Yesterday I started on my new Tandem pump. One small thing I noticed is the clip seems user unfriendly. It’s hard to clip to jeans, etc., or is it made for a belt? Second, the start button at the top of the pump seems finicky. When pressing, sometimes the screen awakens and sometimes I have to press multiple times. Is this just me?
You are right. The belt clip is useless. I have to stick the pump in my pants pocket.
I do the same but with shallow pockets, it causes a “bungee cord effect”.
Is it the button itself, or is it that the case over the button is stiff? My pump came with a different case/clip than they give you now, so I don’t know if it’s still an issue,but I had to work the case with a butter knife to loosen up the thin plastic border around the button, so the case had more flex there. I literally just pressed the butter into it to stretch it out some. I think that’ll happen naturally with use, no knife required, but the unresponsiveness annoyed me and I was impatient. Worked really well after that.
Supposedly the clip they offer now is improved over the chunky plastic one I got, but I still see mixed reviews. The original one got so many complaints that customer service used to recommend a 3rd party clip called Nite Ize Hip Clip. Thanks why if you search for it on Amazon, you’ll see all sorts of T:slims in the pictures/reviews, including mine (Amazon name is DH). I really like that clip. Will hold on tight to a single layer of jersey t-shirt material still today after like 6/7 years. I don’t use a case for my pump, it’s glued right to the pump itself.
There are also lots of other people besides Tandem selling well-loved cases, like T1 Tactical and EDC Solutions, but I don’t have any experience there.
@Patticakes Is this the clip that comes on the protective case?
I have no problems with that clip either on belt or waistband.
The top button is not particularly sensitive. I haven’t tried it with the pump not in the case. That may work better.
One other tip, when you do wake up the screen, hit that button again to turn it off. For some reason if I don’t do that I get a missed bolus notification.
I thought that it might be a quick bolus quirk, but that’s turned off on my pump.
Another thing about the Tandem X2, the screen is nearly invisible when wearing polarized sun glasses.
I have been getting that missed bolus notification and have been going to call Tandem about it. Now I don’t have to. You answered my question. As to the sluggish OFF/ON button, it is due to a slight misalignment with the enclosing case. It is a minor quirk that I tolerate. What bugs me more is that the pump is upside down when clipped to my waist and I can’t check it until I remove it from my waistband. That is due to the fact that the various parts of the pump preclude it being inserted into the case so that it can be read right side up. Nothing they can do about that, I guess.
Glad I’m not the only one with the touchy Off/On button issue. As long as I can get it to turn on, I’ll have to make do. I do not like the clip at all. It takes me awhile to attach it to my jeans. My Medtronic clip was an easy spring loaded clip. As far as the missed bolus notification, I’m too inexperienced to have noticed, it that happened to me. I still have a lot to learn.
Yes, Luis, I noticed that right away. When out walking, I have to take my sunglasses off to even see the screen, but it’s the same with my iphone.
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Thanks, Robyn, for your search ideas on clips. I will check them out.
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I too found the case supplied by Tandem to be useless. I bought a swiveling clip from Amazon, works like a charm. I also find that if I don’t press the button just right, nothing happens. I am just extra careful when pressing.
I have a pump case with a clip attached the clip rotates 360 nice had it for 3 years now. It is on the tandem store look it up. I think you would like it it’s secure whatever you clip it to.
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Hello. I stated on tandem pump in March. Don’t use a clip so can’t comment on that. I put on pocket or bra or use a pump belt. Yes the on/off button is definitely finicky. Personally not a fan of control IQ. My A1c went up the first three months. Now I turn off during the day and put on at night. I like to stay in the 90’s not 110. Can see my A1C is trending down. Shows on Dexcom clarity. I do like that I can bolus from phone. Rarely take out my pump. And the accuSoft 30 infusion set works well. No kinks. Also someone told me about filling cartridge up to the 300 units. I use cartridge until it runs out. Just change infusion set.
Well, this is my second week with the Tandem but I’ve always used hands-on tweaking with my old Medtronic pump to get my A1C around the mid-5’s. I’m sure that number will go up with this pump, which is not my goal. They should have a lower goal range to choose from. I’ve started eating way less carbs just to avoid those peaks after a meal, and that has helped. Using up your cartridge of 300 units would probably save a lot of that insulin waste. It’s something for me to think about. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
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