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Dr Rajeev Sharangpani is the man who treats patients who come to him
with such disorders. Most come to him when conventional medication
has failed and their condition has progressively worsened. Desperate
for some relief and hope, they try this unconventional method as a
last ditch attempt. Many are surprised when it works. The man who
makes this happen for many has given up cancer surgery to pursue
sports medication. His patients are certainly better off for it.
Says 40-year-old Jyotikumar Kulkarni, an obesity and
diabetes patient, "I had Type II Diabetes Mellitus and was advised by
doctors to shed weight, avoid sweets and take four tablets of gilbencamide
regularly. I would feel fatigued and had no energy absolutely. Besides, my
blood sugar remained a high 358 ml/dl." Kulkarni tried to follow his
doctor's advice diligently for two years. Nothing worked and his
medication increased to nine pills. On Sharangpani's advice, Kulkarni
enrolled at the Chaitanya Health Club and lost eight kgs. in two months.
In a year he managed to lose 30 kgs from 98 kgs and his blood sugar is now
at 103 at fasting and 110 mg/dl post-prandial. Even his medication intake
reduced as his sugar levels fell. "I have not taken any medication
for the past six months," says a visibly happy Kulkarni.
44-year-old D L Pharande, is another success story. A businessman whose
life had been made miserable with diabetes for the past 10 years; he was
taking five tablets daily along with diet control. When this was not
working either, his doctor advised him to take insulin. "This was
when I realized that I needed an alternative," says Pharande. He
visited Sharangpani and two months later his blood sugar level was 64
mg/dl as compared to the one taken a month earlier at 184 mg/dl. His
tablet intake is down to two a day and he might be free of all medication
in another month's time.
So how does it work? Says Sharangpani, "my patients are asked to
follow a strict diet regimen. These are civilization disorders and can be
easily controlled without medication." His patients are advised to
give up dinner, "because our body's metabolism is such that it drops
to its lowest at 1.00 a.m. Also, metabolism works best during the day and
it has been noticed that if one eats the same amount during the day and
night, it is the evening meal which turns to fat." Since patients do
not have dinner, they must also stop their night-time dose of pills as
this might increase their chances of getting hypoglyceamia (low sugar
levels). Sensitive patients must also test their urine for sugar in the
morning, as some of them can get low sugar levels while exercising.
Patients are also required to do abdominal breathing for half an hour two
to four times a day.
These lifestyle diseases can be slow killers. The risk is greatest to all
the body's major organs - heart, kidneys, eyes and peripheral blood
vessels. The best way to control this is through diet and exercise.
Sharangpani feels that it is because we have stopped using our bodies
correctly and started eating improper foods that such problems occur.
"It is not walks or aerobics which do the trick. It is weight
training which seeks to improve the size and strength of the muscles and
their enzyme content." In Type-II diabetes sugar is found in the
blood because the insulin which is produced by the pancreas is not used by
the muscle because it has lost its effectiveness. The sugar finds its way
into the blood. Building muscle strength is a way to keep sugar out of the
blood. Such exercise is given to all the muscles of the body and depending
on a patient's ability, weights are given accordingly.
While there might be skeptics like Dr Abhay Mutha, a diabetes specialist
who feels that "while exercise plays a vital role, medication is
needed as well for long term patients," the patients themselves
definitely seem happy with their "now normal" lives.
"Diabetes is also stress related. So there might be something to this
method," says Dr V N Annachattre, who had earlier looked after
Pharande. But he is not completely sure of it being stopped altogether.
Says Pharande, "I have to follow a strict diet for life. But then I
do manage to eat the things I like occasionally, like sweets." He and
the 40 odd patients who have adapted to this technique feel happier that
their lives are at least free of medication. Their routine has become such
an integral part of their lives, that missing exercise feels like
something is lacking. Says Kukri who was busy with his work for almost two
months and could do exercise, "Initially I was worried that my sugar
level and BP would go up. I was surprised when it didn't. Now, I feel odd
if I miss my daily exercise."
Alternative techniques like these might just be a
pointer in the right direction. Another one for the medical community to
sit up and take notice.
Dr Rajeev Sharangpani
can be contacted at 91-020-6134475 / 4450645
(clinic)
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