Hi,

I have finished my trial with the Medtronic Paradigm 722 CGM (Continous Glucose Meter) after a very kind offer from Medtronic to try the CGM to see how I found it.

So the trial it really did take some getting used to as you basically have another thing stuck in your butt the size of a 50p coin not forgetting I already have a canular for my insulin pump. The sensor is a bit of a pain to put on at first as you think it just inserts like a canular but you actually need to have a clear breathable sticky patch over the whole thing to stop it falling off. It certainly does not look pretty but once on feels fine to be honest and the clear patch they provide does a great job.

I did find that the alarms were quite annoying to tell you your BG was low/high or you need to calibrate by checking your BG on a standard meter, you still must test your blood sugar three times per day to callibrate the CGM. I know it must alarm to tell you what is going on but it is a little annoying. On the flip side I did have a few low BG during the night and the CGM did actually alarm to warn me which is a great weight off my mind. The CGM would be perfect for single people with Diabetes just to give them that boost of confidence while a sleep knowing the CGM would alarm if your BG is too low. The sensors do last for 6 days each which is long enough and it does feel nice to take it off as it does when wearing a canular for an insulin pump. I did find that my BG was far more stable while wearing the CGM as I know if I had a problem the pump would alarm especially during the night. I also find that sometimes   without the CGM   I will go to bed and my BG could be 6.0 but of course I don't know if my BG is rising or dropping so normally eat something to wake in double figures. The Medtronic software is also great and very simple to read which I find is a must, I have downloaded my results and will be emailing them to my Diabetes team to have a look at as the CGM measures your blood 24/7.

To conclude I would 100% have a CGM if I could afford it or maybe when the PCT fund them as it will most definitely help to control your Diabetes far better.

Thanks for your time and I will of course try to answer any questions you may have and dont forget you can follow me on Twitter @MyPump1.

Andrew Borrett

Hi all,

I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity of trialling the Medtronic Paradigm 722 Insulin Pump with a CGM (Continous Glucose Monitor) which I must say is amazing. I hope by me trying this peace of kit it can help you decide whether or not it is something you should consider. The actual piece of kit is an addition to your Medtronic Paradigm or if you are luck enough to own a Veo insulin pump as it works in conjuction with your pump (Also available seperate). One of the big down sides for me is that this piece of kit is not funded by your PCT (Only in serious cercumstances) which is a real pain as the costs of the sensors could be approx £2000 per year +/- so please check with Medtronic.

Anyway back to the trial, I have just   been given a kit to try which contains the wireless device which connects to the sensor to allow the sensor to talk to the pump along with four sensors which I now understand last for 6 days each. The sensor is similar to your existing insulin pump   canular but seems to have a slightly longer/larger needle (Nothing to worry about though) and also needs a clear sticky tape which covers the complete sensor as it is risky that the sensor would be knocked off. Once the sensor is in your body with the clear tape over it you can hardly tell it is there but I would highly recommend these clear tapes which cover the sensor (Speak to Medtronic for more details), as the wireless part of the sensor does seem to flap about a bit. I was a little nervous at first putting the sensor in as I only had four to use but found it fairly easy once the clear tape was covering the complete sensor I guess it is all a bit of trial and error at first. Once in the sensor takes 2 hours to initiate and then you take a BG to calibrate to sensor then after this the sensor will alarm to tell you to calibrate by entering a BG every 12 hours. I have so far used one sensor for the past three days and found it quite accurate as there is a slight lag but it is more the fact I can see what my sugars are doing over a long period of time especially while I am a sleep. The second night was a good test as the pump woke me during the night with a low BG of 4.4 so I did a BG to double check and my blood sugar was 4.8 and falling so I was very impressed. It does take a bit of getting used to putting on the sensor and calibrating etc but it is like everything once you get used to it its like second nature. I can actually look at my pump screen at anytime of the day or night to see my BG level which is great but it is of course not as accurate as a blood glucose test which you still need to do before meals or rather this is what i was doing (Please check with your Diabetes team for exact useage). The pump shows the last 3 hours history of your BG or 24 hour history on a clear screen with options to change alarms for low bg or high bg etc.

I have still two sensors to try as one of the sensors I seemed to mess up - not sure how to be honest but thought I would have a break for a day or so and then get another sensor on the go as I really think it is amazing. The big thing for me is that even if the CGM is not yet 100% accurate it would still let me know if my sugars were too high or low which is great for when you are a sleep.

I will of course keep you updated with my findings as my trial continues and please do let me know if you have any questions bt emailing me on info@mypump.co.uk or visit my Twitter page MyPump1.

Thanks for reading.

Andrew

** Please note when I mention pump sensor BG it is not actually measuring your blood sugar but glucose levels in tissue fluid.

Hi,

I was lucky enough to have been invited to visit Medtronic in Switzerland this weekend in Luasanne Switzerland which is very close indeed to Lake Geneva.

The objective of this event is to collectively discuss and explore the internet communication opportunities as part of a patient's quest to manage his/her diabetes mellitus.

Attending the event was a really great person from Medtronic UK called Justin (USA Born - lucky on the football)   who was very new to the world of Diabetes so I think he was broken in during this event ha ha thanks for your support Justin. There was also myself, Lesley from http://www.input.me.uk/, Tim   from Scotland   http://www.shootuporputup.co.uk/   and not forgetting Mike from Madrid who is also UK born http://www.diabetesinspain.com/. Also we had some other Diabetic bloggers from Austria and Germany who I am afraid to say I do not have there web site details but hopefully I can add at a later stage.

The event was to provide diabetes diagnosis and therapy information with regard to new technologies, products and applications. We were of course asked to sign a confidentiality agreement to say that we would not pass on any top secret info and all I can say is that Diabetes Technology is flying fast and I hope we will all be able to benefit from this technology in the very near future. I also hope that we managed to give Medtronic some good idea's for future products/software and even info pages.

I was really suprised at how open Medtronic was regarding product development etc and I really feel quite honored to have been invited. The whole group of course tried to put our message accross as experienced Diabetics to try and cover as many aspects as we could relating to technology and information for people living with Diabetes.

Thanks again to all at Medtronic for looking after us all and it was also great to meet with some fellow people living day to day life with Diabetes.

Great news !!!

I cant believe it I have finally received the Medtronic Paradigm 722 Insulin Pump after waiting for Berkshire PCT to sign off the funding. It has only taken them  approx 10 weeks - which is unbelievable considering Wycombe General put me forward for the pump back in October. My next stage is pump training which is at Wycombe General on 4-2-08 so I am really excited and will of course keep my progress updated on the Blog !

I have never used an insulin pump and have been Diabetic since 1972. At the moment I am using Nova Rapid three times per day and Lantus once per day, so the idea of only having to inject the pump canualar once every three days sounds brilliant - the only downside I can think of is that I have to keep it on 24 hours per day.

But hey we will see .......

Just to give you an update on my Medtronic Paradigm Pump 722 situation. I have been contacting my Hospital in High Wycombe and they have been contacting Berkshire PCT to find out what is going on with my pump. Basically all I can find out is that I meet the criteria to get funding for a pump but Berkshire PCT are dragging their heals. I have also contacted John Davis and Leslie from www.input.me.uk   who are really excellent and helpful. Leslie has told me she will contact my local M.P. to see what can be done for me.

On another note I had a meeting with Elaine from Bayer Healthcare on 15-11-07 to talk about their blood glucose meters and products for Diabetics. After a great meeting with Elaine we have decided to add Bayer products and descriptions to www.mypump.co.uk and I will also be writing a short review about the products once I have given each a fair test.

Dont forget to keep checking my web site as new items being added over the next few weeks. Click on the mailing list and I will contact you with new products etc.

Hi this is my first Blog so please bear with me !

I have been waiting to go on an insulin pump since about February 2007 when I went to High Wycombe General Hospital and my consultant recommended the Medtronic Pump. It all sounded a little high tech and a bit scary to be honest but I was told how it could help my glucose control. So the wheels started and my next step was to go on an "Insulin/Carbohydrate Counting Course" at High Wycombe Hospital to teach you how to work out the exact insulin dose for how ever many carbohydrates you have. This course I managed to get on was early October for 4 days over 4 weeks which is the best course I have ever been on and learned alot. Once you have completed this course you need to speak to your consultant about going on a pump, they will then check if you meet the criteria and then contact your local PCT (Primary Care Trust) to see if you get funding. I was lucky and the PCT said yes but I am still waiting to get the pump but I hope to receive it soon and then have a training afternoon.