Technology continues to make managing our diabetes easier. Continuous glucose monitors, apps for carb counting and insulin pumps have all alleviated some of the stress of managing our condition. Tandem Diabetes created Basal IQ technology, which allows us to spend less time worrying about going low and let our devices do the work. For a person living with diabetes, this means less stress and more sleep.
Basal IQ technology helps reduce the frequency and duration of lows by predicting glucose levels and suspending insulin if the blood sugar level is thought to go below 80 mg/dL or the Dexcom reading goes below 70 mg/dL. Insulin delivery will start automatically once the blood glucose starts to rise again.
Basal IQ is different than the newly released Control IQ, in that Control IQ can adjust insulin delivery, including the delivery of automatic correction boluses as needed, therefore helping patients avoid episodes of hyperglycemia. Using either one of these systems also means fewer fingerpricks, as you will no longer have to get manually take your blood glucose reading.
Basal IQ technology has given many people living with diabetes, and those who love them, a little more rest and some peace of mind. A pivotal study showed the use of Basal-IQ Technology on the t:slim X2 Insulin Pump demonstrated a 31% relative reduction in time spent below 70 mg/dL when compared with a CGM-enabled pump without Basal-IQ Technology. Important to note, the less amount of time spent at lower glucose levels did not mean more time spent at higher glucose levels. Maintaining your target range has become a lot easier thanks to Basal IQ technology.
Photo credit: Allison Hoffman
One woman, Allison Hoffman, who helps manage her 10-year-old daughter, Becca’s diabetes, raved about the changes to her overall well-being since switching over to Basal IQ technology after relying on Omnipod for the past few years.
Here is her story:
For 7 years my mornings were absolute hell. While I would see others sleeping in, meditating, going to the gym, etc, I was a slave to Becca’s whackadoodle blood sugar swings, which would often start around 5:00 AM. My body learned to wake up at this time, and that I doubt I’ll ever be able to change.
My mornings would include me running up and down the stairs entering the bedroom, praying I wouldn’t wake her and deny her the right to sleep in, suspending insulin (audible beep I couldn’t silence), sticking glucose tabs in her mouth, often with the pay-off of a horrible blood sugar spike. I would start 95% of my days this way.
And the frustration! No adjustments to her settings were right. If I reduced her insulin she’d go high; .35 too low, .4 too high. I would wake up at 3:00 am to set a temp basal to get the amount she needed that Omnipod didn’t have as a preset-still wouldn’t work. Nothing I did was right.
Since starting on t:slim pump with basal IQ, I finally have my mornings back. It allows more fine-tuned insulin delivery and suspends when it predicts her to go low. As long as her sensor is good, and her insulin settings aren’t way off (I will always need to determine her insulin needs, it isn’t automatic), I can have a pretty peaceful morning now.
I can watch the news, or another show, or read, and my coffee doesn’t go cold. I can sit with my dog on my lap and not have to jump up every ten minutes to go deal with diabetes. I can breathe. And Becca can sleep peacefully.
I’ve made four seesaw activities for my students this morning and she’s still sleeping.
7 years of hell. I finally have my mornings back.
If you are living with type 1 diabetes and are considering a pump, you may want to look into t:slim X2 pump along with the Dexcom G6 so you can make use of the new Basal IQ or Control IQ technology. Their slogan is “live more and worry less” and I am so glad this seems to be the case for so many.
Have you tried out this technology? How has your experience been?
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