My name is Rob, I am 41 yrs old and have been in the Army for 22 yrs. My father has been an insulin dependent diabetic for the past 70 yrs and I joined him 13 yrs ago. Becoming a diabetic was not a life-changing experience but it did affect my lifestyle and the choice of jobs I was allowed to do.

Like most diabetics, I get 6 monthly appointments at my local hospital (in Salisbury) and get my weight, blood pressure, blood and urine checks done. Additionally, I get my retinas photographed each year to check that there are no long-term complications beginning to happen.

My job ensures that no two days are ever the same, so I need to check my blood sugar readings regularly on a small blood glucose monitor and always carry snacks with me. I have never had a hypo, but on occasions I have felt my blood go low and have had to stop and eat a quick snack. 

I have never let diabetes control my life…..but the minute you forget about it or ignore it ……..it will bite.

Over the past 13 years I have continued to play sport and undertake a number of physical challenges including the New York(2003) and London(2004) Marathons and a sponsored Channel Swim in the Tidworth Leisure Centre Pool in 2005 with two others, 7 miles each.

Number of units per injection is totally dependent on amount of food to be eaten and the level of planned activity after the meal.

My daily regime involves humalog injections with meals and snacks and a glargine background insulin injection before bed. 

This current challenge is by far the most testing.  It has been a sobering experience to get my head round the fact that I am training hard for something that statistically I am likely to fail. And, due to all my early morning training & even more sobering - I have had no alcohol in 2007 and do not plan to until after my solo attempt.  There are enough risks in swimming the English Channel for a non-diabetic including; fatigue, sea-state and hypothermia. Blood sugar control and my nutritional plan will be key, if this goes wrong and I allow my blood sugar to go low it will be the end of my attempt.

Since I began training in Dec 06, my regime has led to a number of changes. On the positive side I’ve lost 6kgs, seen my resting heart rate go down by 6-8 beats per min and have gained a tan. On the down side I have found it more difficult to keep my blood sugar in the 4-8 mmol/L range.

My mindset was to stay high for all open water training and eat an additional 1500 calories a day to offset the training. An unforeseen consequence was my need to snack on more refined foods and sometimes tell myself ‘it’s OK, I’ll burn this off, I don’t need any insulin’. Of course office work doesn’t burn as much energy as cold water swimming and this has resulted in my last HbA1c (long-term blood sugar reading) being 9.3 mmol/L (my highest in 13 years as a Type 1 Diabetic). I know now that the solution to the above is to check my blood more often and take insulin with any snack, unless I am distance training. Simple solution - but it’s amazing how difficult it is to stay disciplined and do the simple things in life.

If you’d like to find out more about my training for my solo attempt click here.