Hey guys. I'm new to this group but I wanted to tell more ppl about something awesome in insulin pump therapy that all type 1 diabetics should know about.
Medtronic diabetes has just yesterday released thier first generation artificial Pancreous! The device incorporates a CGM with an insulin pump loaded with software that when your BG reaches a preset low an the patient doesnt respond to the alert it will shut down all insulin delievery for 2 hours. This is a significant breakthrough in pump therapy and is very exciting indeed!
This is the first step toward gaining approval of the Artificial pancreous and is truley an exciting turn of events. This device will allow for better control and take the worry out of our lives of falling so low that our lives could be in jepordy. I havent called anyone about this device yet but plan to in the very new future.
I participated in a clinical trial for a similar device using the Animas pump and Dexcom G4 CGM. This technology DOES work. It is great to see approval for Medtronic. It will be of immediate benefit for people with nighttime hypo unawareness.
Automatic shutoff is not precisely a "necessary" first step in approval of the artificial pancreas. The technology for full closed loop control has already been successfully tested. The FDA needs to overcome many years of dangerously conservative thinking. It is clear that many people are going to suffer complications and die earlier than they have to while waiting for the full control devices to be approved. This has to be balanced against the inevitable risk that a small number of people will die from system malfunctions, improper use, etc. The choice of which risk to take belongs with us, the patients.
Thanks Brad for posting this good news - I've been waiting for this. Although I was hoping for the Medtronic pump available in Europe that not only suspends but also initiates a bolus if sensor BG reading is too high. Someday we may see a proactive FDA.
I have been using the Medtronic Paradigm pump and Sof-sensor CGM for almost 4 years. My warranty is up in December so if my insurance will pay for it, this new system will likely be what I will go with. I really like the idea of this new device, in theory. There are 2 reasons I don't know how well it will work for me.
1) When I get low alarms on my pump, there is a significant percentage of the time when I test on my meter and I'm actually not low but I still have to eat some food just to get the alarms to stop (even if I try to calibrate with the meter reading). Also, I have found it can sometimes take 30 minutes or more for the CGM to pick up that I have eaten, even if I feel better from the raise in glucose.
Hopefully the new sensor is more accurate as they claim so it will either pick up the change fast or calculate readings closer to my actual blood glucose.
2) When I'm starting to go low and I seem to be continually dropping (i.e. I get double down arrows on the CGM display) I have tried stopping my pump and/or decreasing my basal rate, I will suffer a severe rebound high for longer.
Apart from that I hope this new system will minimize my severe overnight lows that I might be unaware of and I'm very excited to see it in action! :D
As Dennis mentioned, I am also hoping for correction bolus when running high but I really look forward to a pump that has dual insulin and glucagon--a true artificial pancreas!
Thanks for the comments everyone. I am excited for this device. I have has T1D for 32 years and my 10 year old daughter is now also T1d :( We were praying that she wouldn't have to deal with the things that daddy has to but she is a trooper and we are doing the best we can to stay as healthy as we can.
Ebgineer, the FDA has alot of things to overcome. Diabetes research is moving forward in leaps and bounds and they are still stuck in 1979 or somewhere back there. This new technology will give alot of independance to folks who may otherwise not have and they refuse to approve it for anything but clinical trial? Talk about politic"s! But thats a whole other subject isn't it?
Dennis, couldn't agree more.
MaggieJo, I use the Medtronic Paradigm with the CGM as well and have had the same issues you mentioned as well. The sofSensor does lag and that is something that Medtronic has tryed to address with the Enlite. I don't have all the specs but they have been working on this for quite some time and my hope is that this device will be the dawn of a new day in diabetes therapy. Wishing you the best of luck in december.
The FDA -- they are useless. Big Pharma is is in their network and I've been hear about a cure for 30 years. I am glad for the new pump and I have it in my had and I suffer from night time insulin reactions -- but do wake up. Usually my readings are (on my tester) are close to 30 ... It's a little scary and as I would assume it's a 40 minutes time period before I feel "normal".
I just don't trust the bolus wizard to make 100% of my dosing decisions. It's a great starting point, but you have to be able to fine tune the dose sometimes.
Do you all use the bolus wizard exclusively for your dosing? Do you have highs and lows?
That's how I do, but I also had diabetes for 25 years getting a pump. I've wondered if folks who started on the pump soon after diagnosis rely on the wizard more than those of us "old timers". Thanks Scott.
I started on my first pump after about 45 years of T1D; prior to the pump I treated aggressively with multiple daily injection of Humalog and a background insulin - Lantus after it was finally approved by FDA-
Being very familiar with carb counting and variable bolus calculations, I did NOT rely completely on the bolus wizard but used it as a guide and as a "recommendation" for me to look closer at my own calculations. The wizard is only as good as the information we give it to work with.
Jenna, I do use the bolus wizard. I have had highs and lows. One note though, my highs arent as high and my lows arent as low as when I used injections so I will continue to use the wizard.