People with diabetes who take insulin may consider using an insulin pump instead of injecting themselves with insulin multiple times a day.
There are pros and cons for each, according to the American Diabetes Association. The best way to make a decision is to talk to your diabetes care team to figure out the best option for you.
Here are some pluses and minuses for each, according to the experts:
| Insulin injections: Advantages | Insulin injections: Disadvantages |
| Injections require less training than a pump | Low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) may occur because you’re using different types of insulin |
| Injections tend to be cheaper | Frequent needle sticks (and injection areas may become resistant due to frequent injections) |
| Insulin pumps: Advantages | Insulin pumps: Disadvantages |
| A pump delivers insulin more accurately than injections | Using a pump may cause weight gain |
| Pumps have been shown to improve A1C | Using a pump may cause diabetic ketoacidosis |
| Your blood glucose levels will stay more balanced with a pump, and severe low blood glucose episodes will decrease | Pumps can be expensive |
| Pumps help deliver bolus insulin easier | Pumps may become bothersome, since it is attached most of the time |
| The effects of intermediate- or long-acting insulin, which can be unpredictable, will be eliminated | When first receiving a pump, you may have to stay a full day in the hospital or an outpatient center to receive training |
| You can be more flexible about what and when you eat | |
| Pumps allow you to exercise without having to large amounts of carbohydrate |
