After 20 Years With Type 2 Diabetes, Dean Is Still Medication-Free Years Later

Living with type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years, Dean had become accustomed to HbA1c readings in the 7% range and relying on diabetes medication to keep his blood sugar under control.

Importantly, Dean’s diabetes is in remission!

“I’ve Never Been Someone Who Wanted To Rely On Medication”

Like many people with type 2 diabetes, Dean assumed medication would simply be part of life.

In fact, his doctor once told him to expect to get worse, to expect his diabetes to progress and to expect ending up on insulin. Not exactly something anyone wants to hear!

Deep down, he hoped for something different.

“I’ve never been someone who’s wanted to rely on medications to get me through life,” he said.

“I guess the driving motivation for me always has been, how can I look after myself better and not rely on the doctors to have to keep propping me up?”

That motivation led Dean to discover the T2Diet Program, which became the foundation for everything that followed.

Lowering His A1c And Coming Off Medication

As Dean embraced the T2Diet Approach, his blood sugar steadily improved.

In 16 weeks, his HbA1c dropped into the 5% range, recording results of 5.6%. In his subsequent tests, his A1c stayed in the 5s – 5.7%, 5.8% and later 5.9%.

His doctor progressively reduced his medications, first stopping Jardiance and eventually reducing his Metformin to just 500 mg per day.

The goal was clear.

If his HbA1c remained at 6.0% or below, he would finally come off his last diabetes medication.

Then Life Got In The Way

Just when everything seemed to be going perfectly, life became overwhelming.

Dean and his wife cared for a family member through the end of life. They dealt with the stress of selling a house. After retiring, Dean unexpectedly returned to work for what was meant to be two months, but became six months under significant pressure and tight deadlines.

Exercise became less consistent after an injury, eating out became more frequent, and the daily routines that had supported his success slowly slipped away.

His HbA1c increased to 6.5%.

Rather than seeing it as failure, Dean began reflecting on everything that had happened.

“Up until having that latest test, I hadn’t thought about it again. It’s just life, it’s the stressors of life.”

“When you think back about it you think, wow, that’s been a lot compressed into the last nine to twelve months and that’s not normal life.”

But here’s the thing. Life brings stress, illness, injuries and unexpected challenges. What matters isn’t avoiding every setback.

It’s having the knowledge and confidence to recognize when things have drifted and knowing exactly how to get back on track.

A Small Reset Made A Big Difference

Dean didn’t need to start from scratch. He already knew what worked.

“My aim in that moment was to be just a little bit more conscious of what was going on, both with the food side and with the stressors.”

He had already learned all the principles in the T2Diet Program and he simply became more mindful again.

“It wasn’t huge changes. It was just keeping our mind on the diet all the time.”

He became more aware of the little choices that had gradually crept back in.

“It’s so easy, when a meal comes with salad and chips, to eat the salad and, ‘Oh well, the chips are there,’ and you eat half the chips and you think, ‘Well, that’s good, I still left half behind.’ But the reality is I shouldn’t have eaten the first half in the first place.”

With a renewed focus, a little more activity, and life becoming less stressful, his HbA1c returned to 6.0%.

That was enough for his doctor to stop his final Metformin tablet.

“This Isn’t Really A Diet”

Perhaps the most inspiring part of Dean’s story isn’t coming off medication. It’s what happened afterwards.

Several years later, when asked how he was going, Dean shared a simple update.

“On my last test, HbA1c was 6.0 again. This has been a couple of years now off the meds and results +/-0.1 of 6.0. I am still very happy with these results.”

Then he added something many people hope to one day be able to say.

“The diet is just our standard eating plan now (not really a ‘diet’ that needs to be followed).”

That’s what long-term success looks like.

Not constantly trying to stay “on a diet,” but creating sustainable habits that simply become part of everyday life.

Learning To Enjoy Foods He Once Hated

Dean also discovered something he never expected.

Many of the vegetables he had disliked for decades gradually became foods he genuinely enjoyed.

“I honestly didn’t think that things like cauliflower and broccoli… if you’d told me two years ago that I would be saying, ‘No, they’re delicious, I love seeing them on the plate now,’ I would have said, ‘No, you’re mad.'”

He also found that trying new recipes made healthy eating interesting instead of restrictive.

“It’s all a learning thing… even simple things like following new recipes is enough to make you learn… there’s just something about learning all this new stuff that we both enjoy about it.”

What We Can Learn From Dean

Dean’s journey shows that lasting change is possible, even after living with type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years.

His story reminds us that:

• It’s never too late to improve your health.

• Stress and life events can affect blood sugar, but setbacks don’t have to become permanent, setbacks don’t erase success.

• Small adjustments often make a big difference.

• The goal isn’t to stay “on a diet”, it’s to build habits that become your normal way of living.

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