About 11 years ago, a doctor at Harborview Hospital told me I was diabetic. I tried different pills, nothing helped. He started me on Insulin. I ended up on four shots per day, also at the time, I was using Crystal Meth, which added to the dilemma, because there was days I tested three to four times per day, when I was high, I didn’t test, and didn’t remember if I was taking Metformin or I was doing Insulin at the same time.

I have short term memory loss. About the time I would get my sugars under control, then I would get high, or party as I called it. This went on for about four to five years. During that time, my life was pretty messed up. Around October to November 1, 2004, I quit the Crystal. I was depressed for the first couple of months, and didn’t take my meds the way I was supposed to. I just kind of existed. I had an apartment and no one went there.

In January, 2005, I was admitted to Harborview Hospital for walking pneumonia. When I was there, I was sent to a rehab site on the North End to get well. I was there for less than 24 hours, they called Harborview and told them to come and get me. I was taken back to the hospital, and when I arrived, they cut all my clothes off me, and I was pretty out of it.

When I came to, I was in University of Washington Hospital. My aortic valve in my heart was not working, and they replaced it. This occurred in February, 2005. I stayed there until approximately April, 2005. They were trying to find a suitable place to go and heal, but no nursing home contacted would accept me with my drug using history. I was three to four months clean at this point.

I remember my heart doctor came to visit me in my hospital room, and telling me I would stay at the hospital to heal. While he was in the room, the social worker came in and told us she had found a place to go the end of April. That was in 2005. The end of May, I was able to go home. I was admitted to UWa with my left leg being severely infected.

I ended up at the same rehab place I was at the first time. About the middle of the month, I was again taken to Harborview Hospital and admitted. They could not get the swelling to go down with antibiotics, and this is when I lost all the toes on my left foot. I went back to the Rehab location again to heal.

In the meantime, I was testing and taking my Insulin on a daily basis. At the end of November, 2005, I was released to go home. I tried different Insulin and medications, and on December 27, 2007, I was again admitted to Harborview Hospital to have my right foot toes amputated. Again I went back to the Rehab location to heal. And was eventually released to go home.

I would wake up with low blood sugar, and have to eat something to get out of bed. In December, 2008, I was able to stop taking Insulin. I just used the Metformin two in the morning and two at night. These were 2 500 mg pills. I tried other medications, and they didn’t work, so I went back to Metformin.

In January 2005, I weighed between 275 and 280 lbs. I continued to lose weight, and was able to cut the Metformin dosage in half, to 500 mg in the morning, and 500 mg in the evening. In the meantime, I would wake up in pain from the Metformin.

At the end of March or first of April, 2009, I tried an experiment. I stopped the Metformin at that time. My average blood sugar was then 250 and up. I saw a lowering of my blood sugars because I wasn’t feeding the Metformin with food. I am able to control my diabetes now with my diet alone. My 14 day average is 140 now. I get out of my apartment on a daily basis and walk as much as I can every day. I don’t get depressed like I used to, and weigh 230 lbs.

I have been clean and sober for 6 years, since 11/15/2004, and I like the second half of my life much better than the first half.

Thank you reading my story.

Juhl Blanshan