Elizabeth Thompson and Chad Thompson

00:01 My name is Elizabeth Pittman Thompson. I am 35 years old. Today's date is September 24th, 2015. We are at Emory University and I am the wife to Chad Thompson 4th of September 2015 or at Emory and I'm the husband to Elizabeth.

00:36 So I guess we'll start with.

00:40 When were you diagnosed?

00:42 January 17th 2013. I signed up for a know your numbers health screening for all Emory University and Healthcare employees. And it know your numbers means know your BMI and blood pressure and glucose and I found out because it was when I would already be at work and in a conference room, right outside my office and when I went in we were in a conference room and one of my colleagues was at the other end of the table with the nurse we were doing it at the same time. And the nurse that was doing my blood work. She was raving about all of my numbers until she got to my blood glucose, which I never even knew, you know a difference in your blood glucose what that would mean, but she said, I'm sorry to tell

01:42 But you have diabetes and you need to go to the doctor today and I had fast it but you didn't have to fast. So that's why she was so certain and she filled out a form that said basically that I had to seek medical care then and I went back to my office which was just like three steps away and called my primary care physician which likely is across the street and she was on maternity leave but I told the person making the appointment would have happened and my A1C are my blood glucose at the time which was almost 300. It supposed to be between like 70 and 1:20. So they said just come in. So I think at randomly my sister called at the time she was coming into work. This is all really early in the morning and she works nearby and said, well, why don't I just come with

02:44 So

02:48 I went across the street and the I was upset the way that I am now because he said that I have diabetes.

03:00 And they didn't know at the time if it was type 1 or type 2 and most people I think almost 30 million people have diabetes and

03:13 About a little over a million have a type one, but type one is juvenile. Diabetes is usually diagnosed when your child not always but most of the time.

03:27 And he looked at me and asked me about my symptoms, which I didn't know the symptoms of diabetes, but they were being tired and being thirsty and losing weight which the sentence to me now make me laugh a little bit because at the time

03:49 I had a two year old and I just finished breastfeeding and we also work full-time and he didn't sleep a lot. So I was tired because of that I thought

04:07 Before all this happened years before I guess maybe three years before we

04:15 I had always worked out or worked out probably the last 10 years of my life, but I wasn't losing anyway, and I was about 50 pounds heavier than I am now. So I went to the Emory faculty staff assistance program and the counselor, they are gave me a spreadsheet and taught me how told me to count calories for two weeks. And once I did that I understood how to do that and in less than a year. I lost fifty pounds. So after I had the baby I just started doing the same thing. So I was tired and I was thirsty but I thought it was because I was tired from having a baby and thirsty from working out as much as I could to lose the baby weight.

05:00 Had no idea that it was, you know, a chronic illness. So at that time, they didn't know if it was type 1 or type 2, but the doctor that I saw was really helpful with getting me into an endocrinologist as fast as possible and it's an actual test that takes a while to come back to tell you if it's one or two so it took a while to find out but the

05:32 We also sort of knew because I wasn't responding to the treatment for type 2.

05:38 And then the difference between them are what I tell our 5 year old is that my pancreas doesn't work anymore. So it's an autoimmune disorder that attacks your pancreas and the beta cells that create insulin and then type to your body is making insulin but your body is not able to metabolize it and use it the way that it's supposed to so the end result is the same, you know where insulin resistant I'm insulin resistant because I don't have any and type-2 is resistant because their body can't use it. So that means for me.

06:19 I found out that I am insulin-dependent.

06:24 Which was almost harder than finding out that I had type 1 diabetes because that means that I have to test my blood sugar with a little kit before I eat anything and then calculate how many carbs are in everything that I eat and then do a calculation to see how many units of insulin I should inject. So I do that four times a day because that you also have to do it before you workout.

06:58 So that is sort of the diagnosis story.

07:08 So do you ever gone to one of these health fair's before?

07:12 No, and

07:17 I mean I go to a lot of Emory sponsor things. So like, you know summer camp Fair even though Caleb's too young to go to summer camp yet or but what's funny about this health fair is I think they did it for one more year, but they stopped doing it. I think that participation was in maybe like only at 40% because you can you go get all this number from your doctor when you go to your regular physical. I just wasn't having regular physical looks like where they would test your glucose because I had you know, how did Caleb Men been pregnant? So I was at the doctor a lot. I didn't want to go for a physical and that sort of why I actually went to this cuz I thought it would be like the most time effective way to get these numbers.

08:13 So I can talk a little bit about the

08:16 How you administer the insulin? I check your blood sugar. So.

08:23 The

08:25 Having type 1 diabetes

08:28 Is expensive luckily because we have health insurance which everyone doesn't and especially a lot of people when were talking about 30 million people that have diabetes type 2 you have to use these little strips and the strips are a dollar apiece and I have to use at least for a day or so before I eat breakfast every morning. I use a kit that have to load a little finger pricker with a Lance, Lance it and then prick my finger and you try to do that on the sides of your fingers because it's less painful and doesn't bruise as much because I pride myself so much that, you know, my fingers would be unusable if I didn't but it leaves now after time cuz it's been a little over two years. It has I have like little black dots on my pads of my finger.

09:28 I'm doing it so much you put the drop of blood into the strip. And the meter tells you what your blood glucose says, and it's a pretty accurate estimate or so. I've heard the rain you want to be between 70 and 1:20 pretty much all the time before and after you eat which is kind of a hard target to hit sometimes.

09:57 And then depending on what I eat so like this morning, I had an apple oatmeal and a boiled egg and that's three units of insulin. See you count the number of carbs and divided by 15 and that's how many units of insulin and you have to find a place on your body that has enough sub continuous fat to administer the injection. It's a really tiny needle and it doesn't always hurt but sometimes it does but when I was first diagnosed I was so skinny that it was hard to find enough fat to do that. Luckily now, that's not a problem, but I do have bruises from it.

10:44 And then at night so I do that for breakfast lunch and dinner. And then before I workout have to test because working out luckily for me makes my blood sugar go down some people that can make it go up. I really really love Jazzercise and haven't did not had to stop initially, but I don't have to stop now but have to make sure that my blood sugar is over 200 to work out because if I don't by the end of the hour, I'll be low and then at night I have to take a different kind of insulin that helps throughout the whole day. And that's the actual needle is the same but the injection is much larger the mud it's a lot more so at breakfast I took three units at night before I go to bed. I take 21 units.

11:33 And that is the same, you know shot and some sort of fluffy area of your body.

11:42 Any challenges with a

11:45 The equipment I guess the kid or anything difficult the challenges the first hurdle luckily had a friend who is a nurse and was working in Community Health at the time and she sent me a meter that she knew was in a friendly for the first time user which it doesn't take very much doesn't require a large drop of blood and then also like stays on a long time because when you're first starting to do it, you know, you stumble around or tiny little pieces so that one would stay on like what's this trip was and it was stay on a long time and then a small amount of blood so I like that one, but then our insurance changed so I had to change everything change the meter I even had to change the insulin because that wasn't covered anymore. Like I said, it's really expensive. So there's some things that we could do out of pocket, but not some

12:45 But I do in a four times a day and then you help me research that the you know the change in insulin. It wasn't affecting other people differently than what I've been taking so I wasn't too scared to do it.

13:00 But

13:01 The main challenge is trying to not go low. So when I'm high, I can't really feel it. I mean if you are really high they say, you know in like three hundred plus you would maybe be really thirsty or get really tired or it can make you upset to your stomach. But I've never really experienced those symptoms. But when I go low, I do definitely feel it and it's scary because you get really like anxious and cold sweat and then like confused. So, you know you need to do something, you know, you need to eat something with carbs, but it's hard to stay focused on that or stay focus with what you should eat. And then there's a process to like bring it back up, but that's why it's a tricky situation because there's a thing called an A1C which its shows the.

14:01 There's what my glucose has been over 3 months and you want that to be 7 or below and if you can keep it there. It's like you're tricking your body to

14:13 To think that it doesn't have diabetes. So like I don't have all of the scary side effects where you know, my circulation is bad. So if I hurt my foot I could lose a limb or my eyes will go bad. If I keep it at that 7 or below then my body doesn't even know that I have diabetes but to do that almost feels like sometimes you have to be low because you're going to be high sometime. So it's just an average. So it's it's it's a tricky situation. I'm trying to balance those highs and lows which is the biggest challenge.

14:50 So you mentioned that you had to quit Jazzercise once you started or what you were diagnosed what you started back. Have you?

14:59 You've been able to do it consistently so one of things.

15:04 What's one of your favorite exercise stories I guess.

15:10 Well, so jawzrsize is a big part of my life.

15:16 And it's not just Jazzercise. It's exercise and I didn't do that growing up and was larger and

15:25 But it's giving me confidence. So continue I did jawzrsize up until I had Caleb and I was able to have him and labor was hard and I drove from the strength that I got from exercise.

15:47 So when I was diagnosed eight needed me to stop for two weeks because it's really was like a dehydration situation and then we had to figure out what it was going to do make me go higher make me go low.

16:03 And you know, I say Jesus has saved my life sometimes because it did give me the confidence to you know, how Caleb but then there was a woman who does jawzrsize but have never I mean, you know, we've been in the room together for years, but I never knew her or knew she has had type 1 diabetes since she was 20.

16:28 When she's 60 now, she has all the high-tech gadgets that I choose to not have so a continuous glucose monitor and an insulin pump.

16:39 She's also very engaged with the online community that sort of choose not to be because I feel like I don't want diabetes to be my hobby. But you know, she was and is a fabulous resource and that came from Jazzercise.

17:00 But so jawzrsize gave me the confidence to also Branch out into other things. So I had diabetes for probably 6 months and we didn't know and during that 6-month period was when we were training for the Peachtree Road Race, which is on July 4th, and it's a 10K. And so, you know, I'm a I'm a I'm a little Robux dancer. I'm not a runner. So we did a lot of training and Caleb was with us in the stroller. We would train around stone mountain and that's probably also why we didn't know that I was sick for so long because all that exercise would keep my blood sugar down. So by the time I found out that when I was diagnosed those years that we've done it we signed up through Emory and

17:53 I'd already signed up for the second year and it but I was scared to do that much exercise, you know after I found out all this has happened, but we decided to still do it. So the second year that we did it. I had had to buy a little pack from REI and I packed all my supplies and you carry snacks and halfway in I think he like set a timer on your phone. We stopped and just didn't care about our time and I tested on the side of the road.

18:25 And had to eat something and then we you know kept doing it and that's part of knowing that you know, this is bad and I wish that it had never happened, but I can still do everything.

18:49 So you mentioned finding out that someone at Jazzercise has Type 1 diabetes. If you had other people in your life that I guess you already knew or that you connected with another yes to people that I already knew and they also were diagnosed as adults which is much more rare than being diagnosed as a child. So two people one. She was 21 years old and she's one of my very close friends little sisters and you know, we heard that she had type 1 diabetes, but you know, I didn't know what that meant and it then another friend of mine from college. She got gestational diabetes with her first pregnancy and it never went away, which is a sort of a common way to get adult on.

19:46 Type one that then made me feel a little bit more strange because she I did not have gestational diabetes with Caleb this just happened after but then one other person which is you know, it just shows you I guess how out-of-touch children are there was a guy that I went to middle school and high school with and you know, we were in a lot of classes together. He lives in England now and he and I are Facebook friends and he posted something on Facebook not too long ago about type 1 diabetes. And so I messaged him and he was diagnosed as a child and I went to school with him for you know, probably close to 10 years and had no idea but he had he and my friend they have a lot of perspective on

20:39 How much the equipment has changed because you know, my friend who's 60 me she was like boiling needles and he even used glass vials of insulin. So that way I feel a little bit lucky because those stories are scary like, you know, they couldn't really test effectively I think that the best way for them to test just like to pee on a strip or something. So this is definitely you know research has come far in terms of our devices but not necessarily in terms of a cure.

21:21 So you found a beneficial to reconnect with these these people or I mean it is for me because like I said, I don't want to do the getting on the Internet with the message boards, which I have heard. They're very very supportive and fun. I just feel like the life that I have is a mother and working full-time and working now then having a home. I just don't have time to use that as my hobbies. So I use them as a sort of my, you know, they're my shortcut to all the information.

22:01 So how has your life been different than you imagined it be?

22:07 I mean, I never thought that I would be sick until I was old I certainly didn't even really know what the word chronic illness meant. I mean not to this extent that it's every single day. No matter what there is no vacation. There is no special occasion, but

22:33 Like I said, I try to still do everything that you know, I would have done I don't let it hope I don't let it you know, ruin the good things which is he know Still Loving Caleb and being with you, you know, it doesn't have to affect us.

22:56 But it is still it scares me, you know, if my life expectancy is shorter because of it and then I feel like you know, I was just unlucky because not everybody has something like this.

23:23 What's the the less the important lesson that you've learned? What's the takeaway?

23:33 That you know in life normal people do things like this can happen to normal people, but it doesn't have to stop you from

23:43 The good things from loving your family from having fun experiences, you know, it may slow me down at a dinner party really quickly. But you know I tested and get back in the mix. I can still do everything with Caleb. He doesn't you know, it makes me sad that he has a mom that has Type 1 diabetes and he never knew me before but he also doesn't give you time to worry about that. So, you know, I can start a check in with how I'm feeling test give myself an injection and then you have to you know, be on to the next adventure make-believe or activity that he wants to do and type 1 diabetes doesn't stop me from doing that. So anyting that happens in any of our lives there going to be setbacks, but it's a choice to you know, how

24:43 And I think that I've been lucky in terms of timing with him because if he hadn't if I hadn't had him when I found out then I don't know that I would have worked so hard in the beginning to be healthy and have the A1C that I needed because he you know is motivation to stay healthy that and I feel lucky that my mom has a background in nutrition. And so I know a lot about food and because I had already learned how to count calories. I never count of carbs, but it's sort of the same process and the timing LOL. This is sort of spooky to me because I was prepared to take care of myself. And you know, that's not true for everybody I hear

25:43 That you know people get diagnosed and don't even know what a carbohydrate is and that's you know, he's such a big learning curve than I had to go through.

25:55 So what is your support system been like since your diagnosis name like you?

26:03 You learned everything with me and then, you know did the research that I didn't want to do I don't you know, I don't want to be on the computer unless I'm at work and I'm not going to do it at work. So you would do it.

26:20 And then my mother in terms of you know, helping with Caleb taking care of him, you know when I need to go to the doctor.

26:34 My sister that you know the day that I found out and I think she went with me to this initial appointment because especially when I found out that I had to give myself injections. I just didn't think that I can do it.

26:55 And my sister is a very strong personality. So you know, she of course told me that I could and I did so basically my hate my family have a lot of close friends that are very important to me and though I think many of them, but don't really understand.

27:18 A lot of them are nurses. So that's really handy. They understand more and then another one her sister has it so she really understands but they've all been, you know, very supportive and terms of or I'd say very respectful. So even if they don't understand and you know, a lot of people don't understand the difference between one and two and that can be hard for me because I feel like I get sort of lumps into a category of people who don't take care of themselves because I was larger at one time people just assumed it was type 2 and then, you know, they glaze over when you start talking about pancreas and paid a cell walls and how it's different. So I just sort of give up and don't but my immediate friends and family, even if they don't understand they try but for the most

28:18 That's you and Caleb.

28:26 So you have

28:30 The distinction between type one and type two seems important to you. Why do you think that is?

28:37 You know, it's feel like it's a controversial subject because I don't want to belittle anyone that has diabetes and has the struggle, and I know that it's a personal thing to me because I used to be overweight. And so, you know now that I am happier with myself, I don't want any, you know part of that side of it and then I've gotten something that people either.

29:11 I would say that they think I don't have it because I wasn't diagnosed as a child, but that's not what happens most of the time. They just think that I have to which they think I need to not eat that donut and go workout. And the thing that bothers me the most is I would do that. I would make it go away if it was time. And I know that there are people that there's some type to that they can't get it to go away even even with diet exercise and medication but having some sort of control over it like some sort of power over it would be so much better than this.

29:54 So that you know people assume that I got it because I didn't take care of myself and I continue to have it because of it makes me upset and then makes me also not ever talk about it. I don't you know, I don't talk about it on Facebook. Most of my acquaintances don't know.

30:18 I'd say you know three of my closest colleagues at work now and that's it, which of course here at Emory people would understand more than in the general public but

30:34 I think it has its tide why it bothers me so much as that it's tied that I was overweight, but then this is something different but then it's still connected to that somehow. So it makes me very frustrated. I get less frustrated over people thinking that because I have diabetes. I can't eat sugar because that's a misconception. I mean type 2 diabetics I guess shouldn't cuz they most of the time they're just using medication to control it. But if you're insulin dependant, you're just covering the sugar with the insulin. So if I want to take a shower, you know units of insulin for donut I can eat whatever I want I can eat bread. I can eat potatoes. I just have to take the insulin to cover it. But of course, there are a lot of jokes about should you eat that which just like how anyone feels it's no one else's business what other people eat but and luckily I've been able to take care of myself and have a pretty ballet.

31:34 Buy it.

31:38 So is there?

31:42 Is there any part of it? I guess besides the the the illness itself that's been extreme like more difficult than you expected. Maybe you mention insurance or the technology of the insulin delivery or the testing managing your work with having more doctors appointments or anything. Yes with work. I've also been lucky because I work for Emory University. Most of my doctors are just across the street. So that makes it much easier than someone. You know, I would have to get off and I'm going to take a half-day just for one hour doctors appointment, but the the technology part is tricky because there's also sort of a misconception that I owe you have type 1 diabetes. You just get insulin pump and you know, it's like wearing a artificial pancreas, but that's not true and

32:42 Initially, you know, I'm the kind of person who especially cuz Caleb is so young. And so I contacted two Reps for the insulin pumps and ask for like a dummy pump that it didn't have insulin or a needle in it, but I would wear it just to see what it felt like to pick the kind that I want it and with one company that was easy the other one at wasn't and but I was able to do it with both kinds and what it taught me was that I don't want insulin pump and you know, I think people have the misconception because there is that advancement in technology that it just made it easy for us, but you have to change those infusion sets which is where it sticks into your body every 3 days.

33:36 And then you either have some weird lump on your body like the size of a pager or you have to wear a pager that is connected to a wire that then sticks into your body. And you know, I'm 35 years old. I don't know. I don't want to always wear clothes that have pockets or have something sticking out of me and plus it's not a solution. You still have to test and you still have to dial on the pump or they do sync to your iPhone, but it's not like that makes it that much easier. You have to still put in how much insulin needs to administer. All you do is instead of giving yourself a shot before breakfast. Needle has been sitting in you the whole time. You have to take it on and off when you exercise. It's just not something that I have.

34:27 Wanted to do and then people have either they think if I did it would be the solution or they think it's strange that I don't they also have continuous glucose monitors, which at first I thought that was awesome because it does it is an infusion set that has to stick in your in your body for three days, but you can just look down either on your phone or on a little meter and know what your glucose is. So that sounds great. No more pricking cuz it's the first that was the part. I hated the most but the problem is is that number is not as accurate as if he is your blood. So then it's like well, why am I getting some you know?

35:09 Inaccurate information to the judge how much insulin I get myself while I still have to wear something outside. So that's why I've chosen to go with us, but

35:24 That has been a challenge the choice to stay off off the technology and you know, I want to have another baby and it first the doctor said I have to be on a pump but now because the my A1C has been so good for so long. He agrees that I can, you know get pregnant and just use insulin shots, which makes me really happy.

35:52 So you think it would be beneficial if I guess the general public education about diabetes in general or the differences between the two I do but I feel like so many different organizations have tried to do that and it just doesn't work. When you look at the numbers of any like 39 million people have it both at 1 million have this tight and it just doesn't seem to be working and I almost wish that the name could change but you know at the end of the day it is insulin resistant. That is the same kind of disorder. So I don't know if a name change would work, but she know it was juvenile diabetes type 1 type 2.

36:42 If it's education could be the thing then.

36:47 I would be all for it just doesn't seem like it's working because I know that you know, like the juvenile diabetes Research Foundation is really trying to educate the public on the differences. But like I said, the numbers are against us, I mean even the CDC just says the word diabetes and then when you read the information, it's all about type 2 and you know, I am a communicator. I know the challenges of educating the general public and how you have to do that. But you know coming from somebody who has it. It infuriates me because this isn't the correct data if you're reading it for somebody who has Type 1

37:31 So the type 1 represents of less than 1% of a

37:38 Population it'll be difficult to

37:42 For you or me to be educated about things that affect half a percentage of Americans. It's just that type 2 is so high-profile. So then I mean it just it feels like you're fighting a losing battle because you know, so many people have type 2 and it's all it's in our culture to just say diabetes and then it's people do know about juvenile diabetes. It seems like especially with children when you're talking about an adult who didn't get it as a child then I just get locked in. What's up diabetes crowd.

38:24 So maintain your A1C seems like an important aspect.

38:35 So is there been anything that helps you maintain that A1C? Cuz that seems like they're really be indicator of your health. Not your momentary glucose level.

38:47 So that has been a different experience as well, you know for me going to the doctor or any sort of medical thing it always felt like, you know, you can sell your doctor you get a plan and you follow the directions exactly well-earned really quickly after starting insulin therapy that you're sort of all on your own like

39:11 To adjust it and get the numbers that you need at first. I was emailing my doctor on the health portal portal anytime at like up to my my nighttime insulin and you realize like he didn't really need to know that or you know, just figure it out almost as the way that I felt and so I have and in some ways

39:36 I don't want to say it gets makes me feel powerful are in control, but I do feel adults about it because when I see my numbers going higher throughout the day, I know I need to increase my nighttime insulin and so far that has worked that strategy and I've kept my A1C below 7 or below since diagnosis. So for over 2 years.

40:04 So what Legacy would you like to leave?

40:13 You know that.

40:15 This setback and chronic illness didn't stop me from being a mother and a wife that I still try to do everything, you know 50/50 at our house and I don't you know, I have to take to the bed when Caleb's running around, you know, 50 miles an hour and

40:43 You know when it when I was first diagnosed.

40:48 Somebody that I work with suggested that I go on FMLA because I was really devastated about having to take insulin.

40:58 And I took 1/2 day after he no like when I found out so I feel like

41:10 You can't let it stop you have one life and all of that, you know, not just a chronic illness all sorts of bad things happen to people that since you only have one life then you just need to push through it and make the best of it. And even though Caleb won't know me without diabetes. I still feel like I'm giving him a really good picture of who I am regardless of it. I mean you knew me before and after and I hope that I'm still living up to that same person and while you know, trying to stay healthy so we can have another baby and do the things that we want to do.

41:52 You think there's been anything that you haven't been able to do?

41:59 I mean definitely at first and it having a baby is you know, I think I would have wanted to have it.

42:07 Sooner than 5 years after we had Caleb and said that was a a setback.

42:15 But

42:18 I mean, not really we're lucky that we have the means to handle it financially and not everybody does and I think that that would have really set us back. If you know we had to bear bear the burden of all of this cost. So that hasn't stopped me. I mean, you know at when I was first diagnosed I was not naive but you just don't know and I felt like I was scared to find another job because you know, what if my new boss thought of it is, you know something that would take up my time or slow me down or be out sick more and I don't I don't feel like I have this limitations anymore. I mean, you know when I first found out I was talking to you about my last wishes and I insisted that we go take family pictures immediately because I feel like I wasn't going to be around and I just don't look at it like that anymore.

43:17 You know, I may have a shortened life life expectancy, but it's I will have lived a life. That was so full that it's you know, I made the best.