Philips Respironics recall - CPAP/BiPAP user, please read

[wiredgeorge]

FDA: Faulty Med Equip Linked To 561 Deaths

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced a concerning update regarding previously recalled Philips breathing devices and ventilators used to treat sleep apnea. According to the agency, these devices may be linked to hundreds of deaths since the initial recall announcement...

libertyresolve.com

 

[Grumps21]

Not turning mine in without a free replacement or full refund. Those machines are not cheap. The first notice I got said nothing of making me whole again on the purchase, and the second letter I got a few weeks ago offered a paltry $100 bounty for returning it by August. To go to another brand would be another Dr visit along with the requisite sleep study. Not free. Then on top of the copay, I had to pay $35 per month for a full year for cell service so that insurance can track that I’m using the machine. More than 3 non-uses per month and I’m liable for the full price

 

[Ingramite]

I had one of the recalled devices and Phillips eventually replaced it free of charge.
The whole thing ended up taking about 8mos. from the time I sent in the initial paperwork.
Thankfully I had a backup machine so I was able to sleep until my new replacement device came in.

The replacement process jumped me through a half a dozen hoops. If you get involved be sure to save every communication, be it electronic or paper. Long strings of numbers for two or three different things. If I hadn't kept all of my communications it would have been easy to come up short on listing these numbers in a later request. Like for example, they issued me a ID number.....why do I have to know the number that YOU issued to me. If you issued this number then surely you have a record of it? I found this number on a letter that they sent to me early on in the process. It was almost like taking a test with multiple options to fail.

Anyway, I would have hated to be the guy missing sleep while waiting for them....it took forever.

 

[Grumps21]

I had one of the recalled devices and Phillips eventually replaced it free of charge.
The whole thing ended up taking about 8mos. from the time I sent in the initial paperwork.
Thankfully I had a backup machine so I was able to sleep until my new replacement device came in.

The replacement process jumped me through a half a dozen hoops. If you get involved be sure to save every communication, be it electronic or paper. Long strings of numbers for two or three different things. If I hadn't kept all of my communications it would have been easy to come up short on listing these numbers in a later request. Like for example, they issued me a ID number.....why do I have to know the number that YOU issued to me. If you issued this number then surely you have a record of it? I found this number on a letter that they sent to me early on in the process. It was almost like taking a test with multiple options to fail.

Anyway, I would have hated to be the guy missing sleep while waiting for them....it took forever.

What machine did you get as a replacement? As I understand it, Philips can’t sell any machine for the time being.

 

[PinnedandRecessed]

I used a Philips for years. Got it through a med supply company that went under because they were scamming insurance and eventually got caught. I doubt any records exist for me to claim anything. Didn't find anything out about the recall until after I had switched to a new machine for other reasons. Currently using a Resmed Airsense 10. The machines aren't terribly expensive but you have to have an Rx (stupid) because of how they classify it.

 

[Ingramite]

What machine did you get as a replacement? As I understand it, Philips can’t sell any machine for the time being.

I'm not sure what restrictions have been placed on Phillips. Perhaps their production is tied up until all of the replacement machines have been satisfied?

I received a new Dream Station machine, just like the one that I sent back.

The whole sleep apnea industry is an interesting study. First of all it's highly regulated and fiercely protected. The DOT is heavily involved in areas of safety sensitive people like commercial truckers. Who wants a sleepy driver at the wheel of an 80,000 lb missile?

The next layer of bureaucracy with their thumb on the scale are the insurance industry. They call the shots on who gets what and what kind of hoops you have to jump through to get it.

I've been under a sleep doctor's care since my first diagnosis back in the early 90's. In order to remain in good standing with my insurance company I have to have a yearly "exam" that amounts to a review of the info generated nightly by my machine. Done with a phone call. This process is called "compliance". The insurance company wants to be sure that I'm using the machine.

Non-compliance by a DOT safety sensitive person means they don't get a physical card until they prove compliance.

All of this rigamarloe has created a huge industry built around a simple treatment. Supporting and supplying the gravy for this train to run is what makes everything so expensive.

The first CPAP machine that I was prescribed was covered 80% by my insurance. It took me 18 months at 100 bucks per month to pay off my 20% of the tab. Cheap? I don't think so. This is better than a printing press for making money.

Without a valid doctor prescription you can't buy some supplies that are expendable. Things like masks, hoses, and filters can be sourced cheaper from sources like eBay.

My condition is so severe that without my machine I wake up 50 times an hour. I never get to restful REM sleep. That means that if I don't use my machine tonight I will be falling asleep tomorrow at 11am, no matter what I'm doing.

I realize that this is a long answer to a short question but when I got the opportunity to hang one in them....I went in both feet first. I've paid my dues.

Phillips early focus in this recall was machines that have had an ozone cleaner used to sanitized them. I have never used that type of cleaner. Later on it seems like they broaden their focus by replacing them all.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Quit using my machines as I didn't notice any difference with or without.

 

[Ingramite]

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Quit using my machines as I didn't notice any difference with or without.

I was snoring loudly and I would stop breathing. This scared the beJesus out of my wife who would elbow me in the ribs to kick start my breathing.

I was always tired. I would get home from work and take a nap before supper. Then I would fall asleep on the couch watching TV. My wife would wake me up to go to bed. Then elbow me all night long.

The straw that.broke was me sitting in my truck one afternoon. I had just drove 30 miles home from work but had no recollection of the trip. My kids got off the school bus and found me sleeping with the motor still running. Later they told me that they thought that I was dead.

The morning of my sleep study with the machine left me feeling like an 18 year old kid again. That was the first good night's sleep that I've had in a long time....and no more snoring.

Without the machine I will wake up gasping for air over 50 times an hour. My current machine tells me that I have .2 interruptions an hour. The machine kicks up the pressure automatically to open my airway and I sleep right on through the night.

We are all different.
I'm a believer. I can tolerate the treatment, some guys can't. I never in a million would have thought that I could sleep while wearing a mask teathered to a hose....come to find out, I can't do it any other way.

 

[PinnedandRecessed]

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Quit using my machines as I didn't notice any difference with or without.

Everyone's different but I'd wager something ain't right.

 

[DoubleDuty]

FDA: Faulty Med Equip Linked To 561 Deaths

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced a concerning update regarding previously recalled Philips breathing devices and ventilators used to treat sleep apnea. According to the agency, these devices may be linked to hundreds of deaths since the initial recall announcement...

libertyresolve.com

That's why I have been a Resmed user for 35 years.

 

[General Zod]

I was snoring loudly and I would stop breathing. This scared the beJesus out of my wife who would elbow me in the ribs to kick start my breathing.

I was always tired. I would get home from work and take a nap before supper. Then I would fall asleep on the couch watching TV. My wife would wake me up to go to bed. Then elbow me all night long.

The straw that.broke was me sitting in my truck one afternoon. I had just drove 30 miles home from work but had no recollection of the trip. My kids got off the school bus and found me sleeping with the motor still running. Later they told me that they thought that I was dead.

The morning of my sleep study with the machine left me feeling like an 18 year old kid again. That was the first good night's sleep that I've had in a long time....and no more snoring.

Without the machine I will wake up gasping for air over 50 times an hour. My current machine tells me that I have .2 interruptions an hour. The machine kicks up the pressure automatically to open my airway and I sleep right on through the night.

We are all different.
I'm a believer. I can tolerate the treatment, some guys can't. I never in a million would have thought that I could sleep while wearing a mask teathered to a hose....come to find out, I can't do it any other way.

This sounds extremely familiar. Except I actually had a couple of minor collisions from falling asleep behind the wheel in stopped traffic. I gained weight because I was so afraid of falling sleep while driving I'd snack whenever I was in the car.

That sleep study night...I slept about an hour without a CPAP and the attendant woke me up and said they couldn't let me sleep without one because my apnea was so bad. It was the best night's sleep I'd had in years once that thing was on me.

Now I can't sleep without one...and my wife can't sleep if I'm not wearing it.

 

[DoubleDuty]

It saves your life. I finally got diagnosed in my late 30s. Finding good support groups and the right masks is so important in treating this. Being able to interpret the information from your machine and being able to adjust is another important thing. After the primitive machines back in the late 80s to the AutoPap machines of today the technology has come a long way.

 

[majormadmax]

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Quit using my machines as I didn't notice any difference with or without.

Same here. Per the machine, I was intolerant of all the masks I tried. Unknowingly, would remove them within 30 minutes of falling asleep.

I've had two sleep studies done, and my next option would be surgery which I refuse to do.

I have moderate sleep apnea, and have simply learned to live with it since being diagnosed 20 years ago...

 

[ZX9RCAM]

The best thing I found was "mouth tape".
I used to wake up multiple times to take a drink of water because my mouth was dry.
Now I only wake up to go to the bathroom.

 

[wiredgeorge]

When I rode my bike, I would get really sleepy and thought I needed a bit of sugar. It didn't really help. Driving through back streets on my trike in Hondo with my missus on pillion, she slapped my helmet as I had dozed and ran through a stop sign.

She took a video of me sleeping to convince me I quit breathing for fairly long stretches. Went to a sleep clinic and they did the study and my blood/O2 was down into the upper 60s without a machine. They did a 2nd visit called a titration study. I never saw a doctor and they mailed the study to my primary care doc. I demanded a copy of the study which I didn't understand and my primary care doc gave me a prescription for a BiPaP machine. It is a Resmed. Went to a supply company and signed up for regular supply shipments via Medicare and my gap insurance and they sent so much stuff I stopped it.

Still have a cabinet full of stuff (masks, hoses, tanks, filters, etc) but will have to start it up again some time in the future. I am pretty sure they got rich over-sending. I always use the machine to sleep. Bought a pulse oximeter as I was concerned about the efficacy of the treatment and always A-OK now. The Resmed machine quit sending reports that you could check via their website as I think they were sent 2G and when that was dropped, no reports. I can still pull out the SD card and read the reports via some 3rd party software.

My original prescription still seems to work fine. At least I think so as I ain't dead yet.

 

[DoubleDuty]

When I rode my bike, I would get really sleepy and thought I needed a bit of sugar. It didn't really help. Driving through back streets on my trike in Hondo with my missus on pillion, she slapped my helmet as I had dozed and ran through a stop sign.

She took a video of me sleeping to convince me I quit breathing for fairly long stretches. Went to a sleep clinic and they did the study and my blood/O2 was down into the upper 60s without a machine. They did a 2nd visit called a titration study. I never saw a doctor and they mailed the study to my primary care doc. I demanded a copy of the study which I didn't understand and my primary care doc gave me a prescription for a BiPaP machine. It is a Resmed. Went to a supply company and signed up for regular supply shipments via Medicare and my gap insurance and they sent so much stuff I stopped it.

Still have a cabinet full of stuff (masks, hoses, tanks, filters, etc) but will have to start it up again some time in the future. I am pretty sure they got rich over-sending. I always use the machine to sleep. Bought a pulse oximeter as I was concerned about the efficacy of the treatment and always A-OK now. The Resmed machine quit sending reports that you could check via their website as I think they were sent 2G and when that was dropped, no reports. I can still pull out the SD card and read the reports via some 3rd party software.

My original prescription still seems to work fine. At least I think so as I ain't dead yet.

Yep sleepyhead, tells you everything about your AHI. Before that I used Resmeds proprietary diagnostic software.