My Pump Choice

My Pump Choice

Lisa Long, PharmD. Candidate 2008, University of Florida

I recently completed an endocrinology rotation with the editor, Dave Joffe.  This rotation was part of my externship in completing my doctorate of Pharmacy. 

I was required to live like a Type I diabetic for the entire one month rotation.

I counted my carbohydrates before each meal, checked my blood glucose at least 6 times a day and determined my insulin need (based on formula that artificially made my blood glucose higher or lower than normal).  I am not diabetic, so I injected myself with saline instead of insulin. 

The first week, I used a needle and syringe to inject the saline.  During the remaining three weeks I used a different insulin pump each week. 

I used an OmniPod, Cozmo and Medtronic insulin pump. I realize that for each patient the choice will be probably be different than mine.

The OmniPod pump is able to function without a tube connecting the controller to your body.  You wear a small device on your skin and use a remote control to dispense the insulin.  This is a great feature, but I was concerned that I might misplace or even lose the controller, without the controller you would not able to bolus insulin. 

The Cozmo insulin pump has the glucose meter attached to the pump.  This feature is convenient, but I personally felt it made the device too bulky and heavy to wear on the waist of my pants. 

I thought all of the pumps were about equal as far as ease of use, but overall I preferred the Medtronic pump.  I felt the Medtronic pump was an appropriate size and weight to be worn on the waist of my pants.  This pump does not have a glucose meter built in, but glucose readings can be directly sent to your pump, if you use the Medtronic glucose meter.  This pump does require a tube to connect the pump to your body, but this did not bother me.  I was able to detach the pump easily when I took a shower and reconnect it easily.