Type 1 on 1 | Diabetes Stories

Back in 2017, I was working at BBC Health News Online when I came across an article about a lady who had launched a clothing range specifically for women with type 1 diabetes, designed to help them manage the condition with strategically placed holes for injecting or reaching devices. 

Its creator Natalie Balmain had the idea following her own diagnosis at the age of 20. Many years and many further creative ideas later, Natalie joins me as today’s guest.

Whether it’s fashion design, hosting Insulet’s Typecast podcast, winning reality TV shows as a would-be politician, or working in corporate communications, Natalie is a master adapter, but also a crusader.

In this episode we talk about how type 1 diabetes gave Natalie the confidence she never had, learning to let her guard down and build community, and how she manages her ADHD alongside the many demands of type 1 diabetes. 

CONNECT WITH NATALIE
Follow Natalie on Instagram.
Discover Natalie on TikTok.
Watch the Typecast podcast.

JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 INSTAGRAM COMMUNITY 
Come and say hi @studiotype1on1 on Instagram.

DISCLAIMER
Nothing you hear on Type 1 on 1 should be taken as medical advice. Please consult your healthcare team before making any changes to your diabetes or health management.

SPONSOR MESSAGE
This episode of Type 1 on 1 is sponsored by Insulet, the makers of Omnipod tube-free insulin pump therapy. Using Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery has improved my diabetes management significantly with less diabetes decisions, and of course no multiple daily injections. How? Well, Omnipod 5 automatically adjusts insulin every five minutes to help keep me in range, allowing life outside of type 1 diabetes to get bigger. If you want to know more, head to Omnipod.com.

The second you start speaking to Dr Paida Katsande, it’s near impossible not to feel more calm, more hopeful, and reassured about the good of humanity. Her sunshine energy is unmistakable, but coupled with the realities of life experience and a clear mission to establish equity in public health, dismantle stigma and improve health outcomes? It’s all the more powerful.

A former postdoctoral researcher in type 1 diabetes, Dr Paida is committed to her work, but also committed to sharing her research in a way that everyone in every community can access and understand, pushing for greater communication in health both in the UK and her native Zimbabwe.

This chat bounced from light and laughter to poignant and raw and back again, offering the full scope of human experience which Dr Paida unapologetically brings to her work in order to connect science with the human experience.

She lifts the lid on the latest in diabetes research, the link between the circadian rhythm and immunity, collaboration, the realities of a lab day, and how she protects her own health from the challenges of spending your days immersed in complex, life-threatening conditions.

CONNECT WITH PAIDA
Follow Paida on Instagram.
Discover Paida on TikTok.

JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 INSTAGRAM COMMUNITY
Come and say hi @studiotype1on1 on Instagram.
 
SPONSOR MESSAGE
This episode of Type 1 on 1 is sponsored by Insulet, the makers of Omnipod tube-free insulin pump therapy.
 
Using Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery has improved my diabetes management significantly with less diabetes decisions, and of course no multiple daily injections.
 
How? Well, Omnipod 5 automatically adjusts insulin every five minutes to help keep me in range, allowing life outside of type 1 diabetes to get bigger.
 
If you want to know more, head to Omnipod.com.

If you’ve ever googled a specific insulin pump or CGM, you may well have come across Nerdabetic’s content online. His insightful but fun YouTube videos break down the latest and greatest in diabetes technology, helping people with diabetes to understand how they could benefit.

In this episode I’m chatting to Kamil Armacky - the real Nerdabetic. We discuss his personal journey into technology after he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2012, how he went from his first Facebook post to meeting royalty in the name of type 1 diabetes, and how his content - and the impact his content having - has evolved since he started posting eight years ago.

Offering personal stories as well as practical tips for the tech-curious, Kamil reveals his top tips for figuring out what insulin pump might work for you, what the diabetes CEOs really think, why the time in happiness is just as important as time in range - and how he ended up serving undercooked chicken on Junior Masterchef...

CONNECT WITH KAMIL
Follow Nerdabetic on Instagram.
Subscribe to his YouTube channel.
Follow Nerdabetic on X.

JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 INSTAGRAM COMMUNITY
Come and say hi @studiotype1on1 on Instagram.
 
SPONSOR MESSAGE
This episode of Type 1 on 1 is sponsored by Insulet, the makers of Omnipod tube-free insulin pump therapy.
 
Using Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery has improved my diabetes management significantly with less diabetes decisions, and of course no multiple daily injections.
 
How? Well, Omnipod 5 automatically adjusts insulin every five minutes to help keep me in range, allowing life outside of type 1 diabetes to get bigger.
 
If you want to know more, head to Omnipod.com.

Andrea Limbourg is one of the first people in the type 1 diabetes community I spent time with in real life, although we’ve met only a handful of times. I didn’t really realise until we were recording this episode how much of an impact she’s had on my approach to my type 1 diabetes, and I’m excited that you get to experience her wisdom in today’s episode.
 
Diagnosed in Canada in 1997, Andrea took off to study abroad in Ireland just a few months after her diagnosis. A decision that may be unfathomable to some, but Andrea has always found type 1 diabetes easier to manage in comparison to the debilitating effects of undiagnosed celiac disease that she experienced for years.
 
Fast forward to 2025 and now living in France, Andrea chats to me about how the two diseases impact both her and her family’s lives, as well as their similarities and contrasts.

‘Diabetes is all about the balance. All of my flexibility is in diabetes, whereas I don't have any flexibility in celiac. There's zero gluten. Not a crumb.’
 
We also discuss the emotional cost of being vocal about your health, moving countries with type 1 diabetes (for love!) and why despite ongoing advances in access to technology and the best efforts of her endocrinologist, Andrea remains on a DIY open-source insulin pump. 

JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 INSTAGRAM COMMUNITY
Come and say hi @studiotype1on1 on Instagram.
 
SPONSOR MESSAGE
This episode of Type 1 on 1 is sponsored by Insulet, the makers of Omnipod tube-free insulin pump therapy.
 
Using Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery has improved my diabetes management significantly with less diabetes decisions, and of course no multiple daily injections.
 
How? Well, Omnipod 5 automatically adjusts insulin every five minutes to help keep me in range, allowing life outside of type 1 diabetes to get bigger.
 
If you want to know more, head to Omnipod.com.

‘I think I've found postpartum harder to manage in terms of my diabetes than actual pregnancy, but I’m literally living my best life as a mum.’
 
That sentence is pretty reflective of Emily Vilé’s philosophy on type 1 diabetes - not shying away from the realities of the condition she’s lived with since she was just 14 months old, but soaking up all the moments that feel even sweeter for the juggle.
 
This practical outlook can also be seen in the powerful content Emily posts about motherhood and life in Perth, Australia, as well as in her work as Project Lead for Perth Diabetes Care Mums & Bumps at the Perth Diabetes Care Health Hub to support mums to be who live with diabetes - a career shift that came about after she gave birth to her daughter in July 2024.
 
In this heartfelt episode, Emily talks all things pregnancy and type 1 diabetes, as well as the recent OCD diagnosis that has helped her to make sense of her life to date.
 
From careful planning, to adapting to changing insulin needs and strict glucose targets, managing a classroom of teenagers while pregnant to managing blood sugars during birth itself, Emily naturally dealt with a number of fears in her pregnancy journey, but with the help of an amazing inner circle, overcoming these challenges have made for some of her proudest achievements - not to mention life as mum to gorgeous Gia!
 
A beautiful episode with plenty of giggles along the way - I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did.
 
CONNECT WITH EMILY
Follow Emily on Instagram.
Connect with PDC Mums and Bumps on Instagram.
Join their Facebook community.

JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 INSTAGRAM COMMUNITY
Come and say hi @studiotype1on1 on Instagram.
 
SPONSOR MESSAGE
 This episode of Type 1 on 1 is sponsored by Insulet, the makers of Omnipod tube-free insulin pump therapy.
 
Using Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery has improved my diabetes management significantly with less diabetes decisions, and of course no multiple daily injections.
 
How? Well, Omnipod 5 automatically adjusts insulin every five minutes to help keep me in range, allowing life outside of type 1 diabetes to get bigger.
 
If you want to know more, head to Omnipod.com.

What is screeening for type 1 diabetes? Who should be screened? Is it right for my family?

In this episode, attorneys turned authors Rhodes and Alana Ritenour discuss the potential benefits of screening and their decision to screen their own children.

Rhodes and Alana are no ordinary couple - they’re also the characters of their own book series, The Adventures of Rhodes and Alana. The series is based in part on Rhodes’ experiences of living with type 1 diabetes since he was diagnosed in 1983 at the age of 5. 

One page at a time 8-year-old Rhodes and his best friend Alana turn the challenges of type 1 diabetes into intrepid adventures, normalising conversations about the things that make us unique.

Back to real world Rhodes and Alana, and alongside their positions on multiple advisory boards, founding their own Diabetes Support Group and educating their local community in Richmond, Virginia, the pair are advocates for type 1 diabetes screening - a relatively new autoantibody test that can determine if you will develop type 1 diabetes, giving families a chance to prepare for the transition to life with type 1 in the household. 

In this energising and hopeful episode, the pair also chat about becoming authors, how diabetes impacts their partnership as a couple and as parents, giving back to the community and their hopes for the future of type 1 diabetes.

CONNECT WITH RHODES AND ALANA
Visit The Diabetes Support Group website.
Follow The Diabetes Support Group on Instagram.
More about The Adventures of Rhodes and Alana book series.

JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 INSTAGRAM COMMUNITY 
Come and say hi @studiotype1on1 on Instagram.

SPONSOR MESSAGE
This episode of Type 1 on 1 is sponsored by Insulet, the makers of Omnipod tube-free insulin pump therapy.

Using Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery has improved my diabetes management significantly with less diabetes decisions, and of course no multiple daily injections.

How? Well, Omnipod 5 automatically adjusts insulin every five minutes to help keep me in range, allowing life outside of type 1 diabetes to get bigger.

If you want to know more, head to Omnipod.com.

At first glance, it may seem that Vanessa Haydock has type 1 diabetes all figured out. The behavioural analyst and health and fitness coach speaks of ‘dominating diabetes’, but it was her struggles to accept her condition and care for herself that have enabled her to help hundreds of others change their health for the better as The Diabetic Health Coach.

Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a toddler, Lancashire born and bred Vanessa keeps it real - focusing on connection, community and education to give her clients ‘what she really needed when she was younger’.

Having gone through every emotion it’s possible to feel in relation to type 1 diabetes, Vanessa shares how she went from denial to not only acceptance but empowerment and fulfilment. She also reveals the tools you can use to start building your own positive habits and self-confidence - just as long as there are no digestive biscuits! 

CONNECT WITH VANESSA
Visit Vanessa’s website. 
Check out Vanessa’s Instagram.

JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 INSTAGRAM COMMUNITY 
Come and say hi @studiotype1on1 on Instagram.

SPONSOR MESSAGE
This episode of Type 1 on 1 is sponsored by Insulet, the makers of Omnipod tube-free insulin pump therapy.

Using Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery has improved my diabetes management significantly with less diabetes decisions, and of course no multiple daily injections.

How? Well, Omnipod 5 automatically adjusts insulin every five minutes to help keep me in range, allowing life outside of type 1 diabetes to get bigger.

If you want to know more, head to Omnipod.com.

Learning to accept and live with type 1 diabetes has not been a linear path in my experience. 29 years of life with type 1 diabetes and there are no hard and fast conclusions here, just a juicy subject to chew on for today's solo episode!

I reflect back on my own journey to discuss how I’ve come to accept living with type 1 diabetes, what that looks like, the relationship I now have with type 1 diabetes and how that’s changed at different points in my life. 

I look at the definition of acceptance as it might relate to type 1 diabetes, as well as different keys, tools and perspectives I have that have helped me equip myself for this long and bumpy ride, and in particular the fork in the road that caused me to embark on a new, quite different road to acceptance - finally allowing type 1 diabetes to travel with me in the car! Buckle up, the analogy is strong...

The inspiration for this episode was a conversation I had with Natalie Balmain on the Typecast podcast, which you can find here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6xbsZa948wKSoAFFHadivS?si=886470b1dc6b4f72

This is the definition of acceptance that I mention, from Medical professor Jon Kabat-Zinn, sourced via Psychology Today.

 “Acceptance doesn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, mean passive resignation. Quite the opposite. It takes a huge amount of fortitude and motivation to accept what is — especially when you don’t like it — and then work wisely and effectively as best you possibly can with the circumstances you find yourself in and with the resources at your disposal, both inner and outer, to mitigate, heal, redirect, and change what can be changed.”

As ever this is just my personal experience, nothing in the episode should be taken as medical advice and your first port of call for all things type 1 diabetes is your diabetes healthcare team. I hope you enjoy this one!

JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 INSTAGRAM COMMUNITY
Come and say hi @studiotype1on1 on Instagram.
Find me on instagram @missjengrieves.

SPONSOR MESSAGE
This episode of Type 1 on 1 is sponsored by Insulet, the makers of Omnipod tube-free insulin pump therapy.

Using Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery has improved my diabetes management significantly with less diabetes decisions, and of course no multiple daily injections.

How? Well, Omnipod 5 automatically adjusts insulin every five minutes to help keep me in range, allowing life outside of type 1 diabetes to get bigger.

If you want to know more, head to Omnipod.com.

Hannah McCook first hit a golf ball at the age of 6. With the Scottish Highlands as her course, Hannah’s talent for the sport soon became clear.

In the confusion and chaos of a type 1 diabetes diagnosis at the age of 8, it was thanks to a single sporting type 1 role model, Sir Steve Redgrave, that she realised she didn’t have to give up her favourite hobby.

Fast forward more than 20 years and Hannah is now an inspiration to many as a professional athlete herself, handling her type 1 diabetes alongside the golf course, a demanding travel schedule, training, coaching and international competitions.

In this episode of Type 1 on 1 we tune into some 90s nostalgia around Hannah’s diagnosis, chat about why her touring bag is always the heaviest, chasing impossible perfection in both her sport and her health, and why, despite travelling the world with her sport, nowhere can compete with her beloved Nethy Bridge.

CONNECT WITH HANNAH
Follow Hannah on Instagram.
Check out her coaching page.
Take a look at Hannah's website.

JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 INSTAGRAM COMMUNITY
Come and say hi @studiotype1on1 on Instagram.

SPONSOR MESSAGE
This episode of Type 1 on 1 is sponsored by Insulet, the makers of Omnipod tube-free insulin pump therapy.

Using Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery has improved my diabetes management significantly with less diabetes decisions, and of course no multiple daily injections.

How? Well, Omnipod 5 automatically adjusts insulin every five minutes to help keep me in range, allowing life outside of type 1 diabetes to get bigger.

If you want to know more, head to Omnipod.com.

The path to acceptance with type 1 diabetes can be a bumpy one - but what about acceptance for the parents of children with type 1?

It's just one of the topics covered in this episode with business owner and mum of three Abby Lyons, who has published a book to help other families trying to come to terms with a child's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

Abby's youngest son Rocco was diagnosed at just 2 years old, in 2020. In this episode we talk about the impact of her son's diagnosis experience on the whole family, and the overwhelm she felt and still sometimes feels when trying to make the best decisions for Rocco's health - along with the guilt that can provoke for a parent.

We also discuss how living with health conditions in the family has opened up honest and healthy conversations with her boys about mental health and wellbeing, and how her book, 'What is diabetes, anyway?' has not only helped Rocco move from shame to pride, but has helped Abby process her own experience to spread a hopeful message to others.

CONNECT WITH ABBY
Follow Abby and Rocco’s journey on Instagram.
The ‘What Is Diabetes, Anyway?’ website.

JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 INSTAGRAM COMMUNITY
Come and say hi @studiotype1on1 on Instagram.

SPONSOR MESSAGE
This episode of Type 1 on 1 is sponsored by Insulet, the makers of Omnipod tube-free insulin pump therapy.

Using Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery has improved my diabetes management significantly with less diabetes decisions, and of course no multiple daily injections.

How? Well, Omnipod 5 automatically adjusts insulin every five minutes to help keep me in range, allowing life outside of type 1 diabetes to get bigger.

If you want to know more, head to Omnipod.com.