I have been a user of the Medtronic pump for the last 6 years, before that is was the One Touch Ping. I love having my pump, but I feel it is time to change and upgrade. I have been interested in the Tslim and wanted to know the thoughts of people who use it or know someone who uses it.
I also was on the Medtronic for the last 5 and prior to that was on the Ping. I have been on the Tslim since October and I absolutely LOVE it!!
The main things that I feel are better is the interface and touch screen as so much better than the medtronic. I also love that the Dexcom is integrated with it and hopefully by next year the closed loop system will be approved and will be able to compete with Medtronic’s 670g.
I didn’t choose to upgrade with Medtronic because I really don’t like their CGM and had heard of numerous issues with the 670g and actually staying in “Auto” mode. Plus, the target glucose for the 670g is 120 and I personally prefer to be at a lower target.
The Tslim is also considerably smaller than the 670g and because of how they designed it you can download upgrades to the system rather than having to purchase a completely new pump like with Medtronic. That way you always have access to the latest advancements with Tslim.
My daughter was a Medtronic user. We weren’t happy with the cgm. We have had Dexcom for a few years and went over to t slim x2 to match. We do alot of elevation changes in summers (love t slim for that it made a difference.) We are very happy with it. It is harder to load the cartridges. Wish they came preloaded with insulin.
Seems like it is a good pump to switch to! I aslo had problems with the cgm that goes with the Medtronic. I am very excited to hear that the Tandem’s cgm seems to work better! Thanks for the info!!
I have been using a tslim for a little under a year now and i love it. I have the low glucose prevention with the g6 and works like a charm. I have been low numerous times in the night and when I wake up in the morning my numbers were perfect so I am very anxious to see how the full closed loop system turns out. I would highly recommend this system, especially if you are using a dexcom CGM.
I just got my Dex G6 in anticipation of replacing my Medtronic pump with the Tslim early next year. I’m encouraged to hear the good reviews from other former Medtronic users.
To your good health,
Nancy
I’m like to know people the use the Tandem Tslim x2 and use Apidra Insulin,
My sons been using the Dexcom/tSlim x2 combo for just over a year, and we’re all very pleased with it. I don’t have any comparison for you about the cartridges, but I will say it’s a little tasky at first. Not bad though. The interface is like a smartphone which is much easier than the Medtronic. Tandem also has excellent customer support 24/7.
My son is newer diabetic and first time pump user in October. We have Tslim with deacon 6 and love it! (Not sure of the differences between the pumps)
Oops! Typo. **Dexcom
I was using a Medtronic 530G and just switched to the T:slim X2. Medtronic’s CGMs never worked well for me, so I’ve been using a Dexcom for quite a while with much better results. So, when it came time for a new pump, the T:slim made sense…
So far, I like the T:slim. It is more difficult to load, as previously stated, but the convenience of the CGM/Pump integration is well worth it. I no longer have to carry a separate receiver for the CGM as the X2 is the pump and receiver in one. I really like that!
Pam K.
T1D 54+ yrs and counting!
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Hello out there, I just got my Tandem TslimX2 today and am completely unhappy about it, which is why I am looking for practical help.
- no remote control: I normally wear my pump under my clothes and wear tight dresses for work. I can’t make myself half naked just to take the pump in my hand all the time. How do you deal with this?
- the clip case: I had a Accucheck Combo before I got the Tandem and the clip case was completely flexible (rotating the clip was possible and it was a mechanism that even held upside down, because it was rather like a clamp than a clip). How do you put the pump on your body (upside down)? Are you all happy with the case? The seller had strange suggestions like: put a belt around your belly, but this is not practical for every day… has anybody 3D printed a better case?
- the infusion set: I can’t rotate the infusion set. Once it is in place, there is only one way I can connect the “cable”. How do you do if you have the pump sometimes on the right side of your body and sometimes on the left?
- the coupling of the “cable” to the cartridge: This shows under any tight fitting T-Shirt. I mean, yes of course, the pump shows too, but this bulk in the middle of the “cable” looks just too ridiculous. How do you do?
- Dexcom G6 and Wifi: whenever I am seated close to a Wifi router (like all day long at work), the connection between pump and sensor is lost. Yes, Bluetooth and Wifi use the same frequency band, but how do you get this working?
- travelling: the pump should not be x-rayed, because the Bluetooth will be destroyed. Why do all my other Bluetooth devices have no problems with x-raying them? Anybody any idea what is behind this?
Fortunately I have one week to try out the pump before I have to decide if I want to keep it or not, but I rather wanted to have it because of the Basal-IQ feature. It’s just that if I can’t solve the basic practical problems, I won’t be happy with the pump and rather go back to my “old” Accucheck Combo, which suddenly feels a lot more modern, because it already had solutions for my issues 7 years ago.
Thanks for your help! And sorry for sounding negative, I was just so surprised and taken aback that my new pump is lacking so many features, which seemed so naturally for me…
First off, Tandem has never marketed or made a remote control for their pump. A Bluetooth app that fully controls the pump is in the works with a read only app that Tandem hopes to launch with the t: Sport next year. An app fully controlling the pump will most likely not be seen for a few years. I’m not sure why you’re surprised about this.
Tandem changed the style of their clips a few years ago. Personally, I preferred the older style over the new ones and don’t get me started on how they don’t warranty these POS and expect you to pay $40 for a new one every few months. There are third party companies making pump cases. Others use small cellphone cases as well.
The infusion set does not rotate obviously. Any picture of the set clearly shows this. I use the 23 inch long tubing and tuck it in my waist band. I wear my pump on the same side as the G6 but opposite of the infusion set. Not that big of a deal really.
The pig tail is not in the middle of the tubing. It’s 2 inches from the cartridge, you can slide the tubing in the metal clip and this will keep the pig tail against the side of the case and will not kink the tubing when attached to clothing.
In regards to losing signal, it’s just the nature of the beast with everything running on 2.4 GHz. If you’re swimming in wireless signals, there’s not much you can do.
Every pump manufacturer discourages their pumps going through X-ray machines. This is nothing new and not specific to Tandem.
Sadly, most of your issues stem from not doing any research on the functionality of the pump, accessories and the infusion sets.
Dear Jason1,
Thanks so much! And yes I agree, I didn’t do a lot of research, because the information available in my country is not good at all and I didn’t get the idea to look for an international forum before I had it. So I read all they had, looked at the pictures they provide, but didn’t do a more thorough analysis. And frankly, I wasn’t expecting anything more problematic than what I already had, because the information available was painting the pump as the most modern on the market, so I really wasn’t expecting “basic” problems which my old system already had solved.
I am a complete newbie to Tandem, so I didn’t know that they had never developed remote controls. But that is a very good information to have, because then I won’t need to wait for it to happen and can just give back the Tandem and return to my old system.
Thanks again for your help and have a wonderful day!
Hi. I switched from Medtronic to T-Slim several years ago and am quite happy. You shared that you wear tight dresses for work. We all have our own preferences - I’m more comfortable in looser fitting clothes and am not bothered if a little something shows underneath - but I thought I would share my thoughts:
I sometimes tuck my pump into my cleavage, and if I am wearing a dress it’s very easy to get my pump when I need to unless it’s a turtleneck. How well that hides your pump depends on the tightness if the dress and (if you will excuse my being so frank) the size of your cleavage. I’m not very large chested and in my case you can see a slight bulge but I personally don’t care.
I agree about the clip case - I’m not crazy about it either. I suppose some people don’t use it at all; but just as with my cell phone I do like the added protection so I grin and wear it. You could remove the clip and just use the case.
I alternate sides and the direction of the cable has never been an issue for me with the 23" tubing.
Regarding radiation, both the Minimed and Tandem pumps have a warning to avoid exposure. The nice thing about the “tail” that couples to the cartridge is it makes it convenient to disconnect without reaching under your clothes.
Glad you have a week to check it out before committing! Wishing you the best.
Hi Dorie,
Thanks so much for your thoughts! Really great to see that others are not happy with the clipcase either. I started to wonder if everybody else just wears trousers with pockets and just doesn’t have the same issues.
Yeah, I wore my old pump clipped into my bra, since I don’t have a lot of cleavage and the Accucheck clipcase allowed for clipping it from the underside. The Tandem clip is so tight, that I need both hands and the bra visible to get the clip over the underwire. And this is also were the remote control comes in, because once connected in the morning, my old pump just stayed in place the whole day and I could do all my boluses remotely or check what it tried to tell me, when it started vibrating. It even had 2 buttons that I could press through the clothes.
The problem with the TslimX2 is that I have to take it into my hands to interact with it like once an hour (maybe not that often, but especially when my sugar level is just around the warning level, I get a lot of warnings when it passes the threshold several times) and I am just so frustrated because that keeps me from wearing my usual clothes, because there is no chance to get it into my hands without a lot of fussing and half exposing my breasts.
I think that I will hand it back, because I see the biggest advantage compared to my old system in that the Freestyle libre wasn’t alarming me while the Dexcom is. So I guess I will switch over to Dexcom for the CGM and just do the adjustments manually that the TslimX2 would have done automatically.
Thanks again for your mail and I wish you all the best, too!
Hi @BettinaFunk Bettina, welcome to TypeOneNation! I don’t know if omnipod is available in your country (Insulet) but it is completely remote controlled. Just a thought. In the states, Medtronic Tandem and Insulet are the biggest pump manufacturers. Hope you find something that works best for you. Yes I agree the sales information make each pump look like the best thing ever. Cheers!
Hi @joe joe,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Yes, the omnipod is available and I will probably reconsider to get it as soon as my pump doesn’t go to replace or the infusion sets I use are not available anymore (which I fear will be soon, because the Accucheck Combo with luer-connection was replaced by a newer model a few years ago and it seems that it is the only one left with that standardized connection). Unfortunately it also has a lot of drawbacks (only 200 units in one go, no sauna after training anymore,…) which was why I so far didn’t choose it. But it seems that I either have to do what the Tandem representative told us Tandem did when they started (didn’t found anything fitting on the market, so started their own development) or simply have to accept that the current systems available on the market won’t give me the same freedom I had before. I should maybe start a crowdfunding for the development of a replacement system for Accucheck Combo users, since they will be the “spoiled ones” and are maybe as frustrated as I am with the current choices and the ones most interested in getting a new flexible system 
A pity that the pump manufacturers earn so much money with their infusion sets. The standard that was used before opened the market to manufacturers that specialized in infusion sets, which created a lot of variety and choice. With the “each pump manufacturer creates their own connection” approach, you can only choose between the few alternatives they themselves offer, which are often inferior to the ones specialized manufacturers produced. Anyway, thanks to all of you for your great ideas! Next time I will browse this forum before I test a new replacement, so I know which lesser evil to opt for.
Every single infusion set no matter the pump is made by Unomedical of Denmark. Medtronic have had a proprietary connector for their reservoirs and infusion sets since the beginning. Tandem’s proprietary connector is much smaller now and saved 4 units of insulin during the priming process.You can’t blame the pump companies for trying to ensure they generate income through infusion sets sales.