My First Day Of Pumping - The Medtronic MiniMed 640g Trial (1/64)

This afternoon I got set up on my Medtronic MiniMed 640G insulin pump at my diabetes clinic with one of the lovely Medtronic representatives for my trial. Despite being an experienced pumper, all manufacturers are different, so it was important for us to go through all of the many functions of the pump; such as how to set it up, put in new infusion sets and sensors and change the insulin cartridge. After being on an insulin pump for so long I tend to think of it as an extra limb, because they begin to feel like part of you, or like an old friend. So before leaving for the hospital I started to feel a little bit nervous about meeting my new pump. I needn't have worried though, although slightly bigger in size, the weight of the Medtronic MiniMed 640G was similar to that of the pump I was on before. Which meant that when the pump was set up, it didn't feel like being connected to something different.

The pump was really easy to set up, because the way it's been designed is really user friendly and very intuitive. The sensor was set up for the pump first, which had a small hand-held device for its application, that fits into the curve of your hand. You attach the applicator to the new sensor, press both to the skin and press the big green button, then upon the button's release the sensor goes in. I heard the click but I didn't feel any pain on application, not even that initial sting after it went in. Kath from Medtronic showed me an example of the sensor on a sample device and it looked like a small flexible filament, which is why I haven't felt a thing since it went in. The additional Guardian sensor/ feedback device then slotted into the applicator, and this comes with its own charging station which was about the size of two two pound coins joined end to end.

We then inserted the infusion set, I pre-selected to try the pump with angled infusions or silhouettes as they're known as, because in my experience they attach better for sport. So I attached the silhouette to the device, pulled it back and inserted it. There was a little sting but it goes in so quickly that it's over in a second. Following this we updated the pump to all of my settings such as my insulin to carb ratios and my basal rates and got to know the different menus. I look forward to really exploring the features and functions in the next couple of days.

Once inserted the new sensor needed a couple of hours to settle and connect with the pump, so it truly got going in the evening and started to sync really well with the Contour Next Link blood glucose monitor, as can be seen above. Because this is one of the many innovative things that comes with the MiniMed 640G, that the pump and meter can 'talk' to each other, calibrating blood glucose levels and you can even bolus insulin from the monitor! Another great thing is that you can set targets for your blood glucose level range, so that the pump will alarm and warn you before your blood glucose levels reach them. Then with the lows, the pump will notify you that it's suspending itself until your blood glucose levels are back in range, which enabled me to avoid having a hypo earlier this evening. So far its been good and I look forward to getting to know the pump better over my trial.