Episode 167 - Diabetes in Jamaica with Alexia Beckford

Allow us to introduce you to Alexia Beckford, (@beckfordalexia on Instagram).

Alexia lives with T1D in Jamaica, and in this episode we discuss what it’s like to live with Diabetes in Jamaica

Alexia, Rob and Eritrea discuss, among other things:

• Alexia’s Diagnosis Story

• What it’s like to live in Jamaica with Diabetes

• Turning a negative Into a positive

• How ignorant comments about Diabetes and other chronic illnesses happen around the world

• How lack of information contributes to bad outcomes for Jamaican Diabetics

• How Alexia has used social media and relationships in Jamaica to raise awareness for Diabetes

Episode 166 - Hiking My Feelings with Sydney Williams

CONTENT WARNING: This episode features discussion on sexual assault, rape, depression and suicide, these topics are sensitive and viewer discretion is advised.

Allow us to introduce you to Sydney Williams, the founder of Hiking My Feelings (@hikingmyfeelings on Instagram).

Sydney is the founder, author and former advertising queen introduced to Diabetics Doing Things through Aya Tsuruta, friend of the pod and guest on Episode 155! Hiking My Feelings is also currently hosting a campaign called Take A Hike Diabetes where Sydney and other advocates are working to hike over 1,000,000 miles with Diabetes in order to create awareness of the healing power of nature for people with Diabetes.

Sydney, Rob and Eritrea discuss, among other things:

• Sydney’s origin story and diagnosis with Type 2 Diabetes

• Sydney’s discovery of hiking and her literal mountaintop experience which allowed her to fully connect with herself, her body, her diabetes and more.

• Where Hiking My Feelings came from and what they are doing to spread awareness of the healing power of nature

• Background on Take A Hike Diabetes

• In-depth discussion on mental health, trauma, stigma, sexual assault.

• What’s next for Sydney as she and the team work to hike 1,000,000 miles for Diabetes awareness

March 21 Round Up with Eritrea and Rob

Rob and Eritrea are back for the return of the episode format of Testing Testing our Blood Sugar. We’re dropping the overview from March 2021, and giving a little insight as to what’s been going on behind the scenes. Thanks so much for being a part of Diabetics Doing Things.

In this episode, we cover:

• Dealing with busy seasons and chronic stress

• Talking about a personal story shared in the Drip about helping a newly diagnosed friend

• Supporting women’s sports and unlearning old habits around changing the channel

• Recapping Andi’s podcast interview and talking about the financial struggles of people with Diabetes in the United States

• Teasing out interviews for April with Sydney from Hiking my Feelings and Kris Leeper join the pod this month

• Discovering Rob’s high school youtube channel

Have you subscribed to The Drip yet? Don’t miss our monthly newsletter!

Episode 165 - Diabetics Doing Sex Work with Andi

Andi (@andi_archive on Instagram) joins the pod for the first time!

Andi, Rob and Eritrea discuss, among other things:

• Andi’s diagnosis story

• Andi’s struggle to get insurance coverage after her family dropped her from their plan

• Andi turning to sex work as a profession

• Andi using her extra funds to support other Diabetes Sex Workers to help meet their monthly goals

• Dealing with comments from people online

• How empathy is the answer to really understanding people from different walks of life

Episode 164 - Steven Santoyo, Teacher with Diabetes

Steven Santoyo (@stevensantoyo on Instagram) joins the pod for the first time!

Steven, Rob and Eritrea discuss, among other things:

• What it’s like to teach 8th Graders while living with Diabetes

• Steven’s diagnosis story

• How Steven found the Diabetes community

• How COVID-19 has radically changed what it means to be a teacher in a post-COVID world.

February 21 Round Up with Eritrea and Rob

Rob and Eritrea are back for the return of the episode format of Testing Testing our Blood Sugar. We talk about living through the Texas Snowpocalypse 2021 as well as upcoming guests on the podcast. Thanks so much for being a part of Diabetics Doing Things.

In this episode, we cover:

• Discussing what we learned from the Texas Electricity Crisis during the worst winter store in 100 years

• Upcoming guests, including a Sex Worker with Diabetes

• Explaining Rob’s “vaguebooking” on Instagram, the context behind “What you do is who you are.”

• Weird banter about Jurassic Park lol

• Teasing out Diabetes in mainstream media episodes

• Rob’s second vaccine update

• Setting up a VOICEMAIL line for Diabetics Doing Things

Have you subscribed to The Drip yet? Don’t miss our monthly newsletter!

Episode 163 - Kendall Kidder-Goshorn the Sweet Librarian

Kendall Kidder-Goshorn (@thesweetlibrarian on instagram) joins the pod for the first time!

This is a big moment for the podcast, because Rob first asked (and Ken agreed) to do the podcast in 2016, but it has never happened until now.

Ken and Rob discuss, among other things:

• Kendall’s experience with COVID-19 and mono, along with managing her Diabetes

• What DIRTs (Diabetes In Real Time) are and where they came from

• The responsibilities of a public librarian

• Insider discussion on Diabetes influencers

• Kendall’s favorite gluten-free treats in the Chicago area!!!

This is a really fun, entertaining and informative interview, so I hope you enjoy! it was nearly 5 years in the making!!!!

Episode 162 - Yoga Therapy for Diabetes with Evan Soroka

Evan Soroka - @evan_soroka on Instagram joins Rob and Eritrea on the pod to talk about her new book Yoga Therapy for Diabetes.

She takes us through her journey as a Yogi with T1D and we have an incredible discussion about the importance of practice as it relates to Diabetes.

We’ve had a number of people with Diabetes on the podcast who employ a yoga practice to help manage their Diabetes and I think Evan is an incredible resource for people who are looking for the science behind their yoga practice and how to use the transformative power of a yoga practice in their Diabetes management.

Enjoy!

January 21 Round Up with Eritrea and Rob - More Than A Diabetic

Rob and Eritrea are back for the return of the episode format of Testing Testing our Blood Sugar. We talk about our More Than A Diabetic project and other events from January 21. I Thanks so much for being a part of Diabetics Doing Things.

In this episode, we cover:

• Teasing a project with the first WNBA player with T1D Lauren Cox

• Talking about the first two weeks (at time of recording) of President Joe Biden’s term

• Reviewing More Than A Diabetic drop 1

• Thinking through January 2020, and remembering Kobe Bryant and the 12 months that followed

• What’s next at Diabetics Doing Things? Podcast guests like Kendall Kidder-Goshorn the Sweet Librarian, and digging into Diabetes in media and TV.

Have you subscribed to The Drip yet? Don’t miss our monthly newsletter!

More Than A Diabetic Episode 4: Misdiagnosis, Stigma and the things people say to people with Diabetes online

Episode 3: Diabetes, Black Lives Matter and The Black Diabetic Experience

Panelists:

Cherise Shockley

Phylissa Deroze

Priya

Topics:

• What it's like to be a person of color online in the Diabetes space?

• What was it like in the early days of the Diabetes Online Community?

• Dealing with the stigma of insulin in the Type 2 Diabetes community

• The power of finding community online

Keep it locked on the podcast as well as our YouTube channel, where we will include the full video interviews of all our episodes.

Don’t forget to make sure you’re subscribed to The Drip and follow #morethanadiabetic on Instagram for all the materials related to the series.

More Than A Diabetic Episode 3: Diabetes, Black Lives Matter and The Black Diabetic Experience

Episode 3: Diabetes, Black Lives Matter and The Black Diabetic Experience

Panelists:

Cameron Hall

Michael Roberson

Eritrea Mussa-Khan

Qiana Drew

Topics:

• What role can the Diabetes community at large and the Black Diabetes Community play in Black Lives Matter?

• COVID-19 as another area in health where Black and Brown communities are disproportionally affected.

• The Black Diabetes Community showed strong support for BeyondType1's GetInsulin.org project, which was being criticized in the community because it was funded in partnership with pharmaceutical companies. What made you start that discussion? How was it received?

• What do people like Rob, and people in positions of leadership in Diabetes need to know what it's like to be Black with Diabetes?

Keep it locked on the podcast as well as our YouTube channel, where we will include the full video interviews of all our episodes.

Don’t forget to make sure you’re subscribed to The Drip and follow #morethanadiabetic on Instagram for all the materials related to the series.

More Than A Diabetic Episode 2: Diabetes Nonprofits and Representation

Episode 2: Diabetes Nonprofits and Representation

Panelists:

Anita Nicole Brown

Kevia Cheney

Kylene Redmond

Tiana Cooks

Topics:

• A in depth discussion on Diabetes nonprofits and the lack of representation for BIPOC communities.

• An up close and personal look at the JDRF Juneteenth incident

• How can we be better represent Black people with Diabetes? The system is clearly broken what can be done to fix it?

Keep it locked on the podcast as well as our YouTube channel, where we will include the full video interviews of all our episodes.

Don’t forget to make sure you’re subscribed to The Drip and follow #morethanadiabetic on Instagram for all the materials related to the series.

More Than A Diabetic Episode 1: Medical Racism, Misdiagnosis & Stereotypes

Episode 1: Medical Racism, Misdiagnosis & Stereotypes

Panelists:

Taylor Johnson - www.instagram.com/taylorbetic

Dr. Roy Collins - www.instagram.com/dr.royc

Shaw Strothers - www.instagram.com/typeonderful_ https://typeonederfulclothes.com/

Chelcie Rice - www.instagram.com/type1comedian

Mila Clarke-Buckley - www.instagram.com/thehangrywoman https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxLFD9VZ1SHLpCCWuAhX_DA

Topics:

• "The risk of diabetes is 77% higher among African Americans than non-Hispanic white Americans." Certainly we know this anecdotally because of stereotypes, but are we as a Diabetes community talking about the disproportionate assault on black communities enough?

• Race and Misdiagnosis. This is also a fat phobic issue. What part does race at face value play in diagnosis?

• Another stat: Maternal Mortality in Black mothers is 3x higher than white mothers.

• Stereotyping: black people are often pictured as either very poor, or very successful (athletes, entertainers, etc.) what about Black people who aren't poor or even come from wealth?

Keep it locked on the podcast as well as our YouTube channel, where we will include the full video interviews of all our episodes.

Don’t forget to make sure you’re subscribed to The Drip and follow #morethanadiabetic on Instagram for all the materials related to the series.

Introducing More Than A Diabetic - A Series from Diabetics Doing Things

To kickoff 2021, Rob and Eritrea have been hard at work at a new series titled More Than A Diabetic, a 4-part series featuring 15 members of the Diabetes Community who are all people of color. This series focuses on important topics like medical racism, representation in the Diabetes community and how we can collectively as a community do better to support our BIPOC brothers and sisters with Diabetes. Launching January 15, 2021, the 4-part series includes the following episodes:

• Episode 1: Medical Racism, Misdiagnosis & Stereotypes - January 15th

• Episode 2: Diabetes Nonprofits & Representation - January 19th

• Episode 3: Diabetes, Atiana Jefferson & Black Lives Matter - January 22nd

• Episode 4: Microaggression and the things people say to people with Diabetes online- January 26th

Keep it locked on the podcast as well as our YouTube channel, where we will include the full video interviews of all our episodes.

Don’t forget to make sure you’re subscribed to The Drip and follow #morethanadiabetic on Instagram for all the materials related to the series.

December Round Up with Eritrea and Rob - Talking Disability and Achievement Culture

Rob and Eritrea are back for the return of the episode format of Testing Testing our Blood Sugar. We’re covering a lot in this December round up, but overall we want to wish you a Happy Holidays and a safe and prosperous 2021. Thanks so much for being a part of Diabetics Doing Things.

In this episode we cover:

The conversation around Diabetes and Disability. From the discussion on Twitter, to the Amazon documentary on Oscar Pistorius, Rob and Eritrea talk about living with Diabetes and how they think about having a disability or identifying as disabled.

Achievement culture in Diabetes. Why have we for so long only shown extraordinary people living with Diabetes as the example of what life with Diabetes is like? Rob talks about falling victim to that narrative and how we are working to normalize living a normal life with Diabetes

Have you subscribed to The Drip yet? Don’t miss our monthly newsletter!

Episode 161 - En Español with Jorge Esquivel Ruiz

Jorge Esquivel Ruiz has been a longtime follower and listener of Diabetics Doing Things. So when he sent Rob a message on Instagram in November 2020 that said there was a clear lack of Spanish-speaking countries represented on the podcast, we felt the need to act quickly.

Jorge lives in a small town in Mexico, and talks about the challenges people with Diabetes in Mexico who do not live near a big city face not only with Diagnosis, but also with ongoing management of their supplies. In this episode we discuss:

• The challenges rural communities in Mexico face with healthcare

• How what is considered affordable for Americans is often too expensive for Mexican people

• The truth about Mexico’s pharmacies for Mexican citizens

• Jorge’s diagnosis story

• Diabetes Community in Mexico

• Jorge answers Rob’s famous “Airport” question in Spanish with help from Eritrea.

Do you live with Diabetes and speak Spanish as your primary language? We want to hear from you. Please contact us if you would like to share your story in Spanish.

Episode 160 - Mario Kart with Sarah Johnson the Diabetic Cactus

11/5/2020

Once upon a time Kerri Sparling from SixUntilMe mentioned Mario Kart on this podcast, and today we realize that dream as Sarah Johnson (@thediabeticcactus on Instagram) play Mario Kart during this interview. This is a fun challenge, and you’ll have to see how Rob and Sarah perform as they dig into conversations about Diabetes!

 In this episode, Rob and Sarah discuss:

• You’re the Diabetic Cactus, where did that come from and what made you start doing it? 

• Your mom also lives with Diabetes, what was that like growing up and what is it like now? 

• You are bring the full unfiltered life with diabetes to instagram , you’re a YouTuber, what is something about putting your life with diabetes out there that most people don’t realize is part of it? 

• You’re currently taking Trulicity - what should people with Diabetes know about it? 

• iPads - let’s talk about em 

• What are you most looking forward to in a post-COVID reality 

October Round Up with Eritrea and Rob

Rob and Eritrea are back for the return of the episode format of Testing Testing our Blood Sugar. We’re covering a lot in this October round up, but the biggest thing you’ll notice is there’s new intro music. Will it stay? Rob already hates it, so be sure to let him know if you do too!

In this episode we cover:

November = diabetes awareness month 

Election burnout 

it is I, the DIY Fly Guy - the story behind my Twitter handle @flyyabetes

Myabetic awards recap - Myabetic tv 

Lauren Bongiorno/Koia/Omnipod Together T1d event 

-Echo chamber of social media

-podcasts I was on the Texans Titans / Like, Honestly 

Have you subscribed to The Drip yet? Don’t miss our monthly newsletter!

Episode 159 - Julie Foster on Medtronic's Acquisition of Companion Medical (Part II)

9/23/2020  - Part 2

On August, 11 2020 Medtronic Diabetes announced its plans to acquire Companion Medical, makers of the InPen, the only FDA cleared smart insulin pen. Medtronic tasked us to collect questions from the Diabetes Community for Julie Foster, so that’s what we did. Since the acquisition has now officially closed, this episode is part 2 of a 2 part series. If you haven’t listened to part 1, check out Episode 159 of Diabetics Doing Things with Sean Salmon

Disclaimer: Rob Howe is a paid consultant of Medtronic Diabetes, this podcast was made possible by Medtronic but Rob’s thoughts and opinions are his own.

 In this episode, Rob and Julie discuss:

• Julie’s career with Medtronic (30+ years) and her new role as the VP of Customer Experience at Medtronic Diabetes

• Julie’s excitement to integrate the InPen into the Medtronic suite of products

• Why it’s important for Medtronic to meet patients where they are in their Diabetes journey

• Medtronic’s planned integration for the InPen and what InPen customers can expect to hear from Medtronic

• A question from the community, regarding affordable diabetes treatment options and how this acquisition helps with that.

• Medtronic’s iPort and integration with the InPen

• A question from the community on upcoming news about Bluetooth integration for Medtronic pumps

CAMP SWEENEY IS A CULT RIGHT?

It was time to switch things up a bit and add a little more variety to the podcast, so that’s what we’ve done.

Rob and Eritrea go 1 on 1 to talk about things that have been going on with Diabetics Doing Things, things going on in the real world, things going on in the Diabetes Community and this time, we get to learn more about Eritrea’s Diagnosis with T1D and what it was like for Rob to be featured in Express.

Most of all, we just cut loose for 45 minutes and have a good time.

Looking forward to hearing your comments on this episode of Testing…Testing…our blood sugar?