My Reversal Process

Reversing Diabetes - The Steps I took

Today I did not get a chance to take my vitals as I was running late.

BP at 5:20 108/74 and HR was 55 on my home machine.

I was excited last night as my VA portal had been updated with my September A1C - 6.4!  Down from 8.1 six months ago.

I changed the blog - did not know you had to register - now anyone should be able to add a comment.

I want to thank my cousins for providing their advice on not stopping the BP medicine.  For now, I am going to take it every other day as I take the smallest dosage possible and cannot cut a gel pill in halve.  Thanks for the advice and I have a call into the doctor.

My journey started with some research and the book I really like is:  Diabetes Without Drugs By Suzy Cohen, RPh.  She is a pharmacist who has observed many people going the wrong direction with diabetes and wanted to make a difference.  I ended up buying three books but I would say her 5-Step Program was very good.  However, I did not follow her 5 steps to the letter.

Drugs and supplements before starting the program.

Drugs:

1. metFORMIN - 500 mg three times daily
2. GLIMEPIRIDE 2 mg daily
3. GABAPENTIN 300 mg twice daily (Neuropathy)
4. HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE 12.5 mg daily (high blood pressure)

Supplements:

1. Standard one a day
2. 500 mg cinnamon which contained 100 mcg of chromium
3. 2 baby aspirin daily
4. 1000 iu D3 twice daily (doctor ordered after March visit)
5. 5000 mcg biotin daily

1. Add 600 mcg of Chromium Picolinate - did this for 2 weeks and went to Suzy's first step
2. Added a green drink in the morning (Dr. Oz's recipe)  
1. I added Hawaiian Spirulina as Suzy recommended.  This is not for the weak at heart - but it really makes a day start well
2. I bought the Nutri-Bullet so I could do all of the work and I wanted to retain all of the fibers from the ingredients
3. 2 week's later as things were going well and I dropped my GLIMEPIRIDE as I was experiencing lows in the 50-60 range once or twice a day.  Doctor had cut back from 4 mg and said we could cut again if I would do better
4. 4 week's into the program I was having very sore feet and did some research and found out the symptoms I had when I went to the doctor was more related to restless leg syndrome.  I added Magnesium - 400 mg 3 times daily.  The doctor agreed with me as we reviewed again this visit and said when diabetic patients have feet problems - that is the first thing doctor's do - add a drug.  It is hard to truly diagnose neuropathy.  This is a dangerous problem for diabetics and why we lose body parts - I was glad he did not play around.
5. Two week's later I dropped the GABAPENTIN 
6. At the same time my blood sugars were dropping still as my weight dropped and I removed 1,000 mg of the metFORMIN and kept my night time pill
7. A friend of mine introduced me to AKEA Essentials - this mixture of organic food contains 47 little wonder products that helps with improving many body parts.  I added it to my green drink in the morning and add it to my water in the afternoon.
8. My blood sugars and weight continued to drop - so I dropped the last metFORMIN
9. That left me with about 3 month's of no drugs when I went to the doctor
1. My 7 day average was 115 and my 14 day average was 135
2. Now I found out my A1C was 6.4 - a complete swing from last visit.
10. 3 weeks ago I added a regular workout into my lifestyle change and anxious to see what that does for me.  I will provide more detail on that later as i get a little bit more experience behind me on that subject.

I still have to monitor closely and hope BS continues to improve.  As I said, I am on a journey and really just getting started.  However, I have hope and know now there are some natural things I can do that really help reduce the medicines.  The exercise and diet are my focus at the moment and constant testing - WOW is testing 3-4 times daily expensive!

In my next blog I will discuss a little what each of these drugs do to us and why they are our best friend and worst enemy.

For now, God bless and again may he help you on your journey.

Bob,

Chromium - Nice Supplement For Weight Loss

Chromium Picolinate - Why I believe It Must Work

Thank all of you for your comments, support, and reading this blog.  I have but one request, leave some comments, let's get the conversation rolling.  All of us can learn as a community and that is my dream.  Tell me your story and we can add it to the blog, tell me if I am crazy (I already know that), or just ask questions as it will help drive what you want to hear.

Today's Blood Sugar - fasting was 117 (Impressive after last night's experiment)

Blood Pressure - 97/59 (on my home machine) - too low.  I officially stopped my high blood pressure medicine today.

Heart Beat 51

Before getting into the nasty little secret nobody wants you to know about.  I thought I would share a little experiment I am running - what foods really do impact my blood sugars in a negative way.  You see, if I am going to do all of this, then I thought maybe I should be able to enjoy an occasional normal meal; reward myself.  Or, being a good ole' Iowa boy - have a nice scoop of ice cream.  Small dream!

I tried Mexican food two weeks ago and again last night.  Both times before I went to eat my BS was at 100+.  Two weeks ago my sugar levels rose to 135 two hours after eating and I did not count my chips.  Last night my BS went to 197 - can you say ouch!!!!  Better than when I was on medicine but still too high.

It proves one thing, this disease is difficult and demonstrates, it might not just be the food, but how it is prepared.  That is another research I am on.  But for now - it does prove we diabetics need to know our body chemistry and it is  OUR RESPONSIBILITY - not the doctor.

Anyway, as promised, today I just want to talk about why I started the CP after reading about it in the books.  The books did not really get me going, I did a little research of my own.  WIKI is always a good start.  I thought it strange that I found reviews that I would say are not favorable; even to the point the UK Government banded CP but brought it back under watch.  Having lived in London for 5 years - I actually thought it must work if the medical community and the UK government say it is not good.

So I went to another source Alternative Medicines and found some good and some bad reviews.  But for the bad there was an offsetting good.  So I continued my reading and research - trying to discover who was behind all of these studies and who funded them.  Not an easy task and often the true funding source of the study is so deeply hidden that we might never know.

As I said in the beginning, I had decided to trust God in all my decisions.  I went to Walmart to look into CP and started noticing how many pills we could take that had a miracle element that controlled sugar levels and help reduced belly fat.  WOW!!!  I am in, think I will get one of these - if it carries Walmart's brand it must be good.  Walmart is not the only store - but they are who I went to.  Then I turned the bottle around to the back and looked at the ingredients; as all diabetics do and what did I find - Chromium and caffeine. 

Now my curiosity was running high - why have I not heard of this wonder element after 13 years of diabetes.  Surely one doctor would have told me it has been proven to help.  At that point I was sold - when the commercial world is willing to sell it over the counter and give it a new name - must work.  God gave me what I needed - go for it.

As the research books pointed out - do about 600 mcg a day not the 200 mcg recommended for you daily intake.  I took a 200 mcg tablet three times a day to balance it out.  Like I said, two weeks later the BS was dropping, the weight started coming off and the belly fat was going away.  It was like a great shot of encouragement that I could slow this nasty disease and its effects down. I truly felt I was going to reach goal number 1.

One last evidence that CP is so commercially sold under different names, that when my wife and I went to the Senior Health Fair today - there were all kinds of stands selling a high powered pill that reduced weight, belly fat, and lowered blood sugars.  Yup, you guessed the main ingredient.

Before starting, please talk to your doctor.  Mine asked me if I thought it would help him reduce his belly fat.  I told him, it worked for me - that is all I can say.

In tomorrows blog, I will give you and idea of my daily lifestyle menu, supplements, and  exercise.

God bless each and everyone of you and may you journey start off successfully.  Like so many afflictions, we are diabetics and this is a life style change and journey - not a sprint to the end.

Bob

God - The Best Pharmacist

God's Pharmacy - Cinnamon and Chromium Picolinate

Today's fasting blood sugar was 128

Today's blood pressure was 108/67 (low for home machine) and heart beat was 55

All signs are good.  As I mentioned, I am one of those that suffer from a high fasting sugar level.  Soon and very soon I will start to experiment and do some research if I can improve that situation.  For now I am extremely happy at 128 as it is still lower than when I was on medication.

I have never been one to believe in natural cures, supplements, or even drugs for that matter.  I grew up with a Mom that did not believe in drugs.  Over time, I developed my own theories about how good One-a-Day vitamins were and how they could not replace natural foods.  Little did I know that natural foods here in the States are not so natural.  My travels around the world opened my eyes.  Being a farm boy, everything come out of the ground as I could remember.

So far I have shared two angels in my life and now I will introduce 3 and 4; Brian my son and his beautiful wife Lydia.  Four years ago they got married and shortly after that, Brian received an internship at ECHO - World Hunger Organization.  We helped Brian and Lydia move and that gave us the opportunity to take a tour of the place.  I was literal blown away by the power pharmacy in God's back yard.  The whole experience is way too much for this blog so I encourage you to visit http://echonet.org/ and make donations.

Lydia is a very special and a talented individual.  She is book smart, spiritual, has common sense, and she has a Masters in International Health.  She has served Haiti and its needs for many years.  So when Brian got the call to serve at ECHO, she was naturally excited and while there, took a job in the book store.  She has helped our family understand nutrition and helped me become a believer that this could work.  However, I still believed it was for the other guy and not for me.

Now between the visit, and Lydia being in the book store, and Brian learning about all kinds of magical plants, food, and how to build an echo system, I started to believe that God in all his wisdom would have known our bodies need certain minerals and vitamins to stay healthy - of course he would create them.  

The book story had a book, Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, that we purchased.  Naturally I was curious regarding diabetes and what plants would help.   I was excited to open the book and start to take these miracle cures.  I was disappointed and surprised as there was only one item listed - cinnamon.  Yep, that stuff you like to dump on top your coffee, toast, and add to cookies is a natural fighter of diabetes.  I immediately added that to my normal daily intake.  Little did I know, for diabetes, you might want to add more.

How did all of this help me.  Six months ago when I got the call from my angel Sarah and started my research, I was more open to read about natural products and supplements.  I felt if God had produced all of these wonderful natural foods, then some where along the line, someone was given the ability to turn them into something healthy for me.

I purchased 3 different books that looked interesting and could maybe help reverse diabetes.  After all, they were bragging they could reverse it in 14 days - who wouldn't want that magical pill!  Remember my first goal, slow it down and turn it back - not reverse it.  So I figured, even if they overstate their products ability, like cinnamon, there must be other things to help.

I triangulated the three sources and decided to start with the items they all agreed upon.  Cinnamon was one of those items so I now had 4 sources voting for that.  Turns out I was not taking enough.  I have increased my daily intake of cinnamon to 3,000 mg and just take tablets.  We must remember when the government provides us daily recommended levels - they are just guidelines and for normal people. 

Chromium Picolinate was the magic bullet each of the sources listed next to cinnamon.  My next blog I will discuss this in detail.  But I added 600 mcg of this supplement to my daily intake and within days my blood sugar levels started dropping and weight followed two weeks later.  When I started experiencing sugar lows in the 50s and 60s I cut back on my 2 MG of Glimepiride.  I guess these people trying to reverse my diabetes were serious - not just selling books.

Warning - if you do start with Chromium - make sure you are testing before each meal and maybe add 3 more times.  Please monitor your levels closely.  Do not do this without your doctor as I did - include them

The next blog I will go into more on Chromium Picolinate, how it worked for me, and how I know it to be true when I watch advertisements on TV.

For now, God bless you and may your journey start soon and end in a success.  

Bob

Planning the Road Trip

Get Ready For The Journey.

This morning my fasting blood sugars were 118 (just about my best number in 15 years) and my blood pressure was 124/74 on my home machine.  My home machine calibrated at 134/80 when the VA had 110/70.  So it was down this morning.

To get ready for any journey one must prepare.  I did three things to prepare for the journey:

1. Established goals and objectives - where do you want the journey to go.  Being a veteran, I can use MyHealthyVet portal and it has some decent tools - not great but better than nothing.  My goals were very simple; reverse the tend of increasing A1C, do some research, get to know my body, and prepare my self to play in the Sr. Olympics this year - that was to be my reward.

For each of these I had 3-4 activities I could track and measure and look at my progress weekly.  For instance, on my research I wanted to obtain multiple sources, review the sources, compare notes, and look for common ground among all sources.

2.  Prepare my self for all kinds of twists and turns.  I knew that I had tried many things in the past and wanted this to be different and to have a positive outcome.  Some of my preparation was to do some sole searching and make myself understand - I really am a Diabetic going the wrong direction.  By accepting my disease, I know longer put it in the closet.  I brought it out for all to see and for me to monitor.

3.  Bring along a guide to help during some of the trouble spots.  For me, that was easy as I was turning it over to God and would trust his guidance.  No matter what I was thinking or doing - he would be the guide.  You might think that sounds a little crazy to just trust 100% over doctors but I have already had one experience of putting my health in God's hands.  

Two years ago, I was a closet smoker.  Yeah, how stupid - a diabetic smoking.  I had smoked every since Mom passed away and that was my way of copying in those days.  Over the years I had quit for 20 years but started up again when I traveled.  Long story short, I would sneak them at work but never at home.  Then God sent his special angel (Kathleen - my wife) who has always arrived at the right moments in my life.  God sent her to explain to me that she felt the cigarettes made her feel like I was having an affair and the cigarettes where coming between us.  I had tried gum, lozenges, and Chantix.  Nothing seemed to work.  Then I went to God and said I do not want smoking between my wife and I but I need help.  He took it away for me and even though I have urges, he is always there to keep me strong.

Now that we are ready for the journey, we will get into the research and the path it put me on.  You will learn about some natural products and supplements that really helped.  Many of these are being sold under different names and as miracle cures.  They are, but you do not have to pay the big bucks and fall for tricky advertising.  

God bless you and may your journey be as fruitful as mine,

Bob 

Reversing Diabetes at age 60

My Diabetes Reversal

Several of my friends and relatives suggested I start a blog on what I have done to reverse my diabetes.  You see, being a Matheny decedent, we all have generations of this troublesome disease in our genes.

I am a Type II diabetic and my story is geared towards those that suffer from Type II as Type I is a completely different problem.

Before you read on, if the word God or Jesus offends you - you might want to leave the sight immediately.  If you are not bothered by a religious overtone - then welcome and I hope you too can find success in what I have to say.

My journey to reversal is just that - a journey and I am still on it.  I have just taken the first step and have many miles to go.  If you are ready for a long journey, then climb on and let's get started.

As you start your own journey, remember, I write software for a living - not practice medicine.  What I did and how I did it I would not recommend to anyone.  I would work with your doctor but I am not convinced any of them want us Type II diabetics to heal - that will be another blog.

In March of 2013, I had just had my worst ever Doctor visit with my A1C (your 3 month blood sugar average) at 8.3, medicines were increased, and a renewed threat of insulin shots would be next.  I weighed 224 pounds and was definitely over weight - but not obese.  This is my first God moment.

In this blog I will bring out the many wonders I have learned over time and marvels of what God has done for us.  This being one of those marvels.  Your body is so smart that it has an instant blood sugar level but it also runs a three month average at all times.

You cannot even buy a computer today that can keep that kind of statistics real-time and accurate to the micro-second.  But our creator has put many of these little computer chips in our bodies to help and we will be discussing many of these in later blogs.

The visit before was not bad, but it was when I was put on high-blood pressure medicine.  I was following the path of a normal diabetic; high and low blood sugar level swings; high blood pressure, tingling in my feet (neuropathy) was coming, meaning the end game for me was already predicted my the medical profession - remove body parts and slowly die.

Then God sent an angel into my life - my daughter Sarah.  She had been trying to get me healthy for a long time and nothing seemed to work.  I tried being a Vegan.  I tried starving carbs.  I tried to stick with the ADA menu of food and simply failed at everything.  Then her and God laid out the big ultimatum, get better or no more golfing with her.  Talk about tuff love!!!

Well after 4 months I made my 6 month checkup last week and my fasting blood sugar was 120 that morning, down 50 points from my normal level on medicine, my 7 day average was 115, and my 15 day average was 135.  I had lost 37 pounds and the entire medical team was ecstatic.  So much so, the Doctor suggested I could start dropping my medicines.  That is when I let him know I had taken my last medicine 3 weeks earlier and all of this was medicine free.

That is the part I would not recommend to anyone as your doctor should be involved!

I think this sets up the beginning of the journey and I look forward to feedback and questions.  I will with each diary put in my vital signs for the day.

God Bless each of you and may you find healing through him as I have done,

Bob,