Tandemdiabetes t:slim Insulin Pump Hitting the Market

Yes, this reminds me of my other beef with my MM - the alarms and sounds are really bad. I sleep through the auto-off alarm ALL THE TIME. I have also slept through a no-delivery alarm. Granted, I am a VERY heavy sleeper, but I'd like the ability to customize my alarms/alerts and to make them loud during the nighttime hours.

In addition, I would have reservations about the rechargeable battery. I already carry around several chargers with me each day. And while I like the idea with being green, I would have a hard time giving up my ability to just pop in another AAA battery in a pinch.

I agree that a rechargeable battery is a trade-off situation. It takes more to manage a rechargeable battery but I've found with my Dexcom CGM, it's something that's reasonably managed. I just top it off when I'm sitting at my computer reading. I've fortunately not forgotten the charger when I traveled. That, I think, is the biggest risk.

I go through so much throw-away supply with my pump and CGM, I'm willing to make some effort to manage a rechargeable pump battery. MY CGM rechargeable battery has shown me that it's not that difficult or inconvenient.

Your comments about the lack of pump alarm loudness is my main objection to pump/CGM integration. I much prefer a separate CGM receiver that I can place near me at night but not under the covers. Many people that want a combined pump/CGM seem to lose sight of this important detail. Receiving a timely low BG wake-up alarm at night has markedly improved my life and saved my bacon more than once!

I guess for me this isn't as significant of an issue because I never found either CGM (Medtronic's or Dexcom's) accurate and reliable enough to really warn me about a low BG. But this was just my experience and I know many others have been saved countless times because of their CGM. I think my interstitial fluid is off or something ;-)

I think discussing tubed versus tubeless design of an insulin pump is a lot like trying decide if it's better to get kicked in the shin or punched in the eye. You're dealing with issues ether way and it's just a matter of which set of issues is less of a pain for you.

Being on a tubeless pump, it's very difficult for me to imagine what it would be like to deal with a tethered pump, though I'm certain that I would be able to do so if I had made the choice to go that route. I suppose that part of making that choice is going through a mental Rolodex of situations that you commonly find yourself in and imagining which design works best for you in most of them.

As for reliability issues, when I'm at better than 95% trouble free functioning, i don't find many worth mentioning at this point.

Hmmm, a kick in the shin or a punch in the eye, lol. Overall, I think I would prefer tubeless but the one thing I wonder about is the sheer relief I feel when a Dex sensor expires and i can take it off for a break and put aside the receiver versus the comparatively larger tubeless pump bodyware that would be 24/7.

Absolutely Don, I can relate.

The thing about the Dex is that you wear it for at least a week. I know I had sensors that went well over 2 weeks.

With the pod, you're going 80 hours tops. For those times when even that's too long, I modified a bobby pin to scratch under the adhesive if needed. I do have a tendency to get superficial scars from sratching the sites though. If I really cared about it, I would use some sort of skin prep or at least lotion down more.

As for the PDM, yeah, if you are dosing or making adjustments than it's a necessity to have on your person. Once it's programmed though, the pod is fully automated to give you your basal dose.

I'm approaching 2 years on the pod though so I have a pretty good sense of when I absoultely have to have it and when I can leave it at home. 30 minute trip to the grocery store, leave it at home. !0 day trip to Japan, gonna have to have it. The nice thing to have is the integrated BG meter. When I go out for a meal or any type of social activity, it ends up being a wash because I rarely go anywhere without my meter. If I have to carry something to a restauran, for example,t anyway, it might as well be my PDM.

A couple suggestions for MM:

Keep the SUSPEND message visible, the entire time the pump is suspended.
Also, an alarm for when your pump is empty. Not just when the reservoir is getting low.

I like the tube, because you can detach and reattach easily.