23 April 2026
Episode 351 - What Your Doctor Was Never Taught About Diabetes with Dr. Hannah Parr, D.O.
Diabetics Doing Things Podcast
About
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
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