The weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal had a very good obituary for Dr. Bernstein explaining how he was the first individual patient to obtain a blood sugar monitor and how he used his engineering background to develop his personal treatment plan by experimenting and seeing what worked. He was certainly the father of the concept of “Diabetes Self-Management” and even those of us who didn’t follow his particular method are deeply in his debt.
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I learned so much from his book, “Diabetes Solution.” When I was diagnosed with T2DM 35 years ago, I had a 5 star medical team, except, except for the dietitians. I saw 3 and they were all of a type - looked anorexic, appeared to see food as an enemy and pushed extremely low fat, high carb diets.
While I couldn’t sustain on Dr. Bernstein’s ultra low carb diet for long, it was a game changer and my limiting carbs combined with regular daily exercise I was drug free for 10 years.
It was on the good foundation of his book that I was able to deal effectively with the steady progression of Type 2 DM in my life.
People with T1DM talk of a honeymoon period, well I had one of 10 years before my Beta cells became overwhelmed. Currently they are mostly dead, but I was familiar with insulin therapy from his book.
I have learned much since reading the 1st edition of his book. One of my favorites is Dr Sheri Colburg’s “The Athlete’s Guide to Diabetes.” I recomend it to anyone with any type of DM. You don’t have to be an athlete to gain a good understanding of the mechanisms that drive our diseases, how drugs and hormone replacement works or doesn’t work and how physical activity can improve and be sustained.
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Thanks @JamesIgoe, hadn’t seen this. A truly foundational figure in the the DOC. Even those of us who don’t religiously follow his recommendations have absorbed a lot from his general influence in the space. His line “The less insulin you have to take, the easier it is to manage,” pretty much sums up my own self-management philosophy in a nutshell.
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This is a great picture, thanks.
That’s maybe a deck of cards, some notecards or a pack of cigarettes in his pocket, or whatever and frankly I don’t care - he had a logical approach with good information you could use or not at your choice.
The rolodex is a classic timestamp.
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I don’t really care, but as a long time ex smoker who paid for it with bladder cancer I don’t think it’s a pack of cigarettes, too short and too wide. There’s an image on it that I can’t make out. In the center is a 2 or 8. Yes I have too much time on my hands.
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I’d put 0% chance on the cig’s, and found it amusing to think he carried around a deck of cards in his pocket, sort of adds to the crazy aura of his legacy. I haven’t agreed with all of it, but his writing was, overall, very helpful to me after I was diagnosed T1 as an adult.
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My guess it was a pocket notepad with his blood sugars for the previous 30 years…80,82,81,85…
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I didn’t follow his plan, but his book probably taught me the most about diabetes and he was revolutionary for the time.
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Legend. Very good diabetic advocate. His approach really helped me dial in things.
He also had a pretty good dry sense of humor.
I remember during one of his YouTube videos in his mid to late 80’s his wife had passed a few years earlier and he said something to the effect of:
“Ladies I’m single” I cracked up - lol…
I found it amusing when he would refer to people as “Wise Guys” in jest - likely due to his growing up in NYC back in the day…
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I was diagnosted in 1982 and first found a Dr. Bernstein’s book in the local library circa 1988. It was the very first time any literature had ever described “basal and bolus” to me.
I totally reworked my insulin regime from a completely whacked-out twice a day shot regime with crazy unbalanced huge doses of R and N, to a 4-times a day regime where I used NPH for basal and Regular for bolus. My TDD dropped hugely and I had a lot less hypos!!! That was such a huge leap in quality of life for me.
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Was diagnosed with lada and he saved me from those in the medical field who insisted I was type 2. I followed him religiously until I was stable. Didn’t agree with his early ban on vegetables. But to this day I eat low carb and have a great A1c. And feel in control. Thanks Dr Bernstein.
I loved his book and I followed his way of eating for 12 years. My LDL rose dramatically and I ended up with heart stents. I am glad that most people do fine with a very low carb diet. I switched to a vegan low fat high healthy carb way of eating and lowered my total insulin amount to 6 basil and 7 bolus daily. It is hard for me to believe that for most of my diabetic life I took 40 units
Type 1 dx in 1959
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Really low, Marilyn have you had a cpeptide
I don’t know how you get so low. I follow the same diet and I can’t get under 40 units a day even if I fast all day I still use 20 units.
The rule of thumb is 0.7 units per kilo and so that for me is 70 units a day. I was pretty much there before I started Mastering diabetes diet. Now it’s around 45 per day which is a lot lower, but no where near 13 units a day like you.
Timothy I am more than a foot shorter than you and I don’t weigh very much. I don’t make any of my own insulin. I am rather surprised too!
It’s sad seeing Dr. Bernstein pass. I am moved, however, with the legacy he has left for us.
In 2012, after 28 years with T1D, I learned of my gastroparesis (GP) diagnosis. Although I was aware of Dr. Bernstein and his style of low carb eating for several years, I was not convinced it was for me. The GP diagnosis pushed me over the edge and I committed to reducing my carbs.
I’ll be forever grateful to Dr. Bernstein for his leadership. He was a bit dry and formulaic in his technique but I quickly learned that it worked for me. Like Dr. Bernstein, I worked with electronic engineering and understood his mindset.
He certainly has more respect from me than all of the traditional minded endos that I have worked with over the years. None of the endos ever talked about diet, nutrition, and glucose control.
I realize that his methods don’t suit everyone, but they have improved the life of thousands of diabetics. Dr. Bernstein made my life better.
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