How Can an Insulin Pump Help Me?

The insulin pump gives you a constant drip of insulin all day long, similar to what a normal pancreas would do. This is called the basal rate. Basal insulin needs may vary throughout the day. Similar to the size to a pager, an insulin pump is battery-operated and can be programmed to meet your individual needs. If your basal rate is calculated correctly, you should be able to delay or even skip meal and still have a normal blood glucose levels. In response to a meal, a normal pancreas will secrete a bolus of insulin to match the glucose load resulting from that meal. With insulin pump therapy, you calculate how much insulin you will need based on the carbohydrate content of your meal.

For example, let’s assume you need one unit of insulin for every ten grams of carbohydrate you eat and your meal contains 60 grams of carbohydrates. You would divide 60 by 10 and get 6. Then you would program the pump to deliver a bolus of 6 units of insulin for that meal.

Only rapid-acting insulins are used in insulin pumps, which allow you to more closely mimic normal physiology. If you are interested in gaining tighter glucose control and more flexibility in your life-style, then insulin pump therapy may be right for you. View our full range of insulin pumps here.