My Story
My name is Bala Kumar. I was diagnosed with Type2 Diabetes (T2D) in 2000 and was prescribed 1000mg daily metformin. I did not know much about the condition then, as none of my family members were diabetic. I continued my old ways of late dinners, smoking, alcohol, and eating outside (I am a software engineer and travel a lot) with little or no physical exercise.
Around 2005 I realized that my 30-year-old smoking habit would have serious health consequences. One fine day during the first week of April 2005, I quit smoking. It was not easy, but it needed to be done. I was still not serious about food and exercise. During this time, my A1C went up 7plus, and my doctor prescribed additional medication for a brief time till it was controlled.
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In 2011 I had a severe back problem. The doctor suggested surgery and physiotherapy. I did not get positive feedback on the back surgery success rate. So instead of surgery and physiotherapy, I seriously took up walking, jogging, cycling, tennis, and cricket. Within a year, I had significant relief from my back problem, and even after 12 years, I have no back issues. No surgeries, physiotherapy, or any medication.
Around this time, I started focusing on my food, like NO to all sweets, including no sugar in coffee or tea, avoiding carbs as much as possible, and eating early by 7 pm. Also tried diet plans like keto and others to help improve my blood sugar reading, without many positive results.
In June 2020, I visited my family doctor, and my A1C was 6.9. My doctor said he would double my metformin dosage to 2000 mg daily and send the prescription to the pharmacy.
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I was not ready for the increase in medication as I knew it could lead to further increases with the years, and I did not want to end up with insulin shots.
As I looked for answers similar to my issues, like, the 30-year-old smoking (10 to 20 cigarettes a day) habit and suggested back surgery, I was hoping that I could do something to get my T2D under control. I was also doing good on my food and, to some extent, exercise.
It was Covid time, and I was working from home; I could research and understand diabetes better. As I had managed food and exercise to an extent without much result, I decided to incorporate two new aspects into my routine:
1. Intermittent fasting
2. Yoga/Meditation
So I created a 21-day plan incorporating food,
exercise, fasting, and yoga. I took all my medications
during the 21-day program.
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Closer to the end of the 21-day program, I was
finding myself healthier with more energy.
So after 21 days, I thought, let me try without medication for one day. The next day I discovered that my glucose reading did not change. I pushed it to one week. The glucose reading remained the same. Now it is more than 1000 days without medication, and my blood sugar reading in the morning is 100-130 and evening, 100-120. My A1C in March 2023 was 5.9.
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My A1C and Glucose for the last 4 years
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