How do an Insulin Pumps Work?

 

 

Is The Insulin Pumps Suitable For You?

If a diagnosis of diabetes has recently been delivered to you, you may have started to learn how your diabetes can be managed. You may feel that there is too much you need to know. The first thing your doctor or diabetes educator tells you is that your objective of having control over your blood sugar levels is to avoid complications. This is widely known but you have to find out more about accomplishing good diabetes management as you go about your daily life and the daily needs of your diabetes.

To assist you in the management of your diabetes is the insulin pump. With the help of the insulin pump, you can adjust your insulin dosage according to how you live your life instead of having an injection of insulin and adjusting your life to the effects of insulin on your blood sugar. When you work together with your team of health professionals, the insulin pump can assist in keeping your levels of blood sugar within a safe range. Regardless of whether you are a type 1 or 2 diabetic, no matter the age, you will find the insulin pump useful.

How does an insulin pump work?

Short- or rapid-acting insulin can be sent into the body throughout the day with an insulin pump using a catheter put beneath the skin. The dosages of your insulin can be:

  • Basal rates:

Basal insulin is constantly sent into the body throughout the day to make sure that blood sugar levels are within the safe range at all times. Usually, a different quantity of insulin is programmed for different times.

  •  Bolus doses to be sufficient for the amount of carbohydrates eaten in meals:

When you eat, you require an additional amount of insulin. This extra amount is known as a bolus and to send this bolus into the body, you just press some buttons on the insulin pump. So, the more you eat at a meal, the bigger the bolus needed.

  • Supplemental or correction doses:

If you find that your blood sugar level is too high, you can correct it with a bolus. So, if you find your blood sugar level already high even before you eat, you should use a supplemental or correction bolus to bring it down to a safe range.

So, it is not difficult to understand how insulin pumps work. Next, you ought to know where to place the pump. The pump can be clipped pocket, waistband, garter belt, bra, underwear or sock. As for the extra tubing, it can be put inside your pants or your underwear’€™s waistband as well as placed in a case.

In bed, you can place the pump beside you. Of course, you can also attach it to the blanket, bed sheet, pillow, stuffed toy, pajamas, leg band, arm band or waist band.

You may wonder where you can put your pump when you are bathing or showering. Even though an insulin pump is water resistant, it ought not to be put into the water. When bathing or involved in activities like swimming or diving, the pump should be disconnected. Every insulin pump possesses a disconnect port. There are pumps which can be put into a soap tray, a shower caddy or on one side of  the tube. Special cases can be purchased to put the pump in so that such cases can be hung around the neck or a hook for the shower curtain.

With an insulin pump, you can still enjoy yourself. When you are involved in sports or exercise, you can use an elastic waistband which is strong enough to hold up your pump case. You have it worn outside, visible to people, on an arm band. Women active in sports can attach it to their sports bra with a tape. However, there are coaches who disallow the wearing of any device as knocking into a pump or falling onto a pump can cause pain. In such circumstances, just remove the pump.

 

See How Insulin Pump Therapy Works -Video Guide

 

When your pump is disconnected?

When a pump is disconnected, it no longer sends any insulin to your body. Below are some pointers to keep in mind when your pump is disconnected.

  1. You have to keep in mind that when your pump is in the midst of sending a bolus at the time of disconnection, it will not resume what it has been programmed to do. It has to be reprogrammed.
  2. When you disconnect the pump, you stop receiving insulin at your basal rate. To overcome what has been missed, you need to bolus. However, you have to bolus an hour later if the level of your blood sugar is below 150.
  3. You should not disconnect your pump for a period exceeding one to two hours.
  4. Your blood sugar level ought to be checked once in three or four hours.

So, after knowing all the facts about the insulin pump, how an insulin pump works as well as how it is worn, you can decide whether it is suitable for you.

*** Posted By Natasha A.Nada ***