Better Blood Sugar Control
Studies have shown that insulin pump therapy, when paired with proper training and support, may result in better blood sugar control than multiple daily injections. Additional benefits may include decreased duration of high blood sugar with no increase in severe low blood sugar, fewer large swings in blood sugar, and lower total daily insulin use.1,2,3
Discretion
When you’re taking multiple daily injections, you have to pull out your pen or vial and syringe in public or find a private place to take a shot. Taking mealtime insulin with a pump can be as discreet as sending a text from your phone so you can eat without missing a beat. If you use a pump with a Quick Bolus feature, you can even deliver a bolus with a few button presses without even taking it out of your pocket.
Flexibility
Anyone with diabetes knows that blood sugar varies from hour-to-hour and day-to-day depending on many factors, including activity levels, stress, illness, and hormone fluctuations. Using features like temporary basal rates, extended boluses, and personal profiles allow you to easily change insulin delivery to proactively manage these situations and help keep you off the blood sugar roller coaster. Because pumps use rapid-acting insulin, you can also make adjustments “on the fly,” which provides tremendous flexibility in your daily activities.
Convenience
Have you ever showed up to a lunch date only to realize you left your insulin on the kitchen counter. Or accidentally left your insulin in the car on a warm day and ruined the whole vial? With a pump, your insulin goes with you, so you can stay on the go! Additionally, since pumps use only one kind of insulin (just like a healthy pancreas) you have one less prescription to fill each month.
Accuracy
Pumps deliver insulin in precise amounts that can’t be achieved with syringes or pens. They can also calculate your insulin doses for you. All you do is enter how much you’re eating and your current blood sugar, and your pump figures out the rest. This results in better matching of insulin to food.
Reporting & Analysis
Keeping detailed records of every blood sugar value, carb, and insulin dose you take is a lot to keep up with. When you’re using an insulin pump, it’s like you have an assistant keeping track of these details. And, you can upload your insulin pump to data management systems so both you and your healthcare provider have access to the information and reporting you need to make informed diabetes management decisions.