My name is Daniel. I am a 46 year old male. I have struggled with weight since the age of 10. Also, I always had a "nervous stomach" which, at the age of about 22, they gave a fancy name of "Irritable Bowel Syndrome".

At age 38, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes based on a few fasting sugars over 11.0 and elevated triglycerides. I wasn't too surprise since my mother was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes around the same age and my sister is type 1, diagnosed in her thirties as well. I tried unsuccessfully to control my blood sugar levels with diet and exercise. I was on and off diets (as I pretty well had been most of my life). Soon, I started taking Metformin to help control my blood sugar.

At the age of 42, my energy level was extremely low. I was at a point where I was sleeping 14 hours/day. I would do anything to try to have more energy including coffee, red bull, energy shots. The doctor ran tests but suggested that I was depressed. I knew there was more to it than that. The ferratin level on my lab test was very high. When I asked what that meant, the doctor told me that I probably just had some inflammation somewhere and not to worry about it. I insisted that there was something else wrong. The doctor said that I hadn't really learned to live with my IBS and that was likely contributing to my anxiety and depression so she sent me to a gastroenterologist. As soon as he heard of my elevated ferratin, he ordered a liver biopsy. The biopsy came back as stage 4 NASH. I was shocked. My grandmother died of liver failure due to NASH at age 60.

For the past few years, my blood sugar levels have slowly crept up to 20-30. Last year, I started taking insulin at night. This quickly changed to morning and night. Now I am on 4 shots/day.....1 nightly basal and 1 injection with each meal. I feel like my diabetes has very recently gotten dramatically worse.

So what's happening now? I'm at a point now where I feel like I need to do something. My liver cirrhosis continues to progress. I get tested (ultrasound) once/month to monitor nodules on my liver. It's very important to monitor these nodules because if cancer is suspected, we need to treat it early. If my liver gets worse and I need a transplant, I need to be healthy enough to survive the surgery. I also have to be committed to staying as healthy as I can to even be considered for a transplant.

I have just started using this website. It was recommended to me by the nurse practitioner at my diabetes clinic. I can't say that I'm motivated and pumped to lose weight and improve my health...I still hate dieting and I still hate exercise. However, this site is really helping me. It's helping me to focus on what I'm eating and when. I have the iPhone app which makes it very simple to plan and track my meals.

I'm hoping to hear from other people fighting the same battle.