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I woke up to an alert at about 4am when my pump said BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP in an urgent kind of way. I opened my eyes just barely wide enough to see the insulin pump screen, and saw that it was a “low reservoir” alert.
It is like the gas light on your car. The tank isn’t empty yet. There’s still a bit more insulin left, but it’s better to put in a new reservoir sooner rather than later!
This post is specifically about the Medtronic 670G Minimed Insulin Pump. Here are some photos showing the alarm, the alarm history, and how to change this reminder in the options menu.
Customize when this reminder beeps!
The number of units for when the insulin pump reservoir should be considered low is configurable. It will alert you at whatever number you set, and it will alert for a second time when it reaches half that number. The minimum number is 5 units.
I had mine set at 15 units, and I forgot about that… I went to bed and woke up at 4am to it beeping. I was relieved to see the reason for the alarm, and I fell back to sleep… I should have changed the setting before bed or replaced the reservoir. In any case, no reason to change right away — 15 units lasts me quite awhile… Long enough to sleep in.
Hot Tip: You can review the Alarm History!
I can actually tell you the EXACT TIME that this alarm went off! The Medtronic 670G Minimed Insulin Pump keeps track of every alarm that happens! Today there were just 3 alarms, so it was a relatively uneventful day.
This turns out to be immensely useful. I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to incorporate beeps and alarms into my dreams…. Or dream that my pump alarm went off when it really didn’t! It could also help when talking to customer support.
Ah, life…. what a journey!
Related Links
- Medtronic – MiniMed 670G System Support -> Alerts and Alarms Quick Reference – Official Medtronic documentation, includes video.