To choose just one victory story with the SHAPE Program is difficult, but one patient in particular stands out from the rest, especially because of how her journey began.
This female patient, M.R., came into the office as a new patient with only one goal in mind: to support her sister who was also a new patient that day. Her sister wanted to lose weight, so M.R. merely wanted to be a support system. This patient had battled with weight her whole life and had accepted the fact she was “fat.” Plus, her GI system was asymptomatic. She was only in the office to help her sister, but was up for trying to shed some weight.
After discussing the SHAPE Program to both M.R. and her sister during the consultation, M.R. was ready to begin the next phase of testing. Much to her surprise, her urinalysis uncovered several different concerns and issues that needed to be addressed. Her baseline UA in the fall of 2013 revealed leukocytes (trace), protein (100+), blood (large), ketones (large), bilirubin (small), and her initial weight was 262 pounds.
M.R. was a great patient and followed Phase I with great success! Her follow-up visit revealed a UA of decreased protein (100+ down to trace), decreased ketones (large amounts down to small) and down 15 pounds. Still continuing on Phase I for several months, her UA results wavered up and down with her kidneys, but her weight was still decreasing. Her liver function was taxed, so we placed her on additional supplementation in addition to the SHAPE Program.
In February 2014, her UA only showed trace amounts of leukocytes, protein and blood. In May, only trace amounts of blood were present in her UA, and she was down to 196 pounds by July. Overall, great changes in not only her lab results, her weight loss of 66 pounds and general health were seen, also. M.R. couldn’t have been more excited to see these changes, especially since it was such an unexpected bonus from her first visit as a “supportive sister.”
This story is a great testament as to the importance of in-house testing to catch problems before they produce signs/symptoms. This patient has done so well, felt great and kept the weight off! A VICTORY STORY indeed!
Submitted by Dr. Amanda Buffington
