Starting 670g

Hey guys! This is my first time on here and I am very excited to see what everyone has to say!! Tomorrow, I am getting set up with the Medtronic 670g and the guardian sensor. I was wondering what people think about it! Also, I’ve never had a CGM, so I would like to know what people think of them!

I have been on the 670g now for the last 3 weeks and at times wished I did not go on the 670g but will give it more time before going back to my old pump. Emailed my trainer and never heard back so not to sure about the trainer. Just make sure you read the documents then reread the documents this pump has a LOT of features. good luck

What do you not like about it?

My 15 year old son has been on the 670g for almost 5 months now. We have had a few hiccups along the way but overall it has been amazing. The sensor is very accurate most of the time. In the first 8 weeks his A1c went down 1.2 points. We ha e our next 3 month check tomorrow and can’t wait to see where he is at. For us it has lessened the daily burden of type 1. He tests less and is reminded less that he has it. Good luck on starting your 670g.

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@larlarbrobar HI,

you didn’t say if this was also your first pump?

I’ve had medtronic pumps since 2005, and I have also have and used CGM. starting both for the first time may be a little overwhelming but if you like gizmos it isn’t impossible.

the 670, in manual mode, is exactly like every commercially available pump from Animas, t-slim or insulet (Omnipod)

the 670, in auto mode, is unique because it uses the CGM to modify the basal rate program, effectively making it a “closed loop” pump (blood sugar influences the basal rate). all pumps to day are feed-forward, meaning that blood sugar has zero (or minimal in the case of auto-suspend) impact on insulin delivery.

ill pause here for a moment - if you’ve never had a pump, you kind of have to learn pump terms first

okay so pump pro’s and con’s have been around a long time. the pump’s flexible basal rate is the best thing about it for me. con’s include increased scarring, infection, and increased risk of DKA

CGM pros include knowing your bs all the time! however cons include CGM error, accuracy, lag, large and sometimes painful sensors, batteries charging, and understanding how calibrations are supposed to work.

good luck with your new pump, if it’s your first I recommend getting a book called “Pumping Insulin” and “Think like a pancreas” and, more importantly, allowing 6 months of actual effort before making a decision to continue or abandon ship.

Thank you for all the advice! I have been on a pump prior to getting the 670g, and so far I love it! I also do have those two books you mentioned!

@larlarbrobar cool then you are a pro. I would input my previous basal rates and then try out the CGM. previous medtronic CGM sensors were (in my opinion) from “meh” to OK. the biggest issues are if the sensors work for you and how you calibrate them. I have had the absolute best results when I calibrate the CGM sensor when I am sure my BS isn’t changing - I would sometimes skip a meal and check bs by finger stick over an hour, then calibrate. good luck I hope you are one of the people the cgm works great for! cheers!

Thank you for that great tip for calibrating! I am really looking forward to the sensor so that I can be alerted before my blood sugar goes high or low. If it works well I think it will be a great help!

I just ordered the 670 system and I can’t wait to get trained and start using it. I’ve been using a pump since 2000 and I’ve had pretty good control until recently and I’m hoping to get my A1C into the 6 range.

Thats so exciting! I’ve only been on it for two days and I love it! Next week I have my first appointment to start getting set up with the GCM. It takes 3 weeks to be able to use the sensor to have the closed loop feature. I wish you the best of luck with the 670 and getting your A1C down!

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Hi! I should be getting my 670 in a few weeks, but
I’m on the 630 with the Enlite CGM and LOVE IT!! I don’t have to do as many FS and I’m alerted when when BS starts going down or up!!
It changed my life for the better, and saved my life numerous times!

I have been on the 670 for 5 months and love it! The thing is you have to be patient as it takes at least a couple weeks to learn you and during that time it may be a little crazy. Also, you have to make adjustments during the first few months. Here are some tips:

  1. NEVER EVER calibrate if your meter and cgm are more than 35 points apart. Wait for the cgm to catch up and then test again. When you are within 35 points than you can calibrate. If you calibrate when you are more than 35 points apart it will send you into a continuous and frustrating loop and your sensor may end up failing.
  2. If you are having constant high bg than adjust your active insulin and/or your insulin to carb ratio. I have had to constantly adjust my active insulin time and am now at 2:15 hours. The less active insulin time the more aggressive the algorithum will be.
  3. Don’t over correct. Let the pump do it’s thing. Every time you do a correction the artificial pancreas part of the pump will turn off because you will have insulin no board and it won’t want to adjust on it’s own.
    I hope these tips help everyone. If you have more questions you can email me at jirwin@jdrf.org. Thanks!

Thank you for the great tip! I just got set up on the CGM today so I am in the process of calibrating it over the course of the week.

Hi. I use aT-Slim insulin pump myself, but I’ve used a Dexcon CGM for many years now and love it. As I’ve gotten older I’ve become less comfortable driving because I don’t trust my reflexes as much as I used to and people in my area are insane drivers. Having my CGM gives me one less thing to worry about when I’m behind the wheel, as well as when I’m home alone.