I have been successful in my T1d journey by going my own way. With the ending of G6 CGM being forced to go to a G7, I use Basel IQ and manually bolus as needed. Now I have a choice of using Control IQ or go back to a “dumb” pump. I’m told I can C IQ in sleep mode and manually bolus but it will still adjust the Basel rate I set (other than my Basel or off). This may sound strange for most who want the pump to as much as possible. I have found the secret to control is what I eat (very low carb home cooking).
Background: range 70-120; 60 years T1d; have used a pump 40 years; last A1C 5.1.
I’m trying to determine if I load Control IQ on my X2 how much control do I have? If I turn off Control IQ will the Tandem app still work? I love the small size of the X2 but the screen is of limited usefulness. Going back to no automation at all is no big deal. I used the pump that way for 30 years.
Yes, the app will still work even with Control-IQ turned off! You’ll still be able to see your CGM trendline and bolus from the app, as usual.
Control IQ has a few settings you can’t change:
Target BG will be set to 110. (ETA: My diabetes educator says the ability to customize this is in the works, hopefully sometime in 2026!)
Insulin Duration will be set to 5 hours.
Control-IQ turns on an auto-bolus feature which can deliver a bolus if your BG is rising and you haven’t taken any insulin in an hour, unlike Basal-IQ which just increases basal for highs. However, the Sleep mode of CIQ turns off the auto-bolus feature so it only makes basal adjustments!
There are some settings you can adjust though:
Weight and Total Daily Insulin. I think the algorithm probably uses this to help determine how insulin resistant you might be. (Set this under Options / Control IQ.)
Basal limit. If you don’t want CIQ to be able to double, triple, quadruple your basal to bring down BG, you’d set this at the max basal you are comfortable with. (Set this under Options / Personal Profiles / Pump Settings.)
I’ve liked CIQ in general! I don’t know if you were also eligible for the recent X2 extended bolus update – I can never remember which updates are prerequisites – but being able to set an extended bolus up to 8 hours has been awesome.
Welcome, you have come to the right place and I trust many other people here will correct anything I say:
So just do it. If your HbA1c goes up, so what? You have lots of room to experiment, every single one of us, despite the fact that we are all diabetics, are different diabetics. If your HbA1c starts creeping up your endo will probably start suggesting things but he won’t be that forceful because almost all of his patients have an HbA1c over 7.
If it doesn’t work there are many other possibilities depending on how much work you want to do (myself, none). There are other pumps (iLet, Omnipod, twiist if you can get it). There are other CGMS (Libre3, EverSense). There are other AIDes (AAPS, Tidepool Loop, “Loop” in general.)
There are lots of possibilities now.
The people here who have spoken here seem to draw back from the commercial offerings because they don’t give the control they are used to but I want something I don’t have to think about so I’m prepared to surrend all the control I have (I use AAPS) for something I don’t have to think about. I am yet to be convinced that any of the systems on offer require no thought on my part.
Welcome Penn - @RachelMaraii has answered all your factual questions much better than I would.
I use a Tandem TSlim with CIQ and I like it - and we seem to get along pretty well. I’ve been using a Tandem pump for 8 years now, and have been a T1 diabetic for about 16 years.
Like @jbowler I like a system that I don’t have to worry about too much, and I find that the Tandem works for me. You can run it in manual mode pretty easily.
Good luck and let us know what you do and how it’s working out.
I might end up switching to Sleep Mode 100% of the time myself. The Control-IQ auto-bolus just really doesn’t always get it right for me.
The two lows below are, to me, clearly related to the auto-boluses (in black) versus my food boluses (in blue). I just don’t think the auto-bolus was necessary either time, when I hadn’t even exceeded my “high” threshold of 140.
@RachelMaraii i have a completely different philosophy on how to manage t1d. In stead of letting CIQ manage it, I can do a better job. I value Basel IQ because it allows more uninterrupted sleep with a measure of safety. If I use CIQ my a1c would much worse. I use a range of 70-120 and my last a1c was 5.1. My Endo will not even talk to me. He says I don’t need him. So I see the PA (who’s great).
I find with a very low diet there are meals I don’t need to bolus for. Being aware of what I eat vs bolus amount (if any) helps me make decisions about diet and keeps me on track. CIQ doesn’t provide that reinforcement. I don’t need a special app and I use daily BS levels and a1c as primary measures of success. The tandem app is good for expanded graph and ease of bolusing.
BTW: I have followed terry4/@Terry for years and it was Terry who got me interested in narrowing my range to 70-120. Credit where credit is due.
That’s amazing!! I’m doing better than ever this year, narrowing my range for a possible future pregnancy. I would love to get to 70-120 in the coming years!
Even with 78% TIR at 70-140, my endo has been really happy. Lows are my nemesis though. 4-8% low depending on the day, and I’m tired of it being that often. Low carb has been discouraged by the maternal fetal medicine team though… so continuing to solidify my carb ratios and pre-bolus timing is gonna be my strategy for now. In addition to reverting to sleep mode! I don’t remember the last time I was truly grateful for a Control IQ auto-bolus. Whereas I’m often grateful to be able to sleep soundly with Sleep Mode / Basal IQ. On to the next experiment!
I think your logic for managing your BG is sound. Aiming for a “normal” range of 70-120 (4.0-6.7) seems rational to me! Aspirational goals can inspire and keep the whole enterprise alive long-term. Good for you!
@RachelMaraii, before I lowered my target range to 65-120, I spent a few years at 65-140. That’s also a respectable target. Congrats on your good management!
A few things about what may be happening when you have roller coaster BG ride.
It really looks like your CF setting is too aggressive and is causing the lows, and/or the basal dosing is too much. Because the CIQ algorithm uses your setting as the basis for all actions, therefore, if the settings are not on the mark there is no way for the algorithm to manage the BG as it is designed. The best way to get the settings correct is to do testing, #1 is to do basal testing with CIQ off to identify the basal needs through the day and night. It is common to have 4-6 different basal rates time slots in the profile to adapt to the varying basal dosing needs through the day and night and to see the basal/bolus ration at 35-40/65-60% of the total day dose. #2 is to work on testing CF for each of the profile settings. #3 is to work on Carb ratios and pre-bolus timing.
Then you can turn on CIQ and let it do it’s thing as it is designed. Hope that helps.
Do testing to get the setting on the mark, start with basal testing to nail down the varying basal dosing throughout the day and night. Then working the CF during those profile time slots. Then you will be reading to turn on CIQ. Sleep mode has all the functions of Basal IQ in addition to the ability to raise basal as needed.
Absolutely! Thanks for pointing that out. I have been needing to do some basal testing again. I need to just put it in my calendar, because I always forget to turn off Control IQ 4 hours before, even when I otherwise plan to test them.
CF testing I’ve always found harder… but maybe that is because I haven’t done the basal testing properly. I’m reading Think Like a Pancreas again, so 2026 is the year to do all the T1D homework!
I use sleep mode 100% of the time and it does a better job than I do in keeping me in a 70-140 range. One of the problems with auto boluses is that the pump doesn’t know that you are planning to exercise and suddenly there’s a suprise bolus and you either have to feed the insulin or give up on exercise for a couple of hours.
I use sleep mode 100% of the time and it does a better job than I do in keeping me in a 70-140 range.
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I agree so far! Even with just that one change, I was 95% TIR yesterday, 70-140. I didn’t officially go low at all either! The one time I was headed low wasn’t a nosedive so I was able to treat it at 90 and actually not go lower than 70.
Of course that was a Saturday versus a more typical workday (when I’m more distracted), but I’m looking forward to seeing how Sleep Mode does for the upcoming week.
Haven’t done this personally so I can’t attest to its efficacy, but if you set your insulin sensitivity to the highest number it will accept then it would still make adjustments but they would be very small and possibly nonexistent if you keep your control tight at all times. In that case, it would still suspend but not give you much extra of of it predicts you’re going high.
Thinking further, it might tend to cut your basal early and often so you might want to skip that suggestion…
Basically it is a dumb pump without B-IQ or C-IQ. It will still calculate a correction or meal bolus based on ISF and ICR settings. However, with or without C-IQ these suggestions can be overridden.
The Control-IQ auto-bolus just really doesn’t always get it right for me.
Whereas I’m often grateful to be able to sleep soundly with Sleep Mode / Basal IQ. On to the next experiment! 
