Pump Up Your Health

Dr Sudip Chatterjee explains how insulin pumps make optimal care possible with minimal pain.

- Dr Sudip Chatterjee

“He who studies medicine without books sails an uncharted sea, but he who studies medicine without patients does not go to sea at all.” William Osler

Introducing the pump

In the late 1980's, at the time of the Diabetes Control and Complication Trail, insulin pumps were fairly large devices, prone to leakages and containing rudimentary software. Over the next decade, pump technology underwent a sea change. By the time they were offered in the Indian market, pumps were far more sophisticated and user friendly, than what I was familiar with during my fellowship in the US.

One of my first pump patients in Kolkata was a man in his late 50's who had undergone a Whipple procedure (removal of a part of the stomach, a part of the small intestine, the head of the pancreas, the common bile duct, and the gallbladder). His blood sugar levels were extremely difficult to control with multiple daily injections. In spite of our best efforts there were wild swings in his blood glucose levels. I introduced him to the pump in 2004 after it was marketed in India. Once started, he was quick to learn and became adept at using all the features it offered. The pump made a huge difference to his quality of life. In the process I too learnt a lot about using these devices. My first patient was quick to adapt to sensor technology then in its infancy and later became a staunch critic of its imperfections. He remained on the pump for eight years till he died from a recurrence of the original cancer.

Education is the key