Insulin pump therapy
Insulin pump therapy (CSII)*
Just imagine that you had to inject insulin every three minutes. Great for your metabolism - but not a practical possibility? The insulin pump can deliver exactly that result. It has an insulin ampoule containing normal insulin, and the pump delivers this insulin regularly to the body through a catheter connected to a cannula fixed under the skin. As in the case of ICT, a distinction is made between peak and background insulin delivery. However, in both cases the body's requirement for insulin is satisfied with a single type of insulin, either normal insulin or insulin analogue.
The background rate covers the body's basic insulin requirement, not counting meals. Before each meal you press a button to deliver additional peak insulin to rapidly decrease blood sugar levels after a meal. This flexible insulin supply gives diabetics more freedom to choose when and what they eat at meals.
In the case of physical activity the programmed background rate can easily be reduced by pressing a button to compensate for the lowered requirement for insulin. An increased requirement for insulin, for example due to an infection, can be handled just as easily by pressing a button too.
Summary
Treatment with an insulin pump delivers the amount of normal insulin or insulin analogue to the body that it needs at any time of the day or night, either as peak insulin (delivering a large amount of insulin before a meal), or at an automatic background rate individually adjusted to the rhythm of daily life. The results of pump therapy are very similar to insulin release in healthy people, and it is therefore the most natural form of insulin treatment available today. It allows fine-tuning to achieve almost normal blood sugar levels without the disadvantage of suffering many hypos; it restores freedom and flexibility to your daily life, and it gives you a considerably better quality of life.
*CSII = continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion
Insulin 'release' in insulin pump therapy (CSII)
Insulin "release" in insulin pump therapy (CSII) in comparison to non-diabetics: the insulin release using an insulin pump is very similar to that of a non-diabetic.
: Bolus (normal or short-acting insulin analogue)
