Insulin Pump Therapy: Who Can Benefit?

Before looking at exactly who may benefit from insulin pump therapy, it is important to understand exactly what insulin pump therapy is.  In effect it is a way of ‘pumping’ insulin into the body over a 24 hour period.  There are two forms of insulin; Bolus insulin and Basal insulin.  Bolus insulin is the insulin that helps regulate your blood sugars after food or drink.  Basal insulin is just the insulin that you need on a daily level, regardless of food and carbohydrate intake.  The insulin pump therapy" delivers basal insulin on a 24/7 basis.  The Basal insulin is then administered by the user depending on what exercise they have had, whether they have a high blood sugars reading and so on.  The insulin is delivered through the skin, so there is less need for injections. The insulin is administered through a cannula, which is placed under the skin.  This does have to be changed every 2 or 3 dyas, but there is no need to inject several times per day.

This kind of therapy ensures that the condition can be effectively self-managed and this is of real importance because diabetes is a very serious medical condition, but it can really help when the diabetic takes responsibility for the condition and ensures that they manage their insulin intake, monitor their diet, exercise levels and that they closely monitor blood sugars.

Although this sounds very straightforward not all diabetics find that they can manage their condition, so if someone has a secondary condition such as dementia, then they will not benefit from the insulin pump" therapy because they will not be able to self manage.  But anyone else who requires insulin via injections will benefit enormously from the freedom and flexibility that the user will have.  It is almost like living without diabetes.

Because the diabetes pump" offers Basal insulin and then the user self regulates the amount of Bolus insulin, it offers the diabetic real control and often diabetics feel as if they have lost control of their bodies; the insulin pump therapy gives them back this control and for many that is simply a gift beyond words!