After fighting lows on Glyburide last week, my doctor suggested trying just diet and exercise again. I thought he was crazy, it hasn't worked the last two times that I tried it, so why should it work this time. He gave it 80-percent odds of working. I jokingly asked if he wanted to put a friendly wager on it. I'm glad I didn't.

I am amazed to report that after one week without any anti-diabetes medication, my blood sugar had remained pretty normal for the most part. Granted, I'm only testing before meals, but still 90 percent of those readings have been under or close to 100. The one or two higher numbers I had were the result of a very bad night's sleep with a teething boy. Everything else, even bedtime numbers, was right in range.

That's the good news. The bad news: The only way I'm able to keep my blood sugar stable without medication is to not eat any carbohydrates except vegetables. No starch, no fruit, no milk. I'm basically following Atkins induction phase, keeping daily carb count between 20 and 50.

I'm not sure this is such a good thing. Short term, it is working. It is working great. I'm getting to enjoy the fattening fare that's been banned from so many of my diets, like heavy cream, full-fat cheese and steak and still lose weight while keeping my blood sugar steady.

Long term, I'm not sure if it is such a great idea. I've tried this type of strict diet before and was successful for about a year before caving in to the need for fruit and starch. For now, I guess I'll just have to take it one day at a time.

I really have mixed feelings about the whole thing. It is nice to not have to take meds. It is very nice to be able to exercise whenever I want to and not worry about lows. It's nice to not weigh and measure my food, count points or track exchanges. It's not so nice to not be able to eat any carbs. It's something I'm philosophically opposed to.

I think most people who try Atkins complain about not being able to eat bread. For me, it's fruit. Since I was battling lows on Glyburide, I had just stocked the house with quick, easy to eat fruits, like dates, pineapple, banana and oranges. Then the doctor said, try diet again, and my sweet fruits are sitting on the counter mocking me.

I'm a tad grumpy too. (If you ask my husband, it's more like I'm a raging "Charmed" one.) I'm not sure if its from carbohydrate withdrawal, or if I'm mourning the loss of the dietary freedom I so grossly abused.

Like I said, I'm just going to have to take it one day at a time.