Tandem TSlim top tips

Let Control IQ^TM work. Be prepared to let the pump do the work. Don’t try to second guess the pump or interfere otherwise it will not work efficiently.

Time in Range. You will not achieve 100% time in range. Anything over 70% is excellent. If you are spending more than 25% above range, consider; are you giving insulin at the correct time? Is your carbohydrate ratio correct? Are you forgetting to bolus for some carbohydrates?

Remember to bolus. The system is very clever but you still need to remember to bolus for carbohydrates. Missed or delayed boluses can lead to several hours of above target glucose levels and/or delayed hypoglycaemia

Pre-bolus. Giving your bolus 10-15minutes before eating helps the system work most effectively.

Sleep mode. Remember to set up the sleep schedule for the hours that you are asleep. Control IQ^TM will aim to keep your glucose within a narrower target range. Auto corrections are not given in sleep mode. You might need to set a different schedule for weekends and holidays.

Hypo treatment. You might need less hypo treatment, maybe only 5-7g glucose. This is because as your glucose level falls, the basal insulin will also fall. Large or several hypo treatments could lead to rebound hyperglycaemia and trigger autocorrections

Persistent hypoglycaemia. If you have persistent hypos which do not respond to treatment, then turn off Control IQ^TM. You may need to be in manual mode for 24-48 hours to review your settings before returning to Control IQ

Exercise setting. You can set this whenever you want to avoid hypoglycaemia e.g., during physical activity or exercise, going shopping with friends or school trips. Set this 30minutes - 2 hours before you need it, to reduce insulin on board during the activity, to prevent hypos.

Using the Exercise setting for activity or exercise. If exercise is after a meal, start Exercise setting before the meal. You can leave this on after the activity, if needed, to prevent post exercise hypos. If you remove your pump for sports, you may still need to use the Exercise setting for 1-2 hours after you reattach the pump if you experience delayed hypoglycaemia. If this does not help to prevent hypoglycaemia you may need to program a lower basal rate and use this during exercise or you may need to consider turning off Control IQ^TM for sport

Exercise and carbohydrate. Don’t consume lots of extra carbohydrate before an activity (if you are keeping the pump on), with or without insulin, as the rise in glucose will lead to increased basal insulin and autocorrections which could cause hypos. It’s best to have smaller amounts of carbohydrate (5-7g) spread throughout the activity. If exercise is within 2 hours of a meal, only make a small reduction in the mealtime bolus for hypoglycaemia prevention.

Removing the pump. When you remove the pump for a shower or bath or for contact sports, remember to stop the pump. This stops the pump delivering insulin that you won’t get, which could prevent corrections later.

Extended bolus. This function is still available but limited to 2 hours. You may need to experiment with different boluses for different meals and it may be different to what you did before. Remember that basal insulin will increase in response to increasing glucose levels so will help manage delayed post meal glucose rises for high fat and high protein meals

Managing illness. Control IQ^TM might be able to deal with mild elevated glucose levels. Because Control IQ^TM uses your programmed basal profile, you can set up another ‘sick day’ basal profile which is more than the current profile and switch to this. If Control IQ^TM does not manage glucose levels during periods of illness you should turn off Control IQ^TM and remain in manual mode until you have recovered.

Ketones. If you have high glucose levels then remember to use the ABCC rule and check for ketones if glucose is >13.9mmol/L. If you have high glucose and ketones

>0.6 then use the sick day rules and remember to give the insulin correction by pen, rather than using the pump, and change the cannula.

Pen corrections. If you need to give a pen correction, you must turn Control IQ^TM off for the duration of the active insulin time set in your pump.