Phillips / Philips Respironics recent recall notice discussion thread

[Dan_McD]

I talked to my DME this AM. They received a letter from Phillips on Friday. The DME basically told me they didn't know what I should do and she indicated Phillips would let them know later. I messaged my Sleep Doctor through 'My Mercy' at 9AM and have not heard back from her. My new Airsense is on it's way via FedEx per tracking number from DME.
I copied my PCP and he said to let him know if I needed any help from his office.

[sc4922]

I stopped using my Dreamstation 1 and ordered a new Dreamstation 2 from CPAP.com a couple of days ago. It works like any other CPAP, but it seems to be cheaply made, and I don't like the new humidification chamber, which is fiddly to deal with. The only plus is that it's considerably smaller and weighs less. Also, I have not been able to find and order a heated hose (it ships with the regular hose) or an extra humidification chamber (I like to have 2 of them and alternate between them).

By the way, the price of the Dreamstation 2 is now up to $1205 on CPAP.com.

[zonker]

After trying and failing last week, I was able to get through to the Philips support line @ (877) 907-7508 today:

thank you very much for this report. it'll be interesting to see how much of what was read to you remains in force and what exactly changes.

fingers crossed that they stick with what you have reported.

Based on what Philips has written on its own website I would not expect anything more than a "repair". Any talk now of shipping out "new" units to customers or financially compensating customers for their out of pocket costs feels like a lie to me.

trust, but verify?

[Buddy0329]

After trying and failing last week, I was able to get through to the Philips support line @ (877) 907-7508 today:

thank you very much for this report. it'll be interesting to see how much of what was read to you remains in force and what exactly changes.

fingers crossed that they stick with what you have reported.

Based on what Philips has written on its own website I would not expect anything more than a "repair". Any talk now of shipping out "new" units to customers or financially compensating customers for their out of pocket costs feels like a lie to me.

trust, but verify?

Nuke the entire site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

[zonker]

Nuke the entire site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

you, i like. stick around, won't you?

[palerider]

Okay, this is a pretty long thread, I don't have time to read through it all to see if this question was previously asked.

you don't have time to read about something that could potentially impact your health?

Ain't nobody got time for that, just ask another question and make the thread longer!!!

[palerider]

I read the recall notice, that's why I have questions here.

Sigh...

read it again....

they make it pretty damn clear.

Nope, it wasn't, if it was then I'd have no questions here.

Thanks for making the thread even longer, by failing to read and comprehend.

[palerider]

Sure, let's start treating our essential medical equipment like toasters.

.... My... CPAP .... isn't evenly browning things anymore.... time for a neseriesw one?

OTOH, apparently some of the respironics machines are browning, or at least, greying, the water... so...

Ya know, there was a humidifier heater connection problem on the M series, and the PRS1 series, and the PRS160 series, I was wondering when some fault in the nightmarestation machines would show itself. Boy was I under guessing this one.

[palerider]

Nuke the entire site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

And by 'site' you mean "phlips HQ"?

[HairyReasoner]

I stopped using my Dreamstation 1 and ordered a new Dreamstation 2 from CPAP.com a couple of days ago. It works like any other CPAP, but it seems to be cheaply made, and I don't like the new humidification chamber, which is fiddly to deal with.

Wow. I guess I'd better not get the Dreamstation 2 then. Those were my primary complaints about the Dreamstation 1.

[EJW372]

All I can say is I’m sure ResMed corporate is just DELIGHTED at what’s going on. It’s not like Philips is going to turn machines around in a few days or even weeks once they start taking them back, I predict a WHOLE LOT of people buying out of pocket and going through DME/insurance are going to be switching to ResMed machines.

A thought: could this end up sinking Philips and they get out of the sleep/CPAP business entirely when this all shakes out?

Remember Takata? They were the company that made airbags for Honda and a lot of other makers and that recall ended up bankrupting them. I don’t think they even exist anymore

[Buddy0329]

Nuke the entire site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

And by 'site' you mean "phlips HQ"?

+1....and I own a DS1 and a DSG.

[amenite]

Remember Takata? ...

My Takata airbag was replaced, then the replacement was replaced a few years later. On that basis Resmed is looking better and better.

[HairyReasoner]

I don't know why they are assigning what seems to me an arbitrary 5 year life.

What would you propose?

When the machine no longer functions as needed. Just like how we decide when to replace other things.

Sure, let's start treating our essential medical equipment like toasters.

If it's still working within specs and doing the job it's supposed to do, and I'm still happy with it, why should I have to buy a new one just because it's reached a particular age? Again, what's the justification for replacing it? Just because it's medical equipment? Then, why not two years, or one year? It seems it should be my choice as to when I want to replace it.

I'm not saying to disregard the age. As your unit gets older you need to think of a backup. That may involve buying a new machine or using a previous machine. Right now, I'm using an M series that was replaced by a System One that was replaced by the Dreamstation.

[palerider]

I stopped using my Dreamstation 1 and ordered a new Dreamstation 2 from CPAP.com a couple of days ago. It works like any other CPAP, but it seems to be cheaply made, and I don't like the new humidification chamber, which is fiddly to deal with.

Wow. I guess I'd better not get the Dreamstation 2 then. Those were my primary complaints about the Dreamstation 1.

Speaking as someone who's taken apart various Resmed machines, and a couple Philips machines, "cheaply made" seems to be the engineering target for Philips for the last decade.