Russell Stamets - Refusing The Needle: A Diabetics Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health

Refusing The Needle:
A Diabetics Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health

Russell Stamets

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Russell Stamets

Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoymentonly. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.If you would like to share this book with another person, pleasepurchase an additional copy for each recipient. If youre readingthis book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for youruse only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase yourown copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of thisauthor.

Discover more about Russell Stamets on his blog at russellstamets.blogspot.com ,follow him on Twitter @russellstamets , orfind him on Facebook .

Every human being is the author of his own health ordisease.
~ Buddha

Have Diabetes? Tired of hearing people saythats terrible? And agreeing with them? Disgusted with the onlyoption offeredthe rest of your life as a lab rat, with devices,needles, and 24/7 monitoring? If its yes to any of thosequestions, read on.

I was just a regular 49 year old beer-guzzling,french fry lovin guy, in seemingly great health when told I haddiabetes. And not just the common Type 2 that millions aregetting-- my doc suspected that I had a Type 1 variety calledLatent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA). Hearing theautoimmune part of that was a punch in the stomach. Type 2shave a fantastic chance of controlling their high blood sugar withpills and curing it with diet. But the Type 1 autoimmune varietiesare advised that the attack on their pancreas is irreversible.Were told, Youll need a daily shot of insulin forever.Irreversible? Forever? Talk about a just shoot me now moment.

That moment was almost 3 years ago.Miraculously, Ive never required insulin injections. My bloodsugar levels are normal. I figured out a way to heal my body withdiet, a few supplements, exercise, yoga, acupuncture, andmeditation I know. Go ahead and roll your eyes. Im justsayin!

Let me tell you what I did, and why. Make upyour own mind. Form your own plan. The thing you might find hardestto believe is that I count my diabetes as a benefit. Becausewithout it, if youre like me, you wouldnt get off your butt to dosomething. OK, so maybe you are actually sitting on your butt whilereading this, but bear with me. The point is that your new bodyand mind will be as great a result as curing diabetes.

I had one lucky break. My doc has a passion forevidence-based medicine. He said I could buy time if I wanted totry to find another approach. He warned that in his opinion, theroad ended in insulin no matter what, but that starting insulinimmediately had no better outcome than waiting until it wasrequired. That gift of time was critical. He said anyendocrinologist he knew would probably disapprove of the delay andwould order insulin immediately. Based on the general disbelief Iencounter from anyone in the Diabetes Establishmentregarding my story, my doc appears to be a rare, open minded memberof his profession.

I vowed to wisely use the time he gave me.

My first instinct told me that if westernmedicine was a dead end, why not look east? I went to a good RNfriend who runs a world-renowned Integrated Therapies department ofthe local hospital. Id never used any of her services, but I knewher staff offered all kinds of massage, acupuncture, and more. Ifanyone could give me a trustworthy opinion of the potential foreastern options, Michelle could. She introduced me to Jane who isboth an acupuncturist and practicing Chinese herbalist. In additionto weekly acupuncture, which at the very least is critical formanaging the all-important stress driver, Ive leaned heavily onJanes nutrition and supplement expertise. The very firstrecommendation Jane gave when we met in February, 2011, was to quitall alcohol. Id already ditched the rum and beer and had switchedto a couple of glasses of red wine. Even my doc thought that wasreasonable. But Jane said any stress on the liver equals stress onthe pancreas. That was a pivotal moment in trust and commitment. Iwent all in for this hand. The bottle of merlot Id bought the daybefore is still in the cupboard, unopened. Too bad its not thegood stuff which will get better with age.

I used a news reader on my android phone to scandaily for bits of science drowned in the fire hose of informationhitting us these days. I was looking for studies specific to bloodsugar management, long-term damage control, and finding a rootcure. I would forward them to Jane for her opinion, and if it wasabout a supplement to try, to get her recommendation for dosage. Itappears now that spring 2011 was a good period of time to beresearching diabetes/autoimmune science. For several months therewas a steady stream of clues to follow up. By May my regimen waspretty set. Nothing since has shown up to prompt any modifications.My own daily tracking provided other clues. The role of animalsaturated fat is an example of something that barely appears in thescience.

I could cut stuff out one at a time to test andsee what really worked to lower my A1c so much, but I hate to doit. Everything Im doing is either harmless or proven to be goodfor you aside from any diabetes-related benefit.

A common musing of mine, which Im sure peoplearound me get tired of hearing, is that people dont die fromdiabetes. They die from complications (hate that word). Thecomplications, including cardiovascular, kidney, andneurodegenerative, are the same things that the majority ofnon-diabetics die from. Diabetics just die from them sooner andhave a few other fun likelihoods, like retinopathy. The connectionsare not serendipitous. Many of these chronic conditions areinflammatory or autoimmune related and share similar causes likegenetics or toxic diet. And anything found to reduce inflammation,help the immune system, or mitigate long term cell damage likewisesynergistically helps with this whole range of ills, includingdiabetes.

If I havent already put you to sleep or scaredyou off, the plan for the rest of this book is to give you moredetail on what Ive done, and why. In addition to my take on thescience, or lack of, and some of the apparent market motivationsfor how diabetes is treated, Im going to try to give you a peekinside my head. Successfully winning the mental game may be thebiggest part of the solution Ive found. Even though everyonesstarting place and game board will be a little different, the goalis the same. And so are many of the obstacles to beating diabetes.The manner in which I stumbled over them to get here will help youchart your course.

The least controversial part of my message isthat even folks that arent sick will be happier, healthier, andlive longer by following my plan. More accepted, but certainlybucking the financial interest headwind is my suggestion that Type2 diabetics and other chronic disease sufferers can cure themselvesby diet and lifestyle changes alone.

Reversal of an autoimmune disease (Type 1 LADADiabetes) is the most controversial part of my story. As I warnthat insulin may be overprescribed, or too quickly ordered, theestablishment is moving the other direction. Voices advocating thatmore Type 2 diabetics should start insulin, and that Type 1 LADAsshould start sooner, are loud. The money trail behind these voicesis troubling. It often leads to Big Pharma and the multi-billiondollar insulin and device industry. Theres a growing body ofevidence for alternative treatments, but theyre generally notpatentable, and therefore not of interest to corporate sources ofresearch funding or corporate owned media. LADA, in particular, isbarely studied because no one will spend the money for large-scaletrials that need to go for 12 years.