Diabetes Management and Treatment

At Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, doctors and nurses at our primary care and specialty practices, and dietitians and educators at our Diabetes and Nutrition Center are experts at treating and helping you manage your diabetes. Depending on the type of diabetes you have, we will offer different options, usually including:

• Healthy lifestyle recommendations: Diet, exercise, weight management, stress management. Eating more wisely by following a meal plan (conceptos básicos de un plan alimenticio) is one of the best things you can do to protect your health.
• Medications: Oral (pills) or injectable medications
• Regular checkups to help keep risk factors under control 

The goal is to help control your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

Treating Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

When diagnosing your diabetes, our providers may do a variety of tests to determine if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The two conditions often require different treatments.

Treatment for type 1 diabetes

• Daily insulin injections or the use of an insulin pump
• Managing your blood sugar with frequent testing
• Following your doctor’s recommendations for living a healthy lifestyle
• Getting regular health checkups

Treatment for type 2 diabetes

• Following your doctor’s recommendation on healthy eating and regular exercise
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Managing your blood sugar with frequent testing
• Possible diabetes medication, including insulin

Tests to Manage Diabetes

During regular checkups, our health-care providers will carefully monitor your:

• Blood glucose levels: A HbA1c blood test to show longer-term control
• Blood cholesterol/triglycerides: People with diabetes are more likely to get high cholesterol which can contribute to heart disease
• Blood pressure: Diabetes can damage arteries leading to high blood pressure which increases risk for heart attack or stroke.

Our Diabetes Management Services

We offer a wide range of services to help patients and their families manage diabetes and develop healthy lifestyles, including:

• Traditional treatment from a multidisciplinary team of experts in diabetes management
• Insulin pump education
• Continuous glucose monitoring
• Diet and nutrition counseling

Request an Appointment

To make an appointment at one of our LG Health Physicians Diabetes and Endocrinology practices, call 717-544-3059.