A well travelled topic but some advise or even comments would be appreciated.
TD1 for 25 years most of the time on a pump. Presently using a Medtronic Paradigm pump well out of warranty. Also have a 670g which I hate. Battery life 4 days!, user interface ( the screens and navigation) terrible, having to go through screens and read them to get an action done is horrible and a poor design. Quick bolus! What a laugh.
Did I say I hate it, well now I have to choose between a Medtronic 78, an Omnipod or a T-slim.
One big problem the glucose sensor is not being used so it’s the pump only, for now, until sensors are funded.
So which one is going to be relatively pain free to use, the Paradigm is great, easy to use most of the time without menu, battery superb, small and light. So why did they make the 670 and the 780. Is the 780 a better pump than the 670, I don’t know, never seen one or tried any of them but I need to choose, something!
I switched from Medtronic to TSlim around 10 years ago - it was a 508 or possibly a Paradigm now that I think about it. No regrets and the Dexcom CGM is excellent. I use Control IQ to adjust for highs and lows (don’t recall what the corresponding feature is called on Minimed). Tslim plugs in to charge and I do it while I’m sitting at my desk or watching TV - it doesn’t take long and I’ve also used my car charger or a “charging brick.”. People do complain about the different fill process but that may be minor for you. There is an app you can download to try the TSLIM virtually, and I understand you can take a “test drive” of TSLIM to see if you like it before you commit, though I don’t have details.
Wishing you the best in your decision.
Much appreciated for taking time to reply your info is a big help, I was wondering about charging the unit but sounds okay. The insulin loading is probably a change from Medtronic but without trying it it’s a bit of a gamble. Medtronic, according to online blog are losing customers at a rate, mainly the cgm but I still don’t like the interface. Again many thanks.
Doug
We’re Omnipod fans. The PDM is a locked-down cellphone — small, lightweight, easy-to-navigate menus, clean display, etc. Will Bluetooth with a Contour Next, or you can manually enter your BG from a CGM or other meter. As between Omnipod and Tandem, we prefer the look and feel and user-interface features of Omnipod.
Biggest downside in my book is that it’s not yet using the “hybrid closed loop” technology of the Tandem with Control IQ, but they are working on getting approval from the FDA (supposedly by June, but I’m not holding my breath). If you’re no-sensor at the moment anyway, then maybe you don’t care about that, but maybe you’re planning to add a CGM in the future, in which case you might.
Obvious other differences are that the Omnipod is tubeless and waterproof. A rep will be happy to give you a pretend pod to try out.
Charging it really isn’t an issue for either Omnipod or Tandem. Omnipod is easier to load your insulin into, but honestly we didn’t think it was that big a deal.
Recently switched from an omnipod to medtronic 770g, 780 isn’t available in US yet. 770g appears to be a 780g hardware with the 670g software until 708g is approved for use in US.
I’m still using a dexcom cgm but the available infusion sets made the switch an easy decision for me. There is exactly 1 infusion set available on the pod and if your body has trouble with it, that’s too bad. The support from the omnipod team was very good though for all 4 years that I used pods, if that makes a difference.
Tandem wasn’t as responsive to me as medtronic and no rep in my area contacted me so, I chose the one that responded to my requests, medtronic. Very happy so far but a short time user.
I have heard that some people get their omnipod supplies through their pharmacy benefits so they don’t have a long term commitment…not sure if that’s true though.