My Motivation

i take the moral of your story to be that success is a powerful motivator- noting the social aspect of success as well- if we know that others will be monitoring our success, than we will work all the harder- this is the theory behind the social motivation websites (see http://www.stickk.com/ )- of course the flipside here is the dread of failure- that's where the godfather may disagree on what is the strongest motivator...

David, you and Dr. Richard Bernstein have been key motivators for me as role models. Before explaining, I must compliment and thank you for your work specifically, as your writings have made significant differences for me in better controlling my type 2.

Before being diagnosed, I had read the Diabetes Solution book related to my interest in low carb. After my diagnosis, I knew to turn to that book again for in-depth information. The key thing for me from reading Dr. Bernstein was learning that the Amer. Diabetes Assn and nutritionists may not be a solution for me, and hearing his story and those of his patients helped me not just give up and accept the standard information provided by my traditional doctor. I was keep my A1C below 6.5, but I was slowly but surely gaining weight each year.

Then, I got your book about losing weight on diabetes medication. What a help you & your book have been! I had already dropped from 329 lbs to about 275 over 2+ years, and was plateaued (low carb & regular exercise at my local Curves salon). Then I learned about Byetta from you. I started it one year ago, with only minor and infrequent burping bouts as a side effect. Another 45 pounds gone in a year. My A1C is steady at 5.6.

So, role models and their stories help me understand the benefits of keeping on trying, and not settling for less than I can be. I believe I now have something that works for me and time has proven I can stick to easily. Hearing your success stories (and the bumps along the way) helps me know that I can make changes, too, just like you did, and keep getting a bit (and sometimes alot) better.

David, 

The biggest motivation for me occurred years ago, when I spent many hours in a dialysis unit counseling a patient who did not treat her diabetes. I talked with her in the unit, over the course of her declining health... losing her feet, then her legs, then her life.

After being diagnosed myself, I purposely returned to another dialysis unit with the intent to dose myself again with another hit of reality. I visited with another longtime friend about my age who did not treat his type 1 for several decades and no longer had kidneys and was having many other complications with his legs, eyesight, heart...

So each day, when I start to become depressed about giving up my favorite foods and sweets, I recall the memories of what happens to those who did not heed the warning to treat their diabetes. I often think that all those diabetes magazines need to show that delicious chocolate cake being eating by obese people without legs. As grotesque as it sounds, that's the kind of images I've allowed into my subconscious that keeps me motivated.

I also admit that meeting you, reading your articles every week, and learning of your story and personal successes admittedly has also served to inspire me to stay the course of exercising more and eating the low carb way. As you know, I've lost 30-40 lbs, my A1C went from 11 to 6, and I feel better now than I can remember.

I am also grateful and remain motivated by recalling the resources you have pointed me to, namely the writings of Dr. Bernstein and Gary Taubes. It continues to motivate me to stay the course, knowing the history and science behind treating the disease.

Overall, I now am most motivated by attending our monthly men's diabetes group and remain inspired to continue on the course of health with the implied support of you and the knowledgeable members of our group. 

Thanks David for all that you do!

Sincerely, 

Barry (the vegetarian from Boulder)

Reading your blog and the comments from this particular one provides great inspiration. What amazes me is that there are many people using different mentors, strategies, tactics, and tools to achieve personal goals of serious maintenance and in some cases, reversal of their Type II Diabetes. Although inspired by Dr's Bernstein & Whittaker, Cousins and Barnard, the folks at Pritikin and Canyon Ranch, I find that despite the differences of the prescribed programs, each is effective to some. I am personally using a lowered fat, Pritikin-type meal plan and in six weeks have lost 16 pounds and reduced my Nighttime Lantus by 2/3's. I still take Metformin and will be weaning off that drug as soon as the testing suggests it to be implemented. Perhaps the non-doctor who has been most inspirational to me has been DeWayne McCulley and his Death to Diabetes book and downloadable PDF, Boot Camp. By adopting his regimen of frequent testing (I test 10 times daily) and adjusting food and exercise accordingly, I have been able to comfortably drop in weight without food cravings. My daily diary of tests take up a full 8.5" X 11" page in a 3 Ring Binder, but I can track everything, including my bad choices/decisions that elevate my readings unnecessarily. I agree with McCulley's sign of a full reversal is to have an A1C of 5.3 for three months without using any diabetic medications whatsoever. I started with a 6.4 which was higher than I liked but pushed by the ACCORD Study people. But my 5.3's were by using Lantus, Metformin and sometimes Novolog. Now I'm shooting for "NADA." I am curious about your progress, David, when you use Byetta, largely because we heard so much about the problems within the ACCORD Study's Intensive Group. I believe the problems happened when the folks used meds to "push" down their A1C's to provide good readings;  the Intensive Group ended up with more mortalities than the less aggressive group. My guess was that people were pushing themselves into numerous "low" readings and then bouncing up in reaction to the lows.

Anyway, it pleases me to see that people are getting good results doing a variety of different things.

The info you provide me on your web site and especially the articles helps me keep motivated.
 
I was similar to you when diagnosed, Jan 2007,  I think my A1C was 17.2. Within the first year my A1C dropped to 5.5 where it remains. My weight went from 250 to 172. My blood pressure from 135/95 to 100/60. How and why? The how is the technical part but the why is the difficult question.
 
I think it was the hand of God, an alignment of the stars and moon and when the pupil is ready the teacher will appear. The hand of God was when I left the Doctors office I went to a book store to buy some books and one happened to be the Low Glycemic Index diet. I read it and as a non technical dietician I knew it was right on. My father was a diabetic and passed way 20 years ago so I was in a time warp about my knowledge of how to manage the disease. My mother made the worlds best mashed potatoes and white bread. She would have no more fed my father white sugar in a bowl ]but that is what happened. God taught me within 60 minutes that there is knowledge out there.
 
The alignment came when I went to several of our local diabetic educators, nurses and dieticians. It became very obvious within the first 5 minutes of meeting these folks that if I was to be successful in winning this war I would have to do it myself. My questions were very straight forward and they did not know the answers. I asked about info on the low Glycemic diet and they did not know what I was talking about. I said I want to bring my A1C to 5.5 within 6 months what do I have to do to get there. They looked at me and said our target is 7. Yeah right. This made me realize that I as the pupil was ready but there was not a teacher out there so I would have to become my own teacher. Guess what, I am pretty damned good!
 
Thanks for all you do and keep it up.

Greetings!

Dumb question but I do wonder under what conditions will a doctor not write a prescription for Byetta?  My reason for asking is, I would not expect my doctor to write a prescription because I simply ask for it.  I was diagnosed T2 in October 2008.  I was placed on metformin 500 mg twice a day and my last A1C was 6.5, up from 6.4 the previous 3 months.  I am 5'2 tall, 190 lbs and have tried hard to lose weight  over the last 6 years with miminal success.  Would I be a candidate for Byetta? 

I took Byetta and it worked great for a short time then I seemed to become immune to it. The Byetta seemed to stop working. I have now have great control with just a low carb diet and exercise, much better than ever when I was taking medication.

I have always had an A1C under 6.0 and yet this year i still have developed neuropathy.  Maybe this will inspire me to lose those last 10 pounds.  I find all of your posts inspiring and encouraging.  We all need encouragement/inspiration; diabetes can be a tedious depressing disease.  Thanks.

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I had been haphazzard about my weight loss for years.  In general, it was going down, but very slowly. Then I was diagnosed Type 2.  I hopped on the internet to research Diabetes and scared myself to death.  I had watched my niece die a painful death from Amyloidosis, a complicaton of dialysis, at age 40. Now I was MORE LIKELY  to develop kidney disease?????? 

That's all it took.  I've lost 40 lbs and still going down.  It's a little to soon to celebrate, but I am ecstatic that for the last 2 weeks, I have not needed to take Metformin!  The one day I forgot and took it, my glucose level dropped to 87. 

I will continue to lose weight and monitor my blood glucose.  Most importantly, I will continue with a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating habits.  My future is in my own hands and I choose to be a winner!

The Nitpicker says that it shouldn't say 13 comments and then show them numbered from 1 to 9. It should instead say 9 comments and 4 replies or even just 9 comments.

We have the internet so we can, in principle, connect many people who have concerns about the same problem. It makes me unreasonably happy to have such selfless souls as David Mendosa dealing with this endemic, epidemic, expensive, debilitating illness in such high spirit and good humor. Furthermore, I suspect that in a year, a thousand communicating participants with a given disease can understand the issues better than most of their doctors. I try to foster such social organizations and benefits.

I once was classified as diabetic on the basis of one high BG reading, but it's supposed to take two. So now I'm not diabetic. Still, it was clearly a clue to drop some weight and cut carbs. I'm doing that now, but my cardiologist wants me to go to a low fat diet. I'm resisting because I am not good at fighting hunger which I think would occur with less fat. What would my carbiologist say? (Not funny, eh?)

I am a personal example of the multiple morbidities of age and oppulence. I got a five way bypass after a heart attack 8 years ago. I'm taking chondroitin to keep my artieries supple and I think that's working. My recent cardiac CAT scan showed the replacement veins were still all completely clear of plaques, though some remained in my unreplaced arteries. Still, I think my biggest current issue is to bring my weight down further. At 6 feet 1 or so and shrinking, I've effortlessly reduced from 269 pounds to 241 and I intend to get below 210 in the next two years.

There is so much detail and so many aspects to cover that I wish for much more comprehensive and long term logging of the use of exercise, diet, drugs, and supplements by lots and lots of people. Such information, with outcomes, could provide the data for evidence based advice to adults concerned about maintaining good health in the face of multiple chronic problems. I'm much more concerned with long health-span than long life-span.

A major motivator for me was Gary Taubes wonderful book "Good Calories, Bad Calories" which reveals major flaws in medical advice about obesity and fat in the diet.

As a fellow with the team that published "Ending Aging" pointed out, Taubes book does not prove or even demonstrate that the implied alternative theory is right, only that the offered one is clearly not right. Still acting to change minds about the usual doctors' advice makes me feel better. Losing weight easily, and staying healthy, supports my argument and furthers my purpose in changing minds.

Perhaps it's just that I like to feel superior to others. I'm not above using such questionable motivators to accomplish worthwhile ends as long as I'm not doing harm.

I now weight 127 lbs I am 5"9 1/2" and 54 years old. I lost about 60 lbs over 18 months. My most recent ALc was 5.6. I exercise regularly, 1.5 hrs a day 4-5 days a week. I do not like taking medication when there is something that I can do to correct the problam.

I controll my T2 by tight diet, Metformin50mg, 3 x  per day) and exercise. last HbA1c( I'm in England) was 5.6% and I hope to be better next time. My "Finger stick" tests I keep below 6 mmol/l which translates to 108mg/dl.  i have lost about about 40 pounds in weight and am trying to lose more.

David has been my inspiration, along with Bernstein.

 I also spread the word about the dangers of high carb diet ( in diabetes and non-diabetics,) wherever the subject comes up.

My doctor tells me that ALL diabetics even well controlled ones get complications eventually. I'm setting out to prove him wrong and to show him that 7% HbA1c isn't "well-controlled". Now he says I'm too tight on my BG. I'm not budging on it.