• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Minimed 640g

sorry , I am diabetic type 1 since 2000 MDI, have no experience with pump, new to this.
what is your experience? pros and cons ?
 
silva said:
what is your experience? pros and cons ?
Click to expand...
Since I am in the U.S., I unfortunately have no experience with a 640G. Maybe sometime in 2016 … probably late 2016 at that. :mad: :rolleyes: But it is a topic online which I am interested in. Here's what I think may be true based on what I've read so far.

Generally the feedback for the 640G has been positive. The things people tend to like are the color screen and the stronger support for it being "waterproof". I have using Medtronic/MiniMed pumps for not quite 20 years, so I'm so used to their user interface at this point that I don't think I could give a meaningful opinion. But others seem to think it's at least "not bad". Possibly even better in some ways than with other pumps? There is finally a volume control for the audible alarms which I think folks have been waiting for since, well, forEVarrrrrrr! ;)

The negatives I am aware of have not been anything which resonates with me so I'm not a good source of info for that. Apparently it may be slightly larger/bulkier than the Veo or (earlier) Paradigm Revel it replaces. Also, it still does not support a touch screen interface. You still navigate the menus by using arrow buttons. To some folks this stuff is really "a thing". :eek: For me, not so much.

On its own, the 640G is a solid & nice enough pump. However, the feature of the 640G which in my opinion makes it unique at the moment is its support for predictive basal suspend and resume. When/if you can enable this feature and it works for you, it can be very helpful. Some people really like this feature and are impressed by it. It is certainly what interests me most about this pump.

However … predictive suspend & resume, which the Medtronic marketeers felt compelled to obscure by referring to it as SmartGuard™, can only be used if you are also able to use Medtronic's CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) sensor technology. There are two things to keep in mind about this.

The first is that it is/can be rather expensive. I have essentially no idea how funding for such things works or does not work in the UK. But the impression I have gotten is that many (most? all?) of the people who use it there are self-funding.

The second thing is to consider is that Medtronic's CGM is often considered to be "less special" by the #DOC (Diabetic Online Community). More precisely some people seem to absolutely loath Medtronic's CGM.

My point and opinion is that people's experiences can be extremely personal and vary widely. Some people have great luck with it seemingly from the first get go. Others have a hate/love relationship where the results vary from sensor to sensor. And of course there are also the haters.

If you ever decide to give this CGM a try in order to take advantage of the predictive basal suspend and resume and find that you must pay for it yourself, I strongly suggest you first get some sort of a trial with the CGM in order to find out how well it would work for you. If nothing else negotiate some agreement where you can get your money back if it turns out to not work out for you. Just sayin' … :banghead: :angelic:

Good luck with your pump and I hope you continue to get feedback about it from other folks. If you have questions, please feel free to ask. I personally would also be interested in how the process of getting you up and running with the 640G is done. I had a rather different experience when I started using the pump and I always like to hear what sort of process people currently go through when switching from MDI to a pump.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have this pump and love it... I think @irrationalJohn gives a good summary; and yes the sensors can be erratic, but I'd still not be without them in spite of their 'quirks'... For me this pump has been completely life changing and has given me freedom and peace of mind that I didn't have / don't think I would have achieved without it. I hope you love it as much as I do :-) good luck!
 
Thank you Artemis for your comment , yes I am planning to pay for sensors myself, as am not aware of low glucose level at all, was in the gym two days ago and check my bg level when I finished , was 1,7 , was feeling ok , full of energy , no signs . It is hard during night time because I am waking up every night to check .I am looking forward to sleep all night.
Fingers crossed , going to hospital tomorrow.
 
silva said:
yes I am planning to pay for sensors myself, as am not aware of low glucose level at all
Click to expand...
Here is a link to a YouTube video with some Enlite (glucose sensors) usage tips, for whatever it's worth.

If you find it interesting and/or helpful you might also want to check out his other vids in this series. You can access them either via his vlog web page: 64 Days on MiniMed 640G or via his YouTube channel with essentially the same name: 64 Days on Minimed 640G System. The reason you might his video commentary/review of interest is because the fellow who did the vids seems to spend some time at the gym. I don't so I'm not sure how helpful or not the series might be in that regard.

I think of Medtronic's Enlite sensor as a "Goldilocks device". By that I mean it can be finicky. When you insert and tape the sensors you want the fit to be "not too loose and not too tight but just right". :rolleyes:

When it comes to Medtronic demonstration vids for the Enlite, I personally feel most of them are not all that much help. They tend to focus only on the "proper" steps for inserting without also pointing out potential pitfalls. The exception to that might be the series of 7 short videos on the Medtronic Australasia YouTube channel with the title "Get Right With Enlite".

Here is a link to the playlist for the vids: Get Right with Enlite playlist.

If you only have time (or patience ;)) to watch one I'd recommend Get Right With Enlite Chapter 4 Inserting the Sensor. My recollection is that the number of steps involved during insertion can possibly make it a bit confusing the first few times.

When you are trained for the Enlite, you might want to ask about alternate insertion sites. Medtronic tends to insist on inserting only on the abdomen or sides. But some of us have had better luck using other sites. In my case one of the best spots surprisingly turned out to be my upper arms. It's not easy to get the overtaping done properly there if you are working by yourself, but it can be done. If you have someone who can assist with that, even better.

On the other hand, I dislike using my abdomen. While I can get reasonable enough results inserting there so long as I pick the spot somewhat carefully, my skin seems to be more sensitive there. Over time I develop an irritation (itching) from the adhesive which sometimes drives me a bit crazy. :eek: The other problem with my abdomen is that my cats tend to walk over the sensor while I'm lying in bed. This can potentially disturb/dislodge it which can potentially ruin the sensor's reliability. :arghh: :facepalm:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
-Artemis- said:
The visual this created for me really made me giggle...!!
Click to expand...

If only I had a good picture of that. Of course, I do have a picture, just not a good picture ... :oops: ;)

From nearest to farthest, Ghost, Darwin, Garnet, and, the black shape to the left of my feet, Charlotte.

Cat%252520sleeping%252520on%252520me%252520in%252520bed.jpg
 
you can use it without, it links to the contour next bgl, so your readings get wirelessly sent to the pump.
 
fairylights said:
you can use it without, it links to the contour next bgl, so your readings get wirelessly sent to the pump.
Click to expand...
While I don't own a 640G ... and, frankly, that pump won't even be available in US until 2016, probably late 2016 ... I have seen confusion on this point previously so I'll throw a few more words at it.

Yes, the Contour Next Link 2.4 BG meter can be "wirelessly" linked to the 640G pump. When this has been done you can choose to send a BG meter test result directly to the pump. You can also plug the Contour Next Link BG meter into a USB port on your computer and use it as a "link device" to upload/transmit the data on the pump to Medtronic's Carelink database for review by either you or by your med support team (if they have access).

(I think in the U.K. many (most? all?) of your med support team do have access to your Carelink data. In the U.S., it tends to be a lot more elective and depends on the preferences of the practice you are getting treatment from.)

Smurfs1010 said:
does anyone know if you have to have the CGM with the pump or can you use it without?
Click to expand...

It all depends on what one has in mind when asking about "using" the 640G.

Yes, you can certainly still use the 640G as an insulin pump if you don't have the Enlite CGM support. You can still do all the regular pumpity things.

However, the feature of the 640G which you can not use unless you are also using Medtronic's CGM is ‘what Medtronic refers to as SmartGuard, the predictive suspend and resume of your basal insulin delivery. That feature requires the CGM Sensor Glucose results to decide when to suspend and later resume basal insulin delivery.

I have previously read posts from folks who thought that the basal predictive suspend/resume feature could be triggered when the results from the Contour Next Link BG meter are sent to the pump. But that is not how it works. If you don't use the CGM then you also will not be using the predictive suspend/resume feature of the pump.
 
Back
Top