Afleveringen
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'You have to care. If you don't care, it becomes a really miserable job. But that strength also means you take it home with you, and it opens you up to being spread very thin.'
Dr Mike Natter is an artist and physician who, through this episode and through his work, centres the humanness of not only the patients in his care, but the peers and the medical doctors working tirelessly alongside him to ensure the people in his care are equipped to live better lives.
Mike is an assistant professor of medicine and clinical endocrinologist, based in New York, and has himself been living with type 1 diabetes since the age of 9. An art enthusiast since childhood, Mike's illustrations are now an integral part of his work as a doctor. In this episode we chat about art's ability to break down barriers, and how this empowers Mike's patients by helping them to understand the physiology of their condition.
Mike talks openly about overcoming imposter syndrome after moving from an arts education into medical school, the gruelling and incredibly emotional experience of being a medical doctor through Covid and the contradictions of a profession that helps people get better while making those who deliver the medicines to feel worse. We discuss the importance of compassion in treatment, what we can expect next from diabetes technology, and how support systems have helped Mike to ultimately become the doctor he is today.
This is an incredible episode, and if you’re anything like me Mike's empathy and insight will stay with you for days after you’ve heard him speak.
CONNECT WITH MIKE:
Follow Mike on Instagram.
Follow Mike on TikTok.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
This week's audio offering is a solo episode from yours truly, in which I reflect on some of the mindset tools I've gathered up and honed on the long road that is living with type 1 diabetes.
These skills are things I draw on regularly to help me navigate all the weird and wild situations I find myself in thanks to this tricksy chronic illness, on top of the medicine and devices.
I chat about my perspective on and experience with getting uncomfortable, emotional wellbeing, diabetes content and information, trying new things, advocating for myself, self-compassion and shifting into a long game perspective.
None of this is medical advice, but it was fun to reflect on how far I've come, and the tools that have helped me in my 28 years navigating the spicy road of type 1 diabetes. Thank you as always for walking this road with me!
Let me know what you think! You can find me on instagram @missjengrieves, or follow the podcast account below:
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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34-year-old Jonty Brown is a humble Yorkshire man who went out for a little jog in lockdown… and ended up changing his entire life.
He quickly hit marathon distances, and then Ultra Marathon distances - becoming the first person with type 1 diabetes to run across the UK. Jonty’s now an Adidas running coach and co-founder of of Runlimited, a London running community on a mission to create the most collaborative and inclusive running collective on the planet.
Jonty has used his talent to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes, as a way to give back to the healthcare team that looked after him so well after his diagnosis aged 12. Along with his family, they were a huge support when he was diagnosed with diabetes-related depression and anxiety as a teenager. In 2023 Jonty ran 102km around his beloved Victoria Park in Hackney to raise money for JDRF, celebrating the 102nd anniversary of the discovery of insulin.
Jonty chats about his whirlwind journey since 2020, how he credits diabetes technology for taking his running to the next level, his advice for both shorter and longer runs with diabetes, and asking his mates to inject him at school.
Jonty is such a likeable guy doing incredible things; even if you’re not a runner, this is definitely an episode to dive into.
CONNECT WITH JONTY:
Follow Jonty on Instagram.
Follow Runlimited on Instagram.
Find out more about Runlimited.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
Did someone say Season 12?!
My first guest is the lovely Divya Joshi, a university student living in Cardiff, two years into life with type 1 diabetes after being diagnosed in 2022 at the age of 20.
Since her diagnosis type 1 diabetes has not only changed the course of her studies, but she has also had to reclaim her sense of worth after unsolicited comments about her type 1 diabetes diagnosis left her questioning who she was, and even whether her boyfriend should stay with her.
Full of wisdom and insight, Divya speaks from the heart about being rocked by her diagnosis, which led to taking a year off from her studies to focus on getting to grips with the condition - a decision I completely admire and has helped her to move past the self doubt and into a new chapter, becoming a Diabetes UK Young Leader and speaking on the Welsh Parliament Stage.
Now studying a different degree and reclaiming her university experience with a renewed understanding of both her health and herself, we discuss the ways in which diabetes has affected Divya’s life, the resilience it’s built and the purpose she’s found in articulating her struggles through the beautiful spoken word poems she shares on her Instagram page, @creativebydivya.
Divya also offers some practical tips around life at university, and reveals what it was like to appear in the Netflix series Sex Education.
CONNECT WITH DIVYA
Follow Divya on Instagram.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
‘Stop looking for yes and no answers, and start trying to see the nuance. Pay attention to you and knowing yourself.’
Tony Coffey, also known as @trainbloom to his 400,000 instagram followers, is a personal trainer and co-host of the Fitness Stuff (For Normal People) podcast living in San Diego, California. When he’s not at Chipotle, Tony dedicates his time to combatting the mountain of fitness and nutrition misinformation out there with his no nonsense, informative and very funny evidence-based videos online.
Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes through primary care as a college freshman, it was very much suggested that diabetes would be a defining part of his identity. Already a fitness enthusiast, Tony’s diagnosis cemented his professional path, and he has used himself as his own science experiment ever since to defy the definition of diabetes he was given at the age of 19.
‘You’re going to go through some crappy, crappy days,’ he says of taking responsibility for your own condition. ‘But once you get a handle on it, I don’t know that anything else could build your confidence as much as type 1 diabetes does. All of the other problems in your life start to seem quite small, and it’s stuff no-one else in my life has had to deal with.’
In this episode we chat about diet, nutrition, taking on and standing out in the fitness industry, and stepping back from the frustrating moments of life with type 1 diabetes. As data driven and research focused as they come, Tony reveals the single easiest thing you can do to help your blood sugar management (and it’s NOT running marathons or becoming a bodybuilder), as well as what Tony thinks of the rising popularity of glucose sensors for those who aren’t living with diabetes. Hint: He’s not a fan.
Please do yourself a favour and take a look at Tony's Instagram account. In a sea of fitness noise and nonsense, his data-driven, research-led content and very clear, very funny delivery really cuts through.
CONNECT WITH TONY:
Follow Bloom Training on Instagram.
Take a look at his TikTok.
Listen to Fitness Stuff (For Normal People) on Spotify.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
'You’re more than a blood sugar, and that’s your excellence.’
Today we meet certified diabetes royalty! Maryann Croft Maloney has lived with type 1 diabetes since 1978 - the same year she also got married and became pregnant with her first child. Maryann went through a large part of that pregnancy without a glucose meter, but has always moved through life handling whatever it - and diabetes - has thrown at her without an ounce of self-pity.
Through the incredible lens of living with type 1 diabetes for almost 50 years, we discuss the advances in diabetes management Maryann has witnessed after starting out with only long-acting insulin, but conversely the anxiety that has been prompted by having so much data at her fingertips.
It was 20 years before Maryann met anyone else with type 1, and we really dig into the perspective that living with the condition has given her. From not worrying about the small stuff, to life as a test of resilience, to her quest for perfection and the importance of asking questions in the pursuit of a better quality of life, Maryann's honesty and insight makes for an extraordinary listen.
We also talk about her life-changing experience at Diabetes Training Camp, and the wisdom and relief it has offered her.
CONNECT WITH MARYANN:
Follow Maryann on Instagram.
Find out more about Diabetes Training Camp.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
My dear friend and fellow type 1 Ami Bennett is back to say hello. So obviously this episode is full of mischief, escapades, hypo gremlins, and guess what? We've STILL both got type 1 diabetes...
We sweep through so much fun (and not so fun) stuff this week, having a good old catch up about everything from turning into hermits of routine by choice, being confronted by security staff about diabetes, dating, shoving Haribo into your face in a public toilet to fix a hypo... it's a glamorous life.
We shoutout some awesome people doing awesome things in the community, and of course The Diaries wouldn't be complete without an appearance from Ami's lovely dog Milou.
CONNECT WITH AMI:
Follow Ami on Instagram.
OTHER PEOPLE MENTIONED:
Type One Community's Instagram.
Temi Olonisakin's Instagram.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
When it comes to diabetes advocates, few are held in such regard as Renza Scibilia. And rightly so, as for more than two decades she has travelled the world to ensure the voices of people with diabetes are not only acknowledged, but listened to and understood by everyone from world-renowned healthcare professionals to pharmaceutical bosses.
Diagnosed in 1998, Renza’s activism started out through the Diabetonic blog, published from her desk at home in Melbourne, Australia. But such is her determination and motivation to create meaningful change, she is now Director of Community Building & Communications at Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), Head of Advocacy at #dedoc°, and in her spare time (when she’s not baking or on a plane), she runs a health consultancy.
As much as Renza works hard to makes sure she has a seat at the table, she works even harder to ensure that there are seats for the rest of us too, shaping outcomes for everyone who has been forced through lived experience to cruelly understand what it really means to live with type 1 diabetes.
'When insulin has been around for 100 years, lack of access should not be happening,' she told me. 'It’s perfectly ok to feel overwhelmed by the personal burden of type 1 diabetes and what we are living with, but I do also feel the weight of what type 1 diabetes is on a bigger scale. Sometimes I think it’s ok to feel hopeless because of that, because in many ways it’s what drives me.'
This generous and heartfelt conversation is such a treat, and a reminder of the power we collectively have for change when the right people are shaping the conversation.
CONNECT WITH RENZA:
Take a look at Renza’s blog, Diabetogenic.
Follow Renza on X.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
Everybody’s type 1 diabetes diagnosis is memorable, but Alex Durussel-Baker’s was particularly far removed from her routine as a 30-year-old business owner living in Edinburgh. Alex was on an aeroplane runway, about to take off for a work trip to the States, when her doctor called with the results of a blood test.
Alex subsequently spent three days in hospital in New York, before attending the work conference anyway. This isn’t a movie, this is Alex’s life, and it was once she returned to Scotland that the reality of both the permanence and the inconsistency of living with this complicated condition took hold.
Since that diagnosis in 2018, Alex’s path to acceptance has taken many turns. During a period of burnout and depression, she started to process events in the way that she knows best - through creativity, specifically graphic design. A 100-day project to make diabetes more visible by subverting famous posters led to the birth of Diabetes By Design.
Six years later, today sees the launch of DByD Fest - a 10 day programme of events, a design exhibition and panel talks all led by Alex. It’s all entirely free for you to visit at Custom Lane in Leith, Edinburgh, from June 13th-22nd 2024. This episode is a celebration of the ways in which this event will address the multitudes of misunderstanding that are unfortunately part of life with type 1 diabetes, but also an honouring of Alex’s lived experience.
We discuss so much in this episode, including motherhood, the effect that diabetes has had on her relationship, and how absolutely messy this all is, no matter how far into the journey you are. You can get involved in Alex’s work by giving your feedback on her soon to be launched Companion Card toolkit, co-designed by healthcare professionals and people living with type 1 diabetes to open up conversations about this undoubtedly messy condition.
Thank you so much to Alex for speaking to me with such candour and humility.
CONNECT WITH ALEX
Find out more about DByD Fest.
Find out more about the Companion Cards.
Sign up to the Diabetes By Design newsletter.
Follow Diabetes By Design on Instagram.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
Business owner, fitness enthusiast and adventurer Tara Humphrey is a woman of action. As the CEO of a primary care management consultancy, wife and mum of three adolescent girls, life is already a juggling act, but the family have also been forced to adapt to not one but two demanding chronic illnesses in the household. And despite the inevitable challenges, adapt they have - with the help of a whole load of pragmatic organisation, communication, teamwork and a generous dose of fun too.
Tara's youngest daughter Tahlia was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on Christmas Day in 2017 at the age of five. Now 12, Tara is balancing steadily letting Tahlia live a little more independently from Mum and Dad, while ensuring she remains safe from the riskier sides of life with type 1 diabetes.
In this insightful episode, Tara speaks candidly about the family's experiences - from herself being given a diabetes textbook as her daughter was diagnosed (and tested before Tahlia was allowed home!), feeling like a failure when diabetes technology wasn't working for them, to delegating diabetes appointments to her husband Mark after some frustrating interactions with Tahlia's care team.
We also speak about the interesting dichotomy between the experience Tara has as a Mum with multiple personal touch-points with the health system, and someone who also lives and breathes primary care in her professional life.
CONNECT WITH TARA:
Follow Tara on Instagram.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
When you speak to 27-year-old Avani Ved, you encounter an intelligent, focused, determined and thoughtful woman whose mission in life is to help people. She demonstrates this both in her professional career as a nurse and via her Instagram page, which spreads encouraging messages about life in general, as well as life with type 1 diabetes.
But her motivations come from some altogether more challenging and upsetting personal experiences as a child living with type 1 diabetes. Despite facing stigma and feelings of not being good enough since her diagnosis in 2005, Avani has somehow found the resolve to turn her pain into her power.
‘When I was nine there wasn’t a lot of people in my culture that understood what type 1 diabetes was. That was a huge challenge and a huge barrier to overcome. I heard a lot of comments at nine… but at that age you’re not going to sit there and explain to a 40-year-old woman what type 1 diabetes is.’
Running parallel to those difficult experiences, Avani has thankfully always also had an incredible support network around her, and it’s thanks to positive interactions with medical staff in the hospital she was sent to as a little girl that Avani knew from the day of her diagnosis she was going to be a nurse - despite not knowing what being a nurse actually meant.
There is so much to learn from this uplifting and honest episode, and I’m grateful to Avani for sharing her story as part of her mission to, in her words, ‘become the person that I needed when I was nine years old.’
CONNECT WITH AVANI:
Follow Avani on Instagram.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
It is apparent from the minute you meet James Ridgeway that he is one of life’s good guys. A Diabetes Specialist Nurse and Education Research Associate living in Leicestershire with his partner Stacey and son Alfie, it was his own type 1 diabetes diagnosis in 2012 while on shift as a student nurse that set him on his professional path.
James is incredibly passionate about diabetes education, and as well as supporting diabetes patients in clinic through his role as a DSN, part of his job is delivering diabetes education to other healthcare professionals through the renowned EDEN network. He also runs an innovative Podding peer support group to help people connect with others living with type 1 diabetes.
Through both living and working with type 1 diabetes, James is well aware that on average people with diabetes have just one hour of healthcare professional support each year. With his blend of lived experience, healthcare knowledge and belief in the importance of peer support, this episode offers a unique and encouraging perspective on living a better, less isolated life with type 1 diabetes.
CONNECT WITH JAMES:
Follow James on X.
Find out more about the Eden Network.
Check out James’s Podding peer support group for Omnipod Users.
Take a look at the Language Matters framework.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
My guest today are Lochlan Murdoch and his mum, Lesley.
Lochlan was just four when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Now 15, Lochlan has always had a deep love of football, but a serious leg injury at the age of nine left him unable to play his beloved sport. The subsequent impact on Lochlan’s blood sugars and his mental health inspired him to organise a stadium marathon, walking 28 miles in four days around the Scottish Premier Football League stadiums. But that was just the beginning - in 2020, the charity Lochlan’s Legacy was lauched with the aim to break barriers and reduce stigma around type 1 diabetes in Scotland and beyond.
In the few short years since the charity's inception, it's already made an immeasurable difference spreading knowledge and awareness of type 1 diabetes through sport. With the help of some national funding, the support of Lochlan's beloved Kilmarnock FC and his mum Lesley working tirelessly for the charity as well as countless other organisations, there's no stopping Lochlan who says, 'I just want to help people.'
CONNECT WITH LOCHLAN'S LEGACY:
Visit Lochlan's Legacy website.
Follow Lochlan's Legacy on Instagram.
Follow them on X.
Join the Lochlan's Legacy Facebook page.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE: Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
This is no ordinary episode, but Aviation Medical Officer and Boeing 737 First Officer Dr Jeremy Robertson is no ordinary man.
This undeniably extraordinary story takes us on a 14 year journey, back to 2010 when 31-year-old Jeremy, from Sydney Australia, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes while on a training course in the United States. He was still wearing his uniform when he was told to hand over his pilot’s licence in the doctor’s office, such were the restrictions banning type 1s from flying commercial planes at the time. He was also weeks away from getting married.
Heartbroken, Jeremy returned to Australia the next day, and soon turned his attention to retraining as a medical doctor. Fast forward many years and having gathered an incredible amount of medical knowledge, as well as his own experience as a type 1 and a precedent in regulation changes set by the UK and Canada, Jeremy set about gathering the hundreds of hours of flying data required in smaller aircraft to propose a case to change the medical restrictions in Australia.
Step by step, over many years and with many setbacks along the way (not least a global pandemic that halted the entire aviation industry), Jeremy checked in as the first officer of his first commercial flight in 14 years just a few weeks ago, having successfully changed the restrictions to obtain a class 1 aviation medical. In doing so, he’s changed the prospects for aspiring type 1 pilots in Australia, forever.
I told you it was extraordinary...
CONNECT WITH JEREMY:
Follow Jeremy on Instagram.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.
Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.
They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/ -
‘We can do everything with type 1, but we can’t do everything.’
Beth Edwards is the kind of person with whom you instantly feel safe and seen. Through her work as a nutritional therapist, she encompasses a holistic approach to health, food, stress and type 1 diabetes in order to help people living with the condition reset their relationship with food.
Beth has helped countless people break free of the stigmas, shame and isolation that can overwhelm people with diabetes, particularly in relation to the complex relationship many have with the foods they eat, helping them to discover a sense of empowerment and enjoyment at mealtimes.
Beth has been able to blend her psychological training, nutritional expertise and her own lived experience in her practice, having lived with type 1 diabetes since she was nine years old.
In this meaty episode (excuse the pun!) we chat through Beth’s own journey with her type 1, her motivations for wanting to help people with diabetes in ways that are often out of reach within the time constraints of hospital appointments, as well as ways in which people can start addressing their food and glucose level frustrations. She also offers loads of practical advice around mealtime rituals, dosing timing, insulin sensitivity, sleep, post-meal spikes and so much more.
This episode filled my cup right up - I hope it satisfies your emotional cravings too!
CONNECT WITH BETH:
Follow Beth on Instagram.
Take a look at Beth's services and support guides on her website.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Insulet, the founders of Pod Therapy - only found with Omnipod.
Pod Therapy uses a tubeless, wearable and waterproof Pod that continuously delivers insulin for up to three days.
Controlled wirelessly by its handheld companion, it allows you to personalise your insulin doses according to your own daily needs - no multiple daily injections and no tubes.
Head to https://www.omnipod.com/ to find out more. -
Look who it is, Ami Bennett has returned to the podcast airwaves!
In a break from regularly scheduled programming, my type 1 friend Ami and co-host of spin-off series Type 1 on 1: The Diaries pops in to give us a little life update, as it has somehow been a whole year since she said hello on the podcast. We have a lovely catch up and hear about how she's getting on with her hard-won insulin pump 18 months in, and then she grills me on my new gadget - the hybrid closed loop system, which it's fair to say has had quite the impact on my life.
It's not all about gadgets though, as in true Jen and Ami style there are plenty of escapades to report and a silly joke or two. We talk about how Ami's disappearing hypo symptoms have conversely made her less anxious about having them, whether there is such a thing as a pleasant hypo experience (chocolate in bed, anyone?) and we find out Ami's less than affectionate names for her different basal programmes. You've got to keep it entertaining, right?
If you fancy some deep chats with a couple of friends as well as a bit of light relief when it comes to the chaos that is type 1 diabetes, you're in the right place!
Here's the article I recently wrote about switching to a hybrid closed loop if you fancy a read.
CONNECT WITH AMI:
Follow Ami on Instagram.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Insulet, the founders of Pod Therapy - only found with Omnipod.
Pod Therapy uses a tubeless, wearable and waterproof Pod that continuously delivers insulin for up to three days.
Controlled wirelessly by its handheld companion, it allows you to personalise your insulin doses according to your own daily needs - no multiple daily injections and no tubes.
Head to https://www.omnipod.com/ to find out more. -
I am always left completely humbled and in awe when I speak to the parents of children with type 1 diabetes, and this episode is no different. And it brings with it a superhero... by the name of Captain Lantus.
Captain Lantus is the brain child of 10-year-old Max Rapson, brought to life by his dad Gary, today’s guest. Gary and his wife Sarah were plunged into a living nightmare back in 2014 when Max slipped into a coma at just 18 months old. What followed was months of around the clock care to keep their baby happy and healthy after a terrifying type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
When Max was 3, an insulin pump changed Gary and Sarah’s lives, but for Max it was a different story. He would run away from site changes to get away from the device he just didn’t want to be attached to. Aged 6, Max came home from school with an idea that his insulin pump was in fact his superpower, and their children’s book, The Adventures of Captain Lantus, was born.
Since then Gary, Sarah and Max, with the help of some trusty sidekicks and a brilliant community, have been on a mission to get their books to newly diagnosed children all over world to help them to feel empowered by, rather than afraid of, the possibilities of diabetes technology.
This episode covers a lot, from the trauma of that terrifying diagnosis, two parents finding their way in the dark, to the advancement of technology and the mission to make sure no child is scared of it the way that Max understandably was. Now 10, Max is confident and thriving, and the family is working hard to spread the message of Captain Lantus around the world to help newly diagnosed families.
Heartbreaking, uplifting and inspiring - this is a powerful episode and I can’t thank Gary enough for the service he’s done for other type 1 parents by sharing his story.
CONNECT WITH GARY AND CAPTAIN LANTUS:
Follow The Adventures of Captain Lantus on Instagram.
Find them on Facebook.
Visit the Captain Lantus website.
You can support Captain Lantus via their GoFundMe page here.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY We’ve got an Instagram account!
Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Insulet, the founders of Pod Therapy - only found with Omnipod.
Pod Therapy uses a tubeless, wearable and waterproof Pod that continuously delivers insulin for up to three days.
Controlled wirelessly by its handheld companion, it allows you to personalise your insulin doses according to your own daily needs - no multiple daily injections and no tubes.
Head to https://www.omnipod.com/ to find out more. -
Today’s guest is Mohammad AlBahar, also known as @thediabetictraveler. Diagnosed at just two years old, he’s witnessed mammoth changes in diabetes managed since he was diagnosed in 1985.
Moh is the founder of the Diabetes Ambassadors Program, a non-profit in Kuwait that works to empower people living with diabetes by advocating for the needs and rights of those living with the condition.
As well as peer support and education, the foundation is currently working towards establishing new laws for people with diabetes in the workplace.
Moh reveals how existing as the best version of himself possible is the most powerful tool he has to challenge misconceptions, while crucially understanding that changing a person’s perspective cannot be forced.
We also talk about burnout, fitness, the challenges of airport security, the psychology of diabetes and most importantly, why Lego is Moh’s not-so-secret superpower when it comes to dealing with the mental load of diabetes.
CONNECT WITH MOH:
Follow The Diabetic Traveler on Instagram.
Follow The Diabetes Ambassadors Program on Instagram.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Insulet, the founders of Pod Therapy - only found with Omnipod.
Pod Therapy uses a tubeless, wearable and waterproof Pod that continuously delivers insulin for up to three days.
Controlled wirelessly by its handheld companion, it allows you to personalise your insulin doses according to your own daily needs - no multiple daily injections and no tubes.
Head to https://www.omnipod.com/ to find out more. -
Oh my goodness, this episode <3
Jewellery designer and all-round lovely woman Katie Pell was days away from giving birth when she agreed to speak to me about her road to motherhood with type 1 diabetes.
Primose Florence Pell entered this world with a leap on February 29th 2024, just a week later!
Katie’s journey with type 1 diabetes, not to mention becoming a mum, has had its challenges. It includes some incredibly difficult periods of frustration and despair, not only for her health and mental wellbeing, but for the gap in the system she found herself in between her diabetes team and the IVF clinic Katie couldn’t access until her glucose levels hit an incredibly unforgiving range.
Diabetes technology changed her life. ‘Closed loop is the only reason I have a baby,’ she says, which is as heart-stopping as it is hopeful for anyone on this road.
This is a story about hope, of support systems, of understanding what it means to be human, to have feelings about wanting to be well not only for yourself, but for those in your life - and those you hope to bring into this world.
It’s ultimately a story about love, in all of its forms.
Katie candidly opens up about the decision to start a family, the interactions she had with healthcare professionals, the toil type 1 diabetes has taken on her headspace, her relationship with food and being in partnership when diabetes decides to gatecrash more than one life. She's also an incredible jeweller, so take a look at her work!
CONNECT WITH KATIE:
Follow Crux London on Instagram.
Follow The Workbench on Instagram.
Find out more about nutritionist Beth Edwards.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Insulet, the founders of Pod Therapy - only found with Omnipod.
Pod Therapy uses a tubeless, wearable and waterproof Pod that continuously delivers insulin for up to three days.
Controlled wirelessly by its handheld companion, it allows you to personalise your insulin doses according to your own daily needs - no multiple daily injections and no tubes.
Head to https://www.omnipod.com/ to find out more. -
Not everyone loves a deep chat as much as I do, but documentary film maker Lisa Hepner really went there with me as we plunged the depths of the rollercoaster that is type 1 diabetes, in an episode I’ve been thinking about eve since we recorded. In a way I felt like I was speaking to someone I already knew.
Lisa knows more about type 1 diabetes than most. Not only has she lived with the condition since she was diagnosed in 1991 aged 21, she spent over a decade filming, writing, directing and producing The Human Trial - a film that closely follows the progress of a radical stem cell trial hoping cure type 1 diabetes for good.
As heart-wrenching as it is inspirational, The Human Trial follows the personal journeys of both the patients and the researchers who risk everything to go first, in a bid change the future for all of us living with this condition. It left me deeply confronted and incredibly hopeful, and in this episode we get the inside story.
WATCH THE HUMAN TRIAL:
The Human Trial website.
Watch The Human Trial on Prime Video.
Watch The Human Trial on Apple TV.
Follow The Human Trial on Instagram.
JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Insulet, the founders of Pod Therapy - only found with Omnipod.
Pod Therapy uses a tubeless, wearable and waterproof Pod that continuously delivers insulin for up to three days.
Controlled wirelessly by its handheld companion, it allows you to personalise your insulin doses according to your own daily needs - no multiple daily injections and no tubes.
Head to https://www.omnipod.com/ to find out more. - Laat meer zien
