MiniMed 780G sensor failure: what happens

What the pump does

Without sensor glucose, Auto Mode cannot continue. The pump alerts you and, after the steps described in its user guide, delivers insulin in Manual Mode: the basal pattern saved in its settings, plus the boluses and temporary rates you choose. From then on it no longer reacts to glucose by itself.

Why the saved pattern matters

During Auto Mode the saved pattern is not used, so many people have not looked at it for a long time. If your insulin needs have changed since you last set it, the basal that comes back in Manual Mode can differ from what SmartGuard was delivering shortly before. Whether the difference is small or large depends on you, and the only way to know is to compare the two.

What you can prepare now

• Find your Manual Mode basal pattern in the pump, or in your last settings printout, and note when your diabetologist last reviewed it.
• Look at your recent automatic basal delivery by hour, for example in Basal Generator, and bring it to your next appointment as a reference.
• Ask your diabetologist in advance how to handle a sensor failure: what to do first, how to check your glucose in the meantime, which numbers to watch and when to call.
• Keep spare sensors and a blood glucose meter with strips within reach, and know how to start a new sensor.
• Connect Basal Generator before you need it. It can only analyze history it has collected, and that history starts on the day you connect.

What the chart can and cannot do here

The hourly chart shows how SmartGuard spread basal insulin across the day over the period you choose. It can help you and your diabetologist see the shape of your recent needs. It cannot tell you which Manual Mode setting is right: automatic delivery reacts to your glucose, meals and activity, while a Manual Mode pattern has to work without that feedback.