Diabetes Care
One-Of-A-Kind Care For a One-Of-A-Kind You
Contact our Diabetes Center
Phone:
504.592.6884
Fax: 504.592.6446
5620 Read Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70127
Diabetes Center, 6th floor
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic endocrine (hormonal) disease caused by high blood sugar levels that impacts the way your entire body functions. To understand diabetes, it helps to learn more about the digestive process. The food you eat is broken down into a blood sugar called glucose that travels in the body to all the body cells. Your cells need glucose for energy. Left untreated, diabetes will lead to severe complications, because hormone function is essential for overall health. That’s because the body no longer can produce or properly use insulin – the hormone that helps the body use the calories you consume as energy.
There are multiple types of diabetes, primarily, type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type. They occur when the pancreas makes little or no insulin or the body prevents the insulin you do make from working as it should, depending on the type of diabetes you have.
Diabetes types include the following symptoms:
- Type 1 diabetics are usually diagnosed in childhood and must take insulin daily to combat symptoms such as frequent urination, unusual thirst, extreme hunger, unexplained weight loss, severe fatigue, and mood swings.
- Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes. It occurs when the body produces some insulin, but not enough, and the body cannot properly utilize the insulin it does make. Most are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in adulthood. Symptoms are similar to type 1 diabetes, but may also include frequent infections, difficulty seeing, slow-healing injuries, and tingling sensations in the extremities. Most people who develop type 2 diabetes are significantly overweight. Without medical intervention, diabetes can damage the heart, kidneys, nerves, and eyes. Some diabetics go blind or require amputation from diabetic foot ulcers.
- Gestational diabetes only occurs in pregnant women. About 3 to 8% of pregnant women develop gestational diabetes, yet their glucose levels typically return to normal once they give birth. However, a diagnosis of gestational diabetes puts you at risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
We care both for you and your diabetes
Our goal is to help you live well with diabetes by learning the skills you need to have a positive attitude to control the condition. Our mission is to provide a team approach to treatment and care, and support to individuals living with diabetes as well as those at risk for developing diabetes. Our hospital provides patient-centered care by utilizing a team approach. We believe education is the key to empowering people with self-management skills to improve overall well-being and prevent long-term diabetes complications. Our healthcare professionals include a registered dietician, certified diabetes nurse educator, and a clinical pharmacist.
A physician referral is required for most insurance providers and Medicare. For individual policy coverage, contact your insurance carrier. If you are paying out of pocket, a referral may not be needed. If you need assistance, call 504.592.6884.
We educate our patients on multiple topics to live better with diabetes, including eating healthy, monitoring your glucose, reducing health risk, learning medication management, and much more. Those with prediabetes are monitored, because those with higher-than-normal blood sugar who are diagnosed with prediabetes have a significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Get New Orleans East Hospital Fit: "Healthy You, Healthy Me” initiative launches diabetes-friendly restaurant menu program
Our program is aimed for the New Orleans community by empowering them to make health-conscious decisions when dining out at participating restaurants. The “Healthy You, Healthy Me” initiative is a joint effort between the Rhesa & Alden J. McDonald and Sue Ellen & Joseph Canizaro Diabetes Center (Diabetes Center) and the Goldring Family Foundation Center for Jewish-Multicultural Affairs (CJMA), an in-house initiative of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans (Federation).
Look for menu items at these participating restaurants:
- Li’l Dizzy’s (Wednesdays)
- The Blue Flamingo
- Salads Galore
- Backatown Coffee Parlour,
- We Dat's Chicken & Shrimp
- Dooky Chase Restaurant
Click here for other healthy diabetic recipes.
