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A generation ago, being diagnosed with diabetes automatically meant a regimented life filled with restrictions. Multiple daily insulin injections, unpredictable blood glucose levels, and regulated meal plans were standard. Fortunately, this no longer has to be the case. New technology—insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors—can help people with diabetes stay active and flexible and maintain healthy attitudes and lifestyles. These technologies, while really no more complicated than a Smartphone or MP3 player, do require basic understanding, training, and follow-up adjustments to improve diabetes care. To help people get the most out of these new tools, Francine R. Kaufman, MD, has written Insulin Pumps and Continuous Glucose Monitoring: A User’s Guide to Effective Diabetes Management for the American Diabetes Association. This new book, available both in print and digitally as an eBook, provides a comprehensive medical approach to diabetes management and pump therapy with an appreciation for the real-life challenges and frustrations faced every day by people with diabetes.

By offering greater flexibility and control, insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors revolutionized glucose management for people on insulin regimens. Designed to mimic the action of the pancreas (which is responsible for insulin release into the bloodstream), insulin pumps are small, Smartphone-sized devices that infuse insulin under the skin based on programmed rates. Not only do these devices eliminate the need for injections, they also allow for small amounts of insulin to be released throughout the day and large amounts to be programmed by the user and administered based on an upcoming meal.

“I remember the first insulin pump I used with my patients in the early 1980s. It was jokingly referred to as the ‘big blue brick,’ and it weighed several pounds,” says Dr. Kaufman.  “Now durable insulin pumps are very small and come in a variety of types and colors. When paired with a continuous glucose monitor, which provides a continuous readout of glucose levels, users can enjoy accurate, tight glucose control that provides much greater flexibility and freedom than the old check-and-inject method.”

Dr. Kaufman's Insulin Pumps and Continuous Glucose Monitoring explains this new advance in glucose management and thoroughly discusses the technology, as well as the physical and psychological aspects of diabetes care. 

She provides practical tips, including the skills necessary to maximize insulin pump therapy and continuous glucose monitoring; an overview of diabetes, pumps, and insulin; advice for sick days, traveling, and hospital stays; information on trouble- shooting devices; and much more. Insulin Pumps and Continuous Glucose Monitoring, helps people with diabetes, and, just as importantly, their parents, or their caregivers decide whether pumps and continuous glucose monitors are right for them. Because each life affected by diabetes is unique, these new tools are not best suited to every individual. But with this indispensible new book, families can now make the most informed decision.

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About The Author

Francine R. Kaufman, MD, is a distinguished professor emerita of pediatrics and communications at the Keck School of Medicine and the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California. She was the head of the Center for Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles until 2009, when she became the chief medical officer and VP of global clinical, medical, and health affairs for Medtronic Diabetes. In 2003, she served as President of the American Diabetes Association.

Insulin Pumps and Continuous Glucose Monitoring is available at www.ShopDiabetes.org, at bookstores nationwide, or by calling 1-800-232-6733.