Minimed/T:Slim?

Hi!

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 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. 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 !

Sorry to hear that happened to you. That is serious business. You've seen the Tslim forum, I assume. Unless you are looking for a particular feature, they both seem good options. If you get another Medtronic, you will know exactly how to operate it. Otoh, you had a bad experience and maybe switching to a different brand will just feel better to you regardless of features?

Sorry to hear about your ordeal. Do you keep an emergency kit with you in case of failure? I know it sucks lugging a ton of stuff around, but at least having a novo pen, or vial or R and a syringe at all times would be beneficial.

Hope it improves for you.

Heather:

I have been a diabetic for 26 years.

Four years ago I decided to try the pump. I thought it would make things easier.

Before I took lantus - which provided a nice basal coverage - so if I did nothing, I was in balance. And then I took Humalog or whatever to cover the bolus I just ate food things.

When you switch to the pump - you lose the basal lantus - and are dependent on the constant delivery of the machine.

For me - the first year or two were great - I loved the pump. Push a few buttons and get extra insulin for meals - very very cool.

The downside for me was if a site failed - if a put in a new canula and it did not work - it would take a few hours to find out. And of course - it was numbers in the 200s and 300s that would alert me to the trouble.

On the whole, having a tube stuck in you for three days creates scar tissue.

And over a few years, you end up with lots of scar tissue.

Somehow, some manage to rotate sites enough that this is never an issue.

For me, it was an issue. I could not get consistent, reliable insulin delivery.

After 26 years, one thing is paramount to me. Keeping my sugars low. A1C in the 5 range.

So having multiple site failures was unacceptable.

MDI for me worked. I went back. While I like the idea of the pump, it did not provide consistent enough results for me to depend on it.

Cheers,
drew

Heather, i have been shopping pumps myself. The tslim is going to give you a touch screen, but knock out some other awesome features. I am considering Medtronic and Animas. I think the new Roche/ Accu-chek combo that came out is getting rave reviews too. Medtronic’s new pump is due out too and it is pretty sweet as is the dexcom 4 with future Animas Vibe integration. I will tell you that the medtronic support in my experience is weak. In fact it makes me very angry. Great product though. Everyone I have talked to at Animas has been great. I’d totally be getting an Animas right now if it wasn’t for the low glucose suspend option on the forth coming Medtronic Veo. Honestly I still don’t know. I am rolling with a cracked Medtronic 722 that has stuck buttons in the meanwhile. Check out the Animas too though!

Yikes, sorry to hear about that. DKA is scary stuff and I'm glad you're better.

First thing to keep in mind - ANY pump can fail. Just like your cell phone, pumps are electronic devices and they can break. No pump is going to be perfect. That said, Minimed pumps are some of the most reliable pumps out there on the market. I did a cursory review of information reported into FDA's MAUDE database (http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfMAUDE/search.CFM) and Minimed definitely has the fewer reports of failures/issues, especially considering it has the largest market share. You can do a search yourself, it's pretty easy.


The t:slim definitely has appeal. It is sleek, and the interface looks awesome. That said, this is a medical device and your top priorities need to be reliability, dependability, and durability. I think this is especially important for you considering how quickly you went into DKA. Also, tandem is a new company with a yet-unproven track record. Doesn't meant they won't be good, but make sure you have the patience to deal with a company that is likely working out a few kinks.


Also, make sure the pump you get fits your needs. For example, if you're around water a lot, the Animas Ping might be the way to go.


Me personally - while the t:slim does appeal to me, I REALLY LOVE my minimed revel. It's reliable and durable. I do a fair amount of hiking/backpacking and in those situations, I want a pump I can drop that will keep on working. The t:slim does not look as durable to me. I love my iPhone, but I know there are serious limits to the amount of drops and water splashes it can take before it dies. I would have a hard time giving up my MM right now. It's just served me too well. I also like the fact that it has an integrated CGMS. I don't use it consistently, but it's there and doesn't entail me carrying around another device. I believe Animas will be integrating Dexcom in the near future.