Another T:slim user. I’ve never tried the Ypso, since it’s not in the USA, but I have looked into it a lot since it was SUPPOSED to be here last year, and I’m out of warranty and prepping for my next pump purchase myself.
I’m a medical researcher, so I really did my leg work when deciding which pump I wanted. I spent months reading and researching… Even reading through the MAUDE database where “adverse events” in the US are recorded. I chose the T:slim over the other options because of the unparalleled safety, small size, rechargeable battery, modern feel, and I was really impressed with Tandem as a company and what their pipeline held. This was before there was any pump automation, so I was very excited to see what was coming soon. I was so sure of my choice that I defied my Endo, who was team Medtronic.
I don’t regret my choice for a moment. 6 years later and I know the T:slim X2 was absolutely the best choice. I’m a MASSIVE fan of Control-IQ. I don’t think it’s perfect, but it’s by far the best commercial option available, and the next upgrade for it is going to offer more customization. Speaking of updates… Tandem actually rolls them out fairly often. I’ve been through 4 major feature updates in that time, and a few minor ones. They’re constantly working to improve the product and they really listen to patient feedback. They send out surveys often and it informs the updates they prioritize. Something else I really appreciate is how durable the thing is. It’s got a metal frame, not plastic, so it’s fairly indestructible. I drop it on tile way more than I care to admit, and no problem ever.
There’s exactly one thing I don’t like about the T:slim, the micro-USB charging port. Drives me insane because I usually charge once a week or so in bed, and I’ve never once managed to plug it in successfully in the dark. I really wish they would have used a usb-C connection instead. I don’t mind the actual charging, it doesn’t need to happen often and it charges quickly. I just hate the shape of the plug.
The thing that most people complain about, filling the cartridge and tubing, never bothered me in the least. I think it’s a struggle for people coming from other tubed pumps because it’s so different. The pump mechanism that makes it so safe, also makes it slow and fiddly. But I came from MDI with insulin vials and syringes, so it was no big deal at all. Nearly the same exact thing, except now I stab the cartridge with the syringe instead of myself.
I think the only things I wished I learned sooner were about the infusion sets. I was pretty much just told I wanted the Autosoft 90 sets, but I learned here that there was an Autosoft XC set that is nearly identical, except that it is much easier to connect/disconnect at the infusion set. And the Internet was right! Autosoft XC is so much better than Autosoft 90! And the other thing I learned thanks to social media was how to avoid the dreaded kinked cannula problem that often sends people running to steel sets instead. It’s really easy to pull the Autosoft sets up and off their introducer needle, so the squishy cannula extends past the needle. When you stab it into your skin with no needle supporting it, the cannula just bends in half. It’s like a kinked hose in that nothing flows through. You just really need to handle the sets gently. No yanking the blue needle cover off, but rather twist it until it spins freely and ease it off. Same goes with removing the adhesive backing.
I’ve had a few issues pop up over the years, but none of them were deal-breakers. Tandem has really great customer service. I’ve only had one catastrophic pump failure, their words, and it really wasn’t that bad. My pump lost all it’s data in a glitch and threw an error code. They overnighted me a new pump, but in the meantime I was able to clear the error by restarting the pump. I reprogrammed my basal profile and it worked just fine until the replacement arrived. I didn’t even lose the data since it uploads automatically to the app I’ve also gotten a few other non-critical warranty replacements for things like out-of-spec battery life and one that gave occlusion alarms when it wasn’t even attached to me. I don’t actually think I needed a new pump in either of those cases, the battery was my fault for letting vibratory alerts repeat and I think the occlusion alarms were actually a bad lot of cartridges, but I was always excited to get a new-to-me pump in the mail.
All that said, I don’t think the Ypsopump is a bad choice. CamAPS is actually pretty good. Control -IQ seems to hedge out all other commercial algorithms in the clinical trials, though. It seems to be the enhanced nighttime performance that tips the scales in favor of Control-IQ. If you do choose the Ypso, though, CamAPS is still a great option. The one big advantage Ypso has over T:slim is the pre-filled cartridges. It’s real easy plug and play. I thought the infusion sets would be another advantage, given the multi-directional connector… But the more I read about those, seems they’re not actually well liked because they sit so high off the skin. Then there’s the battery thing, which could be a positive or a negative, depending on how you look at it. I prefer the greener option myself, but know others like having a stockpile of AAAs.
