Insulin Pumps

Insulin pumps are being used today by many Type 1 diabetics, but they do have their disadvantages. For example, insulin pumps will keep you from having to take several insulin shots each day to help you control your blood glucose level. However, insulin pumps might result with you having more bouts of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

In medical terminology, an insulin pump is called continuous subcutaneous Insulin Infusion. The device is about the size of a deck of playing cards and looks kind of like a pager. You just hang it on your belt or carry it in your pocket, but you must keep it with you at all times. The insulin is stored inside the pump and is then pumped through a long tube and is injected into your body through a cannula The cannula is the medical name for the type of needle which stays in your skin. This is how the insulin gets into your bloodstream. Some people say they don’t like the idea of having something connected to them at all times, but so far most people who actually use the pump seem to agree that they got used to it fairly easily. You are also able to disconnect the tube for short periods of time, such as when you are showering or swimming.

Having an insulin pump may help you to keep more consistent and level blood glucose readings and your insulin taking process could be made a little easier to manage. The pump delivers a steady trickle of insulin to your bloodstream according to how you program the pump itself. You change the program in the pump to deliver the correct flow of insulin needed to match the carbohydrates you are about to consume.

Using the pump does have possible bad aspects. One study I read said that people using insulin pumps had one more incident with a blood glucose level reading less than 70 than those who took regular insulin shots. But I think this possible bad point could be the result of people who were still learning the correct use of the pump itself. Or possibly by eating less than the amount of carbohydrates that you told the pump you were going to eat in the first place. Another possibility of a bad point of insulin pumps is that a lot of people using pumps have a tendency to think it is ok to leave the needle in for extended periods of time. This can possibly cause an infection through the needle, but with changing the tube and needle every two or three days an infection is less likely to happen. So again this possible bad point is learning the correct way to use the insulin pump. This aspect may also improve with the technology in newer insulin pumps. And finally, the only valid bad point I actually see is that there are a few people who say that they just cannot get used to being attached to something all the time.

Although there are several clinical studies out there on insulin pumps, all of the newer studies seem to come to the same conclusion. Basically, they all state that the people involved in their study had better controlled blood glucose levels, less incidents with low blood sugar and in general say they seemed to enjoy life a little bit more than with taking regular injections.