Category Archives: Diabetes Technology

Pumps and CGMs and being a bear.

June 18, 2013 – 7:09 am

Oh My! There are a couple of things I want to draw your attention to. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to write about these things, but fortunately, someone else already has.

These both may seem kind of negative, and I don’t really mean to sound that way. Sometimes, I can be a bear when it comes to problems with things that are intended to help keep us alive. But these issues are what they are, so I’m telling you about them now so you’ll know. As a counter to these points, I will promise you, Medtronic, and you, Dexcom, that I’ll write something good about your products before the end of the week.

– Medtronic has sent a letter to all of their pump users with detailed descriptions of how to properly remove your insulin reservoir from your vial of insulin. Turns out, there’s a wrong way to do it and you may not know. I didn’t. Not following the proper procedure could have serious consequences. Medtronic has the write-up on this issue right here:
http://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/support/product-updates
 
 
– Also, Sara over at Moments of Wonderful experienced an issue with Dexcom™ CGM audible alarms not going off. This is not an “official” Dexcom™ issue, but in light of going low without hearing an alarm at night a couple of months back, I’m wondering about my own unit right now. Read Sara’s post here:
http://momentsofwonderful.com/2013/06/looks-can-be-deceiving/
 
 
And while we’re talking, don’t forget to vote early and often for your favorite posts from around the #DOC for the June Best of the Betes Blogs! All of the details are here:
http://momentsofwonderful.com/best-of-the-betes-blogs/
 
 
See, I did get something positive in there at the end. Toward the end of the week, the shiny side of the Medtronic and Dexcom coins.
 
 
 

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And now, back to our regularly scheduled research.

May 31, 2013 – 9:44 am

The clinical trial that I’ve been participating in since April has officially resumed after a brief hiatus.

The trial is designed to measure how patients handle their glucose levels while interacting with a specially-designed website. The purpose of the website is to produce data and information to patients based on daily logging of BGs, meal intake, exercise, and other factors. I’ll be uploading Dexcom™ G4 data every day too. The main goal of the study is to “improve glycemic outcome”. A lofty goal, and let’s hope it’s achieved. It’s really much more than I’ve just described. If you really want to find out everything that it’s about, check out the full description at the clinicaltrials.gov website:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01767831?term=ibolused&rank=1

So anyway, after taking a break so some web development issues could be ironed out, we’re back at it. I think the hardest thing about starting up again is going to be learning to swim with the Dexcom™ stuck in my gut. Those turns and pushing off the wall will feel funny at times, but I’m sure I can get over it. Besides, I only have to swim another two weeks anyway to get ready for my triathlon, and then I can take a break from it.

As before, I’ll try to give an update every week or so to let you know how it’s going. There’s only so much I can reveal while the study is ongoing, but I’ll let you in on as much as I can. Once the study is published, I’ll be able to talk about it in full if you’re still interested.

If you want to find out more about the kind of studies taking place out there, just go to the clinicaltrials.gov website and put Diabetes into the search box. A recent search found 9,688 separate entries.

I’m glad we’re starting this up again. And again, I hope it’s a big success.

P.S. This study is still recruiting participants! It’s a great way to get your feet wet in the clinical trials swimming pool, so to speak. Also, it’s a great opportunity to try out the Dexcom™ G4. If you think you might be interested in participating, send an e-mail to: mkm6x@virginia.edu
 
 
 

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Pump Issues – Medtronic and Animas.

April 8, 2013 – 9:33 am

Just in case you didn’t know, or in case you’ve moved your e-mail or physical address and you didn’t get these, here are a couple of important notices from insulin pump makers Metronic and Animas.

– First, the Med-T notice, regarding possible loose drive support caps. The drive support cap holds the pump’s motor in place. If you have a Paradigm insulin pump, check the little disc portion on the bottom, just to the right of your light button– your down arrow. That’s the drive support cap. If that disc seems to be pushing out from the pump housing, Medtronic wants you to call them and arrange to send your pump back. Don’t worry, they’ll send you a new one.

Most important: Do not push on the drive support cap! There was an instance of someone pushing on the drive support cap, causing extra insulin to be delivered, which in turn caused severe hypoglycemia. By the way, I checked the drive support cap on my own Revel™ pump and everything is okay. Whew.

If your drive support cap is pushing out, call Medtronic customer support at 1-888-204-7616 and choose option 1. They’ll work with you to send the pump back so you can get a new one. In the notice I received, there was an additional note about making sure you don’t get your pump wet. But if you’ve had your Medtronic pump for any time at all, you already know you shouldn’t take it for a swim or put it in the wash or drop it in the toilet. Not that anyone would want to do that last thing, but you get where I’m going with this, yes?

– Second, an all-out recall of certain Animas pumps. From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration:

Animas identified a component issue affecting Animas 2020 Infusion Insulin Pumps manufactured from March 1, 2012 to November 30, 2012. The component issue may trigger the pumps to sound a false alarm or warning related to one of the following:

“Loss of prime”
“Occlusion”
“No Cartridge detected”

If you receive any of these alarms, the pump may prompt you to complete the rewind, load and prime sequence to clear this alarm. Failure to follow the pump’s safety instructions and disconnect your infusion set from your body before the “rewind, load and prime” steps can lead to unintended delivery of insulin, placing you in danger of potential serious health risks, such as hypoglycemia.

The Animas 2020 Insulin Pump also has a software limitation that will impact the ability of the pump to function past December 31, 2015. After this date, the pump will no longer deliver insulin and will generate a “Call Service Alarm.”

If this describes you and your pump, you should call the Animas Product Fulfillment Center at 877-280-2339 between the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 a.m. EDT so they can work out the details of shipping your free replacement pump. If you have technical questions, or if you want to report a concern, you should contact the Animas Customer Technical Support Center at 866-793-5253. For the full notice from the FDA, go to:
http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/ListofRecalls/ucm346650.htm

For many of us, these are our lifelines. Be safe everyone. If you have a Metronic or Animas pump, check your pump now, and if you need to, do something about it… now.
 
 
 

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