Men and some women who suffer from diabetes may need just one treatment to completely reverse their condition. It’s a treatment the medical profession says is too dangerous. But, as you’ll see, it’s not! And for many diabetics, it’s a true miracle!

That’s what Joe discovered. He’s a 5’ 10″, 295-pound man with adult-onset diabetes.

Joe’s condition was so serious he was worried that he wouldn’t live long enough to see his daughter grow up. He had once been physically active. Now, he could barely walk up a flight of stairs without becoming breathless. He had heart disease and could not lose weight, though he had tried.

Joe had done all the usual mainstream treatments with very little difference in his condition. Then his doctor tried a controversial injection that cured Joe of his diabetes.

I don’t like to use the word cure very often. It’s tough to know for sure that someone is completely cured of a disease. But clinically, Joe was no longer a diabetic after taking this treatment.

What is this miraculous treatment? It was simply testosterone injections. His doctor gave Joe the injections and monitored his blood sugar levels regularly.

During the first week of treatment, Joe’s blood glucose dropped into the normal range. He felt better and was able to walk up the stairs without difficulty. That’s unheard of in modern medicine. Conventional treatment never sees that kind of results so quickly.

Joe lost 20 pounds without even trying in the very first month. The second month, he joined a gym and lost another 20 pounds.

After the third month, Joe had lost another 10 pounds. After a year of testosterone replacement, Joe weighed 215 pounds, 80 pounds less than at the onset of treatment.

At 18 months, Joe’s repeat glucose tolerance test was normal. So were his insulin and testosterone parameters. He could run on a treadmill for 90 minutes. His wife said the testosterone enhanced his sexual function better than other methods!

Normally, when I tell a patient they need testosterone, they think of all the scandals involving athletes who take steroids. It doesn’t help that Roger Clemens recent testimony before Congress made huge headlines.

Obviously, there are many reasons to oppose this kind of steroid use. It’s unfair to everyone in the sport. It’s downright dangerous to the users.

It can destroy their livers and shrivel their testicles. And, as we saw with Chris Benoit, the pro wrestler who killed his family and himself, the steroids can even lead to murder and suicide.

Even with all the negative press, there’s still a very valid place for medical steroid use, especially in adult male diabetics. However, the hormones I recommend and use on my patients are NOT the same steroids the athletes typically use.

The illegal steroids used by some athletes are synthetic derivatives of testosterone. They are dangerous drugs, not real hormones.

But for medical purposes, the hormone I use is natural bio-identical testosterone itself. It’s almost entirely overlooked by the orthodox physicians.

Take the experience of gynecologist Edward M. Lichten, MD as evidence of how uninformed the medical community is on the treatment. When he turned 45, Dr. Lichten crashed, seemingly overnight.

He transformed from a man of physical prowess to a depressed, lethargic, and exhausted old man. He had night sweats so extreme that he had to take two showers every night. His physician colleagues didn’t have a clue.

Some women in his practice told him that their husbands had the same symptoms. This compelled him to conduct menopausal laboratory tests on his own blood.

He found that he was suffering from andropausal symptoms (male menopause). He went to his urologist and asked for testosterone replacement therapy. The urologist told him that no one believed in it and that it was too dangerous. He obviously had no experience with it.

Dr. Lichten eventually found a doctor who used the treatment. He began replacement in 1995. And his life dramatically changed for the better. He said, Pictures on my website testify to the dramatic changes in my physical appearance. At 42, I appear tired and wrinkled. At 52, I look muscular and lean, with a renewed enthusiasm radiating from my body and face.

Women in his practice asked if he would consider treating their husbands. He agreed. One of his first patients was Hugh, a 59-year-old, insulin-dependent diabetic.

He eventually developed an infection on his finger from repeated glucose-testing lancets. The infection ate away the tissue all the way to the bone. And his doctor told him he needed to amputate the finger.

In the hospital, Hugh was listless, unshaven, and had no appetite. His tongue hung out the side of his mouth a bad medical sign.

Dr Lichten felt like he had to do something. He offered an injection of short-acting testosterone. The hospital was in an uproar. This was considered an unapproved therapy for diabetes.

On the first day, though, Hugh’s blood sugar dropped 50 points. He got out of bed, shaved, and ate his meals. With two more injections that week, his finger started to heal, and his doctor canceled the amputation.

He no longer suffered from sexual performance dysfunction. Amazingly, his wife disagreed with the injections and told him not to get any more. Although Hugh died of cardiac disease four years later (unrelated to the testosterone), he died with his finger healed and his manhood intact.

Experience and medical studies are confirming the need for testosterone in older men, especially when they’re diabetic. And why not? We readily recognize that some women really do better on hormones.

There are testosterone receptors in your brain, heart, and many other organs. These receptors aren’t there for erections. In your brain, a lack of testosterone can lead to depression and cognitive problems.

Testosterone receptors in your heart and muscles support optimal build up of muscle mass. In bone, testosterone participates with estrogen to protect both sexes from osteoporosis. And it modulates insulin metabolism.

That’s not all. You’ve probably heard the hype over lowering your cholesterol. But before you take drastic action to lower it, consider this: Cholesterol is the raw material for all steroid hormones.

That includes all your adrenal and gonadal hormones and even vitamin D. High cholesterol could be the result of a call by your body to make more cholesterol in your liver. Then weak adrenals and gonads will have enough of the needed raw material to make their hormones.

Now you know why I’m a huge fan of judicious use of natural bio-identical testosterone. But I never recommend synthetic (i.e., fake) anabolic steroids, which are outright dangerous. If you fit a pattern of weight gain, mental decline, heart disease, diabetes, sexual dysfunction, and osteoporosis, please consider tests for testosterone.

Testosterone is bound by a hormone called SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin). It’s the free or unbound testosterone that’s active in your body. So I like to measure total and free testosterone. I still prefer blood tests over salivary.

If your level is low, you might consider replacement testosterone therapy. There are two ways to get testosterone: topical gels and injection. Oral testosterone is not practical due to absorption and liver metabolism. Injections are given weekly to biweekly.

Their advantage is you are assured of absorption and intermittent administration. The downside is cost. Also, you may get higher blood levels just after the injection, with low levels at the end of the injection period.

Topical gels offer steady daily levels. However, your personal absorption through your skin is a factor in dosing. Some alternative doctors are now using subdermal pellets.

They cut a small incision in the fatty tissue around the hip and insert the pellets. They offer a slow and uniform release of the hormone, but the incision could be slow to heal on some patients. And it could get infected. I’ve not used this form, but some doctors really like it.

If your doctor offers this form, it might be worth trying. (If you do, please drop me a note and let me know how it works.)

Testosterone replacement should be done under medical supervision. It’s an active hormone. I’ve seen websites and medical practices advocating restoring your testosterone to youthful levels.

I don’t that’s the right goal. There’s a downside to everything. Most hormone levels normally decline with age and for good reason. Older women wouldn’t want to have the estrogen of an 18 year old.

Those high levels could be dangerous for your breasts. Similarly, I don’t think people over 50 need to have the testosterone levels of an 18 year old.

So how much do you need? Just being within the lab reference range may not be good enough. These ranges include the large portions of the population who are not in ideal health.

That’s patently clear with the ridiculously low reference range listed for another well-known hormone vitamin D. So, I want my patients in the upper third of the range for their age. That way they get optimum levels without fear of overdosing.

Typical topical doses are about 100 mg daily. Injection doses vary, but a good starting point is around 100 mg. I use topical testosterone far more than injections. I like to add a base of chrysin (18%) to the gel.

Chrysin helps prevent the enzyme aromatase from converting the testosterone into estrogen. Most sex hormone problems (including cancer) are related to estrogen, not testosterone.

And while I’m not a big fan of the PSA test, it should be done before starting testosterone replacement. I had a patient insist on using testosterone to treat his prostate cancer.

He read bad information on testosterone and progesterone recommended by a supposed hormone guru. He got his testosterone, after my stern warnings. He signed away his life in waivers from the prescribing physician. And his PSA shot through the roof. He accepted his fate well.

If you have a high PSA, please be sure to rule out a prostate cancer before beginning testosterone therapy.

It’s a good idea to recheck your levels every six months to make sure you’re on the right dose. If you go with the injection, consider measuring testosterone the day after the injection and the day before the next treatment.

That way you’ll see peak and trough levels and you can adjust the dosage and frequency accordingly. A superior test for levels is the 24-hour urine hormone panel from Meridian Valley Lab. Ask your holistic integrative doctor about it.

Natural bio-identical testosterone therapy isn’t for everyone. But for those who need it, the hormone can work miracles. And if you’re a male diabetic, it’s vital you have your hormone levels checked. You might be able to reverse your condition with no other changes to your lifestyle.

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