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Diabetics ripped off by Medtronic

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
H

hazel666

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi all im a newbie and appologies for starting with a rant. The minimed transmitter for my CGMS/insulin pump cost me hundreds of pounds yet only lasts 12+ months. This is on top of the sensors you have to purchase at ?160 for 4 with a 6 month shelf life. There is nothing to state these facts on the Medtronic website. I feel absolutely ripped off! 😡
 
Hi Hazel, welcome to the forum 🙂 I'm surprised to hear this - I know that CGMS and sensors are expensive, but I haven't heard from anyone that they weren't fully-apprised of the costs before purchase. What were you expecting prior to purchase?
 
Hi thanks for your reply. I was aware of the initial cost of the transmitter but was not aware that the irreplacable battery in it would only last 12+ months. They really should state this on their website. Also there have been reports of innaccuracies in CGMS readings when transmitter ages.
 
hazel666 said:
Hi thanks for your reply. I was aware of the initial cost of the transmitter but was not aware that the irreplacable battery in it would only last 12+ months. They really should state this on their website. Also there have been reports of innaccuracies in CGMS readings when transmitter ages.
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I see what you mean :( I had an idea the transmitters had a limited lifespan, but didn't know it was so short.
 
Oh well will just keep on doing finger pricks and will not be buying another transmitter from medtronic, though it was useful during pregnancy. Will look at other manufacturers in future.
 
Sorry to hear this Hazel.

Not sure where I heard it, but I did come across the limited transmitter lifespan when looking into self-funding CGM some years ago (it may even have been a thread here) - though I think it was Dexcom which was something like ?600-?700 for the transmitter, which I'd thought had a 2 year lifespan.
 
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The thing is, surely in todays day and age this transmitter could use small replaceable batteries anyway. It is very convenient that Medtronic only supply the sensors in boxes of 4 or 10 and they expire within 6 months isnt it?
 
Forgive the possibly stupid question, but why cannot the battery be replaceable? Is there some medical reason the gadget should not be fiddled with?
 
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AlisonM said:
Forgive the possibly stupid question, but why cannot the battery be replaceable? I's there some medical reason the gadget should not be fiddled with?
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I'm wondering if it's a certain type of battery that reduced costs in the engineering of the product? I once bought an (expensive at the time) mp3 player with a non-replaceable (but rechargeable) battery. Didn't realise that the thing would only live for X number of charges :( Or maybe the device contains other elements that also have a limited lifespan and the expiry of the battery would conincide with these?
 
Well the sensors only last absolute max 14 days don't they (in use) so you'd use 10 in 5 months if not sooner. If you only used them sporadically then I expect you'd buy the box of 4.

The transmitter lifespan seems to be common knowledge amongst those who are interested in it.

Whose advice did you take before getting the thing?
 
It is a sealed unit and as far as I can see no way of opening it but any suggestions welcome🙂
 
12 months does seem very short Hazel. This thread on TuDiabetes seems to suggest people are getting 4 years before the transmitter needs replacing.
http://www.tudiabetes.org/group/min...-span-of-a-cgm-transmitter?xg_source=activity

I guess you've already been back to Medtronic to ask them about it, but if you haven't it might well be worth contacting them.

Having said that, this page on the Medtronic Diabetes UK site does state that the transmitter is expected to last 9 months (4th bullet under usage) http://www.medtronic-diabetes.co.uk/help-support/cgm-sensors.html so they are being pretty upfront about it.

It's an expensive business that's for sure!

Roll-on the launch of one or other of those non-invasive sensor free CGMs that are in the works. That'll put the cat among the pigeons pricing-wise!
 
Hi hopefully I can help with this. The transmitter in the second and the Medtronic do not have a replaceable battery. We used our Medtronic transmitter for 5 years before we had to replace it. They work better and longer if used constantly and this is both Medtronic and dexcom. I've never heard they only work for a year. They have a six month warranty and I think dexcom is slightly longer.

We are into year two of our latest transmitter and it's still going strong 🙂
 
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