Please read my disclosure page, as I have an existing relationship with Tandem Diabetes Care. Which means I have bias. But I am not paid for this post or my opinions or my typos or bad drawings of hamsters.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF MOBI …
(I made some edits! Because I forgot some stuff.)
I put it on for the first time on Friday morning, after a virtual training with the Tandem Clinical Support Specialist, and I honestly could not believe how small the Mobi felt. To the point where I kept showing it to Chris and the kids, having them hold out their hand to weigh the Mobi in one hand, then putting the powered down X2 in the other hand, saying, “It’s so little, right? So little!”
When I talk about the Mobi, it sort of sounds like I’m referring to a kitten. Which isn’t 100% wrong. So cute! So small! And when it delivers insulin, it clicks a bit instead of whirring, so maybe that’s like purring? Might be a stretch. I’ll revisit the thought later.
The X2 comes in at about 4 oz (when the reservoir is full). The Mobi appears to weigh 1 oz (I just weighed mine on the baking scale, with an almost full reservoir). It is less than half the size of the X2.
What does this mean, in practical terms?
I can put the Mobi in my bra and it’s invisible. I can put it in the pocket of a dress or jacket and it doesn’t cause a malalignment of the hem. When it’s clipped to my pants, I can’t tell what side it’s on. It teeny frigging tiny.
And I love that.
Yes, there’s bias in play — you’ve read my disclosures, right; make sure you do — but part of that bias is familiarity with the Tandem slate of products in the first place. Moving from the X2 to Mobi is a device switch, but I didn’t have to learn a new set of mobile applications. The Tandem Mobi app is very similar to the t:connect app, so checking on time in range, delivering a bolus, etc. didn’t require a learning curve.
Not having a screen on the pump is weird. I haven’t adjusted to that yet. The most obvious issue to me is that I don’t have access to my CGM data unless I open my phone, which is annoying because I didn’t realize how many times I looked at my pump for CGM info until I didn’t have the info available there. I also do not like having to touch my phone for every single pump interaction, but I know that’s a “don’t want the kids seeing me on my phone all the time” thing, so I suspect that concern may fade with time, comfort, and constantly explaining to the kids that “I’m looking at my phone for diabetes reasons, “ and they’re like, “So I guess you’re sending an email to your blood sugar,” and I’m like “okay, maybe not always for diabetes reasons,” and then they throw a tomato at me.
I asked the Tandem person about being away from my phone, and she assured me that the pump works as it should even if I’m out of phone-range. If I go for a walk, or accidentally leave the phone at home, the pump will still deliver insulin and will still receive my blood sugars from the Dexcom. And there’s a quick bolus button on the pump that can deliver a set dose of insulin (in my case, I have each beep set to deliver 0.5 u of insulin). It doesn’t rely on cellular signal to work, just bluetooth. So it would work on a plane, in spots where cell service sucks, etc.
And the Mobi is currently only working with Dexcom G6, which is fine by me because the G7 isn’t my weapon of choice right now. But for folks on G7 and liking it, that might be less than awesome news.
NOW THAT IT’S BEEN A FEW DAYS …
It only took about a day for me to realize how often I looked at the actual pump screen. Apparently, I look at my CGM data just before going to bed, first thing in the morning, and at least every fifteen minutes on the treadmill. The phone as the only way to see my CGM data did not work for me, but then I realized that the FitBit I use (Versa 4) has a clock face that can show me the CGM data. After some quick Googling, I found Glance, developed by Ryan Mason, which I downloaded and installed on my FitBit, and I had CGM data at the flick of a wrist.
CGM data (and anxiety flare up) problem resolved for the moment.
Using the app has been very easy, and I attribute the ease of use to my familiarity with the t:connect app. I was already using the app to bolus, so moving to Mobi was lateral.
The charger is a move away from the micro USB (aka the plug-it-in charger) in favor of an inductive charger (aka the one where you place it on top of the charger), and that’s fine with me because the micro USB felt clunky. The pump clip that comes with the Mobi is VERY smart, incorporating the look and feel of my beloved Nite Ize clip to a silicone sheath.
Big fan.
My biggest complaint so far is the exercise setting. I’m not sure if there is a way to set exercise mode to a timer, like I could on my t:slim X2, but if there is, I haven’t figured it out yet. I’ve accidentally left exercise mode on for multiple hours, which is not optimal.
I have changed the cartridge out once and the app walks you through that process. The cartridge snaps into place kind of like a dollhouse door — I will assume this is not how the design team refers to it — and once I realized it needed to swing open in order to get it on and off, that helped me feel less clumsy with the change.
The pump itself is plastic, not the metal I was used to, so it feels lighter and less durable. I have put my X2 through the paces over the years, so I have confidence in its ability to withstand the daily me, and I’m hoping that confidence in durability will come in time with the Mobi.
For now, it remains teeny tiny. I’m using 42” tubing (ridiculous, I know, but calling me a ‘creature of habit’ is an understatement), so I basically have this tiny Glide floss-container sized insulin pump tethered to long tubing. This means I can put it in the pocket of my pants, snake it up into my bra … it fits everywhere. I am blown away by the (lack of) size. Which is why I keep mentioning it. Even my kids have remarked on the size of the Mobi.
“The hamster could wear that as an insulin pump,” my son said.
Fair assessment.
I haven’t tried any of the adhesive patches or the short tubing, and to be honest, I think I’ll wait a bit on that because I don’t want to test my adhesive tolerance. I LIKE the versatility and wearability of the tiny pump with a long tail. I also like that I can move it around, which is a big part of why I never warmed to the idea of a patch pump. I’ll try the adhesive thing eventually.
I’ll update in a few weeks, after the techno-joy has worn off a bit. On the whole, Mobi has taken the best bits of X2 and honey-I shrunk-the-pump’d them into a powerful, bite-sized version of care.