670g - "Do Not Calibrate. Updating Sensor" message

Hey all,
I got my Minimed 640G a few months back and I also have the enlite sensor (on my arm). I change the sensor every 6 days (it does last 6 days for me). The problem is the same for me aswell (updating sensor message). Strange thing is that it does this right after I change my sensor (I charge it and put adhesive on it). This is the second time I am getting this message (it does not accept my calibration, even though I checked my BG 2 times). Any recommendations or anything? Just to be clear: this message pops up rarely, but when it does itā€™s frustrating as hell.

Laszlo

I switched to manual mode about a year ago because auto mode doesnā€™t work at all for me. Unfortunately, the Sensor Updating happens just as much in manual mode. For me, itā€™s not the tape or water or being loose; itā€™s bad sensors.

The thing that gets me is, why doesnā€™t the pump software know to handle that situation better. Too often times the pump insists you do something that then causes problems.

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Day 4 of using the 670G!! I think the highs I see after meals is because it appears that the pump stops basals right when you bolus wizard. My glucose can be normal when I pre-bolus and immediately the pink dots go away in the graph. As I eat, you can see the glucose rising very steadily. Frequently, even though I have active insulin, at get to over 200 when the pump starts to bolus again but it takes usually until 3 to 4 hours later to get back to 120. Do you all see that? I am a firm believer also that fast acting insulin is not fast at all.

You got it right! Your pancreas (were it working as designed) does not continue to give a background basal when it bolusā€™s, so neither dose Auto Mode. It took me a while to figure this out and now that I understand it, it makes perfect sense. SO what needs to be done is for the carb ratio to be tweaked to more properly address the carbs being eaten. When your carb ratios are right, you will not see that long lasting spike in BG. All the best!

I just had the same thing happen lol , Iā€™ve had this pump for like 4 years I think and Iā€™ve had two pump failures . Because they say itā€™s water proof but I would make sure you limit it because I would go swimming with it on and it the sensor would stop reading and so on . I only got the pump because of auto mode and with shots I couldnā€™t control my sugars at all especially at night because they would be out of control no matter how much Lantus and insulin I would take . So I really do appreciate the auto mode when it does work for me .

Hi, yā€™all!

I have been using the Medtronic 670G for about 4 years now. I believe my 670G will fall out of warranty this summer. These ā€œDo not Calibrate, Updating Sensorā€ happen ALL the time, usually the day of or day after insertion. It drives me bonkers at night, especially. They have replaced my sensor, Iā€™ve taped this sucker down with 2 of the supplied tapes AND once it starts working, over-tape the whole thing with a FixiC patch to make sure it doesnā€™t move. Of course, I have a tape allergy, so I use Skin Tac under all of it, except where the sensor actually is inserted. I actually use an alcohol wipe to wipe the entire area down, draw a circle, then Skin Tac a wide oval around that circle to make sure my sensitive skin is protected from any adhesive. Then I careful line up the needle on the Insertion guide to make sure it hits within the circle and it doesnā€™t hit any Skin Tac adhesion. That sensor does NOT move once the FixiC patch is on.

But the Do Not Calibrate alarms are maddening today. They started within an hour of the first calibration, while I was out to eat with friends. I ended up going to the bathroom and turning the sensor off to make them stop. But I turned the sensor back on around 2 today, calibrated, but then got the Sensor Updating - do not calibrate about every 30 minutes sense. I clipped the sensor onto my pants directly on top of the FixiC patch, but it just keeps alarming. SIGH. Iā€™m going to try putting it on manual mode for a few hours to see if that resets it.

Otherwise, I think Iā€™m done with Medtronic. I canā€™t sync my iPhone to it. All the different alarms (other than the low blood sugar alarm) are just aggravating. Iā€™ve been on an insulin pump since 1994, and I appreciate having this artificial pancreas, but Iā€™m tired of being awakened all night by the alarms. My endocrinologist now suggests to their patients to go with T-slim with the Dextron sensor. I just got to get to the warranty end so the insurance will pay for it.

Thanks for the tips!

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Hi @Sherrirbgr . I use TSLIM with Dexcomā€™s CGM myself and am very happy with it. The Medtronic alerts are an issue people have mentioned on the forum and Iā€™m sure people will chime in here. Since youā€™re out of warranty your doctor can go ahead and start the authorization process for TSlim. I hope youā€™re very happy with it as well.

Iā€™ve read a lot of these problems with the 670 but I have only it had once or twice with the 770. I understood that the software was the same between the two but maybe not? The auto mode doesnā€™t work well enough for me.
Anyway, on my body, the sensors work quite well on the arms only. If you are very slim with little body fat, then that is probably going to cause you problems with a cgmā€¦actually all cgms that I have used.

How old is your transmitter? And was your transmitter charged for at least 3 hours the very first time before you used it?

I realize this is an old thread, but am responding since itā€™s still so relevant. I recently returned to auto mode on Medtronic 670 G and my issues are the same as they were when I first started using it almost 4 years ago! Right back where I started!

Itā€™s not the transmitter, because it did the same thing when my transmitter was brand new. And, Iā€™ve worn the Sensor on my belly and armsā€¦.makes no difference. Itā€™s taped securely and isnā€™t moving. Still happens.

Itā€™s not being blocked by laying on it, because it does it during the day, as well as during the night. Canā€™t sleep through the night, not even one night. Enter BG always. ā€¦ā€¦and Sensor updating which may recover, but normally ends in Change Sensorā€¦ā€¦all happening when BG has been stable and good for hoursā€¦ā€¦BG 100-130 for 4 hoursā€¦ā€¦Go figure. Lol.

I love the resultsā€¦ā€¦my BG numbers are awesome, but my sleep and mental health canā€™t take it. I donā€™t do well in manual mode, even with basal right and accurate carb boluses.

For those who posted they were switching brands, how has that worked out?

Dee, I am curious. Are you familiar with the abbreviation ā€œISIGā€ (impedance signal) that the 670G measures to calculate a pump userā€™s blood sugar every 5 minutes? (It is a pump parameter that can readily be accessed by any individual using a 670G.) I ask this question because in my own situation adhering to tight blood sugar control (my last A1C was 5.9), I have observed that my pump starts reporting blood sugars lower than they really are when the ISIG is less than about 19.00.

Thatā€™s interesting. I have read about ISIG, though I donā€™t fully understand exactly what it means. I check it to make sure itā€™s not too out of whack. I donā€™t think mine has ever been low. I think 22-32. Maybe too high. But, get thisā€¦for the last 2 weeks I have had awesome control with very little annoyance from the CGM. (I had a couple times my BG went low and I overcorrected with carbs. That was my fault.) The CGM is almost exactly what my finger sticks say. Iā€™ve even gotten sleep most nights without notifications and without Enter BG! Why? Zero sensor processing! I have no idea whatā€™s going on. Everything is the same. Oh! The only thing I changed is my Low Alert number. I changed it from 80 to 90. Iā€™m not sure how that has helped. Iā€™m in auto mode 80% of the time, I must be dreaming. How long will it last? Hopefully, until Dexcom G7 is paired with Tandem. Lol. Seriously, if Medtronic worked this well consistently, Iā€™d stay with it.

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Iā€™m glad you are doing better since you changed your alert from 80 to 90. In my case as well, I have found that a 90 alert is much, much better than a lower level alert.

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