Hi everyone!
I’m Jan and have been a T1 for over 40 years and have been on the pump for 21 years. I’m currently involved in a clinical study for the medtronic 670G and looking forward to December when that study will be done. Not my favorite insulin pump!
I work with 18-21 year old special needs students transitioning from high school to the adult world. Very rewarding job - I love my students!
Looking forward to getting to know you!
Jan
2 Likes
Hi, @warmsnow!
Welcome to TuDiabetes. How awesome to be a part of a clinical study - thank you! Will you be able to talk about your experience when it’s complete?
1 Like
Welcome to the forum!!
Hopefully you can give Medtronic some valuable feedback about the 670g! There are lots of threads on this site that cover other’s perceptions of the pump. I’m sure everyone would appreciate you passing their struggles along.
2 Likes
Sure, love to share my year-long involvement in the Medtronic study 
1 Like
I will have to search them out. Thanks for the heads up!
I was part of the study and still on the 670g. My A1C dropped from a little over 8 to 6.2. The Dexcom CGM is more accurate but does not work with the 670G on auto. Also the price of the Dexcom sensor is better than Medtronic.
3 Likes
Did you purchase the 670G or receive it as a “gift” from Medtronic for being on the study? I just had blood drawn for an A1C and anticipating the results. My last A1C was 6.6 before I went on auto, so I’m curious to see my results. It obviously had a positive effect on your A1C which is encouraging.
Hi Jan, welcome!
I have also been pumping for about 22 years, starting on the medtronic 506 or 507. Then on to 508, 511/ 512, 522, and currently on 523. So basically the same pump with little change between models. I tried the Sof-sensor CGMS in 2007, then switched to Dexcom. (T1D 50+ years).
I had to get help from sites like this to optimize my use of Sof-sensors. Which also led me to find TUdiabetes.
So in an odd way, the problems with early CGMS led me to many new friends and knowledge.
1 Like
Definitely a true statement, which is what makes the 670G (and even though not mentioned in this thread, I’m assuming the Guardian 3 CGM) so different. The 670G not only has a great interface and a number of features not in the 500 series, but it is also the first to include Auto Mode, which allows it to automatically adjust your basal (actually, it isn’t even a basal, it’s a continuous series of very small boluses called microboluses). I started using the 670G less than a year ago, and I not only loved the Guardian 3 CGM (since the Enlite with my 530G was so useless I probably shouldn’t have even bothered with it), but my numbers have improved dramatically. I used to have a daily range from about 30 to 400 (kind of embarrassing to admit, but it’s true), and now it’s usually between 80 & 240 (sometimes a little higher immediately after breakfast with a morning spike, but it always comes down reasonably quickly, and me and my doctor are working on that). I think that is a pretty significant improvement, and when I look at my numbers for the day, most of the day is not far from 100 or so. The 670G & Guardian 3 are one of the things that have changed my life (for the better) forever.
1 Like
I’m glad it’s working well for you, and good to hear the success stories. It’s more common to hear the stories from those struggling with it. If only we could identify the factors of why it works so well for some and not others.
1 Like
While I do not use the 670, I am very curious why this happens. It’s human nature for complaints to be amplified and satisfaction to remain quiet. I’d love to know the percentage split between successful and unsuccessful 670G users.
From reading the many complaints, it makes me wonder how this pump model still seems to be succeeding in the marketplace. There must be a large swath of satisfied customers.
1 Like
Thank you for pointing that out, it’s something that I wish was posted at the top of pretty much all forums & threads (not just here, but forums on other sites about other topics as well). I always feel like the minority on a lot of forums because I see more insults about what I use than I do compliments.
I’m guessing (although this is only an educated guess, I don’t have any data or research to confirm it) that one reason is because of the doctors & insurance companies that recommend and/or support it. I am perfectly happy with the 670G & Guardian 3, so I would probably keep it regardless, but I think there are a number of users that are either uninformed about other pumps & CGMs or don’t want to go to the effort of trying to get their doctor or insurance company to give them a different one. Something that one of the nurses said to me when they were uploading my pump at a visit with my endo was “We always like when our patients use Medtronic”. I never have tried to get a different pump or CGM, but then, I’m also not one of the people that is unhappy with the one I have.