Bernstien Cruise

[BriOnH]

I dont have the time nor money, but this looks really effin cool; I just copied it from my email, hope that is ok.


For those of you who registered to be on the Bernstein Diabetes Solution Cruise, please read the below email concerning more information regarding the diabetes cruise.

We have placed on online downloadable order form requesting of all those who have registered, and are interested to please place your $250.00 deposit now for reservation for the cruise we are planning.

If you would like more information about the cruise, please feel free to visit http://cdset.c.topica.com/maahUXkabBnwwaCLkwtb/ to learn more, as well as download the printable order form, and fax it in to confirm your registration to this one time only event.

To download and print the order form directly, simply visit this link here, or you can access the form by using the above link as well. The form is in PDF format for easy printing. Simply complete the form, and fax into the number shown on the form. Here is the URL directly to the order form.
http://cdset.c.topica.com/maahUXkabBnwxaCLkwtb/

Act now to be among an elite group of colleagues who will spend 9 days learning first hand from Richard K. Bernstein, M.D., and enjoy cruising the Caribbean at the same time!

Do Not Miss This OPPORTUNITY to learn from Dr. Bernstein. This first ever CME, CE Cruise will deliver valuable information designed to help your patients control their diabetes and prevent complications.

This cruise will only be open to the first 100 medical professionals that sign up and then pay a deposit starting September 17th. We are now requesting those of you who have registered to go ahead and place your deposit on file with us.

If for any reason the cruise is cancelled due to lack of participation, you will receive a full refund of any monies paid. After 100 applications have been accepted, we will accept 50 more to be put on a waiting list and then if you are not accepted, you will be given a full refund.

For more information on the cruise just go to http://cdset.c.topica.com/maahUXkabBnwwaCLkwtb/ or again, use this URL to go directly to the order form.
http://cdset.c.topica.com/maahUXkabBnwxaCLkwtb/

DON'T MISS THIS ONCE IN A LIFE TIME OPPORTUNITY!

Steve Freed, R.Ph., CDE, CPT
Publisher
http://cdset.c.topica.com/maahUXkabBnwyaCLkwtb/
800-798-6972
Email: publisher@diabetesincontrol.com

[princesslinda]

I'd love to see the passenger list...great way to find a doc!

[Funnygrl]

Free steak and lettuce included.

[Alice]

Personally, I'm afraid I'd starve to death on that cruise!!! Just kidding, but I'm not a big fan.

[JediSkipdogg]

I think it's a freaking ripoff. The cruise is a great price for a Royal Carribean 9 day cruise and the 2nd passenger free? Wow.

However, $1095 just to take a class with Dr. Bernstein? And he's only taking 100 applications, that's $109,500 he's making in just over a week's worth of working. I'm sure he has the pay the cruiseline some for the use of the rooms, but he'll still take a hefty profit home. I think that's one reason he's not well liked/known either. If he did more stuff for free or less money, then he'd be more widely known and respected.

[Funnygrl]

I think it's a freaking ripoff. The cruise is a great price for a Royal Carribean 9 day cruise and the 2nd passenger free? Wow.

However, $1095 just to take a class with Dr. Bernstein? And he's only taking 100 applications, that's $109,500 he's making in just over a week's worth of working. I'm sure he has the pay the cruiseline some for the use of the rooms, but he'll still take a hefty profit home. I think that's one reason he's not well liked/known either. If he did more stuff for free or less money, then he'd be more widely known and respected.
I totally agree. Also, getting an appointment with him is like $400/hr and he makes you come for 2 days, and forget about insurance. His books and audio cds are quite expensive too. He's very clearly in this for the money.

[BlueSky]

Mmmm ... I think you are being very quick to judge here. The conference is actually being put on by Steve Freed, publisher of diabetesincontrol. Doing it as a cruise is certainly a novel idea. It counts towards the CE requirement, so I suspect it was done this way to attract doctors who are looking for opportunities to get a tax break on the cost of a holiday for themselves and their partners (2nd passenger free). ;)

Like everyone else, Bernstein sells his services at a market rate. It goes almost without saying that he deserves whatever rewards the market is prepared to give him. If you are looking for free Bernstein info, you will find lots of it on his website, the diabetesincontrol website and the d-solve website. His teleconferences, which are being increasingly attended by medical professionals, are also free.

The man is very generous with his information. In fact I can't think of another opinion leader in the diabetes field who gives as much away. Mainstream doctors at his level speak at conferences and get paid generous fees by the pharmaceutical companies. Bernstein doesn't get invited to do this because he is critical of Big Pharma sponsored mainstream thinking.

The next time you use your blood glucose meter, consider that Bernstein pioneered the concept of home blood-glucose testing. And he didn't get any financial reward from it at all.

[Emm]

Ditto what BlueSky said.

I think Dr Bernstein is a real gem. I don't follow his way of eating, but I heave a learnt a LOT from him - without paying a cent I might add!

I just listened to a free telecast the other day, I've read tips and tricks on his website, I've found many people on his forums willing to offer endless advice.

He's truly a man who is giving to diabetics everywhere. And as BlueSky said, we have him to thank for home blood sugar testing. Decades ago he was the one pushing for us to have the power to control D ourselves - and he won. Thank God!! We may still be peeing on sticks if it wasn't for him!

[Funnygrl]

The next time you use your blood glucose meter, consider that Bernstein pioneered the concept of home blood-glucose testing. And he didn't get any financial reward from it at all.

I really hate that he takes credit for this, seeing as as far as I can tell, what he did was illegal.

[BlueSky]

If taking control of ones diabetes by testing blood glucose and taking appropriate action is illegal, we all must be outlaws ... :eek:

[JediSkipdogg]

If taking control of ones diabetes by testing blood glucose and taking appropriate action is illegal, we all must be outlaws ... :eek:

What she means is he took a device (the blood glucose monitor) that was for HOSPITAL USE ONLY and had his wife (whom worked at a hospital) steal one and steal supplies for him to use at his home. Basically, in that case him and his wife are not only guilty of theft but also guilty of misuse of a medical device.

The same would be said why doesn't someone steal an EKG machine, show how much of a benefit they would be for home use, and then say we all need them at home. I mean, c'mon, cardiovascular disease is the #1 killer, so why doesn't everyone own at home a machine to help catch it before it starts?

[BlueSky]

... he took a device (the blood glucose monitor) that was for HOSPITAL USE ONLY and had his wife (whom worked at a hospital) steal one and steal supplies for him to use at his home. .....
Nothing was stolen. The medical supplies company that made the glucose measuring device would not sell one to him because he was not a doctor. So he ordered it in his wife's name. And he paid the $650, which is how much they used to cost. Bernstein may have circumvented a company policy. But he didn't do anything illegal.

Here is the full story, as told in Diabetes Solution, with the key bits bolded :

My Life with Diabetes
WELL BEYOND A HALF CENTURY AND COUNTING...

I had been the research director of a company that made equipment for hospital laboratories, but recently I had taken a new job as an officer of a housewares corporation. I was still receiving trade journals from my old field, and one day I opened the latest issue of a publication called Lab World. I came upon an advertisement for a new device to help hospital emergency rooms distinguish between unconscious diabetics and unconscious drunks during the night, when laboratories
were closed. Knowing that an unconscious person was a diabetic and not drunk could easily help hospital personnel save his life. What I stumbled upon was an ad for a blood sugar meter that would give a reading in 1 minute, using a single drop of blood.

Since I’d been experiencing many blood sugars that were too low, and since the tests I had been performing on my urine were wholly inadequate (sugar that shows up in the urine is already on its way out of the bloodstream), I figured that if I knew what my blood sugars were, perhaps I could catch and correct my hypoglycemic episodes before they made me disoriented and irrational.

I marveled over the instrument. It had a 4-inch galvanometer with a jeweled bearing, weighed 3 pounds, and cost $650. I tried to order one, but the manufacturer wouldn’t sell it to patients, only to doctors and hospitals.

Fortunately, my wife, as I’ve said, was a physician, so I ordered one in her name. I started to measure my blood sugar about 5 times each day, and soon saw that the levels were on a roller coaster. Engineers are accustomed to solving problems mathematically, but you have to have information to work with. You have to know the mechanics of a problem in order to solve it, and now, for the first time, I was gaining insight into the mechanics and mathematics of my disease. What I learned from my frequent testing was that my own blood sugars swung from lows of under 40 mg/dl to highs of over 400 mg/dl about twice daily. A normal blood sugar level is about 85 mg/dl.*

Small wonder I was subject to such vast mood swings.

[cheryl]

I think his advice has probably helped a lot of people, but I am not a fan of anyone who doesn't recomend fruit, or carrots, that is the most screwed up thing I have ever heard of in my life, it is not the 1920's anymore.....

I am sorry most people really defend him and that is great, but I think people are seriously playing with fire if they don't try to eat some kind of fruit.......In my opinion....

I met this lady the other night, and swears by his book, she was really sweet woman, she is a type 1, she calls herself brittle, I so was biting my toungue, and then I tell her why don't you atleast try strawberries....they only have four carbs for 6 medium....she won't touch any fruit, no corn, nothing bread at all, except ezekial....but will eat mcd's chicken nuggets:confused: :confused: ,

But she had her kidney function reversed, which is great....I am all for that, but not a life long commitment to doing that...kind of diet, maybe if your trying to reverse things, but not forever.....

I could not believe no FRUIT.....OMG...

Ok, well I wouldn't go on the cruise....not at all..

Cheryl

[NoelD]

I think his advice has probably helped a lot of people, but I am not a fan of anyone who doesn't recomend fruit, or carrots, that is the most screwed up thing I have ever heard of in my life, it is not the 1920's anymore.....

I am sorry most people really defend him and that is great, but I think people are seriously playing with fire if they don't try to eat some kind of fruit.......In my opinion....

I met this lady the other night, and swears by his book, she was really sweet woman, she is a type 1, she calls herself brittle, I so was biting my toungue, and then I tell her why don't you atleast try strawberries....they only have four carbs for 6 medium....she won't touch any fruit, no corn, nothing bread at all, except ezekial....but will eat mcd's chicken nuggets:confused: :confused: ,

But she had her kidney function reversed, which is great....I am all for that, but not a life long commitment to doing that...kind of diet, maybe if your trying to reverse things, but not forever.....

I could not believe no FRUIT.....OMG...

Ok, well I wouldn't go on the cruise....not at all..

Cheryl

Sorry you're not a fan of mine :D I don't eat fruit at all. While I do not stick by his "diet" 100%, his advice has made a large impact on my BG's. Low carb has been a large part of the reason mine has been in the 5's recently in the high 4's. Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending him. I don't think 6-12-12 (carbs per meal, as in 6 for breakfast, 12 lunch, 12 supper) is healthy, or easily done.

[cheryl]

Sorry you're not a fan of mine :D I don't eat fruit at all. While I do not stick by his "diet" 100%, his advice has made a large impact on my BG's. Low carb has been a large part of the reason mine has been in the 5's recently in the high 4's. Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending him. I don't think 6-12-12 (carbs per meal, as in 6 for breakfast, 12 lunch, 12 supper) is healthy, or easily done.

I have tried to low carb it, I can't do it I feel more crappy then having high or low blood sugars, I am too me to do it...and I don't believe in not eating fruit, I do stay away from banana's and grapes and oranges, but as for apples, strawberries, rasberries, mango's and all that good stuff....I'll pass.....High fat and no fruit make me constipated even with a ton of veggies, raw of course..I have done this, and being constipated is a sign that things aren't doing so well....I'd rather have an a1c in the low to mid 6's then feel like poop for the rest of my life....but that is me....some do well, it just doesn't work for my body...at all...

Cheryl

[BriOnH]

If I had the money and the time i'd do it in a heartbeat. I know I would learn a lot of stuff (already have just by listening to his audio cds) by hanging out with a doctor that has had diabetes for nearly twice as long as I. Plus a boatload of diabetics to party with! Heck man. That sounds like a good time to me.

[cheryl]

I'd rather hang with grandpa Richard having diabetes since he was 3, so i think it has been over 60 years for him and he can eat 130 carbs a day LOL...

He is my inspiration and has a1c's in the 5's.......see you can live a long life with carbs....

LOL>......My inspiration is Richard......

I am just pulling everyone's leg....but if I see a success story like Richards i know that I am doing the right thing LOL>....

Cheryl

[NoelD]

I have tried to low carb it, I can't do it I feel more crappy then having high or low blood sugars, I am too me to do it...and I don't believe in not eating fruit, I do stay away from banana's and grapes and oranges, but as for apples, strawberries, rasberries, mango's and all that good stuff....I'll pass.....High fat and no fruit make me constipated even with a ton of veggies, raw of course..I have done this, and being constipated is a sign that things aren't doing so well....I'd rather have an a1c in the low to mid 6's then feel like poop for the rest of my life....but that is me....some do well, it just doesn't work for my body...at all...

Cheryl

Funny how we are so alike, yet so different. Any type of fruit makes me skyrocket almost immediately, no matter if I pre-bolus ahead of time or bolus right when I eat it.

[cheryl]

Well if it is any help most normal people get high right after they eat, I have tested a lot of people then they are normal within an hour to an hour and a half after they eat....So if I skyrocket within the first hour, and am good by my 2hr mark, then I am doing well, in my opinion....

Cheryl

[rzrbks]

Glucose is the form of sugar that travels in your bloodstream to fuel the mitochondrial furnaces responsible for your brain power. Glucose is the only fuel normally used by brain cells. Because neurons cannot store glucose, they depend on the bloodstream to deliver a constant supply of this precious fuel.

The Human Brain - Carbohydrates (http://www.fi.edu/brain/carbs.htm)

That is why the Institute of Medicine (IOM), part of the National Academy of Sciences, recently issued a recommendation that children and adults get a minimum of 130 grams of carbohydrate a day to maintain maximum brain function.

The Skinny on Carbohydrates (http://www.essentialnutrition.org/carbs.php)

These two quotes are enough to make me know "Dr. B" does't stand for "Dr. Brainiac".

[georgepds]

Rzbks

Not that I'm a 6/12/12 guy, but your body can convert protein to glucose as needed.

For the dense among us ( I mean me) can you spell out your objection a little more clearly?

--g

[rzrbks]

georgepds

Rzbks

Not that I'm a 6/12/12 guy, but your body can convert protein to glucose as needed.

For the dense among us ( I mean me) can you spell out your objection a little more clearly?

I'm gonna have to wing this a bit since it's been several years since I've read Dr. B's books.

1. The amount of carbs he advocates is nowhere near enough for the brain to function in top range. Haven't met a praticing CDE that actually refers to him with respect.

2. imHo, there is a sense of almost self-loathing that emanates from all his books. That's just my opinion, mind you. But I feel that he takes it as his personal mission to be "Correcter" than anyone else when it comes to Diabetes and he is --- His Diabetes.

Again this is fine For Him but the goals and numbers he sets are just not attainable for lots of folks.

Let me place it in a context that makes sense to me:

Fella plays American Football, is pretty fair player, but he is able to start and play games with 1) broken ribs, 2) broken thumbs, 3) both ankles fractured and doing all this while less than a year removed from dying on the operating table twice.

So, does this mean that anyone else who cannot meet these same levels of "Macho" are not really worth our time------Nope, I don't think so.

Each person is different, with different requirements and abilities. Some on this board have talked about how their PCP or Endo are fine with them being 6.5 to 7.5 and we both know Dr. B. would go balistic over that.

I know this is a long answer , but boiled down I guess I have NO Patience for Authoritarian of any sort. Authoritarian by it's very nature is wrong.

[Funnygrl]

If I had the money and the time i'd do it in a heartbeat. I know I would learn a lot of stuff (already have just by listening to his audio cds) by hanging out with a doctor that has had diabetes for nearly twice as long as I. Plus a boatload of diabetics to party with! Heck man. That sounds like a good time to me.
It sounds more like it's geared for health care pros than diabetics.


Rzrbks- I love you right now. That's such a good way to put it.