Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic condition that causes abnormally high levels of glucose in the blood. Your pancreas produces insulin to regulate blood sugar levels. When you don't produce enough insulin, the result is diabetes.

There are three types of diabetes:

• Type 1 diabetes — Although it can develop at any age, Type 1 diabetes occurs most frequently in children and adolescents. With this disease, the body produces little to no insulin. Daily insulin injections are required to keep blood glucose levels under control.
• Type 2 diabetes —Most cases of diabetes are Type 2 and are more common in adults. With this disease, the body does not properly use the insulin it produces. Most people with Type 2 diabetes require oral drugs and/or insulin to manage their blood glucose levels.
• Gestational diabetes — Diagnosed for the first time during pregnancy, gestational diabetes usually disappears after giving birth. However, it can put you and your fetus at higher risk of developing diabetes later in life.

Diabetes can be treated in a variety of ways, including using a few different medications. To find out the best form of diabetes care and management techniques for your unique situation, you will see an endocrinologist, a doctor who helps manage conditions of the endocrine system, such as diabetes.

Diet and exercise

For Type 2 diabetes, diet and exercise can help manage your symptoms. If lifestyle changes alone are not enough to lower your blood sugar, you will need to take medication or seek other avenues.

Insulin injections

The main treatment for Type 1 diabetes is insulin injections. These replace the hormone your body is not able to produce as a result of the diabetes. The four most commonly used types of insulin are rapid-, short-, intermediate- and long-acting. What type of insulin you use depends on when and how long you need your insulin to perform.

Pediatric and adolescent diabetes treatments

Type 1 diabetes in pediatric patients is also known as "juvenile diabetes." It cannot be cured, but can be treated with a healthy diet, exercise and medication routine. HCA HealthONE offers specialized care and diabetes counseling for children and adolescents at our HCA HealthONE Rocky Mountain Children's at Presbyterian St. Luke's. We will develop a treatment plan and monitor your child's progress, enabling them to live a healthier life.

In addition to treatments specifically for diabetes, we offer surgical care for a variety of endocrine disorders. Surgery is a major step, so we'll work with you to explain the process and the potential benefits. Our surgical team is experienced in both traditional and minimally invasive techniques, including robot-assisted surgery and thyroid radiofrequency ablation.

Types of conditions we treat with endocrine surgery

Our medical staff may decide that surgical treatment is needed for the following conditions:

• Adrenal gland cancer
• Adrenal tumors
• Endocrine cancer
• Head and neck cancer
• Hyperaldosteronism
• Hyperparathyroidism
• Hyperthyroidism
• Massive and substernal thyroid goiter
• Parathyroid disorders
• Parathyroid cancer
• Pheochromocytoma
• Thyroid cancer
• Thyroid disorders