So, yesterday, I was able to see hands-on a demo t:slim insulin pump.  We went over the functions of the pump and how it works, and some of the cool features it has over other available pumps.

When the rep pulled it out, my jaw literally dropped. I could not believe how tiny the pump is! It’s slim and sleek and all sorts of awesome.  I compared it to the size of my Animas Ping and it was like – whoa. Super thin. Then, I compared it to my Verio meter – it’s a bit thicker, but not by much.

I didn’t get any frontal pictures, just because there are so many out there available now. What I was really looking forward to seeing was if it lived up to it’s name and their slogan. Well, color me happy because it is SUPER slim and certainly lives up to it’s name.

So what about this “touch simplicity”?

I have to tell you, while it doesn’t have the super responsive feather-touch sensitivity as an iPhone would, it’s is very easy to touch the screen to get it to do what you need it to do. While I know that’s not the slogan’s meaning, it was a concern for me. But, once I got to touch it and play around with the menus, it’s not that much different at all. I liken it to the touch-responsiveness of the Kindle Fire. I did keep laughing at myself though because I wanted to scroll with my finger instead of touching the up or down arrows to scroll through the history screen!

The pump does live up to the slogan though. It is so easy to use this pump, and having the touch screen does make things so much faster and easier. I loved that all I had to do was touch a few places and a bolus was delivered. No scrolling up, missing the mark, scrolling back down, etc. It just a simple tap-tap-tap and your’e done.

The thing I’m most excited about is the different profiles  and not just different basal rate profiles. This is the most ingenious thing ever in my opinion because someone FINALLY realized, “Hey, if they need to change their basal rates, wouldn’t they be sensitive/less sensitive to the other insulin factors as well??” Super smart, Tandem!

Oh, and the T button (the ONLY button!) on the top/side not only wakes the pump, but can be used for an audio/vibrate bolus. {Yeah, so! What’s so special about that? All pumps do that now.} Except (from what she told me) it can be set to go in increments of units OR carbohydrate! So, no more doing the math to figure out how many units you should need for “x” amount of carbs while trying to keep the pump hidden away. Just press it how many times you need to to increase the number of carbs you’re eating and it does the math for you! HOW TOTALLY AWESOME!!?? The only time I can figure that would be an issue would be if you’re needing to do a correction… then you would have to do some serious math to convert the BG overage to what would be equal to carbohydrates and then deliver the bolus.

I am super stoked about this pump. I am eligible to get one after December 14th, and I cannot wait. (Read: I’m such a nerd that I have a countdown clock going… T minus 31 days!) This is the first time in a long time I’ve been so excited about pump technology. I would gladly trade in every one of my pumps to get this one if I had to. I know, a pump is a pump is a pump – in the end, they all do the same function. And while each pump has their own niche and ways to trump the other, the end decision is going to need to be based off of what you like/want the most out of the pump you choose. If you want something that’s all connected with CGM and meter and all that jazz – then the Revel would probably be best. If you want a color screen, but prefer to have tactile buttons as well as a remote to bolus with so your pump can stay tucked away, then the Animas Ping would be better. If you want small, sleek, color screen and touch-ability, then the t:slim would be a good choice. They all perform the same basic principle and that’s to deliver insulin. As for me, I want the t:slim. It’s like a Kindle, Omnipod, and Ping had a baby.

Besides, did you really think this technology geek wouldn’t want it??