My blood sugar which was over 300 at diagnosis dropped to 195..then 185..then 146. My weight issues began at 13. Both parents were dx with catastrophic illnesses…scleroderma and stroke with left sided paralysis. Our days of skiing and ice skating were gone and I became a stress eater. I had been described as a lanky teenager by my doctor at the time but within a year of the stress and day to day struggles I was gaining weight rapidly. It didn’t stop for almost forty years.
As a cardiac and behavioral health nurse, my training helped me to conquer stress eating and make it a thing of the past. However, the weight was not coming off. I tried NutriSystem, Atkins and other diet programs but the weight came off very slowly and went back on quickly with more weight added. My thyroid tests T3 and T4 were always normal and so no other testing was done. As a cardiac nurse, I stayed away from beef and fatty foods but switched to carbs and lean protein with some veggies. Little did I know that what my profession taught was healthy for diet was actually not healthy at all and the weight kept piling on. I constantly craved sweets and carbs and never seem satisfied after eating..it was an endless hunger when I knew I shouldn’t be hungry. This program was a life saver for me.
When I was diagnosed with diabetes three years ago my doctor prescribed Metformin and I took it for nine months. After the prescription ran out, I decided that the side effects of the drug were as bad as no drug so I did my best on my own dietary wise. My doctor was a difficult personality to work with and a fundamental hardliner when it came to diabetes. I dropped this physician and did not seek another because I felt they were all the same. I began to search for more cutting edge treatments and found out about the work of Mark Hyman and a few select others who made a difference in treating and reversing diabetes. Something which conventional medicine was light years away from.
Being selected for the Beta Program made a huge impact in my life as a person, a patient and a medical professional. As a nurse, I was always selective about food choices but the book and my personal research into the topic of nutrition as medicine opened my eyes even more. I weighed 190 at the beginning of the program and I am now 185 with 1 inch less around my waist. I thought I would lose a little more but when my lab tests came back I was told that my Thyroid antibodies were over 3300. I go back to see my functional medicine professional..I will never go back to a traditional medicine professional ever again…I will probably be given thyroid medication..this probably accounts for the slower weight loss. How grateful I am that these additional Thyroid tests were required.
I am now exercising and doing interval training and my energy level which was not bad was noticeably improved. I suffered from chronic vaginal yeast infections which disappeared within a week ..that in itself is a miracle! My blood pressure which was in the 210/110 range is now fluctuating between 146-202/98-106 . I need some work here and will probably go on medication short term until I reach my desired goal weight and get reassessed.
My blood sugar which was over 300 at diagnosis dropped to 195..then 185..then 146. After eating, my blood sugar two to three hours later was 157 not the 337 of three years ago. My A1C dropped to 8.7 from 11.6 three years ago when diagnosed. I am so happy to have participated because this program gave me power to make decision about my health that improved it in such a short time. The online support group gave me others to connect with so that you didn’t ever feel alone in your endeavor on the program. What phenomenal people from all over the country I have met! This caused me to go to the computer each day…assuming my teenagers weren’t online before me…navigating teenagers can be more of a challenge…I looked forward to checking in with everyone and saw that on days that were a little more challenging ..or on days that produced even minor victories..support was there from everyone.
I have always hated it when someone says ..”Oh you’re a diabetic!” No NO NO I am a person living with diabetes. I am a person first not a diagnosis…and online this fact was born out every single day…so inspiring to see myself and others take back control of their life and health choices and learn that this condition is Reversible. My family is becoming more aware too! They have switched from white bread to whole wheat or whole grain. This is a small beginning but a good step in the right direction.
The supermarket is just a marketing gimmick…I was so aware to start with of food that is processed but this book took that awareness to a heightened level. I began to realize that the Poisoning of America is legalized and that a country with our resources should be able to do better. If lobbyists can twist legislation so that we have to eat unhealthy processed foods then I can take back the power and choose to avoid those foods..and I can do as well as others so that one person at a time we all make a difference. Thank You to all the professionals at UltraWellness who helped and to Dr. Hyman who truly taught me that nutrition and medicine are the same thing .,.and that the most powerful medicine is at the end of your fork. Thank you ..for this and for most of all giving all of HOPE!
Change in my health condition 1.31.12
I am part of the Beta that just finished. I wanted to update you on my condition. On Jan 19th I experienced an anterior STEMI. I had a 99% blockage in my proximal LAD and a 95% blockage in my distal Lad and received two stents. This came as a total shock to me as I was working out for one hour and forty minutes only five days before without any issues and I felt great.
I had been ill for four days with a viral infection, and after taking a shower only had some brief downward pressure on my shoulders bilat. I had muscle aches and pains all over for the four days I was ill. I thought after the hot shower that I had a vasovagal episode and that I was dehydrated. I went to the ER where I was shocked to find out that my EKG showed the anterior MI. My door to balloon time was two hours.
In the process of the hospitalization, I must tell you it was more stressful to defend my choice of diabetes treatment with the blood sugar solution program than to recover from the heart attack. Mainstream medicine didn’t ever hear of diabetes being reversed…I was often told “Oh so it is a diet control program” to which I would say no it is a reversal program. Others in the medical profession, told me that anything on line could be a “fly by night or dangerous approach” and that “I better be careful !” I was met with skepticism by others. My cardiologist says he respects my opinion and choices for holistic medicine but wants to do more for me than holistic medicine can offer. No one had heard of functional medicine. I began to feel as if I was a functional medicine poster child for those in medicine who are not aware of anything I have learned and researched over the least three years from professionals such as you and Dr. Hyman and others such as Dr. Furman in N.J.
I defended my choice for treatment options and preference while in the hospital. I know for now I will have to take certain medications such as Plavix out of necessity for a year….when you are having an MI you want to take advantage of what conventional medicine can do to save your life…but after the emergency…what they want to do to maintain your life…I feel in the long run will deteriorate my health.
I will be contacting your office to make an appointment to see Dr. Hyman at a future date in the spring once I have more recovery time under my belt. Until then, I just wanted to update you and say thank you because the type of medicine you practice gives people hope ..improved health and healing. You make all of us who live with diabetes feel we are not labeled as diabetics and seen as an illness entity….rather we are people first …not defined by our medical condition..Thanks again!
Marilyn Asci-Ashour
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