[Diabetes-Talk] Medtronic 5G pump question

Wed Feb 17 22:05:19 UTC 2021

I do not have that particular model of med Tronic pump but the only thing that a blind person seems to be able to safely do is to enter a bolus for meals or corrections. In regards to your severe low blood sugars you might want to keep three or four glucose tablets in a Ziploc bag in your pocket at all times if you start to feel thollll low or get a alert from your Dexcom just sit down wherever you are and pop them in your mouth. I also keep glucose tablets in every room of the house as like you say there often isn’t time to get to the kitchen and get to the juice.
You also asked if the pump has a feature where it will turn off if your blood sugar gets low. Your pump might have that feature but it only works if you are using the Medtronic sensor that connects directly to the pump and although the sensors seem to work fine for some people, other people have found them to be extremely inaccurate and so they don’t feel comfortable relying on them to stop the pump when the blood sugar gets low. The Dexcom will not communicate with Medtronic pump at this time.

You said that this was a new endocrinologist. It sounds like at your next visit you may need to educate her on blindness and how it affects your ability to do some self management skills. Doesn’t sound like she has a clue.
To provide him or her with more information to help with insulin adjustment if you are not already doing it in the Dexcom app you can enter insulin, carbs, exercise, and other events directly into the app so that when your provider downloads it they can compare that to what your blood sugars are doing and see if they can find some patterns to suggest changes.
Patricia

Sent from my iPhone

> On Feb 17, 2021, at 12:53 PM, Veronica Elsea via Diabetes-Talk <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Joyce, you cannot do this on any of the Medtronic pumps without assistance,
> from my experience trying the different pumps. This is how most newer pumps
> work and it's what I have been doing for quite awhile. Of course, at best if
> you could enter the carb info, you certainly couldn't read what the pump was
> suggesting. I don't know your specific pump but on many over the years, you
> might get a different number of screens, depending on whether or not the
> pump thinks you need insulin or not. The other thing is that I don't think
> the Medtronic takes meal boluses into account when calculating insulin on
> board. So if you took 4 units for a meal, and your insulin action time was 4
> hours, 2 hours later you'd still have insulin active in your system. If you
> entered a blood sugar number that was normal, it wouldn't say, oh, 2 units
> remaining so we won't slow things down. That is one potential way that you
> could go low if your insulin to carb ratio has changed or your insulin
> action time. Since you have an older pump, you might sit down with someone
> to see if you can count menus to find things, but the input effort may not
> help you immediately. The only gain would be that when your doctor downloads
> your pump, the data would be there. 
> This is what I've been yelling about for years. I have long thought the best
> reason to wear a pump was to take advantage of things like the "insulin on
> board" feature and that treating a pump like a glorified pen where we just
> enter a bolus just wasn't gooe enough, and not the best standard of care. We
> deserve better. And wow! You sure do right now. So a good chat is in order
> to figure out whether you are actually stacking insulin or your body is
> changing and responding differently, or your pump is delivering too much.
> You have my sympathy and I wish I had more to offer. But I hope I've given
> you some direction of questioning that might help.
> Please keep us posted.
> Veronica
> 
> 
> "Guide Dogs, First Hand", Veronica Elsea's classic album is now available on
> iTunes, along with other music from her and from the Guide Dog Glee Club. 
> To learn more, visit:
> http://www.laurelcreekmusic.com
>                 Veronica Elsea, Owner
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> Santa Cruz, California
> Phone: 831-429-6407
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diabetes-Talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> blindhands--- via Diabetes-Talk
> Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2021 4:00 PM
> To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'
> Cc: blindhands at aol.com
> Subject: [Diabetes-Talk] Medtronic 5G pump question
> 
> I went to mu endocrinologist today.  I have been having a lot of inulin
> reactions and bad enough to pass out on the floor & waking up 2 hours later.
> 
> 
> 
> Now I have had my pump for 4 years.  I count carbs, check my Dexcom and
> calculate what I need to bolis  for meals and count out how many units,
> lesten and hit OKto take it.  When I went in today and we had a long chat
> about what I need to do, she told me she wanted  me to enter my carb count
> and BS level and it would calculate a dosage and ask me to confirm to OK
> that is suggested.
> 
> 
> 
> Now I am a bit puzzled as I never did anything like this before.  
> 
> 
> 
> I looked on my IPhone and realized The Dexcom is on my IPhone, not my pump.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The more I thought about what she told me, I realized I don't have any
> talking ability to do this.
> 
> 
> 
> So those who have the 5G pump can I do this without any sighted help?  What
> would I be looking for on the pump?  Boliss?And my last question with the 5G
> pump if your blood sugars going low is this pump one that will stop giving
> insulin for a certain length of time??
> 
> 
> 
> I have no light perception and basically home alone most of the time.
> 
> 
> 
> I have had BS drop quickly enough that the Dexcom starts with the beeping
> and by the time I walk15 feet into my kitchen and tried opening a can of
> pineapple juice I have passed out and I find myself on the floor a couple
> hours later.
> 
> 
> 
> Joyce Kane
> 
> Kane Kids Shop
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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