I was diagnosed about 10 years ago with a 9.5 A1C. Had tingling in the legs, fuzzy eyesight, frequent urination and blood sugar swings.

was put on glyburide at first and got off that by dieting. Went back to old habits and then was put on metformin. That did not agree with me (had to stick close to the bathroom) nor did it really help when my eating was out of control.

Got more serious in 2002 with low carb when Atkins was getting popular. Lowered my blood sugar to around 120 most of the time. Then went up and down for a few years.

Last year, I just resigned myself that diet and exercise was the only thing that could help me. I no longer have any of the symptoms above. I just have a little loss of sensation in my left leg and not much hair on my shins.

Like Dan, I'm a big fan of Dr. Bernstein.

1. Keep carbs under 30
2. Eat less food -- I used Protein Power to calculate my protein amount
3. Do not snack -- eat 3 meals or less.
4. Skip a meal or two from time to time.
5. Strenuous exercise -- I do weight training and hiking as per Dr. B.
6. Supplements -- I have no idea if these help at all. I take fish oil, Insulow, EPO and some others anyway.

I can keep my blood sugar under about 95 without losing much weight. I have gotten down to 83 a few times after fasting and an hour or more of exercise the previous day. I still struggle with eating bad foods sometimes. I'm a food addict big time. My problem is more emotional rather than physical cravings. I've even thought of mugging someone to take their food or of breaking into the neighbor's house to ransack their kitchen.