Evan Healed of Diabetes
BEFOREOver the years until now, I have managed to collect a few different diseases along the way. The most recent was type II diabetes. After I noticed my feet had a burning feeling most of the time, I was diagnosed with this disease in 2007 and went onto Diaformin tablets. I found as the diabetes progressed, it made me very thirsty, often needing a glass of water every 30 minutes. I also required half-hourly toilet stops. (“Diabetes” is a Greek word that means “to syphon”, reflecting how diabetes seems to rapidly drain fluid from the affected individual.)
Often associated with diabetes is a condition known as fatty liver, and I was diagnosed with this around this time also. The fat builds ups in the liver, interfering with its ability to process energy for the body.
Since my late 20’s I have suffered from heartburn, caused by stomach acid seeping up into my oesophagus. Eventually I noticed I couldn’t eat anything without drinking liquids, or the food would scrape my tender oesophagus on the way down, which was very painful. To alleviate this, for the last 12 years at least, I was on daily medication. I dared not miss the medication for more than one night in a row, or I would experience unbearable heartburn pain when trying to sleep.
My family history of heart disease comprises 3 separate heart bypass operations on my father from 1979 to 1986, followed by his heart transplant in 1992. Praise God he has now been going with that new heart for almost 18 years. Unfortunately my Mum passed away during an angiogram in 1994, confirming she too had heart disease.
To give you an idea of the extent of my cholesterol problem, I was diagnosed with a level of 10 mmol/L in 1990 at the age of 30. I underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery in 1997, after which I went onto a disability pension. (The heart blockages extended also into the narrower blood vessels, and I was warned not to undertake too strenuous physical activity in case it induced a heart attack.) I experienced gradual healing during this time due to prayer and a regime of vitamins, fish oil and antioxidants, the latter as recommended by a popular cardiologist author. I underwent a stress test in January 2002 in which no evidence of artery blockage was observed. When I received these results, I celebrated by swimming and completing two strenuous laps of the pool, which I had previously been too cautious to do. I was back in full-time work by May 2002. Nevertheless I continued to take medicine to reduce my cholesterol level, to prevent any further heart problems. With the combination of 3 different medicines, I had managed to keep my total blood cholesterol down to 4.9, but my ratio of LDL (bad cholesterol) to HDL good cholesterol) was still unacceptably high.
After a particularly harrowing divorce, associated with continual frustration in attempts to see my children, and then the heart bypass, in part brought on by all the stress, I was left with post-traumatic depression. Medication and cognitive therapy had kept this under control, but I had very low energy levels. My 125 mg nightly dose of amitriptyline consisted of 2 x 50 mg tablets and one 25 mg tablet. This was the same drug that my Mum, who was also prone to depression, had taken for many years, under the old brand name of Tryptanol. I was starting to get very sick of the side effects of this medication, which included urinary retention, a very dry mouth, a slowing-down of my thought processes and occasional slurring of my speech.
AFTER
On 30 March 2010, Mike Limmer, my wife Julie and I flew to Bandung, Indonesia for a missions trip. On the plane that night, as I opened up my “portable pharmacy” of seven medications, I realised I had forgotten to bring my 50 mg amitriptyline tablets. I thought I would have to see a doctor in Indonesia and get another prescription. I didn’t want to go on a “downer” during our trip. Julie said I should talk to Mike, who was leading our ministry team. I said, "Oh, I know what he'll do!" He laid hands on me and told the diabetes, heartburn, heart disease and depression to depart in the name of Jesus Christ!
That was on 1 April 2010. Since then I have not taken another single tablet of my 7 (seven) prescriptions. I have had no bad reaction from stopping these medicines, even though the instructions with the depression medication specifically stated: “Under no circumstances should you suddenly stop taking this medication”. If I had previously missed taking my depression medication for only one night, I would start acting strange and Julie would say, “Have you taken your medication?” But there have been no such symptoms after I stopped taking the tablets after my healing. In fact, I have had no depression at all since my healing (except for feeling a bit blue one night during a bad bout of acute sinusitis), and most mornings I wake up feeling fantastic. I usually wake up 30 minutes to an hour before I need to, ready for whatever the day has in store. I never cease to be amazed at the energy levels I am now experiencing. My brain is working more quickly and I am more productive in my job as an engineer. On my return to Australia, someone said, “I guess you’re dreading going back to work after your holiday.” I truthfully replied, “Actually, I can’t wait to get back to work.” I have not had so much energy since I was 20, and I seem to get by on much less sleep now than I used to.
I was instantly healed from the debilitating heartburn and threw the remaining tablets away.
When I returned to Australia I went for my scheduled diabetes assessment. All the levels in my diabetes blood tests were in the normal range. My cholesterol had also dropped from a non-medicated level of 10 (requiring 3 separate drugs to get it down to a reasonable level) down to 7.3. I believe I am still experiencing recovery for the high cholesterol and am believing that the levels will continue to go down. My LDL (bad cholesterol) is currently just under the level it had previously taken 3 medications to get it down to. My HDL (good cholesterol) has gone up from 0.63 to 0.72. There are no drugs available that can increase this good cholesterol - only exercise and maybe red wine helps.
Gone are the continual fungal & yeast infections of the skin which I had to continually treat with Canesten, due to the excess sugar in my blood. My doctor had previously confirmed that diabetics are prone to increased skin infections due to the high blood sugar levels that the infections feed on. Because of this, I had previously experienced wounds which did not heal without special ointment that he prescribed for me.
I have been to a few doctors now for regular checkups for my diabetes, heart and lungs. I had an echo cardiogram and the cardiologist said everything looked fine. Despite this and my good blood test results, she and my GP still urged me to go back onto the cholesterol-lowering tablets “because of yours and your family’s bad history with heart disease”. But since Mike rebuked the four diseases from my life that night on 1 April, I no longer consider that I am a “high risk patient”. I told the cardiologist how the symptoms of my other diseases had ceased and that I wish to continue solely with the “Divine treatment” for my heart disease, (believing that God is continuing to perform an ongoing recovery), and she accepted my decision with a smile.
Evan Duncan
28 May 2010
