Thanks Robin. That was a lot of info and I have not been told about any of it. I took a look at my initial settings:
Basal 1.6
correct 1:18
carb 1:6
target: 112
bolus: 5h
carbs: on
I am not sure what all of it means but I have an appointment with endo MD 1/25. I will go armed with questions. Hopefully I will get to meet up with a Tandem educator in the meantime. Also, I will get the book. Thank you for the recommendation. I am a book person.
I understand not wanting to assist with some of the set functions. I should probably figure out what my body is doing with these settings before I get crazy adjusting. I have been on insulin less than a year. Iâm a LADA. I started 2 weeks before Covid lockdown and had been self adjusting to get my numbers under better, tighter control. Endo had a goal of 130, I made my goal 100-110. I will get there again. I just need to learn how to navigate the pump.
I started using the G6 6/28. It was my first CGM. I was using the Dexcom receiver. I do not have a compatible phone to use the Dexcom app. I was using Xdrip but it stopped working properly 3 weeks ago. I could not get it to stay connected to BT. Also, I could not figure out how to upload the data from Xdrip. I deleted the program and 3 months of data this past Monday. Now, I have the TConnect app on my phone and the data goes there. Endo office told me not to use anything else because it could create errors on the pump. I find it doesnât give me nearly as much info as the Xdrip did (when it worked). So, I donât know if I can/should use the receiver or not with the pump. At least the Dexcom site gave a 2 week data evaluation.
I have not been on t:connect web site. I didnât know there was one.
You are Self taught. I guess you are an expert. You have been on a pump for 26 years.
I have no trouble self teachingâŚif I have the materials needed to do so. Hell, I got my 4 year college degree from my living roomâŚpre internet. Today, I saw in an unboxing video that there was a really thick book. I donât have it. I will have to call endo office on Monday and ask educator if he has the book. He did the unboxing, not me. If itâs not there, I will call Tandem and ask for one to be sent to me.
I did my cartridge change today. I am still waiting for vials of insulin. Endo didnât send over script until yesterday (waiting since Monday and 3 phone calls later) and it wonât be in until Saturday. My pharmacy doesnât ever carry my insulin and it always has to be ordered. So, I used one of my 2 remaining flexpens, grabbed the cartridge needle and drew the insulin out of the pen. When all else fails, improvise! I guess it was OK. No errors yet.
You cannot use both Tandem pump and a Dexcom G6 Receiver. Bluetooth can only pair with one of them, since X2 behaves like a receiver. You can pair with a phone, with dexcom G6 app or xDrip for a 2nd device.
OK, thanks for that info. I donât love the receiver and apparently, canât use it anyway. Xdrip wonât pair with my phone as of 3 weeks ago⌠Every 1 minute it would ask to pair to bluetooth. The Dexcom app isnât compatible with my phone. I even went to my carrier with the Dexcom phone list and told them I wanted to buy a phone from the list. They brought me a phone and I bought it end of October. It isnât compatible. I guess all I have available to me is T Connect app.
No, I am no expert. The only thing Iâm somewhat experienced about is how my diabetes usually works. I only know about me. Everyone else with diabetes is different. The more you hang around a forum like this one the clearer that becomes.
When it comes to length of time using a pump Iâm also nothing special. There are plenty of other long time pump users here. Many of them have been using a pump longer than I have.
It sounds like no one walked you through how to upload your pumpâs data to Tandemâs web site. Check with your doctorâs office to be sure, but my guess is that they will want you to do that so they can check on how things are going for you.
I may be wrong, but I donât think the current version of the tconnect app on your phone will upload your pump data for you. I think you need to install an uploader program on a computer which has internet access and USB ports to do that.
In addition to the large user guide book, you should have also received a folded pamphlet called ât:connect Web Application Getting Started Guideâ. It has more info about downloading the program and using it to upload your pumpâs data.
One more thing. The Tandem trainer (who I never actually got trained by) emailed me the link below.
The link is to the PDF of a workbook she wanted me to review to prepare for pump training. You might want to look it over. It sounds like at least some of the material in it may be useful to you. The image below is a screen shot of the workbookâs table of contents.
I have T:Connect on my phone, and linked it to my web account. No need to contact Tandem to set it up or use PC uploader. But did need to give my doctor account info so they could have access and review/print reports from web version.
The CDE set up the T Connect app account and chose the password for me so they could access my data but they couldnât get the phone to pair to the pump. I had to call Tandem to get it done.
I reloaded Xdrip last night and it is working, for now. That doesnât fix the fact that I canât upload the data but itâs a start.
Thanks for the references/hyperlinks. I will look at them later after go check on the elderly inlaws. NO, no one even mentioned Tandemâs website or to upload data.
The uploading data via the computer wasnât mentioned because itâs an outdated method now. There is virtually no need to connect the pump to the computer anymore. The t:connect app does all that for you now.
That said, you may still need to get acquainted with the your Tandem user portal when software updates become available. We havenât had a software update yet since they introduced the t:connect app, but I HIGHLY doubt weâll be able to do software updates via that method. I assume weâll still have to login to the patient portal to request the software update and initiate the process of getting a new prescription for it, and then connect the pump to a computer via the USB cable that came with it. (Donât lose that cable! You can use any cable that fits for charging, but not all usb cables can transfer the data.)
Until a software update is available, though, there is zero need to bother with logging into the website or connecting your pump to the computer.
That is the link to what I think of as your âTandem accountâ. I do not consider it to be the t:connect portal. Yes, itâs where you would go to download updated firmware for the pump. Itâs also where you can review and update what information is in your Tandem account such as your address, health care provider, and insurance information. It also has your credit card information if you provided it.
I consider another Tandem site to be the t:connect âportalâ. Thatâs the site linked below. By logging in there you can see the data which has been uploaded via t:connect and generate reports to try to understand what that data is telling you.
You use the same userid and password to log in to both sites. But the content is very different.
Why does Tandem do it that way? I havenât a clue. Maybe in the future theyâll change it. I get the impression that t:connect is still very much a work in progress for Tandem.
But maybe they do it so that you can potentially protect your privacy. You are not supposed to have to let your doctor have your username/password to share you data with them. If you do that it means you are letting your doctor log on to your Tandem account. Iâm not comfortable sharing my login info that way.
Hi Susan- like many here have commented, it is really necessary to self-educate about using a pump and a CGM, no Matt which brand of devices you have. There is an unending amount of information available, and everyone is different on what works best for them.
There are many terms floating around the diabetes forums with which nurses and CDEâs may not be familiar. For example, I have had T1D
for 62 years and been a nurse for 43 years, and to me FOTF=four on the floor, as in a standard shift automobile, (which today is no longer standard!)
Give yourself a break, and take it slowly. There is an infinite amount to be learned.
I use the Running Buddy Mini case on Amazon for my pump and it works perfectly for wearing pants, and never falls off like some of the clips do. The rare times I wear a dress, there is a garter case also on Amazon.
Hope some of this helps.
Thanks. I am a nurse too but get more pertinent info here. I have been on insulin almost a year. Hey, I drive standard too! I used to drive a 3 speed 60 passenger bus, no power brakes or steering. Lol. That was a long time ago. I will look at the case. Thanks.
So what does the acronym FOTF mean in diabetes world? Iâm still from the age where diabetes was pronounced with a tess on the end not diabteees, like everyone seems to pronounce it now.
Feet on the floor. Itâs when you get out of bed and your sugar jumps up. I get this as Dawn phenom.
At 5 am like clockwork. But my pump adjusts for it now.
(which today is no longer standard!)