User guide

IntroductIon
IntroductIon
98
Alarms and Alerts settings
Your CGM system allows you to customise alerts to help you improve glucose control. Your healthcare
provider will work with you to determine your initial alert settings.
The pump or monitor will sound an alarm to alert you that something is going on – you may be going
high or low, or maybe you’ve forgotten to do a calibration. You will see a message on the screen.
If you scroll down, you will see what action to take.
PRESS ESC then ACT to clear the alarm.
The dierent Medtronic insulin pumps and the Guardian REAL-Time Continuous Glucose Monitor have
dierent alerts settings. You will nd a list of sensor alarms (specic for your pump or monitor), what
they mean and what they do in the Troubleshooting section of this guide.
Check which pump you are using or if you are using the Guardian monitor (see page 4).
In using CGM, where you place your settings will determine how often you are alerted. You will want
to nd a balance between the benet of receiving these alerts and any inconvenience that may be
caused by receiving too many.
Setting Alert Thresholds
During the rst several weeks on CGM, you and your healthcare provider may consider
• Waiting to turn alerts on
• Turning on only the Low alert
• Setting the High and Low alert very wide
As you learn more about your glucose patterns and how to use CGM, you can adjust your alert
settings to meet your individual needs.
Thresholds for hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia alerts can be turned ON or OFF, raised
and lowered at an increased or decreased alarm repeat “snooze.”
There are some considerations when setting threshold alarms:
What kind of control do you currently have?
• Most people are unaware of their overall daily control with just ngerstick
testing and may nd frequent alarming a nuisance. Remember that this is a
problem with diabetes, not the sensor, the pump, the monitor or the system
• So what you can do (after discussing this with your educator or doctor rst) is to
set the hyperglycaemia target a bit higher or leave it o altogether for the rst
sensor. A suggested initial threshold is 13 or 14 mmol/L
Do you have hypoglycaemia unawareness or a history of lack of hypoglycemia
symptoms?
• You will need to talk to your diabetes educator about this. They may ask you
to set your low threshold a little higher so you are warned earlier when you are
going low. Remember that the higher the low threshold alert is set, you will get
these “low alarms” more often. The frequent alarming within the normal range
may cause the ‘boy that cried wolf’ phenomenon – ignoring the alarms
Medtronic CareLink® Personal is a free, online software tool that lets you upload data from your device.
It then displays a series of charts, tables, and graphs that can help you feel more in control of your
diabetes.
Your Medtronic CareLink® Personal reports are there to help you and your healthcare provider see
where to set your alerts as time goes on.
Points to Consider
• Alerts are only helpful if you can act on them promptly
• If you are having trouble learning about CGM, it may be best to leave the alerts o
initially
• All your CGM information can be downloaded and looked at in the Medtronic
CareLink® Personal reports at a later stage
• Parents of children with diabetes may choose to leave these alarms o during the
school day so that there is no confusion on what is to be done about them. Scrolling
back through the day’s balues can be sucient in some children - Remember to talk to
your diabetes educator about this!
• Discussion of the alert threshold with your healthcare provider is important!