Hello! If you have used or are using the above-noted pump, please give me any advice you think I may not come to know through the training video and (virtual) pump training session that I’ll be doing this Thursday.
In specific, a huge concern of mine is keeping the thing from getting damaged, as I do not meet requirements to have the thing insured (which I’m still trying to make sense of). I’m in works to try to get it insured by my house insurance provider, but I’m awaiting their reply.
I KNOW I will get the thing wet. I’m an avid kayaker, among other outdoor sports. I am always at the beach or lake. I know the thing isn’t waterproof, so do you have a case you’d recommend?
How can it not be in insured? Do you mean outside insurance? Because Tandem warranties the pump and has been more than gracious with us in replacing the pump when it has issues inside of the warranty period. We are currently not in warranty, and so I would not expect them to replace it the next time it has an issue. But of course that is why we keep long acting around all the time, in case it fails, even though it has been pretty solid over the last 6 years. Our pump is certainly not insured.
My son has always taken it off during wet activities and left it on the shore, do you kayak for many hours at a time? If so, you might want to consider keep injecting your long acting and only use the pump for meal boluses and treating highs. When we have used a bag we have used one of the waterproof phone cases, but we haven’t left it connected. I am not sure you could snake the pump line out and still maintain the waterproof-ness, but that would be a fun challenge.
I think the insurance issue has something to do with my being under warranty for the Omnipod, yet being approved on exception for the Tandem, but no insurance–I still don’t fully understand.
Keeping it in a waterproof cellphone case & throwing it into my drybag, is probably the route I’ll go. Still, I can’t imagine wearing it and NEVER getting it wet?? That seems impossible. I spill things all the time! What about rainy days? Where I live it rains all the time! What about winter activities such as skiing and snowshoeing? I can’t stay unplugged for everything I do…?
It has fallen into a sink before and survived, it has some water resistant abilities, think like an iphone, not waterproof but also not going to fail anytime it senses water in the surrounding area. It has survived, skiing, baseball, rainstorms (we live in the PNW), hiking, without issue. It even survived a shower when my lovely son forgot to take it off. It isn’t going to slow you down, but immersion in salt water for a decent period of time is no bueno for any electronic device.
That is HUGELY comforting to hear. My Omnipod Dash PDM is totally sensitive to any moisture whatsoever, but it’s got no attachment, so it’s easy to keep in a waterproof bag.
The Aquapac waterproof case for tubed pumps worked for me. They used to be easily available, but in looking now I see they’ve become a little harder to get. Amazon has a few third-party vendors selling it for $135. The manufacturer site is https://aquapac.net/shop/waterproof-medical-bags/waterproof-insulin-pump-case/ and they say email sales@aquapac.net to purchase from the US.
I just went downstairs and stuffed a t:slim X2 into my Aquapac. It fits.
You’re right it’s expensive.
It’s effective in the water, but I wouldn’t trust it at any depth — ok to snorkeling on the surface, but I wouldn’t go diving with it, I’d disconnect and leave it safely behind.
It’s not a problem; the controller is IPX7, 3 feet for 30 minutes. The spec is on this web page:
The footnote is:
§ Tested to 3 feet for 30 minutes (IPX7).
The “X” refers to dust protection, it means no data so don’t take it out in a sand storm. The “7” means they stuck it in a bucket of water for 30 minutes (at a depth with a pressure 1.1 time atmospheric; so a 10% increase in pressure from the surface). The rating means it is waterproof; water doesn’t get in so it should be fine with repeated immersion. (For contrast the Omnipod isn’t waterproof - it lets water in - and repeated immersion kills it.)
It is important to understand that it isn’t rated for water jets - don’t take it into the shower. This may cause problems with kayaking, or rafting for that matter where my experience indicates that very big, powerful, water jets can be encountered. If you put it in a dry bag I would expect it to be fine; it doesn’t matter if the dry bag fills with water, the problem arises if the water bashes into the controller and the dry bag should protect against that.
As for skiing, same issue (I assume you mean water skiing). Probably not a good idea.
It sounds like it is a lot better than the Omnipod Dash PDM though; I suspect the Dash PDM is IP00
I’m a little late to the party here and everyone has added much better info than me. I’ve been using the Tandem for about 6 years now - never had a problem. Just got a new one because it ran out of the tandem warranty.
I do a lot of biking and always take it with me. So my experience is like everyone else’s.
I just realized the t:slim shows BG levels…does this mean I can actually get away from my phone!?!? I hate that I’m always with my phone. I’d love to leave it at home while I walk or workout. This is yet another bonus! Yew!
Yes, you can easily push one button on the side of the pump and it will show the lock screen, which shows your all of your info including your BG with a 3 hr graph (changeable within the lock screen as well.)
I use the BlueJay Watch as my secondary collector to see my BG even easier. But you really don’t need your phone, or anything else really, with the X2 pump,
The iwatch will show you the data from your phone, but it is currently not able to be connected directly to your pump. There are some watches that can do that, but not the Apple products. Hopefully they fix this soon. We have been waiting for this for years.
So, training went okay. Lovely trainer. Pressed end, no more than 10 seconds later got up not thinking of my pump being attached to me, pump fell to the ground and the site ripped out. I was in utter shock LOL and pretty bummed about that, especially because I really don’t know if I remember how to do it again. I have put my pod back on and am going to try again tomorrow with a fresh day, mind, capacity for more frustration, etc. It came off SO EASILY. urrrrrggggggggggg
Over the last 5 years, this has happened to me two times. It’s quite memorable of course when it happens - that “oh s**t” moment.
I think the tubing comes out when it’s yanked a certain way. I’ve dropped the pump many more times and have not lost the site most of the time.
It goes back to the observations of @psfud123 - this is a complex system with many points of failure, so you need to make sure you have a backup (pens, for example) in case something stops working.
We all endure this complex system because it gives you more control and makes it easier to keep your blood sugars down. The control-iq system is really great - a breakthrough in classical treatments for diabetics (ie you’re still injecting insulin vs generating new t-cells or whatever).
