How do insulin pumps work?
I use an insulin pump. It’s attached to me all the time through a thing a bit like a cannula that you get a drip through but it only goes under your skin instead of into a vein. I put mine into my leg although you can also insert it in your stomach or arm – anywhere you inject. It contains short acting insulin (I use novorapid, but humalog can also be used) which it drip feeds me all the time at rates that I set (basal rate). It works a bit like a syringe, slowly pushing the insulin forward. Then every time I eat any carbs or my blood sugar’s high I tell it and it calculates how much insulin I should take and gives me that too (bolus). So it kind of works in the same way as a basal-bolus regime like lantus. The advantages are that I can alter my basal rate to be different at different times of the day and I can even reduce it when I exercise etc. I can also calculate my boluses much more accurately – down to 0.1 units. I don’t have to inject unless there’s a problem with my pump, but I
