Diabetics Doing Everyday Victories and Celebrating Them with Nicole Colson

[00:00:01] 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 are telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics from all over the world. And my guest today, I'm very excited to introduce, is Nicole Colson. Nicole, welcome to the show.

[00:01:31] Nicole Colson: Hello, Rob. Thank you.

[00:01:33] Rob Howe: Some of you guys may know Nicole from Instagram as type1nicole. That's where I met her. And I'm really excited to tell your story. And I think you have a lot of things that people are going to be really interested in.

[00:01:45] Nicole Colson: Awesome. I'm excited to share.

[00:01:48] Rob Howe: So let's just kind of give a little background. I know your diagnosis story specifically is very interesting. So I know a lot of people, and I think a lot of guests recently especially, have told amazing stories about, and really eye-opening stories about misdiagnosis. So why don't you just give us the day one story, the type 1 Nicole story.

[00:02:16] Nicole Colson: Absolutely. So I was actually in college. I had just started my junior year. And it just wasn't that fall just wasn't starting super well. I was just constantly exhausted. My skin just all of a sudden got super dry. And then the classic, I was constantly going to the bathroom. And I'd wake up three to six times a night. And I was like, okay, this isn't just like old lady waking up to go to the bathroom. Like something's going on. And each time I would get up, I would go to the kitchen, I'd grab a glass, and I would just down water. And it was just this vicious cycle. And then I noticed in class my vision. I was having a hard time. So in the classes that I could, maybe I'll sit closer to the front. Maybe I just need to sit closer to the front. I'll try to go home one weekend and see the eye doctor maybe. I wear contacts and glasses. So I kind of went back and forth, started swapping those. And at no point did I ever think that all these things connected or that I should put them together. Then I got an infection, and I just was miserable. And it had been about two weeks, and I was just trying to treat it myself, and it wasn't working. So I lived – my hometown was about an hour and a half away from college. So I headed out early on Friday and went to see my family doctor that I've seen for years. And the very first thing they did was a urine test. And he came back in and his southern accent. And he was kind of like having this uncle. So he was super sweet. And he scooted over and put his hand next to me. And I was like, why are you looking like that? What's going on? And he said, well, the nurse is going to come in and she's going to prick your finger. And I was just like, oh, okay, well, why? And he said, they explained that I had over a thousand cc's of sugar floating in my urine, which meant absolutely nothing to me at that point. I just looked at him very confused and puzzled. And that's when he told me he thought that maybe I had type 2 diabetes.

[00:04:24] Rob Howe: So right off the bat, he sort of just assumed, I mean, just from the urine test, not even hadn't checked your blood sugar at that point?

[00:04:32] Nicole Colson: No, he hadn't. Not at all.

[00:04:34] Rob Howe: so just kind of right off the bat just giving you the type 2 diagnosis and like junior year of college i'm gonna assume like the traditionally you were like 21 years old exactly i was 21

[00:04:46] Nicole Colson: yeah so then now he as soon as he said that i kind of looked at him confused he said well we're going to test your blood sugar next and then so the nurse came in and i was right at about 300 um and that was kind of late afternoon so it had been a while since i'd eaten lunch and then he said okay I will I'm going to send over the hospital to have for you to have some labs Saturday morning so you know we needed to wait so I could fast and so we did labs I don't even remember what all he did or any numbers I just remember him calling me and saying okay you know the blood work confirmed my suspicions you have you had diabetes type 2 he said I've already called the pharmacy for you um and i called him he called me i think it was metformin was the first one and then a glucose meter um and i think i went back to school that same day because i just had so much homework and i remember being super scared to prick my finger i'm just a scaredy cat when it comes to needles so actually my roommate was a champ and she tested my sugar for me for the first two weeks and then she went home for a weekend and she's like all right you got a woman up here and so at that point I started you know testing myself um and so that was junior year password to end of my senior year and I've been doing the little bit he told me to do on my own um and I felt like tiny tiny bit better but overall I was still having all the same symptoms and I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to do because I was still seeing high blood sugars but didn't know what to do with them and so I moved after I graduated and I was like okay let me find a specialist of course they're hard to get into so I found a family doctor first and around that time I found this article about this lady she was from Boston and she was diagnosed nurse as an adult with type 2 and then come to find out like it was wrong she was in what was called a honeymoon stage which again was all new to me at that point when she was genuinely type 1 and I was like oh my gosh like what if this is me and then let's see some of the details of her story like it just felt like I was reading my story without really knowing it um and so I went to the family doctor and he was like no don't worry about that you're fine you have type 2 you just need to do things better so let's put you on the Atkins diet and I was like oh great I suck at diets um and so I did some reading and I was like all right I'm gonna do this because I want to feel better and I can still remember that night at dinner I went out with friends and I ordered this big Caesar salad and it came to the table and there was no dressing on it And I just remember it smelled foul. Like it smelled like something in this bowl was like rotten. And I just started crying.

[00:07:49] Rob Howe: Oh, no.

[00:07:50] Nicole Colson: My friends were like, what's going on? And I was like, I just can't do this. I don't feel good. And now I have to eat this way. And the food is horrible. I just want to feel good. And I don't know what's going on. So, and it was a little bit after that that I finally got in with, she was actually a brand new endocrinologist um that i heard about and my first appointment one-on-one with her was an hour and a half long and it like blew me away uh i know not her i'm getting the story back i haven't met her yet my first endo was weird see just this kind yeah you have type 1 and i said okay sure he goes but i can't give you anything or do anything about that until i run blood tests So he said, come back in three weeks.

[00:08:39] Rob Howe: Oh, wow.

[00:08:40] Nicole Colson: I didn't realize. Yeah. I had no idea at that point how dangerous that was. I look back and just make that all the time that I did not go into DKA at that point. So I'm just hanging out with high blood sugars waiting for this doctor to tell me what to do. And I walked in and sure enough, he's like, okay, I got the blood work. You have type 1 and the nurse is going to come in. She came in and it wasn't like a sit down, talk through. She literally gave me this Donna bag. It was like a lunch bag, like paper lunch bag. And it had a couple vials of insulin, some syringes. And she's like, here's just some stuff until you can get your prescription filled. There's a note in there from the doctor of how much she wants you to take and when. Got any questions? And at that point I was like, I mean, I'm sure I do. Like, I don't know. And I just sit out. And all of a sudden, now I'm going to talk about my bed.

[00:09:40] Rob Howe: So after all that time, like, you know, a year and a half, maybe a year, almost a year gone by. And of not feeling better, like, what were you going through? I think emotionally, like you had to have a lot of questions and like frustration. And like you talked about, you know, breaking down over a Caesar salad. um you know how what was that like for you like um and you know talking with your family and like talking with your doctor as well like had to be frustrating yeah well i always it was almost

[00:10:10] Nicole Colson: like this kind of numbing clue like being clueless kind of stage where i just i had no idea and i didn't i didn't know anyone with diabetes so i didn't know what questions to ask or who to ask or I just was super confused until right at the end when I started to kind of look things up online, which even back then, 13 years ago, there wasn't near as much, you know, as there is out there now. You had to kind of dig at that point. But yeah, just confused mostly and just feeling like I'm failing, but I don't know what to do to succeed either.

[00:10:52] Rob Howe: Right. Right. So now you've had your doctor who's told you you're type 2. You've gone to an endocrinologist who at least diagnosed you right, but it really didn't give you that much stuff to go on. No. So then you go and you find your next endo. How much time had passed at that point?

[00:11:14] Nicole Colson: This had been about a year and a half. So this was the lady that was great. She spent about an hour and a half with me my first visit. She literally examined me from head to toe, asked me detailed questions that I've never been asked before. So I'm like stumbling because I'm not expecting her to ask any questions. She's asking for logs and numbers. And I'm like, I don't have any of the stuff you want because that was never expected at my previous doctor. But I also asked her for a pump because I had learned about the pump. And my previous doctor told me no. He was old school and he didn't like pumps. And she said, absolutely, let's get a pump. And so that's where a pump came into the picture.

[00:12:01] Rob Howe: So now, so you've already, like, how did you feel? Like, when you got the right mix of medicine, the right prescriptions, like insulin, obviously, do you remember that moment where you're like, whoa, like, how much better do you feel from this? Or, you know, you finally were able to get your blood sugar under control. What was that like?

[00:12:20] Nicole Colson: um I was still high at that point I was feeling better just because I could feel like I found a doctor that was listening and a doctor that like she completely intimidated me but I felt like she knew her stuff um a doctor that when I said I wanted a pump like completely said okay great and trusted me and did it you know just shut me down and like I was wrong I didn't deserve a pump kind of helped up my last doctor so it's very comforting um but I still personally just felt very foreign to it I didn't I couldn't figure out how still to connect even though I had a much better doctor um I couldn't figure and my A1C at that point was still like nine and ten um and she would always be like you've got to get this down you've got to get this down Um, but it's like, as soon as I stepped out of the doctor's hall, I didn't know what to do. I felt like I just stopped at carb counting. Um, I would eat and then be like, oh, dang it. I didn't bolus. And so then I'm bolusing after it, which is just a mess trying to keep up with things. Um, and I stayed that way for probably about close to 10 years. And just that kind of numb, not really knowing, not knowing other diabetics, um, and just not knowing how to like make that first big step to make a really big change in the diabetes.

[00:13:47] Rob Howe: So I want to focus on something that you said a few minutes ago when you were talking about discussing with a friend about the misdiagnosis story and how like you just lit up knowing like you heard your own story in that other person because I had a recent experience. I was not misdiagnosed, but I've talked to a few people who were very recently. So it was sort of top of mind for me. And I was at a happy hour for our young adults, your young active adults with diabetes. I think it's called YADA. So young active or young active diabetic adults. That's what it is. So JDRF puts it together. And, and our one of my guests, Tanya Konovaloff is like the outreach manager anyway it's a great uh little event we had a little time there and one of the guys who was there has been type 1 for like 35 years and his brother just um who was like in his 40s just started having some type 1 symptoms and he was diagnosed as a type 2 and so they were having this discussion he's like yeah he's like i'm inviting him to the type 1 nation event so that he can like learn more and like spend some time around some other diabetics because i think he's a type 1 and his doctor, I think is, is just doesn't know the difference. And so I was telling him about some of the stories of the people who I've talked to and have been on the podcast. And he was like, Oh my gosh, like that's exactly what is going on with him. Like he had, he got prescribed metformin, like his doctor thinks he's type 2, but he can't get his blood sugar down. He doesn't have good energy and he just doesn't know where to go. And so I think that story, like the importance of that, like the community aspect, like you said, you didn't have anybody around that was type 1 so when did it change for you because you know I want to talk as you as you've gotten more involved in the type 1 community and um and connected to other people what difference has that made for you uh after that 10 years where you were sort of wandering

[00:15:41] Nicole Colson: around in the dark and didn't really know where to go yeah I think the big breaking point for me was probably about three years ago my husband and I started talking about kids and um you know we we are super excited to adopt one day, but also, you know, talking about what if, what if we have a child biologically, and my husband is just super scared of what that looks like with diabetes, and so I started doing some research, and I found this book online called Balancing Pregnancy with Pre-existing Diabetes, and there's one author, but she takes stories from all of these type 1 women, and it just fills the book and I was I was just going like wow there are all these other people and even though I wasn't pregnant at the time like just normal everyday stuff that just seemed made so much sense so I just started applying and you know because at this point it was like I can't just do this for myself because if we're talking about a child like my body for nine months will be the home and where a child will grow and I just need to make that change and I just started connecting and then I just got online and I was like all right hashtag diabetes hashtag type 1 and I started finding all these Instagram accounts and that's where then I made my Instagram account and I said you know I just want to I want to connect and I also want to educate I kind of I first started on Facebook, just through friends and family, just sharing different things with them. And but really, when I reached out, that made the biggest difference. I started learning so much just by sharing with others and then just always encouraged, even on the on the bad days, like the days that just you're constantly low and you're doing, you know, you're eating your cabinet, still not going anywhere or just the opposite. it and you feel like every breath you take makes your sugar go up like there's sugar in the air today and just being comforted um that I wasn't alone and just realizing that other people needed that they needed to realize that they were alone and I just I wanted to become a part of that community and I wanted to be a type 1 diabetic friend to someone else who didn't know anyone because for so long I didn't and I've reached out actually here locally as well and my husband is going back to school and there's a Facebook page just for like the women and wives and all and I just went on there and just was like hey maybe this is random but are any of you ladies a type 1 diabetic and one girl responded and I said hey well let's meet and have coffee and we did she's on a few of my pictures on Instagram she's a teacher so she works a lot during the school year but in the summer we work together in the morning with our pumps on our hips and just checking on each other and we both walk in with our meter and a bottle of water and then a granola bar just in case and just having that community just instantly made a massive change for me

[00:18:57] Rob Howe: so for you and i and i think a lot of people have had that experience right and like the just the feeling that somebody somewhere is going through the same things as you and you know being a type 1 friend um and then and then i think there are some and you've echoed the sentiment as well in our conversations previously like certainly there are amazing type ones who are doing awesome stuff like ultra marathons or marathons or mountain climbing or riding a bike across America, like our 22 friends are. And I want to talk about Bike Beyond here in a minute as well. But what about those everyday victories, like celebrating the importance of that? And I think that was something that I wanted to highlight when I started Diabetics Doing Things as well, because some days like the biggest win is just having a high blood sugar, treating it, and getting over it and still, you know, picking the kids up on time from school or making your meeting on time and like killing your presentation or turning something in or mailing a package or picking up groceries like it's just this the everyday wins are so big um yeah how are you how are you able to to get that across in your in like in your instagram and as well as just in those community groups and like celebrate those things i think it's the

[00:20:14] Nicole Colson: easiest place to because i mean there's no one in my everyday life besides my new friend i've met here that knows and so when you reach a victory you can just instantly go online and all of your team on the fence and you're like okay I had pizza last night and I tried this new crazy combo bullet and guess what like I woke up with a rock and blood sugar like this is amazing and to be able to celebrate that is just it's awesome and then if it or just vice versa if it didn't quite work you know that they can give me other tips but and just being able to do everyday life and get up and I have a low but I'm okay I've got to get to work so I've got to time this right I don't want to I don't want to get too much sugar to rush myself and I end up getting at work and being high you know and I have a group of friends that we meet weekly and we celebrate each other's birthdays all the time and so I'm I'm always the one that bakes cake and so you know they oh it's the diabetic is the one making cakes for everybody but i love that and i don't want to let my diabetes you know just because i have diabetes i don't want that stopped me from being able to serve people and loving them by making them a cake that is one of my favorite things i love to

[00:21:33] Rob Howe: bake for people and i don't want to let my diabetes stop that yeah and i think first of all you're talking about cakes and I just, my mind was like, oh my gosh, I could, you know what I could use right now? A cake, you know, just a freshly baked diabetic cake with love. Right. Um, so yeah, like, and I think you, you said something to me as we were preparing for the interview, like every day living with diabetes is, you know, to you is, is successful. Every, every successful day living with type 1 is, is exceptional. Um, and that like, that's something that I think I put in, in, uh, my in, on like the website. And it's like, yeah, like we need to celebrate those things that like these communities that have popped up, even the small ones, like even the one friend and, and wow, like what an amazing, like, but if you like, so you have a friend now in your real life and you're very, in your small, like niche of a place where it's just wives of, of, of husbands who are going back to college, who's also a type 1, but you would never have found that person if you hadn't reached out. So talk about some, if you're, if you're in that position and you say, Hey, if you're struggling, you've got to reach out and, and, and ask and just get connected. Um, you know, what about, what would you say to people

[00:22:51] Nicole Colson: who are maybe afraid or hesitating about that? Absolutely. Definitely reach out. Um, I actually just met a second friend as well. Um, I posted that I was going to be going to the JDRF one summit that was here and a follower said oh do you live in the area and I said yes I'm coming and we met in person um and she actually texted me last night she says I have a diabetes grant and so but you have to put yourself out there um same thing if she hadn't reached out to me and I have to say don't be scared because it's going to be the most welcoming non-judgmental community because it is everyday life is so hard going to school and facing the judgments of your peers or going to work I'm constantly get comments and judgments at work there's this one lady that sits next to me every day that's like eating can you eat that why are you taking your meter out are you okay are you sick what's going on and she just I just call her my food judge and I ended up finding this meme and it's a picture of Phoebe from friends and it says if you ask me one more time if I can eat this I'm gonna punch you in the face and so I put it up at my desk where everyone can see it yes I love that but just making it through through the day and through the comments and then at work it'll get super busy and my CGM is screaming at me and my co-worker's like are you okay and I'm like I'm okay I just I'll be okay I just need to get through this phone call and I'll fix it in a minute I'm sorry it's beeping um and I'm not I'm totally not shy at work I do not hide hide it at work one because if I have an emergency situation like I want the ladies around me to be like hey we know what's going on we know what to do you know this is where her glucagon is like let's fix her up and rock and roll but definitely reach out and you will be immediately welcomed and i mean you and i we've not even met in person and we live stakes away but like there's just an instant friendship um even in public i'm not shy but i've seen people like man they have a pump in their hip and i'll just walk up to them hi i noticed your insulin pump i have one as well i just wanted to come and introduce myself and I feel like you're just like instant best friends and it's just because you saw they had

[00:25:18] Rob Howe: an instant top yeah you just like instantly have that connection like deeper than you can't like anybody like any other initiation of friendship or like saying hi to someone there's no way you

[00:25:30] Nicole Colson: can top that absolutely you you just instantly understand their roles without even having to share stories or examples. You just know.

[00:25:41] Rob Howe: So I want to focus on, and you talked a little bit about it already, but I do want to talk about, you know, the conversations that you and your husband had when you were talking about having kids. And like, and like you talked about the difference that it made when you really, when you found that book and talked about all of that. What, what, and also, you know, with your coworkers and like overcoming predispositions and like creating awareness about what it's really like to live with type 1 diabetes. So, you know, as you guys were doing that, like what was that process like? And, you know, how do you – what would you say to people who are thinking about that or are, you know, going through some sort of similar relationship with a coworker or friend about their type 1?

[00:26:29] Nicole Colson: Absolutely. me um so first I guess to just the you know the pregnancy conversation um he was definitely way more afraid for me I told him I said for me I'm not afraid of the diabetes part I'm afraid of like the pain and carrying a baby and labor like I'm way more afraid of that than actual diabetes diabetes doesn't scare me um but that book was super helpful I learned a lot and I just I reached out to my endo and then the healthcare system here has what's called a maternal fetal medicine department and all they deal with is high-risk pregnancies and they actually have a program they offer it's an hour counseling session for someone who already knows they have a pre-existing condition that will make them a high-risk pregnancy and you can go and sit down one-on-one with a high-risk pregnancy physician for an hour and so my husband and I did that together because he needed it even more than I did he needed the assurance that because you know he said I don't want to get a baby just to lose my life um and so he you know he assured me and he assured my husband that I was okay and I was going to do great and by this point I had actually lowered my A1c to six which was the first time in 13 well at that point 12 years that I'd ever done that I'd I hadn't even reached seven before until 12 years. And as I started taking charge and just becoming so much more involved in the T&D community, that gave my husband assurance. He's like, she's rocking it. She's got it. She's going. All the doctors are giving us clearance. We're good to go. We're waiting on the financial part to help out. But, you know, he just was confident. And then on your second question to work, I just never miss an opportunity to speak up. If someone makes a comment about something that I'm eating, I'll say, well, actually, do you know, you know, this is the amount of carbs in this food. And I always explain, always give a simple example, or sorry, a simple example just to say, do you realize how much carbs are in bread? and just try to help them understand a carb versus a sugar. Because so many of them aren't in our world. They just eat sugar and they don't understand carbs. Like, okay, they look at the spaghetti and there's no sugar in there, so she can have it. Actually, that big bowl of spaghetti could do me in because it's filled with so many carbs. So I'm constantly seeking to educate. The lady who I call my food judge, I'd given a speech on type 1 diabetes. She, I was printing it out one day and said, hey, would you want to read this? I know you've taken interest in my diabetes, which really doesn't really take much of an interest. She's just offered up her judgments. But so I gave it to her and she came back to me. She was like, wow, I didn't even know any of that stuff. And I said, I know. I was like, it's a whole new world, right? She was like, yeah. And she still makes her comments, but it actually, it helped a little bit. her comments aren't so direct and there aren't as many anymore. I think you just definitely got to reach out and be honest.

[00:29:42] Rob Howe: I love what you said about never missing a chance to speak up. Because sometimes that's the most like, that's the most the thing we're most afraid of, right? I think they talk about the number one fear amongst people is public speaking but then you throw in something that you care about and something, you know, very, very deeply personal and at that point you know it's it's maybe the most scary thing someone's done but at the same time you get the most out of that after you have a chance to take someone like your uh like your food judge and and say you know what you have a chance to educate and a chance to create awareness and to teach them about what you know other type ones are going through and the difference between carbs and sugar, because that's not a diabetes problem. That is a, you know, just general, you know, don't even get me started on big food and their, uh, and their conspiracy against carbs and sugar to tell them that they're okay. But like people don't know any better. And we talk about that a lot. Like most everyone's awareness on type 1 diabetes is very low until they're diagnosed or someone near them is diagnosed. Um, so I want to talk a little bit about low and high blood sugar stories. So you and I both, uh, we were kind of on both ends of the spectrum going into the interview. You were coming down from a high, I had to chug a Coke can real quick cause I'm all out of, uh, all of my organic juice here at the house. So, uh, to bring myself up. So hopefully we're about to meet in the middle. Um, you mentioned that you had a kind of crazy

[00:31:12] Nicole Colson: traveling low blood sugar story. So let's hear it. Yeah. Um, so I was actually engaged to my husband at the time and we were in Guatemala on a mission trip and it was pretty late in the evening and we had like this big house that our team was staying in and him and some of the guys had gone outside and they just had some crazy local fireworks and they had bought some and they're outside and setting them off and it was getting late and I was like man like all these people are like okay that's the you know the mission team over there they're keeping us up they're being so rude you know like we're there to serve and show compassion I'm just thinking We are annoying the crap out of these people. It's late at night. You're setting off these fireworks. And so I went out to the balcony and apparently shared with them my thoughts that they should come in. I thought I was fine and that I said everything with a fine tone. And I apparently shared my opinion with the others that were back in the house with me. And so my fiancé, when they came back in, one of my friends said, Hey, dude, you might want to go check on your girl. And he's like, what do you mean? And he's like, she's a little, like, angry. Like, I've never seen her angry. I don't know what's wrong with her. It's really weird. Like, she's mad. And so my fiance came in. He's like, hey, how you doing? And I'm like, I'm fine. You know, what's going on? Did y'all stop your fireworks? And he's like, yeah. And he said, test your blood sugar. And I said, why? Well, you know, you're going to go to bed soon. so maybe you should just go ahead and do your nighttime check. And I was like, okay. So I checked it, and I was, like, in the 40s. And it hit me then. It just instantly hit me. And I was like, that's what just happened. That's why that upset me so much. And that was the first time that actually my husband and I, or the fiance at the time, had experienced a low and just how it affected my emotions. and me verbally and my attitude. And then for a lot of our friends that were with us, they had never seen me do that before. So it was pretty comical. And once I kind of calmed down and treated, we were able to laugh about it and still laugh about it today.

[00:33:34] Rob Howe: Well, it's funny. My girlfriend will tell you this as well. It's hard to tell me something when my blood sugar is really low. It's hard to tell me anything about my diabetes, but um because i'm my i instantly get defensive kind of like you did you're like well i don't need to check my blood sugar i'm in control and i'm kind of like that as well but the other day i had a very bad low myself and it was early in the morning so uh it was just kind of a weird overall situation weird morning i kind of was just being sassy and not really listening and uh and she had a very similar remark i was kind of rude and then she's like will you test your blood sugar to see what it is and yeah I had a very similar like right in the 40s I was like uh-oh

[00:34:15] Nicole Colson: whoops sorry and it's such a rare reaction for me I don't do that with every look right and I there's no pattern like sometimes sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't I'm just I'm cool and so you never know like what's gonna make it make it crazy yeah and I think that's what's

[00:34:34] Rob Howe: important about telling people you know when you're having a bad day like being open about that stuff because there isn't no low blood sugar feels the same. Sometimes I feel like the lowest I've ever felt and I'm like 65, you know, it's like, uh, and then other times like those, those moments you're in the forties or lower or, you know, somewhere in the fifties and you don't feel anything. So talk about that too. Like it just being okay with the, like the inconsistency and the unknown and like still you know charging confidently forward absolutely yeah you do you

[00:35:09] Nicole Colson: have to learn to just be okay um i personally have found in all the inconsistency i found a lot of comfort with getting a cgm um and my cgm was actually i feel a huge tool in getting my a1c down to six and actually this year i got it to 5.8 i'm back up to 6.1 which i'm still really

[00:35:32] Rob Howe: part of that yeah that's that's what mine is i am ecstatic so good for you yes and so um it really

[00:35:39] Nicole Colson: just gives me a lot of comfort um because i i think if we allow ourselves to dwell on it it can get scary like you know what if what if tonight i just i don't feel my will and i don't wake up you know because sometimes i wake up i feel like i wake up pretty quickly and other times I don't and even there's times where I wake up and I'm like okay am I just groggy or is this are my feelings because I'm low I really struggle with that when I wake up because I always have a funny feeling when I wake up normally anyway just kind of like groggy and like tired and weak and I'm like okay so is this feeling that I'm just like really exhausted and I can't wake up or am I low and it's like I have to kind of come to and like focus in my body okay what are you feeling what's going on and that's like oh yeah grab your meter grab your Dexcom check out what's going on um yeah I think you just you have to be okay that that that number is going to fluctuate and when we do want control we don't want to just be happy with it looking like a roller coaster but you have to allow yourself some freedom and some forgiveness and know that every day no matter if you even if you eat the same thing every day the stress of the day sometimes i feel like the heat or the temperature of the day all of that's going to affect your blood sugar and so you have to be okay and be flexible and allow yourself to like be okay with that couldn't agree more

[00:37:16] Rob Howe: couldn't agree more you got to be look at it with like a gentle focus you know just don't you know don't go too far one way or the other just know it's going to change absolutely so now you know you're you you got amazing a1c's right you're you're you're under control you've got you're treating with a cgm and a pump what are you looking forward to with your type 1 over the

[00:37:37] Nicole Colson: next few years as you look ahead yeah well i just want to get more involved locally um And our JDRF is actually talking about starting a young adult program as well. So I'm super excited about that. And actually coming up this summer, I know you've talked a little bit about Bike Beyond Type 1. They're actually coming through my city. And so I've kind of seen on my website, they're like, hey, check out our, you know, our stop. People come into your city because we're looking for someone to hang out with us, each city, and help us out. And so I reached out a while back and, you know, didn't really hear anything. So I thought, oh, well, I got a call probably about three weeks ago from the writers. And he's like, hey, you know, we're coming to your city and we would love to work with you. And so I'm going to serve as their community host here. And I'm going to find host homes for all of them to stay in that night. And I'm working on planning a dinner. and I worked with a large health group that has several hospitals and stuff. So kind of poking around with some different people that were looking to get them to hopefully help sponsor the dinner. And it was kind of funny because the lady called and was like, so what are you thinking about feeding them? Like, I mean, like, are you wanting a buffet? Are you wanting, like, you know, pizza? And I was like, no, definitely not pizza. and so I just kind of share with her you know what what I thought would be like a great meal for them but I'm super excited so we've been talking back and forth and I really feel like this is going to give me an opportunity here and just to speak out more about type 1 which is the whole purpose of why why they're doing this ride themselves and so I feel like by them coming here gives me an opportunity to do that same thing right along with them. I've even reached out to a few people on my medical team who are going to host some bikers as well, which I think is really cool. So I'm super excited about that, but I just want to continue, just continue in community and continue being a friend to all the other type ones. And I posted yesterday just about some things about frustrations with work and what people say. And a girl actually commented about she really struggles at school. And she said sometimes, you know, they just they laugh at me. They mock me. Like that just broke my heart. And I just like reach through Instagram and give her a hug and be like, all right, I'm going to give you a hug. And if I can, I'd go to school with you and be like, look, she's cool. like this is okay and um i just want to continue doing that and then just grow here locally and then fight i continue to fight the dumb stereotypes i even posted today um on my facebook page which i rarely use facebook much anymore about the starbucks unicorn frap that some people are calling you know the diabetes frap or diabetes in a cup and so there was definitely some interesting conversation today about that um and just you know to educate because a friend of mine another the team one friend that i just met she was frustrated by it as well she's like so should i respond or should i not and just like i said earlier i told her i always take the opportunity to respond because it's a moment to educate and to correct one more person's misconceptions well i think too like no matter

[00:41:18] Rob Howe: if you're type 1 type 2 or just like a regular person that is high blood sugar in a cup which no other way you slice it that is just pure purple and green sugar or blue or whatever color right unicorn sugar that's the real secret is unicorns are made of sugar and they come in that cup yes um and it's gonna affect everybody in the same vein like you mentioned it talking about uh that girl who's sort of being bullied for her type 1 and you know kids teasing her um if you had one thing if you could only say one thing to somebody who was struggling or had just been

[00:41:53] Nicole Colson: diagnosed uh you know what would you say i would definitely say it's not all about your doctor because i relied for so long on my doctor to help me have that like aha moment and to help me connect with my diabetes and make that change. And I think for most, especially as an adult and not having near as much onset of education and involvement from my health team, you just have to reach out. Connect with the T1 community. They will pull you through it. They will help you have that aha moment. You're like, oh, I get it. And now I can move forward. and I can do this and it'll be okay. So just, yeah, don't rely on your doctor. I mean, obviously they're important, but if you base everything you do on your doctor, you know, reach out, you know, expand your type 1 community. Have your endocrinologist and have your diabetes educator, but also have a type 1 friend, even if it's one that's online a country away, that you can just share advice. You can share rants together. So definitely reach out beyond your healthcare team.

[00:43:12] Rob Howe: Yeah, and I think it's never been easier, right, to connect with somebody else with type 1. There's never been more ways to do that. So, yeah, I mean, just as simple as asking. But you can't get that unless you reach out. So just like we talked about earlier, like, don't be silent. Be heard.

[00:43:28] Nicole Colson: No, exactly.

[00:43:31] Rob Howe: well Nicole thank you so much for coming on the show today it was great to finally like hear your voice and like see your face via Skype and you know connect with you like you said like I feel like we have so much in common we've known each other for a while but this is great to actually you know get to know you

[00:43:49] Nicole Colson: right it was great thank you so much

[00:43:51] Rob Howe: we know you're on Instagram as type1nicole the number one so T-Y-P-E the number one and Nicole N-I-C-O-L-E Yes, we got it. So we will definitely include a link to that in the show notes. Any parting words before we end the interview?

[00:44:12] Nicole Colson: Just to say you guys got it. Like, it'll be okay. Reach out and that will give you the strength to push through.

[00:44:19] 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.