Diabetics are usually unable to control their diet causing the glucose level in the blood vessels to be high. Therefore, they need medication in order to help control it. At the same time, they also have to keep a very close eye on it so that it is not too low otherwise they can go into shock.

All of the above comes from my personal experience I had encountered with my mother who, apart from diabetes, suffers from high blood pressure, high colestoral, heart disease and finally and recently found, Parkinson's disease for more than 10 years. She has got it all.

What we often saw is that she always had to take handfuls of medicine; one an hour before meals for the heart disease and another before and after meals for other diseases. In total, she took more than 10 tablets a day. Each time she went to see the doctors, she always came home with a huge bag of medicine. Each time, even though she went to public hospital, it cost her 3,000 - 4,000 Baht. Think about how much more it will cost her if she goes to private ones.

Worse comes to worse when she started losing her eyesight. One day early in the morning, she fainted. We tried to shake her but got no response so we called an ambulance. We later found out that the reason she went into shock was because the glucose level had dropped to 15. That was the first time we know what a shock caused by low glucose level is for it never happened to her before. Thus, we made and appointment for her to see Dr. Banjob at Balavi for advices (It is Dr. Banjob who found out that our mother has Parkinsons's disease) and she joined the 10-day course.

She participated in all the activities approved by the doctors. She was closely looked after by nurses, sport specialists and chefs. She joined Qigong, aquatic aerobic, massage and diet control. She even brought back the knowledge she had gained from the lectured during the course and used it to teach us who are fond of junk food and who deeply dislike fresh fruits and vegetables.

After the 10-day course, the glucose level dropped from 200 to 100. The amount of the medicine reduced from 4 proportions to 2; one before breakfast and one after dinner. She practices Qigong every morning and controls her diet by avioding starches and sweets and turns to meat and vegetables instead. Such food is all she needs without feeling starved. Moreover, she checks her own glucose level by using the blood glucose monitor.

The most important thing she had gained is proper choices of food. Instead of eating out at least once a week like we used to, we cook our own food consisting of vegetables as the main ingredients. There are also some meat. The food is not sweet and with little oil. We season it with soy sauce and salt instead of fish sauce. Sugar is never used even in Num Prick. When we do eat out, we have to make sure that there is no MSG or sugar in every dish. We are all happy.

However, after a while, she started being unresonable. She wanted to eat sweets. Sometimes, she asked for a bite or two of fruits from her grand children. At first, we tried to stop her. We did not let her have any starch or sweets at all. That always makes her angry. But we at last have to let her have some and learn to ignore it. But what holds her back is the glucose level result shown on the blood glucose monitor every morning. If it is high, it is her who will tell us what she had eaten earlier. She will then start controlling herself. She even knows that whenever she feels tired and loses an appetite, she is not to take medication for it will decrease the glucose level and can cause shock.

Since then, we realize that it is not good to be too strict or too loose. The best way is to be in the middle. It is like playing a kite. If we pull the cord too hard, it will break. But if we let it too loose, it will fly away. Just like us, if we are too strict, there will for sure be a fight. But if we let her do just everything she wants, the glucose level will be uncontrolable.

Therefore, the goal to help control mother's glucose level is not the diet control but it is the happiness acheived from such control. Instead of being 100% strict in order for her not to have to take any medication at all, we may reduce the strictness to 80%. When she goes off the path, we just use the medication to help her. Life will then be a lot happier. Just for her not to have to take handfuls and handfuls of medicine is a whole lot beyond our expectation.

The method we have been using does not come from any doctor's advice but from our own. It seems to be the happist stand where we are all happy. But do not foget that diet control and medication are still needed in some cases. If you would like to try our method, feel free.