Untangling "I'm lows" from "I deserve this"
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The episode, word for word
If there were an Olympics for doing hard things nobody sees, people with type 1 would sweep the podium.
No medals. No commercials. Just you in sweatpants at 11:47 p.m., choosing glucose tabs over the entire pantry... and nobody claps except the CGM graph fifteen minutes later.
Today, we're fixing that. Today is about the badge, the sticker, and the win you've actually earned.
I'm Neil Greathouse, and this is Your Best T1D Year.
Welcome to Week 8 of the Low Blood Sugar Challenge. This is the part where we stop to say out loud what you've actually done.
For the last two months, you've been:
Rewiring how you treat lows
Untangling "I'm low" from "I deserve this"
Building boring-on-purpose systems that future you will thank you for
Today is story day. Testimonies. Bragging rights. Your moments, not just mine.
Let's start with Jess. She DM'd me on Instagram a couple weeks into the challenge.
She said:
"It was 11 p.m., I was 59, and I walked straight past the pantry to the drawer with glucose tabs. I hated it. I wanted cookies. But I heard your dumb voice in my head saying, 'Food is joy. Glucose is medicine.' So I did the tabs, set a timer, and stayed on the couch."
Her CGM graph?
Low for about 15 minutes
Back in range
No rocket to the 200s
No rage bolus, no 'what did I just do' spiral afterward
Here's the part that got me. She said:
"The number was great. But the real win was that I didn't feel out of control. I went to bed proud of myself instead of mad at myself."
That is the badge. Not perfection. Not a flat line. The moment you realize, I can do this differently, and I just proved it.
Then there's Andre. He emailed after that episode on social pressure and lows in public.
He was at a work dinner, mid-presentation, when his CGM buzzed: 68, arrow down. Normally, his script was:
Panic
Grab bread
Add soda
Spend the rest of the night high and annoyed
This time?
He pulled a tube of glucose from his pocket
Took his usual dose
Took a breath, kept talking, and let the tabs do their thing
He said:
"My coworkers didn't even notice. I drove home at 110 instead of 260, and I didn't have to explain why I was inhaling the bread basket."
The graph looked smoother. The bigger deal was that he didn't feel like diabetes hijacked the night.
That's the sticker. The quiet win that nobody else in the room claps for, but you and your future labs absolutely notice.
One more. This one came from a mom who listens on school drop-off.
She wrote:
"My son went low at 3 a.m. I used to sprint to the kitchen, dump juice in a cup, and then give him half a granola bar because I was terrified. This time, I grabbed the glucose tabs we put on his nightstand at the start of the challenge."
She:
Gave the amount they'd decided ahead of time
Set a 15-minute timer
Checked again
Went back to sleep instead of doom-scrolling his graph until sunrise
She said:
"For the first time in years, I didn't feel like a bad mom if I didn't overdo it. I felt like a prepared mom. I cried a little, not gonna lie."
That's the win. Not just better numbers, but less fear, less guilt, and more trust in your own ability to handle this.
So how do you actually claim this?
Three steps. No perfection required.
Pick your moment.
The night you walked past the pantry
The alarm you handled calmly
The low you treated with tabs and went back to your life
Write it down or say it out loud: "This was my Low Blood Sugar Challenge moment."
Name your new identity. One sentence, your words:
"I'm the kind of person who treats lows with glucose and doesn't argue with it."
"I'm the kind of person who keeps fast carbs where I can reach them."
"I'm the kind of person who doesn't let lows decide the rest of my day."
Grab the actual badge.
Head to yourbestt1dyear.com and download the Low Blood Sugar Challenge badge and sticker pack.
Print it, make it your phone background, slap it on your water bottle, whatever fits your life.
It's not about the graphic. It's about giving your brain a visual reminder: I did something hard, on purpose, and it changed me.
And if you post it, tag @thebetes so we can repost and brag on you publicly, the way you deserve.
You just spent eight weeks cleaning up one of the messiest parts of T1D: lows.
Next up for March and April is hydration. Not "be a perfect water person," just a simple Hydration Streak that helps your numbers behave better in the background.
Dehydration concentrates your blood and can push numbers higher, while consistent fluids are linked to better time in range and fewer "I feel awful and don't know why" days.
Jan, Feb was about clean low treatment. Mar, Apr is about keeping the tank topped off, so everything else you're already doing with T1D works a little smoother.
If you're listening to all of this thinking, "I love these challenges, but I still feel like I'm figuring it out alone," that's where Blue Circle Health comes in.
Blue Circle Health is a nonprofit that offers free, virtual care programs for adults with type 1. You get:
Endocrinologists and educators who understand CGMs, pumps, and real life
Support for stress, burnout, and decision fatigue
Help wrangling prescriptions, insurance, and tech, so you're not doing all of this on hold music
They're available in 23 states plus Washington DC. Check if your state is on the list and sign up for free at bluecirclehealth.org.
You've already proved you can change. You don't have to do the next round solo.
Type 1 diabetes is relentless, but managing it doesn't have to be. New episodes drop every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
You have every right to feel proud of yourself. Not just because you finished a challenge, but because you showed up on days you were tired, scared, annoyed, or over it... and you still chose the harder, better option.
You earned the badge. You earned the sticker. You earned the win.
Let yourself feel that.
// Year 34 Day 13 #YourBestT1DYear
Feb 27 - 163
If this were a sports movie, this is the part where the crowd is on its feet and you finally realize they're cheering for you.
Here's Episode 163 rewritten to match the January, February format, with a full info block, a pumped-up Ted Lasso-style cold open, and the guy / parent / spouse stories baked in.
This is the script as read on the mic, lightly tidied for reading. Education, not medical advice. Talk to your care team before you change anything about your insulin.