Insulin pump therapy
Are you on shot therapy and would like to try insulin pump therapy?
Do you know you want to get an insulin pump but don't know what pump to choose and which one is the best?
Well, this page is designed to help you make that choice!
Before I jump into how insulin pump therapy works, I would like to give you a little piece of advice.
If you have just been diagnosed, than you probably want to wait a little bit before you get a pump.
Why, wait? Well, you want to be able to have some time to figure out exactly how much insulin your body needs and how your body reacts to different things.
Also, it's nice to have some experience injecting yourself in case your pump goes wacky and you have to go back to shot therapy for a while.
It's good to be confident in giving yourself a shot. Although it's not fun, it is nice to know what you are doing.
Okay, on to insulin pump therapy!
Insulin pump therapy is so much different than shot therapy. Although you are trying to reach the same goal (good blood sugars) it works a little different. It is a little more accurate and high tech!
Now I know how much teens like high tech! I was 15 when I got my insulin pump and I just loved the idea!
Actually I was bugging mom to look into it more so that I could get one. Of course I knew everything I could about them because I was so thrilled with the idea of it being high tech, I just had to get mom and dad on the same "ship" as I was.
The cool thing about it is that being on insulin pump therapy is like having a little pager, phone, and/or computer on your hip!
If you are already on shot therapy than you know what that is all about and you can skip on the the next bold lettering if you want.
If you are just diagnosed or think you have diabetes and don't know what it is all about, let me tell you briefly.
Shot therapy simply means that you inject yourself with insulin through a shot that you would take at each meal and before you go to bed. Sometimes you might give yourself a little more insulin if you have an unexpected meal or large snack.
You would also take more insulin if your post meal test (2 hours after a meal) is high.
People on shot therapy usually take a long acting insulin called Lantus before they go to bed to attempt at making their blood sugars somewhat normal during the day.
People on shot therapy also take a short acting insulin called NovoLog (some take HumaLog) for meals and correcting for a high blood sugar.
Okay, back to insulin pump therapy. If you don't know about this, let me explain it to you.
The difference between shot therapy and insulin pump therapy is this: insulin is stored in the pump and given in tiny amounts throughout the day, doing the same as what the Lantus would do.
When it comes time for a meal or large snack, you would program into the pump how many carbohydrates you are going to eat. Depending on your blood sugar and the insulin on board your pump would calculate about how many units of insulin you would take for that meal/snack.
Now for those of you who don't know what "insulin on board" means here it is. Insulin on board is the insulin that is still in your system from the previous meal/snack, correction and/or basal rate (which is the tiny bits of insulin that does the same as the Lantus would do).
Animas insulin pump
This pump is geared towards athletes and really active people. It is waterproof and comes in five different colors. Check out my Animas insulin pump page to learn more.
Cozmo insulin pump
This pump is a great pump! It is easy to use and very simple to learn how to use. It doesn't take long before you can do it in your sleep...well, okay not exactly, but almost! I have this pump and I love it! It is waterproof and comes in three different colors! Check out my Cozmo insulin pump page to find out more. And don't forget to read the special note at the bottom of that page!
Medtronic Minimed insulin pump
The Medtronic Minimed insulin pump has been around the longest and I would say is a very reliable pump. It is the most well known and I think the most used pump. It is not waterproof and does come in different colors. Check out my Medtronic Minimed insulin pump page to find out more.
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Insulin pump therapy
