It occurred to me recently that 2019 was the year I started to die.

Now I need to explain that somewhat morose comment.

Throughout my life I’ve been blessed with extraordinary health. Oh, I’ve had the broken bone or two, and some residual effects from them, but I’ve never had an illness or internal problem. For 67 years, I’ve been invulnerable. Oh, I know no one lives forever, but I never considered dying.

Contrast that with my daughter, who’s had allergies and a variety of health issues, even resulting in the removal of her gall bladder. Her mother also, had thyroid problems and other odds-and-ends health problems through the years. But not me.

Until this year, that is.

In late January, spurred on by a comment made by my dental hygienist, I visited a doctor for a checkup and was given the bad new: My Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was through the roof and my cholesterol was way high . HbA1c is a measure of glucose adhering to blood cells. A reading of 6.5 or higher denotes a diagnosis of diabetes. Mine was twice that: 13.0!

So now I had Type-2 – sometimes known as adult-onset – Diabetes. I knew little about the disease, and what I learned was twofold: #1 – It’s a “catchall” disease, causing a myriad of problems – neuropathy, kidney failure, heart attack, even cancer. #2 – It’s self-inflicted.

Well, okay, #2 is my take on it. In essence, I believe its cause is poor diet and lack of exercise. Put another way, as Dr. Jason Fung states (I’m paraphrasing), “Diabetes is a sugar disease. The cure is to stop putting sugar in, and to burn the sugar that’s there.”

Six months after my diagnosis, my HbA1c is down to 5.6, which is just a hair above being non-diabetic. I’m sure some of the credit goes to the medications given me, but I want off of them, and I’ve been altering my lifestyle. I’m eating whole foods, avoiding sugars and processed foods, and I’m running again. I lost 20 pounds (which was not in my plan, and which I didn’t want to lose. But now I’m kind of happy that I have).

But here’s the truth: Once diagnosed as a diabetic, you never stop being diabetic. It’s like being an alcoholic: You can stop drinking and live a happy, productive life, but you’re still an alcoholic. If you drink again, all bets are off. I will have to read labels, watch my diet and get plenty of exercise for the rest of my days. At least as long as I’m able.

And that’s not a bad thing.

The past month has been one long read-and-research experience. Along with my learning about diabetes, I’ve been undertaking dietary and fitness changes in an effort to reverse the diagnosis. Considering I feel great, it’s hard sometimes to realize that I’m now dealing with a life-threatening condition that affects every part of my body.

Information on reversing Type 2 diabetes seems to be everywhere, and there’s a lot of agreement (except on the part of the established medical community, ironically) that it can be done. It’s the “how” that differs from viewpoint to viewpoint.

Most superficial descriptions of diabetes rely on the translation of the term, “diabetes mellitis,” which means in essence, “sugar urine.” In other words, too much sugar in the blood.

It now seems to me, based on my reading, that high blood sugar is a symptom of diabetes. The underlying cause is insulin. Lack of it (Type 1) or too much of it (Type 2). Even that is a bit of an oversimplification. But consider: if you are running a fever, do you treat the fever or the underlying cause of it? This is to me, the heart of the matter.

My doctor hypothesized I might be “insulin resistant.” This term could be taken one of two ways: either the cells that are to receive the glucose the insulin is trying to deliver to them are refusing it, or there is simply too much insulin in the system. Either way, the high blood sugar is the result of insulin trying to “force” glucose into cells that are already filled with it, thereby refusing it. Dr. Jason Fung has a great analogy for this in his book, The Diabetes Code.

Well, my self-treatment has been going very well. At least peripherally. I discarded all the processed foods in my pantry, eschewed all “white” foods (potatoes, pasta, breads, sugar, etc.) and went more and more to a Keto diet, with intermittent fasting. In four weeks my blood glucose readings have been trending down (the two outlyers are post-pho lunch. Sadly, it looks like I need to eliminate that from my diet.

But, as I mentioned earlier, blood glucose is only part of the story. It’s possible to have a good blood sugar reading and still have insulin resistance.

And that’s when I decided to get serious.

Last night I watched a webinar. As with most “snake oil” presentations, I was very skeptical. But it was compelling, and a 100% guarantee was offered. I went to investigate further today, and saw another webinar was scheduled to start in just moments. So, I pulled out some earbuds, plugged in, and spent another 90 minutes watching and learning.

Much of what was presented was in line with what I’d already read and learned. I decided that since I was getting a modest tax refund (and more importantly — this is my LIFE I’m talking about), I’d spring for a year-long program.

I am now a member of Mastering Diabetes, an online coaching, teaching and support system. It’s a structured approach, and the results are promised to be evident almost immediately. I’ve seen dramatic improvement doing it myself for four weeks, so I think a systemic approach may be even better. Stay tuned…

The diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes causes — as might be expected — a plethora of confusion, questioning, uncertainty and fear. Life isn’t a bed of roses, and so being confronted with a new challenge, the first thing I do is start trying to understand what it is I’m being confronted by.

One good thing about traveling is the time it affords one to read; nothing makes an airplane ride go by faster than a good read. Same with bus trips. Both of which I have had in abundance lately.

So, I’ve bought and borrowed from the library, a number of books, which I think deserve some recognition. The first is “The Diabetes Code,” by Jason Fung, MD., a book the site Diet Doctor says, “should change the world.” Subtitled, “Prevent and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally,” the book is a wealth of medical information and practical advice.

Another is “Goodbye, Pills & Needles: A Total Re-Think of Type II Diabetes. And A 90 Day Cure,” by Tom Jelenik, PhD.

I’ve also been reading the articles on understandingtype2diabetes.com, a free web site written by a Ken Stephens, who isn’t selling anything, and actually seems to minimize his personal identity on the site. Stephens writes he was diagnosed as Type 2 (sometimes abbreviated as T2D) and his site is the result of his own research. I confess, I like a lot of what he writes.

In fact, all of the sources listed above all have in common the same basic idea: Diabetes is an epidemic and that it is mostly caused by lifestyle choices that sometimes we aren’t even aware of.

Truthfully, I first found myself in this camp during my running years. I still have linked to George Mataljan’s World’s Healthiest Foods site, and I own several books by Joel Fuhrman, MD., who to me is the “godfather” of the “eating healthy” movement.

The upshot of the above is, to me, evidence of a growing awareness into the problem — and solution — to the ever-increasing number of people who have been diagnosed (or will be diagnosed) as diabetic. The main medical community seems reluctant to rethink the carbohydrate-heavy diet promulgated by the government and the big sugar and corn interests, when all around them the evidence is right in front of their faces.

I started this post, thinking it was just going to be a touch point, a brief update. But it’s gotten longer that I thought, so I’ll end it here.