With a chronic illness, comes the responsibility of self-care and carefully planning your next moves. Treating yourselves with the best possible care strengthens the chances of you preventing unwanted situations and sustaining them in the long term.
The current technology being used in the medical tech industry has improved drastically along the way, being consistent with Moore's law. The devices are more compact and intuitive, though there is always room present for improvement in every device. I had a chance to use Medtronic's latest CGM and pump and I thought of sharing my review with anyone considering upgrading to a 770G from an existing device or getting a new one.
A fine morning, I received a call from Medtronic. The Samaritan informed me that I am due for a pump upgrade and should look for getting a Continuous Glucose Monitor along with the pump.
I have been using an insulin pump from Medtronic for the past 4 years. Turned out I have to pay AU$250 per month for the CGM but it sounded like a deal to me because I actually wanted to try on a CGM for a while.
Browsing through the available options, reading about the latest developments in the CGM models,
I came across a post from Medtronic that claimed that their newest pump Medtronic 770G had been awarded FDA approval and is hitting the markets soon.
Without ado, I called Medtronic support and asked if I could sign up for a 770G instead of the primitive older model 670G.
The agent assured me that he will have the brochure for the new pump sent over and then I can decide and let them know. As I started digging deeper through the details, I figured that 770G monitors your glucose levels 24/7 and the system could predict whether you’re going high or low.
It claimed to continuously adapt to your insulin needs based on the real-time data and personal trends while smoothing out the highs and lows with Smart-guard™ tech that increases or decreases insulin delivery, every 5 minutes.
Moreover, the CGM connected seamlessly with my iPhone and let me share real-time glucose levels with another user, so my family could get access to the app and could monitor my levels remotely.
All these features came packed in a compact device. I was sold on the idea. I was so excited and called the agent again and told him that I would want to sign up for 770G.
The upgrade was scheduled for November. The agent said that usually when the pump gets approved by FDA. it takes a couple of weeks to be released in the consumer market. I was sitting on my haunches, waiting for a callback and the phone call came mid-October.
I was happy. I called my family telling them all hyped up about getting the new pump. One of my friends joked that people get excited about getting a new phone or laptop, clothes or jewelry, and here I was, getting worked out about a medical device and all I could say to him was that he had no idea how it will make my life easier dealing with Diabetes and Gastroparesis at once.
I did realize that unless someone is living with any chronic illness, they just will not understand what we go through in a day and how difficult our lives are trying to manage our illnesses while managing a job or study or social life. They have not worked out the words for expressing the inconvenience that you have to endure, just to not be left behind.
The Medtronic team scheduled the delivery of the pump for 23 Nov 2020. I was so happy as the nurse went through the details about the pump. I was listening with a keen ear. Noticing the undivided attention, she looked at me and said I know it's gonna help you so much. I couldn't help but smile.
After I got home. it was a strange feeling having a CGM on. I'm still getting used to it. The high and low alert alarms woke me up a couple of times at night but after one week when my pump was put on the Auto mode it started working on its own and since then I haven't had a high BG that often.
My levels have been in the range most of the time. Though I am still struggling with my carb count because I have to change back to doing it in exchanges to grams now but the learning curve is on the upside. I am understanding so much about the human anatomy and how my body reacts to certain stimuli as I get the continuous graph of my blood sugar levels on the pump and my phone.
Here are my big time recommendations to anyone who is considering to get the new 770G.
You should go for it, hands down. I give my huge thumbs up to Medtronic's development and the support team for the innovation they are bringing to the table. Keep up the good work.
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