By treating obesity with the right combination of medication and nutrition, there is hope that diabetes as a condition can be improved and even resolved.
NP-C, BC-ADM, Certificate of Advanced Education in Obesity Medicine
By treating obesity with the right combination of medication and nutrition, there is hope that diabetes as a condition can be improved and even resolved.
Fifteen years ago diabetes was thought to be a chronic, progressive disease that would require more medications over time. This was the message that I gave to health care providers when I was a Diabetes Care Specialist with Eli Lilly teaching them about how and when to use different medications to treat the disease. During this time, I learned that many healthcare providers became frustrated treating diabetes, due in part to the fact that diabetes was accepted as a disease that would only get worse over time no matter what they did. This was the opposite of what most healthcare providers enjoy about their work, which is improving lives and curing disease. Eight years later I became a Nurse Practitioner.
One of my first patients with diabetes who happened to be obese came to me asking for help with weight loss. I knew how to treat diabetes, but I did not know much about treating obesity. Surprisingly this is a disease that is not included in the education of many healthcare providers.
I began to research how to treat the disease of obesity, which is often associated with diabetes. I attended a conference of the Obesity Medicine Association, and learned that for many, diabetes can be reversed. The teaching was that obesity is a complex, chronic disease associated with common chronic conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol to name a few.
When obesity is treated the associated conditions improve or resolve. I began to completely rethink the disease of diabetes and how it should be treated.
I went back to my patient, and we began working together on nutrition and medication changes that allowed her to decrease her insulin dose. We added medications that helped treat high blood sugar while also making her feel less hungry. We also started a medication to help her with cravings for soda.
After a few weeks she was off all her insulin, but she was still taking medications to control her blood sugar. After four months she had lost about 30 pounds but wanted to continue with her weight loss and reduce the need for medications if possible.
Over the next year, she was able to lose an additional 80 pounds and stop all her diabetes medications. She was also able to stop her medications for blood pressure and cholesterol. Her blood sugars were normal, and she no longer had diabetes!
Today my message is that for many, diabetes does not have to be a chronic disease that will require more medications over time. I tell people that for many, diabetes can be reversed by using nutrition changes and weight loss, and that medications can often be eliminated.
Instead of diabetes, I have changed my focus to improving the lives of people living with obesity. In this way I can help people achieve a healthy weight and improve or resolve their diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other associated diseases. By rethinking diabetes, I am improving lives and curing disease and this brings such joy and satisfaction to my work.
To learn more about weight loss solutions at St Mary’s Medical Center, go to scl.health\weightloss.
