“You can’t do that,” he said. I did it anyway”

Before

Mike was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He was put on drugs, including insulin, to control his blood sugars. This made him gain lots of weight and he developed all kinds of complications.

Mike decided his treatment was not working. He decided to quit eating carbs, and to quit his mealtime insulin. His doctor panicked and said “you can’t do that”. Mike did it anyway.

Here’s what happened.

The E-Mail

I would like to introduce myself and explain the wonderful things that LCHF have done for me.

I am Mike Wolff from Gothenburg Nebraska. In the fall of 2014 I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. My doctor put me on Metformin and Amaryl. I very quickly gained 20 pounds (9 kg) but my A1c went from 10.2 down to 8.4 which the doctor thought was better but no good enough.

I tested, sometimes 8 times per day, and my blood sugars ranged from 60 to 210 mg/dl¹. I did not feel well at all.

After several months of this oral medication, I developed, at that time, an unknown to me, myxoma (tumor in my left aorta). On December 29, 2014, I suffered a stroke from a small piece of the tumor breaking off and stopping blood flow to my brain. The doctors could not determine why I had a stroke or for that matter, even come to a consensus that I had in fact suffered from one.

I was put on Xarelto to thin my blood and the hospital said that they could not control my blood sugar with the oral meds and that I would have to start taking insulin. I had just suffered from a stroke so who was I to argue. In the hospital, eating their diabetic diet and take 2 units of insulin for each 15 grams of carbs plus twice daily Levemir, I gained another 20 pounds.

January 19, I suffered another stroke, this time ischemic from my blood being too thin from the Xarelto. The doctors were still not happy with my blood sugar so I got an even higher dose of Levemir each time. By the time that they found my tumor and did heart surgery to remove it, I weighed 307 lbs (139 kg). After recuperating in a local long-term care hospital, my weight was 316 lbs. (143 kg), and still eating the recommended ADA diet.

I went on this way until May 10, 2015. At that time, I had decided that something was not right. I quit eating complex carbs and visited my doctor. In the course of 3 weeks, I had lost 20 lbs. (9 kg) and I told my doctor that I was going to quit taking corrective insulin at mealtime. Panic ensued. “You can’t do that,” he said. I did it anyway.

I very shortly lost more weight and was able to walk my daughter down the aisle to get married. I then became more determined than ever to lose the weight and lose all of the insulin.

On Sept 10, 2015 I quit taking the daily 2 doses of Lememir. I cut out all carbs that were not inherently in the vegetables that were in my diet. Average of about 6-8 grams per day. I visited my doctor where labs tests were done. “I don’t believe it”, he said. “Lab tests don’t lie”, he said. All of my labs were within normal range except LDL but that did not worry me much.

To make a long story short, my A1c is now at 5.4, triglycerides are 110, my blood sugar is around 93 mg/dl (5.2 mmol/l), day in and day out, and my weight is 219lbs (99 kg) and still losing.

A few months ago I found the Diet Doctor website and I view videos, read information, and use recipes. low-carb is making me feel better than I have in years, making me much healthier, and reassuring me that what I am doing is right. Doctors still don’t believe I can sustain eating this way and won’t remove the diagnoses of diabetes but time and determination will prove them wrong. My RD friend just calls me a freak of nature.

LCHF and Diet Doctor have changed my life for the better, for sure. My blog, Diary of a Doubting Diabetic will soon tell all the tales. Pardon the long-winded email but I felt that this was too good to not pass on.

Mike Wolff

PS: A picture taken before is attached. I don’t have a current picture, however.

Comments

Congratulations Mike! Well done. E-mail and let me know when your blog is online, so that me and other people can learn even more from your experiences.

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