Hi Everyone!
I just got notice that I am due for an upgraded pump and my doctor seemed excited for me to try the 670g. I am a little skeptical because I have the dexcom g5 and love it. However I have had a medtronic pump for 14 years starting on it only 6 months after I was diagnosed. I have a few friends that have the tandem but wanted to get others opinions on the new medtronic pump. I tried their first CGM and absolutely hated it. Thanks for your help!!
Hi Marcela @pallma012 , a Warm Welcome to TypeOneNation!
As a brand new member here, you are probably not realize that there has been considerable discussion/comparison recently between the t-Slim and 670G. Enter āTandemā in the search box at top left and see what you get - plenty of good information.
Something that probably not posted yet, yesterday the US FDA approved for commercial distribution the Tandem Basal IQ. If you need a link, let me know.
I actually just got off of the 670G. So many beeps at all hours of the night for ācheck BGā but only 2 points off of 120 or so consistently made it hard to stay on it. I donāt think Medtronic technology is ready yet 
. I got sick of the alarms and made life with Diabetes so much harder. I am now on pens and Dexcom and loving it so far. Pump free is an amazing feeling.
thank you for your response! I am reading a lot of mixed feedback but more negative than positive. It is making me skeptical about the new pump. I also feel like my endo didnt really want to discuss it with me and just said give it a shot. I was not a fan of the medtronic CGM the first time around but I have heard they improved significantly.
Hi Marcella, keep in mind that more people tend to post on forums when they have a problem than when things are running smoothly. I read every post on this site and have seen that happen here. Iāve met with and talked with some people who have had wonderful success with the Medtronic closed loop system - but I donāt see them posting. The new Medtronic sensors are significantly better than the older ones - Medtronic has stopped manufacturing the types that work with my pump so Iāve been using the Dexcom G5 - the only CGM with Medicare coverage.
I think my next pump will be the Tandem T-Slim with āBasal-IQā utilizing the DexCom G6 sensor.
I have only been on a 670g for a month, but the constant, CONSTANT waking up at night has made me want to throw it out the window! I will run in the 90s-119 and it will kick me out of auto-mode and ask for a blood sugar SEVERAL times throughout the night. I absolutely cannot believe at such a great range it will keep me awake throughout the night asking for new BGs. I saw where someone likened the 670g to an overly nagging parent, and I couldnāt agree more!
More than my frustration with that problem, is that fact that Iāve taken to silencing alarms and turning off the sensor all night in hopes of actually sleeping through the night for once this month. I am a single parent with a young child, and the whole reason I went on this pump was in hopes of feeling safer that my blood sugar would be under better control. Unfortunately to keep my sanity it is looking like I will need to go back to my old Dexcomā¦and what a welcome change that will be!
Thanks for the reviews! Does it beep every time you are out of that range? I love the dexcom because it only asks for BGās every 12 hours. What is the point of a CGM if you constantly have to prick and input the number!!
I have been on the Medtronic 670g for a while now. It takes time to get to know it and for it to get to know you. It is definitely an awesome piece of technology and I am thrilled that I have it as it makes it easier to manage my diabetes.
@pallma012, it alerts you if you are low and if you are high. But since the target for automode is 120, when it stays below that for an extended amount of time (2 hours), it will turn off automode and ask you to input your new BG. Also, something I wish I had known was that for the 670g, the calibration and entering BG are two different things. So for this, you also only have to calibrate every 12 hours, but automode wants updated BGs as well. So you also need to check your blood sugar not only for the 12 hour calibration, but also for BG updates. I understand that it takes time for it to get to know your body, but having been on it a month and often having this problem with it kicking me out because iām in the 90-110s has been ongoing and completely frustrating the life out of me.
I wish that my doctor had more thoroughly explained exactly how it worked, because if I had known Iād be going back to checking my blood sugar so often and had this much hassle with it, I wouldnāt have switched. Granted, If your blood sugar tends to run high, then Iām sure it is a great thing for you. (But then again, if your blood sugar is high for 4 consecutive hours, it also kicks you out of automode and asks for updated BG). So I donāt knowā¦Before Iāve always held myself of a target of 80-180. So for it to want to keep my target 120 or slightly above, Itās been a hard adjustment.
@pallma012
Good Morning Marcela,
I have been on the 670g since June 2017. I will tell you that the pump is great! It does take some getting used to though. It does have its quirks that I have gotten used to like calibrations and BGās, but I will say it is much better than the Medtronic 640 pump I was on before that for sure. I had problems with overnight lows previously and this pump has basically eliminated that worry for me. I wake up pretty much every morning at 120ish. It did take some time for my body to adjust to this 120 number as I previously always tried to stay around 100. But after you get through the initial phase, which can be frustrating at times, you will start to trust and enjoy the auto mode and features the 670g offers. I can say I do at least. Any questions feel free to reach out to me directly.
Have a good day,
Roger
I feel like I need to jump in here in defense of the 670g! Iāve had it since March and I LOVE it. My A1c went from a 7.6 to a 6.5 and Iām in range 79% of the time! I was on a Medtronic pump and the Dex G5 prior to starting the closed loop and itās really nice having a CGM and pump that can talk to each other.
Yes, it alarms a lot, but thatās mostly on days when you start a new sensor. I also have ALLLLL of the alarms turned on, so mine is maybe more annoying that it needs to be.
I will say I was super skeptical of the accuracy, since my last experience with the Enlite sensors was NOT great. Iāve found this to be much more accurate than I thought! Note: I calibrate 3-4 times a day. I know Dex recommends only 2, but the more you do it with the Guardian, the better it seems to be. But I would be testing at those times anyway, because I donāt feel like we should 100% put our faith in CGMs at this point anyway. And I donāt think four finger pricks is so bad, but I know for some thatās a deal-breaker!
Thank you for the feedback! I think it will defiantly take some getting used to but I tend to be on the higher side during the day and think that is the main reason my doctor wants me to go on it. However, he did not give me much information and was just like sure why not try it out and that worried me a little bit.
I am on the medtronic pump and G5 now too! I think the thing I am looking forward to the most is that they will actually connect with one another. My dexcom alarms a lot so that is something I am used to. (When I go low it beeps every 2 minutes until it is normal again). Also does this CGM have a phone app like the dexcom does? I really like that feature! I know that it will go to the pump but I take it off when I am working out so it would be nice to see it on my phone during those times.
If knew then what I know now, I would have not gotten the 670G pump. Here are the worst issues.
Medtronicās āAutomodeā algorithm conflates bolus with basal insulin. That means youāll have to readjust your carb-ratios. Manual mode and automode will require different carb-ratios, and you can only store one set of carb-ratios in the pump. THIS SUCKS!
Automodeās correction boluses are ridiculously small. If you over-eat, it will take auto-mode 12-hours to correct it a high blood glucose, vs 3-hours if you issue a proper correction bolus. THIS SUCKS!
You have no control over insulin sensitivity while in auto-mode. You can can only adjust the active insulin time and carb-ratios. Fudging active insulin time and carb-ratios to correct for automodeās lack of insulin-sensitivity adjustment is retarded. And Iām an electrical engineer and have done control system design. THIS REALLY SUCKS!
Youāll have to go through a painful (hyperglycemic) 4-week ālearning processā while Auto-mode adapts to your basal insulin requirements. Thereās no way to backup the internal automode settings/parameters. If something happens to your pump, and you have to replace it, youāll be going through that 1-month process all over again. THAT SUCKS!
Automode requires you to re-enter glucose values several times a day instead of just using the reading off the sensor (which is still in good calibration condition). So, you have to manually re-enter a BG value the pump is already displaying! If you do not, you get kicked out of automode. THAT IS JUST STUPID.
This 670G system does not make managing your diabetes any easier. You may be able to achieve tighter control, but it will require more effort.
Automodeās control algorithmās target value either 120mg/dL or 150mg/dL. So if you have tight control already, youāll might even do worse with automode.
After my insurance will pay for a new pump/system, I am dumping Medtronics and never looking back! I would advise others to not be pushed into getting one of these systems by their doctors like I was. Donāt believe the hype and sales-speak.
Unfortunately, they donāt have the app set up for the 670g (I think itāll be released with later iterations)! I thought this would be a HUGE con for me, because I always tracked my sugars on my phone and Apple Watch, but I actually completely forgot about it until you mentioned it! Haha!
Itās great that the pump and CGM talk to each other, but that also means that if you want consistent readings and to stay in auto mode, youāll need to have the transmitter and pump close enough together to continue their conversation. Not a huge deal if you work out at home, but if you do the gym, youāll need to have your pump with you. You can always clip it to an arm band, your pants, etc. or put it in your sports bra (thatās what I do).
Something else worth disclosing, since youāre doing all of your own research here (what are doctors for, really?), is that while they do talk to each other, when you go to give yourself a bolus, the CGM reading isnāt automatically entered in the BG field. So youāll have to either test or manually enter your CGM reading when you go to bolus (although Medtronic obviously does not condone the latter). I get lazy sometimes and donāt enter a BG at all and just enter the carbs Iāll be consuming. Iām assuming the pump then doses as if you were at 100? Whatever the algorithm is, it works fine for me!
Gotcha, I think these little things will just take some getting used to but after a while (like with everything) they will be fine.
I donāt mind having them close to each other! My doctor has been very lax with giving me any info so I really appreciate all of your advice and help. I have done that too and just give myself for carbs so you are not alone! This may be a dumb question but I have different carb ratios at different times of the day. Does the pump pick up on these? Or is that part of it figuring out how much to give you? Like it goes solely on that you donāt put in ranges for anything? Does that make sense I donāt know if I did a good job explaining that
You can have different ratios for different times of day. I have about 9 different ratios based on how my body reacts to things at different times of the day. For instance I have a early morning glucose spike so I have a higher ratio in the morning than after the morning spike passes. Also I have a history of severe drops over night so my ratios go down at night to help avoid that as well. Hope this answers your question 
Yep, you still input the ratios. These wonāt change even when youāre in auto mode unless you go in and manually change them. The only automated insulin delivery is the basal rate.
You still enter in your current basal rates too. I think it uses these as a jumping off point while it learns your body, but they also kick in if youāre ever out of auto mode.
Happy to answer any and all questions you may have! I love 670g talk. Haha
It does! I am the same way and tend to spike right after breakfast. Thanks so much
Iāve had the 670g since Feb and have a love/hate relationship with it. The alarms can be annoying and I get frustrated and āyellā at my pump especially when it asks for a BG just after calibrating. On the upside, the alarms have alerted me to significant highs and lows for which Iām grateful. Also good news, my last A1C was below 7 for the first time since I was diagnosed. One of the reasons I chose to stay with Medtronic is that the pump is waterproof. None of the others were. Since I spend significant time in pools when we winter in FL, this was very important.