Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease that affects the body's production of glucose and insulin levels. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin. Type 2, gestational and prediabetes are all a result of an excess amount of sugar in the blood (high glucose levels).
Personalized diabetes care in Florida
Diabetes can start slowly and subtly, so it may be quite advanced by the time you realize you have it.
This is why it's so important to have a primary care doctor who can advise you on your risk of developing it. The internal medicine and family medicine doctors at HCA Florida Physicians can help with this. They have deep expertise in managing and treating diabetes in women and men, adults and children, individuals and families.
Types of diabetes we treat
We test for and treat the following types of diabetes:
- Type 2 diabetes — affects how blood sugar (glucose) is processed in the body
- Type 1 diabetes — caused by a pancreas that produces little or no insulin
- Prediabetes — when your blood sugar is too high but not quite high enough to be Type 2 diabetes
- Gestational diabetes — high blood sugar that occurs in pregnant women
Diabetes treatments we offer
Diabetes is a chronic disease that can both impact and be impacted by other conditions, such as hypertension. That makes it a very complex medical issue. If you have a family history of diabetes, experience symptoms of diabetes or are overweight, we encourage you to talk to your doctor about diabetes. We offer many tools to screen for and diagnose diabetes. This allows us to determine your risk for developing diabetes and offer you ways to prevent it, if possible. This may include better ways to manage your weight, diet and exercise. If you have diabetes or are at risk of developing it, we offer many different treatments, including:
Nonsurgical treatments for diabetes
We may recommend and provide:
- Blood sugar monitoring equipment
- Diet and exercise plans
- Medication
- Nutritional guidance
Surgery to treat diabetes
In some cases of Type 2 diabetes, we may be able to resolve the disease with bariatric surgery. This weight loss method combined with ongoing, lifelong commitment to leading a healthier lifestyle can reverse diabetes completely. However, it isn't the right choice for everyone, so be sure to talk to your doctor about whether or not you may benefit from this approach.
Diabetes specialists
In general, you will work with a few types of doctors when you have diabetes. Your primary care provider will be responsible for your overall health, as always, but you will probably also receive care from an endocrinologist. This is because an endocrine doctor is a specialist in hormones and glands, and diabetes is directly related to your pancreas. This organ is involved in digestive (exocrine) and blood sugar (endocrine) processes.
Diabetes can often result in a range of other health problems. You may need to work with specialists to help with these conditions. That's why our primary care doctors will collaborate with all the specialists you need.
Some of the diabetes-related health conditions you may encounter include:
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD)
- Depression
- Eye complications (glaucoma, cataracts, macular edema and others)
- Foot complications (numbness and foot ulcers)
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Kidney disease (nephropathy)
- Neuropathy (nerve damage)
- Skin complications (infections and non-healing wounds)
- Stroke (cerebrovascular accident)
Together we'll ensure you get the best and most effective treatments and care we can provide.
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