Medtronic or tandem, help and advice please!

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Dumplings

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Hi, I have the choice between Medtronic 780g and Tandem tslim. I’ve been diabetic for almost 20years and this will be my first pump!! I’m looking for any advice, tips or reasons why people chose one pump instead of the other. I’d also really appreciate any feedback about the CGMs used with Medtronic too please as I’m currently with Dexcom and have no issues so the thought of switching to Medtronic where I’m unfamiliar with their sensors is also a bit daunting but I don’t want that to stop me making the best choice for pump. Thank you 🙂
 
Welcome @Dumplings 🙂 The best pump is the pump that suits you best as an individual. I suggest you research both, making lists of features and marking anything good or bad for each. Then have a look on YouTube for people handling and reviewing the pumps.

@SB2015 uses a Medtronic and @everydayupsanddowns has used the T Slim and has now changed to Medtronic.

I had both pumps on my list to choose from but went with the Dana i, which I love. I don’t know which pump would have been my second choice. I wasn’t keen on having to recharge the T Slim or the unusual-sounding reservoir or the size, but I also had reservations about the Medtronic too (pump case cracks, customer service and the look of the pump). But your preferences won’t be mine, so I strongly urge you to make the list and think about your priorities. There is no right answer - just what’s right for you.
 
Inka said:
Welcome @Dumplings 🙂 The best pump is the pump that suits you best as an individual. I suggest you research both, making lists of features and marking anything good or bad for each. Then have a look on YouTube for people handling and reviewing the pumps.

@SB2015 uses a Medtronic and @everydayupsanddowns has used the T Slim and has now changed to Medtronic.

I had both pumps on my list to choose from but went with the Dana i, which I love. I don’t know which pump would have been my second choice. I wasn’t keen on having to recharge the T Slim or the unusual-sounding reservoir or the size, but I also had reservations about the Medtronic too (pump case cracks, customer service and the look of the pump). But your preferences won’t be mine, so I strongly urge you to make the list and think about your priorities. There is no right answer - just what’s right for you.
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Thank you! I completely agree with you and I’ve been doing so so much research and comparisons. I’m at the stage where I’m genuinely stuck between the two, such a difficult decision as I’m pretty much even with the pros and cons and even the clinic advised there’s not much difference but it definitely feels like a huge decision haha!! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts
 
Dumplings said:
even the clinic advised there’s not much difference
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There must be a reason why the clinic offers both pumps and goes through the additional overhead of supporting them with two vendors to manage and two pumps for the DSNs to familiarise themselves with.
You could try asking them what the difference is which makes them support both.

I say this based on my clinic which only offers Medtronic (tubed) and Medtrum (tubeless) to keep costs down.
 
It could just be choice @helli My clinic offers 5 or 6 pumps. Obviously, there are differences but no major ones (although I’d say having to recharge a pump is a big thing). Sorry to disagree but I don’t think I’d ask the clinic what you suggest because it might make them decide to only offer one pump - ie no choice, which would be awful. They won’t commit themselves to many comments anyway, I’d guess, in case a patient went with a certain pump because of what they said and then disliked it. When I’m due a new pump, I just get told what’s on offer and invited to a handling session, but I’ve never bothered with that as I research online.

All my pump training bar one has been done by reps from the pump companies. The one that wasn’t was because I’d just given birth so missed the training date!
 
Hi, my daughter has just got her second T-Slim and thinks it’s great. It will connect with Dexcom G6 or G7, so if you are already using those and happy with them then that’s a point for the T-Slim. The recharging isn’t really a problem, you have to take it off anyway when you are in the bath or shower so just plug it in then, it charges pretty quickly. Or if you are sitting at a desk and not moving around much you can charge it while still wearing it. The refilling seems a bit of a palaver compared to her previous pump, but she adapted to it easily and can do a full pump change in under 10 minutes now I think. You can get an emulator for your phone to see how the pump controls work. You can loop it or it will run quite happily as a standalone pump.

We don’t have any personal experience of Medtronic so can’t really comment on them. Whichever one you choose will be the right one for you 🙂
 
Inka said:
Medtronic too (pump case cracks, customer service and the look of the pump).
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Having had my training with the new Medtronic 780 pump yesterday they do seem to have addressed the issues around the pump case. It is now more sturdy. I shall wait and see if it survives drops without cracking.

I have found the tech support is excellent, even when I was struggling at the start and needed a lot of help four years ago. I did have problems early on with their ordering system (just after Brexit/Covid time) which settled after a year. The pump certainly looks the same and can appear a bit clunky (and not available in lime green which I think Dana is -tempting) . I was used to a combo so it didn’t bother me

The new Simplera Sync sensors are a vast improvement. One handed insertion, just like the Libre system was/is. No extra tapes and the transmitter is now integrated. No more painful moments attaching the transmitter.

I am happy with tube pumps and this gives me an easy ride, requiring very little of me apart from at meal times. Each of the pumps has pros and cons and it is a case of finding what suits you.

If it is your first pump @Dumplings whatever you choose it will be a game changer for you, once you have done the work getting the settings to match what your body needs. I would not want to stop using a pump that can loop. That for me has given me the most benefit with so much less effort. Happy to answer any questions that you have.
 
I agree with @SB2015 - as your first pump, there isn’t a bad option between the two.

There are slight differences, but it’s hard to know which will suit you best until you’ve done your first year of pumping, and adjusted to the new way of doing things (there are some changes in approach to MDI which you’ll just gradually adapt to.

My instant thoughts

If not looping, either are great. The loop algorithms are different, but you wont know which suits you best without trying them!

Tslim is smaller and neater. With a touchscreen.
Tslim allows more manual adjustments and tweaking to the algorithm’s interactions
Tslim is ‘later and lighter’ in its attempts to prevent hypos
Battery life for me was almost a week between charges

MM780 allows you to hand over more control, and does a great job at high end and dodging lows
MM780 is a bigger and clunkier pump
MM780 set changes are simpler
New Simplera sensors track well, are ‘Libre simple’ and calibratable

My TIR is about even between the two (as far as I can tell). Possibly marginally more TIR on the MM780 (5%?) but it needs a lot less looking after.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
I agree with @SB2015 - as your first pump, there isn’t a bad option between the two.

There are slight differences, but it’s hard to know which will suit you best until you’ve done your first year of pumping, and adjusted to the new way of doing things (there are some changes in approach to MDI which you’ll just gradually adapt to.

My instant thoughts

If not looping, either are great. The loop algorithms are different, but you wont know which suits you best without trying them!

Tslim is smaller and neater. With a touchscreen.
Tslim allows more manual adjustments and tweaking to the algorithm’s interactions
Tslim is ‘later and lighter’ in its attempts to prevent hypos
Battery life for me was almost a week between charges

MM780 allows you to hand over more control, and does a great job at high end and dodging lows
MM780 is a bigger and clunkier pump
MM780 set changes are simpler
New Simplera sensors track well, are ‘Libre simple’ and calibratable

My TIR is about even between the two (as far as I can tell). Possibly marginally more TIR on the MM780 (5%?) but it needs a lot less looking after.
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Really pleased that the 780 is doing what you wanted from the change.
The new sensors are a delight after the using Guardian 4!!!
At the training there was no mention of calibrations required. On the old ones I had to do one after the two hour warm up. They did suggest a BG at meals if you are not confident about the SG.

Currently in manual mode whilst we ‘get to know each other’ so a useful check on my manual basal rate profile. I had forgotten how irritating the alarms are, so another reminder why I like HCL so much.
 
SB2015 said:
At the training there was no mention of calibrations required. On the old ones I had to do one after the two hour warm up. They did suggest a BG at meals if you are not confident about the SG.
Click to expand...

Yes there’s no requirement for routine calibration, but there IS the option if things have drifted, or if a sensor needs pulling into line for any reason (which was an occasionally frustrating inability on Libre).

Simplera sensors do seem to prefer to read in-range for me. sometimes they seem to just stick at 9.8 even if my fingerstick meter suggests 10.5. Or 4.1 vs 3.8. The cynic in me almost wonders whether this is part of the improved TIR stats that MM780 gets in research trials?!

The rep suggested just going with it rather than constantly calibrating (which can throw things a bit out of kilter), and aside from a couple of rogue moments of sensor drift I’ve been happy with that 🙂
 
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