On Diabetes



Me at 155 lbs.

 Early last year, I had parted ways with the doctor who diagnosed my diabetes in 2007. I came to him with double vision and an A1C score of 8.9 (a very high average blood sugar reading over a 90 day period). I had not been to see a doctor in years. There was concern that I had suffered a stroke because of my double vision. A cat-scan was scheduled, but at the last minute I chose to cancel it. I decided to see if the other cause was my high blood sugar that went undiagnosed over a long period of time. It was a gamble, but my intuition and the out of pocket cost for the scan made me hold off and wait. If I got my blood sugar down with medication, diet and exercise, my normal vision might return. For months I wore an eye patch, tested myself twice a day and took different medicines until my doctor settled on the new drug, Januvia. I took classes on living with diabetes and began to change my lifestyle. I had to watch what I ate and how much I ate. I began to go for walks and work outside on landscaping around the house and garden. I went from 155 lbs. to 132 lbs. and after many months, my eyesight finally returned to normal. My A1C score was now down to 6.1 (normal).


Through all of this, I was given to understand that once you had diabetes, you had it for life. I would have to have checkups every three months, call in prescriptions for testing supplies, and the high priced, brand name drug that seemed to be working. I would have to track everything I ate and prick my finger at least once a day. My medications and testing supplies would run about $50 a month with my insurance, but if I ever lost my job and or insurance coverage, I could easily pay $200-$300 a month and doctor visits would cost over $100 every visit, not counting blood tests and lab tests. There was a lot to keep me on the straight and narrow, but it just bothered me that for the rest of my life I would be tethered to medicines and doctors. I was now a diabetic with a pre-existing condition.

For years I kept the routine office visits and trips to the Target Pharmacy. I dreaded the long hours I would wait in my doctor’s office for the 15 minute face to face with him and refills on my prescriptions. The waits grew longer and longer with no explanations. Several times my appointment was cancelled without notice. I got fed up and decided to see what would happen if I slowly got off my medicine and focused on my diet and exercise. I had this vision of beating my diabetes. I had this vision of taking control and letting my body heal itself.

After months of taking my Januvia every other day and adding cinnamon to my daily regimen of vitamins and supplements, I found that my daily blood sugar test results had not gotten worse. In fact, it seemed to actually be the opposite. My test results were getting better. I was almost out of my Januvia and decided to find another doctor. My new doctor did a blood work up and some other tests last November. My A1C score was 6.4 after I had cut back on the Januvia prescribed by my original doctor. At that time we discussed going off my medication for 3 months to see how it affected my A1C score. I would continue to log what I ate and test every day. My new doctor was willing to work with me, based on a graph of my testing results that I did for him. If my A1C score did not go over 7.0 by my next appointment, he might consider keeping me off the medication and continue to monitor me going forward. If I did need to go back on medication, he could prescribe one of the $4.00 diabetes drugs now available at Target, Wal-Mart and HEB pharmacies. My insurance co pay, for such drugs has now risen from $20 to $40 for a month’s supply so that was a real cost savings.

I went back today for my follow-up appointment. After three months of being off my medicine for diabetes, my A1C score rose only slightly to 6.7. My doctor not only has agreed to let me stay off medication, but said I no longer need to test every day. I need to monitor my blood pressure occasionally to make sure it stays in the normal range, but for now I can stay drug free. My vision is coming true and I plan to have an A1C score of 6.4 or better by my next visit. Diet and exercise will now be my weapons of choice.

I’m learning that we can put our intentions out there… and the Universe responds. Keep you posted!

Food for THOUGHT…