Living Long, Healthy, and Happy Life with Type 1 Diabetes
What Aging and With T1D Actually Looks Like
In this video, you'll learn:
✔ How your body’s insulin needs may change as you get older — and what to watch for
✔ Why cognitive health is one of the biggest concerns for long-term T1D patients, and how to stay ahead of it
✔ How to prepare for hospital visits, living arrangements, and caregiving needs before you need to
✔ Which newer medications like GLP-1 receptor agonists may help as your body changes with age
✔ How to stay resilient and keep living your life — with diabetes as a close second
✔ Where to find a community of T1D patients who truly understand what you’re going through
If you’ve been living with Type 1 diabetes for years — or even decades — you know that managing it doesn’t get simpler with age. Your insulin needs shift, your body changes, and questions start creeping in: What if I can’t manage this on my own someday? Who will help me? Dr. Steve Edelman, who was diagnosed at 15 and told he might not live past 40, talks with Dr. Athena Philis-Tsimikas of Scripps Whittier and Joanne Milo, a 71-year T1D veteran and founder of T1D to 100 about exactly those concerns. Together, they offer honest, practical guidance on what to expect, how to prepare, and how to keep living fully — because people with type 1 diabetes are thriving longer than ever before.
Want to go deeper?
The video above opens the conversation. The podcast dives you all the way in!
In this 38-minute episode, Dr. Edelman, Dr. Philis-Tsimikas, and Joanne Milo go further into the topics that matter most to long-term T1D patients — including the physiological changes that affect insulin dosing as you age, how newer medications like GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors fit into the picture, and what the ADA’s four-M framework actually means for older patients. They talk about cognitive screening, care partners, hospital risks, and the emotional weight of a disease that never takes a day off.
If T1D has been part of your life for years, this conversation was made for you — and for everyone who loves and cares for you.
Exceptional pod cast ! Very inspiring and educational! Congrats! Keep your good work with diabetes community!
Thank you so much for your kind words!
I have been fortunate enough to have survived living with T1D for 68 plus years, since I was diagnosed in 1958, a daily challenge, certainly. I have had a CGM for Dexcom G6 and now the G7 for over 4 years, managing my allergy to adhesives by wearing a barrier HyTape. I recently tried the iLet Bionic Pancreas, thankfully I did not react to the adhesive however between the arthritis in my hands and my dexterity I had extreme difficulty handling and inserting both the initial infusion set and even the contact/detach set. Since I live alone, I finally had to discontinue with the insulin pump after suffering with extreme high blood sugars due to not receiving insulin, having to change out the infusion sets, it was just too overwhelming for me, so I have returned to multiple daily injections. As Dr Polonsky told me,
I gave it my best try and I should not feel defeated by my by the results. Thank you all for shining the light on an increasingly important topic of aging with T1D!
First of all, wow! 68 years with type 1, that is a life of true resilience! And good for you for trying the iLet. It’s not a small thing to experiment with new technology, especially when you’re also managing arthritis. Choosing to return to MDI isn’t a step backward, it’s choosing what works best for you. Dr. P said it perfectly. Thanks for sharing your story!
I am also a T1D who had been living with it for 62 years. I was diagnosed at the age of 2. I also live alone and have no one to help me manage my diabetes care. I have been on a pump since 1995. I just recently asked my doctor about going to shots because I also am having severe trouble with my hands and arthritis. It’s difficult to maintain the use of all the tech for me. I am trying to deal with severe limiting psychological burnout. When I was 2 years old they didn’t have ways to test for lows and as a Child I had 2-3 hypoglycemic reactions a week! I learned about PTSD before it was a popular war veteran subject. Anyway, I think there needs to be more input from us, what I called Geriatric Juvenile Diabetics. So many healthcare professionals treat me like a new kid just learning about diabetes and think we will all respond the same.
Just wanted to let you know there are others like you out here!
Thanks for your post.
Roger
Excellent podcast. Thank you. I am going to train my husband on how to take care of my CGM and Pump so he could help me if needed.
Hopefully, I can continue to do things on my own. Age 71. T1D 51 years. Doing well. So thankful.
Joyce
Excellent podcast! Thank you and I am a 78 year old woman with type 1 for 65 years. I was told I would not live beyond age 50 if that. I am apart of the Joslin Diabetes Center’s Fifty Year Medalist Study where awards have been given to those living for 80 years with type 1. Dr. George L. King, MD is the Chief Scientific Officer at the Joslin Diabetes Center and Chairman of the Beatson Professorship in Diabetes, Harvard Medical School. We have a celebration every other year in Boston where medalists receive awards following their 50 year medal for every 20-25 years additional. The Medalist community has many questions about the aging process and we do have a Facebook Group. I also have been a Certified Diabetes Educator with a BSN for 26 years prior to retiring in 2013.
Joan
My sister is living that you can live a normal life with type1 D
Yes indeed! Glad your sister is doing well!
Loved this as it is becoming reality for me. I will be 77 next month, T1D for 56 years. I have the Omnipod 5 all inclusive pump and the Dexcom 7 CGM. I got my first pump when I was pregnant with my daughter, 42 years ago in 1983! A lot has happened since then.
My husband has been my loving partner in my self care but my endocrinologist and her PhD pharmacist husband (who knows all the devices, meds etc) are also the best. My husband just turned 80 and while are less mobile now, we haven’t suffered from cognitive decline. We lead a fairly active life, blessed with good friends that keep us pretty busy, but family is not nearby. I think you have spurred me to look into cognitive testing and assisted living sooner rather than later. We both enjoy independent living now. When one of us passes we won’t feel safe living alone. No children live nearby, one in Europe, the others in other states.
I would like to hear more about T1D to 100!!
Claire D, Naples, FL
It’s a really great website – you should check it out and join their Facebook group too! https://www.facebook.com/groups/t1dto100/
You’re smart to be thinking of these things early – it helps to have a plan. Thanks for listening to the podcast, and congrats on 56 years!
Excellent podcast–thank you so much!! I am 78 years old and developed Type 1 around my sixth birthday in 1953. That makes 72 years, and I feel so fortunate to be relatively complication-free. I’m also part of the Joslin 50-year study, and have an excellent endo, ophthalmologist and other medical specialists. I’ve been using the Dexcom CGM since I attended one of TCOYD’s seminars in Raleigh, NC back in 2010. What a game-changer that was for me–being able to see what my blood sugar was continually and how it reacted to insulin and carbs in real time. I had been on MDI’s up until that time (even through two pregnancies in 1985/87), but decided to try the Omnipod pump shortly after that. I currently using the Omnipod5 and Dexcom G7.
I will definitely check out Joanne’s website and send the podcast link to some of my senior Type1 friends. Thank you TCOYD!
Mary P, Somers, NY
Wow, congrats on 72 years! 💪👏 Thank you for sharing your story…you will no doubt inspire others in the diabetes community. That’s awesome that you connected with us back in 2010. We miss doing in person conferences, but we’re grateful to be able to connect with people around the world in other ways (like podcasts!). Keep on doing what you’re doing – you’re a true T1D rock star!
I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when I was 66!!!!!! So, I have not spend most of my life coping with the disease, so maybe I am not as fearful of it, but I can honestly say that I am VERY ACTIVE, I do Pilates 3 times a week, walk, do pottery, sing in a choir and on and on. So, I have not felt held back by it. Yes, It is a challenge every moment of my life, Yes, I hang on every word Dr Edelman and Dr Pettus put out there for us!!!!!!! I hope I get to continue living so actively.