Insulin Pumps, Explained

Insulin pumps are programmed to deliver personalised basal rates, measured in units per hour (U/hr), throughout the day and night depending on your needs.²

If you’re currently on MDI, the idea of using different basal rates might sound a bit complicated. But basal rates are a great tool as most people with type 1 diabetes will require different amounts of insulin at different times of the day. With insulin pumps you can personalise your basal rates to suit your individual needs!

Basal insulin can easily be adjusted with an insulin pump. However, setting basal doses can take a bit of time to get right. Your healthcare team should be able to advise you on getting your basal dose set up.

This is because the exact amount of insulin your body needs changes depending on:

•  Activity
• Stress
• Mealtimes 
• Illness
• Schedule
• and lots of other factors.²

Your healthcare provider can help you adjust your basal rates to address these changing needs.

Basal insulin can also be reduced or increased when needed. This is also known as a temporary basal. Examples of when when you may use this feature include exercising, or to combat dawn phenomenon² (when glucose levels rise in the morning).

See a good video explainer here

If your blood glucose is high or if you are planning to eat, an insulin pump’s bolus calculator can suggest a bolus dose based on your individual settings² and certain values like current glucose level and/or carbohydrate value. That could mean less maths for you!

With insulin pumps you can dose in increments as low as 0.025 units! This means really precise dosing. This can also help improve blood glucose control⁴

Your diabetes healthcare team is best positioned to advise which insulin therapy options may be the most suitable, based on your clinical and lifestyle needs.

In the UK, you have to meet certain criteria to be deemed eligible for an insulin pump on the NHS. There are some things you can do to ensure you have helpful, productive discussions about your eligibility.

Every insulin pump requires a cannula in order to deliver the insulin into your body. These will vary slightly depending on the individual pump, but they are designed to be as comfortable as possible. These cannulas, or infusion sets, are normally inserted once every 3 days eliminating the need for multiple daily injections.

This depends on the type of insulin pump you have. Most insulin pumps are waterproof or water-resistant to some degree. Please check with each manufacturer on their recommendations. Patch pumps (the part that you wear directly on your body) are waterproof/water resistant, but the remote controls are not.

Yes! The pump will remain connected whilst you sleep, whether you have a tubed or tubeless pump, it’s a matter of seeing what works for you. It won’t be long before you’re used to sleeping with a pump.

Not for your pump, no! Due to the way that an insulin pump works, only fast-acting insulin is needed. It is still however recommended to have both types of insulin in back-up supplies in case of pump failure. You will need to return to MDI until the problem is fixed.

Once you have been considered eligible for an insulin pump by your diabetes healthcare team, the cost will normally be covered by the NHS.