The warranty on my Animas Ping is up, and even though I really don't have any complaints about Animas, I'm pretty set on switching to something new, because part of me can't bear to get the same old thing again when I only get to switch every 4 years. I also don't really want to wait for the Vibe, because I prefer my CGM separate from my pump, I think, and in every other regard, it seems the same as the Ping. I think I'm going to with the T-Slim, but have some questions for anyone who switched from Animas to it (if there is anyone!)
1. How do the two compare? If you were pretty happy with the Animas, but are happier with the T-Slim, why?
2. Did you use the meter remote on the Animas? If so, how has switching to all manual bolusing, etc, been? (I really like the meter remote even though it is slow, slow, slow. I like to keep my pump hidden in my underwear. No, really). I don't think any of the other pump options with a remote would work for me, so if I really want that, I'd have to get another Ping.
3. I've heard that the cartridge change time is way longer than with other pumps. How has this change been? Are you used to it?
I love the t-slim! It is so easy to set-up. Its so much easier to do stuff with the t-slim. The only thing I don't like is that it takes so much longer to deliver insulin. Yes I did use the remote and I don't find it harder. The site change doesn't take very long at all the part that takes the longest is filling the tubing but well I fill the tubing I put in my site. Hope this helped!!!
I recently made the change from a Ping to a Tslim about a month ago. I did like the Ping, but I was also interested in something new. My first Animas 8 years ago is functionally no different than the Ping is today.
1. Both are great. The touch screen on the Tslim is nice and quick to select things, but there's also a lot of confirmation screens and more things to click on in general, so it about equals out here. The cartridge which holds about 270u in reality is a nice upgrade from the 200 of Animas. The Tslim is somewhat smaller, but also feels heavier since it's all metal - in theory that makes it more durable. I think I will love that I no longer have to buy Lithium batteries, but the Tslim also needs to be plugged in at least once a week to charge, though they recommend topping it off each day. There are some battery packs available to charge it if you will be more than 7 days off the grid (similar to the Dexcom at 3 days).
2. Compared to the Ping, I actually liked the Animas 1200 better, since it was slightly smaller and I don't care for the bulkiness of the Ping's OneTouch meter and was just using a tiny Freestyle Flash [Lite]). I found the remote feature overrated, but I'm also a guy with pockets available most of the time. But the Tslim is a smaller and sleeker pump, so maybe hiding it under many layers won't be necessary for you?
3. Catridge change is more involved, but not crazy long. Everything is individually wrapped, so you start with ripping it all open. Put the needle on the syringe and draw insulin. Remove the spent cartridge and slide in a new one. The big benefit here is that you don't have a cap to take off, so you're not opening up your tubing and dropping insulin out the end. Stab the needle into the pump and push it all in. Hit a few more buttons and it starts filling the tube.
The big difference with the Tslim is that it has a tiny catridge and a bigger bag of insulin. The cartridge gets filled by the bag, and then can deliver that 0.25u or so in a second. So to fill short tubing takes it about 20u which will be 80 seconds. So it's not terrible, but you do have to watch closely. It does automatically stop at 30u if you leave it alone though, so with long tubing, that's pretty close. It was annoying the first time, but I'm used to it now after 5 or so.
1. To me the TSlim is a major upgrade, mostly in ease of use. I love the screen and the little things that make a huge difference like typing in carbs instead of scrolling (much faster). The TSlim is set up to be much more user friendly with ALL of your settings (basal rate, I:C ratio, correction factor, etc) in one place and customizable in different profile settings. I have found it has everything Animas had with the improvements in usability I want. No regrets and I wouldn't go back.
2. I used the Ping meter for about 3 years until I broke it (diabetes problems...). I liked it, but i was always scrolling up, going over, scrolling back down, repeat. I never really thought it made that big of a difference so it doesn't bother me not having it. I wear my pump in my pocket and run the tubing through a small hole in the pocket.
3. I've seen the complaints about the cartridge change and honestly I don't think it's that big of a deal. The only thing that takes longer is the tubing fill. This takes longer because the new delivery system in the TSLim only gives very small doses at a time. This slows down your bolus delivery as well. It takes like 2 or 3 more minutes...I guess i'm just not that busy.
The best thing about it for me is the designers put a lot of thought into how users were using the pump and how they could improve on usability. Hard to explain without using it yourself, but my opinion is the TSlim does everything every other pump does in a much easier way. Hope this helps.
