I'm brand new here, however I have been diabetic since age 16th months. I am on humalog insulin right now on a Medtronic Minimed pump. I've been on the pump since 6th grade. I received an 'upgrade' in 10th grade. However, last week I tried to bolus and it kept saying no delivery. I changed my set and thought my bolus was working- however I tested about 3 hours later and I was 550. I changed my set again, and it then said Motor Error. I started to get dizzy and sick very fast. I was unconscious by the time I got to the E.R, and was in the process of DKA. I was/am very upset with Medtronic, right now I am on a lender pump from them and have 30 days to find a new one. I'm not sure if I should get the T:Slim or go back to Medtrnoic, since they are so 'big'. Can anyone give me any input? Especially about the T:Slim? I know it is a brand new product, but I figured someone should know something about it. I have looked into the omnipod but it doesn't appeal to me for a few reasons. I hope I can get some fed-back. Thank you guys so much! Looking forward to this community !
Hi Heather,
I’m moving to the pump after many years of MDI. After researching this to death I’ve decided to go with the t:slim and should get it tomorrow. I have several friends with MM and they have been happy but are seriously considering moving. Looking at the features, size, operational aspects, etc. this seems like the best choice on the market at the moment.
Are you using a CGM? I’ve been using one for about four years and love it. This would have caught your going high in time to react I think. I just upgraded to the Dexcom G4 and am quite happy. If you don’t have one and your insurance will pay, I strongly recommend it.
I think your also on the Facebook group so look for my posts after I get up and running. There are already others posting but I’ll add the view from a newcomer to pumps!
Good luck!!!
I have been on the Minimed 722 for over 7 years and I just changed to the T:Slim! I had constant problems with air in the tubing, uneven bgs, etc. After many months of research, I decided to go with T:Slim because of the way the pump delivers insulin.
Don't want to bore you with all the technical reasons why I believe this to be better...but after being on the T:Slim for five days...I LOVE IT! Immediately my bgs became steadier and I have had to reduce my basal rates!! The pump is very easy to operate and I couldn't be happier.
I have been on the Deltec cozmo right now. I am completely out of warranty. I am looking at the T slim and also the accu-chek combo system. I am also on the Dexcom CGM system and just received the newer one. I do love the Dexcom . I have a wonderful nutritionist who always gives good advice and she is very passionate about what is good and not so good. She is not a fan of medtronics. I have more research to do but I may wait to see what both of them say and what insurance says. I do like the T-Slim.
Tandem Diabetes Care has a FB page. They’ve been having live inter-active webinars. They are free. They should answer all of your questions; and you can ask whatever you want. They also have a recording of one on YouTube. They’re approximately an hour in length. I’ll check to see if I can post a link.
This should be link to video
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=ja-LT8CcdvE&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dja-LT8CcdvE
I just posted this elsewhere, but here are my thoughts...
Big picture, go with tSlim...easy to use, easy to read, and easy to have out in public without getting weird looks....touch screen is the way to go and pump is high quality....
Previous post:I am a first time pumper and have been on the tSlim for about a month. I have had no problems and am really loving it. It is very easy to use and the Insulin on Board function is very helpful. Charging during showers has not been a problem...I have already dropped it several times with no dings or scratches....and the insulin history reporting is awesome. Temp basal is super easy, effective alarms and tons of personalization settings (doctor wont let me tweak yet). Here are a couple of issues you should take note of:
- Pump does make a small audible sound when pumping (like a rewinding of cassette sound)...more prevalent during bolus, but you can hear during basal if it is not in your pocket
- IOB very helpful, but when you stack it appears to combine old and new bolus into a new four hour time period (you can adjust duration to your own setting)
- Multiple button pushes before confirming delivery....this is for safety purposes, but a few times forget to authorize final delivery....it does give an alarm to let you know you did not finish with delivery
- Software is not yet approved, which makes sharing data with doctor challenging (using entries on my Dexcom, which is also incredible)
-- Only time I had problems with bubbles is when I was on my last bit of insulin and did not get all bubbles out of needle injector....just waited for it to clear tubing before connecting
- Changing catridge very easy....you can do it in phases, which allows you to cheat and refill the catridge instead of replacing, though not recommended.
Honestly, best decision I made....I tested minimed (felt like a pimp w a pager) and Animas (reservoir to small) and was not that enthused...my only challenge is the actual insets, which has nothing to do with tSlim....
Hey Mikey, regarding the insets, have you tried the Cleo's? They work quite well. I've been using them for about 3 years. They are 90's and are simple to use. I have only had one come loose in that time. (That doesn't count the time I dropped the pump just after I got out of the shower and had just reconnected it.) I'm waiting until my pump goes out of warranty in a couple of months and I will trying to get a tSlim.
Do you know if there is medicare ins for this pump? I have united healthcare Medicare advantage PPO plan. My drs office told me no.
I DO know that people on Medicare have been able to get the t:slim. They go through a supplier that Medicare has a contract with such as Edgepark. There are others, though.
MM and I never got along very well, so for me, the t-slim was a good move. HOWEVER, I was mentally prepared to learn new buttons, not new everything else (refill system, new infusion sets, etc) and so my first few weeks were a little... less than graceful. I will also note that I did not go through any sort of training though, and I'm not entirely sure how they let me get away with that, and I don't actually think they should have.
MM is huge, they are well-represented in the D-world, and have decades of experience backing their products. Obviously they aren't full-proof, but they offer lots of options and a huge community of users. Tandem is new, and its reviews are pretty much love it or hate it. If you had a fully functioning MM pump and you loved it, I'd say keep it until the next generation t-slim came out, because the second one should always be just a little better, right?
Coming from MM here are some things to consider:
No integrated CGM option (yet, they tell me it should be out by the end of 2013 though), so if you're used to one of those you'll need a new system for that too.
No integrated glucometer.
Gloriously huge new selection of infusion sets to choose from!
Still not waterproof, but better (IPX7 rating vs IPX4)
WAY more buttons to push to get anything done, its full of check and double-check screens. Rumor has it those might be mandated by the FDA and all new pumps will come with them, but for now, its a bunch of button pushing that MM doesn't require.
It looks way "cooler" than the MM pumps.
Its rechargable, so no more batteries to carry, but that means if you regularly go backpacking for days/weeks on end, you'll need a charging system. Ditto for international travel, you'll need a plug converter. Not a big deal on either account, but its something to consider... no more dependence on easy-to-find AAA batteries.No software yet, if you like to download to carelink and look at trends and stuff, thats not an option with the t-slim yet.
I'm happy with my new pump, but I wasn't happy with MM for a multitude of reasons, so probably anything would have worked better for me. Your mileage may vary, like everything else, but if you're ready to learn something new, I'd say try it, otherwise if MM still floats your boat, there's not a huge reason to change.