I've been on a handful of pills twice a day since I became disabled.
My health has been slowly deteriorating and the Doctors just give me more meds to take.

On Good Friday I decided to chance going cold turkey.

Most of my meds are for Type 2 Diabetes.

I stopped taking my diabetes meds and guess what?
I'm feeling better.
My sugar was running around 160 on the meds and now a week later my sugar has dropped to 109. I don't know what my A1C is but I'm sure it is falling as well.

While I still have the condition that keeps me disabled most of the pain and eating problems have dissipated. If my sugar goes back up I will go back on the meds but if it doesn't I have some very choice words for my Doctor.

I haven't dealt with anything like diabetes, but I am on your side with the occasional need to test the long term medications.

Its awful that I feel I can't trust my own doctor for the right care.

I'm sorry if it's that you don't trust you particular doctor. I was thinking of some of my own experiences, where I knew that my doctor was obeying the established recommendations of the insurance companies and the AMA, and not attending to some of the specific details of my exact case.

In my case, though, I had a doctor who understood and trusted me, and was willing to work with me on PACING my medications, in recognition of some of the frustrating and inescapable negative side effects attendant to some of them.

My issue is that some of my complaints that he has not addressed or even acknowledged are now gone that I am not taking the meds.
He could have at least listened to me and addressed my concerns.

Tom, I hope you are doing some of your own research.

Doctors only know what they have been taught, and the PharmaCorporations write the textbooks. Research natural solutions, I recommend Dr.Mercola.com.
I went off heart meds & healed the heart damage thru lifestyle & diet for 5 years, now I'm on such low doses of a couple meds the pharmacies have never seen that small.
Cold turkey is often not the best way to un-med, gradual weaning is usually a better way to go. Some meds can kill you if you go off fast.
Educate yourself and feeling better is possible without medication!

Thanx,
I've set my sugar level at 140 to go back on the meds.
The highest since I've been off was 132.
I've always been one to take my meds religiously.
I was on 2000mg of metformin a day + glipiside
Now I am on zero and my sugar is better than ever.

I'm still on the other scripts, just the stuff related to the diabetes is what I stopped. Won't really know for sure till I get back my A1C test results from my blood test in July.

Consult with your Pharmacist. They are the second doc in means they have much depicted knowledge of how drugs effects your body, but not docs!

Doctors get incentives for pushing meds...
not a conducive environment for your wellbeing.

Tom4Uhere, I think it is commendable that you wish not to be dependant on pharmaceuticals. I hope you are monitoring your condition correctly and like catinidaho, I hope you are doing your own research. More power to you mate.

Iam a pharmacist and had gone tru College of medicine for two yrs before my MPH and currently in my DrPH. across my study experiences pharma products still has a lot to do in disease condition of patients some times the case is compliance and knowing the varieties of products that need not to be taken along with most hormone products as in diabetes as in drug-drug ,drug-food,drug-supplements interactions .These are broad range of extra care that can advance recovery if kept though, your view about pharma industries are not absolutely wrong there are a lot of profit oriented why? these active ingredients used in production of the drugs are naturally occurring in nature as extracts from herbal plants but not sufficient to handle a wide range of products manufacturing,which resorts in modified compounds and synthetic sources to compliment the efficacy of drugs when taken in proper prescribed way.Have in mind that these ingredients physical characteristics and botanic animal sources of crude drugs has quality controlled measure assessments both the organic and in organics.Secondly anything less or more as a result of interaction from food, drugs etc automatically yield a deviation in the efficacy of such product both for treatment and as toxic substance due to change in pharmacological responses which comprises kinetics - the movement of drugs in the body, including the processes of absorption, distribution, localization in tissues, bio-transformation, and excretion. So my opinion isn't that doctors don't promote pharma products, most do their job the rest is patient literacy check up that helps a lot. Docts do not force patients to go with their choice that is why its important to be educated of the drugs we take and report changes about the drugs or health conduction if your sure its not a result of alteration in medication guide or even if, just get back to the Dr.Lastly most people get good result with recovery as a product of faith in healing some people dont believe in spirituality in health care but there is and a great deal of it, that which forms the psychology of healing. for your information there is an ongoing research experiments on a plant found is south america that has been noted to regulate the beta cells insulin overproduction and underproduction by the pancreas which is the case of most diabetics cases in the next 2-3yrs i hope it will be all over for scourging disease above all, it is important to matain good diet plan according to DASH and exercise while waiting ,stay strong you will be fine at last with faith

your right

Tom4U, good luck and hope things continue to go well for you without the Meds.

Sugar 131.

Woke up scratching this am. I am getting lil sores on the back of my neck, arms and legs. Really itchy and sticky clear liquid comes out. After scratching them, they burn and turn beet red.
I looked them up.


My range for blood sugar is 80-120 normal.
I set the marker for going back on the meds at 140.
I have been running in the 130's for a few days.

With the skin issues coming and the sugar readings higher than norm, I have decided to resume my meds.

The soonest I can get in to see my Dr is end of July. My meds are mailed to me so there isn't a pharmasist I can talk to that knows my meds history.

I understand 'Placebo Effect' and for years I adhered to a Christian Science idealogogy.
The body will heal itself, if it can.

I feel better in many ways off the drugs but I am now super, super itchy. To the point I no longer am controlling my scratching. As evidenced by waking from scratching.

Since I was not like this on the meds, I can only conclude that being off the meds has caused a reaction.

Resuming my meds is going to also be an experiment. I will be paying close attention to which problems return and when. Perhaps if I relate this data to my Dr he will be able to adjust my meds accordingly.

All the best to you.

I don't know anything about it but is there anything herbal for this.

Acupuncture or hypnotism? like I say, I know zilch about it but I thought I'd put it out there.

Too much salt in your diet.

I'm not sure Joe?
I'm not even sure that the sores are diabetes related (they look like the pictures I found so I am assuming so)

My lifestyle change has done a lot for my sugar control.
I stopped drinking pepsi and went to water.
The water helps dilute the blood-sugar ratios.
When I was first diagnosed my sugar was running in the 600+ range.
The drs told me I wasn't in a diabetic coma because I was compensating.
Just 2 years ago my average was 250.
Recently my range had been dropping to the low 70s and I would fight to keep from passing out.
I stopped the meds because I lost my appetite completely and was getting severe abdominal pain. The appetite came back off the meds. The pain subsided greatly. but now the uncontrollable itching has started.

My meds are currently set at the highest doses orally before injections are needed. I'm thinking they are too strong for my current condition. It may just be a matter of reducing my dose? The biggest hurdle is convincing the Dr to do so. Drs tend to diagnose and prescribe based on their preferences and not from test results.

Oh, and I did try eating Ginger for my appetite and abdominal pain, it had no effect.

Don't really eat a lot of salt?
I do like a lot of pepper tho?

Well, I'm not really a doctor...but I do stay at a Holiday Inn on occasion.