Thursday, April 30, 2015

This is My Story

First diagnosed T2 in 2005, I soon learned about the effectiveness of low carb diets from the on-line community and became dedicated to support through on-line communities.

When I was diagnosed T2 in 2005, the doctor simply told me my fasting blood sugar was over the limit and it had been that way for the last couple of years. When he ran my A1c it came back at 8%, not bad in the scope of things, but I had diabetes. He promptly gave me a prescription for metformin and told me that I was “fixed.” Boy was he wrong. So started my journey into the medical morass of diabetes care.

I eventually got a meter and signed up for diabetes classes. I was taught to eat 60 g of carbs/meal and have two snacks with 45g of carbs. By spring I had started to realize that I wasn’t going to just fix this. While my doctors thought I was “ok,” I really wasn’t and things like the diet just did not work. I read Dr. Bernstein’s Book and joined his forum in 2006. It was through the on-line community that I really learned about low carb diets and that just listening to doctors and educators. would lead me down the road to ruin

I quickly learned, no doctor could save me. But with the help of on-line communities like TuDiabetes I could save myself.

I became dedicated to support through on-line communities and eventually to diabetes advocacy. I joined TuDiabetes in 2009 and now proudly serve as your Lead Admin.  I had to become smart about diabetes and help myself. So started my journey to learn more about diabetes. Since then, I’ve read voraciously, both books from libraries, but also a great deal of literature. I have access to much of the research and I am trained to understand the topic although my education is not in medicine. I am not a doctor or medical professional.

Throughout the intervening years, I followed a very low carb diet and kept my blood sugar swings very limited, but I still had elevated fasting blood sugars. My A1c stayed in the mid 6s despite a range of increases in my medication. In about 2008, I started the insulin conversation with my doctors, but none would consider it. I switched doctors, repeatedly, and in 2010 after seeing a new endo and trying combinations of triple medications, I reached a breaking point. I had been studying insulin use for quite some time and I concluded I had to help myself.

I fired my doctor and started a basic MDI regime and then presented myself back to a new endo in three months already on insulin and having an A1c of 5.9%. She accepted my treatment and since then I’ve smoothly kept my A1cs in the mid 5s for four years now.

These days I've become very active in diabetes advocacy and have attended diabetes conferences like TCOYD, AADE, Diabetes Innovation Summit, Diabetes Unconference and I even had a chance to appear on a diabetes patient panel at the FDA.  In coming months in 2015 I plan to attend the ADA Scientific Sessions, AADE 2015 as well attending Friends for Life and MasterLab.

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