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Medtronic MiniMed 640G System

dancer said:
It is great but I'm still getting used to it after 3 weeks (I think I was too used to the Veo).

I'm still on the 1st battery, but I don't have the cgm.

The only thing I don't like about it is the clip. It is nowhere near as good as the one on the Veo. I had to phone Medtronic to tell them that the clip failed to hold the pump on my dressing gown, so it fell off. They sent out 2 replacement clips but the one I'm using is only a little bit better than the original.
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I told the rep on a few occasions that the clip is very poor
 
What might help to keep the clip in place is to use a piece of wide rubber elastic hand over the waistband under the clip as that should form the grip
 
iHs said:
What might help to keep the clip in place is to use a piece of wide rubber elastic hand over the waistband under the clip as that should form the grip
Click to expand...

That's a good idea if you clip the pump to a waistband. I don't, for various reasons (and I'm allergic to rubber!)
 
I've been using the 640g for a few days now and the pump and Smartguard technology are fantastic. The Smartguard has kicked in 4 times today to prevent hypos and done the trick. I haven't got any hypo awareness and having a safety net above and beyond the Low Suspend feature of the Veo looks a great step forward. The 640g is easy to navigate and has some excellent features. I am so grateful to my CCG and my very helpful diabetes team for enabling me to use such a great piece of technology.

My clip is definitely less tight than my Veo clip was but doesn't feel insecure. Using a rubber band for extra grip is a good idea, I'll see how things go.
 
dancer said:
I daresay the rep was noncommittal about it. Not much good if the pump can fall off onto the bathroom floor!
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She just said if it breaks they will send another, it's just not as secure as the vibe.......
The pump is better though in my opinion
 
Brava210 said:
She just said if it breaks they will send another, it's just not as secure as the vibe.......
The pump is better though in my opinion
Click to expand...

Yes, the pump is great but the clip offers very little security.

Today, while dancing the Argentine tango, I felt an extra bulge in my boob area. For the first time ever, my pump managed to move round from between my boobs to the left side where it was more likely to slide up and off.

I was quite embarrassed because I was not dancing with my husband and had to reach down my T-shirt and move the pump back to the middle.

The pump is far too heavy for such a flimsy clip!
 
I am interested in the Smart Guard. Presumably it suspends the pump/halts insulin delivery when you are heading for a hypo. But does that really work? On these boards I have read repeatedly that suspending your pump when you have a hypo is effectively "too late" because what your pump is doing now, will only affect you an hour to two hours later because of Insulin Action time (or whatever the technical term is). And that if you are going into a hypo, the only solution is a carb correction. Can anyone explain this feature of the 640G?
 
Flowerpot said:
I've been using the 640g for a few days now and the pump and Smartguard technology are fantastic. The Smartguard has kicked in 4 times today to prevent hypos and done the trick. I haven't got any hypo awareness and having a safety net above and beyond the Low Suspend feature of the Veo looks a great step forward. The 640g is easy to navigate and has some excellent features. I am so grateful to my CCG and my very helpful diabetes team for enabling me to use such a great piece of technology.

My clip is definitely less tight than my Veo clip was but doesn't feel insecure. Using a rubber band for extra grip is a good idea, I'll see how things go.
Click to expand...


Yay! So pleased to hear you're getting on with it well and that the smartguard featire is working too :)

Please keep us updated....

Re the clip, I've bought one of these already: http://www.hid-in.com/

--- Obviously I don't have a pump yet so can't completely say how it will be, but I've been wearing it with my phone in just to see how it feels and its really comfy....
 
Spicey245 said:
@-Artemis- I am soooo jealous!!! :) :) I am still waiting for my call... I'm hoping it comes soon as this will also be my first pump. Let's hope we both love it!! ;-)
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Aw!! I understand the waiting bit seems to feel like forever...!! It's my first pump too :)

--- I'm pretty sure the wait will be worth it! I think they're starting to comethrough to the hospitals now so fingers crossed you'll hear very soon :) :)
 
This is also my first pump and it is definitely a great choice. It is really easy to use as the pump is designed for left and right handers. On previous pumps it was difficult for left handers to use it. If you ever forget a step when you are changing cannulas and reservoirs then the pump talks you through it on the screen as you do it.

Yes the wait does seem like forever but it is well worth the wait. The benefits of the pump are just outstanding.
 
I've just fitted a zagg phone screen protector to the pump screen as I am scared of scratching it
Easy to fit cost £4.50 from Amazon, I just bought the cheapest one they had and cut it to size.
I have enough to cut four more too, they are very thick protectors a bit like rubber
 
RuthW said:
I am interested in the Smart Guard. Presumably it suspends the pump/halts insulin delivery when you are heading for a hypo. But does that really work? On these boards I have read repeatedly that suspending your pump when you have a hypo is effectively "too late" because what your pump is doing now, will only affect you an hour to two hours later because of Insulin Action time (or whatever the technical term is). And that if you are going into a hypo, the only solution is a carb correction. Can anyone explain this feature of the 640G?
Click to expand...
Yes RuthW it does work,you can set the parameters for your pump to switch off,I set mine between 5 and6 and I had a nighttime hypo and I didn't go below 3.4.I still think it needs some more fine tuning,but definitely works,all these where shown on theCGM.
 
yingtong said:
Yes RuthW it does work,you can set the parameters for your pump to switch off,I set mine between 5 and6 and I had a nighttime hypo and I didn't go below 3.4.I still think it needs some more fine tuning,but definitely works,all these where shown on theCGM.
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Oh, Ok, so it isn't suspending when you have a hypo but before you get there because it knows what direction your blood sugar is going in. That's good.
 
RuthW said:
Oh, Ok, so it isn't suspending when you have a hypo but before you get there because it knows what direction your blood sugar is going in. That's good.
Click to expand...

Have a look a the 64 day 640G series of Video diaries that John Pemberton did on life with the 640G. I think episode 5 and 6 give a pretty detailed but user friendly explanation on how the Smart Guard feature works. http://www.mm640g.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/smart-guard-more-detail-explanation.html

All I will say is I have had my 640g for 7 weeks and Smart Guard rely does rock, yes I might have dipped below 4.0 once or twice but generally it just don't happen. You have to do something pretty silly i.e. over bolus for a meal or do a load of exercise that you haven't allowed for.

Its changed my whole perspective on getting the CGM's sensors with the older Veo I couldn't really see that it made enough of a difference to me to try and self fund. Yes they worked but all it did was turn the pump off at a set level, that might seem goo but its very basic as it dosent take into account what you BG is doing, and by that I mean its no good switching the pump off if you BG is dropping faster that a free falling sky diver its way too late. The 640 how ever does take this into account and depending you BG turns off before you get too the level you set, thus its allowing for the fact that you will go lower than the point at witch it turns off. Totally brilliant. Add to that it even turns the pump back on once you are rising and more than 1.1 above the limit you set it to turn off. I am no expert just totally amazed at how good it is, add to this all the alarms it can make if you want there is no way you don't know that you are about to jump off a cliff.

I am pretty luck as I also have good hypo awareness but this just helps you out.

Now even my wife says she cant see how I can go on without self funding because its literally changed everything.

If you have the time watch the Videos that John did, they explain much better than I can.
 
Brava210 said:
I've just fitted a zagg phone screen protector to the pump screen as I am scared of scratching it
Easy to fit cost £4.50 from Amazon, I just bought the cheapest one they had and cut it to size.
I have enough to cut four more too, they are very thick protectors a bit like rubber
Click to expand...

I also bought a Zagg protector for my Vibe screen.......I pulled the existing protector off thinking it was stopping me from seeing the screen ok when all along is was the contrast setting that needed adjusting. The Zaggs are good and can be cut to fit.
 
I have also found the Smartguard feature great so far. It is a much more efficient way of preventing hypos by suspending basal delivery 30 minutes in advance of predicting my low glucose limit will be reached - my low glucose limit is set at 3.4. The Low Suspend on the Veo was only activated once bg had hit the low limit. To date I've only got to 3.4 with the Smartguard whereas I was getting to 1.8 with the Veo Low suspend.

It takes a bit of getting used to basal delivery being suspended whilst my bg can be as high as 7.3 - the Smartguard can cut in up to 3.9 above the low glucose limit - so for me that is 3.4+ 3.9= 7.3 - but only if my levels are dropping very rapidly. The way the pump resumes basal as soon as bg levels start to rise seems to have prevented spikes and it is a much less blunt instrument to prevent hypos than the 2 hour basal suspend on the Veo.

So far so good, I'm very pleased with the 640g and CGM.:)
 
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