Insulin Pump

August 26, 2007 by Max Peykar

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An insulin pump can be said to be a boon for any person suffering from diabetes mellitus. It is a medical device that administers insulin at predetermined doses on a regular basis, to diabetes patients so that patients suffering from diabetes do not have to suffer the hassle of taking regular insulin shots. So the insulin pump therapy can help a person suffering from diabetes mellitus by doing away with all the restrictions that cripples such a patient.

An insulin pump is approximately that of the size of a pack of cards. It is of a convenient size, so that it does not affect the mobility of the user. It looks similar to that of a pager. Inside the pump is a reservoir, which contains the insulin. This insulin is only of one type, the fast acting one. The insulin pump keeps on providing the body with a regular flow of insulin at a fixed rate. So it does not remain necessary for a person with diabetes mellitus to take insulin at fixed times of the day. This ensures that the patient has greater flexibility and less of restrictions in his or her life.

Insulin pump information, however, must necessarily contain both the advantages and the disadvantages of insulin pump therapy. Advantages of using an insulin pump in place of insulin injections are:

• When a patient is using insulin pump, he does not need to take individual insulin injections at fixed times of the day
• The delivery of insulin through insulin pumps is more effective and accurate than the insulin injections. Thus there is less wastage.
• An insulin pump ensures that there are lesser large swings in the blood glucose levels of the people using it.
• Thus diabetes management becomes much simpler if an insulin pump is used, because then a person need not restrict his food and the timing of the meal.
• In using an insulin pump, the tension of blood glucose level going down to a very low level does not remain.

There are also certain disadvantages of using an insulin pump.

The disadvantages of using a pump are that it:

·         The use of an insulin pump can lead to gain in weight to certain people using it.

·         The insulin pump therapy is somewhat more expensive than the regular insulin therapy.

·         Insulin pump therapy can pose to be a problem because the user always needs to carry a gadget, and this gadget poses a hindrance when the user is taking a bath, or swimming, or while traveling.

When insulin pump therapy, also known as continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion, is combined with a process called continuous blood glucose monitoring system then the therapy becomes much more effective than before and keeping a check on the blood glucose level becomes much more reliable and effective.

Thus it can be said that though it takes time for a person with diabetes mellitus to get accustomed to the insulin pump, nevertheless, its advantages by far outweigh its disadvantages.

Posted in Insulin