I have been pretty darn right confused about my calibrations on my 722 minimed pump. Yes, I have the continous glucose monitor. What I don’t get is when I put on a new sensor, I have to wait 2 hours to calibrate it, even though I test and put my bg reading into the enter meter bg thing, and it won’t show my meter readings. A lot of times my pump will tell me after a new sensor is put in when my next calibration should be and my alarm with “meter bg now” goes off like a half hour or so before my pump said I had to calibrate it. Also, when I don’t change my sensor and my 3 day period is about up, I will go to sensor start then new sensor and my pump alarm will go off about 15 minutes later and say “meter bg now” and I’m like "So why is it when I insert a new sensor I have to wait 2 hours and when I don’t, I have to calibrate it 15 minutes afterwords? How does my pump know that?"
Oh gosh, that was a lot to say but I hope someone can help clear things up a little for me.
I find this weird too!
And I always would have problems during the 2-hour wait period after inserting a new sensor, where as I wouldn’t if I start new through my pump for an existing sensor. THEN, Laura here told me that her trick was to insert the sensor, connect the transmitter, don’t tell the pump about it for 2 hours. After 2 hours or so, then tell the pump to start the sensor–and you’ll get the “Meter BG Now” message in just a few minutes.
I don’t have a clue what triggers it to say “hey I’m ready!” O.o
Oh that’s a good trick. I might have to try that sometime. So, when you enter your new sensor, you can still know your bg readings are. Okay!
It has to have the 2 hrs to soak up the fluids. Weird and kinda gross, but that’s what it is.
It still won’t give you readings during those 2 hours (you’ll get lost sensor after disconnecting the old one; or you’ll be on sensor end). But, I find this way much more stable – I would always get sensor errors during the two hours before doing it this way!
I guess what I was trying to say was that, I would expect it to always be 2 hours from when you select “start new sensor”. So to me, it would have seemed that if you connect the transmitter and leave it there for a few hours, that you’d still have an additional two hours after telling the pump to start the sensor. But this isn’t so! Instead it seems to have already figured things out and asks for my BG right away.
Seems the longer wait occurs the first time the sensor is physically inserted, not when you tell the pump to start the sensor (causing their 2-hour message to be totally misleading the second go around).
I was just going to say something but now I forget. Oh yeah, do you turn your sensor off at all?
Well that makes since.
I haven’t yet, but I’ve only been on it since the beginning of November. I’m too addicted to it, I think. My mind goes a little bananas during the few hours I have to wait between new sensors! XD
I always forget about that. That and when the sensor is not “wet” enough in the first place. Weird and gross, indeed! 
True Story!! I do too! Hey, I just posted a new discussion you should check out. I just wrote it.
I always wait 5 minutes before I first insert my white sensor thing to that other thing in my belly in order to get wet and all bloody first.
It is ISIG levels. When it hits the magic number it will alarm. It has to get “wet” and when you restart it after 3 days it is all ready “wet” and ISIG level is high enough.
From what I have been told, when you put the new sensor in, it takes sometimes hours to get good saturation on the sensor…that is why when you bypass having to put a new sensor in, it doesn’t take as long…if you have had the one sensor for 3 or more days then the sensor is pretty saturated…I had major problems in the beginning but I am starting to get better with it…and alot of the time, it depends where you have the sensor placed…It’s hard to find a good spot along with a good spot for your pump…we are just human pin cushions…
Have a Merry Christmas
Okay so the alarm will go off at a maximum of two hours and if it gets wet enough.
Mine will sometimes go off before the 2 hours when I insert a new one if it is wet enough. Today it went off about an hour after I inserted it.
Ok, thanks for the info!
Kasi:
Here is what I do when I start a new pump and CGM. When I start the new pump and CGM I turn the sensor off completely. Two hours later I turn it back on and give it few minute or so and it will call for a calibration. I did this because I was haivng such difficulty with a lost sensor warning during the two hour period. I mean it was driving me nuts, ok nuttier, This new method has really worked out for me. It stops the calibration nonsense you are talking about and the lost sensor errors I was having. Damn aint I sm…oh i know that is just wishful thinking.
Never mind abotu the smart stuff !!!
Rick Phillips
Some people insert the new sensor before going to bed and then turn it on in the morning when they get up. By then it is wet enough as well.
Good comments so far! I normally insert a new sensor the day or night before (to make certain it’s fully bathe in instititual fluid) while the old one is still in and working on day 6 (before the internal timer to disconnect it after 7 days kicks in). I put paper tape over the flat part of the new sensor after insertion to insure it’s secure. Then the next morning I pull the old sensor, charge the minilink transmitter (which doesn’t take very long), attach it to the new sensor, and start the 2 hr callibration period (it ok to delay the start sensor for 2 hours after connecting to the transmitter if that’s a preference). I’ve found this method really improves the accuracy for me.