Thread just for us old Type-1 diabetic insulin pump wearing Spyder Ryders

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: Did you get too close to a nuclear detonation? :yikes:
Sorry to hear that you had to go "Old-School"... it's tough returning to your roots; isn't it?

 

[jmnels]

just turned 38 years Type 1

Use the Medtronic pump and enlite sensors. Due for the updated version mid 2019.
Still shopping for a Spyder so on two wheels.

I always check BS before leaving the house. As well as battery and reservoir level. I've been "pumping" since shortly after medtronic brought out the commercial line from research.
The doc I had used one also and was great at understanding and relating to what was happening.
First diagnosis way back was a blood sugar of 923. I thought I had the flu.

Had 2-3 trips to the ER each year with midnight lows prior to the pump. Not one since.
Still think it is kind of a pain in the ass, lol. But I'll deal with it versus the alternative issues.
Plus the wife kicks my butt occasionally to keep me on track.

 

[Bob Denman]

:welcome:
Since you're still on two wheels: :nopic: of your ride? :2thumbs:
Which pump are you currently using; is it the 530G? :dontknow:
The new platform for their pumps is a complete change from the old familiar ones that we were used to.
(I switched from my 530, to a 630; in anticipation of the new hybrid system. I wanted some time to get used to the new design...)
Medtronic called last evening: they're just waiting on some paperwork from my primary care... :banghead:

 

[OverHillAndDale]

:shocked: Did you get too close to a nuclear detonation? :yikes:
Sorry to hear that you had to go "Old-School"... it's tough returning to your roots; isn't it?

Yes, MUCH tougher than I expected. I tried to simulate the pump with frequent shots but really didn't nail it. Plus, I found myself reaching for my hip to look at my current BS, which of course wasn't there.

I never went nuclear as in above 400 or below 50, but I was definitely armed and ready.

I don't get the next pump until August of 2018, so if my local fellow diabetics are still kicking with one I'll make the switch.

 

[Bob Denman]

Hopefully I'll have the 670 all sorted out by then...
(I'm STILL finding features on this 630, that are really neat! :clap

 

[tobor9]

My pump(mm723) expires on 6/28/17 and i'm hoping to get the 630g just for the bigger color screen, i don't use cgm so don't need the 670g just want to be able to see it!

 

[Bob Denman]

The 630 is a GREAT platform for the next generation of pumps! :thumbup:
But in Sunlight: it's a bitch to read... :shocked:
(Truthfully: I'm pretty "low-vision"...)

 

[Bob Denman]

PUMP UPDATE

After six Months: I've been moved from the Medtronic 630, to the new 670 insulin pump.
This thing is designed to work with their latest Guardian Three Blood Glucose Sensors, and it really seems to be a big improvement.
The pump is "learning" all of the time. It will figure out when you're approaching a low blood glucose event, and shut down a preset period of time before that occurs. Once things start getting back to normal: it will resume doing it's thing! :thumbup:
Once it is in "Auto Mode": it takes over complete control of what used to be your Basal Rates of insulin delivery. It will constantly be checking your blood glucose levels, and making those tiny background adjustments that keep things running within normal limits.
It seems that they are giving the pump more autonomous control of things. That gives us a chance to find our trouble elsewhere!
But I'm gonna be a couple of weeks figuring out where they hid all of the control features... :banghead:


I was JUST getting used to the 630!

 

[Warlock]

After six Months: I've been moved from the Medtronic 630, to the new 670 insulin pump.
This thing is designed to work with their latest Guardian Three Blood Glucose Sensors, and it really seems to be a big improvement.
The pump is "learning" all of the time. It will figure out when you're approaching a low blood glucose event, and shut down a preset period of time before that occurs. Once things start getting back to normal: it will resume doing it's thing! :thumbup:
Once it is in "Auto Mode": it takes over complete control of what used to be your Basal Rates of insulin delivery. It will constantly be checking your blood glucose levels, and making those tiny background adjustments that keep things running within normal limits.
It seems that they are giving the pump more autonomous control of things. That gives us a chance to find our trouble elsewhere!
But I'm gonna be a couple of weeks figuring out where they hid all of the control features... :banghead:


I was JUST getting used to the 630!

They say I'm a type 2. On insulin completely now. Take 4 shots a day. Take 18 unit of humalog before each meal and 60 unit of Toujeo at night. All of this is with the pen. Like the pen better than the syringe. Been a type 2 for several years. Just last month I went to a specialist. Still in the testing mode on what is needed. It seemed all of a sudden I couldn't control my sugar with the pills. I know on what insulin I'm on I really have to watch what I eat. I might look into the pump myself. They had talked about a V-GO pump
David

 

[OverHillAndDale]

I've been a type-1 since 1964, taking hundreds of gallons of insulin since then.

The pump isn't a perfect answer to managing the diabetes, but I find it FAR easier and more consistent than shots, even very frequent shots. It works you to death with changing out the sensors and infusers and testing your blood sugar, but so do the syringes.

My A1C averaged over 8.0 before the pump, and hover around 7.0 since the pump.

 

[Bob Denman]

They say I'm a type 2. On insulin completely now. Take 4 shots a day. Take 18 unit of humalog before each meal and 60 unit of Toujeo at night.
David

Hi Dave!
You are what is referred to as an "Insuline-Dependent Type 2" diabetic.
(A whole lot of Type 2s end up like this: it's not your fault!)
Imagine only having to change out an infusion set when the reservoir is empty (Every three or four days...); as opposed to those four shots EACH and every day! :shocked:
It's a whole lot less stabbing!

(on pumps since 2000)

 

[tobor9]

Me too

They say I'm a type 2. On insulin completely now. Take 4 shots a day. Take 18 unit of humalog before each meal and 60 unit of Toujeo at night. All of this is with the pen. Like the pen better than the syringe. Been a type 2 for several years. Just last month I went to a specialist. Still in the testing mode on what is needed. It seemed all of a sudden I couldn't control my sugar with the pills. I know on what insulin I'm on I really have to watch what I eat. I might look into the pump myself. They had talked about a V-GO pump
David

I'm also T2, but after pills, insulin pens etc. stop working got a C-Peptide test and found out my Pancress quite making insulin,I'm now on my 3rd pump, just got the MM630G(i wont be going on the 670G as i don't do CGM) so far i like it as the big color screen is MUCH easier the read, but yes Bob i too am still learning all the buttons.

 

[Bob Denman]

Please consider going to the CGM if you can... nojoke
Here's why I think that it really helps:
Assuming that you test your BG four or five times each day: that gives you a "snapshot" of what is going on at that moment.
But it doesn't tell you anything else! :shocked:
With the CGM: you'll need to calibrate it three times daily (I do mine when I get up, in the mid-afternoon, and at bedtime) You simply do that by testing your BG, and making sure that the value in entered into the pump. :clap:
By doing this; your pump will keep track of your BG values 24 hours a day, and it will be able to give you those values.
EXAMPLE:
Under your current setup, you have just tested your BG, and get a reading of 115 clap::thumbup
But where is it going? Up or down? Should you be grabbing a snack to prevent a low, or throwing in some insulin to prevent a high?
The pump will keep running graphs available for you, so that you can see where the numbers have been... and where they are going.
And your 630 will do a GREAT job of providing this information to you!

Please consider it...

 

[purplepig]

1966 to Present

http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2014/11-nov/carpe-diem-life-list.html

Sorry they didn't print pictures of Spyder! Since the article, I have shipped my Spyder to California and ridden home solo and ridden down to Tail of The Dragon with a friend on his bike. When I got my pump, i figured out I had taken over 32,000 shots in my life. Dan

 

[Bob Denman]

:clap: :congrats: :2thumbs:
What a great story!

 

[Bob Denman]

Something that I have learned in the past two days:
The 670G DOES take over a whole lot of the decision-making... :shocked:
When setting up a bolus with prior pumps: you could make the decision to have either a Normal, Square-Wave, or Dual-Wave delivery.
(For those non-diabetics who are still reading
A bolus is just a delivery of insulin. You decide how much you want (Based upon your caloric intake and/or blood glucose level, and have the pump deliver it.
A Normal delivery simply pumps in the amount of insulin that you have asked for
A Square-Wave will take that amount of insulin, and delivers it over a period of time that you specify.
This can be up to eight hours. I normally never went much beyond a three hour square-wave
Dual-Wave deliveries are really cool! You take the amount of insulin that you want, and break it down into a n amount that you want delivered "Normally", and the rest of it is then delivered in the Square-Wave manner.

Anyway: When you're in Auto-Mode with the 670: you can only bolus in the Normal manner.
Since the pump is handling the basal deliveries: it just watches your BG levels, and will add extra insulin, as your BG rises... :clap:
In effect: it has taken over the Square-Wave delivery feature of prior pumps!

What I have found; is that it doesn't seem quite capable of keeping up with my meals. I sort of have to "trick" it into giving me extra insulin, by telling it that I'm taking in more food.
So far: so good! :2thumbs:

 

[tobor9]

Please consider going to the CGM if you can... nojoke
Here's why I think that it really helps:
Assuming that you test your BG four or five times each day: that gives you a "snapshot" of what is going on at that moment.
But it doesn't tell you anything else! :shocked:
With the CGM: you'll need to calibrate it three times daily (I do mine when I get up, in the mid-afternoon, and at bedtime) You simply do that by testing your BG, and making sure that the value in entered into the pump. :clap:
By doing this; your pump will keep track of your BG values 24 hours a day, and it will be able to give you those values.
EXAMPLE:
Under your current setup, you have just tested your BG, and get a reading of 115 clap::thumbup
But where is it going? Up or down? Should you be grabbing a snack to prevent a low, or throwing in some insulin to prevent a high?
The pump will keep running graphs available for you, so that you can see where the numbers have been... and where they are going.
And your 630 will do a GREAT job of providing this information to you!

Please consider it...

Thanks Bob,but i'm T2 and it would not be as useful for me as it is for a T1,and the cost(don't know if Humana would cover) is too high!

 

[OverHillAndDale]

What I have found; is that it doesn't seem quite capable of keeping up with my meals. I sort of have to "trick" it into giving me extra insulin, by telling it that I'm taking in more food.
So far: so good! :2thumbs:

Bob - I just want to make sure that I'm following you as I not yet blessed with the new pump.

Are you saying that you can't bolus for a meal, OR that it doesn't do a good job of quickly adjusting if you DON'T bolus?

 

[Bob Denman]

Bob - I just want to make sure that I'm following you as I not yet blessed with the new pump.

Are you saying that you can't bolus for a meal, OR that it doesn't do a good job of quickly adjusting if you DON'T bolus?

What I think that I'm trying to say, is that the pump's algorithms seem to be aiming for blood sugars that are high enough to keep us safe.
I have mine set in "Auto-Mode"
(So Dr. Daystrom has programmed the Enterprise to pilot itself! )
When I want to bolus for a meal: I get to the bolus screen, and it asks me for a BG reading, and a carb count. It will then figure out how much of a bolus is needed. (based upon insulin sensitivity, active insulin time, and carb ratio)
It doesn't use the dual, or square wave bolus feature in Auto-Mode: it just seems to be constantly inputting tiny correction boluses. (.05, to .15 units at a time). This "sort of" keeps me close... I just need to add in some extra boluses, to aim for my much lower BG targets.
I've got a call in to Medtronic Support right now, to discuss some of this. I'll let you know what I learn! :thumbup:

 

[OverHillAndDale]

Sounds like like the bolus calculation is still intact.

I'm bugging Medtronic again about offering a higher-resolution screen for their phone app so I can better read my blood sugars while on the Spyder. I know you avoid this technology, but I find it extremely useful to be able to monitor while I ryde.

Looking forward to watching your regular reports on the new pump technology.

Dale