A visit to Dr. Diabetes

A large part of my weekend was spent with my nose in Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution, which arrived on my doorstep Friday afternoon. I’d hoped to get more read before my appointment with my endocrinologist’s PA this afternoon, but at least I got through the most important parts, which were sections on diet, exercise, and oral hypoglycemic agents. This book is incredible – I already have a better understanding as to what exactly is going on with my body, but at the same time I’m a bit nervous about the work I have ahead of me if I want to aim for the goal of TRULY normal blood sugars. By truly normal I don’t mean my current goal of 130mg/dl one hour after a meal – I mean normal as in what a non-diabetic would have (under 100mg/dl), which seems to be the only way to completely avoid diabetes complications down the road.

I also finally understand why the low-carb diet is so crucial to all diabetics, no matter what kind of treatment they are on, and that injected insulin can never do as good as a job that the insulin your body makes, so insulin is not going to be my free ticket to eating “normal” again like I once naively thought. I also learned that consuming fat does not make you fat, and that your body can survive quite fine on very few carbohydrates at all – yes, even you non-diabetics! That’s pretty darn cool.

Speaking to my PA and doc today about Starlix putting me at risk of beta cell burnout was already #1 on my list of things to bring up, and Dr. Berstein’s information on beta cell preservation, paired with the fact that he never prescribes Starlix and other drugs that work by pushing or stimulating your pancreas to produce insulin, definitely make this topic seem all the more urgent. Other topics I’ll be bringing up are:

• what are my alternatives to Starlix?
• what are the advantages/disadvantages of insulin?
• what is the effect of caffeine on blood sugar?
• what is the current availability of Constant Glucose Monitoring devices for non-insulin dependent diabetics?

I also hope to get a prescription for a larger allowance of Freestyle strips (150-200/month) since my current 100-count prescription isn’t lasting me through the month – if I check 5 times a day, which sometimes I check more, I need at least 150 a month. More thoughts on my Dr. Bernstein readings later, time to make my way towards Dr. Diabetes’ office!