What is the main advantage of using an insulin pump instead of daily injections?

The primary advantage of an insulin pump is precision and flexibility. With Multiple Daily Injections (MDI), you typically take a long-acting insulin once a day to provide a baseline, plus rapid-acting shots for every meal. An insulin pump, however, only uses rapid-acting insulin. It delivers a continuous, highly customizable drip of insulin 24/7 (the basal rate) and allows you to deliver exact doses for meals (a bolus) with the push of a button. This means if you decide to exercise or sleep in, you can easily turn your background insulin down or up—something you cannot do once a long-acting shot has been injected. While pumps are incredibly helpful, they don't do all the work; you still need to count carbohydrates and tell the pump when you are eating.