Temporary CGM Medtronic iPro

Diabetes Technology Glucose Monitoring
1

As I wait for more integration between pumps and CGMs–and improved insurance coverage–I did take the opportunity to do a 3-day run with the iPro continous glucose reader from Medtronic. The last time I wore a CGM for a previous 3-day trial was back when you had to be tethered to it, place the receiver in a plastic bag when you showered, etc.

So, I prepared to hand over my $412 (the cost to have the set up and the reports from my diabetes clinic) and was fairly impressed. It took about 5 sections for the insertion (just a twinge). The first didn’t turn on, so the nurse inserted a second. Bingo! Little green light and I’m ready to go … after the technician activates it by running a magnetic wand over it. Very Harry Potteresque.

The iPro, which is intended for clinical use, is about two inches by less than half an inch. Just slightly larger than my usual pump insertion set. It captures all reading, so you don’t carry anything else. You have to test on the provided meter just 4 times a day, continue to test as usual on your own meter, and record all carbs and insulin doses so the technicians can sync it all. Con: you can’t see any readouts; it’s not for everyday home use, but for your medical team to get info on your basal and bolus rates–sure beats skipping meals and testing every 2 hours. $412?! Pro: it’s sleek and unobtrusive.

A week or so after I turned the iPro back to my clinic, I met with a doctor and received a report that showed I need to up my bolus rates at breakfast and lunch and decrease basal overnight. Of course, what would really be cool is if I could continue to wear the iPro as I fine-tune. But insurance won’t pay for that. Silly bastards. So, it’s back to testing every 2 hours when I can find a “normal” day to collect data.

Still, it was a good experience and gives me hope that CGMs will someday be as common as glucose meters and we’ll all have much better A1Cs!

Anyone else out there had a good, bad, or indifferent experience with the iPro?

2

Kelly…what does this ipro look like from Medtronic? Did you take a pic? Also the transmitter (just received a new one because insurance is now paying) is smaller and much flatter than last years model which is good.
Ok if you have a picture please upload.

Thanks…Staci

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The iPro looks identical to the usual MiniMed Realtime system except that you don’t see the results until you download back at the office.

My feeling on Realtime vs “blinded” CGMS sessions is that the blinded ones can be really useful too. Sometimes, when you’ve had trouble getting a handle on blood sugars and you wear a non-blinded system (either MM, Dexcom, or FreeStyle Navigator) you fix things on the fly and then don’t really learn anything. If you don’t get the alarms, prompts to correct, etc you actually see the ups and downs, even in a short time - i.e. 3 days. If you want to wear something ongoing to improve control, iPro doesn’t offer what the other systems do.

Here’s the iPro - looks just like the MM realtime.

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I think I want to know what is going on so that I can adjust as needed.
Since I have been wearing the MMed I have learned the rise in bg starting in the morning around 5am. It has made me very aware of the trends. So I don’t think that would work for me as I need the readings. Thank you for the information.
Staci

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I am scheduled to have this device put in on the June 25th. You say that 412 is the cost of the whole kit and kobdle? Wow that is sort of surprising. I was expecting something more like thousands. My insurances covers this at 90 percent, so I am glad to hear of that cost. Thanks for the information.