosed when I was 14 years old. And it was kind of funny. I got diagnosed on my first day of school. So after the holidays, I didn't remember that I was feeling so bad. But when I think back, I noticed that I was drinking so much and I had to go to the toilet a lot, obviously all of the common symptoms. And I also had really bad sight. It was so bad. So on the first day of school, my mom said that we had to go to the hospital and I wasn't worried. and we went there and yeah it it all went so quickly and yeah then I got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and they said that I was so lucky because my A1C was already above 15 percent and my blood sugar was above 1300 so it was so high oh wow um I I didn't know anything about type 1 diabetes um and i wasn't scared i i thought that i knew i didn't know anything it was so strange my mom was crying my dad was crying and everyone was just so nervous and i was sitting there and yeah it was so so weird very weird situation i think that's interesting

[00:04:31] Rob Howe: because most people don't have awareness about type 1 diabetes before they're diagnosed. And that's sort of their introduction to this world that we live in now. But that's funny that you were the only kind of calm one. But I imagine that after you got a little bit of insulin from the hospital that you felt a whole lot better.

[00:04:54] Anna Pintsuk: yes but it took quite some time because my blood sugar was so high and I was in really bad shape and I had to take several medications to make me feel better especially my eyes for about a week I didn't see anything besides shadows and colors because my eyes had to go back to normal. It was very frightening. But, yeah, I coped with the situation pretty quickly because I thought that now I have type 1 diabetes, what should I have to do to feel okay, to be safe? And I was pretty motivated from the beginning on. Also because I had a girl and she had type 1 diabetes as well. It's so funny because she went to high school with me and she told me a bit about type 1 diabetes. So that was pretty cool.

[00:06:06] Rob Howe: So you went from really not knowing anything about it to being diagnosed and then kind of having a friend who could play that role for you that's not your parents and not your doctor, but really knows what to do.

[00:06:23] Anna Pintsuk: Yeah. But she wasn't in the same class as me. So I didn't really know that she had her own diabetes. I just saw her pump, and I didn't know what it was. So it was so funny that I got it as well and also the same pump. Yeah.

[00:06:43] Rob Howe: Oh, so you guys have the same pump and then we're in the same class. That's really cool.

[00:06:49] Anna Pintsuk: Yeah.

[00:06:50] Rob Howe: So because we talk a lot about diabetes education on the podcast as well as in the community, what's diabetes education when you get diagnosed like in Vienna or in Austria? What's anything specific stand out? And I think obviously that's your only experience, so you may not know anything different. But for example, in the UK and in Germany, there are specialized hospitals for diabetics. There are, you know, there's better access to health care than maybe in the United States or other countries as well. So just trying to give our followers, you know, what it's like to be an Austrian diabetic.

[00:07:33] Anna Pintsuk: So when I got diagnosed, I was at the children's hospital and they had access to enough insulin and insulin pumps and all that stuff. But when I got diagnosed, I at first had my insulin injections. So yeah. But when you get diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, you instantly get admitted to the hospital so that they can explain to you what type 1 diabetes is and what you have to do to take care of yourself. So you get some basic lessons and they show you videos about type 1 diabetes. And when you're younger, you get some very cute books about what your pancreas is doing and what you have to do now. So it's so much information. But there are great doctors and there are not so great doctors. So it depends on where you are going and which hospital you are visiting.

[00:08:47] Rob Howe: Well, that's good. I think, you know, it sounds very similar to sort of how it is in the U.S. Although, you know, when I was diagnosed a little bit two years later than you, I was 16 when I was diagnosed. But, yeah, I stayed in the hospital for four or five days. And it was basically people coming in every couple of hours and teaching me something new about, you know, carb counting or about, you know, sliding scale and giving injections. And it's just so much information over that period of time. It can be sort of overwhelming.

[00:09:20] Anna Pintsuk: It's so much to learn, and it's, yeah, really tough.

[00:09:27] Rob Howe: So, you know, you mentioned that you had a friend in school that was type 1 that really helped you get through, you know, your early days and sort of become comfortable with being a type 1 diabetic. But what's the community like over there? I know that you're very involved on Instagram, but specifically in Austria, what do you guys do? Are you guys involved in different organizations? Are there meetups? What is the T1 community like over there?

[00:09:59] Anna Pintsuk: We do have some organizations. We have the ÖDG. It's the Austrian Diabetes Organization. It's mostly for doctors, and they have a meetup every year in Salzburg. It's like a congress where you meet and get to talk about different topics. We also had diabetes meetups which are called Stammtisch in Austria, where you basically meet at a restaurant with other type 1 diabetics and talk about your life and your experience. And yeah, it's really nice. You get to know so many type 1 diabetics. And sometimes there are also doctors. And they talk about food or how to improve your carb counting skills. Yeah, there's so much. Yeah, that's basically it.

[00:11:04] Rob Howe: Well, that's great. And I think, you know, obviously we have very similar things here in the U.S., but, you know, with the JDRF, especially local organizations where we get together and either raise money to, you know, support research or, you know, get involved with like a run or just meet up. I know there's a group here in Dallas that I've gotten involved with in the last year called YADA. And so it's like young, active adults with diabetes or young, active diabetic adults, I think is what it stands for. So, you know, we go out and we go to either like a happy hour or have just a conversation night at one of the offices and just hang out. um i want to talk a little bit um i want to shift gears a little bit because there are two things about your like your instagram that i really like i really love your studio photography um thank you it's really really really good um and then also um about your like meal planning and uh and sort of like your nutritionist uh side of things so um i guess one uh you know talk a little bit about your photography background and how you kind of style those photos for your Instagram and then

[00:12:21] Anna Pintsuk: also about like your nutrition planning. So I'm vegan so I don't eat any dairy products or eggs and I've been vegan for about two years now and I thought that I love to share what I eat because I'm very passionate about healthy food because I think that fueling your body is very important, especially if you're a type 1 diabetic. And since I've become vegan, my blood sugar has improved a lot and I feel a lot better. And yeah, I just want to inspire people and show them what you can eat, what you can do with vegetables. and I think it looks so fun, all the different vegetables and the colors. And yeah.

[00:13:17] Rob Howe: Yeah, it's very bright and fresh looking. And like you said, there's a lot of different colors. And I think I have a lot of, I interact with a lot of people and have a couple of close friends who are type 1 diabetics and also vegans. What kind of misconceptions are out there? What do people, you know, people hear the word vegan and they think, oh you can't eat any meat or eggs or fish and I think it has like a negative connotation sometimes what uh what are those people missing out on and one of the most things I get to hear very often

[00:13:51] Anna Pintsuk: when I when I tell people that I'm vegan is that they think that I don't talk with people who eat meat which doesn't make any sense at all to me I mean there are some pretty radical vegans and when you tell them that you eat meat they judge you and I don't do it I think that you should eat the stuff that makes you feel good and if it's meat that's completely okay and And vegan food makes me feel the best, so that's okay too. And I also get to hear a lot that because I'm vegan, I must lack in protein. The fun thing is when my blood test came back, that my protein results were much better than before.

[00:14:48] Rob Howe: Wow, so even the opposite happened by switching over to your vegan diet.

[00:14:54] Anna Pintsuk: Yes, and many people also think that when you're vegan, you eat only plants and that you only eat boring stuff, which isn't true and that's why I also post so many pictures about vegan food to show that vegan food isn't all about carrots and salad. there are so many different versions of what you can cook.

[00:15:18] Rob Howe: Yeah, just scrolling through your Instagram, I see brownies and I see beautiful bowls of fruit and oats and just really good looking stuff. Even little sandwiches as well. So, yeah, again, you take awesome photos and really style that food really awesome. Thank you. So what made you, as you mentioned you've been two years ago, so you're four years into your type 1 diabetes journey, what made you decide to become a vegan?

[00:15:55] Anna Pintsuk: Mostly because of the animals, but also because every time when I had milk, I wouldn't feel so well I had a lot of stomach cramps and I got sick a lot so I went vegetarian at first and I started feeling a little bit better and then I did some research about what you should eat when you're vegan and about protein sources and I just tried it for about a month and I saw that my body improved and my mood and how I was feeling so I went completely vegan then.

[00:16:45] Rob Howe: Oh that's awesome yeah I don't drink milk either because I'm very similar I get sick if I just feel gross. Yes. So that's really awesome. And thank you for sharing. I think it's something that a lot of people wonder about, you know, what should I eat? And to me, even though I'm not vegan, I eat a pretty strict diet on what's called the Whole30 for most of my meals. And I found that giving yourself rules and boundaries really helps you regulate the way you feel from your food. Yes, absolutely. Just because you have like a rule to filter things through that whenever you're in a situation where you might be eating out or you might be with friends, you still can say, well, I don't eat this, so this is what I want to eat. And I know how I'm going to feel because of it.

[00:17:39] Anna Pintsuk: Yeah, exactly.

[00:17:40] Rob Howe: Because I think sometimes foods fall into three different categories, right? Foods that make me feel good, foods that make me feel bad, and then foods that just don't make me feel really anything at all. And I try to make sure to stick to and just avoid foods that make me feel bad.

[00:17:57] Anna Pintsuk: Yeah. It's all about feeling good.

[00:18:01] Rob Howe: Yeah, it is. So I guess I ask this question, I think, pretty regularly on the podcast. In the spirit of feeling good, what are you most excited about as you go into the future with type 1 diabetes? Whether that's technology or research or community, what do you say?

[00:18:25] Anna Pintsuk: Well, my main focus is on the community, but also technology is so interesting. and it's constantly improving. It's crazy when I look back and read stories from people who are about 70 years old and had type 1 diabetes for nearly 15 years, 50 years, and they tell me that the insulin pump was huge or they didn't have any at all and only being able to test your blood sugar once a day, which I don't know how I could do it. It's so crazy.

[00:19:03] Rob Howe: It is. And like that was only like 30 to 40 years ago, you know, where we had someone on the podcast and her episode has not released yet, but where she used to have to boil her needles to clean them. And so, and you know, the insulin, well, it wasn't very high quality. It like came from cows. so it was like very you know it's it's crazy to see how far we've come and i think you know there's a lot of technology coming in the next year or so um you know as it kind of comes out of human trials here and you know in the u.s and across the world is that's going to be you know almost really close to what you would call like a temporary cure type thing where you know the

[00:19:45] Anna Pintsuk: technology manages so much of the guesswork for you yeah and that's what makes me so grateful about being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2011 because I had access to so many great technology. So I didn't have to worry about having enough insulin or needles or a blood sugar meter because we had everything to treat it.

[00:20:20] Rob Howe: yeah and I couldn't agree more like I'm if I had to be diagnosed with a disease at a certain time type 1 diabetes in in this day and age is not so bad yeah absolutely especially when you're having

[00:20:36] Anna Pintsuk: an insulin pump or cgm there are so many um different treatments that make living with type 1 diabetes so much easier now than it was before and i'm really stoked about what's going to happen in the future and what the different companies will come up with yeah there will come some pretty amazing things i'm sure it's definitely going to be cool i'm excited

[00:21:05] Rob Howe: um okay so uh you live in vienna um for our followers who have never been there and our listeners who had never been there. What's your favorite thing about your home, about Austria? What's something that most people don't know?

[00:21:24] Anna Pintsuk: Austria is very famous for its music, especially classic music, Mozart and all the different composers. So we have many concerts, amazing musicians here. So if you're into music, Vienna is an amazing place. We also have very cool museums, art museums. And we also have great food. and all the famous stuff like Kaiserschmarrn or Sachertorte. But also so much vegan food, which is great. So we also have the city is so nice. The universities are very cool and the people are mostly very nice. and but sometimes they are pretty hard to understand some had such a tough dialect so i so even i struggle to understand some vienna's people sometimes oh that's that's

[00:22:39] Rob Howe: interesting just because the the dialect varies so much in the city yes it's really tough sometimes

[00:22:47] Anna Pintsuk: they talk so quickly so i i struggle i struggle a lot with some people when i'm talking to them it's so funny but it sounds it sounds very cool

[00:23:03] Rob Howe: that's great and and i think you know for those of us who you have not you know been to that part of europe it's uh it's it's obviously has like a rich history and very cool. But I also love that there's a lot of vegan food. Is that mostly because of the, is that due to the culture or some sort of other reason or just help people in Vienna or more concerned about health than maybe other places in the world? There may not be a good answer to that question. I was sort of just reaching, but you never know.

[00:23:38] Anna Pintsuk: I think because so many people went vegan in such a short time, we had such a boom in vegan restaurants. And I think because so many people see that it's not only a trend, but also a lifestyle. So there are so many different shops.

[00:24:03] Rob Howe: And what's your favorite vegan treat?

[00:24:07] Anna Pintsuk: my favorite vegan oh that's so hard but um we have an amazing vegan ice cream shop in vienna and they have like the coolest different ice cream flavors and they have like matcha ice cream like green tea ice cream or cheesecake and all this stuff um so i think it must has to be ice cream

[00:24:33] Rob Howe: I had matcha ice cream once in Japan. It was delicious.

[00:24:38] Anna Pintsuk: Yeah, it's really good. They also have healthy ice cream. They use a sugar substitute, so it doesn't affect your blood sugar as much, and you won't have a spike afterwards, which makes it even more amazing.

[00:25:02] Rob Howe: No, that's fantastic. And thanks for sharing. And I think, you know, I kind of want to shift gears back to sort of the type 1 community in Vienna and, you know, how you're getting involved in some of the conversations that you have with people about type 1 over there and as well as across the world. because I imagine that you talk to type 1 diabetics and vegans across the world, if I'm not mistaken, right?

[00:25:33] Anna Pintsuk: Yeah, the diabetes community is amazing. Also, because I get to go to amazing diabetes congresses in different cities all over the world. I get to meet so many diabetics from Australia or Sweden, the U.S. So it's amazing. And that's what makes me kind of grateful. It sounds so silly, but type 1 diabetes has brought me so much joy. Also sleepless nights. But mostly I got to meet so many amazing people. And it turned my life mostly to the better. So it's like a surprise in disguise, if I can say that.

[00:26:25] Rob Howe: Yeah. No, and I think, you know, me specifically, I definitely identify with that very closely because it's given me a lot of experiences that I wouldn't have had otherwise. And I think, you know, for somebody who is, you know, either struggling with their diabetes or is newly diagnosed, like, I think it does get better. And, you know, when you choose to see, it's all about how you choose to see the response, right? So. Yeah, absolutely. If you can look on the bright side of something, like there's this whole other world out there that you can interact with. Do any of the interactions like with the community kind of stand out to you as something that was particularly meaningful?

[00:27:12] Anna Pintsuk: So last week I had my first TV presence about Type 1 Diabetes. I got to talk about Type 1 Diabetes in social media. and within the first 30 minutes after it was released on television my phone it was beeping constantly as well as my insulin pump and I got so many messages from young girls who got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes saying that I helped them and inspired them to be proud of themselves and to not be ashamed of what they have to do and that they have to prick their finger and some messages were so sweet and they brought me to tears and it just gave me the feeling that what I'm doing is right because I think empowerment is so important and that what I'm doing is right so that was amazing and also because i sometimes um visit the children's hospital when i'm not at university and i visit the newly diagnosed kids and talk to their parents and then to the patients and seeing um that i talk to them and tell them that type 1 diabetes isn't the end of the world and that you can live an amazing life with it. It just makes me so happy that you give them hope and the motivation to keep going. It's the most amazing feeling.

[00:28:51] Rob Howe: It is.

[00:28:52] Anna Pintsuk: And such a reward, yeah.

[00:28:53] Rob Howe: And yeah, I mean, that's because you're doing that, you're getting to, you know, reap those rewards and those good feelings and really help people. And I think that's what makes the type 1 community so powerful is that almost everyone is just trying to help another person. So, you know, that message is something that's really easy to get behind and spread. And I think what you said about, you know, inspiring young girls with type 1 and seeing those messages sort of as immediate feedback from what you're doing. it's super validating and I'm really glad of the work you're doing and I'm glad it's working for you

[00:29:35] Anna Pintsuk: oh thank you yeah it's so it's an amazing feeling to help all these people and yeah it's so cool that you have the tap on diabetes community and whenever you need someone to talk to you have so many people who motivate you and inspire you and that's what I love about the community.

[00:30:02] Rob Howe: And sort of in that same vein, if you were going to tell someone who had just been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes or maybe that was struggling with their diagnosis, if you could just tell them one thing, what would it be?

[00:30:23] Anna Pintsuk: To be proud of yourself and to never give up because as a type of one diabetic, it's completely normal to be down. I myself am pretty sad sometimes when my blood sugar is going crazy. So I think it's very important to be proud of yourself and the job that you're doing constantly, carb counting, giving yourself insulin injections. It's such a huge job and that's something to be proud of that you can do this every day.

[00:31:04] Rob Howe: It is and it is a big job, right? Yeah. And it doesn't go away and even when you're doing a good job for a long time, like you said, it's easy to get down about having a bad day or a bad blood sugar. But yeah, I think that's a great message. You're doing a good job.

[00:31:24] Anna Pintsuk: Thank you.

[00:31:25] Rob Howe: so this is sort of coming to the as we wrap up the interview if our listeners want to find you on social media we've already plugged your Instagram so I'll include that in the show notes but where else can they find you online or get involved with what you're doing in the community

[00:31:47] Anna Pintsuk: I also have a blog it's onne-pe.com it's also linked in my bio on instagram so if you want to be in contact with me you can also

[00:32:03] Rob Howe: write me a message um yeah perfect well um anna thank you so much for coming on the podcast and and for coordinating sort of a wild time difference between you and i and i'm really glad we got to do this and sit down and um you know any any sort of parting thoughts before uh before we go um keep rocking oh definitely definitely we're uh i'll definitely do that and thank you um and i think for everybody else out there just keep keep rocking as well keep roll with everything that comes up.

[00:32:47] Anna Pintsuk: Yeah, and stay diabetes.

[00:32:50] Rob Howe: Yes, absolutely. Alright, well thank you Anna and I appreciate you coming on the show. It was a great time to talk to you.

[00:32:58] Anna Pintsuk: Thank you so much. I had a lot of fun.

[00:33:01] 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