The Daily Gagathon

I was never a great pill swallower. Never would’ve dreamed I’d be taking this pile of pills every day. It’s gotten a little easier over time, but the biggest trick has been to learn to clap my hand over my mouth if it doesn’t go down the first time and force the gag back as a rebounding forced swallow. And it’s not all about size. The big orange fish oil  gel caps go down fine. But the light clear capsules that the GABA and NAC come in float on the mouthful of water and often are still unfortunately in my mouth after I swirl my head and do the open throat swallow thing that mostly works for everything else. And then there’s the odd flat side with sharp edges on the ALA tablet. It can catch and not go down too. Oh well. I don’t know how the hell the people in the movies put a handful of pills in their mouth with no liquid and get ‘em down.

Why am I taking this stuff? Three reasons: each of these things MAY either improve glycemic control, moderate cell damage caused long term by high blood sugar, or boost the immune system. As a LADA diabetic who is controlling without insulin, I need to deal with both the Type 2 blood sugar management and the Type 1 autoimmune attack.

The evidence for some of these is strong. For others, like GABA, it may be no more than a mouse study. My nutritionist suggested some. Others, I spotted in my news feeds from sources like EurekaAlert! All of them were run by my DO to make sure he didn’t see any harm. He didn’t see any good in them either, but was OK with it if I wanted to spend the bucks and gag them down.

So here’s the run down of pills I’ve been taking for at least the last 5 months, during the time of my greatest drop and stabilization of blood sugar:

Metformin - classic Type2 medication, bought me time to rejuvenate my pancreas

Vitamin D - autoimmune - http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/cshl-vdl081710.php

Zinc - damage control - http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-06/uom-pdd063011.php

GABA - beta cell regeneration and attack stop - http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-06/smh-cpi062811.php

NAC - antioxidant damage control - http://www.jautoimdis.com/content/2/1/4

Fish Oil - autoimmune inflammation - http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2000-10/UaB-Foav-3010100.php

ALA - antioxidant damage control - http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/1999-11/UoTS-Sutt-111199.php

I use the dosage recommended by my nutritionist for each of these. This list is only pills. The benefits from components of my diet, including cinnamon, flavanoids (berries), green tea, and almonds are documented elsewhere. Once again, I don't know which one worked, or what combination. But if they actually do what they say in terms of damage control, inflammation, or immune system help, then they'd be good for anyone, since cancer, arthritis, MS, and all kinds of chronic and nasty stuff fall in these categories.



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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle