It is definitely different. Also, when C was smaller and didn’t use all of the insulin, we did change sets without changing the reservoirs, you just go through the tube fill process again, so you don’t have to do the reservoir at the same time, but we do now that my son uses enough insulin. Do plan 15 minutes for set/reservoir changes.
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my Medtronic takes no more than 5 minutes to change everything. 15 minutes???OMG! Holy Cow. Now I’m starting to wonder if it is worth the change…What features do you like about it? Why wold you prefer it over the Medtronic?
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Things to like:
W/ Dexcom it is a good first generation algorithm (Control IQ), without all the annoyance that MDT heaps on you.
The interface is really easy to use
The pump has very few extra messages to punch through
The pump doesn’t alarm very often
The pump just works…
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I will never use Dexcom again. I have used their G4 &G5 and it was useless. Made me crazy. Never ever accurate; alarms going off day and night. Couldn’t find a body site that would make it work well…on and on and on. I could give you a thousand reasons. But, the point I am making is that I dont need a pump that does a million things. I just want a simple pump that delivers insulin and has an easy-to-read screen which tells me what the status is. I want to be able to do TB without going into a hundred screens. I want to see that TB on the main screen when I look at it. I want to know how many hours are left in my TB (I use TBs all the time, as well as Dual Boluses) I want to be able to have separate basal profiles (for sick days, etc)…You get the point, I’m certain. I am doing everything manually. I am inserting manually (not using their inserter mechanism). I dont want anything so high tech. Just simple and to the point.
This is why I cannot understand why Medtronic discontinued my faithful old Paradigm!!! I am harboring such a resentment over that. I am in mourning 
It does a good job of the simple stuff. If you want to play with it, they have a simulator that you can download to most phones and give it a test run, free of charge.
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You do not have to change the Tandem t:slim x2 reservoir when you change your infusion set so long as the reservoir still has “enough” insulin in it to allow you to keep using it with a new infusion set.
Of course, I’m sure Tandem recommends changing the reservoir and infusion set together. Why wouldn’t they? I haven’t checked, but my expectation is that Medtronic probably also recommends changing your reservoir whenever you change your infusion set. I just never did that. I still never do that with my t:slim x2 whenever I can avoid it.
There are more steps to filling the Tandem reservoir than with Medtronic. The primary difference, as the video demo posted above will show, is that you do not just fill your reservoir directly from your insulin vial. Instead, you
- Fill a separate syringe with insulin from your insulin vial.
- Use the syringe to remove excess/latent air from the reservoir bladder.
- Fill the reservoir bladder with the insulin in the syringe.
- Tell the pump to detach the old reservoir, then remove that reservoir. (Equivalent to Medtronic “rewind”)
- Insert the newly filled reservoir into the pump and tell the pump to “detect it”. (Equivalent to Medtronic “load reservoir”)
- Connect the tubing for a new set to the reservoir, then fill that tubing with at least 10 units of insulin.
The most annoying part is the last step where you are required to fill the tubing with at least 10 units of insulin. However, my experience has been that this is only required when you have changed the reservoir.
If you want to continue using the same reservoir you can insert a new infusion set, connect the tubing you were using with your previous set to the new set, and then tell the t:slim to prime/fill the tubing on the new set. In other words, you are only required to perform the “fill the tubing” step when you have changed the reservoir. If you don’t change the reservoir you can continue to use your old/existing tubing and just prime the new infusion set cannula.
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That choice will detract from the utility the current version of Tandem’s t:slim x2 can potentially offer to you.
Currently Tandem’s pump comes with a feature they refer to as Control-IQ or C-IQ. It boils down to the pump will attempt to use the CGM data from a Dexcom G6 sensor to monitor your BG.
If your BG as reported by the Dexcom CGM is predicted to increase “too much” above your target BG value then, at a certain point, the pump will increase your basil insulin dose and/or administer a bolus dose to lower your BG.
If your BG is predicted to decrease “too much” below your target BG value, then the pump decreases your basil rate. If your BG continues to decrease, eventually the pump sets your basil rate to 0.
My understanding is that, at this point in time, the only CGM Tandem’s pump works with is Dexcom’s G6. If you are unable to use the Dexcom G6 CGM, then you won’t be able to use the C-IQ feature of the Tandem pump. It’s worth pointing this out since the C-IQ feature is often a big factor in why people decide to use Tandem’s pump.
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Thanks for all the info. I am currently on the Medtronic 670G which is also able to do the Dexcom IQ feature, but I have the option to turn that off and do whatever I choose manually. When I spoke with Tandem, they told me that I would have the same exact option. I could turn off the feature that syncs with the Dexcom and just put in all my own values, basals and boluses.
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Yes, of course you can do that. But you should also factor in that you will be using the pump without C-IQ when you later read the fulsome recommendations for the t:slim x2 you are likely to see.
For those people who can use C-IQ and who also have great success with it, that will be a large factor in why they love the t:slim pump so much. 
There are also folks like myself who can use C-IQ but find the earth does not move quite so much. Speaking strictly for myself, the t:slim x2 is more of a “meh” experience.
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thank you for your honest opinion about your experience. I dont want to go all out crazy choosing a new pump unless it will really makes my life easier. So many people were shocked that I was still using a Dinasore of a pump, but I liked it so much that even when I was offered upgrades on more than several occasions, I refused them. It was like someone was offering me a new hand with an extra finger. I was use to using 5 fingers; what would I possibly do with a sixth?
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DM, any thoughts about buying a used Paradigm? There are many still out there.
It won’t be a new pump, but it is the devil you know.
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What do you mean by this? How will it b familiar? Please clarify! 
You can buy a USED Paradigm, the exact same kind as the one you had. It won’t be a different pump like the 670G or the Tandem, it will be the exact same type of pump.
So you don’t have to learn a new system.
It is the devil you know, vs. the devil you don’t know.
That is an old Irish saying. It means that it is better to deal with something you know that might be bad, versus something new that you don’t know, that might also be bad.
So while Tandem or the 670G might be the devil you don’t know, an old Paradigm is at least a devil you DO know.
Don’t get me wrong - a Tandem is a great pump, a lot of people love it. But since you are not familiar with it, there might be things you do not love about it. You will have to learn a new pump, and if you have to spend several thousand dollars with insurance co-pays, etc., there is a risk that you will end up with a pump you don’t like.
Whereas getting a used Paradigm…at least you already know that pump.
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My concern about this is that it will not be under warranty and that I will be paying out of pocket. Medicare will not cover the cost.
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I just looked for one on Amazon as well as on Ebay. There was nothing available. Do you have any other suggestions as to where I could find one?
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eBay pulls prescription items off, because they are not legal to sell by a regular person. The only way to get it from eBay is to see it close to the time that it is posted, before they yank it off. You just have to be lucky there.
Amazon is not going to sell an out-of-warranty used pump.
The way to get it is from MedWow.
http://www.medwow.com/tag/fronthandler/browse?actions=sales&searchstring=insulin%20pump
Or to ask people here at FUD. Maybe someone has an old one they don’t need.
Yes. It is just like buying a used car. You have to pay for it yourself, and there is no warranty.
But you can possibly find a good deal. Someone who took good care of their pump, and treated it well. And since they got a new one, they are willing to sell the old one at a good price.
No, there are no guarantees. Except that you get a pump you are familiar with and that you know you like, instead of a new one you might not like.
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Like here is one. I am not sure of the model you had, but you just have to look through them all.
http://www.medwow.com/used-insulin-pump/medtronic/paradigm-revel-723/795811199.item
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Eric, thank you. This particular pump is exactly what I am looking for. I will consider buying it and probably will. It looks like it is in excellent shape, but I will contact the seller with my concerns. I dont want to judge a book by its cover, especially when this price is so far different from all of the other ones. Jesus, if I knew I could have sold my other pumps online, I would have been a Rockefeller by now!! Maybe I should dig through my closet for my old ones and see if I could make a few bucks 
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Check it out and ask a few questions. Let me know if I can help.
You might get lucky, and get the pump you like and in good shape. Or you might get unlucky, and it might not be in such great shape.
Just like if you were buying a used car. You never really know until you drive it a while.
Or maybe you could use one of them…
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Also look at Craigslist. You might find one available locally, which could be safer than buying through Medwow. (They had a very mixed reputation when I was looking for a loopable pump.)
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