I’m planning to ask my doctor to fill out the forms at my appointment in about a month.
Anything you wish you had known before starting?
No app in Canada, but we do have Control-IQ. And I have an iPhone and likely getting an Apple Watch soon.
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We took the plunge almost 5 years ago and have been happy with our decision. At the beginning we were worried that the Omnipod would have been a better choice, but thanks to the many awesome people here we got to try some and figured out they weren’t the right choice for us. Do ask for samples of the different infusion sets to find the right one for you.
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I guess it’s not “taking the plunge” in terms of pumping (I’ve been pumping for 14 years now), just taking the plunge in terms of finally going for a pump I’ve been eyeing for years now.
I think all of the t:slim infusion sets are the same as the old Animas infusion sets, and if so then I’m familiar with all of them. Infusion set choice is one of the reasons (among many small reasons) that I’m wanting to move away from the pump I’m using now. I much prefer the Contact-Detach/TruSteel set to the one steel set that works with my current pump.
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Do you mean no T:Connect phone app? Hope you will have corresponding web app with uploader?
If so, that’s a bummer since when I started last year the T:Connect phone app was very helpful to automatically see real time data on one screen, including cgms trend and bolus/basal on same timeline. Made my transition easier.
I also use xDrip on android phone (instead of dexcom app) which then updates my Fitbit watch, and vibrates for alarms that I selected. Hope you can do similar on Apple soon.
I ended up using basal rates that are a bit higher than when on medtronic, but most days the Control-IQ modifies basal such that daily average is about the same, or slightly higher then on Medtronic pump.
The cartridge (reservoir) fill is more steps than medtronic, but got used to it. Had some issues with bubbles, but resolved when I watched video again and found I was doing it different (related to air trapped in needle).
Mostly I miss the medtronic Quick sets. Learned there may be a way I could make it work.
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I’ve been using the T-slim for a couple of years and really love it. I don’t use the app - it was draining my data for some reason and really provided no added benefit for me. I’d say you aren’t missing out on much 
but the pump is the bomb!
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We also don’t use the app, just the uploader to be able to see things on the web.
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If your current pump is a Medtronic, then the last “dongle” portion of the metal cannula Sure-T sets are identical to the TruSteel sets used by Tandem t:slim. The only difference is the reservoir connector used to connect the tubing to the pump. The connector at the end of the tubing furthest from the pump, the part which plugs into the “coupling housing” of the set, is identical for both.
In other words, if you reuse the tubing from a Tru-Steel set you can connect it to a Medtronic Sure-T coupling to use that set with a Tandem pump. The last 4 inches (?) of each set appears to me to be identical.
Could you give a little more detail on that? I find it hard to believe that the t:connect Mobile App available in the US would not also work in Canada. Are you saying you can’t install it on your phone?
Unless you already have an alternative you are more comfortable with, I suggest you at least give the app a try if you can. I use the t:connect app primarily so I don’t have to pull out my pump to see what my status is. The app’s display gives me a more detailed and easily accessed (for me) view of what is happening on my pump. I also believe not using the pump’s display preserves the pump’s battery charge to some extent.
The ability to use the app to see the status of my pump is the one thing I prefer over how my Medtronic 630G pump worked. 
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I’m using a YpsoPump currently, which is only compatible with Orbit infusion sets and (I think) Insets. I’m not a fan of Insets (and have problems with plastic infusion sets in general) and, while I like some aspects of the Orbit sets (love the insertion device), there are other things I don’t like. The Orbit sets are completely different from the Contact-Detach/TruSteel/Sure-T sets. I’ve never used a Medtronic pump, which is why I left the Sure-T out of my initial post. 
It’s just as I said…as far as I know, the t:connect app is not available in Canada. I imagine approval might be coming, but it’s not here yet. The Control-IQ feature is just being rolled out in March, I think. So hopefully the app will be here at some point in the future, but it’s not a benefit at this current time.
I definitely do want to use the app. My current pump has an app and it’s one of the reasons I chose it. I’m legally blind, and one of the biggest reasons I’ve hesitated with the t:slim is the on-screen font is microscopic and horrible contrast. Unfrotuatnely, it seems the horrible contrast has carried over to the app based on the screenshots I’ve seen (CGM green graph line on green background is impossible to see), but at least on the phone I can use magnification features of my phone (i can’t read regular sized text) or invert the contrast, and it’s easier to bring the phone right up to my face to see it than the pump is at times (tubing length limitations). (I’m not holding my breath that the app will be fully accessible with VoiceOver, which I also use, but maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.)
I do think that the t:connect platform is available, just not the app. One of the biggest problems I’m having with my current setup is that there’s no platform to which I can upload all my devices. I was really hoping that Diasend would support all my devices, so that my pump data, Libre data, and meter data (and Fitbit data) would be automatically synced with Diasend without me having to do anything. Unfrotunately, support for my pump never came to Diasend (at least not in Canada), and Diasend just dropped all support for the Libre, so my idea won’t be possible now. I’m hoping that the t:slim will allow me to get everything in one place online.
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I reported this to Tandem. It’s such a poor choice, especially since PWDs often have vision problems. I’m color-blind, and almost impossible to see green on green cgm on T:Connect. Unbelievable they implemented it that way. But at least I can switch to xdrip screen and get good contrast (except red on black- when BG is low!!!).
The T:Connect app is most useful to me to check how it is changing basal. It reduces basal, and then goes to 0 basal often when I prebolus. Takes awhile for it to add back basal, and I end up going high (food + reduced/zero basal). So still working on different approach such as doing extended bolus that makes up for missed basal.
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I don’t really put much stock in whether or not an app is listed as “available” or not. It’s information, but it is not necessarily conclusive in my experience.
Have you gone to whatever app store your phone uses, tracked down the app, and tried to install it? I would consider the app unavailable if either it refuses to install or it does install but then refuses to work after the install.
My background context:
I finally went through Tandem’s pump training yesterday. When it ended, my trainer showed me how she uses Dexcom’s Clarity app on her Apple iphone (not surprisingly) to review her CGM results. I checked Dexcom’s app compatibility page and learned that my phone, a Motorola Moto G7, is not supported.
But tonight, recalling my rule of thumb for app support, I went ahead and installed the Clarity app on my Moto G7. Hurrah! Sort of. Yes, the Clarity app runs on my G7, but there is no data available for it to parse. In my trainer’s situation I assume the CGM data gets uploaded from her pump by Dexcom’s partner G6 app.
While the Dexcom G6 app will install on my Moto G7 phone, it will not run. If I open it up I get a prominent error message about my device not being compatible. Oh, well, eh?
Still, if you haven’t tried the app, how can you be sure it won’t work?
It’s not a matter of my phone not being compatible…it’s a matter of the app not being available (approved by Health Canada). It is not available for download in the Canadian Apple store.
This will be so interesting to me, having never used any type of automated system before. I wonder if you could use a higher bolus to offset the effects of the basal being adjusted? But really, I hve no clue. I imagine it will be a learning curve.
Yep… I agree.
If I use higher bolus, sometimes I go low, after I start to eat. Also, if use extended, and C-IQ adjusts to zero basal, my extended bolus acts more like basal that didn’t deliver. (At least in my mind!!).