Diabetes Frank:
The patient presented to lose weight as a friend of his had lost 35 pounds on the SHAPE Program.
Initial evaluation: His weight was 247.4. BP 144/74 right seated. BMI was 33.5. He had anxiety/panic disorder. He had brain fog. The notable thing about this patient was that he was a diabetic on 5 medications for diabetes, 3 insulins – Levimer, Humalog and Trulicity – as well as Metformin, Glyburide, Paroxetine, Atorvastatin. Despite his 5 diabetic medications he was still spilling 500 mg with urinalysis. Other urinalysis was unremarkable, pH 6.0 and SG 1.015. He was drinking 2 diet sodas per day. He was up 3x per night to urinate.
He was started on the SHAPE Program. He was told to discontinue diet soda permanently. His protein was increased to 12 oz as a compensation for the diabetes.
From the first follow up, he stopped spilling sugar in his urine. He lost 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks. His brain fog cleared quickly upon starting the program.
The patient was rather inconsistent with his follow ups but still managed assessments per one to three weeks.
Over the course of 3 months, he lost 17 pounds, BP was 122/81, BMI reduced to 30.9, he stopped all medication including the 5 diabetic medications except Paroxetine but reduced to 1x per day.
Unfortunately, the patient went to the hospital in October for a diagnosis of Bell’s palsy. While at the hospital they told him that he needed to go back on all his medications, so he did so. The patient has never really achieved his initial result despite two lackluster attempts.
Conclusion: The SHAPE Program is an effective means of managing diabetes and reducing the need for medication.
Additionally, it can be difficult for patients to accept advice contrary to popular medical opinion despite documented clinical results. It takes regular encouragement that they can do this and achieve success. But it also takes straight honest talk to inform people that “truth from so-called authorities” is not always what it seems.
Submitted by Dr. David Bemis
Dr. Todd’s Teaching Assessment
Truer words were never spoken than those in the last paragraph. When will medicine ever look to lifestyle as an answer? It’s amazing that, even doing the SHAPE Program poorly, the patient was able to reduce the need for so many prescriptions. Some are so addicted to their toxic lifestyle choices that they would rather feel horrible and die an early death than embrace what SHAPE ReClaimed is all about.
