WHY I WANT TO HELP YOU

Greetings. I am Maury Breecher, PhD, MPH, a medical writer who has had Type 2 Diabetes since 1995. Like you, I have experienced the sometimes uncontrollable hunger, the fatigue, the depression, the fear and the frustration that is often associated with diabetes.

My own mother died of undiagnosed diabetes in the 1960's.

My father had previously died from a stroke.

As a medical writer with that background and history, you would have thought that I would have thrown myself into writing about diabetes even earlier in my career.

But, no, in my early career I was in denial. I did not want to admit that I, too, was at risk of diabetes. Even though my own mother had died of diabetes, I was in denial most of my life about my own risk factors.

I actually had to develop the disease to become motivated to learn more about and then began to write about diabetes.

Were you ever in denial about your risk for diabetes?

Did you even deny you had diabetes after you were diagnosed?

Did you bargain with God and ask the Creator to "Take Away This Cross?"

If you did, your not alone, I've already admitted that I had been in denial.

It was only after developing blurry vision, another symptom of uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes, that I got serious about managing my own condition better. Writing about diabetes gives me satisfaction because it makes me feel that something good is occurring because of my diabetic condition.

That's why I had been overjoyed to grab the opportunity to create a diabetes newsletter for UCLA in 2004. Unfortunately, sales did not materialize fast enough. A print-based newsletter is very expensive to produce so the Powers-that-Be discontinued it.

I was bitterly disappointed. It took almost a year, but as part of my own need to have some good come out of my diabetic condition, I developed this site. You will find much of value here: News from the World of Diabetes Research, motivational articles, Low-glycemic recipes to help you cope with high blood sugars, even an entire weight-control program. I lost 50 lbs on the program, Now II eat low-glycemic meals of regular food which help me keep my blood sugar in balance. You can too! Good luck! Health and happiness.

Maury M. Breecher, PhD, MPH