My son was enjoying life away at college, studying to be an architect and finishing his Freshman year. He liked to swim, run, lift weights, rock climb, play racquetball, and be outside doing something active. He had a slender build, and seemed perfectly healthy, until one day he wasn’t. He weighed 144 lbs at college before coming home for the summer, and he was 126 lbs several weeks later. I took him out to eat and his sister questioned how fast he was going through the drink refills. He said he had been very thirsty and contributed it to starting a new job in the lumber department at Home Depot. He said he was tired also from being up at night several times needing to use the bathroom. I knew that being thirsty and not quenching his thirst was a sign of diabetes. He was staying with his dad over the summer so after a couple of days, I had asked him if he was still having thirst and he was, along with leg cramping and weakness (due to expelling all of the electrolytes in his body from using the bathroom so much). I had a ketone/glucose meter at home so I took his fasting glucose measurement the next morning at his dad’s, and it was 286. I took it again, and it was around the same. I took mine and his dad’s, and we were in the low 90s. The meter wasn’t broken. It was Father’s Day 2023, one day after my son’s 19th birthday. I was devastated. I knew what it meant. They went on with their plans, and I went home and crumbled. I knew life was never going to be as carefree for him again, and he was going to have to make huge sacrifices.
We saw the Dr. on Tuesday morning after Father’s Day, and the Dr. quickly confirmed he had type 1 diabetes. He prescribed the insulin injection pens, lancets, meter, testing strips, continuous glucose monitor, and taught us how to navigate it all. My son was upset, knowing only that his best friend’s uncle died in his 40s from complications of type 1 diabetes a year earlier. He knew it was bad, and he was too busy with two part-time jobs and a summer class to have to deal with this! It was a very rough couple of weeks that followed.
After a few days on insulin with trial and error of injecting the painful shots, finger sticks, and buying the right types of food, we got his blood sugars down quickly, using only a small dose, averaging 13 units, of long-acting insulin, never having to use rapid-acting insulin at meals. He was following a low carb diet and exercise regimen.
A week later we got the bloodwork back, which showed he had a partially working insulin-producing pancreas. Even though antibodies were also showing to confirm an attack on the pancreas and beta cells, he was still able to produce insulin. That changed everything in my mind and gave me hope for an extended ‘honeymoon’ period (where little to no external insulin is needed). I had seen and heard about research to suggest the possibility of a prolonged fast potentially slowing an autoimmune response, maybe partially halting what was happening to him, the destruction of his beta cells. I also read that the fast could possibly help the beta cells regenerate, specifically for newly diagnosed patients with working beta cells. It was a complete long shot, but I was going to leave no stone unturned in extending this honeymoon period for as long as possible. He was already off carbs and sugars for 10 days and no longer had the symptoms of ‘keto flu’ people get when transitioning. He was feeling fine on his new strict diet. He agreed to do a 3-day water only fast with me. We would do it together and my husband joined in as well.
He stopped taking the long-acting insulin, and we started the fast on a Friday afternoon, and started a very slow refeeding on Monday afternoon. He was a champ and did not complain once. His glucose levels dropped to the mid-50s. I gave him salt and electrolyte supplements and mineral water to keep his blood pressure normal. June 29, 2023 was his last insulin shot as of the time I am writing this on Sept 13, 2023. (Update at the end)
He has been incredibly strong and disciplined in keeping his blood sugars low with his ultra low carb diet, based on Dr. Bernstein’s teachings, exercise, and some intermittent fasting. He has noticed that even light exercise is paramount to keeping his glucose numbers low and giving him continued insulin sensitivity. His college life with an architecture major is time intensive, and it is challenging, but he is doing amazing. I am so proud of his work ethic, discipline, determination, and his will to not have complications from type 1 diabetes. My hope is that with occasional fasting periods and careful diet and exercise, maybe this freedom from insulin injections will last years, if not a lifetime.
Below are snapshots of his blood glucose readings over time, starting with his diagnosis and showing the swings from learning how to eat well until today with much improvement.
Update: Started taking insulin on Jan 8, 2025 which was a little over 18 months after diagnosis. It was a great break from insulin dependency.
Daily Glucose Graphs
Averages, Weekly or Monthly, Glucose Charts
A1C Results
Time in Range Data