Can one use Tandem t:slim X2 with no insulin as G6 receiver?

I have a question that is enough out of the box that I expect no one will have an answer for it. But I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask just to see what feedback I got. :wink:

Background:

  • I’m in the process of switching from a Medtronic 630G pump using their Guardian 3 CGM sensors to a Tandem t:slim X2 with CIQ pump and Dexcom G6 sensors. I’m still using the 630G since (1) I need to set up an online training session with Tandem and (2) I still have unused Medtronic supplies.

  • I get my medical care & diabetic supplies through the VA hospital nearest to me (Syracuse, NY). How this has worked so far is the doctor at the VA who treats me writes VA prescriptions for the pump & CGM. Then, after some internal paper shuffling, the VA ships the pump & CGM supplies to me.

  • The point I am trying to make here is that I never actually deal directly with either Tandem or Dexcom. Their sales’ departments don’t really know me as I never place an order for anything with either company. The companies deal directly with the VA not with me. The VA is their customer, not me.

  • The VA has shipped me a Tandem t:slim X2 with CIQ pump and the supplies to use that pump. The VA has also shipped me Dexcom G6 sensors and two Dexcom G6 transmitters. The VA did not ship me a Dexcom G6 receiver. So the only way I have to monitor the data from the G6 CGM is via the Tandem pump.
    Note: I can not use the Dexcom G6 app as a receiver for the G6. My phone is an Android Motorola Moto G7 and the Dexcom app refuses to work on it.

I suppose I could just fill up a t:slim insulin cartridge, slam on a Tandem infusion set and then have at it. But I would prefer to try out the G6 CGM first. Then, after getting a feel for using the G6 I’d add on actually using the Tandem t:slim to pump insulin.

So I’m wondering if the Tandem pump will still function to monitor the G6 sensors even if it doesn’t have any insulin in it to pump? Anyone out there know? :thinking: :man_shrugging:

(One reason I’m not really expecting an answer is because I couldn’t answer this same question if you asked it to me about Medtronic pumps. Although I’ve been using Medtronic’s CGM with their pumps for over 6 years now, I never tried to find out if I could use their pump to monitor their CGM without also using it to pump insulin. One of those things that just “never came up”. Oh, well. :man_shrugging: )

You can use the G6 with an andriod or Iphone and apple watch. I am not certain if Dexcom still sells a pocket receiver for the G6?.

If John picked up a used iphone can he use it as a dumb terminal for the G6?

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My current understanding is that getting a G6 receiver from Dexcom would cost ~$375 to $400, maybe? I’m not sure how much less than that it would cost me to get an Apple phone.

Also, since I currently expect to be using the Tandem t:slim as my main pump before the year ends, I probably wouldn’t be able to get my hands on a used phone alternative before it became markedly less useful to me.

But thanks for the suggestion. As I said, I’m mostly asking just to see what responses I might get. :wink:

My guess is that yes, this would work, essentially a receiver only.

You might be able to put empty reservoir on, but NOT do steps to load insulin.

Another option is to load xDrip on android phone, which will read cgm data direct from G6 transmitter.
You could also load the hacked version of G6 app, that works on non-supported android phones.

But if all you want is G6 with medtronic pump, leave tandem in box, and just use xDrip on phone.

And then add a watch that can display cgm data from xDrip.

@irrational_John. There are easier ways IMHO. XDrip or a G6 app with the Play store restrictions removed which can frequently be found on Reddit. Either should work on your phone

The X2 does not like to be turned on and not used to deliver insulin. It shrieks at you every ten or 15 minutes if you’re not delivering insulin, or even if you haven’t completed the initial setup.

I would strongly recommend not turning it on until you’re ready to start programming your settings, at the very least.

If you really want, you could fill a reservoir with water, and let the pump think it’s pumping insulin. Don’t infuse it, though! Just let it leak out. Or, you could get saline dirt cheap from the pharmacy that CAN be infused. Lots of new pumpers do this to safely practice with kids before plugging real insulin into it.

Or, you can download an Android app for your phone. There’s are several options besides the Dexcom one. Xdrip is my favorite, and so much ridiculously better than the Dexcom app! You can’t get it on the Playstore, though. It has to be sideloaded. If you don’t know how to do that just goggle “sideloading” AND your phone model.

Download whichever “nightly build” of the app is most recent (top of the page) here:

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Strange. I don’t think I’ve completed the setup for my X2 and it certainly doesn’t have an insulin cartridge in it, but it’s just been sitting quietly on my desk the past day or two and hasn’t given me any alerts at all. The main display page just shows “ALL DELIVERIES STOPPED” in red in the OPTIONS button.

Not sure I have a good feel for this pump yet, which is one of the reasons I’m not in a hurry to pump with it. On the other hand, CGM I have fewer concerns about which is why I’m leaning towards trying that first. :upside_down_face:

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Have you checked out any of the online tandem training video?

You can also download an app that simulates the pump menus.

When you get started on pump, you should download the T:Connect mobile app on phone. This will display CGM graph, and basal/boluses, IOB, and help you learn how/when Control-IQ is making adjustments.

Yes, I’ve viewed what I think are the most pertinent training vids. But I find I have to be careful to avoid older trainings which refer to t:slim menus which don’t match my pump’s software version (Moonlight v7.4).

Even though I myself have never ordered anything from Tandem, I have been able to create a Tandem account in my name which contains my pump info. Apparently Tandem’s account software used my email address in the VA pump order to connect the account I created for myself with the pump the VA ordered for me.

Unfortunately that account does not (yet?) point me towards a list of specific training videos for my t:slim X2. Instead the account’s home page displays the message “No activities are assigned to you at this time”. The closest I’ve been able to come to a training list is a link to Previous Training Modules I found under a Support menu tab on the account’s web page.

Maybe more links to online training will show up next week when the local Tandem rep returns from Thanksgiving vacation and I can schedule a training?

I’m not sure I see the value add in Tandem’s pump simulation app since I already have the actual pump.

But I have installed the Tandem t:Connect program on both my (Win 10) desktop and on my phone. Of course, I still haven’t used t:Connect much beyond verifying it works since I’m still not doing anything with the pump yet. :man_shrugging:

Well at the risk of being listed as the a serial responder, I will say you can now mark another response. Is there a prize once you get to a certain number?

Seriously? That’s strange. Maybe you’ve gotten a minor software update?

If it’s not screaming every few minutes, have at it.

If you have T:Connect on phone, and you entered dexcom G6 transmitter id on pump, and do start sensor (on pump), I think you would be able to see readings after 2 hour warm-up.
There is another step to pair your pump to your phone.

So then you should see bg on pump and t:connect app, without having insulin delivery.

I am using the Medtronic 630G pump and I use the Dexcom G6 separately with a receiver. I am very pleased with that combination. I will be eligible for a new pump in 2022 but I think I will stick with the Medtronic pump and the Dexcom separately. I do not trust Medtronic sensors so I will not use their 670G.

I got a replacement pump today. Absolutely nothing wrong with the old one. My problem is with a junky G6 transmitter, but they decided to troubleshoot by replacing a perfectly good pump rather than the transmitter that hasn’t thrown an error code yet. Doesn’t matter that my 3rd party app shows me it’s got a bad battery…

Anyway, you’re totally right. I plugged it in earlier to charge up and walked away because I didn’t have time for the setup, and it hasn’t made a single peep all day even though it’s on.

It came with a little note explaining the software upgrade this new one came with, but didn’t mention anything about silencing persistent annoying alarms. I’m seriously hoping this means the other "your insulin had been stopped for 15 minutes… Are you okay??? " alerts will also be silenced!

Hi @irrational_John,

Yes, you can definitely use the t:slim as a receiver for the Dexcom CGM without having to use it to deliver insulin.

We had the the t:slim at home, with no insulin cartridge loaded while we were waiting for pump training/pump start, and I was able to achieve that for my daughter who was wearing a Dexcom G5.

  1. Tap ‘Options’
  2. Tap ‘My CGM’
  3. Tap ‘My CGM Settings’
  4. Tap ‘Transmitter ID’
  5. Enter the unique transmitter ID
  6. Enter the ID again
  7. Tap the tick
  8. On the next screen, tap the tick again :white_check_mark:

Your CGM data will now be displayed on the home screen of the t:slim :smiley: :+1:t3:

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Thanks. I finally got around to giving this a try last night and so far it’s worked as I expected. The pump tracks the CGM results without bothering me with any (lack of) insulin alerts.

So I’m currently running a Dexcom G6 along with a Medtronic Guardian 3 sensor for my 630G pump. Not sure when I’ll get around to cutting over to using my t:slim X2 to pump insulin. Having a hard time syncing up with Tandem training.

Part of that is folks going on holiday vacation, of course. But the Tandem training rep also told me that the (Syracuse) VA apparently is going to switch to having one of their people do the pump training. No one from the VA has contacted me about that yet, so I’m in training limbo at the moment. :man_shrugging:

Glad to hear that the t:slim is showing the CGM data for you :blush::+1:t3:

Hopefully Tandem sort themselves out soon & book in a training session for you.

It’s of more importance on their checklist than on mine. I’m running low on my 630G supplies so I expect I’m going to start using the Tandem to pump insulin sometime over the next two weeks regardless of what happens in terms of training.

Of course I’ll still finish whatever training they want me to do when it gets scheduled. I just might be wearing the t:slim X2 when I do it. :man_shrugging: :wink:

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