In less than one human lifetime, diabetes has transitioned from a universally fatal disease to one that’s become manageable, and the management of diabetes has become more automated. One of the key improvements on this is the insulin pump, which allows a diabetic to put a pre-measured dose of insulin in their system without messing around with syringes.

A pump usually has a 2-3 day supply of rapid acting insulin in its reservoir; the reservoir connects to the body through a thin tube, which plugs into a cannula in your body, which acts like a lodged input port. Like the reservoir, the cannula has to be changed every two to three days to maintain sterility and avoid infections.

Insulin pumps store their insulin in cartridges, and work pretty much identically to an injection pen. Where an insulin pump differs from an injector is that it provides a constant low dose of insulin at all times (something that would be terribly inconvenient to do with a syringe). Around the time you eat or exercise, you can boost the insulin you get.

Now, this doesn’t mean you never have to monitor your blood glucose levels - but it does mean that you’ll avoid having the “insulin yo-yo effect” of putting insulin into your system, eating a snack and waiting for your blood sugar levels to stabilize. Some of the more advanced insulin pumps will actually give readings on your blood sugar level, but the technology isn’t quite there to have them do monitor-and-release triggers.

Insulin pumps can be worn in the shower, and while swimming, through the simple matter is that there’s no clothes to hook them on to in a convenient place, so few people bother. A concern of insulin pump users is that because they need changing every three days or so, it’s easy to get out of the habit of having an insulin ‘kit’ around, with extra insulin pump cartridges for a quick swap. Of lesser concern is that the batteries can run down if you’re not careful with them. However, compared to daily (or ‘every meal time’) injections, they’re a great boon.

Most insulin pumps are given to Type I diabetics who do not product insulin in their own - the insulin pump’s ability to give a basal insulin level is a great benefit here, because insulin is a regulatory hormone for a lot of other reactions in the body, and this greatly ameliorates the health impact of the condition.

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