Ivan Ferrario is 50 years old. Originally from Italy, he has lived in the Netherlands since 2016. He has a fulfilling family life, and he is the proud father of two children aged 16 and 14. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on his 21st birthday, a very boring birthday present!

As an aerospace engineer, Ivan likes to have things under control and “understand the numbers”. The insulin pump has helped him a lot. 

 For the first 20 years of my diabetic life, I used pens. I started using an insulin pump in 2010 and never looked back."

Once he started using an insulin pump, he was blown away by the results. It turned out that things could be even better in 2019, when Ivan was the first patient in the Netherlands to start using the Tandem t:slim X2 insulin pump.

Early adapter

When I moved to the Netherlands, I was lucky enough to be the first to use the Tandem t:slim X2 with Basal-IQ technology, and a little later I upgraded to Control-IQ. As an aerospace engineer interested in and working on cutting-edge technologies, I am always on the lookout for new solutions and am willing to experiment on myself. 

The sport

I have always had very tight control of my glucose, however, trying to exercise, even at low intensity, has always been a failure. When I had the opportunity to try a pump equipped with a sensor, I immediately jumped at the opportunity. It changed my life. The pump allowed me to become very active and play many sports. In Italy I loved running in the mountains and swimming, here in the Netherlands I love running and rowing indoors.

 Without a pump with a sensor, I wouldn't be able to do all this sport. My life has completely changed for the better since using the innovative Control-IQ hybrid closed loop."

Sleep

Most importantly: since using Control-IQ, I can sleep at night. And thanks to predictive glucose monitoring, I can sleep all night without waking up! Having a pump was already a big improvement, but what really changed the game was the closed-loop hybrid control of the Tandem t:slim X2.

 The fact that I can sleep through the night is the most important thing to me. Control-IQ technology has proven to be the biggest life changer.”