Brian Boru

Best advice for Type II diabetics, in a nutshell, is: 1. Find a great endocrinologist. Don't count on your primary care doctor to treat your diabetes. 2. Stay away from insulins. 3. Eat better quality, fresh foods. 4. Get off your ass and exercise, walk, mow the grass - do something. Diabetes Type II has four paths to causation. Path one, you are a big fat slob because you eat lots of crap - whether because you grew up that way or are just undisciplined doesn't matter. So obesity can cause diabetes. Path two, you have crappy genetics. There are people who are diabetic who are skinny. Also, being diabetic will cause more hunger and cravings leading to weight gain. Path three, you got old and your pancreas is wearing out. Path four, many types of chemotherapy cause damage to the pancreas resulting in diabetes. I can say from experience, you really don't care if you have to live as a diabetic if you get to live so you sign the release and take the chemo. In all cases, eating better is the primary way to improve health when you have diabetes. Ozempic and Mounjaro should not be prescribed until other treatments are tried, like Metformin and Farxiga. Farxiga works great for a lot of diabetics. I gained a lot of weight after recovering from cancer. I lost 60 pounds before Ozempic came on the market for diabetes because of forcing myself to eat better and exercise. I think a lot of doctors focus on the medication options. Fortunately four years into my diabetes, I moved to Dallas and found a spectacular endocrinologist who had me take my big fat ass to a comprehensive nutrition class. I am on Ozempic, Farxiga and Metformin in addition to being hyper focused on what I eat. My A1C is very controlled (near 6), which is extra important because I only have one kidney.

Happy 104th General Raaen, the last living officer to land on Omaha Beach on D-Day.