Short version:
My Doctor doesn’t want me to do the eight-week, 800-calorie diet.
What do I do?
Does anyone know a sympathetic Doctor in North London?
Long Version:
I’m a 55-year-old bloke who is paying the price for too many years of hard living (lots of food, drink, stress and staying up late. Not much exercise, moderation or common sense).
Four years ago I was diagnosed Type 2 and have never quite got on top of the condition. I’ve slowly descended into pharma hell. I now take:
Metformin 500mg X 4.
Gliclazide 80mg X 2.
Januvia 100mg X 1.
Simvastatin 10mg X 1.
Cardesartan 4mg X 1.
I’m 6ft (183cm) and my weight is steady around 14 stone 2lbs (90k).
I have a busy and stressful job that involves lots of travel and I tend to yoyo between ‘good diabetic control’ and being a bit crap.
After a bad HbAc1 (sorry I can’t remember the number) my doctor gave me a stiff talking to and ordered another test in three months. Unfortunately, I had a busy run of work and didn’t get myself sorted out.
This led to another ‘bad number’ and an even stiffer talking to with the threat of ‘injections’ as the next step. Something had to be done.
I’d heard a bit about the ‘Newcastle studies’ (well done Prof Taylor) and got on the internet, which, of course, led to the book (well done MM). I’ve done my best to understand the science, read the forums and come to the conclusion that 8X8 is something I want to try.
In the last three weeks I’ve been broadly following the post-diet diet (aiming at less that 2000 cal a day) and have brought my, self-tested, fasting blood sugar back under control.
I’ve also been preparing the ground for 8×8. My wife and family are supportive as is my boss – I can take a bit of time off if I need to and be office based for a while. The problem is my Doctor.
I wrote her a very carefully worded letter and attached Prof Taylor’s note for ‘professionals’ and other supporting material. Unfortunately, she was straight on the phone: “I don’t think you should do this… It could be dangerous… you’d go hypo etc etc”
I was disappointed, not least because it became clear that she hadn’t really read my letter or any of the supporting material (no blame here, she’s busy and, like every doctor, probably a bit fed up with patients who say: ‘I found this on the internet’ – I get it).
It was a difficult conversation On the upside she agreed to take a proper look at the research and have a think about what the 8×8 would mean for both of us. On the downside, she doesn’t strike me as someone who changes their mind.
So, what do I do if she doesn’t get on board?
As I understand it, the 8×8 requires the ‘tapering off’ of medication and that’s not something I’d feel entirely comfortable doing myself. I also think that having a doctor in some way ‘monitoring’ my progress would be a good thing.
Any ideas?