Pros and cons of pumping

Diabetes, Insulin

Advantages

Flexibility of lifestyle. You can get up when you want, go to bed when you want, eat when you want. You are no longer tied down by having to do things at set times, or plan things such as exercise in advance. You don't even have to plan a stressful event in advance!
Freedom with food. It is much easier to eat exactly what you want, when you want, because you just bolus as you go. If you're using Humalog, you can look at your plate of food in front of you, gauge the carbs and bolus accordingly. Or even eat first and bolus afterwards. Change your mind and have a second helping? No problem, just take an additional bolus. Buffet meal where you pick at bits throughout the evening? No problem, either increase your basal rate for a couple of hours, or take several small boluses as you go.
Reduction of insulin doses. Unless control has been exceptionally good pre-pump, most people find they need lower doses overall once on the pump, typically about 30-40% less. This is because higher insulin levels create insulin resistance, and therefore improved metabolic control on a pump will generally lower the need for insulin (1, 2).
No long-acting insulin. This is a huge benefit for many pump users. Contrary to popular belief, sometimes long-acting insulins do not get absorbed in a regular, predictable way, so that the level of insulin can peak and fall at unexpected times. The amount of insulin reaching the blood from injection sites can actually vary by as much as 25% from one day to the next (3). Exercise can aggravate the problem as it can cause a large amount of insulin to be absorbed at once. No long-acting insulin is used in the pump, and the basal insulin is only administered in very small doses at a time, thus reducing the likelihood of this uneven absorption. Use of a pump can lower the variation in absorption to about 3% (4).
Ease of injecting. Most people find it easier to press a button than have to fiddle around with injections. Nothing to carry around, and no strange looks from other people.
Fewer "injections". With a pump, you only have to insert a needle (the infusion set) into your body 2 or 3 times a week, rather than 4 or 5 times a day. This is good if you suffer from injection bruises or site atrophy. However, infusion sets can also cause scarring in some people.
Better control. Most people find they can improve their control on the pump, because they have access to fine-tuning mechanisms. For example, insulin is adjustable in very small increments (0.1 units). Also, you can correct high blood sugars as they occur, by taking an additional bolus.
Suspending insulin delivery. In an emergency when you have taken too much insulin, you can suspend the pump and stop additional insulin. If you take too much long-acting insulin, on the other hand, you are stuck with it for the next 12-24 hours.
Dawn Syndrome. Problems such as the Dawn syndrome (where the blood sugar level naturally rises in the early hours of the morning) can be dealt with more easily. Some 50-70% of people suffer from this (1). You can set your pump to give a higher basal rate in the early hours of the morning when the dawn syndrome hits, rather than being forced to adopt procedures such as getting up in the middle of the night to take more insulin, or suffering from nighttime hypos.
Hypo awareness. Anecdotal evidence has shown that some people are able to regain their signs of hypo awareness which they have previously lost, because they can fine-tune their control. The incidence of severe hypos has been shown to be lessened on pump therapy (5). Hypos also tend to be less severe due to the more stable control, or due to the smaller doses of insulin being taken at one time (6).
Testing frequency. Although frequent testing is a necessity when using a pump, anecdotal evidence has shown that some people may find they do not need read more