Reminders and alerts on pumps can be customized for safety and to improve control. For instance, a postmeal reminder can be set to recheck your blood glucose 1.5 or 2 hours after a bolus has been given. Post-meal testing lets you evaluate the meal bolus. You may need extra carbs to prevent a low or a correction bolus because the meal bolus was too small. Post-meal testing helps prevent lows and speeds correction of highs.
Reminders can also be set to ensure that boluses are given at specific times of the day. Some pumps can be set to sound an alarm if no bolus is given at the usual time, such as between 11:45 am and 12:30 pm for lunch. If a bolus dose was started but never completed due to a distraction, a helpful pump would alert the wearer that they never completed the bolus. Another reminder can sometimes be set to remind the user to retest their glucose 15 to 30 minutes after a low glucose to ensure that the treatment corrected the low reading, or 90 minutes to 2 hours after a high reading to ensure a correction bolus is working. Helpful reminders like these minimize human error and improve control.
An auto-off feature can be a lifesaver for those who travel or live alone. When auto-off is activated, the pump turns itself off if one of the pump buttons has not been pressed within a determined amount of time, such as 8 or 9 hours overnight. This protects against the continuation of basal insulin delivery if the wearer becomes incapacitated due to hypoglycemia. Read your pump manual to learn about the options it offers.