WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Feb. 6 -- The official results are in: My ending weight was 231 pounds -- a loss of 52 pounds from my starting weight of 283 pounds in January 2008.
For me, the year-long clinical trial of an experimental weight loss drug is over -- and I still don't know if I was getting the active drug or a placebo. I probably won't find out for sometime because the trial is ongoing and still recruiting diabetic, overweight men and women.
I do know that whether it was the drug, the monthly nutritional counseling, or my own commitment to losing weight, I can report the following:
- My baseline body mass index (BMI) was 36.8; my current BMI is 30.1.
- My baseline waist circumference was 52.6 inches; my current waist circumference is 43.4 inches -- which translates to wearing size 42 pants instead of size 48 (expandable) pants.
- My current hip measurement is 39.7 inches, down from 50.5 inches.
- At the start of the study I was taking four oral diabetes medications -- metformin 1,000 mg twice a day; pioglitazone (Actos) 45 mg daily; glipizide 10 mg daily; and sitagliptin (Januvia) 100 mg daily; now I am taking only the metformin.
- At baseline I was taking valsartan in combination with a diuretic (Diovan HCT) at a dose of 160/25 to maintain a blood pressure that was within range for diabetics -- less than 130/80; now I am taking just valsartan 360 and my blood pressure as measured on the last day of the trial was 123/76.
- I am also taking simvastatin/ezetimibe (Vytorin) for cholesterol and my levels have been fairly consistent and well within expected range -- 162 mg/dl total cholesterol; 57 mg/dl HDL; 69 mg/dl LDL.
What isn't told in the tale of the tape is that I feel a lot better, I have more energy, I sleep more soundly, I am more active -- although a regular exercise program that was part of the year-long trial remains elusive -- and I continually receive compliments from friends and relatives about how well I look.
The real question -- the challenge -- that remains for me is this: Can I keep the weight off without the active pill (or placebo)?
I know now that there are things I can do to help myself, things I learned during the trial.
I will, for example, continue to maintain a daily calorie consumption log, and try to maintain an intake of less than 2,300 calories a day. I did not find that much of a challenge during the clinical trial.
I will also continue to perform regular finger prick tests to watch my blood glucose levels.
And maybe I will add an exercise program to my regimen.
"Just because you have finished the trial, it does not mean your journey is over," the nutritionist said in the final monthly discussion on maintaining weight loss.
I will get a reality check in April when I visit my primary care physician to see how well I am doing off the trial. If I haven't regressed, we will tinker with my blood pressure medication and possibly lower the metformin dose.
And finally there is this lesson: several years ago, I wrote a story from a diabetes meeting in Paris in which there were several reports that people with diabetes in a clinical trial who lost 10% or more of their baseline weight were able to drop at least 50% of their diabetes medicines.
I can now tell you that what I wrote then is true for me now.
Editor's Note: Ed took questions about his experience -- presented at the end of this video report -- at an informal meeting of the 51˶ staff.