The MiniMed 670G system
Editor’s Note: A few weeks ago, a Type 1 diabetes patient authored a blog post about why she didn’t want to switch to Medtronic’s MiniMed 670G billed as the industry’s first hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery system. A Medtronic spokeswoman felt the piece did not represent the technology accurately and offered to have a patient using the device write an alternative perspective. What follows is exactly that. Both the author, Sarah Knotts, and the Medtronic spokeswoman confirm that Sarah wasn’t paid or provided other incentives to write the piece. Neither does she have any ongoing financial relationship with the medtech heavyweight.
Like many living with Type 1 diabetes (T1D), managing my disease is a part of the way I live my life. I was diagnosed almost 30 years ago, and since then, I’ve been on several insulin pumps from different companies. While they all had their pros and cons, the MiniMed 670G system has been a true game-changer for me.
I started on my MiniMed 670G system during the summer of 2017 and within just two weeks, my Time in Range increased 11 percent, which is just remarkable. In addition to the clinical benefits, it’s helped ease so much of the mental burden that I deal with on a daily basis. Because it automatically delivers basal insulin, I can go on with my day knowing the system is taking care of me. For the first time, I feel like it’s not a huge burden to live with diabetes anymore. The constant background noise in my head from thinking about my T1D is gone and I’m just able to be present and live in the moment – whether at work, as a wife or as a mom. This helps me focus on work and raising a family, which is what currently occupies most of my attention, and is where I want most of my attention to be during the day.
Getting Control of My Lows
When I first got my MiniMed 670G system, I tried to minimize my expectations – after all this was not my first “new” pump. I wanted to be open minded and see exactly how it would work for me. I got trained right before I went out of town on business and was so thankful I did. I’ve always struggled with lows and before going on the MiniMed 670G system, I couldn’t seem to get control of them. During the last month on my previous pump, I experienced 11 severe lows – one of which was in the 20’s.
During the first 48 hours on the system, I was in what’s called “Manual Mode” using the SmartGuard Suspend Before Low feature. This “warm-up” period allows the system to learn your total daily insulin dose needs. The Suspend Before Low feature is pretty advanced and is the algorithm that’s available outside of the U.S. in the MiniMed 640G system. This feature saved me from going low so many times that I was contemplating just staying in this mode and not advancing to “Auto Mode” – the most advanced SmartGuard algorithm available in the system. I also wanted to evaluate the performance of the Guardian Sensor 3 before trying Auto Mode so I wore a Dexcom sensor in parallel to compare the performance. The sensor accuracy blew me away. I am getting the same accuracy – or better – than I experienced on other CGMs I had used in the past.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
This gave me the confidence I personally needed to advance to Auto Mode and I’m so glad I did.This is the true differentiator of the system as it allows the pump to automatically deliver my background (or basal) insulin 24 hours a day, based on my needs and how my glucose levels are trending. This has been a huge benefit as it takes care of most of my blood sugar fluctuations without me having to even think about it – even when my body is being more insulin resistant or I am exercising.
Now, I’m staying in my target range roughly 80 percent of the time, and my lows and highs have been reduced significantly. I’m also able to wake up in range and sleep through the night more often – which sets me up for a better day all around, even in terms of my mood and overall attitude (my husband noticed this right away!).
While I began on the MiniMed 670G system with limited expectations, I am happy with my progress thus far! The extra help that I get from the system has become integral to my life and today, I can’t imagine living without it. You couldn’t take it away from me if you tried!
I don’t worry the way I used to before, and for the first time in maybe 30 years since my diagnosis I can relax. Of course, I still have to think about my T1D, but the burden is much less. It’s not a huge thing to live with diabetes now.
Photo: Medtronic and Sarah Knotts
