Review of the MiniMed™ 780G system one year later

One year on the Medtronic MiniMed™ 780G system

My name is Jaime, and I’m a Medtronic employee and #MedtronicChampion who’s had type 1 diabetes since I was 3 years old.

I’ve worn an insulin pump for the last 20+ years. Over the years, it's been very easy to get lost in the countless blood sugar checks, numerous sensor changes, and daily management of a disease like type 1 diabetes. It's a blur of juice boxes, juggling insurance claims, doctors’ appointments, pharmacy runs, tears, waking up covered in sweat in the middle of the night, laughter, mental math, pump alerts, triumph, calloused fingers, workouts, strength, and glucose tablets.

But over the last year, I’ve had something in my corner of the ring as I put on the gloves and continue to fight this disease.

The MiniMed™ 780G system.

I originally shared my review of my first 30 days on the system, but I thought it was super important to come back after a full year on the MiniMed™ 780G system.  By now, I’ve had plenty of time to try it out and put it to the test, so let’s dive in!
 

What I love about the MiniMed™ 780G system
 

1. Sleep has improved

Hands down, one of the biggest impacts for me personally is the improved sleep. Not only am I sleeping more soundly, but I'm not getting woken up by alarms because SmartGuard™ is doing its thing. It’s working in the background and constantly adjusting to keep me in my target range.^‡

When I'm more rested, I can show up as a better wife, mama, advocate, friend, and colleague. Not only that — my HUSBAND is sleeping better! He is more confident in the system’s ability to keep me in range, so he can rest easy.
 

2. Less mental burden

I'm not constantly thinking about my diabetes all the time (aka doing mental gymnastics to calculate exercise + insulin on board + hormones + time of day + carbs).

Now, I give my pump the best estimation of my carb intake I can before each meal, make sure to set a temp target before I exercise, and boom — I'm less worried about it!
 

3. Time back with my family and friends

This ties back to #2! Since I'm not taking as much time worrying about managing my diabetes, I'm now free to spend more time with the people I love. This added time back with my friends and family and also gave me the opportunity to be a little more spontaneous.

I will forever be a planner (that’s just who I am!), but with the MiniMed™ 780G system and its ability to make adjustments every 5 minutes,^‡ I have the freedom to be more spontaneous with meals, activities, and travel.

4. No calibrations (fingersticks)^Ω with SmartGuard™ technology
 

Excluding the one fingerstick I have to do each week when I change my sensor to get into SmartGuard™, I do not have to check my BGs nearly as often as I used to. Overall, I’ve found the Guardian™ 4 sensor to be fairly accurate, and I feel confident trusting it to do its thing. My fingertips have never felt so good!
 

5. My endo is happy

I have had several appointments with my endo since I switched to the MiniMed™ 780G system, and needless to say, we are both pleased with my A1C and my Time in Range. It was really impactful when he pointed it out at my last visit.
 

6. I can eat bagels

Don't laugh, but I never used to eat bagels because they would just destroy my blood sugar. I'm happy to say that bagels are back on the menu with the MiniMed™ 780G system!

7. I feel better

I’m the type of diabetic who has a lot of blood sugar fluctuations based on stress, activity levels, and hormones. I would constantly be chasing a high spike right before I presented in a big meeting at work or chasing a low after a gym workout.  The constant ups and downs were exhausting — mentally and physically.

The pump is quietly giving me tiny little corrections in the background that gently bring me back into range. It’s adjusting dosing when I miscount the carbs in a Panera Asiago Bagel (oops) to cover me.  It’s adapting for the weird slight spikes I get when I lift weights. I’m seeing more straight lines on my graph than I have in my life!

And because of that, I feel better. I feel stable. The roller coaster of blood sugars in the past is no more.

And I’m loving the way I feel now!
 

What I wish the MiniMed™ 780G system had

It wouldn’t be a proper review if I only talked about the good things though, right? Here are some of the things that I struggled with:

1.    Sensor arm insertion is challenging
 

I said this in my first review, and it still holds true — arm insertion is challenging if you are by yourself. I’m not flexible enough to do the arm insertion by myself. I need to have my husband on deck every Sunday to help me insert my sensor. It has caused a bit of a scheduling challenge when one of us goes out of town, so I’d love an easier insertion process.

I did find some helpful sensor tips that might work for you too.
 

2.    Exercising takes trial and error
 

Learning to manage exercise is a little tricky when you first start on the system. Full transparency: it took me a few months of trial and error with the Temp Target before I found the right time to start it. I also finally figured out that I had to start it at different times depending on the type of workout I was going to do. A weightlifting session needed a different protocol than a hike would, and sometimes it was a challenge to remember to do it in advance.

(Note: The user guide suggests setting a temp target 1-2 hours prior to exercise.)
 

3.    The mobile app could be better
 

I would absolutely love more functionality from the MiniMed™ Mobile app. It would be amazing if I could bolus from the app. Or clear alarms! This would be really helpful especially when I’ve got my pump discreetly tucked away in my clothing.

Any time I do have to interact with my pump, I have to pull it out, so engaging with it via my MiniMed™ Mobile app would be so much easier.
 

4.    You have to trust the system
 

I might be the only one, but I used to enter “fake” carbs when I didn’t think the system was being aggressive enough for my liking. I would tell it I was eating 10 carbs (and not actually eating 10 carbs) in an effort to bring my sugar down faster, only to find out that I was inadvertently causing myself to go low later and/or hampering the system from truly being able to adapt to me.

So, take it from me…. trust the system. Let SmartGuard™ do its job. Once I trusted the system and stopped trying to trick it, my experience (and my TIR!) was much better.

I hope this review helps you, and if you have any questions about my experience on the system, drop them below!

Footnotes
^Ω Fingersticks required in manual mode and to enter SmartGuard™. If symptoms don’t match alerts and readings, use a fingerstick. Refer to user guide. Pivotal trial participants spend avg of > 93% in SmartGuard™.
^‡ Refers to SmartGuard™ feature. Individual results may vary.
 

MiniMed™ 780G system with SmartGuard™ technology with Guardian™ 4 Sensor

The MiniMed™ 780G system is intended for continuous delivery of basal insulin at selectable rates, and the administration of insulin boluses at selectable amounts for the management of type 1 diabetes mellitus in persons seven years of age and older requiring insulin as well as for the continuous monitoring and trending of glucose levels in the fluid under the skin. The MiniMed™ 780G System includes SmartGuard™ technology, which can be programmed to automatically adjust insulin delivery based on the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensor glucose values and can suspend delivery of insulin when the SG value falls below or is predicted to fall below predefined threshold values. 

The Medtronic MiniMed™ 780G System consists of the following devices: MiniMed™ 780G Insulin Pump, the Guardian™ 4 Transmitter, the Guardian™ 4 Sensor, One-press serter, the Accu-Chek™ Guide Link blood glucose meter, and the Accu-Chek™ Guide Test Strips. The system requires a prescription from a healthcare professional. 

The Guardian™ 4 Sensor is intended for use with the MiniMed™ 780G system and the Guardian 4 transmitter to monitor glucose levels for the management of diabetes. The sensor is intended for single use and requires a prescription. The Guardian™ (4) sensor is indicated for up to seven days of continuous use. 

The Guardian™ 4 sensor is not intended to be used directly to make therapy adjustments while the MiniMed™ 780G is operating in manual mode. All therapy adjustments in manual mode should be based on measurements obtained using a blood glucose meter and not on values provided by the Guardian™ 4 sensor. The Guardian™ 4 sensor has been studied and is approved for use in patients ages 7 years and older and in the arm insertion site only. Do not use the Guardian™ 4 sensor in the abdomen or other body sites including the buttocks, due to unknown or different performance that could result in hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.
 

WARNING: Do not use the MiniMed™ 780G system until appropriate training has been received from a healthcare professional. Training is essential to ensure the safe use of the MiniMed™ 780G system.

WARNING: Do not use SG values to make treatment decisions, including delivering a bolus, while the pump is in Manual Mode. When the SmartGuard™ feature is active and you are no longer in Manual Mode, the pump uses an SG value, when available, to calculate a bolus amount. However, if your symptoms do not match the SG value, use a BG meter to confirm the SG value. Failure to confirm glucose levels when your symptoms do not match the SG value can result in the infusion of too much or too little insulin, which may cause hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.

Pump therapy is not recommended for people whose vision or hearing does not allow for the recognition of pump signals, alerts, or alarms. The safety of the MiniMed™ 780G system has not been studied in pregnant women, persons with type 2 diabetes, or in persons using other anti-hyperglycemic therapies that do not include insulin. For complete details of the system, including product and important safety information such as indications, contraindications, warnings and precautions associated with system and its components, please consult https://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/important-safety-information#minimed-780g  and the appropriate user guide at https://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/download-library.