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A year-and-a-half ago, Gigi Bauer and her husband Roy Bauer, both Type 2 diabetics, were taking more medication than they can remember.
Roy, now 58, gave himself two injections of Byetta, a diabetes drug, each day and popped another 10 pills or so to regulate his blood sugar, blood pressure and kidney function.
Gigi, now 57, injected herself with Trulicity, another diabetes drug, each day, and took various meds for high blood pressure, cholesterol and for her thyroid.
At its highest, Ron’s A1C — average blood glucose level — was 12.5, while Gigi’s was 8.5. An A1C of 6.5 or above is considered diabetic.
“I thought I was going to be on medication for the rest of my life,” Gigi said. Roy thought the same.
Why Would Either of Them have Thought Any Differently?
They had been told by their doctors they needed to take medication to manage their disease. So they continued to eat as much fruit as they wanted, and ate pizza multiple times a week, because they were on medication that would do its magic to control their sugar levels, Gigi explained.
“I thought I could eat whatever I wanted because I was on diabetic medication to keep my blood sugar down,” Gigi said.
Roy added: “Every time I went back to the doctor, they’d put me on another medication…It was almost like I expected it. Like it was acceptable. I had been a diabetic for 10 or 12 years, I think, and they just kept adding medication.”
Then in May 2018, Gigi received a letter from her doctor about a fitness and nutrition program at the Ryan Ferns Healthplex in Benwood, West Virginia, for Type 2 diabetics. Two weeks later, Roy received the same letter.
Though their expectations were low, something told Gigi to sign up.
The Prescription for Preventative Medicine
The program was a pilot project, where the team at the Ryan Ferns Healthplex — a team made up of physical therapists, CrossFit and fitness coaches and nutritionist Kathi Salatino — had teamed up with a local health insurance company. The health insurance company agreed to pay for their Type 2 diabetic clients to participate in the program in the hope that the company would save money in the long term if these clients improved their health through lifestyle changes, and maybe even put their diabetes into remission.
Gigi and Roy started the program in July 2018.
The first step was a functional movement screening. After that, Gigi began working with a physical therapist to improve her movement patterns and balance, while Roy began personal training. Soon, Gigi joined Roy in personal training, and today both attend group classes five days a week. They also both started working with Salatino on their nutrition.
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