Which Do You Choose?

The diagnosis came about 14 years ago. I was immediately put on oral medication. I went to a nutritionist who was not helpful at all. I have food allergies and this person had no idea how to help me compensate for those. Wasted $75 and an hour of both our lives.

My sugar fluctuated. I was tired all the time and I became depressed. Then there were meds for depression. When they stopped working, I stopped taking them. It was a struggle and winter months were the worst.

Suddenly seven years ago I lost a dear friend to the ravages of diabetes. She had been retired for two years and her second was spent either in the hospital or the nursing home. The last time I saw her, she was unable to stand much less walk. It was my wake up call. I was planning to retire at 58 not die.

I decided it was time to take control. Five years ago I started losing weight. I was losing about twenty pounds a year. All I did was make a fist, that's the size my stomach is supposed to be. I cut out desserts and soda. I was not gaining it back. I even tried the My Fat Cure diet for 54 days and lost twenty pounds. I had trouble eating food at all after that one.

The thing is all this weight loss was not translating into blood sugars truly improving. I was stumped. About six months ago I found a book called The 30 Day Diabetes Cure. I was written by Dr. Stefan Ripich. I bought it with skepticism as all my doctors say that insulin is inevitable. They are WRONG.

I read the book. I told my father about the book. I sent him the first eleven days. I reread the book. In May I went in for an entire battery of blood work. As expected it was not good. But that was okay with me. I knew I had a plan to make it better.

I blogged (www.ramblingsbyrebecka.blogspot.com) the 30 days I followed the book. I am down ten pounds. I am eating more fruits and vegetables. I am baking gluten-free bread with whole grains. I am not hungry. My blood sugars are so much better that I no longer need an evening med. That's 1000 mg of meds I am no longer taking. I have not taken a blood pressure medication for a month. My blood pressure runs low.

Am I cured? No. Will I ever be cured? No. Can I live healthier and longer? Yes. Do I still have a way to go, most definitely.

I am at the point where I need to walk for thirty minutes every day. Two days a week I should be doing strength training. I should also be learning yoga, meditation, or tai chi. I am slowly working all of that into my routine. I believe when I do, the rest of the weight I need to lose will disappear.

I saved a pair of what I've come to refer to as my "fat" pants. When I have finished this process, am off all meds, and comfortable with my life style change, I am going to put them on and have my photo taken.

If you are a diabetic, it's time you take control. Your doctor is only going to give you more meds. Many of the meds you might already be taking have terrible side effects. It's a fight, but YOU CAN DO IT. Join me.