Insulin Pump Therapy Demystified

Book excerpt: Increasing numbers of people with type 1 diabetes, all of whose lives depend on insulin, as well as type 2 diabetics, have already adopted the insulin pump, which replaces a regimen of insulin shots with a continuous delivery of insulin. Yet many who stand to benefit from "the pump" are put off by not fully understanding the device, and many already using it don't have anyone with whom to compare notes about its use. Now Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, who has used the pump for more than three years, cuts through common personal fears about the pump and offers insight into the day-to-day challenges -- and rewards -- of life with it. Drawing on interviews with more than seventy-five pump users, including Nicole Johnson, Miss America 1999, as well as diabetes experts and other health professionals, Kaplan-Mayer discusses how the pump affects your sex life, dealing with money issues, finding support, counting carbohydrates, and much more. Insulin Pump Therapy Demystified offers knowledgeable, informative, reassuring advice that all pump users -- current and future -- will find extremely valuable. Charts and tables add to this valuable insider's guide.