I heard the new transmitter update is supposed to fix it. Haven’t heard from any real people on the forum yet if it does. I never believe marketing people anyway - no reason Medtronic marketing would be any different. If some reliable people on here say it is fixed than I would tend to believe it.
Heh. I’m one of the 670g haters. In fact, I’ve got some supplies I have to pas to someone who happens to love it. It actually wasn’t the 670g. It was Medtronic’s CGM. I just dislike how their CGM works. Who thought it was a good idea to make people charge the transmitter every time? Who has time for that? #hardpass
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Sorry to read that the 670 did not work for you. To be fair, I do know that many 670 users love their system.
@Regina, what are you doing now to dose your insulin? Another pump or multiple daily injections?
I am a current Animas user looking at possibly spending the $1000 on the program to switch to the Tandem pump. I have a question though—if I use the basal IQ setting with my Dexcom G6, but start having the dreaded “sensor error” alerts or just generally noticing that my sensor is not performing accurately, am I able to just turn off basal IQ on the pump while still being able to continue with my G6 session on my iPhone app? And then turn basal IQ back on later?
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Absolutely yes.
Note that you will still receive cgm data on the phone and pump. Disabling the Basal-IQ does not have any impact on the Dexcom G6 session or the cgm data being received and displayed by the phone or pump.
The only thing disabling the Basal-IQ (which is only a couple of taps on the pump screen) does is prevent the pump from suspending insulin delivery based on cgm data.
BTW - Have you downloaded the Tandem simulator so you can click through the screens? I would suggest give it a try. The more information you have prior to a purchase can only be beneficial in helping you arrive at the best decision for you.
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Thanks! I downloaded the Tandem app last night and have also been watching YouTube videos so I’m more prepared. At this point, my biggest hangups about the Tandem pump is how it stops functioning over 99 degrees (I live in one of the hottest parts of southern California, and the idea of not being able to be outside with my pump for much of the summer really concerns me). And also, with less concern, the altitude alarm over 10k feet, since I am hoping to go to the Rocky Mountains this summer. My animas pump never had an issue with temperature or altitude so I’m really bummed and worried about this.
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I never heard that. We certainly do not stay in air conditioned buildings simply because of hot weather.
Ah - I just checked the manual and it does state that.
We absolutely do not follow those guidelines. I guess give us a slap on the wrist.
We also ignore the cold guidelines and will go outside in winter when it gets quite cold.
We also do not give any special care for the pump around water.
I guess basically, we do a little bit of “pick and choose” which parts of the manual to take serious and which to take with a grain of salt.
Have you been in 110+ degree heat for more than 2 hours, Tim? (without pump issues?)
What about direct sun on the pump for over an hour, when it’s over 100 degrees air temp?
If I have a pump that fails to deliver insulin due to ambient conditions that I am sometimes in, that’s going to be huge problem for me. My MM pump never stops working no matter what weather I’m in, as far as heat. I don’t go where it is cold. 
@Dave44
Yes to being in high heat.
However, at the same time, if in high heat such as at a beach and intending to take the pump off, we will be careful not to leave it in direct sunlight. Either put a towel over it or put it into a cooler. So, No to that part. We would not leave the pump when not being worn exposed directly to the sunlight during a hot day. That to me would seem unreasonable and foolish.
So, there is a balance.
With our previous pump, Animas Ping, we did cause a failure once due to high heat. We thought the pump was dead. It really was a very hot day. Animas Tech Support walked us through diagnosis and as it turned out, the AA battery had completely failed due to excessive heat but the pump itself was fine once a new battery was put in. And the insulin also was fine. We didn’t even bother to change out the cartridge and it still was effective.
So far in high heat situations, (and cold weather) we have had zero issues with the Tandem X2.
But if your MM pump works and you have proven it and you are happy with it then I would definitely say to stick with what you know works. There is significant benefit to testing and proving yourself what works.
Um, @Terry4. I started the thread and posted above that I started my X2 last week.
Pay attention.
Before that, I was on MDI after stopping the 670g and before that the OmniPod. Hated them both for different reasons.
Thanks for the info, Tim. I don’t leave my pump in the sun by itself, but because it is clipped to my waistband, it is exposed to the sun while I’m wearing it. When I sunbathe, I turn it around so that the clip is on the outside of my trunks, and the pump faces my skin. As I’ve gotten older, I don’t do much sunbathing but I am out in the sun and heat enough to raise the temp of any pump way above room temp. If I would remove my pump, I always cover it so that it isn’t in direct sunlight, but when wearing it and moving around (ie, NOT sunbathing) I don’t take any special precautions with it. I hope I wouldn’t have to excessively baby an X2.
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Here is a first review of Control-IQ from someone currently in the final trial:
https://sixuntilme.com/wp/2019/02/07/control_iq_tandem_dexcom_guestpost/
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Anthony,
Thank you for the post. Incredible! Amazing! Can’t wait!
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I’m not on auto-ship, so that’s not an issue for me. However, I hope it can help someone else.
In the industry that I’m in (and maybe it’s across all white-collar industries), there is a lot of contract/contingent work happening. It can be well paid and with benefits, depending on the set up. Like, for example, a contingent worker might get benefits like health care. I am right now, which means I’ll have a COBRA option once this assignment is done.
That also means it’s the rare thing I have on auto-bill or auto-ship because sometimes times are flush meaning I’m in a role that I know I’ll have for a few months and I can save, or times aren’t flush, which means it’s now invade my savings time and move to the next gig ASAP.
Full-time “permanent” is hard in to get, and I’ve been through pivots where the contractors/contingent workers AND some full-time “'permanent” workers were let go due to budget issues.
Anyway, all of that to say that the G6 is next.
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COBRA pricing is horrendous. My wife had to use COBRA for roughly 7 months and it about broke us. The first month it was around $850. Then in January of the next year, it jumped to over $1,700!! AND the coverage was awful–no where near as good as the not-so-great BCBS coverage. So we paid about 7-8X as much per month as for BCBS, and got way less for the money. This happened 3 years ago.
It depends. I had COBRA before and the rate was comparable to the California ACA plan for a top tier plan. I’ll have run the numbers and see what makes more sense.
Maybe with the madness that’s going on with the ACA and current Federal government, things are worse. The last time I had to choose, I chose COBRA.
We have never been involved with the ACA. We are in Calif, BTW, but I’ve no idea what made the COBRA plan so freaking expensive. I don’t know how many out-of-work folks can afford $1,700 PER PERSON for COBRA. My coverage was through Medicare at the time my wife needed COBRA.
Cobra is simply the insurance you had from your employer.
The difference is the employer no longer picks up a portion of the premium so the ex-employee pays the entire premium.
Whether it is expensive or not would depend on the employer plan cost.
That’s AWFUL. Sorry your rate was sky high.
Mine wasn’t cheap, but it was around $500 for the ACA or COBRA. I stayed with the plan I had.
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