So it's decision week. I've finally found out what my hospital provides. They are the Omnipod 5, Tslim X2, or the Ypsomed MyLife. I went into my first pump start session thinking, hands down, I would want the Omnipod. But, now I'm torn between the Omnipod and Tslim X2.
The big selling point of the Omnipod 5 is that it's tubeless, and within 3 months of starting I should be able to start HCL with it. After the session we were given a dummy pod to try on at home. I've done so, and boy did I pick the wrong spot for it! It felt really bulky on my abdomen, and getting a shot to the ribs when I sit down certainly isn't any fun! Now I know thats entirely down to my poor placement choice. But, it did have me doubting the amount of "real estate" on offer to site the pod and my sensor, while keeping line of sight between the two, that I'd also find comfortable. I also use XDrip to see my blood glucose on my watch, and know that I will lose this ability when I start HCL, my understanding is that the PDM would start the sensor. I'm also a little bugged by needing to carry two phones with me. A big selling point for a pump in general was the ease to bolus as and when I needed, without needing to break pens out etc. Despite having the gift of pockets, carrying two phones and a wallet seems cumbersome to me. So I'll undoubtedly leave the PDM in my bag. Defeating the whole purpose of making pre-bolusing easier while at work.
Now, the tslim is a small device, that I can see myself being able to fit on my person pretty easily, that would allow me to bolus with little prep time. But, it's tethered. And all of the drawbacks that can come with this are a downside. How big a downside, I'm not sure. I also wont be able to start HCL with it in the near future as I do not qualify for a G6 through the NHS. In fact, my sensor and the pump would not be able to communicate at all, so I would only be using the TSlim in its most basic form - I'm honestly not sure how this works (i.e. if you can tell the pump what your current blood glucose is). Regardless, I will have to use the pump this way until at least HCL roll out is expanded, or Tandem work some magic and widens the types of sensors that can communicate with the pump. I'm aware this could be years down the line.
I suppose I could do with people with real life experience of these models, and how they find them day to day, and even how people find HCL. I'd love to hear everyone's opinions and experiences with these models.
I can also only apologise for the wall of text, and rambling nature of the post. This has somewhat of an exercise for myself to voice aloud the pros and cons for each pump personally.