Episode 351 - What Your Doctor Was Never Taught About Diabetes with Dr. Hannah Parr, D.O.

Ten years ago, Hannah Hamlin came on the pod (Episode 8!) as a medical school student with type 1 diabetes trying to figure out how to manage blood sugar while surviving boards. She's back now as Dr. Hannah Parr, D.O., a physician with additional training in integrative medicine and diabetes education, and the conversation is a completely different one. This episode is about what happens after you get the diagnosis under control, the emotional, philosophical, and practical work of actually living well with a chronic illness. Hannah walks through why she felt angry at her doctors in her early 20s (and why that anger wasn't entirely fair), what medical school actually teaches versus what it leaves out, and how she eventually built education specifically designed to fill the gap between a 15-minute endocrinology appointment and real, whole-person health. One of the most honest moments in the episode comes when Hannah describes a phase of her life where she had nearly perfect blood sugars on a low-carb diet and her cholesterol was climbing, her hormones were off, and she was gaining weight. Her A1C looked great. The rest of her health didn't. It's a good reminder that optimizing one number in isolation isn't the same as taking care of yourself. What she landed on instead is something much simpler: treat yourself like a human first. The diabetes management follows. Dr. Parr also shares details about her free monthly support group for people living with diabetes and her six-week Living Well with Diabetes course built for the emotional and psychological side of chronic illness that most diabetes education never touches. Chapters: 00:00 Rob introduces Dr. Hannah Parr, 10 years later 01:04 Reconnecting after a decade on the podcast 02:23 The diagnosis story: DVD in Spanish, sent home 03:53 Going from frustrated patient to med school 06:41 What medical training actually covers (and skips) 09:56 Why endocrinologists aren't failing you 12:50 How to prepare for your next diabetes appointment 17:36 Taking ownership when the system can't do it for you 20:30 Why A1C alone doesn't equal quality of life 24:42 The balance between control and actually living your life 28:27 Resilience, heart health, and the unexpected gifts of T1D 30:42 How Hannah found her way through six months of illness 36:28 Letting go of limiting beliefs about what's possible 38:49 The Living Well with Diabetes course and free support group 41:00 What Hannah has changed her mind about in 10 years Resources: Dr. Hannah Parr's website Dr. Hannah Parr on YouTube Dr. Hannah Parr Instagram Free Support Group Sign Up