The benefits and challenges of pump therapy

Insulin pump therapy has a number of benefits compared to insulin injections. However, it also has a number of challenges associated with it too.

On this page we’ve summed up the main benefits and challenges people have found with insulin pump therapy:

Benefits include:

• A reduction in hypos and return of hypo awareness

• The ability to manage exercise and activity more accurately

• Improved control and flexibility

• No daily injections

• More accurate insulin delivery

• Small basal rates 0.025 unit increments and bolus 0.1 unit increments can be achieved

• Built-in calculators to help calculate the insulin dose at mealtimes (bolus calculator and correction dose functionality)- your healthcare team will help you programme this for your requirement. 

This includes pre-programmed insulin: carb ratios (ICRs), insulin sensitivity factors (ISF), to help calculate mealtime and correction doses, and “active insulin” feedback to assist in dose calculation.

Challenges include:

• An infusion set change is required every 2–3 days

• Risk of site infection 

• The pump may malfunction and infusion set can block

• Risk of Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) which can occur sooner than with insulin injections

• Must monitor blood glucose 4–6 times daily

• Must have a good knowledge of carbohydrate counting

• The Pump must be worn 24hrs a day, everyday

• The Pump can be disconnected but only for a maximum of 1 hour at a time

• Complications such as lipohypertrophy (lumpy injection sites) can still occur using the pump.

In the video below some people on insulin pump therapy discuss their own experiences with it.