What are the pros and cons of injections against the pump?!
Question: What are the pros and cons of injections against the pump!?
Answers:
Pro's:
Closest thing to an artificial pancreas
Adjustable basal rates, no more midnight lows or morning high's
Calculates precise insulin dosage (bolus) based on carbs entered
You can give yourself a bolus for even tiny things, like a chocolate kiss (0!.3 units!)
Easy to correct high BG's, just dial it in
You can turn it down before you exercise so you don't go low
Only 1 big needle (can be spring loaded and launched, pretty comfortable) vs!. several shots a day
No "peaking action" like with long-acting insulin
You can skip meals and eat whenever you like
Con's
You only use fast-acting insulin, so if your infusion site is clogged or bent, you can go high very quickly
Must check BG's 6-8x a day for that reason
Attached to something 24/7 (I only notice it sometimes when I'm sleeping)
Must change out infusion set every 3-4 days or else it can get infected and you have to take an antibiotic
A little complicated to learn the first few weeks, but then it becomes much more intuitive than injections, you start to "think like a pancreas"Www@Answer-Health@Com
Closest thing to an artificial pancreas
Adjustable basal rates, no more midnight lows or morning high's
Calculates precise insulin dosage (bolus) based on carbs entered
You can give yourself a bolus for even tiny things, like a chocolate kiss (0!.3 units!)
Easy to correct high BG's, just dial it in
You can turn it down before you exercise so you don't go low
Only 1 big needle (can be spring loaded and launched, pretty comfortable) vs!. several shots a day
No "peaking action" like with long-acting insulin
You can skip meals and eat whenever you like
Con's
You only use fast-acting insulin, so if your infusion site is clogged or bent, you can go high very quickly
Must check BG's 6-8x a day for that reason
Attached to something 24/7 (I only notice it sometimes when I'm sleeping)
Must change out infusion set every 3-4 days or else it can get infected and you have to take an antibiotic
A little complicated to learn the first few weeks, but then it becomes much more intuitive than injections, you start to "think like a pancreas"Www@Answer-Health@Com
The Pros of the pump: changing the site once every 2-3 days instead of 4 daily injections is a HUGE plus!. Less pain, I don't have to eat on a schedule, I don't need to inject 20 minutes before a meal, I don't need to carry insulin and needles everywhere!. Correcting high blood glucose is simple and fast!. The pump does the calculating for me!. I can also adjust my basal rates for activity, for times when I know I need more insulin due to hormonal changes, and I can set my bolus differently for different types of meals!. Basically I have a lot more freedom!.
The Cons of the pump: Always having it attached to you, sometimes the sites or tubing can be bad!. I keep breaking the clip that holds my pump to my clothes!. HHHhhhmmmm!.!.!. that's about all I can think of!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
The Cons of the pump: Always having it attached to you, sometimes the sites or tubing can be bad!. I keep breaking the clip that holds my pump to my clothes!. HHHhhhmmmm!.!.!. that's about all I can think of!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
The pump tends to get electric static naturally from the body from time to time and does not work properly then but unlike the injections you don't need to insert the needle as often!.Www@Answer-Health@Com