The adoption of a new, first-round tech was a frustrating failure for me back in 2018. I had been hoping that the six-month-old first closed-loop external pancreas system would help me get increasingly fluctuating blood sugars under better control. It didn’t, and I had to find another less-tech-dependent way, which I did.
At the time, I thought I would give the tech another try once things had settled down. I never did that. But recently, with the Type 1 diagnosis of a child close to me, I have been talking with the child’s parent about some of the research they have been doing. The experience of 30 years is very different from that initial flurry of research one does when first diagnosed. There were things the parent was learning that I might not know. One of the things that kept popping up was “looping”. I had never heard of it, but the parent said everyone was trying the new technique with controls of as many elements as possible and basically hacks insulin pumps to create algorithms that would keep blood sugars in a much tighter range.
Sounds good, right?
When I had the chance to look into it, I found out that I did know what “looping” was. It was exactly what the failed new technology was supposed to have done for me three years ago. I had to laugh, and I wasn’t sure why people weren’t just using the pump that had looping technology built in. Maybe I wasn’t the only one for whom the attempt had been such a failure. Maybe the other pumps had something that would allow patients to employ a more tightly customized algorithm.
After realizing exactly what the parent was talking about, I didn’t need to do any more research on it. But I did start thinking about the intent of the technology, and whether I was using the tech that best suited me. I have thought for a long time about switching brands. MiniMed is one of the oldest medical device makers in the country. I have used their pumps for 20 years. It’s comfortable. That doesn’t mean it’s right.
Doesn’t mean it’s wrong, either. And I had to admit I had gotten somewhat lazy. Once some of the worst complications have happened (kidney disease at 29) and you find stability, most people would either become strict about their regimens or do just enough to get by. I am solidly in the latter camp. That’s not MiniMed’s fault.
When I got home from my visit, I sat down to poke into all those pump screens I hadn’t looked at since first setting up my current pump. Turns out I can control for about 10 things that would go into an algorithm, as well as how the insulin is delivered and notes on what happens around certain kinds of events. I had forgotten that some of these were even available.
I have about four months left on my warranty. That’s when I can get a new pump – insurance won’t pay for a second pump within the time a pump is under warranty. Between now and then, I want to give this pump another chance to do what it’s supposed to. If it doesn’t work, I can look into the other pump options, but for now, I think I need to do what I intended to do after the first disastrous attempt and try again.