Insulin Pumps: Your Best Bet!

A very simple and great way of staying healthy is a JD tool called an Insulin Pump.  I have a Medtronic MiniMed, but there are so many other companies that make insulin pumps, such as Roche-Disetronic, Animas, Johnson & Johnson, CozMore (Smith’s Medical), Medtronic MiniMed, Insulet Corporation, and Nipro Diabetes Systems.  Each has their differences so it is best to discuss with your doctor which one is the best for you.


What is an insulin pump?  An insulin pump is another way of giving your body insulin other than injecting yourself with a syringe every time you eat. It is literally PUMPS INSULIN into your body!

This picture is a photo of a Medtronic MiniMed insulin pump (which I have in pink). As you can see, the black beeper-like object is the pump, the white circle is attached to the skin (there is a tiny catheter that is in your skin), and the clear tube is what attaches both pieces.  The buttons are pressed to type in how much insulin you want to pump into yourself for each time you eat.  The insulin pump pumps insulin through the tube, through the infusion set, through the catheter, into your skin.  When the insulin enters the body, it is not felt or even noticed.  This is amazing tool for JDs because having to shoot yourself with a needle every time you eat is such a pain and inconvenience.  Instead of inserting yourself with a needle, you can just press some buttons and BOOM-the insulin travels from the insulin pump itself, through the tubes, through the catheter.  It is amazing, painless, and convenient.

COMPONENTS OF AN INSULIN PUMP:

• Insulin Pump (above)

Reservoir 

Insulin

Injector (injects set into the skin)

Alcohol pads/adhesive 

Infusion Set

Size of catheter

The pump has the reservoir inside, which has insulin inside, which is attached to the infusion set, which is attached to the skin.  Now, I will discuss the process of changing the insulin pump.  First off, it is important to change the insulin pump infusion set every two days.  Every two days is sufficient because it is so easy to get infections the longer a person waits to change the set.  Once I have all of the components, I do the following:

• Take the old infusion set out of skin, disconnect the infusion set from the reservoir, and rewind the pump so that a new amount of insulin an be stored in the pump for the next two days.  
• Once taken apart, take a new reservoir and draw insulin from the insulin bottle.  
• Connect the end of the infusion set to the infusion set.
• Put the infusion set into the pump.
• Make sure you get insulin out of the end of the other end of the catheter to make sure that insulin will properly be going into the skin.
• Load the injector with the end of the opposite side of the infusion set which will be inserted into the skin.
• Press the button and CLICK, the catheter and infusion set are in you before you know it!

That is it-easy and simple.  Sometimes it does hurt when you insert the catheter into your skin but it is just for a quick second.  It is much better then ten injections a day.  Below is the size of the needle versus a catheter.  It is not much a difference; when it comes to needles, any difference is great!

The doctor will assign you two different dosages of insulin:

• basal (an automatic insulin drip throughout the day)
• bolus (a manual insulin dosage for each time you eat)

Now you know what insulin pumps are and how they work.  Insulin pumps are better when trying to manage blood glucose levels to the best of your ability.