Do I regret switching to Tandem from Medtronic? 1 year later

After using it for a year, do I regret switching from Medtronic to Tandem T-slim x2 instead of the 780g?

[edwins]

This is my third Medtronic pump in over 20 years and Medtronic seems to be too slow to upgrade and improve their systems. The primary probable cause was the lack of competition. Fortunately, I get my diabetic supplies from the government and they now offer other systems that seem to be more advanced. I have been disappointed in my contacts with the Medtronic minimed people mostly because I didn't understand their poor quality Asian English over the phone in some of my evening calls. They have made a fortune with this system over the past 20 plus years yet don't seem to want to invest the time and money necessary to improve it.

[inspectorgadget]

I feel you. I am on the x2 and I’m ready for an upgrade and the x3 is not out yet. The dexcom is the best of the best. As you mentioned Tandem cannot upgrade software like an iPhone as it all has to be approved my the FDA.

[reginariedl]

I've got in the habit if I'm going somewhere for longer especially if I'm going to eat I carry a syringe and an insulin vial as a back-up. It's not a perfect option but saves me having to rush home. I still get my pump to calculate my bolus.

[JK-oxvn]

I love how we are all different- I have only just started on a pump (780G) funded by the UK's NHS, choice was either the tandem or the 780g. I chose the Medtronic largely because it takes standard batteries that are available everywhere, I go camping or to festivals etc so cant guarantee being able to recharge. The Guardian G4 sensors dont need calibration - if I was going to get the G3 sensors I would have gone for the Tslim given the Dexcom's superior performance. So far no complaints about the 780g.

[jameshallahan]

Love the metal cannulas, I pull them off if it starts to hurt, then I wipe needle with alcohol swab and stick it back in, get a week or 2 out of them. haven’t had any problems .Using the flexible tubing, if it falls off, there is no way to put back in. The trick I think is to keep metal needle from moving so I put a 2x3 tegaderm clear dsg over it as soon as I stick into skin.

[JB-NZ]

If something spikes your blood sugar faster than the insulin can control it, ideally you should skip eating that type of food. Not trying to put you down, but if this has happened to you twice in movies, then maybe change your behaviour and dont eat that crap when watching a movie and eat something low carb or something, so even if the infusion set fails, you dont have a ton of carbs/sugar in your system and nothing to combat it. Just saying.
Thanks for the review though.

[mcj]

Thanks man. Im choosing between the 780g and X2. Think im gonna go for the Tandem for 4 years

[TheNuggetshooter]

I am switching to the 780g because I have had 5 Tandem X2 pumps replaced in the last 5 years because of so many problems with the G6 sensors failing, pump failures like failing to charge, Tandem infusion sight failures, etc. I liked the pump layout screen, etc. but I found it to be unreliable. I had a Medtronic 530 G pump as my first pump, and in the 4 years I had the pump, I had no problems with the functioning of the pump. I would rather have less bells and whistles and it be reliable than always waiting for the next issue. Luckily for me, the Medtronic area manage lives very close to me as does my Endocrinologist. Only time will tell which pump I ultimately like better.

[Abber]

Hi Jacob, thanks for the upload. First off, your infusion set is working fine on the Tandem. The reason that you were experiencing the highs after you bolused for the carbs is that you were eating candy, which Type 1 diabetics cannot do even though we are on the insulin pump. Why? When we are taught about carb counting, it is thought that all carbs are the same, and this is incorrect. There are slow acting carbs such as green vegetables, medium acting carbs such as whole grain breads, dairy, potatoes, etc., and there are fast acting carbs such as sugars, candies, sweets, juices, cakes, etc.. You mentioned that you were running very high after eating candies and bolusing. That is because the fast acting carbs were going into the bloodstream FASTER than the insulin can be absorbed causing early highs, and because you are high glucose, it will take more insulin to get it back down. All insulins work on medium acting carbs. This is why when we carb count, that we must carb count the proper carbs with the insulin pump and stay away from sugary carbs. I hope that this helps, but please talk to your diabetic nutritionist about carb counting and the proper foods to eat as Type 1 diabetic. Cheers!

[Anabel]

I haven’t used a pump in 3 yrs, started using Dexcom 2 years ago and the Inpen 1 yr ago which I love but now I’m just tired of having to inject myself every time I eat food, my endo talked to me about the 770 pump and the T slim x2 I chose to go with the x2 due to Dexcom, watching your video I know I made the best choice for myself.

[someguygg]

Thanks for these videos. My pump is just out of warranty. Seems like I might just wait it out for a T:slim X3! Current pumps seem to have too many compromises. Once Dexcom G7 comes out, maybe they will refresh pumps to be compatible!

[vanihansen]

I hated I had to charge the tslim everyday. Also the dexcom was always incorrect.. I think I had two good blood sugars from checking it to the pump..I switched to it and I'm going back to medtronic

[drewzerbruizer]

If you are thin / no body fat and type 1 you'll always be fighting the infusion sets. I deal with the same issue on the infusion sets failing. Especially if you are active, this will happen often. I wish they would just send like 10 extra infusion sets per month in the box with me. It's not only the infusion set failing that sucks, that's like 10-15 dollars thrown away each time that happens. It's frustrating. It's also frustrating that the device doesn't alert when the infusion set isn't delivering properly. The only alert you get is if the canula is completely blocked, which surprisingly rarely happens.

[rhdtv]

I'm going from tubeless Omnipod to Tandem. I'm not excited about my move but Omnipod I'd taking forever to do the loop and Tandem controlIQ is very good..hope I have better luck with my infusion set..you can switch to another one.

[psdaengr]

It's not autopilot, no pump algorithm can adapt to extreme or unusual behavior, such as the rapid hormonal changes of adolescence. If you are out of the territory that Control IQ can navigate, you won't get to where you want to be overnight.
- If you want be "flat at 110 overnigh" you need to start out close to 120
- Control IQ can only make one 60% delta correction per hour above 180. CF over 200 increases non-linearly.
- If you go to bed at 11pm, eating until 8pm doesn't give it enough time to mostly correct very high BG . You need to stop eating sooner, stay up later, and/or manually correct for persistent highs before you go to bed. Get that BG down below 160 and falling slowly (-1mg/dl per 5 minutes) before engaging sleep mode.
- Sleep mode under Control IQ doesn't give corrective boluses. It only increases basal if you are over 120. Additionally, if your dawn rise is strong, your basal rate after 3am too low, depending on when you wake, there may not be enough time to drop the rising BG before you change the correction level back to above 160.
- Apple and Google don't need to have new versions of their software reviewed and approved by the FDA. Tandem does.
- The Dexcom "sensors" CAN be calibrated more than at the time when you enter the code. Twice a day isn't necessary, I check for accuracy during a stable high (under 180) after dinner the first two days and the 5th. I calibrate then if they are off more than 20 mg.dl off. Highs are where they need to be accurate. It also seems to help their mid and low range accuracy.

[susannwilke]

Hello,
thank you very much for this review.
As far as I understand the algorithm of the x:2 is not actually supposed to be "learning". As far as I get it, it just adapts the basal rate you typed in depending on the glucose level right now and the supposed glucose level it predicts. It will not change the basal rate for tomorrow or any other day and therefore, if not working to your satisfaction, run into the same problems again and again. Couldn't the solution be to adapt the basal rate you put in? I don't have any experience with the pump yet. But the non-learning algorithm is one of the major reasons I'm considering to switch to this system. Due to everchanging insulin needs of my body (switching daily routines, hormonal changes and other factors) the learning algorithm of the 670G actually sends me into the roller coaster. It learns to adapt to the insulin needs of today and uses them tomorrow, when I might actually need the exact opposite. I imagine having an actual fixed basal rate (and factors) that only adapt to current issues might suit me better. If problems occur regularly I can adapt the basal rate and factors manually and give the algorithm a better base to work with... At least, that's my hope...

[southerncrescent]

My warranty ended on 3-11-23 on my 670G. What I hate with the 670G is the low blood sugar alarms even is the BG reading is increasing. Does the T-slim give low blood sugar alarms even if your glucose readings on your graph is increasing? If my blood sugar level is increasing, the pump should know that I have acknowledged it and have ingested carbs. So it infuriates me to have to stop and silence my pump after I made the correction.

[masofist]

did you give yourself any insulin unit before eating the sweets? thank you so much for sharing your experience

[analog]

Medtronic has multiple things in the pipeline. They have their simplera sensor that will looks similar to the G7 and libre 3. They’re working on their next generation pump. They also have the 780g and guardian 4 sensor that has been released a lot of places outside the US. Hopefully in the near future it will be approved in the US. I would research Medtronic’s future pipeline, it’s pretty exciting. Great video on you experience with the x2!

[jameshallahan]

With medtonic you pull transmitter off after sensor expires and recharge, plug back in as new sensor and you can get another 5 or 6 days on sensor