Medtronic 670 vs Tandem Tslim

Diabetes Technology
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I am using an Animas and Dexcom, quite happy with it. But now I must decide between Medtronic 670 and Tandem T-slilm. If I go Medtonic, I will keep it in manual mode, continue with Dexcom, until I feel assured that the 670 CGM is as accurate as the Dexcom. The T-slim pairs with Dexcom which I like, but I have trouble with touchscreen stuff. So am lookiing for any opinions about the Medtronic vs Tandem pumps.

Looking at commernts online, it is my view that those who always used the Medtronic CGM are happy with the new Guardian but that those who switched from Dexcom to Guardian, often miss the Dexcom.

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@Suzan
Would you qualify for the program that Tandem has available? If so, you would have 60 days (max) to try out the Tandem for real. If not happy with the Tandem you could return it and end up with zero cost to Tandem for this. You don’t even have to provide any sort of “valid” reason for wanting to return the Tandem.

https://www.tandemdiabetes.com/landing-pages/touch-simplicity-terms-and-conditions

Quite a bit of fine print on the Tandem offer. But if you qualify, it really is a great deal. Worth it to read the whole thing top to bottom.

No better way to decide if you like something and if it works for you - then being able to actually try it out for yourself !!!

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I believe that like the Medtronic program for Animas users, this offer is only for those who still have pumps in warranty. Mine went out of warranty three weeks before announcement about Animas closing. I found out when I called to start process for new pump. But I will call and see if I can have a trial period. My CDE is also making a such a call.

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@Suzan
I would suggest to read the fine print in its entirety. You may qualify. Do not assume this is (or is not) similar to any offer from any other company.

“This offer is available for eligible Animas and Roche customers with pump warranties that expire on or before September 30, 2019.”

“Offer available through March 31, 2018.”

The normal return policy for Tandem is not even CLOSE to this generous.

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Most of the pumps I’ve purchased with insurance over the last 30 years have included a 30-day, no questions asked, money back guarantee. If this is true, you’ll need to confirm, you could still trial the pump of your choice for 30 days.

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@Terry4
@Suzan
Tandem typical return policy is not (last time I checked) “no questions asked”. I like Tandem but their return policy is not something to brag about.

However the Animas/Tandem offer is a 60-day “no questions asked”.

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You remind me that I ran into Tandem’s no-trial, no return, under any circumstance policy, when they rolled out their first pump. I was incredulous when I confirmed this with them on the phone in 2012. I decided not to take a chance on Tandem’s first pump if they were not confident enough to provide this consumer protection. That year I bought another Animas Ping.

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When I was considering the t-slim back in 2015 I recall the return policy was…let’s say…lacking. They were not even willing to let me demo the pump for a few days so that pretty much sealed their fate! :joy: In lieu of a demo the representative recommended that I download the demo app they had at that time.

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Oh, okay,my pump went out of warranty September 17.

Just called, he said there is no trial period if out of warranty, but that I could purchase it and return within 30 days. Hmmm Still looking for feedback from anyone who has an opinion of Medtronic 670 and T-slim.

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@Suzan

That info does not agree with what the Animas/Tandem offer states. Nor does the return policy as you say the Customer Rep mentioned sound accurate.

If it was me, I would call back, ask for a manager and very specifically ask about the Animas/Tandem offer.

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This is from Tandem’s returned goods policy:

may be returned to Tandem only for the following reasons: (1) during the applicable warranty period (which is set forth in the user guide for the Pump), the customer experiences an issue with the Pump that is covered by the warranty set forth in the user guide for the Pump, then Tandem will replace the Pump, and (2) during the thirty (30) day period after the shipment of the Pump, if the customer discovers that the Pump is not suited for the customer based on a valid, good faith medical reason which has been confirmed by the customer’s physician, then Tandem or the authorized distributor will accept the return of the Pump and provide a refund to the customer and/or its insurance company for the amount actually paid for the Pump. [emphasis added]

There’s no date printed on this pdf so I’m not 100% sure if this is current or not.

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I don’t know anything about Tamdem, but I have been using a 670G for 3 1/2 months. I have heard that the Guardian sensors can be great, but my body’s chemistry seems to interfere with it. I have about 4 good days, and then it gets less and less accurate until it fails on the 5th or 6th day. I have had only one sensor last 7 days, and that one was still increasingly inaccurate after the forth day. I am not alone with this problem, but Medtronic is still trying to figure out what the cause is (chemistry, immune system, … ???). They are very good about replacing failed sansors. They have been great about this. Their Tech Support people have been unfailingly available and helpful.

I had a Dexcom for several months before getting a pump, and I never had these problems with it, so I guess that these sensors use different materials. That being said, I LOVE my pump. Medtronic makes a great pump, and they’ll have to pry it out of my cold dead hand.

My doctor & CDE & Medtronic have not figured out yet what to do about this problem. As a last try, Medtronic replaced the transmitter under warranty, in case the problem is that, but the problem still occurs. Maybe they will figure out some compromise after I have been using the new transmitter for a little longer (I’ve had it for 3 weeks).

As for Auto Mode, I don’t use it. It bases it’s behavior on the previous week or so of your body’s BG patterns, and your behavior patterns (work, sleep, exercise). I am going through perimenopause, and my erratic hormones mean that I don’t really have a predictable “normal” for it to go by. I have created several basal patterns to deal with varying levels of insulin resistance, and use Temp Basals to deal with exercise and sudden hormone-induced rises and falls of BGs cause by peaks and dips of insulin resistance. This is very easy to do with this pump, but this is my first pump, so I don’t have a basis for comparison. It is worlds better that the Humulin N & R thay I used for the first 30+ years of being diabetic. (Yes, strait from Humulin to a pump! Yipee!!!)

I hope that this helps. I don’t know if you can get a 670G trial period to find out if you are one of the unlucky few, but during the first 4 days or so, the Guardian sensor is pretty good. So, it might work out okay for you.

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Suzan,

I am facing a similar isuue. I am on the Vibe (still under warranty) and Dexcom. I am likely to get the MM630 and keep using the dexcom. I like the dexcom and have found I can rely on it to adjust doses and basel rates, plus it is covered under Medicare. I looked at the t;slim X2, and found that the submenus for setting rates and parameters are difficult for me to see after extensive laser treatment 25 yrs ago. The MM is much easier to see the menu items. Many features of the MM are similar to those on the extinct Cozmo pumps I had for 10 yrs (I have been pumping for 25 yrs), and I found them to be extremely useful. I see no advantage at this time to having the Dexcom readings appear on the pump given the data drop-outs people have reported. I am time in range over 90% of the time, so a closed loop system would not be that much of an advantage for me.

For me it is using the best of two different systems.

Mike

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14

That’s outstanding! Why mess with a good thing? When an automated insulin dosing system can perform as well as you do now with less effort, that’ll make it worthwhile to switch.

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I was set on Medtronic 670 on manual mode with Dexcom until such time as Guardian is actually as good as Dexcom. I didn’t want the T-slim because it is touch screen and that is a problem for me. But then I got the new Dexcom, and it is touch screen. I don’t like it and was thinking that if I either have the 670 with touch screen Dexcom, or T-slim with integrated Dexcom, maybe the T-slim would be easier as could put the Dexcom receiver somewhere else. I have a call into Tandem to see if I can do a trial run with the T-slim but haven’t heard from them.

My Animas went out of warranty just before their the announcement ‘no more Animas’. I did have a friend’s old MM 5XX to try for about three weeks. It drove me nuts, so my CDE and I decided that I should stay with Animas. She told me to call and start the paperwork for the Animas…sigh.

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My wife has had Type 1 diabetes for over 50 years and is on Medicare. She has developed Alzheimer’s disease so I have taken full care of her diabetes for the last several years. Over the years she has used pumps by Animas, Omnipod, and Medtronic. Her Minimed 530G was out of warranty for nearly a year which made me nervous. We considered the Tandem tslim X2, Minimed 630G and 670G.

When she got the 530G we also tried using the Minimed Enlite sensors but the accuracy was poor (maybe body chemistry as someone else suggested) and we had trouble inserting them (sensor would come out with the inserter). After working with the tech support many times we finally gave up on using the sensors and switched to Dexcom which has worked great. Interestingly, my cousin who has Type 1 diabetes could not get the Dexcom sensors to be accurate and switched to Enlites which work much better for her.

We would have been very tempted by the 670G pump but it isn’t covered by Medicare so it would have cost us $11,000 which ruled it out for us. Our other concern with the 670G was the sensors. If she still couldn’t use the later generation Enlite sensors there was no significant advantage to this pump for us. They also said there was no trial period.

Here are the factors we considered before choosing the X2 over the 630G.

  1. We had no strong feelings about touchscreen. The X2 has it and it has its advantages (easier to put in numbers and choose menu items) and disadvantages (hitting the wrong button is easy though there are safeguards and it is easy to try again). The Minimed pumps are not touchscreen.

  2. The X2 is software upgradable and the updates are promised free through 2018. They have already upgraded it to read and display Dexcom sensor data. This is handy but if you plan to use it be aware you can’t get Medicare coverage for sensors at this time. It seems there will be another software update in 2018 to allow low glucose suspend. And then, they hope to have a closed loop system which will also be a software update. This was a major deciding factor for us.

  3. Tandem did offer a 30 day trial period if it wasn’t working well in our situation. They local rep even said they would extend to 45 days if we needed a little more time. This was important to us.

  4. We could get readings from the Dexcom sensors with which we were comfortable on the X2. We would have to switch to Enlite sensors to get that on the 630G.

  5. X2 is significantly smaller.

  6. X2 has a rechargeable battery. The 630G use an AA battery which can be a rechargeable. I think the X2 is a bit more convenient.

  7. Contour Next bg readings are transmitted automatically to the 630G pump for a bolus calculation. We miss that a little on the X2.

  8. We were told if we upgraded to the 630G, 13 months later we could upgrade to the 670G for $1100 (much better than $11,000!) out of pocket. I hope I remember those numbers correctly. We weighed this against the software upgradability of the X2 and the fear that she still couldn’t use the Enlite sensors.

  9. Animas gave up its pump business. We worried that Tandem might be next. From what I can tell, they are at least somewhat vulnerable. We did worry quite a bit about this. I must confess, however, that I like to see competition and there wouldn’t be much in the insulin pump market if Tandem left. We also like supporting the “little guy”.

I hope this was helpful.

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17

Yes, helpful. Most of this I already considered. My issue is with touch screen as sometimes I have trouble with it (something to do with some kind of syndrome that I have). I am going to try calling Tandem again. If either way, 670 plus Dexcom or Tandem with Dexcom, I will be using a touch screen, might as well be Tandem. I like the advantages you mentioned.

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I’m pretty sure the Medtronic 670G is not a touchscreen.

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Hi Suzan.

I worked with a Tandem Rep who allowed me a two month trial when I was trying to decide on a pump. In my experience they were a great company to work with. I ended up on omnipods, which I hear just got Medicare coverage. Best to you in your new adventure. Kim

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I have decided to go with the Tslim x2. I am not fond of touch screen stuff, but the new Dexcom with it’s touch screen is a pain. Nope, don’t like it at all. If I go Medtronic in manual with Dexcom, I will have to deal wilth the Dexcom touch screen. I downloaded a Tslim x2 simulator to my phone and have been mucking about with it. It is less obnoxious than the Dexcom touch screen, and, since it is integrated with the pump, I won’t have to use the Dexcom receiver.

Also, I like supporting the Medtronic competition as I want there to be choices.