Discreet Device Makes Managing Diabetes Easier than Ever

When Tonya Crutchfield went swimming in the scenic Buffalo River in Arkansas in June, she wore an insulin pump smaller than a deck of cards under her bathing suit.

“Nobody could see it,” says Crutchfield, 54, who has had type 2 diabetes since her 30s. “I don’t have to carry needles and insulin or find a private place to give myself a shot.”

Like about 1 in 4 of the roughly 35 million Americans with type 2 diabetes, Crutchfield uses insulin to help control her blood sugar. Giving herself four shots a day required pricking her finger for a blood sugar check, calculating her next insulin dose, filling a syringe and injecting herself.

Sometimes Crutchfield did it in her car or in a bathroom stall. But too often, she skipped it — especially if she was busy, or simply couldn’t tote her insulin around in a cooler bag to keep it cold. “I hated the shots,” she says.

As a result, her blood sugar was often sky-high, boosting her risk for eye problems, nerve damage and kidney trouble. At her doctor’s suggestion, in late 2023 she tried V-Go, an insulin patch pump specifically designed and federally approved for people with type 2 diabetes.

The disposable device attaches to her skin with adhesive and contains a day’s worth of insulin delivered continuously through a tiny needle into her skin. Before meals, she can adjust the dosage so it can handle blood sugar increases from any carbohydrates — such as bread, pasta, rice, fruit or dessert — she’s about to eat.

“My sugars have been fantastic,” she says.

Crutchfield’s A1C — a measure of blood sugar control over two to three months — fell from a dangerously high 13 percent to below 7 percent, the goal for most people with diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Patch pumps have been around for nearly 20 years, but they were traditionally used by people with type 1 diabetes. Now several patch pumps for type 2 are on the market, and more are in development.

“If you can get your A1C down and stable, it can reduce risk for complications of diabetes, especially for the eyes, kidneys and nerves,” says endocrinologist Shunzhong Bao, M.D., of CHI St. Vincent Little Rock Diagnostic Clinic, who treats Crutchfield’s diabetes. “Stable, controlled blood sugar also reduces cardiovascular risks.”

Patch pumps are small, easy to use and waterproof, although the insulin dose often can’t be as finely calibrated as with a traditional insulin pump. And with a pump, you still have to test your blood sugar four times a day, though newer continuous-­glucose monitors that send the data right to your phone make that simpler.

“Living with diabetes is not easy,” Bao notes. “These patch pumps can be really helpful.”