“I can’t tell you how many meds my family doc tried before he finally sent me to an endocrinologist, who put me on NovoLog® 4 times a day. I forget how much, but the endo saw me every few weeks at first, then every 3 months since then. It wasn’t long before he saw I was having nighttime spikes, but he never explained that to me, though he put me on Lantus® at nighttime. I ended up on 110 units of that before bed and still had highs in the morning.

“Of course, I was not being ‘good’ because I was so discouraged. I was taking NovoLog® 35 units for breakfast, 45 for lunch, and 55 for dinner, and a sliding scale at bedtime along with that nighttime Lantus®.

“I was always good for a week after appointments and participated in many CHIP [Complete Health Improvement Program] and Daniel Challenges, and other programs. I never got past the last of the program and cheated through it. I just couldn’t seem to do it for the long term. I even bought The 30-Day Diabetes Miracle. I made it through the first week and lost 5 pounds. Then my mother-in-law who was living with us was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. I was her primary caregiver, and that was the end of my life change.

“After all the above attempts, I made minor changes in my lifestyle. I guess that helped me this time.

“On July 23, I was uncertain about joining our church yet again for the CHIP program. I wanted to, but there was a charge of more than I could afford. It covered updated books from what I had, and the before- and after-health screening, including blood draws. I told them I already had the books and would they take my last labs instead of having them done again. They did, so I went to the meetings. I didn’t care if I won anything because I was in this for my life changes.

“That mindset did it. I ate ice cream till there was no more in the house. I bought coconut almond milk, almond milk, and cashew milk (did you know cashew milk doesn’t have that strong taste that the others have, especially soy); and when the real milk was gone, I didn’t buy any more. Hmm, what else did I not re-buy? Packaged cold cereals, which I love because of the crunch. I bought large bags of frozen fruit from Sam’s and used them along with a banana and one of the above nut milks to make yummy smoothies for my sweet tooth.”

Kathy