{"id":37911,"date":"2015-06-02T06:42:34","date_gmt":"2015-06-02T10:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?post_type=feature&p=37911"},"modified":"2016-01-11T09:33:11","modified_gmt":"2016-01-11T14:33:11","slug":"the-danger-of-treating-diabetes-with-alternative-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37911","title":{"rendered":"The Danger of Treating Diabetes with Alternative Medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n

Yoga was food for my mind, but it wasn\u2019t food for my body. Throughout my many years of practice and teaching yoga, I suffered from chronic digestive issues. I kept them at bay with numerous alternative treatments until one day I fell down and couldn\u2019t get up. My whole body was shaking. I knew something wasn’t right and I needed to rest. A week later my blood work came back from the lab.<\/p>\n

My doctor prided himself on the fact that he combined holistic healing with allopathic medicine. His approach to my condition, however, was appalling. He blurted out that I was diabetic. He\u2019d checked my A1c after noticing my fasting sugar was slightly high. He told me I would be responsible for healing myself. He said there was no cure. I was confused and tried to get him to slow down. I madly scribbled notes in my notebook and felt completely overwhelmed. I was supposed to fly to India in three days time to lead a yoga teachers\u2019 training. The trip was set and I couldn\u2019t cancel. The doctor wasn\u2019t interested in my plans. He ignored my questions and concerns and shoved some pamphlets in my hands suggesting I take some brown rice protein for the trip and that I \u201cgoogle\u201d diabetes.<\/p>\n

It was one of the most shocking moments in my life. I drove home crying, feeling desperate and deeply ashamed. How could a health conscious person like me, a yoga teacher, have an incurable disease?<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the next day I was able to get an appointment with a local endocrinologist who also happened to be a close friend. He was quite puzzled when he saw the results of my tests, but immediately reassured me that my A1c of 6.8% wasn\u2019t that high. \u201cThat\u2019s in the pre-diabetic range,\u201d he shared. \u201cYou don\u2019t present like a type 2 diabetic. I\u2019m not quite sure what\u2019s going on, but let\u2019s do some more tests and get to the bottom of it.\u201d\u00a0 Because I was heading off to India we waited for further testing. He encouraged me to buy a glucometer and to test regularly and make a note of what was happening with my blood glucose levels.<\/p>\n

On my return from India we did further tests which revealed my pancreas was still producing some insulin. I asked him if he thought I could regenerate my pancreas. He smiled a little and shook his head.<\/p>\n

I refused to take no for an answer.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Thus began my journey in the river of denial, which I saw as the bright hope to finding my own cure. That first year I radically worked on my diet. I bought every low GI diet book in the bookstore and cooked up a storm. It was working. My daily blood glucose levels stayed in range and my A1c\u00a0was 6.2%. I also went to weekly Japanese acupuncture sessions and took herbs for my kidneys, spleen and liver. I was excited and convinced things were on the up and up. My energy levels were better and I was less stressed.<\/p>\n

Six months later, however, my blood glucose was no longer in range. I found my way to one of the top Ayurvedic doctors in the U.S. The first thing he told me was that I wasn\u2019t a type 2 diabetic. Diet, exercise, and herbs couldn\u2019t cure my diabetes. I was eager to know if he did know what would cure me. His take on my health was that I was overly sensitive due to environmental factors. Electromagnetic frequencies were affecting my blood sugar levels and the heavy amounts of supplements I was taking were damaging my liver. If I could stop the supplements and improve my gut health and reduce my exposure to EMF\u2019s there was definitely a chance I could improve. He never mentioned the words, \u201cmanage my condition\u201d so instead I foolishly hoped for a cure.<\/p>\n

A year later my A1c was up to 7.9%. I was back in my hometown and my endo was willing to give me three more months to get my A1c back down. If it didn’t work we were going to have to look at medication options. I decided to start a ketogenic diet, but everything pushed my blood glucose levels higher and higher. I was eating eggs, Swiss chard and zucchini peppered with some avocado, and hemp seeds. That was it. It was exhausting. I felt like no matter what I did I was a failure. \u00a0I was losing weight and my daily blood sugar readings were always high. I kept thinking it was okay, that I\u2019d be okay, that something would change. Just one more day, I\u2019d tell myself and then I\u2019ll call the doctor.<\/p>\n

My partner urged me to consider going on medication, and I kept insisting it was a parasite, a fluke, my meter was wrong. It wasn\u2019t even diabetes. Then one day he put his foot down. \u201cYou\u2019ve done it all, you\u2019ve tried for six years. It\u2019s enough. We\u2019re going to the doctor and we are taking his advice!\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t easy for my endo, also my friend of over ten years, to tell me the results of my A1c. It was 10.7% I\u2019d been to see the nerve specialist the week before because my hands and feet had started buzzing and I was showing signs of the early stages of neuropathy. \u201cWe just can\u2019t do it anymore,\u201d he said shaking his head. \u201cYou need medication. Have you ever heard of LADA<\/a>?\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019d never heard of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what you have. You\u2019re a type 1 diabetic, not pre-diabetic and not type 2. I\u2019m recommending you start with basal insulin. One shot a day. We\u2019ll start you out a low dose because you manage your diet so well.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was heartbroken.\u00a0My endo reminded me that I\u2019d tried really hard, I\u2019d done better than most and I would feel so much better very soon. I didn\u2019t believe him, but I trusted him. I still didn’t think insulin would make a difference. I still thought I could turn things around.<\/p>\n

I couldn’t stop the river of tears, I\u2019d made an appointment with a certified diabetes educator (CDE) and I\u2019d picked up insulin from the pharmacy. I cried in the car, I cried in my yoga practice, I cried all over my computer and into my bowl of soup. My partner kept saying, \u201cWhy are you crying? This is brilliant you\u2019re going to get better. All this suffering is going to stop. No more not knowing, no more indecision. It\u2019s going to be the best moment in your life!\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t really know why I couldn\u2019t stop the tears but I did know I was crying tears of relief.\u00a0 The previous six years had been spent in denial, in a battle with myself, a battle with my ideals and ideologies. I thought I was weak if I went on insulin, or took a pill or worse, that one or the other would kill me. And now the choice had been made for me and I could only go with the flow. I didn\u2019t have to be perfect anymore. I could just be me.<\/p>\n

I gave myself my first shot in the CDE\u2019s office. I didn\u2019t want to try it on my own in case something went wrong. The CDE was caring and sweet, sharing with me that I hadn\u2019t done anything wrong. I was blameless and innocent. That I managed diabetes for so long without help was a credit to my willpower and because of that she was confident that I could manage whatever came my way.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been six months since I started taking insulin, and my life has completely transformed. I meet every challenge head on with grace and determination. I\u2019ve made new friends and learned so much about my condition. I was so deep in denial, I\u2019d never bothered to educate myself before. Today, through daily yoga practice I maintain my focus and determination. I\u2019ve come to accept the diabetes and be gentle with myself. And I\u2019m ready to tell the world that no herbs, diets, or exercises will cure diabetes. Insulin is not a perfect cure, but it is necessary for survival.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Diet, exercise, and herbs couldn\u2019t cure my diabetes. I was eager to know if he did know what would cure me. The doctor’s take on my health was that I was overly sensitive due to environmental factors. Electromagnetic frequencies were affecting my blood sugar levels and the heavy amounts of supplements I was taking were damaging my liver.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":37913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1542,1587],"tags":[681],"yoast_head":"\nThe Danger of Treating Diabetes with Alternative Medicine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yoga was food for my mind, but it wasn\u2019t food for my body. I suffered from chronic digestive issues. 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