I wrote this on the tu site as well but thought i post it over here as well
i saw my endo today (1/18) and we were talking about how i am on the animas. I told him the options. He said to go with the metronics but use the 670G as that would be a good fit. according to the letter that medtronics has on their website for animas users that they get the 630G if they are still under warranty. if the warranty has expired they get the 670G. any advice on how i can get the 670G so i can have the functions that it offers that the 630G doesnt? he likes the idea of the more insulin when my levels rises, etc. so any thoughts, etc would be helpful
@amymc, based on the reports we have read around here and other forums:
If your A1c is > 6.5-7% and you are “non-compliant” i.e. don’t take good care of yourself and don’t follow equipment directions, the 670G doesn’t work well
if your A1c is > 6.5-7% and you follow up well with your diabetes care, the 670G will be a positive improvement for you
if your A1c is < 6.5%, the 670G might make your control worse.
So, if you belong to the right group, going on the 670G would make a lot more sense than the 630G: the 670G is the first closed loop pump in the world. If, on the other hand, your control is too good, or if you aren’t going to be following the requirements of the machine well, then you’ll be out of luck with it.
We don’t have an Animas pump so I am not quite sure what the best way to migrate is—but I am sure that someone with the right knowledge will come along
i do follow up well with my endo. i see him again in 4 months. i make sure everything is in order. he think would benefit the closed loop. we adjusted my basal rates and going to see if that helps from getting the lows in the morning and over night.
amy, IMHO, you should speak withe the reps for each pump you are considering and also ask to do a “test drive.” it is not your doctor who will be wearing the pump, it will be you. and you are the one who has to take the responsibility into your own hands for that very reason.
i am using the Medtronic Paradigm and i love it. this is my second round with this particular pump. i keep very tight control over my D and deffinately do NOT want a closed loop pump.
and again, IMHO, if you want to have a sense of what your BGs are at any given time, get yourself a CGM, preferably the DEXCOM, and that will be very very helpful for maintaining your control and learning how your D reacts to all sorts of things (food, stress, sleep, exercise, etc)
its ok. your response is valid. i will be at joslin next month to meet with my educator to make sure everything is going well and the numbers are doing good and it here will be any changes that need to be made. she is also another good person that is helpful in picking a pump. she was the one that suggested the animas when i was ready to go on a pump. she was also helpful in getting a new supplier to get my supplies from. and both have worked out great
I don’t know much about pumping because I’ve never done it and it doesn’t appeal to me, but I can tell you that my endo is absolutely in love with the 670g… he seems to think it’s miraculous and can’t stop talking about it…
His enthusiasm is far higher than the 1 user review I’ve read online here on this forum… but he’s also probably managing dozens of people using it, instead of just one persons experience
Our endo clinic is not in love with the 670G. They have already told us they don’t think a 670G would work for us because they think we are too tightly controlled. They also say that people who aren’t really on top of their D management typically get bounced into manual mode because they don’t do all it takes to remain in closed-loop mode. But they feel it works well with people whose control is not as good but who are willing to work to fit in the closed loop regimen.
The point I got was that the 670 closed loop mode does make some significant demands, as @drbbennett pointed out.
i actually need much more tighter control. im hypo in the mornings and during the night. and im high in the afternoons. so im not completely steady at all. there are some days when im low throughout the whole day no matter what i do to keep it at a normal place.
it sounds like you need to change your basal numbers to accomodate the different BG needs throughout your day/night/over-night. if you are on the pump, it is not as challenging as MDI, IMHO. but it sounds like you should get together with a professional and discuss some changes you could make to have better, more consistent target control. if this has been a pattern every day for a period of 3 days in a row, then there is the most likely hood that its a basal problem.
i suggest you see someone asap and discuss what you can do to avoid these hypos, which are quite dangerous.
