Note To Type 2 Diabetics

Forgive if this has been covered somewhere, but I can’t help myself.
I’m just going to say this and run with my head covered. I have come to believe that a very large number, though certainly not all, type 2 diabetics did it to themselves. I KNOW I did. This country especially is drowning in refined sugars and high fructose corn syrup. In the early nineties I was heavily into training and nutrition. I mean as hardcore as it is possible to get and I was the absolute textbook definition of perfect health.

I went from 160 and 24% bf to right around 200 and 6% in 2 years, BP was 110 over 70, SHR 68 and my blood profile could not have been improved upon. To make a really long story really short, I backslid tragically and for 13 years fell into very heavy drinking, blasphemous eating habits and no excercise whatsoever. I wound up in an emergency room half concious with my blood pressure 190 over 110 and blood glucose of 600.

They told me I probably wouldn’t see 50 if I didn’t seriously revise my living habits and , of course, get under a doctor’s care. That was 5 years ago. I ignored it and got even worse until one hung over morning looking at my 10 year old daughter’s disappointed and hurt face that “moment of clarity” descended from on high. That point where all the fog clears away and you see in stark relief what you’re doing to the people who love you, not to mention yourself.

That was March of this year. By the end of that month I had bought a bunch of home gym equipment, quit drinking altogether and began working out again along with a radically new nutrition outline drawn from my previous experience. To make another long story short (as if this wasn’t long enough =D ) I’ve lost 30 pounds and now 10 inches of my waistline and am actually looking somewhat in shape again. My blood pressure is normal and I don’t care what anybody tells me, MY DIABETES IS CURED!!!.

Yes cured. I have not had an abnormally high or low test in almost 2 months. The long and shory of this diatribe is, along with enormous amounts of research, my own experience has taught me that the North American diet/lifstyle is killing our population and especially the kids, but the good news is I am incurably convinced that many, MANY people could “fix” themselves without self serving, hypochondriactic doctors or becoming the walking pharmacies so many do.

I’m not in any way discounting legitimate maladies over which folks have no control or their legitimate treatments, but I know a huge segment of this society is trapped in propaganda and misinformation, not to mention sugar addiction and just plain laziness. I am no great person and if I can do it I can’t help, but believe many others can too. I’m now 42 BTW, I’m sure folks older than myself would need some other resources as well and some younger maybe too, but you get my point.

–Tiribulus->

Congratulations on getting a hold of your health again! You are absolutely right and a trip to Wal-Mart on any day of the week makes your observations painfully obvious.

Eat right, avoid sugar and processed foods, exercise, move, use your muscles, enjoy life and the people around you, and you can ward off many of the health problems a large portion of our country deals with.

Take care,

D

You are correct, most Type 2 diabetics have done it to themselves. Interesting statistic: 85% of people with type 2 diabetes will not have Type 2 diabetes if they get to a normal weight. How many listen???

I applaud you on taking the steps toward better health. Congratulations on overcoming diabetes.

[quote]teratos wrote:
You are correct, most Type 2 diabetics have done it to themselves. Interesting statistic: 85% of people with type 2 diabetes will not have Type 2 diabetes if they get to a normal weight. How many listen???

I applaud you on taking the steps toward better health. Congratulations on overcoming diabetes. [/quote]

Wrong. Once you are diabetic you always will be the rest of your life. You can not overcome it. And no matter how controlled you get it- eventually it will overcome you. Your hope is that it waits until you are 80 or 90. If you can’t get it in control maybe it will be 50 or 60. It doesn’t just magically go away.

Can you get it in control with diet and exercise if you at a healthy weight- yes. But YOU ARE STILL DIABETIC. I can’t imagne any sane person saying they think they are cured from a uncurable disease just because they haven’t had a high reading in two months.

At some point your liver and pancreas will fail beyond what you can control with diet and medication, based solely on age alone. Even if it takes 50 years.

If you gain any weight back you will surely have problems again. Does that mean that you “catch” diabetes again if you get fat? No- you always were diabetic all that changes is the severity of your symptoms.

To the OP- good job on getting back to a healthy state. Keep in mind you are still diabetic. Don’t tell people you have been cured- they will most likely think you are a moron, even if they don’t say it to your face.

As to the 85% causing it themselves. I disagree. Most Type 2 diabetics were predisposed to it based on heredity, and only their bad habits increased their risk or became a catalyst. Bad habits alone do not cause it in most people. There are some very fit, healthy people that develop it as well, not just fat people. Type II diabeties is not akin to Lung Cancer.

Before you guys come on here and tell the general public they can cure their diabetes- please do a little research and have some common sense. If you find a published study that has statistics to help with your argument, at least post a link to them.

No question there is some genetic predisposition, but weight is a huge factor. Much of the data I refer to is in the arena of bariatric surgery. Here is a link to an article in JAMA

http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=15479938

Diabetes was completely resolved in 76.8% of patients

Another article:
http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=15386803

One might argue that somehow the gastric bypass procedure itself is the cause, but we see the same results in banding procedures when the weight loss is substantial. There is no malabsorption with banding.

Perhaps a better term is “remission”. In people with Diabetes (type 2) for less than 5 years, there is a very significant rate of remission with achieving a normal BMI.

Granted, there are people with the genes to make them diabetic even at a normal weight. I don’t suspect the Pima Indians will ovrcome their issue with a good exercise program.

I have seen a few articles, although with smaller sample sizes looking at intensive diet/exercise programs in relatively newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics. People who achieved a normal BMI had a very significant rate of remission of their diabetes. I will try to dig up the links and post them.

I suppose you can still call them diabetics, even though they have normal GGT’s and normal HbA1C levels, just like you can call an alcoholic a alcoholic even when he quits drinking.

I cannot even believe what you’re saying.
I do not even believe 80% of diabetes is heredity.

Modern medicine says EVERYTHING is heredity because they and their drugs are failing to cure disease and are causing more disease than they are curing.
If you used to have diabetes and lost weight,exercise,and eat right and haven’t had any problems for the past or 10 years,then you don’t have diabetes.
I believe it is a disease we can cure,but there will never be a cure in drug form for diabetes.

I believe HABITS are picked up in life,also.
If you have a family of obese pigs gorging on sugar pops every single day,how can you say their health problems are heredity or not if these unhealthy eating habits are picked up early on in their lives by their parents?
Usually,diabetes isn’t something you just get.

It’s because,in most cases,you’ve spent years abusing your body.
And just because you’re fit doesn’t mean you’re healthy.
Many fit people do have diabetes.
But,once again,looking fit doesn’t mean you’re healthy.
Diabetes can be cured.

But don’t come in here saying it’s a disease that will never be able to be cured and most of it is heredity.
Thats your opinion.
If most of it were heredity, long before you or I were born, diabetes would have been on the rise like it is today.In the 1920’s one in every three kids weren’t at risk for type 2 diabetes.So,if it were heredity,why are more people getting diabetes more than ever?
Because they choose too by living an unhealthy lifestyle.Simple.

          [quote]eengrms76 wrote:

teratos wrote:
You are correct, most Type 2 diabetics have done it to themselves. Interesting statistic: 85% of people with type 2 diabetes will not have Type 2 diabetes if they get to a normal weight. How many listen???

I applaud you on taking the steps toward better health. Congratulations on overcoming diabetes.

Wrong. Once you are diabetic you always will be the rest of your life. You can not overcome it. And no matter how controlled you get it- eventually it will overcome you. Your hope is that it waits until you are 80 or 90. If you can’t get it in control maybe it will be 50 or 60. It doesn’t just magically go away.

Can you get it in control with diet and exercise if you at a healthy weight- yes. But YOU ARE STILL DIABETIC. I can’t imagne any sane person saying they think they are cured from a uncurable disease just because they haven’t had a high reading in two months.

At some point your liver and pancreas will fail beyond what you can control with diet and medication, based solely on age alone. Even if it takes 50 years.

If you gain any weight back you will surely have problems again. Does that mean that you “catch” diabetes again if you get fat? No- you always were diabetic all that changes is the severity of your symptoms.

To the OP- good job on getting back to a healthy state. Keep in mind you are still diabetic. Don’t tell people you have been cured- they will most likely think you are a moron, even if they don’t say it to your face.

As to the 85% causing it themselves. I disagree. Most Type 2 diabetics were predisposed to it based on heredity, and only their bad habits increased their risk or became a catalyst. Bad habits alone do not cause it in most people. There are some very fit, healthy people that develop it as well, not just fat people. Type II diabeties is not akin to Lung Cancer.

Before you guys come on here and tell the general public they can cure their diabetes- please do a little research and have some common sense. If you find a published study that has statistics to help with your argument, at least post a link to them.[/quote]

I have to come to the defense of eengrms76. Diabetes, or at leaset the predsiposition to diabetes (type 2) IS hereditary. There is most certainly a familial pattern to it. We also see people who have type 2 diabetes and have very little body fat, exercise, and eat well. Not many, but they are out there.

You are, howver, correct in saying the MAJORITY of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight and under-exercised. You will find lots of data on the effects of weight loss on diabetes, but few on the effects of achieving a NORMAL weight and high fitness level. The diabetes “epidemic” we see now is a direct effect of the obesity “epidemic” we see in this country right now.

Many people with diabetes adopt a healthier life-style, but few adopt what one could call a truly healthy lifestyle. The 200lbs 5’4" female is unlikely to get to 120 lbs. She may get to 160, or 150, but even that is still significantly overweight for her, and will contribute to her insulin resistance.

Even with significant weight loss and acheivement of high fitness levels, what will happen as you age? People tend to become more insulin resistant with age. The OP will always have to be vigilant about the re-emergence of his diabetes. For now he is in remission (which is probably a better term than “cure”), and the is something few people do.

[quote]eengrms76 wrote:
Wrong. Once you are diabetic you always will be the rest of your life. You can not overcome it. And no matter how controlled you get it- eventually it will overcome you…[/quote]

Sorry Boss,
Ain’t buyin it. I’ve watched firsthand the medical “saviors” slice, hack and medicate too many people into disaster to not thoroughly question anything that comes from that quarter any more. Diabetes has skyrocketed in the last thirty years in the western world.

Are we to believe that the commensurate astronomical increase in the consumption of processed refined foods hasn’t been the primary cause? Some people, I’m sure, are more predisposed to many things than others, including diabetes but so what? Some people get lung cancer and never smoke a day in their lives.

Does this discount the fact that inhaling toxins directly into their lungs for years hasn’t been the immediate cause for millions of others? There is no way you or any doctor trying to make the payments on his Mercedes and half million dollar house is going to convince me that had I continued in the healthy lifestyle I was living in my late twenties I would have wound up in the same diabetic boat.

NO WAY!!! We ARE going to find out, probably in my lifetime that type2 diabetes is alot like obesity. Some people are unavoidably predisposed to it, but huge numbers bring it on themselves and like obesity it CAN be overcome. I’ll go so far as to say in many cases we are going to find out that type2 is a condition and not even a disease at all.

Like a broken bone. You fall down, break something, you take appropriate action and it heals. You don’t have the disease of broken bones lurking in the shadows to overtake your life again, but you will break again with sufficient trauma. I have no doubt that type2 diabetes, amomg other things will turn out to be, not exactly the same, but along these lines.

I abused myself, brought on the condition of lacking the ability to properly regulate blood glucose and it would surely resurface if I turned again to those same abusive habits, but this does not make me hopelessly doomed to a diabetic death regardless of what I do anymore than my bones will break in my sleep.

Yes, mark my words, once we can free ourselves of the self serving influence of the modern medical profession we will find out just how blatantly we’ve been lied to on this and many other fronts. Oh, well, have to get ready to work out.

–Tiribulus->

[quote]teratos wrote:
Perhaps a better term is “remission”. In people with Diabetes (type 2) for less than 5 years, there is a very significant rate of remission with achieving a normal BMI.[/quote]

That’s the key. It’s in remission. Not “cured.”

Unfortunately the definition of “cured” is fairly vague in which one could infer by making it “go away” it’s “cured.” I think of being cured as being back to the way you were before at 100%. But with diabetes you’re never back to 100%. You still need to control it through diet for the rest of your life, even if it gets easy to control.

I would actually say at this point my Diabetes is in remission. But I’m not cured.

[quote]Cthulhu wrote:
Modern medicine says EVERYTHING is heredity because they and their drugs are failing to cure disease and are causing more disease than they are curing.[/quote]

I’ve really had enough of your conspiracy theories. None of it is proven and it’s all just your opinion. The fact of the matter is there are some things that are just out of our control. Not everything can be understood, and not every disease can be cured. There are limitations to both our knowledge of the human body as well as our technology. These things improve with time, but there is a glass ceiling and always will be.

The medical profession would disagree with you.

Probably not. Or at least it will have to be a combination of drugs and healthy eating/living. The problem with this though is once you damage your kidneys and pancreas- they really aren’t just going to magically fix themselves.

Maybe someday. But not today. Not truely cured. As the other poster pointed out- it can go into remission. Once you gain a little weight it will be back. How is that a cure?

In reality what is necessary is preventing it.

First- I never said it can’t be cured. Even though I referred to it as “uncurable,” I was generally speaking about the near future. Who’s to say what will happen 30 years from now.

Second- Having Type II diabetes is something you would have to be pre-disposed to have. Just like having a very fast metabolism and finding it difficult to weigh over 130lbs at 6’2" is something you have to be pre-disposed to. I’m not saying there aren’t exceptions to the rule. But if you don’t have a history of it in your family, you are at a lower risk. It’s at that point when your behavior becomes the sole determining factor.

I’m not so sure you have been lied to by the medical profession, but I know that often you aren’t given the whole truth. There is plenty of good data that supports weight loss/exercise for diabetes. The problem is that a lot of patients absolutely refuse to implement appropriate lifestyle modifications, since it takes the cake out of their mouths and it is “hard”.

Because of this resistance, doctors don’t spend the time needed to say “Hey, you can get off these medications, but you need to do X, Y, and Z.” That is a real disservice. It’s easier to give you a pill than it is to really drive home what it is gonna take for you to overcome your problem.

[quote]teratos wrote:
I’m not so sure you have been lied to by the medical profession, but I know that often you aren’t given the whole truth. There is plenty of good data that supports weight loss/exercise for diabetes. The problem is that a lot of patients absolutely refuse to implement appropriate lifestyle modifications, since it takes the cake out of their mouths and it is “hard”.

Because of this resistance, doctors don’t spend the time needed to say “Hey, you can get off these medications, but you need to do X, Y, and Z.” That is a real disservice. It’s easier to give you a pill than it is to really drive home what it is gonna take for you to overcome your problem. [/quote]

I would agree with that. That’s certainly a much more reasonable belief than some large conspiracy that doctors have to cause diseases with medicine just to stay in business and make payments on their Mercedes. While I can appreciate the imagination- it really should have been left behind in grade school.

My conspiracy theories?
Thats what people said about the tabacco industry before it was proven that cigarets caused lung disease.
I believe there won’t be any cures for diabetes in the future not because of my so called “conspiracy theories”,but because cures cut into their profits.
People would lose their jobs.

There will never be a cure as long as the pharmaceutical industry is around.
10 years from now there won’t be a cure.
30 years from now there won’t be a cure.
Time as already proven that they have failed at curing disease.
This is not a theory or an opinion.

It’s my opinion doctors aren’t taught nutrition in school?
It’s my opinion doctors don’t tell kids today about good nutrition and hand out drugs like candy?
The fact of the matter is if most kids were more active today,stayed away from processed junk foods(however,moderation isn’t bad),and ate healtheir foods,we wouldn’t have 1 in every three kids fighting diabetes.
The medical profession would disagree with me.
But,why would I care?

I never see doctors tell kids “I’m gonna give you a nutrition and exercise program to follow before putting you on this drug.”
If doctors were trying to prevent disease through healthy lifestyle choices,there would be no need for drugs and they’d lose their jobs(remember,they have to increase profits by law).

[quote]eengrms76 wrote:
teratos wrote:
Perhaps a better term is “remission”. In people with Diabetes (type 2) for less than 5 years, there is a very significant rate of remission with achieving a normal BMI.

That’s the key. It’s in remission. Not “cured.”

Unfortunately the definition of “cured” is fairly vague in which one could infer by making it “go away” it’s “cured.” I think of being cured as being back to the way you were before at 100%. But with diabetes you’re never back to 100%. You still need to control it through diet for the rest of your life, even if it gets easy to control.

I would actually say at this point my Diabetes is in remission. But I’m not cured.

Cthulhu wrote:
Modern medicine says EVERYTHING is heredity because they and their drugs are failing to cure disease and are causing more disease than they are curing.

I’ve really had enough of your conspiracy theories. None of it is proven and it’s all just your opinion. The fact of the matter is there are some things that are just out of our control. Not everything can be understood, and not every disease can be cured. There are limitations to both our knowledge of the human body as well as our technology. These things improve with time, but there is a glass ceiling and always will be.

If you used to have diabetes and lost weight,exercise,and eat right and haven’t had any problems for the past or 10 years,then you don’t have diabetes.

The medical profession would disagree with you.

I believe it is a disease we can cure, but there will never be a cure in drug form for diabetes.

Probably not. Or at least it will have to be a combination of drugs and healthy eating/living. The problem with this though is once you damage your kidneys and pancreas- they really aren’t just going to magically fix themselves.

Diabetes can be cured.

Maybe someday. But not today. Not truely cured. As the other poster pointed out- it can go into remission. Once you gain a little weight it will be back. How is that a cure?

In reality what is necessary is preventing it.

But don’t come in here saying it’s a disease that will never be able to be cured and most of it is heredity.

First- I never said it can’t be cured. Even though I referred to it as “uncurable,” I was generally speaking about the near future. Who’s to say what will happen 30 years from now.

Second- Having Type II diabetes is something you would have to be pre-disposed to have. Just like having a very fast metabolism and finding it difficult to weigh over 130lbs at 6’2" is something you have to be pre-disposed to. I’m not saying there aren’t exceptions to the rule. But if you don’t have a history of it in your family, you are at a lower risk. It’s at that point when your behavior becomes the sole determining factor.[/quote]

Type II diabetes is essentially insulin resistance, at least until the pancreas begins to fail. Insulin resistance is reversible, but the samage done to your pancreas isn’t. You need to take care of that bitch from now on. You need all the beta cells you have left.

Unless you don’t trust us evil basic scientists, too. You have to be a total dick jockey to think that a doctor would lie to you because it somehow makes him wealthy. You know what would make a doctor wealthy? Tons of referrals because all his diabetic patients got healthy again.

[quote]OhSnap222 wrote:
Unless you don’t trust us evil basic scientists, too. You have to be a total dick jockey to think that a doctor would lie to you because it somehow makes him wealthy. You know what would make a doctor wealthy? Tons of referrals because all his diabetic patients got healthy again.[/quote]

Doctors aren’t evil(well,most aren’t).
Just most of them are misinformed about certain things and use drugs to treat EVRYTHING and never get to the root-cause problem.
I think the drug companies that hide information about how dangerous certain drugs are,and doing whatever it takes to make money are evil.

I’ve seen some great doctors who have put their patients on good,healthy nutrition programs and I believe they’re doing the right thing.
I ahve also seen young doctors who know nothing whatsoever about nutrition just handing out drugs like candy.
So,no.
Doctors don’t really lie to you.
They give you their opinion based on what they’ve been taught.
And most doctors are taught two things:
Drugs and surgery.
I think they should learn nutrition in medical school too.
But,once again,thats when it starts cutting into the drug companies profits.

Fair enough

[quote]Cthulhu wrote:
Doctors aren’t evil(well,most aren’t).
Just most of them are misinformed about certain things and use drugs to treat EVRYTHING and never get to the root-cause problem.
I think the drug companies that hide information about how dangerous certain drugs are,and doing whatever it takes to make money are evil.

I’ve seen some great doctors who have put their patients on good,healthy nutrition programs and I believe they’re doing the right thing.
I ahve also seen young doctors who know nothing whatsoever about nutrition just handing out drugs like candy.
So,no.
Doctors don’t really lie to you.
They give you their opinion based on what they’ve been taught.
And most doctors are taught two things:
Drugs and surgery.
I think they should learn nutrition in medical school too.
But,once again,thats when it starts cutting into the drug companies profits.[/quote]

Ok that post actually started to merge into reality.

I agree doctors take shortcuts with drugs and surgeries rather than attempting to help a patient maintain a healthy lifestyle. There is a good reason for that. Statistics. It is proven that more obese patients will get better “results” from gastric bypass than by dieting/exercise alone. While you may not believe this, it’s true. The reason is because they fail at dieting and stop exercising. The people that actually succeed at dieting and continuing exercising are few and far between.

Doctor’s take the shorcuts because it’s something they can control. They can prescribe you medication and have a better chance you’ll keep taking it than put down the twinkies.

Is it ideal? No of course not. It would be much better if every doctor spent their entire day trying to actually save the world.

More people would die though…

[quote]Cthulhu wrote:
It’s my opinion doctors aren’t taught nutrition in school?
[/quote]
Absolutely correct. How many docs do you see who are in shape?

[quote]Cthulhu wrote:
It’s my opinion doctors don’t tell kids today about good nutrition and hand out drugs like candy?[/quote]

Again, absolutely correct. There are those that do, but I suspect it is a minority that really take the time needed. The average office vist includes a whopping 7.5 minutes of face to face time with the doc. That ain’t much.

[quote]Cthulhu wrote:
The fact of the matter is if most kids were more active today,stayed away from processed junk foods(however,moderation isn’t bad),and ate healtheir foods,we wouldn’t have 1 in every three kids fighting diabetes.
The medical profession would disagree with me.[/quote]

The medical profession would agree with you 100%. A doctor can tell the kids that, how far will that go? The doc can also tell the parents. That doesn’t go very far, either. It is far easier to get a pizza than to prepare fresh vegetables, and lean meat etc. Frozen foods you can just pop in the microwave.

Also, it takes parental energy/supervision to get kids active. Many parents work, or are just lazy, so let the X-Box keep them occupied. I would love to sit down in a room full of parents of obese kids and ask them some questions. I bet most can distinguish a healthy diet from a non-healthy diet. I’d also bet most will simply shrug their shoulders when asked why they don’t give their kids healthy foods.

[quote]Cthulhu wrote:
I never see doctors tell kids “I’m gonna give you a nutrition and exercise program to follow before putting you on this drug.”
If doctors were trying to prevent disease through healthy lifestyle choices,there would be no need for drugs and they’d lose their jobs(remember,they have to increase profits by law).[/quote]

There is no law that doctors have to increase their profits. If you got rid of all the type 2 diabetics, the offices would still be plenty busy. If you look at the guidelines, let’s say for diabetes and high blood pressure, lifestyle modifications are at the top of the list of interventions. A lot of docs simply don’t want to take the time to tell you what you need to do. It is easier to put you on a pill. A true injustice.

The truth is, even when you take the time to go over everything with people, they don’t often to it. We live in a society where instant gratification is required. Let’s take smoking, for example. There is a warning on the pack that smoking causes lung cancer. Has that made much of a difference do you think? I don’t. People know it is bad for them. They choose to continue smoking. You may argue that they are addicted to it, that they CAN’T quit, and it is addictive. The can, however, quit. They won’t. Even if people were bombarded with information about healthy diets and exercise programs, I don’t suspect many would do it. The medical profession is in no jeopardy here.

This is a huge topic that could be discussed for months encompassing the whole bad idea of our third party payer system and everything. If people had to pay their own doctor bills instead of some monstrous company, medical costs could not possibly be what they are today because they would NEVER get their money. That would take the whole huge profit motive out of the equation. Don’t misunderstand, doctors deserve to be well paid for good services rendered and before someone says it, yes, I understand the whole threat of gold digging lawsuits looms over their heads constantly thus also driving up costs. However by and large doctors become doctors for money, not for some humanitarian desire to serve their fellow man. Show me one who’ll spend one calorie helping someone for free who really doesn’t have any way to pay and I’ll be impressed with their philanthropic tendencies.

I’m sure there are some somewhere, but I haven’t heard of one yet in this country. I’m the king of the cynics. When I say cured, I mean no longer in danger of reaping the consequences of the condition in question. It’s like this folks.

Everybody seems to agree, as the overwhelming evidence dictates, that when the majority of type2 diabetics do the right stuff they no longer exhibit symptoms. How is it then not unavoidable that doing the wrong stuff is the cause at the very least of the symptoms? If I were a doctor treating someone for diabetes like mine I would tell them you can do the following simple (but difficult) things, fully relieve the symptoms and thus avoid all the debilitating and eventually deadly effects or you can do it your way, maybe go blind, have your feet cutoff and die prematurely. Call it what you want, but it will never again effect my life. I can and am stopping it for the price of a healthy lifestyle. I’ll keep track of it, but I’m on top and will never control me as long I decide it won’t.

–Tiribulus->

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
T Don’t misunderstand, doctors deserve to be well paid for good services rendered and before someone says it, yes, I understand the whole threat of gold digging lawsuits looms over their heads constantly thus also driving up costs. However by and large doctors become doctors for money, not for some humanitarian desire to serve their fellow man. Show me one who’ll spend one calorie helping someone for free who really doesn’t have any way to pay and I’ll be impressed with their philanthropic tendencies.

I’m sure there are some somewhere, but I haven’t heard of one yet in this country. I’m the king of the cynics. When I say cured, I mean no longer in danger of reaping the consequences of the condition in question. It’s like this folks.

[/quote]

When people don’t have the money, I don’t charge them. I get paid plenty by the people I see who have insurance, I can certainly afford to see some people who can’t afford a visit. I also try to give them free samples whenever I can. I saw 2 people for nothing today, and I’m not just saying that. I’m not making barrels of money, either. I have $200K + in school loans, a mortgage, 2 kids etc. I live a modest life, but love what I do. I’m a primary care doc because I want to be, I could make more in a subspecialty.

Back to the original topic, again, I applaud you for the turn-around in your health. You have done exactly what you should have done. I’m sure your daughter is proud of you, and having your kids be proud of you is the greatest thing you can achieve, at least in my mind. Keep up the good work.