Help,Please.

iHs

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@yingtong

Sometimes you have to take what is said to you verbally with a slight pinch of salt. Before you commit to having the 640G, ask Medtronic to confirm in writing how long their cgm sensors are expected to last.
 

yingtong

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iHs,already asked this and will be chasing on Tuesday,I am to long in the tooth to believe what Reps say!
 

Flowerpot

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Very interesting that Medtronic are claiming 21 days conservatively yet all the field experience is saying 6-7 days max. Have they brought out a significantly improved new sensor? Or is this just hype?

The Medtronic Enlite sensors were improved recently but they are the ones used in the 640g system so I can only assume the Weak Signal message I get after 6 days + 1 day extension will still occur as it is due to the transmitter needing recharging. I have set myself a mission tomorrow on sensor change day to try and remove the transmitter , recharge, reattach and try to link to the old sensor. Stand by for exciting updates or epic failure ;)
 
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Flowerpot

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Just looked on the Medtronic site and the new generation Enlite sensors are the same for the Veo and 640g but the transmitter and charger have been updated for the 640g to Guardian 2 transmitter/charger so maybe that alters things although the sensor length of use is still given as 6 days.
 
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Jemzor

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The Medtronic Enlite sensors were improved recently but they are the ones used in the 640g system so I can only assume the Weak Signal message I get after 6 days + 1 day extension will still occur as it is due to the transmitter needing recharging. I have set myself a mission tomorrow on sensor change day to try and remove the transmitter , recharge, reattach and try to link to the old sensor. Stand by for exciting updates or epic failure ;)

Yeay!

The highest record I've come across is from a Medtronic facebook group. A user is getting 12 days use just by resetting. Someone else is getting 12 days by recharging. This is a predominantly US based group though so using an older generation of pumps. Othera are getting around 6-7 days, with the lowest averaging about 4 days.

Look forward to your update!
 
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Flowerpot

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I managed to detach my transmitter and not pull the sensor out, recharge and reattach it.

I chose the Reconnect to old sensor option, it started the warm up process but didn't find the sensor and gave me a Lost Sensor alarm then a Change Sensor alarm, I then tried the Link to New sensor option which resulted in a Lost sensor alarm , for my last attempt I went for the Find Lost Sensor option and again it didn't find the sensor and gave me a Lost Sensor alarm. My attempt at restarting a sensor after recharging the transmitter failed miserably so my maximum usage remains at 7 days.

I'm starting my 640g towards the end of April so when I see my DSN and Medtronic rep I'm going to ask whether I need a new transmitter to get maximum length of use out of the Enlite sensors. My transmitter is only a few months old but is not the one being provided in the 640g start up pack.
 
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yingtong

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Hi Flowerpot,I am meeting with the Medtronic rep and her area manager tomorrow and will give you a update,after the meeting.Thanks for the information.
 
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Flowerpot

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Thank you @yingtong, I'm really interested to hear what information you find out about the Enlite sensors and the 640g. I hope your meeting goes well .
 
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yingtong

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Jemzor, no it's not Gemma.
 

yingtong

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Well,a lot of talk and maybe's,they are obviously working hard to extend sensor life,but all in development at the moment and could not get any firm dates at the moment.The 640g looks a very nice pump and the blood/glucose meter blue tooth connection with the pump was good.All in all quite impressed with the pump.More thoughts to come.
 

srv128

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Having read this thread I have to agree with most people that choice should play a big part when choosing a pump. I was lucky enough to be given that choice just over 4 years ago and I choose Medtronic. I felt that the integrated CGM was a good thing as it sort of future proofed it knowing that I would be stuck with my pump for 4 years.
Well today I gladly upgraded to the 640G and already I am loving it. Given the choice today I think I would still choose Medtronic, in my opinion they are probably the best there is currently.
I have tried the CGM but only for a 6 month period as I cant afford to self fund but was lucky enough to get support for the trial via my DSN and although comments above have been dismissive of more than 6-7 days use I can confirm that I regularly achieved 10-12 days out of one sensor, the longest being 14 days and that's on the newer Enlight sensors with the older transmitter that came in the starter pack. The new 640G has a completely new transmitter (looks the same but has a letter "G" on it) so I will be interested to see how long I can get the 1 free sensor that came with my new pump to last.
One last thing, customer support!!! again I have found Medtronic to be 1st Class, nothing is too small an issue for them to help you with and there reps are outstanding. They also supply a loan pump to takek on Holidays so you have a spare, all free of charge. I can't comment if other manufactures do this but its the attention to detail that counts for me.

Just in case anyone is worried I. I do not work for or have any connection to Medtronic other than being a user of an Insulin pump and yes I love it :)
 
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Flowerpot

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Hi srv128

Please can you explain what do you do to restart your sensor to achieve up to 14 days? I can get 1 day extra after the 6 day sensor end alarm before getting a weak signal alarm- so 7 days max- but however I try to restart my sensor beyond that my pump doesn't find the sensor and won't restart it. It's good to hear you are loving using the 640g, I can't wait to swap over in a few weeks, it looks a great pump.
 

srv128

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Like you stated above after 6 days the sensor will expire as its reached the end of life counter. At this stage I switch the sensor off on the Pump. I then remove the transmitter and place in the charger. Mine usually takes about 20-30 min to recharge when I then go through the same set-up as if you have inserted a new sensor. So remove transmitter from charger wait one minute re connect to sensor, switch the sensor back on in the pump settings and connect to new sensor. At that stage it will have started at day one again and will go through its warm up phase awaiting calibration in 2 hours.

The only other thing of note is ISIG reading as mentioned on many forums it does have to have a reasonable reading and I find that if for some reason its below 10 then I know that the likelihood of the sensor lasting much longer or providing accurate readings is debatable. If you want to get really techie Google ISIG and Enlite and you will see that the calibration process that runs means that to calibrate a sensor in basic terms means that the ISIG MUST be higher than the BG reading else a CAL error will be displayed. I am no professor nor do I really understand all the detail but All I do know is as the sensor ages the ISIG falls and thus the Calibration become more important that its within limits. Thus I never Cal when below 4 or above 8. Its all down to personal preference. (and before someone shoots me down in flames Yes I know you should only use the sensor for 6 days. No I don't condone doing it.

Over 6 months I became pretty efficient at working out when the useful life of a sensor had been meet. Obviously this probably depends on each individual as to how long a sensor lasts. All I will say is 10 days was pretty norm, 12 days was with the odd one or two and only one made 14 days. I suspect this is more likely to do with the exact location it was inserted into and not to do with the sensor etc.

If you like reading the following site has a lot of info which is interesting. There are loads more sites and Google is your friend.

http://www.myparadigm.eu/
 
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yingtong

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srv128,thank you very much for the information and yes,I decided to go for the 640g.I have no experience with pumps I went with my DSN recommendation.
 

Jemzor

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Great posting :)

@Flowerpot not sure if you're following any of the 64-day vlogs going on at the moment on the 640g but this particular episode from one of the testers focuses on best way to get longativity & accuracy out of the Enlites (although it focuses more on the former). Hopefully there may be something in there of use.

 
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