How Does an Insulin Pump Work?

We get asked all the time. "How Does an Insulin Pump Work?" So, rather than reinvent the wheel, here's a synopsis as found on the ADA (American Diabetes Association) website as well as a video from Focus Express Mail Pharmacy. Our thanks to them both!

"An insulin pump can help you manage your diabetes. By using an insulin pump, you can match your insulin to your lifestyle, rather than getting an insulin injection and matching your life to how the insulin is working. When you work closely with your diabetes care team, insulin pumps can help you keep your blood glucose levels within your target ranges.  People of all ages with type 1 diabetes use insulin pumps and people with type 2 diabetes have started to use them as well.
How do insulin pumps work?

Insulin pumps deliver rapid- or short-acting insulin 24 hours a day through a catheter placed under the skin. Your insulin doses are separated into:

  • Basal rates
  • Bolus doses to cover carbohydrate in meals
  • Correction or supplemental doses

Basal insulin is delivered continuously over 24 hours, and keeps your blood glucose levels in range between meals and overnight. Often, you program different amounts of insulin at different times of the day and night.

When you eat, you use buttons on the insulin pump to give additional insulin called a bolus. You take a bolus to cover the carbohydrate in each meal or snack. If you eat more than you planned, you can simply program a larger bolus of insulin to cover it.

You also take a bolus to treat high blood glucose levels. If you have high blood glucose levels before you eat, you give a correction or supplemental bolus of insulin to bring it back to your target range."

For more information  insulin pumps or insulin pump supplies, contact  Focus Express Mail Pharmacy.

Research Confirms That Insulin Pumps May be More Effective than Injections for Type 1 Diabetes

 

 

According to researcher Marie L. Misso, PhD, of the Australasian Cochrane Center at Monash University, Clayton, Australia, "good evidence is now available to support the use of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion in the appropriate patient."

To assess and compare the effects of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion with multiple insulin injections, researchers studied 23 randomized controlled trials which included a total of 973 patients who used one of the two interventions for their type 1 diabetes. Results showed that  the continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion users (users of insulin pumps)  had significantly lower HbA1c levels compared with multiple insulin injection users.

For more information about insulin pumps, click here!

How to Get Your Insurer to Pay for an Insulin Pump

For almost 20 years, my staff and I have worked with patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes to provide insulin pumps with their insurance coverage. We have learned (often the hard way) which insurance coverage works and which insurance companies are "insulin pump friendly". If you are considering getting an insulin pump, here's a great article written by an insurer that tells you what the criteria is for insulin pump therapy. MORE..........

Diabetes and the Minimed Insulin Pump: A Little History

MEREDITH CUMMINGS is a writer for the Tuscaloosa News and wears an Insulin pump... again. Read why she's back on the pump, why she chose the Minimed Insulin pump, and also get a little history of its origin.
"For the past few weeks I've been back on the insulin pump after a two-year absence. I've loved every minute of it and I remember why I once said, 'I'll never go back to taking shots."  MORE...