Omnipod Vs Medtronic

[Lottieb2613]

Hi there,

im new to diabetes uk but have been diabetic since 2009 (15 years whew!) i was on medtronic for 12 years but came away as i was allergic to the g3 and the tapes/glues but my docs kept trying to push me to use the sensor and pump as a lopp system and then the past 2 i have been using the omni pod with the libra sensor 2. i guess my question is has anyone used the new 780G with simplera sensor? my current omnipod barely lasts 2 days and i get such aweful irritation from the insulin tubing and the look of the closed loop with less carb counting and 7 day insulin looks amazing but as everyone says... is it too good to betrue?

 

[SB2015]

Hi @Lottieb2613

I use the Medtronic 780G with the guardian 4 sensors in a closed loop. I will tag @everydayupsanddowns who has recently started using the simplera sensors.

With regard to looping I have found it very effective for me. I still need to carb count and bolus for meals so thee is no getting away from that, but in between meals I basically let the pump get on with its job. The pump is checking in with the sensor every five minutes and making adjustments to my basal as necessary. There are three target levels that I can use and the pump will then do the work to get me back to that. I took a long time to trust the pump to do what I had been doing for years but so glad that I stuck with it.

There is a 7 day cannula which I tried for a while. For me I found that I got skanky cannula sites so went back to the three day cannulas. I did use 6 day cannulas before with my combo pump so not sure why this was a problem and might give it another go.

I was sceptical about the looping but for me it is amazing. I self funded for 3 1/2 years which was expensive but for me well worth it as it had such a positive impact on my management, mainly emotionally.

 

[Lottieb2613]

Thank you for sharing! I am really looking into it now as i was with medtronic for a long time but my allergy to their sensors made me swap. Now they have changed them i am tempted to go back. Hearing your experience has made me hopeful about its impacts and using it day to day.

 

[SB2015]

Thank you for sharing! I am really looking into it now as i was with medtronic for a long time but my allergy to their sensors made me swap. Now they have changed them i am tempted to go back. Hearing your experience has made me hopeful about its impacts and using it day to day.

I know that some use alternative tapes under their sensors if they are allergic, or as you considered they look for a different system. I hope that the new sensors suit you. Let us know how you get on.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thank you for sharing! I am really looking into it now as i was with medtronic for a long time but my allergy to their sensors made me swap. Now they have changed them i am tempted to go back. Hearing your experience has made me hopeful about its impacts and using it day to day.

Yep I was one of the first at my clinic to start on Simplera sensors when my tSlim contract ended. I was using Dexcom 6 as a hybrid loop with it. So I've gone back to Medtronic with the MM780G (my last Medtonic was the MM640G). Early signs suggest the Medtronic algorithm suits me slightly better than the tSlim one, but time will tell.

I'm lucky not to struggle too much with skin reactions (aside from the Medtronic G3 overtapes that shredded my skin!).

Simplera is pretty Libra-like. All-in-one and very easy insertion. They last 7 days and I don't think there's any way to restart them.

I gather there's now a 7-day set from Medtronic, but I'm happy to stay on Mio30s, which are almost identical to Tandem's Autosoft30s.

Fire away with any questions and I'll answer as best I can.

 

[Lottieb2613]

Yep I was one of the first at my clinic to start on Simplera sensors when my tSlim contract ended. I was using Dexcom 6 as a hybrid loop with it. So I've gone back to Medtronic with the MM780G (my last Medtonic was the MM640G). Early signs suggest the Medtronic algorithm suits me slightly better than the tSlim one, but time will tell.

I'm lucky not to struggle too much with skin reactions (aside from the Medtronic G3 overtapes that shredded my skin!).

Simplera is pretty Libra-like. All-in-one and very easy insertion. They last 7 days and I don't think there's any way to restart them.

I gather there's now a 7-day set from Medtronic, but I'm happy to stay on Mio30s, which are almost identical to Tandem's Autosoft30s.

Fire away with any questions and I'll answer as best I can.

Hi! Thank yuo so much for replying. Have you tried the closed loop hybrid with the simplera and 780G, im a bit unsure about it running the whole show? It worries me a little as i attended an online webinar and they couldnt really answer many of my questions and kept deferring. Is the MARD a lot? i worry if i choose it and find the MARD is worse, ill be stuck in a 4 year contract. I was also curious about whether the constant correcting of insulin would cause insulin resistance as i have been told by my clinic more insulin = more chance of insulin resistance. I also asked about what i would do if my bg was high and my pump was struggling to bring it down. They said there was no manual corrections and we shouldnt be using the bolus function as a correction so what would i do? At the moment i can administer a correction manually using my PDM without a bolus.

Sorry for the bombardment. I didnt really get any of my questions answered by the team and as we all know it can be a big decision/committment.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Yes I switched to the hybrid loop as soon as I could.

I’m not sure what the MARD is to be honest. My trainer mentioned something about MARD in passing, but I can’t really recall what it was now. I got the impression they were more focussed on TIR.

Personally I’ve found the Simpleras track really well for me, especially 4-10. I have found some sensors had a tendency to over-read lower levels, and under-read higher levels, which needed a bit of calibration shenanigans, but have needed to calibrate other sensors hardly at all.

I’ve had, I think, 2 occasions in the mid-3s where the Simplera hadn’t quite caught up with reality and was still showing mid 4s, but the good news (for me) is that Smartguard is much more effective at reducing drifts into the 3s, so my warning signs are heightened.

As with all sensors, there’s going to be a bit of lag, and some frustrating situations where being told what was happening 5-10 minutes ago really isn’t ideal - but that’s the same whichever you use. I had just the same with Dexcom which has the reputation for being The One.

I always try to let the algorithm ‘do its thing’ for a month or so, and then see what options / changes I may need to make in the information I provide and in the settings to fine tune it to me. I’ve shortened my insulin acting time for example. I think pharmacologically it’s about 4-5 hours for NovoRapid, the Rep suggested 2-3hrs, I started at 3hrs, but have dropped it to 2.5. Which means the algorithm thinks I have less insulin active than I possibly do in reality, and is more able to correct higher levels earlier.

The system is currently working very well for me indeed, with TIR improvements over the tSlim, and a lower incidence of mild hypos. My consumption of Skittles and full sugar coke has reduced - because the Medtronic algorithm acts a little more firmly, and a little earlier (at both ends).

It has become clear that the system does need to know about all carbs eaten. And adding ‘fake carbs’ for a correction is, I think, less effective than letting the system add it’s own correction boluses. I can always briskly walk around the block to help kickstart autocorrections if need be.

If you are worried about the lack of bolus overrides, perhaps you!d prefer the Tandem tSlim and Dexcom? That allows you to add corrections in, and bases its adjustments on the Basal / Carb ratio / Sensitivity profile you set up - meaning you have more levers to pull in terms of tweaking the way the algorithm works.

Personally I am enjoying the handing-over of quite a bit of that brain space. I’m thinking less about my diabetes day to day, and my results are at least as good, if not better.

Monthly stats suggest 92% 4-10, with only 1% below 4.0 and nothing below 3.0.