# Diabetes in the Army



## bigheadmike (May 10, 2012)

hi, i am currently serving in the British Army. In a support role. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 2 years ago and i am still here. it requires some minor hoop jumping as many medical officers dont have experiance in diabetes. i am writing with to inform you of a few things you need to consider.

if you are not currently serving you WILL NOT be accepted into the Army. 

If you are already serving and are diagnosed with diabetes you will be imediatly med cat MND(t) until you are able to be boarded. if you are able to complete all mandatory tests ie PFA, CFT etc and have reasonable control of your HbA1C there shouldn't be a problem with you being upgraded to MLD(p) which means you can stay in the army, deploy to op tours (dependant on a risk assessment) and have a good career. you just have to keep yourself fit and able, watch your diet and work your ass off.


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## Northerner (May 10, 2012)

Hi Mike, welcome to the forum  Thanks for the information, which I am sure will be useful to anyone looking in currently serving and with a recent diagnosis. If we can help you in any way, then please let us know


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## Robster65 (May 10, 2012)

Hi Mike. Welcome. 

Good to hear the MOD aren't completely closed to the idea of T1s. But you must have had to work very hard to retain your position.

What sort of insulin regime are you on?

Rob


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## bigheadmike (May 10, 2012)

rob, i use glargin on waking and lispro everytime i eat. i use quite alot because my calorific intake is just under 4000 per day. 

If you have support from your superiors it is pretty easy to stay in.

anyone who is diagnosed may think about putting together a portfolio of there SJARs, character references from CO/OC any legislation you may find etc, this will: 1 show you are looking to stay and 2 prove you have something about you.


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## bigheadmike (May 10, 2012)

my Hb1AC is currently high at 95 but after being at 140 my body is not used to it being lower, i am bringing it down slowly, next Hb1AC test in1 month, hoping it will be at about 85. 

Also doing Tough Mudder, and have completed 2 marathons since being diagnosed, just goes to show even the worst of us are capable of great things.


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## Northerner (May 10, 2012)

bigheadmike said:


> my Hb1AC is currently high at 95 but after being at 140 my body is not used to it being lower, i am bringing it down slowly, next Hb1AC test in1 month, hoping it will be at about 85.
> 
> Also doing Tough Mudder, and have completed 2 marathons since being diagnosed, just goes to show even the worst of us are capable of great things.



That's pretty high for two years in Mike, hope you get the reduction you're looking for next month


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## fencesitter (May 10, 2012)

Isn't 95 a non-diabetic result?? 5.3 in old money? I thought you had to divide by 18 but someone please put me right on that ...


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## bigheadmike (May 10, 2012)

95 is high, my discipline on eating isnt as good as it should be, if i start going low, my body reacts (shaking and sweating, very uncomfortable feeling), i then go over the top to boost my blood sugar. i never know what is enough.

my body used to react badly if my blood sugar got into single figures which is silly, now it reacts at about 7mmol

i am being more strict with what i eat, and it should drop. 
thanks for your support


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## bigheadmike (May 10, 2012)

also the 140 test was at diagnosis


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## Northerner (May 10, 2012)

Willsmum said:


> Isn't 95 a non-diabetic result?? 5.3 in old money? I thought you had to divide by 18 but someone please put me right on that ...



95 mmol/mol for an HbA1c translates to 11% in old money, 140 mmol/mol is 15% 

The dividing by 18 is when you translate an American meter reading in mg/dl to one of ours in mmol/l, so 72 mg/dl is 4mmol/l


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## Mark T (May 10, 2012)

Welcome to the forum Mike


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## Twitchy (May 10, 2012)

Hi Mike. 

Have you had the chance yet to do anything like a Dafne course? It's a bit like basic training for diabetics lol & gives you some rules of thumb for dose adjustment & hypo treatment, coping with exercise etc. Also there's a book 'Think like a pancreas' (or something like that!) which is very good too. It's horrible when you feel hypo but aren't, you have my sympathy! 

It's great that you've been allowed to stay in - I was thwarted in my original career aspirations by being already diabetic, just how things go I guess, & totally reasonable from the Forces pov in hindsight! 

Nice to 'meet' you, welcome to the forum.


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## Northerner (May 10, 2012)

bigheadmike said:


> 95 is high, my discipline on eating isnt as good as it should be, if i start going low, my body reacts (shaking and sweating, very uncomfortable feeling), i then go over the top to boost my blood sugar. i never know what is enough.
> 
> my body used to react badly if my blood sugar got into single figures which is silly, now it reacts at about 7mmol
> 
> ...



Mike, if you can get your numbers regularly within 4-7 mmol/l then those symptoms will disappear at the higher levels. It's important that you don't worry about it when you get symptoms above 4 or 5 mmol/l as these are just false hypos, and you don;t need to treat them with anything sweet - just a small biscuit will usually do the trick and fool your brain into thinking you've been fed


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## fencesitter (May 11, 2012)

bigheadmike said:


> 95 is high


There are so many ways of expressing BG and HbA1c that I get in a muddle  There is a conversion chart here for anyone else who gets boggled by this:
www.bathdiabetes.org/resources/346.doc
Anyway, good luck with the Tough Mudder race! You must be made of stern stuff


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## Twitchy (May 11, 2012)

Just realised that my 'totally reasonable' comment was ambiguous - i meant in relation to me; letting in & making adjustments for someone from scratch who is an unknown quantity / asset would not be a good idea from the forces point if view (diluting capability when already stretched etc) but in your case you're a known quantity (as it were!) & clearly a valued person - it says a lot that your OC etc have been supportive, esp in the current climbate - a great reflection on you.  Hope you didn't take my words the wrong way! 

Have a good day, & good luck on Tough Mudder - the RAF warma 50 mile march was enough for me lol.


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## Ellie Jones (May 11, 2012)

My husband was serving in the RAF when he was diagnosed way back in '79...

The choice he was given, that he could finishes his contract but he would basically be desk bound, and not allowed on active service or take a Medical Discharge from service..

The thought of being a pen pusher didn't appeal to him, so he opted for medical discharged which took a 5 month process, and his was discharged with a classification of being 19.5% disabled, which meant that he lost his pension as you only kept that if you were 20% disabled or above...

I think that with your current control, you do need to badger somebody to get some help with control, to learn carb counting etc...  And I would suggest some reading material Using Insulin by John walsh...


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## Catwoman76 (May 11, 2012)

Hello and welcome to the forum mike.  You seem to have a good positive outlook to work and I hope it continues for you.  My elderly dad was in the Army too and he was a Paratrooper in WW11.  I recently posted a thread about something I found belonging to my dad and as you are serving in the Army, it may interest you. Sheena


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