Recently, I wrote a blog post on the disadvantages of being on an insulin pump. I felt like the advantages were obvious and widely known. After reviewing some of the comments and hearing other feedback, I decided to write about the advantages of insulin pump therapy. Here are a few reasons to switch from injections to an insulin pump ASAP.
- Basal Delivery – When I was on injections, I would take my dosage of Lantus every night before bedtime. Lantus is a long lasting insulin that did it’s best to keep my blood sugar down over 20-24 hours. It was pretty good and I thought it was better than Humalog. Basal rates on an insulin pump are used to deliver a set amount of insulin each hour and are programmable. You can set many different rates for different times of the day. Basal delivery is much more effective and safe than using Lantus or long lasting insulin.
- Snacking – I’m not sure what’s going on with my appetite lately, but I tend to snack quite a bit. If I want a few crackers, that would equate to 1 unit of insulin, BOOM – a few buttons later, I have given myself the insulin needed. No need to inject a unit or two with a needle. Historically, I would forego insulin with small snacks because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of injecting such as small amount.
- Less Injections – 15 injections versus 1 infusion set. If you give yourself 5 injections a day for 3 days, that comes to 15 injections. With a pump, I change my site every 3 days, which only requires one site injection. You’ll feel less like a pin cushion.
- Exercise - This could have gone along with #1, but it deserves its own category. The temporary basal rates are excellent for when doing more or less physical activity than usual. With long lasting insulin, you either need to plan your day the night before or over/under snack to compensate for the difference in activity. With a pump, you can increase/decrease the basal rate on the fly. This is a huge benefit that I use all the time. When I play a round of golf, the temp basal rate comes in very handy.
- Incognito – The technology is there to have your pump hidden and deliver a bolus (insulin) with a wireless receiver. Instead of being in a restaurant and having to break out the insulin vial, needle, alcohol, etc., you can push a few buttons and deliver the insulin without much fuss or horrified looks from other patrons.
- Analytics - My Medtronic pump connects wirelessly to my computer and uploads data to an online program (CareLink) that I can use to track my blood sugar, carb totals, insulin delivery, average daily insulin delivery, and other analytics. This is a huge deal, especially for those that don’t want to use manual log books. Also, the reporting from CareLink is nice to bring to the Endocrinologist to show the daily/hourly trends.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some drawbacks to pumping insulin. However, the benefits vastly outweigh the negatives when it comes to managing my diabetes. Also, the American Diabetes Association has their list of advantages/disadvantages of an insulin pump.
What do you think is the biggest advantage to pumping insulin?
I agree with all of the above. Each of the points listed are and were a big factor in our decision to switch to the pump. All of them equal to better control all around. I use to hate when Tristan asked for a snack when he was on injections. I know that everything that he consumed equaled another injection and I wanted to avoid that. Now, I or he just push a few buttons and done.
It has definitely made our life easier and I don’t regret our decision… even with the few drawbacks!
Great article and every accurate information! Thanks again for a wonderful post Tony!