MIRAGE SWIFT LT QUALITY POLL--THE RESMED CHARADE???

[plr66]

Thought I should report that I have received no response from ResMed since posting results on 7/1/09. With apologies to their product manager, Jennifer, I recommend that each of you who has found a quality control consistency problem with the pillows contact her directly. If you have difficulty figuring out how to do this, please PM me.

Putting things in perspective--Despite the >5400 hits on this thread--only 54 votes were posted, and of those, only 43 have registered complaint. This should certainly be manageable to ResMed for resolving issues directly, IMO. They apparently feel that they cannot undercut their DME's, I'm guessing, so have to steer all of us through the DME's first.
............Yeah, well.

[twokatmew]

I wish I could change my vote. I have acquired four pillows (including the one that came with my mask) over the past month. Two I bought from cpapauction and one I got in trade. Some nights I have 0.0 leak, and other nights leak is off the scale. I've been rotating use of the pillows, so I no longer know where I got each one. While washing them today, however, I realized that three are relatively floppy in comparison to the one I wore last night, which is firmer. Of course last night was a zero leak night.....

ResMed, replace our defective pillows!!!!

[jdm2857]

TwoKat --

Is there any way you could post a picture of one of the floppy ones and the good one?

I'm on my first LT and can't tell which type I have.

Mew.

[CPAPFREAK]

you all should have been EATING less and taking walk every once in a while and not SITTING on the couch watching tv.. you are using valuable net space here!!!! get of your fat bottoms and stop whining.

[twokatmew]

TwoKat --

Is there any way you could post a picture of one of the floppy ones and the good one?

I'm on my first LT and can't tell which type I have.

I'll try, but I'm not sure the camera will pick up the differences, because the visual differences are quite subtle. Fingers crossed my camera can do it. (Stay tuned for pics tomorrow.) Incidentally, I took a black permanent marker and put a dot on the underside of the "good" pillow. I keep them in a tupperware-like container after they're washed & dried, so I shook the container and tried to pick the "good" pillow out with my eyes shut. I did this repeatedly to see if the differences were "all in my head." Each time I picked out the pillow I'd marked with permanent marker! ...And I lost count as to how many times I did this.

<picture twokat, eyes closed, shaking tupperware and fondling pillows> <shudder> Actually, all it takes is one light squeeze at the base of the pillow, and I can detect more firmness in the good pillow as opposed to the duds.

jdm2857, I saw your post re leaks and the Swift LT and wondered if perhaps you got a "dud" pillow. I just hadn't got 'round to responding yet.

The "good" pillow is slightly milkier in appearance, but the difference is so slight, I notice it most when I hold the pillows up against a dark background. By feel, however, it's very easy to pick out the good pillow. ...And that's how I first noticed the differences.

[plr66]

TwoKat --

Is there any way you could post a picture of one of the floppy ones and the good one?

I'm on my first LT and can't tell which type I have.

Mew.

Jeff, I'm going to jump in here and just say that there is not any really clear way to judge this visually. If your pillow works well, then that's great. If it doesn't, then you may need to try other masks (since not everyone is cut out for the Swift LT, or any other mask).

This thread was never intended to just solicit people to request free pillows from ResMed. And please do not read this to imply that you were doing that. Of course this was not your intention. I just want to make that point for all other readers.

In fact, after all this very long time of this thread hanging around on our forum, I would have to say that if anyone hasn't posted or voted to this date, then they probably should just wait it out till ResMed replaces their shelf stock with DME's. Thanks to all for your patience and attention.

[twokatmew]

Jeff, I'm going to jump in here and just say that there is not any really clear way to judge this visually. If your pillow works well, then that's great. If it doesn't, then you may need to try other masks (since not everyone is cut out for the Swift LT, or any other mask).

Yes. I've actually been thinking of trying the Opus 360, figuring if it works, it'd be easier than dealing with dud pillows, even though I really like the Swift LT. I did try the OptiLife, but I couldn't wear it for more than an hour. I know some love the OptiLife, but I hate it. The Opus 360 looks pretty similar to the Swift LT, and they have a new pillow design which keeps 'em off the lip. This feature does interest me, so I've been watching cpapauction for an Opus....

[jdm2857]

The Swift LT is working better for me on some nights than on others. As I increase the pressure I seem to be having more leaks.

Then again I'm trying to determine if I'm better off with the Medium or the Large pillows. I'm going to switch back to the Medium tonight.

As for my question, I was just wondering if inferior quality pillows were part of my problems or not. I'd hate to write off a mask that could work for me due to an inferior batch of pillows, especially since corrected ones are coming.

[Kiralynx]

Thought I should report that I have received no response from ResMed since posting results on 7/1/09. With apologies to their product manager, Jennifer, I recommend that each of you who has found a quality control consistency problem with the pillows contact her directly. If you have difficulty figuring out how to do this, please PM me.

Putting things in perspective--Despite the >5400 hits on this thread--only 54 votes were posted, and of those, only 43 have registered complaint. This should certainly be manageable to ResMed for resolving issues directly, IMO. They apparently feel that they cannot undercut their DME's, I'm guessing, so have to steer all of us through the DME's first.
............Yeah, well.

Actually, I've been following the thread because I was considering trying a Swift Lt... if I could deal with the straps across my cheeks. But I'm not sure I want to if there's a question about the quality of the pillows.

[plr66]

Putting things in perspective--Despite the >5400 hits on this thread--only 54 votes were posted, and of those, only 43 have registered complaint. This should certainly be manageable to ResMed for resolving issues directly, IMO. They apparently feel that they cannot undercut their DME's, I'm guessing, so have to steer all of us through the DME's first.
............Yeah, well.

[Actually, I've been following the thread because I was considering trying a Swift Lt... if I could deal with the straps across my cheeks. But I'm not sure I want to if there's a question about the quality of the pillows.

Kiralynx, I guess that might raise the question for ResMed as to the extent of damage control needed to respond effectively to the folks in those >5400 hits on the thread who were interested in considering the Swift LT, but are now turned off by the results here which indicate that for the very indefinite future, their purchase will likely result in an inferior product. And with no offer on the part of ResMed to resolve this immediately or directly. I'm not sure I understand the logic of this response from ResMed.

[ozij]

I was debating with myself between ResMed and F&P's Opus, and then hints of the Swift LT's unreliable quality started popping up.

I bought an Opus, and would buy it again now. I would wait a year at least before attempting to buy any Swift LT - since ResMed clearly want those dud pillows sold -- or possibly can't even track which batch of pillows went to which DME.

O.

[twokatmew]

I sent an email to Jennifer Baum at ResMed and received a phone call from her last week. Although she agreed to exchange my three "dud" pillows, she also said that all these pillows are within specification, and that there's nothing wrong with them. She also said that most people seem to prefer a firmer pillow and that most in circulation are of the firmer type. She said personal hygiene and how we care for our pillows makes a difference. Since I take care of all my pillows the same way and have the same personal hygiene regimen every day, it seems that all my pillows should function similarly. Unfortunately the three new pillows I received in exchange are just like the three "dud" pillows I'll be returning to Jennifer in tomorrow's mail. It's interesting that if most in circulation are of the firmer type, I managed to get six floppy pillows out of seven!

I used one of the new pillows last night, and my AHI was 12.8 with mostly apneas. Max leak was just over 50L/min, and 95% was 16.9L/min. Using my "good" pillow, my AHI is generally between 3.0 and 6.0 (mostly hypops), and 95% leak is ~0.0L/min. The events graph sure was scary looking today!

Gasparama kindly sent me her Opus 360 which she was not using. I haven't tried it yet, but will in the next few days after I get some good sleep! Right now my faithful F&P 406 nasal mask seems to be giving me the best sleep.

[plr66]

I am very discouraged and actually disgusted to hear this, twokatmew. Sounds exactly like the generic response I first received by email "for the record" from Jennifer (see my post of Sat Jun 13, 2009 10:28 am, on page 6 of this thread). But the fact that the replacements you received were possibly just their on-hand stock and rationalized as "within limits"...well that is truly disturbing.

Does this smack of just CYA by ResMed???? Do they believe that the pomp & circumstance of all their "attention and study" of the complaint/concern I registered with further info from serious CPAPer's on this forum, will just make the problem disappear without an appropriate replacement response?

Some here will cynically say "what did you expect?" But I say that this response by ResMed is unconscionable; and if we do not want to just be considered whiners & complainers--all those who registered problems with this mask should stay steady with asserting need for these defective pillows to be replaced with ones that have been corrected. Or a resounding statement to ResMed by switching to another company for your mask.

Tonight I wrote a still-supportive response to another poster about using the Swift LT...as if I still had confidence in the product. I do not still have confidence in this product. I am appalled by the lack of response by ResMed to a credible plan for correcting what has been found to be a problem for many who have spent lots of money on defective product.

As you all know, I was sent the "corrected" pillows, and can tell you now that they are consistently registering a full 6 points higher on leak rate (from original 24 to current 30), and for the first time are consistently not staying in place at night without much firmer pressure from the straps. Jennifer said this was okay, as they are "still within limits." Yes. But I think it is clear that the quality of the product being produced in China is compromised, and being found acceptable to ResMed, despite empiracal input from a knowledgable population of cpap users here.

[twokatmew]

I'm pretty disappointed and disgusted too, prl66. I hoped I'd at least get better pillows and some acknowledgment that the problem would be remedied. It sounds like ResMed's new pillows that you got aren't really any better either.

Frankly I was stunned when Jennifer told me there was nothing wrong with any of the pillows. When I mentioned this thread, she responded that "it was written by a patient," stressing that the info didn't come from ResMed and going so far as to imply that you misinterpreted their information. I've been meaning to go back and read this whole thread again, because that's certainly not the impression I got previously. As I recall, you actually quoted ResMed several times. <sigh> If I hadn't been so stunned, I would have pointed out that we patients are in a position to know best when a product isn't working....

ResMed is indeed covering their behinds, and they're not even doing a good job of that! But so many businesses are penny-wise & pound foolish. I've even worked for a few....

I put a note in with the pillows I'm returning to Jennifer, which says they're no different than the ones I consider defective. At this point I don't expect to hear anything.

[jdm2857]

I'm interested in the results of the new product challenge. Maybe the OPUS 360 will be the mask to replace my LT.