Insulin Pump Specialist

What is an insulin pump?

An insulin pump is a medical device that gives you steady doses of rapid-acting insulin — your provider programs the pump to continuously administer specific doses. Then you can also use the pump to give yourself an extra dose at mealtimes or when intense exercise lowers your blood sugar. People with diabetes may need an insulin pump.

What type of insulin pump might I need?

Your Prime Endocrinology of Tampa provider talks with you about the different types of insulin pumps available, letting you know about their different features, how often you need to change the needles, and other factors. As a general guideline, you can choose a traditional or tubeless insulin pump.

Traditional insulin pumps

You wear a traditional insulin pump outside your body (often around your waist). The pump connects to a narrow plastic tube that has a tiny needle on the opposite end. The needle goes under your skin, allowing the pump to deliver insulin.

Tubeless insulin pumps

Many types of insulin pumps don't use a tube. These tubeless devices incorporate the pump and needle into a single unit that attaches to your skin. The pump communicates wirelessly with a handheld device that triggers your continuous insulin delivery.

Do insulin pumps include continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)?

A CGM device has a sensor that attaches to your skin and takes ongoing sugar readings by detecting the glucose levels in the fluids below the surface. You can get a standalone CGM device. However, many insulin pumps include built-in CGM sensors.

Your CGM may wirelessly transmit your blood sugar levels to a smartphone or tablet. Or it might collect your blood sugar values, and then you swipe a device over the sensor to obtain the information.

CGMs allow you to quickly see your current blood sugar and if your glucose levels are rising or falling — all without needing finger sticks. Then you can take action to restore your targeted blood sugar levels.

What other features come with an insulin pump?

As insulin pump producers keep searching for better solutions, they often upgrade the technology and release devices with new features that often rely on integrated CGM.

For example, today's most advanced insulin pumps, called closed-loop systems, use CGM to automatically adjust your insulin delivery based on changing blood sugar levels.

Some pumps may temporarily stop releasing insulin if your blood sugar drops too low or give you an alarm when your blood sugar goes outside the normal range.

If you need to take insulin, you should learn more about the convenience of using an insulin pump. Call Prime Endocrinology of Tampa or book an appointment online today.