Just started Minimed CGMS and having problems!

My husband just had the Minimed rep start him on the CGS. The problem is that the pump recognized the sensor for a few hours and then would no longer recongnize the sensor. He changed the sensor but the pump still did not recognize the sensor. The Minimed rep and helpline keep saying it is due to cellphones and wireless systems. We went outside for many hours where there is no wireless or other radio frequencies but still did not get it to work.

Any ideas?

I’m on my 3rd transmitter - had the very early kind with the stalk on it, then this clam shell version for a couple of years. When the last one stopped working and I called them, they were surprised, said they weren’t designed to last as long as that one had. I’ve been very happy with them.
None of this is official, this is just how I feel mine works
First- close matters. If my transmitter is in my right thigh, I have to carry my pump in a right pants pocket or dangling from a beltloop on the right hand side. They lose contact if I just move the pump over to a left pocket. I wear cargo pants and often carry my cell phone and my pump in the same pocket (2 different Motorola phones and now an iPhone), never had that be an issue, so I’m not sure what I make of the cell phone system being the problem.
When I first set up the transmitter, I like to hear a snap when pushing it into place on the sensor. If I don’t hear that snap, it often doesn’t transmit right. I wait until I 1) hear that snap and 2) the pump recognizes it - keeping the pump within about 1" of the transmitter until that happens then I put tape over the transmitter. If the pump doesn’t recognize the transmitter within about 5 minutes, I unclip and re-snap to hear that click and try again. I also tell the pump to look for the transmitter immediately before I click it together (which is the opposite order the instructions suggest).
If there is blood in the sensor, use a damp cotton ball or Q-tip to suck it out.
So, for me anecdotally, 1) proximity, 2) click, 3) decrease blood in and around the sensor (they tell you to insert a new sensor when you get blood - but I’d have to throw 90% of them away if I did that).
Good luck, its worth the effort!

I’ve had issues that appear to be cause by the sensor transmitter. I have resolved the issue a few times by turning off the sensor, disconnecting the transmitter, waiting an hour or so, reconnecting and all is well.

The items pointed out by TS are on mark. The other additional requirement for MM CGM is patience, wait before connecting the transmitter after putting in the sensor, wait to connect the transmitter for at least 5 min, maybe 10. If an issue, like Bad Sensor or Lost Sensor errors occur, be patient in reconnecting. The software does not like turning thing on and off quickly and inputting several BGs in to the pump in a short amount of time. If you have issues and turn on the sensor, don’t enter the BG the first time the message pops. If BGs are not fairly stable the CGM will never calibrate.

and one more thing, after connecting the sensor to the transmitter, the transmitter lights will blink. When the light blinks, the pump will go from indicating weak signal to getting a signal (the T at the top). If you see the lights, but the pump status doesn’t change, that might indicate the transmitter is working, but the pump isn’t receiving. If you don’t see the lights.then maybe the transmitter isn’t working.
The transmitter sends every ~6-10 minutes, so you can watch for that blinky light and see if the pump responds, if you’ve got 10 min worth of patience.
and +1 on S Woodward’s comment about waiting. I now wait 3 minutes before pulling the needle out after inserting the sensor, sometimes more. My dog has figured this out, when she sees me get ready to set this stuff up, she jumps up next to me and waits for her 3 minutes of pets.

When I occasionally have that problem it stops after two or three reconnections of the sensor or sometimes rechaging the transmitter for a little while. Good Luck!

As everyone else pointed out, if something is funny and not connected right, I usually disconnect the transmitter and put it into the charging station for a while, then give the sensor insert area a good clean. That “click” noise when you reconnect them is very important it seems! Also, some sensors, straight from the package, are just not as great. The whole thing about cell phones and radio as the reps are trying to claim is bull, not worth staying out of home for!

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for all the great information. Minimed has sent a new transmitter. Just arrived last night. We will try it again. Hopefully, this works because the other reason for no connection would be the pump not working correctly.

S

JohnG

What is the com-link?
The signal goes intermittingly from weak to normal, and sometimes no transmission. Today the Minimed regional rep is showing up to take a look!

I have had my cgm for about 4 weeks and have had the same problem.I did findthat keeping them on the same side does improve the isig.I have yet to get over a 25 on the isig.They have already replaced my transmitter once.I have had issues with the cgm being more than 20% different(+ or -) than my finger stick more than it has been within 20%.I am now debating weather to continue with it or just return to the 6 time a day finger sicks.

If your BG is changing quickly OR you record a BG reading in your pump while your BG is changing you will start to see larger differences between the CGM and BG readings. If some instances 20% difference might not be that material. For example, a BG of 100 vs 80 vs 120 means about the same thing - you are good to go. In other cases the difference could be more impactfull which is why they have to say that you should not base management decisions on readings from the CGM even though most of the time you are just fine doing that. IMO.

The transmitter’s signal is very weak; it is a trade off between battery life, transmitter size, and transmit distance. The nice thing about the MM (others?) is that if you miss some readings they will be sent over the next time a good link is made so you don’t loose them.

I had that same problem. Im was furious and after talking to MM, I was even more furious. They keep saying it was radio wave interference… I was like the whole world is wireless, you guys didnt think of that. She said “no”.

Then I talked with my friend at work and she said she had the same problems. She said go to Utilities and under meter options turn off your One Touch Ultra Link meter. I did that and it works perfect now. You just have to manually put your blood sugars in.

You hit the mark on this issue. The MM CGM will not function correctly if the meter link is activated. To bad it took them so long to let you know.

I use CGMS , in Canada and we use the Bayer Link Contour meter. Since I still do my finger pokes and DON"T want to " over " calibrate, I carry the Bayer Contour not linked to my 522 MM pump . I don’t seem to have the problems discussed here …to add : we don’t have cell phones . A reminder as dep mentioned as well : …the CGMS sets trends …not to be used for treating Lows/Highs unless one finger pokes .
My transmitter is well over 1 year of age by now. . I think , that even when one’s transmitter is not used regularly it may die sooner , rather than later .
Hope you have more success spousedm with the replaced transmitter . I would be really surprised , if it is the
pump , that’s creating your problem …let us know , what’s up , OK .

It works just fine for me with the meter link activated. We also live in an area bathed in all kinds of wireless signals and I carry my mobile right next to the pump on my belt.

Strange.