Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Medtronic Revel Pump Review

Recently I switched from the 722 to the new Revel.

The Revel has the same feel as the 522/722, as it is the last in the series of Paradigm pumps (Medtronic has some amazing pumps on the horizon...)

Any user of the Paradigm series will be easily be able to adapt and navigate around the new Revel.

There are some additional features that clarify actions (changing your infusion set), that would be especially helpful for the new pumper.

For example, to change your set now, the menu has been renamed "Resevoir+Set." Pressing ACT will lead you to new prompts (Reservoir Set Up, Fill Cannula) as well as the familiar "History."
To change your set, there are now additional (new prompts). For example, the pump asks you if you are disconnected when priming. Then after priming it asks if you see drops (of insulin) at set. Very nice, again - especially for the noobie.

Reducing your Basal rates is also easier. To reduce by %'s (the best way to go), you previously had to do a couple of extra button clicks, but now it's right there for you under temp basal. As an aside, after exercising I reduce my basal rate by about 15% for 6 hours (or more) depending on the time of day. This simple technique has thwarted a LOT of low blood sugars. Try it, you'll see!

Other differences- the design is basically the same. The buttons are the same (placement), just relabeled. You can assuredly tell this pump is in the Paradigm family tree, it just looks like the best looking and most popular sibling!

The main feature that separates the Revel from it's predecessors is the trending feature. In order to use it, you need to be wearing the CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) Sensor. In laymen's terms, here's what the Revel will do:
-When you wear the CGM sensor, one of the parameters you must set up is your high and low alarms. In a nutshell what that means is that when your blood sugar rises to OVER or UNDER the level you set (say 80 and 200 mf/dl respectiveley) an alarm will sound on your pump notifying you that your levels are off. This is VERY helpful in tightening up your control of diabetes! So the Revel takes it one step further with something Medtronic has titled, "Predictive Alerts." What the Revel will do is actually calculate WHEN your blood sugar will either be higher or lower than your preset levels. It is based off the way your blood sugar is trending (up or down), and is calculated considering the current rate of rise or fall. So if you are told your blood sugar is going to be low in 15 minutes, you can act NOW to avoid it.

Now that, my friends, is AMAZING!

My original review of Medtronic and their products still stands. I fully endorse their line, and believe they are the unmatched leader in diabetes treatment and research. Their pumps are incredible, and their service is equally as awesome. My rep, Kevin Scheffen is a personable, caring professional that seeks to help people live better lives through using the latest advancement in diabetes treatment.

The pump has exponentially changed my life for the better. Let it do the same for you and your loved ones, too. No more excuses, no more delays - every day of high blood sugars is a day you cannot get back. It's imperative that you get on the pump, now. You won't regret it, I personally guarantee it.

Until next time, keep pumpin'...

5 comments:

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Thanks for this great information, James. My 16-year-old son was diagnosed with T1D last October and will be going for a pump assessment next month. The children's hospital in our area deals with Medtronic and Animas. Your blogs have been very informative and hopefully make our decision much easier.

James said...

Susan,
Thanks for sharing! Your son is really lucky to have a mom who is so involved with diabetes. I commend you! It's really exciting to hear that he may/will be going on the pump soon. I'd love to connect with him sometime, just to offer encouragement. You can email me directly. I can assure you that being on the pump will make his life more enjoyable, his diabetes more manageable, and his his overall outlook more positive; even if he's doing GREAT now! However I can help, I am willing.

-James

Anonymous said...

I have been using the Medtronic pump for about four years now, first using the Paradigm 722, and three months ago I received the Revel 723 - guess what, I hate the new pump! There is an old Marianne Faithfull song (different words) that keeps running in my head - "why'd ya do it", why'd did ya mess with my pump.
For a long term "pumper" the new device is positively dangerous, especially those of us who have used the pump for so long we no longer look at the screen when we bolus. New nag screens (ala Microsoft Vista), with the requirement to answer "Yes/ No" to each action have caused me to miss boluses. New error messages such as "Motor Error" confuse everything, additional counter-intuitive steps to get to key functions, make this edition of the pump horrible to use.
Worse, Medtronic should have provided the ability to flash upgrade the software, but they did not. I, for one, am going back to my old 722, and will return the Revel 723 to Medtronic. I definitely will not donate the 723 to some poor sucker; I would rather run the pump over with my car to put it out of its misery.

Rachael said...

My 7 year old son is starting on this pump in a week. *super scared and nervous*

This information has helped ease my worries some! Thank you!