"Anyway, given the choice between obsessive and better control, especially if it's going to stop my complications progressing, I know which one I'd pick. But that's not really the point. The point is why do the medical profession think that testing that often means you're an obsessive weirdo?"
Don't forget, pumping brings about a major shift in the reason for testing.
In the early 1980's, we used testing to get a rough idea of what was going on every few weeks.
Then guys like me started testing a lot more, since it made us feel we were more in control (even though that may have been an illusion).
Then I tested like mad in order to catch hypos before they happened. That's damage avoidance.
Now I test in order to calculate my bolus and actively manage my bg. It's an integral part of the treatment strategy. It allows me to enjoy the "fine control" part.
We now enjoy real-time feedback by testing frequently. It's crude, but it works. It'll take doctors a while to absorb this shift, but they will eventually.
--John Neale