Posts from the ‘Pumping Insulin’ Category

Guest Post: How the MiniMed 530G Changed My Diabetes Management (Without Ever Even Seeing it in Person)

SUM is being borrowed today by Christopher Angell, fellow PWD and creator of GlucoLift, so that he can share his thoughts on the Minimed 530G … without having ever seen or used the system.  What is he on about?  Find out …

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Leading up to the launch of the Medtronic 530G (and what a long lead-up it was) I kept asking myself “What’s the big deal?” It seemed like, apart from a new sensor (which some data had already shown to be a minimal improvement over their previous sensor, and a far cry from the already-extant Dexcom G4 Platinum) the only real innovation was the introduction of the low glucose suspend (LGS) feature, which shuts off insulin delivery after a series of alarms alerting the user about low blood sugar are ignored. “How useful could that possibly be?” I wondered.

We’re constantly told that, because of the action curve of our rapid acting insulins, changes in pump basal delivery should be calculated for events 30-60 minutes in the future. So how does shutting off my basal drip help me if I’m crashing NOW?

Still, my curiosity got the better of me.

Now, I don’t use a Medtronic pump (Tandem t:slim), or a Medtronic CGM (Dexcom G4), and I don’t even get all of my basal insulin from my pump (my current split is about 57% from my pump and 43% from a single bedtime Lantus injection). So my experience is probably in no way directly comparable to what someone using the Medtronic system would experience. Nonetheless, I started experimenting with what I’ll call MLGS (manual low glucose suspend). I didn’t use it for all of my lows, but there are a couple situations where I’ve found it to be rather useful.

The first is where my bolus and my food may be correctly matched, but are out of step. For example, say I bolused for a meal that’s mostly protein, fat, and some slower carbs, like a steak with sides of spinach and broccoli. Then after the meal, I notice a slow dip on my Dexcom, but I KNOW that once the meal starts digesting, there will be plenty of food to give the insulin I have on board something to do.

Previously, I would have eaten one or two proactive glucose tablets to keep the insulin busy while the steak and veggies get over their stage fright. Now, I’ll just unhook my pump, or set a temp rate of 0 units for 15-30 minutes. And as long as I didn’t way over-bolus, that dip tends to reverse on its own, and I’ve managed to avoid unwanted, unnecessary carbs (delicious though they may be). This is especially useful if I’ve eaten a late dinner, and don’t notice the dip until after I’ve brushed my teeth. I can still get into bed, unhook, and read until I see the CGM line flatten out, then hook back up, without re-fouling my pristine pearly whites.

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The other situation where I find myself implementing MLGS is with my serious, all-hands-on-deck lows. You know, the ones where every second spared from their depths means less of a hangover, and more of my day returned to my control. There are two caveats to using MLGS with this type of low. The first is that, since I’m not at my most functional when these lows hit, I’m more likely to use the “unhook the pump” method than the “very responsibly set a temp rate” method. This means that it’s very important to remember to re-attach my pump after I turn the corner on the low. The second is that since disconnecting, even for a little while, leaves me more vulnerable to a rebound high, I always treat these lows with glucose tablets, as opposed to my fridge-clearing binges of yore. I know when I’ve eaten enough glucose to right the ship, but I have to be disciplined enough to trust it and not pile another 50g of future disaster carbs on top.

When I do those two things successfully, my bad lows feel less bad, and I seem to recover from them faster. Can I measure/prove this? No. Do I care? Not really. If it feels to me like it’s working, and I believe it’s an improvement, then it kind of is, even without hard data to verify or explain it.

So even though I’ve never used the new Medtronic MiniMed 530G, or even seen one in person (as far as I know), it has nonetheless made a positive contribution to my diabetes management toolkit, which, when you think about it, is pretty impressive.

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Christopher Angell is the founder of GlucoLift glucose tabs (I have a stash of them in my cabinet, and they are so much better than your average glucose tab) and a good friend, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 30.  He’s contributed here before, exploring the t:slim insulin pump and both travel and dental woes.  For more from Chris, you can check out the GlucoLift company blog.  To taste test GlucoLift glucose tabs for yourself, you can purchase them from their online store, or write to caring@glucolift.com for samples.  Tell ‘em Loopy sent you.

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