Beta Cell

A bonus clip from episode #005 with Cindy Goldstein: our conversation about going through airport security with type 1 diabetes.

Like many people who develop type 1 diabetes later in life, Cindy Goldstein was initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. She struggled keeping her blood sugars under control while taking drugs designed for type 2 diabetes, eventually leaving three different endocrinologists until she found one who recognized she actually had type 1 diabetes. Cindy talks about not letting the mental toll of type 1 affect her day-to-day life, her fights with insurance companies, and making the switch to Medicare at 65 years old.

Rachel Zinman was diagnosed with Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) at 48 years old. Being a yoga instructor for two decades, her diagnosis initially made her feel guilty and ashamed but through her practice, Rachel has come to terms with her diabetes. She shares her story as well as a guide to yoga for people with diabetes in her new book, Yoga for Diabetes.

At 13 years old, Craig Stubing started experiencing the symptoms of extremely high blood sugar. Without any experience with type 1 diabetes, his family mistook his symptoms as just puberty. Eventually, a visit to the doctor sent him to the emergency room and his life changed forever. He struggled with disclosing his disease to friends and colleagues, which led him to starting the Beta Cell podcast.

A bonus clip from episode #002 with Amanda Bar: our unedited conversation about managing type 1 diabetes in public.

Amanda Bar was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was just 2 years old. Like many young people with T1D, she struggled with wanting to fit in with her friends who didn’t have diabetes. A few years ago she passed out while driving and realized not feeling her low blood sugars was too dangerous to ignore and invested in a diabetic alert dog, who helped her train for the 2015 Los Angeles Marathon.

Doris Gilbert first learned about type 1 diabetes when her daughter Laurie was diagnosed in 1974. Years later, after looking at the blood work from her own physical, Doris realized she had diabetes too. Not letting that stop her, Doris signed up for nursing school at age 60, climbed Mount Whitney at 68, went dog mushing in Alaska at 70, and continues to lead an active and healthy life with T1D today.