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OFFSHORE!!! Help!!!

IZ THE LEG END

Well-Known Member
Messages
169
Location
East Yorkshire
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Diabetes!!!
Hi I am after a little advice, I am in the process of being diagnosed diabetic, the doctor is running tests to clarify types.

I work offshore as a service engineer. What my question is, is can I work offshore with diabetes? I love my job and wouldn't know what to do with myself but just trying to get a heads up thanks in advance

Izzy
 
There was an old thread posted by someone else who worked offshore. He had to get re-certified after getting his numbers under control. Have a search for it (can't really remember what his name was seem to remember the words diver and offshore). I seem to recall that he succeeded after a few months
 
Good luck with this , let us know how you get on and if we can help at all I'll tag @daisy1 so she can give you the info for new members that will help with getting you numbers down
Keep well stay safe JJ
 
Hi I am after a little advice, I am in the process of being diagnosed diabetic, the doctor is running tests to clarify types.

I work offshore as a service engineer. What my question is, is can I work offshore with diabetes? I love my job and wouldn't know what to do with myself but just trying to get a heads up thanks in advance

Izzy

Are you ENG1 or MLS certified, or the like?

I think much will depend on your type, and what your numbers are. But, if it's an consolation , I know someone working offshore, with a worldwide ENG1, who hasn't missed any time, due to diabetes since diagnosis. that said, his work/rest schedules make may have run in his favour at times, as he often has several weeks on leave, after long trips.

Does your Doctor have an inclination if you're T1 or T2? Do you know what your initial diagnostic figures were?

Good luck with it all. It's a tricky time for you.
 
Thanks for the reply, I am OGUK. My rest schedule is mixed as its ad hoc but there is generally a 50/50 if not better divide.

Initially type 1 but I did my glucose test yesterday my results came back and now he's not sure between 1 and 2 he said there's another test for antibodies to work out the type I am going Monday, I'm just panicking as to whether I should be updating my CV over the weekend lol!!! Guess Al just have to sit tight and see the results
 
Don't panic just wait and see what your results are from the Dr and then move forward from there. I'm sure with the support and knowledge from all the experienced members on the forum you will be able to work it all out.
 
@IZ THE LEG END

Hello and welcome to the forum :)

To help you with your levels, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 

Well done Andrew. I've been dredging my brains to think who the initiator was. If I recall, there was both an offshore worker, but also a member in some sort of HR role, working for a company with offshore workers. But, I agree ElyDave is an oily, or an allied oily, in some capacity.

Of course, I may have misremembered the detail of that last bit, but there was someone. This place is a real Pandora's Box of information.
 
I spoke to my doc when getting my offshore med earlier this years as I'm pre diabetic and she said its not good for diabetics getting offshore as they generally have to monitor you for x amount of time to see your managing levels well and generally you have to get dispensation from the operators for the rig you work as and they generally only do it for one rig at a time!
Sorry its not the best of news but best speaking to who provides your medical!
 
Thanks for the info much appreciated... No this doesn't sound good especially in my role as i mobilise at short notice to assist rig down situations and we are worldwide, am not sure how I am governed internationally mind North Sea I can imagine being a health and safety nightmare 1) to understand 2) the hoops to jump through as there are enough of those when medically fit haha

Again thanks for everyone's time on this it's really appreciated
 
@IZ THE LEG END

Hello and welcome to the forum :)

To help you with your levels, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Thank you for the info much appreciated... Definitely some changes to be made in my lifestyle that's for sure! Thank you
 
I am not sure of the regs now, though I used to work offshore. We had T2 onboard, but no T1, probably for obvious reasons, but the T2 were checked at the medicals re having their diabetes under control.
 
I am not sure of the regs now, though I used to work offshore. We had T2 onboard, but no T1, probably for obvious reasons, but the T2 were checked at the medicals re having their diabetes under control.

Thank you, it seems t1 is allowed but only on one platform, not good for me but I am still awaiting diagnosis of category so fingers crossed... Thanks again for the help much appreciated
 
Hi I'm merchant navy on tankers .I was diagnosed 3 month back as Type 2 I now have a full ENG 1 .I am on tablets I did hear that the problem comes if you have to inject but maybe this only applies only to ships as opposed to fixed platforms .Hope it all works out for you
 
Me, Me, it was me. Sorry, but I've been away fro the forum for a bit, work, holidays, life, running etc.

Yes, I work offshore for occaisional visits as an HS&E auditor and yes I'm T1.

Diagnosed June 2013, aged 39.

The rules are, essentially;
- stable for 6 months before you can go back offshore
- you only get a one year medical as routine (which I'm going to argue about at tomorrow's renewal)
- you need to have a named platform (in my case named platforms for all of my clients), company doctors need to approve
- medic needs to be informed on the installations and needs to be happy and capable of dealing with hypo and DKA

There may also be specific conditions imposed, such as need to have BG>5.0 when outside of the accomodation. Advisory to also have glucagon with you and also carry more insulin than you expect to need. In my case I carry extra for the pump, also back up basal/bolus and needles, spare meter with ketone capability, good supply of boiled sweets, although there's always the bond as well.

I've had three offshroe visits since I got my medical back last August, with a fair few more lined up, all North Sea so far. A few things I've worked out to make it easier/less stressful.

Remember that you can ask to hand-carry your insulin in the chopper, just in case, for temperature management - I carry pen injectors, spare basal/bolus, spare pump carts, needles, just in case. I also put my BG meter/pump controller in the flight suit pocket along with some boiled sweets

So far, all the medics have been happy where I've gone, and I've had no probs, with the pump attracting some interest.

T2s, I dont think have as hard a time of it in terms of conditions or getting through the medical.
 
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