Wed, Oct-14-15, 05:24
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Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
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Another good article by Kelley Pounds, a diabetes educator, about when people can come off their medications. Some other considerations on the topic:
https://lowcarbrn.wordpress.com/201...ype-2-diabetes/
Quote:
As you know from reading my site, I truly emphasize the natural treatment of diabetes and other health conditions. Does that mean that shortly after beginning a healthy way of eating that you should throw your diabetes medications in the trash and expect good BG control? Well, that may be possible for some, but more often, most folks have to wean from medications, slowly lowering them until control is reached from their diet and lifestyle. For others, continued use of medication is necessary.
Does this mean you have failed? No. Many learn about healthy lifestyle only after years of living with diabetes, and the damage (I wish I had a better word to use here) has been done. Others have followed the standard diabetes advice for decades only to find out it worsened their diabetes. So don’t be so hard on yourself. When I discovered that I had pre-diabetes, I was given NO advice from my primary healthcare provider. NONE. (I’d hate to know where I’d be today, had I done nothing.)
So this is where many find themselves, with years or decades with uncontrolled diabetes. Control is not likely to happen overnight. There is nothing wrong with support from diabetes medications. You should not stop taking needed medication, and live with resulting high blood sugars, just so you can “go natural.” The high blood sugars are causing FAR more damage.
Take me for instance, it took me two years of living a very strict healthful lifestyle to eliminate medication for high blood pressure. I hated taking medication because I felt like I should be able “beat” high blood pressure. But if I had tossed those pills in the trash, and lived with extremely high blood pressure, the damage to my kidneys could have been devastating and permanent. As of now, I am medication free. But, if my blood pressure had not responded to my healthy lifestyle, you’d better believe I’d be taking medication for it.
Honestly, NONE of us want to take medication. When we hear of others coming off all of their medications, we wonder why it is not happening for us. Well, not everyone is in the same stage with their diabetes. And those who stop taking medication often have invested a great deal of time and considerable effort. Some achieve this with diet alone. Others who are more resistant may need advanced techniques, like vigorous exercise and possibly an intermittent fasting regimen. So please don’t compare yourself to others. Strive with the goal in mind of freeing yourself from medication. But if you are giving a healthy lifestyle 100% effort and still are having elevated blood glucose, it is extremely important to keep blood sugars controlled. Medication may be necessary. High blood sugars can cause irreparable harm. You should NOT be living with high blood sugars.
Where medications become a huge problem is trying to use them to cover an unhealthy lifestyle. This requires large doses of medications, worsens diabetes, increases resistance, causes unpredictable blood sugars, and leaves you completely open to all of the complications of diabetes.
There is NO doubt that the MAJORITY of your treatment for your diabetes MUST come from a healthy lifestyle. And medication therapy (along with your healthy diet) can be helpful while healing from diabetes. But, if you can’t achieve blood sugar control despite your best efforts at living healthy, don’t be ashamed to use what you need to keep blood sugars controlled. Controlled blood sugars are a MUST for long term health and avoiding the risks of major chronic disease.
For those that can free themselves from medication, please continue to be vigilant about testing and monitoring to make sure that your condition remains controlled over time.
Wishing all of you good health and blood sugar control!
(Do I think any and ALL medications are good? No, I have my opinions as to which ones I feel are helpful with very minimal potential for side effects. There are other classes I very much dislike. But this article is not the place for my personal opinions. I think it is important to do thorough research on the medications you choose to take.)
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