Green vegetable apparently cure diabetes, news to me...

Me: "Your A1C is 13.6. This is very very high, as the normal range is 5-6. Have you been taking your diabetes medications?"

Patient: "Well, I take them when I feel like my blood sugars are high."

Me: "You're measuring your blood sugars with your glucometer then?"

Patient: "Oh, no, I can tell they're high when I eat certain food. Like meat. Or when I don't eat enough vegetables."

Me: ...

Patient: "But when I eat green vegetables my blood sugars are better. I think I don't need the medication, I feel fine when I eat the green vegetables. I think that's all I need to do."

Me: " are you exercising?"

Patient: "no"

Me: "Do you have excessive thirst?"

Patient: "Oh I've had that for years"

Me: "That's from your severely high blood sugars. Has your vision changed?"

Patient: "Well yes but my whole family has eye problems"

Me: "Your whole family also has diabetes, and your poor vision is actually due to your high blood sugars too. Do you have to urinate a lot?"

Patient: "I always pee a lot. But I think if I just eat more green things I'll be fine, it really makes my blood sugars go down when I eat green things. But meats make it go up. So I think I don't need the medication, I can just eat more greens"

At this point I had to convince this patient that she REALLY needed to take her medications because with sugars this high she would end up like the rest of her family, all of whom had diabetes and the ones that were older than her had already died of complications, including both parents, all 4 grandparents, and 2 siblings- leg infections, amputations, and such. What could be more convincing than her family history?? But she seriously believes that if she eats more greens she'll be fine.