Changing the cartridge and filling the tubing is the single biggest complaint from people used to syringe-style reservoirs in their previous pump(s). It’s honestly not bad, but it is different, and most people aren’t good at handling change. Watch a few YouTube videos, it’s way less complicated than what written instructions make it sound like. You do have a separate 3cc syringe with a luer lock needle you have to screw on, draw up your insulin into it, use the fully loaded syringe to suck out the small amount of air in the cartridge, flick the air bubbles up to the top of the syringe, then finally inject it into the cartridge. Then go through the steps and confirmation screens to remove old cartridge, load new cartridge, and fill the tubing. The whole process takes about five minutes, which is decidedly longer… But honestly, five minutes is a tiny bit of time every three days. Your first few times will probably take a little longer, but will very quickly become second nature.
Oh, part of the reason it takes so much longer is because of Tandems “micro-delivery” feature. It can only push small amounts of insulin at a time, so it takes more then a minute alone to fill the tubing. There used to be a beep with this process that drove many insane, but they’ve finally made that customizable with this last update.
You can also never physically see your insulin, except the tubing. It’s encapsulated in a black cartridge. You have to trust the display to tell you how much is remaining, which is ~20u less than true because they round down for what they call dead space, but it’s really just a generous margins of error, I think.
I see that Robyn_H did a good job explaining the process of changing an insulin cartridge of a t:slim pump. There is an extra step of using a syringe to load a cartridge. I quickly got use to the extra (different) step/method compared to a Minimed pump. It is no longer an issue.
I have also made the switch and agree with these sentiments! I’m also on a couple of Facebook groups for the TSlim and the 670 G. I’d highly recommend!
Loved my Animas and never had problem in 17 years. … the jury’s still out on the Tandem. Their quality control and their Micro-Delivery Systems leave a lot be be desired. I’m on my third X2 in 18 months. It appears they have been spending all their time working on new algorithms for the IQ Basel and IQ Control and said the hell with the users who had already purchased.
Me! I’ll be very frank - at first I wondered if I’d made a mistake. Three months later - I love it. When I started using it I was still on the G4. Thank goodness it didn’t take too long for insurance to approve the G6 to go along with it and that has made a world of a difference.
Backstory:
Medtronic upgraded me to the 670. I hated it. It’s bigger, more bulky to conceal and the portrait screen after using a landscape one was really annoying. Their sensors don’t work and for the few days that I used them i wondered why I need to pull my pump out from under my dress to check my readings? Such a no brainer to have the reading available on my phone or a receiver. I went back to my old 539. Definitely love the simplicity of it.
I did my training for the Tslim and I started using it. I still don’t love changing the site and filling the reservoir- gotta hand that award to Medtronic. So simple to refill. It’s gotten easier to do the change but I still dread it.
The pump is small enough to tuck away BUT the clip in case is lame. I never use mine. First of all, to put it on and take it off you have to disconnect yourself from the pump bc you have to thread the tubing through the clip.
Ok also the connection point is not as simple as squeeze and twist on and off like Medtronic. You have to squeeze the head of the tubing, which has prongs, and pull it out. Putting it back is annoying if it’s In a hard to see area bc the prongs must fit in like a puzzle piece. So not as easy to remove and reconnect.
I love the touchscreen simplicity making it simple to dose. There are a lot features to this little computer. Just gotta learn them all. I love the suspend on low feature. When I have hormone fluctuations this feature saves me from crashing and then over correcting. Again - thanks to the G6.
It took time to feel like it’s part of me but I guess after using the same system for so many years…
I’m still using my 670G, as insulin pump only. I like the reservoirs and being able to change in public.
I hated the Guardians sensors, and before them the Enlites. Readings were inaccurate, erratic and not to be trusted. Was averaging 8-9 finger sticks per day. I used the Auto mode part of two days, and it was obviously unsuitable for the BG control I wanted. I particularly hated Auto shutting off basal when I pre-bolused and the 120 target point was way too high.
The G6 has been wonderful. My HbA1C is down with fewer and milder hypos. Finger sticks average 4-5/day depending on how the sensor is doing.
I’ll be very frank - at first I wondered if I’d made a mistake. Three months later - I love it. When I started using it I was still on the G4. Thank goodness it didn’t take too long for insurance to approve the G6 to go along with it and that has made a world of a difference.