Use the wizard!

Using a wizard is really a great and easy way to help get the most out of your insulin pump.  I am not referring to the Dungeons and Dragons wizards or the one from Oz, either.  Your insulin pump will come with something called a "Bolus Wizard", or some other name that basically means a program to tell you how insulin you should be pumping.

How it works is that you will tell your wizard what your blood glucose level is, and how many carbs you are about to eat.  You then hit a couple buttons and the insulin pump will tell you to give yourself a certain volume of insulin, and it will break everything out into how much insulin is meant as a correction for high blood sugar, how much is for the food you are about to eat, and will also compensate for that fact that you may have some insulin left over in your body that is still working, if you only recently did your previous bolus (with a couple hours ago).

All of the settings that you enter into your insulin pump when you first set it up, or on-going changes based on discussions with your diabetes professional, contribute to this "magical" function that tells you within tenths of a unit of insulin how much to give yourself (note my constant use of "give yourself", because ultimately you are responsible for what is taken, but use of the wizards helps you see how much you SHOULD take, assuming no other extenuating circumstances).

This wizard will be able to take things into account, like the day of the week, time of day, and if you have set up rules for these time constraints.  What it will not know is what you cannot tell your pump, such as the exercise you are about to be doing, or if you are sick.

All pumpers should use this feature when they first start using their pump.  I would suggest that most experienced pumpers continue to use this function.  It ensures you are giving yourself a consistent bolus rate for discussions with your doctor, and it is so quick and easy.