Tuesday, August 12, 2014

T-Slim - I'm beginning to love you...

Seems crazy, but Justin has been pumping with the t:slim for two months already. I am actually starting to love it. I admit, there are a few features I do miss about the Ping, but I would say the same about the slim if Justin switched back at this point.

Just for giggles, I took some time to re-read my two day and two week review of the t:slim. Lots has changed in two months.

One thing that I am really in awe about is the customer service at Tandem. It is AWESOME!! My local rep, the reps at FFL and even when I called on the phone recently... all awesome! This is defiantly a welcomed change after the last several month trying to deal with Animas' 45min hold times and month long delays in supply orders.

Back to the Tandem CS... You may remember from my first post that Justin's t:clip broke within a few hours of us starting the slim. Well... I called and they actually replaced it. I couldn't believe it.. for real! I thought for sure, they would just apologize, but they apparently stand behind their product and that alone makes me feel good about standing behind them. In addition to that, we have not had any more issues with the t:clips. Maybe that was just a freak thing.

I also mentioned in my first post that I needed to find the quick bolus button... found it!!
Apparently there is this thing... they call it a reference guide and it has a table of contents or something?!?!?! But don't let that throw you off... it has pictures and easy steps to follow. Perfect for a girl who is anti-directions!!
Side note: I could have just asked Justin, but we won't talk about that. I'll just be proud of my accomplishment in figuring it out and ignore the fact that he was not impressed because it was old news to him.

Moving on... One of my biggest complaints about the slim has been the cartridge change. I am pleased to say that I have found a groove and its not taking me AS long... its still not something I'll be able to slam out 5 min before the bus comes, like I did with the Ping, but I've lost the urge to jab something with the fill needle during the change process. Progress, my friends, progress.

Oh, and I gave up on the Apidra. It wasn't worth chancing... all I needed was for it to crystallize in the middle of the night and Justin end up sick. Plus, switching before school starts gave me an opportunity to get use to the Humalog again.

Justin's favorite part... With each site change comes a case change.The mix-n-match case is one of Justin's favorite things about the slim. I totally get why. He says he needs a few more colors, so I'm thinking stocking suffers... IF I can hold him off that long.


As far as concerns go, this was a big one... the reverse correction. It doesn't subtract from the suggested bolus unless your BG is 69 or under. I consider this a safety issue for the younger users. Justin is 13, and understands what needs to be done. He is capable of handling it in a non-hectic summer setting, but I'm curious to see how this goes when school starts next week.
On a positive note... when Tandem submitted the Slim/G4 combo to the FDA recently, they also added this to the updated pump. They are listening to their customers and that makes me happy. Unfortunately, we know how speedy the FDA is... sooo, there's that. You can read about it on Diabetes Mine.

Charging is one of those things that I will resolve to get better about... that's all I've got. Justin is currently riding on about 65% battery(better than my phone, which is at 27%). Luckily, the battery in the slim lasts a really long time between charges and when I do remember to plug it in, it doesn't take long to get to 100%. Its the remembering that gets me, but as long as I can remember at least once a week... we are okay. Added bonus: I plugged Justin in the other day while he was on the computer and another day while we were in the car. So there are plenty of convenient charging options.




This pump is definitely growing on me and Justin loves it. I miss my remote the most, however, especially at might when I'm standing on a shelving unit, digging under the covers, in hunt of the all mighty pancreas... loft beds are not d-mom friendly.



















6 comments:

Mike Lawson said...

I'm loving mine so far too. :) Glad it's growing on you. And I hope Santa (does a 13 year old still believe in Santa?!?) brings him one in every color. Hahaha

Hallie Addington said...

What's Mike talking about... Not believing in Santa?!?

So glad he loves it and you are loving it too! I agree - the mix and match is pretty awesome! It's a slick little device! Very cool!

Keep us posted!

Misty said...

I've been wondering how you all liked it after some time of getting used to it. Ally was impressed with it at FFL last year and then was excited to try it out at camp (as part of the bionic pancreas). Although she really didnt get the true feel for it because as part of the study she was not doing any "button pushing" herself. She still says she thinks she'd like to try it though. And wow! I'm most impressed that they give you this thing called a reference guide ;).

Meri said...

I'm sold solely on the mix and match cases.

Glad you're loving it. And booyeah on good customer service!

Unknown said...

Our warranty is up in December.......yes, yes, yes it is indeed.......Addy really liked the feel of it at camp.

Unknown said...

Glad to see you're loving it!! There are things I miss from my Ping as well, but I miss things from each pump.

I have to agree - Tandem CS is the best I've ever encountered. :)

On a side note, if you can keep a charger and cable setup in the bathroom for when he takes a shower, it's super easy to just plug it in there and to unplug when you're done. Since you have to disconnect anyway, take advantage of the time, ya know?

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