Lifestyle Medicine Program Reverses Patient's Diabetes and Restores Overall Health
Lifestyle Medicine Patient
"I’m not going to let fear stop me anymore. I try to show people that if I can make changes for the better for my health and wellbeing, they can, too.”
St. Louis, Michigan resident Jenny Pawlitz has always struggled with her weight. She tried multiple diet trends over the years that produced short-lived results. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Pawlitz spent a lot of time indoors and experienced anxiety and depression that led to inactivity and poor food choices.
At a slight four feet and eleven inches tall, Pawlitz knew her most recent weight gain had reached an unhealthy level. She connected virtually with family medicine resident James Lyons, M.D. at MyMichigan Family Practice in Alma. Dr. Lyons suggested Pawlitz visit the lab for blood work as she hadn’t done so in a few years. It would give them a starting point for designing a plan to get her on a healthy track.
The test results showed Pawlitz was at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. The team at Family Practice Center Alma promotes lifestyle medicine and believed that she was a good candidate.
Pawlitz was surprised by the results but didn’t hesitate; she committed to significant lifestyle changes and working with her care team to change the course she was on. Now, her diabetes is in remission, her mental and emotional state is improving and she’s more than 80 pounds lighter.
Pawlitz was born in Seoul, Korea. She and her brother were adopted by a Michigan couple and were raised in the Upper Peninsula. Her mother, a Doctor of Pharmacy, was a Type 1 diabetic. Though her mom took good care of herself, she was in hospitals often. She lost both legs and eventually her life to the disease at age 51. Though Pawlitz didn’t have access to her family medical history because she was adopted, she had enough real-world experience with her mother to understand the risks diabetes could pose to her if she didn’t make some changes.
“I have been through some tough things in my life, but the pandemic was particularly difficult for me,” said Pawlitz. “First, I was afraid of getting COVID. Second, as a Korean American, I experienced racism and anger connected to its outbreak that was hard to take.” Unfounded blame was directed at her on more than one occasion adding to the stress and poor habits Pawlitz was exhibiting. She is grateful she reached out and that she made the recommended blood work a priority.
Pawiltz’s results were a wake-up call. She was placed on a low dose of Metformin to help control her blood sugar and encouraged to make lifestyle changes to alter her health trajectory. “Honestly when I learned I had diabetes, I freaked. I received my test results on June 18, 2021. The very next day, I flipped everything,” she said.
Pawitz immediately cut soda of any kind out of her diet and limited her drinks to water and coffee. She and her husband began a two-mile walking ritual they stuck to almost every day since. They even purchased used treadmills so the cold weather wouldn’t deter them from exercise. Once her conditioning improved, Pawlitz began running intervals as well. She watched her intake of carbohydrates and sugar and reduced the amount of red meat she was eating. When Dr. Lyons graduated from the family medicine residency program, she began seeing MyMichigan physician Michelle Nelson, M.D., for primary care in Alma.
“I have great respect for Dr. Nelson,” said Pawlitz. “I can be open and honest with her and we have some similarities in our backgrounds. She encourages me and lets me know that perfection is not the goal; an overall healthy lifestyle with as few medications as possible is. I feel connected to her, and that’s really important aspect of my care.”
Lifestyle medicine uses evidence-based approaches to prevent, treat and reverse lifestyle-related chronic conditions, including certain types of diabetes and pre-diabetes. The approach includes encouraging a predominantly whole food, plant-based diet, regular physical activity, adequate sleep, stress management and avoidance of risky substance use.
Within the first three months of making changes, Pawlitz had reduced her A1C from 7.8 to 5.6. She has lowered that level even more and maintains contact with Dr. Nelson through the MyMichigan MyChart patient portal and with in-person and video visits. Pawlitz has gotten creative in the kitchen exploring Korean, Thai, Indian and Mediterranean recipes that are high in flavor and low in fat. She received COVID-19 vaccines and boosters. She learned meditation and deep breathing techniques to address anxiety. She also became involved in social justice online and chronicled her personal health journey to inspire others.
“I am in the best shape of my life and am determined to keep it that way,” said Pawlitz. “I am no longer on any pills and am maintaining my weight and hemoglobin. I used to have tension headaches and knots in my neck and shoulders all the time, now it’s a rarity. I am officially in remission from diabetes!”
Pawlitz has been a MyMichigan patient since moving to St. Louis years before the pandemic and plans to continue her relationships with their teams for as long as she stays in the area. “I surely would not be where I am today without Dr. Nelson who supported, understood and validated me.”
She also credits her husband for joining her on her journey; he has benefited from the lifestyle medicine approach with similar weight loss numbers and increased involvement in the online community. “We have all been through something that can bring us together,” said Pawlitz. “I’m not going to let fear stop me anymore. I try to show people that if I can make changes for the better for my health and wellbeing, they can, too.”
If you are interested in making healthy lifestyle changes, whether to address a chronic health condition or for your overall well-being, talk to your primary care provider.
