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Diabetes: Living With an Insulin Pump
An insulin pump can make life with diabetes better. It may also give you more control over your diabetes.
Using a pump can take a lot of time and effort, but many people who try it think it's worth the trouble.
- With daily shots, you have to plan your life around your insulin needs. An insulin pump can free you from a strict regimen of meals, sleep, and exercise because you can program it to match your changing schedule.
- Instead of giving yourself shots several times a day, you only need to insert your pump's needle once every 2 or 3 days.
- With a pump, you don't have to stop what you're doing and pull out a syringe or an insulin pen to give yourself insulin. You just push a button to give yourself the right dose.
- A pump may help you keep your blood sugar closer to normal. People who use a pump have fewer big swings in their blood sugar levels.
- People who use a pump may have fewer problems with very low blood sugar. This is especially true overnight, when people go the longest time without eating.
Test Your Knowledge
Using an insulin pump can make your life more flexible.
TrueA pump lets you eat, sleep, or exercise when you want, instead of having to set your schedule around your insulin shots.
FalseA pump lets you eat, sleep, or exercise when you want, instead of having to set your schedule around your insulin shots.
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How to live with an insulin pump
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Diabetes: Living with an insulin pump
| Author: | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS | Last Updated: October 3, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Matthew I. Kim, MD - Endocrinology & Metabolism | |
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