Type 1 on 1 | Diabetes Stories

Welcome to Type 1 on 1: The Diaries! Writer and broadcaster Jen Grieves and producer Ami Bennett are good friends - who both happen to live with type 1 diabetes. For this special spin-off series of Type 1 on 1, nana diabetic Jen (25 years) and baby diabetic Ami (3 years) chat through the frustrating, funny and challenging experiences they’ve faced each week thanks to this ridiculous condition. All in the hope that their stories might help you too.

It’s a somewhat dramatic first episode as Ami tells us why dinner with friends resulted in a (short) hospital stay, and Jen’s blood sugars have pretty much been in the toilet as she handles the idiosyncrasies of switching to a different type of insulin thousands of miles from home.

We dive into the vulnerabilities of having a big fat hypo in front of someone for the first time, discuss how long it’s acceptable to use the same needle on your insulin injection (fatty lumps come through), and why we’re firm believers in always eating the dessert if you want it.

Thanks so much to Ypsomed MyLife Diabetescare for sponsoring this episode.
https://www.mylife-diabetescare.com/en/

Come and say hi on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/missjengrieves/
https://www.instagram.com/amilovesyoumore/

In this final episode of season 3 of Type 1 on 1, which coincides beautifully with World Diabetes Day, we have a special collaboration. Creator of the You First podcast Fiona Moss interviews me about what the concept of 'You First' means and how that's been shaped by my experiences of living with type 1 diabetes. We chat about at how someone living with type 1 diabetes has to use resilience and courage in their everyday lives, and why putting 'You First' isn't selfish, especially when it comes to dealing with a chronic illness. I reflect on how my many colourful experiences, mishaps and challenges have slowly but surely given me the confidence to make bold decisions in life; accepting that there will be bad days with type 1 diabetes no matter what - and how that helps me to appreciate the good even more.

This episode is designed to inspire you to put You First, in whatever way that makes sense for you. Fiona fervently believes that putting You First isn’t selfish, quite the opposite, and that within the constraints of life, and even with a chronic illness to consider, we DO still get to choose our own adventure. I hope this helps you to let more light into your life, even when type 1 diabetes threatens to cloud you with darkness.
Check out Fiona's podcast You First: https://podcasts.apple.com/ro/podcast/resilience-courage-purpose-with-fiona-moss/id1572252040?i=1000539941999&l=ro
Follow Fiona on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fionamoss_/
Check out Fiona's website: https://fionamoss.co.uk/

This episode is sponsored by Dexcom and Ypsomed MyLife Diabetescare.

Today’s guest is Instagram influencer, creative genius and one of the nicest guys I've had the pleasure of talking all things type 1 diabetes with, Mat Carter. Mat is 32 and runs a creative agency, wonderfully named Ginger Nuts, and is also a qualified personal trainer, having recently worked with Anita Beckwith, the lead dietician for diabetes at Kings College in London.

Diagnosed at the age of 13, Mat uses his Instagram platform, where he has more than 70,000 followers and counting, to openly showcase the realities of life with type 1. In this episode we discuss everything - from the wonders as well as the challenges of being a new dad with type 1 diabetes, his relationship with his brother who also lives with type 1, to raiding the kitchen in the middle of the night and the impossible task of not overcorrecting a nighttime hypo. There's also the time Mat's fiancé Chessie King thought he'd had an 'accident' on the bedsheets thanks to the risky combination of a low blood sugar and some chocolate ice cream...

Mat is so genuine, thoughtful and a real conversationalist - I loved this chat and I hope you do too!

Say hi to Mat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mathewlcarter

This episode is sponsored by Dexcom and Ypsomed MyLife Diabetescare
https://www.dexcom.com
https://www.mylife-diabetescare.com

Homeland actor Andrea Deck is my guest for this very special episode. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a teenager, Andrea chats about growing up in a household which was 75% diabetic, what it was like to move countries with a chronic illness and the ingenious places you can hide an insulin pump in your costume on a film set. Andrea's beloved dad Larry lived with type 1 diabetes for more than 60 years, and we talk about his legacy and how our respective experiences of acute grief turned everything, including our type 1 diabetes, upside down. We also dive into the fun world of diabetes into dating, and Andrea reveals how her type 1 has actually strengthened her relationship with her fiancé David. I can't thank Andrea enough for her willingness to dive into some difficult experiences with me. This is a poignant episode, but also one full of love, light and warmth - such is Andrea's strength and grace, and we truly hope it helps anyone who needs to hear it.

This one's for you, Larry and Sarah.

Say hi to Andrea on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shesdiabetic/
Check out Andrea's YouTube channel, She's Diabetic: https://www.youtube.com/c/ShesDiabetic

This episode is sponsored by Dexcom and Ypsomed MyLife Diabetescare
https://www.dexcom.com
https://www.mylife-diabetescare.com

Living with type 1 diabetes for nearly 40 years, today's guest Boo Dendy has seen and experienced it all when it comes to handling this wild condition, but from the early days of his diagnosis he felt like it was something he had to handle alone. Today's episode is a vivid, whistle-stop tour of Boo's life - from raving and rebelling to balancing his love of chocolate and cava with a love of cycling, as well as dealing with mental health challenges and the important role that communication plays in being able to cope with the demands of a chronic illness.

"Just as you think you’ve got it right, something will happen and tip it all over," he says of both life and type 1 diabetes. Speaking publicly about type 1 for the first time in his 40 years with the condition, Boo is open, real, warm and not afraid to tell us about the mishaps and the mess ups - which is exactly what this podcast is all about!
Follow Boo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asboluv/

This episode is sponsored by Dexcom and Ypsomed MyLife Diabetescare
https://www.dexcom.com
https://www.mylife-diabetescare.com

Dr Sufyan Hussain is a Consultant Diabetes and Endocrine Physician at Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital in London, and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at King’s College London, as well as a father of three and self-confessed 'granola addict'. Passionate about improving care for diabetes, he has also lived with type 1 diabetes for almost 30 years - offering an incredibly unique perspective on what it means to live with type 1 diabetes from both inside and outside the NHS.
Sufyan was 10 years old and living in Karachi in Pakistan when he was diagnosed. In this episode we talk about the honeymoon phase in those early years, his esteemed 20 year career in medicine, and why he chose to work in a field he was so personally tied to. Documenting his own challenges with type 1 diabetes, from new hospitals and night shifts to hypos at the operating table, Sufyan also talks about how these experiences have impacted the support he offers to those in his care. We also discuss disparities in the healthcare system, how the pandemic has impacted the NHS, and his own interest in DIY looping. This is a fascinating episode and I'm very happy Sufyan could share some of his renowned expertise with us, as well as his own personal story.

Follow Sufyan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sugarydoc

Disclaimer on behalf of Dr Hussain: Dr Sufyan Hussain has not received any financial remuneration or honorarium for this podcast and the sponsors have had no involvement in the recording.

This episode is sponsored by Dexcom and Ypsomed MyLife Diabetescare
https://www.dexcom.com
https://www.mylife-diabetescare.com

Misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2019 at the age of 50, Alex Haighton finally began treatment for type 1 diabetes seven months later - but not before she became so ill she could no longer work. By the time Alex was taken to A&E, her organs were shutting down. As she approaches her two year diaversary Alex, who lives in London and works for a medical charity, has chosen to speak out about her difficult experience in the hopes of raising awareness around misdiagnosis, highlighting that type 1 diabetes can occur long after the peak age of diagnosis as a teenager.

This episode is sponsored by Dexcom and Ypsomed MyLife Diabetescare
https://www.dexcom.com
https://www.mylife-diabetescare.com

I'm welcoming not one, but two guests to Type 1 on 1 for the first time! Luma is 24 and a youth worker and DJ from South East London, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in December 2019. She joins me with her mum Jane to talk about how her diagnosis has affected not only her, but her loved ones too. Speaking publicly about her illness for the first time, Luma openly discusses grieving the life she knew before her diagnosis, and how it's made her a better person as she's learned to accept life with the condition. Showing incredible empathy for those outside of herself, Luma details the challenges she's faced over the last 18 months and the way they have affected not only her, but her family and friends. Luma is wise, fierce and resilient, and what I love is that she recognises this in herself. This is such a warm, special episode and I hope it resonates with you whether you live with type 1 yourself, or live with it through someone close to you

Pop the kettle on and join us, this week’s podcast episode is a chatty one! My guest Eoin Costelloe was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2012 at the age of 19 at home in Dublin, Ireland. Since then he’s grown an incredible online following with his approach to what he calls ‘redefining’ diabetes, setting up a personal training business specifically for diabetics, and in 2020 he launched The Insuleoin podcast.
This episode is much more of a two way dialogue and incredibly relaxed one at that, because Eoin has a natural way of making you want to talk to him - as all the best interviewers do. With that in mind you should definitely check out The Insuleoin Podcast if you haven’t already! Warm, open and gregarious, Eoin discusses his approach to life with diabetes and how structure, perspective and some wisdom from his dad helped him tackle his condition head on from the start. We chat about what he means by 'redefining' diabetes (and why it needs redefining), how he manages the demands of living with the condition alongside being in the diabetes space professionally, and why he wouldn't change his diagnosis - such is the extent of the fulfilment he gets from helping others to live better with type 1 diabetes.

Follow Eoin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insuleoin/
Check out the Insuleoin podcast: https://www.insuleoin.com/podcast

This episode is sponsored by Dexcom and Ypsomed MyLife Diabetescare
https://www.dexcom.com
https://www.mylife-diabetescare.com

I can’t tell you how much I love this week's chat - for so many reasons!

Reba Redmond is a writer, public speaker and diabetes advocate living in Ontario, Canada. I hereby declare her a Diabetes VIP too, as she’s a distant cousin of Sir Frederick Banting who co-discovered insulin in 1921 and is the reason anyone with type 1 diabetes is alive today. But Reba is also a rare and brilliant human - one who can articulate the complex and unique challenges of a life lived with type 1 diabetes (and many other difficulties) without any sense of grandeur or call for pity. From a derailing diagnosis as a teenager, living with multiple mental illnesses and an episode of DKA that nearly ended her life, to overcoming needle phobia, the need for perfect blood glucose levels and dealing with the gut-wrenching guilt of being a parent with type 1 diabetes, Reba takes us on an incredibly heartfelt, eloquent yet pragmatic and humble journey of what it means to be human in this episode.

“We spend so much of our lives with diabetes focussed on numbers that we get lost as people,” she says. Her honest, authentic writing on both her blog A Soul Is A Resilient Thing and her Instagram account @rebaredmond is a breath of fresh air in a curated virtual landscape of filters and so-called ‘straight liners’. I hope you enjoy Reba’s generous truth and wisdom as much as I did.

Follow Reba on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebaredmond
Check out Reba's blog: https://asoulisaresilientthing.com

This episode is sponsored by Dexcom and Ypsomed MyLife Diabetescare
https://www.dexcom.com
https://www.mylife-diabetescare.com