Respironics M Series Auto A Flex 500 CPAP Machine
Hello everyone - I have discovered that the CPAP device in the subject above has caused me and a number of others to awaken during the night as a result of the pressure going up way to high ... 20! The device gets water in the house, the water vibrates, the device thinks you are snoring and having an apnea event and then ramps up from 4 to 20 and stays there...I was given two of these devices in a row and they both had the same problem...at first the seller thought I was crazy, until they checked the printout from the chip on the card and saw that the device was not functioning properly. I have found others that had this specific device and had the same problem and stopped using the device, rather than reporting it...I have since received a new Respironics device, the 550 series where this problem is solved. Phillips Respironics Customer Service (1−800−345−6443) told me that they would report my complaint to their quality department but enough people have to complain before a recall is done...if you have had this problem, do 2 things (1) let your doctor or provider of the device know and get the new one and (2) call Phillips and tell them. Thanks....I don't want people with sleep apnea to stop using their machines because they don't know there is a problem.

Auto machines that are set to a wide open range (4-20 cm h20) can have this problem because their detection of respiratory events is not perfect (none of them are). You are bound to have run away pressures, but what was the pressure in which your machine spent the most time?

Set the machine to a narrow range and see what happens. Does it still blow past the upper limit and hit 20 cm h20 and why does it stop at 20 cm h20 if it is defective...isnt the maximum pressure higher than 20?

Anyway, sure there are going to be a few defective machines, but I imagine that quality control is keeping the defective machines to an allowable percentage.

No sense in letting this first post alarm anyone.

How long have you worked for Respironics? On this particular device, when water gets in the hose, it vibrates and then unit thinks you are snoring or having an apnea event and then ramps up to 20 and stays there, even after it wakes you up and you are breathing normally. My pressure on a previous device ranged from 4 to 14 (upper limit was set at 20) with an average of 9.5. The printout shows the device in question going from 4 to 20 immediately during sleep and then staying there without change. It does not go back down even when you are awake because the condensation/water remains in the hose and vibrates "fooling" the machine into thinking a continuous apnea event is occurring...I have talked to several people who have experienced this problem with this machine. They then stopped using it because they were new apnea patients and simply thought this is what they had to put up with...

Since when is a "a few defective machines" acceptable? I am shocked that you would make such a statement? Moreover, if I have met several people in my personal life who had this machine and had this problem, I seriously doubt this is an isolated even. The new Respironics 550 series solves this problem, so even Respironics new that the water in the hose was problematic.

Finally, why would this post alarm anyone (and what would be wrong with that)? If someone had the device and it was not a problem, wonderful. If they have the device and have experienced the problem and it has caused them to stop using it, this is dangerous! They need to call the supplier or their physician to get the problem corrected by getting the new device. Sleep apnea is nothing to be so cavalier about!

bergeba wrote:How long have you worked for Respironics? On this particular device, when water gets in the hose, it vibrates and then unit thinks you are snoring or having an apnea event and then ramps up to 20 and stays there, even after it wakes you up and you are breathing normally. My pressure on a previous device ranged from 4 to 14 (upper limit was set at 20) with an average of 9.5. The printout shows the device in question going from 4 to 20 immediately during sleep and then staying there without change. It does not go back down even when you are awake because the condensation/water remains in the hose and vibrates "fooling" the machine into thinking a continuous apnea event is occurring...I have talked to several people who have experienced this problem with this machine. They then stopped using it because they were new apnea patients and simply thought this is what they had to put up with...

Since when is a "a few defective machines" acceptable? I am shocked that you would make such a statement? Moreover, if I have met several people in my personal life who had this machine and had this problem, I seriously doubt this is an isolated even. The new Respironics 550 series solves this problem, so even Respironics new that the water in the hose was problematic.

Finally, why would this post alarm anyone (and what would be wrong with that)? If someone had the device and it was not a problem, wonderful. If they have the device and have experienced the problem and it has caused them to stop using it, this is dangerous! They need to call the supplier or their physician to get the problem corrected by getting the new device. Sleep apnea is nothing to be so cavalier about!

I am certain that there are defective machines. All companies have the problem of defective machines. I am also not trying to say that yours wasnt defective, but instead offering up a few things that may suggest that something could have been done to "fix" it.

Anyway, condensation into the tubing is a common problem. There are fixes out there and measures that can be taken to correct this. The units use vibrations for snoring and as long as water is in the hose, then the machine may think that you are snoring. You can fix this.

I do not work for Respironics, but I do know about the anxiety that people have regarding their treatment. The last thing that they need to see is that their machines may be jumping to 20 cm h20 during the night, possibly without them really knowing about it. There are some people that wear their interfaces for eyars, then all of a sudden cant tolerate it. It can be a brutal treatment that takes months and months of acclimating. I saw this post as a post that suggests that the sky is falling...

I think that people should be concerned, but if this is a common problem, then 1) it would have showed up on this forum many times and 2) the company would recall the unit. It sounds like you were unlucky enough to have received a defective unit. I am not happy about that, but like any device, it does happen.

Thats all.

bergeba wrote:How long have you worked for Respironics? On this particular device, when water gets in the hose, it vibrates and then unit thinks you are snoring or having an apnea event and then ramps up to 20 and stays there, even after it wakes you up and you are breathing normally. My pressure on a previous device ranged from 4 to 14 (upper limit was set at 20) with an average of 9.5. The printout shows the device in question going from 4 to 20 immediately during sleep and then staying there without change. It does not go back down even when you are awake because the condensation/water remains in the hose and vibrates "fooling" the machine into thinking a continuous apnea event is occurring...I have talked to several people who have experienced this problem with this machine. They then stopped using it because they were new apnea patients and simply thought this is what they had to put up with...

Since when is a "a few defective machines" acceptable? I am shocked that you would make such a statement? Moreover, if I have met several people in my personal life who had this machine and had this problem, I seriously doubt this is an isolated even. The new Respironics 550 series solves this problem, so even Respironics new that the water in the hose was problematic.

Finally, why would this post alarm anyone (and what would be wrong with that)? If someone had the device and it was not a problem, wonderful. If they have the device and have experienced the problem and it has caused them to stop using it, this is dangerous! They need to call the supplier or their physician to get the problem corrected by getting the new device. Sleep apnea is nothing to be so cavalier about!

I am certain that there are defective machines. All companies have the problem of defective machines. I am also not trying to say that yours wasnt defective, but instead offering up a few things that may suggest that something could have been done to "fix" it.

Anyway, condensation into the tubing is a common problem. There are fixes out there and measures that can be taken to correct this. The units use vibrations for snoring and as long as water is in the hose, then the machine may think that you are snoring. You can fix this.

I do not work for Respironics, but I do know about the anxiety that people have regarding their treatment. The last thing that they need to see is that their machines may be jumping to 20 cm h20 during the night, possibly without them really knowing about it. There are some people that wear their interfaces for eyars, then all of a sudden cant tolerate it. It can be a brutal treatment that takes months and months of acclimating. I saw this post as a post that suggests that the sky is falling...

I think that people should be concerned, but if this is a common problem, then 1) it would have showed up on this forum many times and 2) the company would recall the unit. It sounds like you were unlucky enough to have received a defective unit. I am not happy about that, but like any device, it does happen.

Thats all.