Tslim vacation & Dexcom receiver

Technology & Management
1

Does anyone know of a way to unpair a Dexcom G6 from a Tandem tslim x2, and then pair the Dexcom with its own receiver — WITHOUT stopping the sensor session? My daughter’s taking a pump break and wants her data sent to the Dexcom receiver again, but everything I can find says she has to stop the sensor session to do it.

I understand the Dexcom won’t pair with more than one medical device at a time, but given that it’s still merrily transmitting to my phone, it seems like there should be a way to interrupt the communication from the CGM to the pump, and then establish it with the receiver. That’s only one medical device at a time…

Any workarounds?

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i am fairly sure it will pair with 2 devices. so the pump and a phone or the pump and the dex receiver. you just pair it with the second device you shouldn’t have to stop a session. if it’s already paired with 2 that’s different.

good luck!

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There have been a few times I chose to use my handheld receiver in lieu of my pump. Unless something has changed you cannot use those two particular devices to receive at the same time.
These are notes I took about how to un-pair, which I got from Dexcom support.
The best way to use the pump without the Dexcom is to power down the pump and turn it back on. This will wipe out the Dexcom session. To power down, plug in the pump and hold down the top button for 30-45 seconds until it beeps and goes to sleep. Then plug back in and it will power back on without the Dexcom connected. You will have to reload the cartridge so make sure you do it at a time when you are ready to change.
I use Tandem TCONNECT, not Dexcom Share, so I don’t know if that changes anything; and from what I recall you can continue to use the same sensor but will need to do another warmup (there may be no way around that but we do manage for a couple of hours each time we switch out) as well as start a new insulin cartridge.
My suggestion would be to contact tech support or your rep for the definitive info. and confirmation about whether you do need to stay a new session - it’s been so long since I’ve done it I don’t recall.

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What Dorie @wadawabbit wrote will work, but I will add another suggestion.

Wile the t-Slim is still off, start the Dexcom receiver and pair it to the Transmitter, then restart the pump. The pump will not connect because one medical device [the Dexcom Receiver] is already connected and active.

A phone is not a medical device even though it is able to receive information from both the CGM and from the pump - but it [the phone] can not alter the performance of either either pump or CGM.

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Thank you, all! She went ahead and started a new session — turns out, it was due to be switched out today, anyway. That’ll teach me to take her word for it yesterday instead of checking myself! (Trust but verify, right? She’s only 12, but teenagerisms sneak out sometimes. :slightly_smiling_face:)

Back to Omnipod for us, at least for a bit. Call into the endo for how much Basaglar to give until we get a new PDM. (The one on the shelf wouldn’t power up, and after trying all the things — different cord, different adapter, different outlet, computer instead of outlet, battery out & in again — I called Insulet and they’re overnighting a new one. But of course it’s a holiday weekend.) The 22 units she took last night was good until about midnight, when she started rising. Hit 320 by 6:30am. Bolused, breakfasted, and a bike ride later, and she’s great again, but we’d like to do better tonight if we could. I’m kind of hoping the dr.’ll tell us to split the dose — her pump basal rate overnight is 2x her daytime need.

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I’m glad the timing worked out for you! It sounds like you’ve got multiple backup plans for your TSLIM - pods as well as injections. How do you like the pod vs the TSLIM (aside from that annoying issue with the PDM)?

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From what you’ve written over the last year[s] @srozelle , your daughter appears to have a good understanding of her diabetes and doesn’t just cater to it and whimper.

Happy that she found a solution. The response I gave yesterday was for your question “How to disconnect t-Slim”. If a similar situation arises in the future, the much simpler and less disruptive method is to “t-Connect App” on her phone, select “Settings”, “Paired Pump” [which will display the last three numbers of the serial number of paired pump], then click on “Unpair pump”.

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Thank you, Dennis @Dennis — and yes, she’s got a good head on her shoulders, which we’re very thankful for! :slightly_smiling_face:

Not ignoring you, Dorie @wadawabbit, just holding off until we get settled in with the Omnipod again. I’ll post back in a few more days, hopefully, with thoughts about how the two compare for us.

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No problem - get back as time allows.

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Replacement PDM arrived today (supposed to have been overnighted last Saturday, but it was a holiday weekend, and then of course storms paralyzed a lot of the country, which interfered with delivery — among other, far worse consequences than our delay for lots of people, sadly). As soon as we get her transferred over and seen how a few days go, I’ll let you know what she thinks. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Here goes:

The short version is that she’s much happier with the Omnipod. The only reason we ever switched was to get Control IQ.

Here’s the longer version:

I sincerely don’t know why, but her body doesn’t like the Tandem infusion mechanics, regardless of type of infusion set (we tried Autosoft XC, TruSteel, Autosoft 30, and Varisoft). Knock wood, but she’s doing fine (again) with the Omnipod.

We definitely miss Control IQ, but we definitely don’t miss the ridiculously frequent infusion problems and the waste and stress they caused us.

So what other differences are there between Tandem tslim x2 and the Omnipod Dash that have mattered to us? Let’s see:

We really like Omnipod’s display better than Tandem’s. And we really like Dexcom’s display better than Tandem’s, too. So while (until Omnipod gets its integration with Dexcom to market, anyway) using Omnipod means carrying two devices, we prefer the look, feel, and function of both of those devices to Tandem’s. I can elaborate if anyone wants, but basically Omnipod’s PDM is a locked-down cell phone, and Tandem’s pump is clunkier.

She really likes not having to disconnect for showers, the beach, etc.

She really likes not having tubing, and not having to find a place to put her pump where it won’t get snagged or fall or otherwise be in the way.

She likes being able to visually track her sites. Omnipod lets you map where on your body you’re inserting and the date, so you can see on a little pictogram when you last infused where. Not critical, and obviously there are lots of other ways to accomplish the same goal, but it’s a nice feature, and she missed it on the Tandem.

We really like that you can individualize the “insulin on board” duration with Omnipod. Control IQ is set at five hours, period. With Omnipod, you can set it for however fast your particular body metabolizes the particular insulin you’re using. (Check with your endo for advice on where yours needs to be to avoid stacking boluses, but five hours is significantly too long for us.)

But even with everything we went through to get her switched from Omnipod to Tandem only to end up back on Omnipod after all, I’m still not sorry, because the time she had with Control IQ made it far safer, easier, and less stressful for us to learn what her basal rates should be overnight. Having seen Control IQ at work, we were able to adjust her basal rates with far less disruption and far more sleep. When we went back to Omnipod, we took that basal rate schedule with us, and it’s terrific. (I know others have figured out how to tweak their basal rates overnight without the benefit of Control IQ, but it sure was nicer to have it!)

I’m sure there are other things, too, but that’s what I’ve got for now. :slightly_smiling_face:

Bottom line is where we started: Omnipod works better for us at actually, consistently, physically getting the insulin into her body, and if that’s not happening, the best automated loop technology in the world is no help. So we’re Podders again, and we really can’t wait for Horizon/Dash 5 to come out!

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It sounds like you’ll be on Cloud 9 when Omnipod and Dexcom link up. I’m curious about the displays - would you mind sharing a side by side of the PDM and your old Tandem pump? I always imagined the PDM as clunky myself - now you have me curious. Thanks, and congrats!

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Here is the side by side of the two:

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Cool. Thank you for humoring my curiosity. Have a nice evening!