Diabetes

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes occurs when your body won’t make or use insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas to process sugars you eat or produce. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which your body doesn’t make insulin. In Type 2 diabetes, your body can’t use the insulin your body makes. Gestational diabetes can affect women during pregnancy.

Rarer types of diabetes include monogenic diabetes (caused by a single genetic mutation) and secondary diabetes, which occurs when the pancreas is destroyed by another disease process such as hemochromatosis or cystic fibrosis or surgically removed.

UR Medicine's Treatments for Diabetes

Our certified diabetes care and education specialists can help with the daily challenge of managing your diabetes while maintaining the lifestyle you enjoy. They’ll help you cope with stress, understand how to use glucose monitoring devices, manage your medications, and incorporate a healthy diet and physical activity into your life.

Newer diabetes medications, such as incretin analogues and sodium-glucose-transporter-2 inhibitors, are powerful treatments for diabetes and weight control. They also keep cardiovascular and renal disease at bay. Our doctors will determine if you might benefit from taking them.

Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle

Our registered dieticians will work with you to establish healthy eating habits and control your blood sugar. They can help design a personalized meal plan that works best for you, taking into account your diabetes but also other health problems you might have.

Regular exercise can help you manage your blood sugar, achieve and maintain a healthy weight, improve mood, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (including heart attacks and strokes). In addition, exercise may prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes. We can connect you to the URMC Center for Community Health and Prevention for exercise programs tailored to you.

We care for young adults ages 18 and older who are ready to transition from pediatric endocrinology, including those who have moved to the Rochester area for school. We make every effort to coordinate the transfer of care with previous providers, including communicating with pediatric providers. Call (585) 275-2901 to learn more or get started.

What Sets Us Apart?

UR Medicine has created one of the nation's top programs for people who have diabetes or who are concerned about getting it.

Your care is planned and provided by an interdisciplinary team of experts, including endocrinologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, dietitians, diabetes and education specialists, and counselors.

Services include:

Consultations with top doctors and specialists who can help treat diabetes according to the latest standards of care and get you connected to the latest diabetes technology.
Diabetes education to guide you in living a healthy life with diabetes.
Diet and lifestyle education to help you optimize your weight and blood sugar levels.
Professional, 72-hour continuous glucose monitoring to give you an accurate picture of your minute-to-minute glucose profile and adjust your treatment as needed.
Access to and training in using personal continuous glucose monitors.
Insulin pump education for those who are using or considering insulin pump therapy (including hybrid closed-loop systems).
Gestational diabetes care and education for pregnant woman who want to stay healthy and avoid diabetes complications in both mother and child.
Free counseling to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression while providing integrated health care for our patients. St. John Fisher College has partnered with Strong Endocrinology to provide free counseling support to patients. Patients can contact the Mental Health Counseling intern directly at (585) 308-1740.