By Nan A. Virta patient for 7 months
I joke that I’ve been losing and gaining the same 10 pounds for most of my life, but the opportunity to lose weight and keep it off isn’t what drove me to Virta. It’s just a really nice side-effect.
I was originally diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in May of 2019 and prescribed metformin. But over the course of the year after, I felt my health deteriorate. I was feeling more and more sluggish. I started getting severe pain in my legs. I wasn’t sleeping well. I just didn’t feel like me.
I work in the wardrobe department of our casino, so I’m on my feet a lot. The pain and lack of energy was impacting how I felt at work. What’s worse, I didn’t have the energy to play with my grandkids. I needed to do something.
Then in April of 2022, I received an email from the Cherokee Nation announcing a new diabetes reversal benefit called Virta. I figured, ‘what do I have to lose?’
When I got my initial labs after applying to Virta, my A1c had jumped to 9.4. My doctor talked to me about possibly going on insulin—which I really didn't want.
Being accepted into the Virta program may be the one of the best things to ever happen to me. Virta taught me that it was what I was eating, not how much, that was impacting my blood sugar. And with the help of my Virta care team, I was able to find delicious substitutions to the high-carb foods that were hurting me.
Within the first three months on Virta, I lowered my A1c to 6.2.
And it’s probably lower even now. My most recent blood sugars have been as low as 87 and I feel incredible.
I’ve also cut my evening dosage of metformin. But what really makes me smile is the fact that my pain is gone. I have my energy back. And I’m really happy that in my job I’ve been able to resize colleagues also on the Virta program.
Now instead of “resting my eyes” on the couch, I can be found in the garden or rolling around with my grandkids.
Virta and the Cherokee Nation gave me that. They gave me my life back, for which I will forever be grateful.
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