Lauren Dayotas
Type 1 Diabetes Success Story
Lauren was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) at age 3. She began receiving diabetes care from Dr. David Harlan in 2010, the year she started college. Over the past ten years, her A1c test results ranged between 8.2 and 10% with an average A1c above 9.
Almost overnight, Lauren’s blood glucose control became “almost perfect” according to Dr. Harlan. She credits the recent success to making the switch to Tandem’s new Control IQ technology.
Her first insulin pump was an Animas device, which she started using while in middle school. When that company went out of business, she switched to a T-Slim, which integrates with her Dexcom continuous glucose monitor (CGM).
In April 2020, Lauren worked with Dr. Harlan and UMass Memorial Diabetes Education Manager, Cheryl Barry, RN, MS, CDE, to download Control IQ to her Tandem pump. She credits it with her sudden and remarkable blood glucose control.
“I’m a big picture person,” she said. “Control IQ lets me understand what’s happening with my blood sugars during various situations throughout the day.”
Lauren has always had a constant fear of low blood sugars, and added “Control IQ gives me less insulin when it knows I’m going low, and that gives me peace of mind.”
The new technology uses the CGM to predict glucose levels 30 minutes ahead and adjust insulin delivery accordingly, including delivery of automatic correction boluses as needed.
“It shows me what’s going on at all times,” said Lauren. I can see what’s happening when I bolus before meals and I understand the overall picture. Before Control IQ, I was reactive, but now I take a proactive approach to my diabetes self-management because I can visualize it.”
Her care team at the UMass Memorial Diabetes Center of Excellence includes Dr. Harlan and nurse practitioner Nancy Sidhom, both of whom are extremely proud of Lauren’s recent success.
“They’re both fabulous and down to earth,” she said. They completely listen to where I am as a patient and always ask how they can better serve me, but also let me know that I’m ultimately in charge of my own success.”
Lauren says they guide her towards the answers when they review the data from her insulin pump and CGM together. “We look at different scenarios and they help me understand what happened and suggest steps to improve those situations in the future.”