My life Diabetic

Medtronic 670G

I haven't posted here in a while but I thought I'd give you some thoughts on my new pump. Recently I was forced to switch back to Medtronic as a pump supplier because of United Healthcare's exclusive deal with Medtronic. Any other pump would have been considered out of network and the costs would have been prohibitive. I chose to go ahead back to Medtronic. As a disclaimer, I stopped using Medtronic pumps years ago because of being discouraged by their customer service and billing practices. I had really enjoyed and gotten used to the Dexcom sensor and the Tslim pump so this was  a major disappointment to change and it took a lot of getting used to. 

When my Tslim went out of Warranty I switched to the Medtronic 670G. It is their newest pump/CGM combo and has the Automatic mode that allows the pump to make decisions on basal rates of insulin based on history, glucose readings and trends. I had a hard time trusting this pump. On first beginning to use the CGM it didn't seem to (and still doesn't) stay as close to actual BG readings as the Dexcom did. It is also very particular and can fall into a pattern of asking for glucose readings and calibrations over and over again if it falls to far off the actual. I have, several times, just given up and turned the sensor off for an hour or so before turning it back on and resetting the whole thing. The automode makes it even more sensitive to readings being off and again can fall into this seeming loop of asking for blood glucose to stay in auto mode. When I had my Dexcom if it ever became too separated from actual BG readings I would calibrate it would come back into line and move on. This pump/sensor does not seem to be able to do this. It can become maddening at times getting buzzed and beeped over and over again with warnings and asking for BG results. Very frustrating. 

Changing of a reservoir and infusion site is much faster and simpler with the Medtronic pump than the Tslim. It also seems to use the insulin up better. I always felt like I was wasting insulin on the Tslim. 

Changing the CGM sensor with the Medtronic is ridiculously more difficult than the Dexcom. What I could do in a couple of minutes with one hand now takes over a half an hour, (you have to wait to charge and clean the transmitter) and I usually need help from someone else. 

All that being said, my A1c has been much better with the Medtronic. I joked with my family that it is probably for two reasons. 

1. Automode really does help stabilize BG especially overnight. 
2. The CGM built into the pump is so finicky I find myself being really careful not to send my BG to far out of whack so I don't have to deal with the CGM freaking out. 

Just some random quick thoughts on Medtronics latest pump. Let me know if you have any questions.