Reclaim Your Rise: Type 1 Diabetes with Lauren Bongiorno

Megan O'Neill is a physician associate who spent years in clinical practice before finding her calling at the intersection of diabetes care and psychology. While working at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Megan discovered the work of leading diabetes psychology researchers and it changed her entire practice, her perspective, and her passion. That foundation eventually led her to Abbott Diabetes Care, where she has spent the last eight years advocating for the emotional and psychological side of living with diabetes to be treated with the same seriousness as the clinical data.
In this conversation, Lauren and Megan dig into what diabetes distress actually looks like day to day — the exhaustion, the isolation, the feeling of doing everything right and still not getting the results you hoped for. They talk about why it often goes unrecognized in clinical care, how it differs from depression, and why a good A1C doesn't always mean you're okay. They also explore how CGMs can both reduce and sometimes complicate our emotional relationship with diabetes and what it actually takes to move the needle when distress is high.

WHAT WE COVER:
What diabetes distress really is, how it differs from depression, and why it is still significantly underutilized as a screening tool in clinical care
Why people with an A1C under 7 can still score in the moderate to high range on the diabetes distress scale and what that actually means
The unequal energy exchange of T1D: putting in the effort but not getting the results, and why that cycle is so defeating
How CGMs have overwhelmingly helped reduce distress and the honest acknowledgment that alarms and constant data can also add to it for some people
What the research actually says about what helps most when someone is not reaching their diabetes goals: it is not just education or medication management alone
The one tangible step you can take in the next 24 hours if any of this conversation resonated with you

WHAT’S NEXT:
🧠 Discover Your T1D Archetype! Take the free quiz to understand the pattern behind how you think, respond, and make decisions with T1D.
📊 Diabetes burnout is real, and it can show up in ways you don’t always expect. Take the Diabetes Distress assessment and see where you score.
💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.

📧Join thousands of T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.

Stay connected with us: 
Email us at: [email protected]   

IG: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
TikTok: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
YT: Reclaim Your Rise 

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If this conversation helped you put language to something you have been quietly carrying, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with T1D can find it.

After coaching 2,500+ adults with T1D, Lauren discovered the T1D Archetypes. She notices there could be two people with the same A1C, and completely different remission experiences. The difference was never the numbers, it was the pattern underneath them.
In this episode, Lauren and Abby Cooper (Risely's Director of Coaching) unveil something 10 years in the making: the Risely T1D Archetype framework. If you've ever followed every prescription and still felt trapped by your diabetes, this episode will finally show you why.

WHAT WE COVER:
Why people stay stuck with T1D (it’s never a discipline problem)
The 5 T1D Archetypes: The Refiner, The Protector, The Reflector, The Devoted, and The Strategist
How unconscious coping patterns quietly shape your relationship with diabetes
Why you don't have to become someone you’re not to manage T1D well - you just need to understand your archetype

WHAT’S NEXT:

💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.

📧Join thousands of T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.

Stay connected with us: 
Email us at: [email protected]   

IG: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
TikTok: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
YT: Reclaim Your Rise 

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If this episode helped you feel seen - especially if you've been doing everything "right" and still feel stuck - subscribe and leave a review so more T1Ds can find their archetype.

Dylan Leonard is a filmmaker, lifelong athlete, and person with type 1 diabetes who has spent the last decade traveling the world, often in remote and high-stakes environments, while navigating the day-to-day reality of blood sugars, supplies, and unpredictability. In this conversation, Dylan shares how his early diagnosis at 15, shaped a mindset that became his anchor: “I’ll figure it out.” That belief carried him through near-miss travel moments, years on MDI without community, and the often invisible shame of managing diabetes while trying to feel “normal.”
What shifted for Dylan was not just upgrading tech. It was discovering community, finding the right support, and realizing he was uniquely positioned to serve the version of himself who once felt alone and uninformed. That is what led to Breaking Limits, a multi-year documentary project highlighting athletes with type 1 diabetes and the experts who support them. This episode is a powerful reminder that education, tools, and community can change everything, and that your next chapter with T1D can be bigger than your fears. 

WHAT WE COVER:
Running out of low snacks in a foreign country, tech failing mid-trip, and insulin chaos abroad — Dylan shares the scariest travel moments he’s faced with Type 1.
Diagnosed at 15 and convinced his basketball dreams were over — the moment Dylan had to decide if diabetes would stop him or fuel him.
For 10 years Dylan managed Type 1 with finger sticks, MDI, and zero diabetes community — until one turning point changed everything.
From hiding his diabetes on dates and during college recruiting… to publicly sharing his story with the world.
The untold story behind the Breaking Limits documentary — the setbacks, funding struggles, and why Dylan is determined to release it free on YouTube.

WHAT’S NEXT:

🎥Help Support Dylan’s Film. Donate and share to spread the word.

📸Follow Dylan on Instagram
✍️Sign up for our Live Challenging Foods Workshop
💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.

📧Join thousands of T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.

Stay connected with us: 
Email us at: [email protected]   

IG: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
TikTok: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
YT: Reclaim Your Rise 

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If Dylan’s story helped you rethink what is possible with T1D, subscribe and leave a review so more people can find these conversations.

Loren was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 18, right as she was starting college. What followed were 15 years of highs and lows, not just in her blood sugars, but in her relationship with herself. From struggling with diabulimia in her early 20s to feeling anxious, burnt out, and alone, Loren shares what it was like to look “fine” on the outside while silently fighting her diabetes behind the scenes.
In this episode, she opens up about the moment she realized she couldn’t keep living that way, when travel, friendships, and even future motherhood felt overshadowed by diabetes. Through coaching, she stopped dieting, shifted her focus from calories to patterns, lowered her A1C from 7.4 to 6.8 in three months, lost 10 pounds as a byproduct (not the goal), and rebuilt her relationship with food and insulin. Most importantly, she stopped seeing diabetes as the enemy and started seeing it as something she could navigate with confidence.
This conversation is about more than numbers. It’s about healing your relationship with diabetes so you can stop fighting yourself and start reclaiming your rise.

WHAT WE COVER:
Loren’s 15-year journey with T1D, including diabulimia and hidden burnout
The emotional toll of masking diabetes while feeling anxious and alone
Why traditional therapy didn’t fully address the root issue
How shifting from calorie counting to carb awareness changed everything
The specific tools that helped her lower her A1C from 7.4 to 6.8 in 3 months
Letting go of diet culture and rebuilding a peaceful relationship with food
Traveling with confidence (and no blood sugar chaos)
Preparing for pregnancy from a place of empowerment, not fear

WHAT’S NEXT:
‼️Finally eat pizza and ice cream without the blood sugar roller coaster: Join our free live workshop.
💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.
📧Join thousands of T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.
Stay connected with us: 
Email us at: [email protected]   

IG: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
TikTok: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
YT: Reclaim Your Rise 

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If Loren’s story helped you feel less alone, especially if you’ve been trying to “figure it out” for years but still feel stuck, subscribe and leave a review so more people with T1D can find conversations like this.

For decades, people living with Type 1 diabetes have asked the same question: what would life look like if my body made insulin again? In today’s episode, Lauren sits down with Katie Beth Hand (13 years with T1D) and Chris (diagnosed at 10 months old, living 35 years with T1D), two of only ten participants selected for the first cohort of the Eledon clinical trial at the University of Chicago. As Patients 9 and 10, they received an islet cell transplant alongside the investigational therapy Tegoprubart, designed to prevent the immune system from attacking transplanted cells. Now, for the first time in decades, they’re watching their blood sugars rise and come back down on their own, coming off basal insulin, dramatically reducing boluses, and navigating what it means to trust a body that suddenly responds differently. This is not hype or a guaranteed cure, but it may represent one of the most significant shifts in Type 1 diabetes research in over 30 years.

WHAT WE COVER:
What daily life looked like before the trial
How they found the Eledon trial and what screening week in Chicago involved
What actually happens during an islet cell transplant
Why Tegoprubart may change the future of islet transplantation
Mixed Meal Tolerance Tests, C-peptide, and what their data shows
The transition off basal insulin and how they are “protecting” the new islets
The emotional side: “Do I still say I have Type 1?”
Current Blocks to Scalability and what the Islet Act Is

Support Links:

💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.

📧Join thousands of T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.
🧑‍🧒‍🧒Our 8-week family group coaching program starts on March 25th. Enroll now to get the early bird discount that ends 2/28
Stay connected with us: 
Email us at: [email protected]   
IG: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
TikTok: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
Watch the full episode on our Youtube: Reclaim Your Rise 

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If Katie Beth and Chris’s story helped you feel seen, especially if you’ve been doing the work but still feel stuck in fear, burnout, or unpredictable lows, subscribe and leave a review so more people can find these conversations.