T Slim X2 vs Omnipod 5

T

T1Sherwood

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi all, I've finally found out what pumps my hospital offers, and now need to decide if I want the t slim X2, or omnipod 5. I suppose, I really need a sanity check from the hive mind about my preference so far.

I'm torn about it. For a long while, I thought it was a dead cert that I would pick the omnipod. Doing so would mean I could close loop in 3 months from pump start. But, I'm now leaning towards the tslim after my introduction to pumps at my hospital. While I'd love to go to on Hybrid closed loop so soon, carrying the PDM around seems very bulky to me. Trying a dummy pod also made me realise I have very little "real-estate" to fit the pod and sensor on me in a comfortable way, whilst also keeping line of sight between the two. But the biggest drawback is that I cannot integrate the system into the app I use to monitor my blood glucose (xDrip). This one's a major bug bear, because I use this to see my levels on my watch while driving and working.

Am I being daft putting HCL on hold for the above reasons? I've not been able to find anything from Tandem about expanding the range of sensors available for integration with the pump, despite already having things like the Libre 2+ integrated for those based in the US. I've seen Partha Kar mention the possibility of being "upgraded" to HCL for those with existing pumps, but I'm assuming this isn't the case for the Dexcom G6.

While tethered, the TSlim X2 seems like a better fit for my management. I'd just have to be that bit more patient for HCL. It does however, feel very jarring that everyone in the group pump intro course I was on jumped for the omnipod 5, yet I'm contemplating a different model.
I'd love to hear anyone's experience for the two devices too!
Thanks all!
 
@T1Sherwood I’ve been pumping for more than 20 years. I have neither of those pumps but I do have a loopable pump (Dana i) which I turned down a loop for. The important thing is to do what’s right for you. Who cares if the others are going for the Omnipod? If you feel the T Slim would be best for you then go for it!

Out of the T Slim and the Omnipod, I’d definitely choose the T Slim.
 
I agree entirely with @Inka , you have to do what’s right for you, forget everyone else! My daughter has had the T-Slim for 4 years, originally it came with Basal-IQ, which means it will suspend basal if she’s low but won’t do anything if she’s high. She had to do a short training and get a code to be able to upgrade the software to Control-IQ which is the full HCL software; could have done this within a month or two of getting the pump, but it actually took her over 2 years to take the plunge. Mainly because she’s on the autism spectrum and would rather not change anything if she didn’t have to, and also because it was a one-way upgrade and if she didn’t like it she wouldn’t be able to go back. But eventually she decided to go for it, her HbA1c and time in range instantly improved and we love the new system and haven’t looked back. So you could argue that she should have done it two years previously, but no point worrying about that, she got there in the end! When the 4 years on that pump was up she decided she’d like to try Omnipod and go tubeless; unfortunately her total daily usage is rather high and her clinic won’t let her, they want to be sure that you will definitely get 3 days out of each pod and she probably wouldn’t. So she’s just started on her new T-Slim, which came already loaded with Control IQ and the new software to enable it to integrate with G6 or G7 sensors; she wants to stay with G6 for now because she’s used to it, even though she’s aware of the benefits of G7.

Your reasons for picking T-Slim over Omnipod sound like very good reasons, and it’s not the end of the world if you have to wait a bit longer to go onto HCL. We can confirm that it’s a good system! Choose what you think is right for you and stick with it, hope it all goes well 🙂
 
Thank you for the reassurance @Inka. It definitely seems the better option for me at least for now. I suppose it's the antithesis of what I thought I'd go for originally, until I got a hands on with the pumps are realised the drawbacks for each. Definitely came as a surprise. It still feels weird to be leaning towards the option that delays HCL for me, but I suppose I still have to manage the day to day of living with the pump, not just the bells and whistles it comes with!
 
Sally71 said:
I agree entirely with @Inka , you have to do what’s right for you, forget everyone else! My daughter has had the T-Slim for 4 years, originally it came with Basal-IQ, which means it will suspend basal if she’s low but won’t do anything if she’s high. She had to do a short training and get a code to be able to upgrade the software to Control-IQ which is the full HCL software; could have done this within a month or two of getting the pump, but it actually took her over 2 years to take the plunge. Mainly because she’s on the autism spectrum and would rather not change anything if she didn’t have to, and also because it was a one-way upgrade and if she didn’t like it she wouldn’t be able to go back. But eventually she decided to go for it, her HbA1c and time in range instantly improved and we love the new system and haven’t looked back. So you could argue that she should have done it two years previously, but no point worrying about that, she got there in the end! When the 4 years on that pump was up she decided she’d like to try Omnipod and go tubeless; unfortunately her total daily usage is rather high and her clinic won’t let her, they want to be sure that you will definitely get 3 days out of each pod and she probably wouldn’t. So she’s just started on her new T-Slim, which came already loaded with Control IQ and the new software to enable it to integrate with G6 or G7 sensors; she wants to stay with G6 for now because she’s used to it, even though she’s aware of the benefits of G7.

Your reasons for picking T-Slim over Omnipod sound like very good reasons, and it’s not the end of the world if you have to wait a bit longer to go onto HCL. We can confirm that it’s a good system! Choose what you think is right for you and stick with it, hope it all goes well 🙂
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This is lovely to hear. I'm glad your daughter has found a system that suit her, even if it isn't the omnipod. I'm certainly feeling more reassured that I'm not being daft over my preference! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with the T Slim!
 
As others have said it is important to go for what suits you. I haven’t used either of those pumps but have used HCL for four years and would not go back now.
As @Sally71 has said the t-slim is loop able so is there a reason why you cannot loop sooner if you want to. I think it links with Dexcom so it would require a change of sensor.
Let us know if your progress.
 
SB2015 said:
As others have said it is important to go for what suits you. I haven’t used either of those pumps but have used HCL for four years and would not go back now.
As @Sally71 has said the t-slim is loop able so is there a reason why you cannot loop sooner if you want to. I think it links with Dexcom so it would require a change of sensor.
Let us know if your progress.
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Hi @SB2015!

Yes, the T Slim X2 only links up with the Dexcom G6 and G7. Annoyingly, I believe the Libre 2+ can be used with the pump in the USA. But, no luck here. At least, for now.

In my care region, both compatible Dexcom sensors are still only provided to those people without hypo-awareness, meaning I do not qualify at present against the criteria. I imagine this will change in the future with the roll out of HCL, they're still waiting for the funding to be green-lit. I believe the omnipod 5 is presently loopable in my region purely because the libre 2+ is negligible in cost difference to the original Libre 2.

So, until the HCL roll out is expanded, I'd not be able to loop the T Slim, unless I self funded these sensors (which isn't feasible on my wage). Or, until Tandem releases the compatibility of the Libre 2+ in the UK as well.

It's very much one where I believe it'll come soon enough for me, but I'll just have to wait a year or two more. Which, I think I am at peace with doing now. I have seen Dr Partha Kar mention on Twitter/X that there should be no issue with changing sensors to achieve HCL for people already on pumps ... but whether that will be the case in practice, I'm not so sure. I do feel pretty positive about future looping though. My hospital team are desperate to get the tech into our hands, their hands are just tied by higher ups in the care region at present.
 
T1Sherwood said:
Am I being daft putting HCL on hold for the above reasons? I've not been able to find anything from Tandem about expanding the range of sensors available for integration with the pump, despite already having things like the Libre 2+ integrated for those based in the US.
Click to expand...

Tandem have their sights set on including Libre as an option “soon”, but if HCL is being offered via Omnipod, It must be frustrating that your clinic don’t seem to be happy to switch you to Dexcom G6 or G7 to give you access to Control IQ on the tSlim. Have you had that conversation with them recently? I know my clinic went from giving me a flat NO for many years, to suddenly offering funding for many more people relatively recently.

I had very good results with the tSlim for 4 years, and it was certainly a very neat and tidy-looking device
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Tandem have their sights set on including Libre as an option “soon”, but if HCL is being offered via Omnipod, It must be frustrating that your clinic don’t seem to be happy to switch you to Dexcom G6 or G7 to give you access to Control IQ on the tSlim. Have you had that conversation with them recently? I know my clinic went from giving me a flat NO for many years, to suddenly offering funding for many more people relatively recently.

I had very good results with the tSlim for 4 years, and it was certainly a very neat and tidy-looking device
Click to expand...
It certainly is frustrating. But, I can't complain too much really. I'm just happy to be getting a pump after a frustrating journey. I don't actually qualify for the pump based on the old criteria prior to HCL.

After the new NICE criteria were released for HCL, they had me on a holding pattern, I comfortably qualify for the new criteria but it still hasn't been green-lit in my area. They expected the change to take a month. That kept getting pushed back more and more. It's still not passed here. I think they felt bad for the delays, and could see how detrimental it was to my head-state being in limbo, that they pushed for me to get funding for a pump to bridge the gap.

I honestly think my care team would hand me the G6/G7 in a heart beat if they could. They are an amazing team. I'm of the belief that I'll get HCL, just not in the immediate future with the T Slim. Whereas, while at the pump start clinic, they effectively said "if you want HCL now, choose the omnipod, because it uses the Libre 2+, and we can prescribe that now". I think it'll just be a game of a bit more patience for now regarding HCL. That's what I think is so jarring for me right now. I'd love HCL, but the way to achieve it right now just doesn't work for my life. It feels weird to turn around and say "not quite yet" now its dangled in front of me, albeit in a form that has significant draw backs on the day to day.

The design and profile of the T Slim definitely is a plus point for me. Being able to bolus easily is going to be a god send for me! If you have any tips for what you found worked for you in terms of stowing the pump on the day to day, I'd love to hear them!
 
Are you able to start with the Omnipod and then if things aren't as good as expected 'switch'? Not an ideal situation, but this is what some people did on the introductory session for the Dash I attended. Other pumps had a 4 year commitment, but the Omnipod didn't. Some were using the Dash as a way in and said they might move to Medtronic or similar afterwards.
 
Ivostas66 said:
Are you able to start with the Omnipod and then if things aren't as good as expected 'switch'? Not an ideal situation, but this is what some people did on the introductory session for the Dash I attended. Other pumps had a 4 year commitment, but the Omnipod didn't. Some were using the Dash as a way in and said they might move to Medtronic or similar afterwards.
Click to expand...

That was one of the things my clinic suggested to me. Apparently there is no-year tie-in for Omnipod at my clinic. You can try it for a few months and see how it works for you?

Not sure if that’s the case everywhere - but worth asking maybe?
 
They said at our pump clinic that you don’t have the 4 year commitment with Omnipod, so you could try it for a shorter term if you wanted to.

Having said that though, the T-Slim works perfectly happily as a standalone pump, and if you’ve never had one before it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to run it that way for a little while and get a feel for how it works before you switch over to automatic mode. When my daughter got her first one we weren’t allowed to get the Dexcoms for a month, just to get used to how it differed from her old one. In terms of how to carry it every day, it will easily fit in a pocket, or you can get little bags to put it in, it also has a belt clip on it so there are several options. I think we only get the Dexcom paid for because my daughter’s hypo awareness isn’t great, we managed to make a case to prove that. Our clinic are also very pro-pump and ideally would have everyone on HCL but again are limited by money!
 
Thank you all so much for the suggestions and advice. I believe they did offer a "try before you buy" for the omnipod, but after a long think over the weekend, I think I'm content with flying solo with the t-slim for the time being. It really does boil down to the two device requirement, and it wiping out the use of my watch to monitor my blood glucose. I could live with the whole 2 phone juggling, but the watch is line in the sand for me.

It's a god send to me while driving, and especially while working. It's something that is that bit too difficult for me to give up. Had they still offered the omnipod dash, this wouldn't be a problem at all. I could have the best of both worlds.

Regardless, I will have something that will help no end with managing my diabetes while working. I know deep down, I'll get HCL, eventually. It may take a few years, but it'll get there. In the end, I'm just so happy to be moving to pump therapy. Thank you all again so much! I'll let you all know how I get on!
 
T1Sherwood said:
In the end, I'm just so happy to be moving to pump therapy. Thank you all again so much! I'll let you all know how I get on!
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Let us know how your transition goes, and when you reach the point where you are tempted to lob the dratted thing out of the window (which has happened to pretty much every pump user I know!). Soon after that you’ll probably find that everything begins to nestle into place

Keep an open mind about infusion sets too - you may need longer ones, or shorter ones, or angled ones, or straight ones - and the ‘right’ one for you may not be obvious until you are actually using them.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Let us know how your transition goes, and when you reach the point where you are tempted to lob the dratted thing out of the window (which has happened to pretty much every pump user I know!). Soon after that you’ll probably find that everything begins to nestle into place

Keep an open mind about infusion sets too - you may need longer ones, or shorter ones, or angled ones, or straight ones - and the ‘right’ one for you may not be obvious until you are actually using them.
Click to expand...
I'll be sure to! I'm sure I'll no doubt encounter a brick wall at the beginning adjusting to a pump. The nerves are definitely kicking in about it all! Although I think my partner is probably more nervous than I am about it all!

I'm hoping over time I can adjust to being attached to a device, especially with finding infusion sets that suit me.
 
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