27 JUN 2024 · 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: https://www.instagram.com/amilovesyoumore/ OTHER PEOPLE MENTIONED: https://www.instagram.com/typeonecommunity/ https://www.instagram.com/temidiabeticdoctor/ JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY https://www.instagram.com/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/

20 JUN 2024 · 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: https://diabetogenic.blog/ https://x.com/renzas JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY https://www.instagram.com/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/

13 JUN 2024 · 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 https://www.diabetesbydesign.org/events https://www.diabetesbydesign.org/companioncards https://www.diabetesbydesign.org/subscribe https://www.instagram.com/diabetesbydesign/ JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY https://www.instagram.com/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/

6 JUN 2024 · 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: https://www.instagram.com/tarahumphreyy/ JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY https://www.instagram.com/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/

30 MAY 2024 · 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: https://www.instagram.com/type1_nurseava/   JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY https://www.instagram.com/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/

23 MAY 2024 · 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 https://www.edendiabetes.com/. He also runs an innovative https://www.podding.co.uk/ 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: https://x.com/James_Ridgeway_ https://www.edendiabetes.com/ https://www.podding.co.uk/ https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/language-matters-language-and-diabetes/ JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY https://www.instagram.com/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/

16 MAY 2024 · 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: https://www.lochlanslegacy.org.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/lochlanslegacy/ https://twitter.com/LochlansLegacy https://www.facebook.com/lochlanslegacy/ JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY https://www.instagram.com/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/

9 MAY 2024 · 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: https://www.instagram.com/type_1_pilot/   JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY https://www.instagram.com/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/

25 APR 2024 · ‘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: https://www.instagram.com/bethedwardsnutrition/ https://www.bethedwardsnutrition.com/ JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY https://www.instagram.com/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.

18 APR 2024 · 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! https://notesonamoment.substack.com/p/the-biggest-thing-to-happen-to-me CONNECT WITH AMI: https://www.instagram.com/amilovesyoumore/ JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY We’ve got an Instagram account! https://www.instagram.com/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.