The doctors will send you to the Diabetes education class where you receive very generic and watered down  information. I think I knew more about the causes and treatment of Erectile Dysfunction from watching commercials on TV than I did about Diabetes when I finished the class. The class I went to at the hospital was sponsored by manufacturers of diabetic food products. Guess what their advice was? Yeah, eat expensive special foods for diabetics.

In 2007, I started with a fasting blood sugar of over 330mg/dl when diagnosed then experienced a brief drop to 169mg/dl (7.5% A1c) for a short period. However, for the past year I’ve been extremely frustrated with daily fasting readingss of 220-230mg/dl and my A1c shot back up to 8.8% for my last test in December. All of this despite my efforts to follow a “diabetic diet” and exercise. It’s hard to stay motivated when all of your efforts show absolutely no results!

I came across this website, bloodsugar101.com, a few weeks ago via the discussion forums at Sugarstats (the tool I use to track my blood sugar, doctor visits, etc). As I was reading the site, it was like I was learning about my disease for the first time. Why wasn’t it explained this way in the diabetes education class? Why have I spent the last 2 years feeling like I did this to myself, despite knowing there’s a family history (obesity is a symptom, not a cause)?

I’m happy to report that after following some of the advice on the site and making just a few minor tweaks to my diet, exercise, and medication regimen that  my fasting blood sugar has dropped over 50 mg/dl in just a few weeks. I have not finished absorbing all of the information available on the site or implementing all of the suggestionss, but for the first time in a long while I’m optimistic that I can get control instead of being controlled by it. Yes, I’m motivated again!

I know I have a long way to go. I have get my blood sugar down further and keep it from from spiking over 140 mg/dl at any time in order to avoid doing more damage. I have to break the insulin resistance cycle that is causing my beta cells to work so hard. In other words, I’m shooting for the 5% club.

If you know anyone that is concerned about their blood sugar then tell them about this. If they are diabetic, pre-diabetic, or just have a family history, tell them to read bloodsugar101.com or buy the book.