Does anyone have any “inside” information about when the Simplera will be approved for use with the 780G? Just started the 780G with the G4, and putting the new sensor on is a major PIA. I went through 4 sensors, and I’m not sure the one I finally managed to get on is actually going to work.
Between the problems I had with the Libre 3 and the difficulty I’m having just inserting a G4, I’m just about ready to pull the covers over my head and not come out till spring.
And someone please tell me who wrote the instructions for the manual. Only put the sensor on tha back of an arm, but then use BOTH hands to secure it. Since when does an arm fold up backwards?
According to the FDA, Simplera was approved last July.
Not sure about insurance and/or Medicare coverage though.
I have no idea who come up with the bright idea to wear the G4 on the back of the arm. FWIW I just wear it on my abdomen and it works just fine fine for me.
The standalone Simplera was approved In August. Ruth is asking about the Simplera for use with her 780G. I dug through clinicaltrials.gov and found the trial for the pump integration completed in January 2024. If the trial went better than the standalone Simplera trial then we’re just waiting on the FDA to approve it and Medtronic to release it.
The government isn’t known for getting things done quickly.
Unfortunately, abdomen is where my insulin sites are. Also, bothe tha G4 manual and my Medtronic trainer said to use the fleshy parts of the upper arm for best accuracy.
MedT’s decision to follow a closed-ecosystem model and make their pumps exclusively compatible with their proprietary CGM rather than opening them to integration with 3rd-party CGM systems continues to seem like one of the worst strategic blunders in the industry. They just aren’t that good at it.
I use the right side of my abdomen for CGM sensors (G7 currently) and the left side of my abdomen for infusion sites. Dexcom wants the G7 on the arm as well but they also want an over patch on it and that takes BOTH hands (or another person and there is just me and my dog).
@ruth4 Medtronic is currently enrolling participants for their FDA post-market surveillance study on the 780G. They’ll pay you to tell them how difficult their sensors are to use.
Thanks, spdif. It’s been a busy week, so I just now had a chance to look at this. It seems like you have to take surveys for a year? Did I understand that correctly? If so, oh hell, no!
I’m changing my pump site tonight, and I’m going to put a sensor on my abdomen. I’ll test several times tomorrow, and if it’s working correctly, that’s where I’ll wear them fom now on.
I spoke to tech support 3 days ago, and they said that Medtronic isn’t expecting the simplera to be approved for use with the 780G until the end of '25 or the beginning of '26. Bummer! I’d really like to know who the idiot was who designed the G4 to be worn only on the back of the arm, but also designed it to need both hands to insert and prep. Didn’t anyone try it before they put it on the market? It seems like the ultimate in stupidity.
I’m going to try that tonight. If it works, I’ll use the right side for the pump and the left for the G4, like what you do. If I add the right side of the back of my hip/upper butt, I should still have enough sites for good rotation.
And like you, bsmorgan, I live by myself with 2 cats, and even if I could train them to help, that’d be a recipe for complete disaster, as they don’t like having their claws trimmed.
I also rotate the sensor & insertion sites so that I don’t overuse a single location.
I must admit that I have never tried the back of the arm spot so I have no idea how the sensor behaves there. But I will say it’s a bit finicky at first sometimes off as much as 20 or more from a finger stick when it first kicks in after the 2 hour warmup. If it’s 20 off I just enter my meter number and it accepts it. I check later in day and if it’s still off I just recalibrate. After that it seems to work fine. If it’s off by much more than 20 I just wait a few hours and then calibrate.
I occasionally have one where it will just die after 3 or 4 days with a ‘replace sensor’ error so I just get Medtronic to send a replacement.
LJAZ…good information, thank you. I inserted it yesterday and I’ve checked with my meter a couple of times. Once 7 points off, once about 20. Then, this afternoon, I’m getting update notices every couple of hours. Its currently updating for the fourth time today, and it’s apparently got 2.75 more hours for the update. Have you ever experienced this?
@Ruth4 Yes, the their study means they have to listen to you tell them their product “seems like the ultimate in stupidity” for an entire year. How much compensation are they offering? You could recruit other TuDiabetes members to join the study with you.
I’ll look into, spdif, when I boot up the computer. Too much to read on the phone.
But, really, it absolutely boggles the mind to think someone designed this system and thought it was okay. Maybe it’d be okay on another planet where the denizens have 3 hands?
Short version:
Either bad location, BG changing too fast or BGM value way off. In any case the pump doesn’t trust the CGM and is waiting up to 3 hours for things to settle down. If the CGM is still confused after three hours the pump will tell you to put a new CGM on.
…with your three hands. I know its crazy, that’s why I tried to warn you.
Haha. Thanks. I’m just beginning to wonder if somebody or something in the cosmos doesn’t want me to have a CGM. First I got 15 defective Libre 3 sensors, now this. I dunno - I’m still able to put together an IKEA type desk (with about 90 bolts and screws), a gas grill, install a new thermostat, etc., but I just can’t seem to manage what should be a very simple thing.
Ruth, yes I’ve had that happen but not very often. If it’s early on you can just disconnect the transmitter, turn the sensor off wait a while then turn it back on and reconnect the transmitter to start all over. That has worked for me.
Otherwise you can go to the minimed store and get them to send a replacement.
I have no idea how this finicky-ness compares to having the sensor on the back of the arm since, like you I only have 2 hands so I’ve never been able to put one there. For what it’s worth most of the time it works pretty well for me, and it seems when I have issues the sensors come from the same box.
So I put another sensor in yesterday, and now the pump is running either 20 points above or 20 points below the bg meter. I’m also using way too many test strips. GRRR!
And, the pump keeps wanting me to calibrate with the meter, but when I do, it doesn’t accept the calibration.
