I was diagnosed with Type 1 almost 30 years ago, and even then the technology was a bonus for me.

I’ve always been a geek when it comes to tech, and the idea of having a little machine that did glucose testing was very cool and actually really helped me get used to the idea of having to live with this added pressure in my life.

My tech journey

Of course, back then the tech wasn’t what it is now. A machine that by today’s standards would look very clunky, a test strip the size of a ruler, a blood sample that was comparatively huge and then a 60-90 second wait for a result….

How things have changed! I always think of microwaves, mobile phones and the internet. The “how did we live without it” syndrome. Sometimes it is nearly impossible to imagine our lives and how we managed before something came along. The difference with medical technology is of course not just that we DID manage beforehand, but our health was the worse for it, so life is now easier AND healthier.

It's a juggling act

I am always asked about how I cope with my busy work life: getting up at 3am for my normal work days but not going to work until 7pm on others. The pressure of being on live television for 2, 3, 4 hours at a time, the stress of breaking news and quite literally not knowing what is happening in the next 2 minutes…

Again, I am lucky in that I absolutely love this sort of adrenaline rush, it makes work exciting and worthwhile, but the downside is that shift work plays havoc with basal rates and a busy show can send you either hypo OR hyper. Oh, and woe betide you if you dare to have a pizza the night before work…You will still be juggling that 24 hours later.

More insights, better control

Of course I muddled through all this in the old days, but looking back I do not know how! With the FreeStyle Libre system, life has changed so dramatically. Being able to do a flash reading in 1 second as I sit in the studio, even on occasion in the middle of an interview, has been life-changing, purely down to how easy it is.

Crucially, I’m also able to see not only what my glucose reading result is, but where my glucose HAS been AND where it is going, which has made managing my Type 1 a million times easier and, so my specialist says with a smile, has given me much, much better control!

Living with Type 1 gives me focus

I do always try to look on the bright side of life and have always looked on the bright side of living with Type 1. I have never resented it, I have gone as far as to say that it has been a good part of life, giving me focus on food and health in a way I wouldn’t otherwise have had, and I get to play with some of the smartest technology the world has to offer.

I’ve always been really pleased that being in the public eye has given me the chance to be positive and pass that on to others, especially the worried parents who tend to think the world has come to an end with a Type 1 diagnosis.

Teamwork

I love that information, education and self-management now work so beautifully hand in hand so that we can work WITH our specialists and not just be on the receiving end of advice, that they can see the readings from the FreeStyle Libre system* on their LibreView system** and pinpoint what needs to be changed, and make the whole system more proactive.

It furthers my belief that fighting against Type 1 is a losing battle, you can’t beat it, BUT if you work WITH it, it can become a friend. Like all friends, you fall out every now and then, but working together and talking to each other with the right technology makes for a better, brighter, happier life.

Stephen Dixon is a journalist and TV presenter, poet and cat lover, who lives with Type 1. You can follow Stephen on Instagram @stephendixontv and on Twitter @skystephen