37 Comments
If you use an insulin pump, how happy are you with your current pump, on a scale of 1 to 5? Select the statement that is most accurate for you.
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I use Tandem tslim and love it *except* for the not-quite-tight-enough range of Control IQ. When I got a new tslim a few months ago, I got it with Basal IQ so I can use a tighter lower number but miss the overnight help with occasional highs.
Very happy on MDI. All pumps have problems. Waiting for a small one that is controlled by app on phone.
FWIW Tandem has quite a nice phone app that gives you all your current pump and CGM info, and you can bolus from it.
But I agree, there are a lot more failure points with any pump system than with MDI. Simplicity is certainly a value.
I love my Tandem tslim, but I don’t think Control IQ handles exercise well. Also, I love how sturdy the metal case is, but I wish it didn’t set off metal detectors at the airport.
I created a separate “Exercise” profile for myself in my Tandem TLslim X2 since the “Exercise” activity wasn’t sufficient to prevent lows.
I ise to get bonus searches with the Minimed pumps every time I flew when I was still working
I’d like to see a longer duration of wear and recyclability. While the size seems minimal, the amount of plastic and other waste generated over a year is phenomenal. Of course compared to the medical industry overall, it seems minute.
-except that discarded plastic pollutes our planet and harms all kinds of wildlife, including those creatures we barely know about. Makes me wonder why and how we became so all important! We mustn’t excuse this abuse with comparisons…..
With our superior brains, it’s time for concentrating on recyclable plastics! Let’s hear it for all the wonderful, nerdy lab rats!
I’m grateful for the pump’s making my life simpler, but almost everyday wonder if it wouldn’t feel better to put the planet’s health above my own.
I mean, it’s always going to be option 4, isn’t it? After many years with MT, I switched to TandemX2-CIQ in April. Mostly I like it. MT 670G had put me off of AID pumps for years, but CIQ is a lot more flexible to your own inputs, which makes it feel more like an assistant than a domineering endo seizing control and not letting me touch anything because insulin is dangerous and you’re too stupid to know what you’re doing.
BUT
I really wish I didn’t have to go back to the old Mio-style spring-and-THWACK infusion sets. I had gotten used to MT’s Advance sets, which are much less painful and easy to use in hard-to-reach spots. This feels like a big step backward. Why can’t these guys all use mutually compatible Luer Lock connectors? $$$ is why. Sigh.
The Tandem X2 with Control IQ is an exceptionally good pump. There will always be a few things to improve.
Cut out the low or high BG messages hours after it happens (totally useless information)
Allow user to set his/her own Target BG level.
Limit alarms during sleep. All I need to know is whether I am high or low, right now (in the present) and whether I am out of insulin. Otherwise, turn off all other alarms.
Keep up with Dexcom CGM upgrades, such as the current G7 CGM, which is currently not compatible with the Tandem pump.
I totally agree!!
That’s why (setting my own target – and having access to temp basal function) I stayed with BIQ. The CIQ target is too high and it isn’t nearly as aggressive as I am in corrections.
I have Omnipod 5 and Dexcom G6. As others have mentioned the environmental waste for both is too much. I love the pump for when I sleep – no more worries about lows. But I would like to be able to set my own basal rate schedule since Omnipod doesn’t give enough in the morning hours to take care of feet on the floor or the dawn phenomenon so I have to give a bolus every two hours upon getting up. Three is the most accurate answer for me.
I’ve been using the same set up. You are able to set your own basal schedule. You have to switch to manual mode then scroll down to Basal Programs. There you can change all the times and bolus amounts. Be sure to hit the save button and switch back to automatic. I change the settings often trying to pinpoint exactly what works for me. Call Insulet if you have trouble doing that.
My Medtronic is a piece of garbage.
My son has been on the Tslim for four years. Really bummed that it is not waterproof!
We are considering switching to the Ilet (sadly, not waterproof either). We’re just waiting for insurance company to review/approve in September.
The pods on Omnipod are waterproof.
The Tandem mobi just got FDA cleared. Probably being released in the beginning of 2024. It is listed as water-tight. Not sure how that compares to water-proof
The pump works for me. I love the no tubing, but the algorithm I don’t get along with. I end up in manual a lot because the algorithm puts me too high for too long.
O5
I’m very happy with my Tandem xSlim, but it creates two alerts that I can’t turn off and that seem unnecessary. One is that, two to four hours after I have a high, it alarms to tell me that, even though my blood sugar is now perfect, it was high a few hours ago. Waking up in the middle of the night to this alarm is infuriating! And I get alarms a couple of times per week when the pump says I haven’t interacted with it for 24 hours, and it’s shut off all insulin delivery. This occurs because I can now do most of my bolusing through my phone (all but extended boluses), but the Tandem software doesn’t recognize these events as interactions with the pump for purposes of this alarm. These, too can wake me up, though since I set the time limit at 24 hours they rarely do that any more. I’ll be glad when/if they get these software problems fixed.
I never realized that using the phone for bolusing doesn’t register with the pump. Interesting. I don’t use my phone for bolusing as often as I use my pump so I have never had that alarm.
My endo advised me to shut off every pump alert that could be shut off and just rely on my iPhone for alerts. She said there’s no need to get alerts from both sources. My life has been more peaceful since I followed her advice.
In 2020, I changed from an older Medtronic Minimed Paradigm 723 pump to Tandem’s X2 with Control IQ. While I LOVE the closed loop features afforded me by the X2, there are 3 things that I think Medtronic did better.
1. Tandem’s Cartridge refill process is more onerous and time-consuming than Medtronic’s reservoir refill process.
2. With Medtronic’s clear reservoir, it was easy to see how many units you had in your cartridge at any given time.
And 3. (which is related to #2) I cannot see the Tandem cartridge contents and must rely on a “range” of 20 or more units listed on my pump to know how much it contains. This is NOT good for those of us with high insulin sensitivity and lower TDD–my TDD is @ 20 units.
#5 WHY DO WE HAVE 2 APPS! Tandem and Dexcom need to get their act together and integrate the two apps into one. Really? How hard can that be?
I have tandem T slim IQX2 I would change the target range while using the automatic system. I like a range of about 95 to 110 right now it’s set at 1:10.
I do love the fact I haven’t had the lows I used to have, but I am running a bit higher and I’m sure my A1c won’t be quite as good as he usually 5.6 I think it will be more like six now.
After 60 yrs of MDI going to the Animas Vibe was a positive move. After 2 yrs Animas closed and I needed to deal with Meditronic to continue getting Animas supplies. A year of that taught me I didn’t want to continue contact with Meditronic. For the past 3 years I’ve had the Tandem X2 with the Control IQ app. It’s been a tremendous improvement …but nothing’s perfect. I want to be able to eliminate several alerts, put more time between low alerts, change the duration of active insulin from 5 hrs to 3, increase the extended bolus from 2 hours to 5, lower the 110 mg/dl to 100 AND redesign the entire cartridge fill/insertion sets so my stiff, arthritic fingers can accomplish changes without increasing problems. Aside for that I love the pump.
My arthritic fingers have trouble with everything. The worst is trying to turn it on. But that is a safety feature, so I am not sure whether I would change it. Otherwise I agree with all your wishes!
I think you have hit every change I would want except since I have never used anything except the T-slim x2, I have no problem with the changing of the cartridge however.
You are right on Janis about Tandem pumps. I agree with the points you make and I would add a user friendly temp basal feature that we wouldn’t have to shut everything down in order to use. I did like that about the older Medtronic pumps I used in the past … however that is the only positive feature that I appreciate about my experience with Medtronic pumps.
I have a Tandem slim x2 which works well but there are two things that I wish it would do. It does calculate dosages of needed bolus insulin but does not dispense when needed. I would like it to dispense those boluses when it reaches .6u, a micro dosage like a natural event in our body. I would allow better control within our set range.
Secondly, a reset for the i.o.b. amount when injection site is compromised.
I plan to go back to Medtronic when I’m eligible for a new pump
I love my tandem TSlim but would change some of the alarms like “low cartridge”. I don’t need to know at 5am that I have 19 units left. That can wait til the sun comes up!
I use a tandem pump and I love it. The only thing I would change is the selection of infusion sets available. Half of them are actually dangerous because if they do not go in properly you won’t know it until you are in DKA. I also don’t like some of the places that I’ve had to go through to purchase my pump supplies. I get them directly from Tandem now, but I think I could do better if I could find a supplier my insurance covers and reliable. And please don’t tell me to try Solara. They are the worst, and on top of that, they lie.
I use Omnipod 5 with Dexcom G6. I mostly like it except for a few things. I wish there was a way to get more days out of a single pod. Changing every 3 days is annoying. I use my phone for both Omni and Dex and they work together perfectly. The main issue with that is that I have to not only put in a pin for Omnipod, it locks my entire phone. So I have to log into my screen, go to the Omnipod app and log in again. Time wasting. I understand the lock on the app but don’t need it for my phone screen, too.
One last thing, the Omnipod, itself, has a sticky pad which is fine but the unit comes off of the pad. I use over pads with a strip that goes over the unit and hold the whole thing in place, not just the sticky pad. They are expensive and this seems like an easy fix for Omnipod to put a strap over the pod from side to side.
I’ve been using Tandem for the past 5 months after 18 years with Medtronic. I hate that they only have one type of 90 degree soft cannula set. I know technically they have 2 (Autosoft 90 and XC) but they’re the same set with different connections at the site. They hurt going in and I’ve had a few that didn’t release properly. One side of the inserter released before the other.. I also hate the stupid connector along the tubing.
I rated the Tandem TSlim X2 a “3”. Overall, I like the pump and especially the TConnect app. The functioning of the pump is adequate, but Control-IQ is too focused on keeping a high average BG rather than focused on TIR and low SD. Lots of little things that Tandem should improve. #1: algorithm will ignore IOB due to some strange math calc with carbs/IOB. If I don’t catch it on the bolus screen, I’ve overcorrected and then go low. I’m already brittle, so this complicates management. #2: Somewhat Dexcom’s issue, but the Trend Arrow seems to drive basal delivery TSlim X2. The Trend Arrow only show a change if >6mg/dL per 15 min. So if you are dropping 1.9 mg/dL every 5 mins, basal continues. Dexcom needs to fix the Trend Arrow OR TSlim needs to look at 3 readings instead of the arrow. #3. The bladder cartridge. Pain in the rear to bleed air out and fill. Not designed well for those with vision or dexterity issues. #4 is the fixed active insulin length of 5 hours. Sometimes I have to ignore IOB if at the 4 hr mark and take insulin. IOB is a double-edged sword, but FDA has to approve how Tandem writes the algorithm. 🙁 We aren’t all Type 2….. I think FDA doesn’t always take that into account.