Frank's diabetes, and he'd sayto me,'Nothing's really goingto change.
You're not going to get hisblood sugars down untilyousee DickBern stein.' Even though my friend is a doctor, I brushed off his advice.
Frank was seeing a doctor.
Why would some private doctor be any more capable than the head of the diabetes clinic at a major medical center?
But after this episode with hypoglycemia, Frank went to my friend's office with me, and my friend laid it out for him, told us in grinding detail what we could expect from Dr.
Bernstein, what it wouldbe like, andhowhe hopedwewouldrelate to Dick, because he's rather controversial, andhow hardit was going to be , how much of acommitmentit was going to take.
Wewentaway thinking, 'Let's give it a try.'" Frank: "To be honest, when I first met Dr.
Bernstein, I felt he was somewhat of a flake.
I had worked with doctors in the army,and I was used to a particular kind of guy.
Dr.
Bernstein , now, he's ahorse of another color.
Until I came across him, I never met a doctor who was so focused on onething.
He is socompletely directed toward this one failing of the human body that I kind of thought that maybe it was a little too intense.
But the results have been rather spectacular, and I'm very happy with him.
He has specific programs, he has direction, he has goals, and heisnot sidetracked byanything other than tending to diabetes.
He's given mearegimen.
I keep track of myblood sugar, and it's pretty much under control.
Instead of blood sugar counts of over 200,1 nowget them inthe range of 85 to 105, which was thegoal heset for me.
I takeinsulin in the morning andbefore middayand evening meals, and before I go tobed.
I don't eat ice cream, and I don't do alot ofthings Iused todo routinely.When I first came toDr.
B., Iwas look ing very pale and wan, and now I'm looking much ruddier and health ier.
I'm a little irritated with this constant puncturing of my fingers, but I just do it automatically now, like second nature. "WhenI found out Iwas going to have to inject insulin, I justbroke down and cried.
It was like the final straw, and I thought, 'My life is over.' Now I hardly thinkabout it.
I use Dr.
Bernstein's painless injec tion method and it doesn'tbother me at all.
It only takesa split second.
The needle issotiny, I can barely feel theshots of minute doses of in sulin.I use the 'love handles' on the sides of my waist.
Now, I'm a pretty skinny guy, so there isn't much there, butI can hardly feel it.
He made me do it in the office.
He showed me , did it to himself, and then he made me do it.
Since then, I just do it routinely, all on my own.
If
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I'm out, I do it wherever I am , atatable in a restaurant, in the men's room, et cetera , I'm not the least bit ashamed and no one seems much to notice." Ike: "About theinsulin, I had the feeling that it was going to be in evitable, and when Frank got the news he just broke into tears and really felt that this was the final insult.
He'd had many physical prob lems, and insulin seemed like a very low blow for him.
But he did it, stayed with the program, and within amonth to six weeks, we began to feel that we were on top of this, knew what was going on.
He can manage his blood sugar when it's alittle low, when it's alittle high.
He knows just what to do.
His overall health has improved since the be ginning.
Dr.
Bernstein really gave us an education."
Joan Delaney is a fifty-three-year-old mother and financial editor.
Her story is not unusual. "I must admit that the prospect of following this newregimen for diabetes control seemed daunting atfirst.
My life, Ithought, would be dominated by needles, testing, and confusion.
However, after a few weeks, the program became a simple part of my day's routine, like putting on makeup. "Before Ibecame apatient ofDr.
Bernstein, Iwas somewhat resigned to the probability of suffering complications from diabetes.
Although I took insulin, I in no way felt I had control of the disease.
I had leg pains atnight.
Myhands and feet tingled.
I had gained weight, having no understanding of the exchange dietmy previous doctor hadthrust into myhands.
Ibecame chronically depressed and was usually hungry. "Now that I follow a blood sugar normalizing program, I know I am in control of my diabetes, especially when I see that number nor mal most ofthe time onthe glucose meter.
Best of all, I feel good, both physically and emotionally.
I am now thin.
I eat healthful, satisfying meals andam never hungry.
Myleg pains have disappeared, as hasthe tingling in my hands and feet.
And now that I am in control of the dis ease, I no longer find the need to hide from friends the fact that I have diabetes."
About65 percent of diabetic men are unable to have sexual intercourse, because high blood sugars have impaired the mechanisms involved inat-
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taining erection ofthe penis.
Frequently partial, albeit inadequate, erec tions are still possible; such "borderline" men maystill be able to enjoy adequate erections for intercourse, after extended periods of normal blood sugars.
We have seen such improvements in anumber ofpatients , but only in those whose problem was caused mainly by neuropathy (nerve damage), as opposed to blockages ofthe blood vessels that supply the penis.
When we initially sawL.D„ in the pre-Viagra era, he asked me to evaluate his erectile dysfunction.
I found that the blood pressures in his penis and his feet were normal, butthat the nerve reflexes in the pelvic region were grossly impaired.
L.D.'s comments refer in partto this problem. "I'm a fifty-nine-year-old male, married, with three children.
Ap proximately four years ago, after being afflicted with type 2 diabetes for aboutten years, I noticed that I was always tired.
In addition, I was quite irritable, short-tempered, and had difficulty maintaining con centration for extended periods of time.
Otherwise I was feeling well, with the exception that I was becoming impotent, having difficulty maintaining an erection during sexual intercourse.
At the time, I had no knowledge whether these conditions were interrelated. "After Dr.
Bernstein taught me to measure my blood sugars, I dis covered that they averaged about 375 mg/dl, which is very high.With my new diet and small doses of insulin, they are now essentially nor mal all the time. "I began to feel betterthan I hadin years, both physically and men tally.
The problem with impotency has improved.
I maintain a daily check of my blood sugars and feel that my overall improvementhas also helped me recuperate quickly from a total hip replacement with out any complications."
RJN, MD, is board certified in orthopedic surgery.
He has been following one ofthe regimens described in this book for the pastthree years. "I am fifty-four years old and have had diabetes since the age of twelve.
For thirty-nineyears I hadbeentreated with a traditional diet and insulin regimen.
I developed severe retinopathy, glaucoma, high blood pressure, and neuropathy that required me to wear a legbrace.
Both of my kidneys ceased functioning, and I was placed on kidney dialysis for many months until I received a kidney transplant.
The dialysis treatments required me to be in the hospital for about 5 hours
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pervisit,3 times aweek.They were verydebiUtating andleft me totally exhausted. "Years of widely fluctuating blood sugars affected my mental and physical stability, with great injury to my familylife asa result.The re sultantdisability also forced me to give up my surgical practice, and to suffer almost total loss of income. "Frequent low blood sugars would cause me to exhibit bizarre be havior, so that people unaware of my diabetes would think I was tak ing drugsor alcohol.
I washostile, anxious, irritable, or angry, and had extreme mood changes.
I would experience severe physical reactions that included fatigue, twitching of limbs, clouding of vision, head aches, and blunted mental activity.
I sufferedmany convulsions from low blood sugars andwasplaced in hospital intensive care units.When my blood sugars werehigh, I had no energyand wasalways sleepy.
My visionwasblurredand I wasusually thirsty and urinating alot. "For the past three years, I have been meticulously following the lessons that Dr.
Bernstein taught me.
I measure my blood sugars a number oftimes eachdayand know how to rapidly correct slightvari ations from my target range.
I follow a very low carbohydrate diet, which makes blood sugarcontrol much easier. "In return for my conscientious attention to controlling blood sug ars, I'vereaped anumber of rewards.
My neuropathy is gone, and I no longer require a leg brace.
My retinopathy, which was deteriorating, has now actually reversed.
I no longer suffer from glaucoma, which had required that I use special eyedrops twice each day for more than ten years.
My severedigestive problems have markedly improved.
My mental confusion, depression, and fatigue have resolved so that I am now able to work full-time and productively.
My blood sugar control has been excellent. "I now deal with my diabetes in a realistic, organized manner, and as a result I feel stronger, healthier, happier, and more positive about my life."
J.L.F. isseventy-one yearsold and hasthree grandchildren. Hestill works as a financial consultant, and was a navalaviator in World War II. His blood sugars are currently controlled by diet, exercise, and pills called insulin-sensitizing agents. Thanks to the diet described in this book, his cholesterol/HDL ratio, an index of heart disease risk (seepage 57), has
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