Hi,
I would like to know if anyone else has had any experience with Medtronic Connect, the new smart phone app/blue tooth device. So far I have been using mine for about a month and overall I love it! Since I use my phone all the time, I find myself checking my data on my phone more…I like the features the app has such as the ability to go back and look at the time when my BS spikes or drops and figure out what (if any) adjustments need to be made. My pump screen doesn’t give me exact times so I really like this feature. I also like that it tells me when my calibration is due because I don’t have to worry about “over calibrating” or having to get up in the middle of the night to do a calibrate which we all know can be extremely annoying. A lot of great information at my fingertips for my sensor and pump. I know exactly how much time is left on my sensor and whether or not I have a good sensor connection. I also know how much insulin is left in the pump and whether or not the blue-tooth is connected.
My Medtronic connect also eliminates the need to download my meter onto the care-link site. This makes it a lot easier to talk with my care partners. Not only can I look over the data at anytime, but my care partners as well. I have had the opportunity to use this while I was sick with the flu and my endocrinologist could monitor my glucose on her end because of the automatic upload. Even with the flu; I was able to keep my sugars under 250! And better yet, a small amount of keytones keeping out of DKA. When I am sick DKA is a big deal for me!
I have set up my system so that my husband and adult children get alerts on their phones when I am not getting any insulin. This usually happens when I have a kink in my line or my infusion set pops out while exercising, but it’s pretty rare so I haven’t had any experience with this alert yet. My husband also gets alerts on his phone when I drop really low. If I don’t respond to the low within 10 minutes or I keep dropping low while treating he gets an alarm on his phone.
There are a few things I would change about the app. I would love to be able to go in and “capture event” like I do with my pump to mark any extra meals, exercise or insulin I take because I add this information all the time. Also, placing the blue tooth on the back of my pump with velcro made it too thick to stick in my pocket so I have been wearing the clip with pump and putting the blue tooth device in my pocket. I have seen video of people attaching the blue tooth device to their infusion set line but I haven’t tried it yet.
One last thought…I taught special education for many years and I also am a child of T1D; diagnosed at age 7; before pumping or glucose monitoring. If I had a child with T1D I would want this…teachers, the school nurse, administrators, etc…would know when that child was in danger for highs and lows; especially if they are in a lock-down situation and the student can’t leave the room. If I were a parent of a child with T1D I would want the peace of mind knowing my child’s needs are met; even when they can’t ask for it…(that’s my special education blurb:)
I would love to hear about your experience with the Minimed Connect.
