Currently, I’m making this change (lowering fat) and exercising more (etc.) with big hopes of reversing this condition. I get the feeling Kaiser is of the opinion that once one has been diagnosed as diabetic…that it then becomes a life-long designation. In spite of progress. This is demoralizing, discouraging, and frustrating. In reading books like “Reversing Diabetes” by Dr. Neal Barnard, and others, I’m hoping to reverse the damage that I’ve done to my body and live without meters, medicines. While I appreciate having medical care with Kaiser, I don’t wish to become a patient in need of constant care.

I like to recommend that instead of stating that there’s a correlation between obesity and diabetes, as well as heart disease, etc. that more of an explanation be provided to the patient to better understand just how unhealthy lifestyle habits can bring about these conditions. Also, that no one should feel helpless, or that they are stuck in a quicksand situation…but that with efforts made to change lifestyles and habits, that they can regain their health, becoming free of diabetes, heart desease, etc.

I need a recommendation of a doctor in the Los Angeles area who will work with me on this issue. I need someone who is a little more up-to-date on more holistic/homeopathic/healthy ways of healing.

Years ago, I suffered from acid reflex disease for about 12 plus years. The doctor gave me a prescription for tagamet (over the counter) and told me that the condition would get progressively worse, and that I would need more medication. This doctor was right; it got worse and I double, tripled plus my medication. Then one day, one of the monks of my church gave me a 20 minute lecture on the benefits of eating organic vegetables. I had previously thought those who did this were a bit crazy; but he made a believer out of me. I didn’t increase my vegetable intake, I just switched to organics. Within four months, I noticed that it appeared that I didin’t need my usual nightly anacids. I began to cut back, until now for approx. last two years I rarely need to take them. I eat citrus, a lot of spices, including hot ones, and no problem with acid reflux. I reversed my acid reflux disease.

This gives me hope that I can reverse type ii diabetes. A condition brought on by lack of exercise and a high fat content diet.

It’s very interesting to read the corporate version of disease management and compare that to my experience over the past several years. Going beyond meters and strips, my team was recruited to develop diabetes programs by several payors who were dissatisfied with traditional diabetes programs like the ones described in your interview.

These traditional programs have their place but for many people and the payors saddled with the bill, the impersonal nature of top-down patient management is falling short. Issues like privacy and phone calls from strangers walking the patient through a self-care checklist fall short of imparting education, understanding, causality, problem solving skills, reinforcement and encouragement. At least that’s what the participants in our healthcordia diabetes programs tell me.

If our experience is any indicator, there is a new model of diabetes care which will focus on a patient-centric information technology dashboard for simplified analysis and feedback. What’s cool is the patient really never even sees the dashboard – it’s just working in the background.

These programs will also include connectivity to a virtual social-support network of the patient’s choosing which relies on technology to connect diabetes teams much like you see in Weight Watchers or exercise partnering programs but without having to go anywhere.

Another glimpse at the future of diabetes care is simply to understand the impact of credible, decentralized D blogging and figure out how we can distribute that same community effect to the ‘offline’ population at large.

Also, a recent article from the Washington Post suggests that HIPPAA violations are seldom, if ever, enforced, suggesting that we have to do more to fix what already exists before we engineer new systems designed to make access easier for others to get their hands on our medical data.

Thank you!