A few weeks ago I was on the phone with a friend who didn’t feel comfortable getting vaccinated. She complained that today we trust doctors too much and that “Big Pharma” just wants to keep us sick so we should look after our own health. I tried to argue that there was plenty of reason to trust in the vaccine and she responded:

“After your experience with your doctor, don’t you see where I’m coming from now?”

I am fully vaccinated and didn’t have any side effects. My friend was referring to my experience with type 2 diabetes. For some time in 2020, I had very low energy all the time. I was also experiencing other very subtle diabetes signs/symptoms (thirst, abdominal fat, dark skin areas). I didn’t think much of my symptoms until I started experiencing vision problems— I kept seeing a strange flashing in my peripheral vision. Diabetes runs in my family and my uncle actually lost his vision to diabetes. When the signs started sounding all too familiar, I decided it was time to get some lab work done. In January 2021 they confirmed I had diabetes with a pretty high A1C of 9.5. After the storm that was 2020 I decided this year just HAD to be different. I did not want to be exhausted all the time anymore and I was extremely scared of losing my vision so I spoke with my doctor. She prescribed metformin and told me I needed to “lose weight”. I asked if I could do anything that didn’t involve medicine and she insisted that the only way I’d be able to stop taking the medicine was if I lost a significant amount of weight.

I ended up doing a lot of research. Yes I know how this sounds…

I eventually found information that a low fat, whole food plant based (WFPB) diet was ideal for slowing down and even reversing type 2 diabetes. This wasn’t from just instagram influencers and fake doctors— there was real, compelling research that this works. So I went all in and “reversed” my diabetes by March. I went to get my A1C checked and my doctor was surprised to see that it was in the normal range. Up until that appointment I kept asking to be taken off medication because my daily fasting blood sugar numbers were improving but she said she was waiting to see more weight loss first. I lost about 40 pounds but that was not satisfactory for my doctor (because I’m still overweight) even though I wasn’t experiencing my diabetes symptoms anymore and my blood sugar was in control. Eventually I got frustrated with her decision making and (after more research) just stopped taking the medicine. She reluctantly let me stop taking it eventually in April.

My experience with diabetes definitely changed the way I view medicine. Even though my diabetes is well controlled, with my blood sugar consistently in the normal range since March, “Type 2 Diabetic” is written in big letters on my Kaiser profile. Every appointment I’ve had following my diagnosis, I’ve noticed doctors will lazily blame any symptom I have on diabetes. And the craziest part of it all is that no one ever suggested a change in diet to help me. The focus was always on my weight and what medicine to prescribe. My own mother has had diabetes for years even after losing weight and taking all her medicine. The reward for that was more medicine. When my friend used to say “Big Pharma” this and that I thought she was just being difficult but I do see now that there is some validity to how she feels. Doctors don’t always know best, and sometimes we over rely on medicine when we should focus on natural methods like lifestyle changes.