So you’ve traded in the old-fashioned syringe and bottle of insulin for a shiny, awesome, beeping, programmable insulin pump—and life is good. No more alcohol swabs and having to discreetly take your injections in the corner of the classroom and or in the bathroom during the birthday party. You never forget to bring your insulin with you because it’s always attached to you. And best part, you can eat when you what and what you want.
But here’s the problem: insulin pumps come with a whole different set or problems and risks.
In a study recently published by the FDA, it’s been reported that during the past decade thirteen deaths and over 1,500 injuries in teenagers have been involved insulin pumps. In some instances, the teens simply weren’t using the pumps properly (setting the infusion set incorrectly, giving the wrong dosages and programming incorrect settings).
And some of the teens encountered very common issues with the pump such as the tubing kinking or the infusion site becoming infected or clogged to the point where the insulin isn’t getting in and they wind up in DKA (diabetic ketonacidosis).
The last scenario is actually what encouraged me to take a break from my pump (a very long break). During a sleepover in high school, my infusion site somehow became either bent or infected because by the time I woke up in the morning I was incredibly sick with a blood sugar well over 600—which led to my first and last experience with DKA.
The thing is, pumps require a lot of care and attention. They aren’t a perfect solution to making life with diabetes easier unless you take necessary precautions and really keep an eye on everything.
Having a pump is awesome...but it's still a big responsibility.
The biggest concern, I think, is that if your insulin isn’t getting into your body properly because of a kink or infection, you can easily not know until your blood sugar is rocket high. When I take an injection with a syringe, I really like knowing that the insulin definitely got in there.
In a past blog, I wrote a little further on the pros and cons of having an insulin pump.
In the end, though, whether you’re pumping or using a pen or syringes, you have to pay attention. None of these methods are going to make diabetes “easy” because this is a disease that requires 24/7 attention and care. Pumps are fantastic for a lot of things, but they’re machines, and just like computers and cell phones, they aren’t perfect!
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