On the half life of the RRT at cpaptalk.com

[carbonman]

best of care to all
Yvette

ps: carbonman, my apologies my grammar skills are not to your standards, it has been difficult to care about grammar when it seems all i have time for is to defend myself from your kind!!!

In thinking back on all the RTs that I have seen pass through cpaptalk, in just
the year, I have been here, I tired to figure out why they leave so soon.

My carbonyothesis is this:
The standard DME RT usual encounter is w/a just diagnosed patient.
He/she is a new refugee, fresh from the trenches of the OSA battle field.
Tired and fatigued beyond exhaustion, brain dead from too many nights
of hypoxia, no cognitive abilities and no ability to make clear decisions.
Too many unknowns to deal with.

A sleep ctr. and/or sleep doctor has told them this is what they have and
this is what they need to do. Here is the RT telling them what to do.
Most new patients are in the rule-follower, docs and all associated types
are Gods. Whatever you say I will do.

Then the DME RT shows up at cpaptalk.com. They must think that they are
going to find the same kind of patient. In reality what do they find?
They find battle hardened veterans that have fought to take their lives back
from the ravages of OSA. They are educated to cpap equipment and how it works.
They have gone far beyond standard cpap delivery equipment and lab-ratted
fixes, to make it work. They are not accepting the God speak.
They have taken control of their therapy and their lives.

...and what about

ps: carbonman,your kind!!!

What about my kind?
Just like most folks here, once I realized I was brain dead(thanks again, GumbyCT)
I knew what I had to do. Shut up, listen and learn. That's exactly what I did.
I didn't wait for some RT to tell me what to do and when I could do it.
I tried stuff. ....and when it didn't work, I trashed it and tired something else that did.
No sleep ctr. worker, no sleep doc and no DME RT gave me anything.
I didn't wait for an insc. comp. to tell me I could have a new mask.
I decided that my life was worth whatever it cost to find the right mask,
hose and machine. The very information that guided me down the path to
my new life, is the very information that is denied the DME dependant patient.
I received all the information to become my own best therapist and
take my life back, right here.

This is not a job for me, it's my life.

[GumbyCT]

CM you do sooo much better on O2 - LOL

Don't we ALL.

[Muse-Inc]

...This is not a job for me, it's my life.

Precisely! Now that I have at least part of my brain functional, I can think again...maybe not as well as before but I can put 2 and 2 together and come up with "4" as well as "22", something not really possible before because my insight and creativity had disappeared and so far only partly returned. I really dislike the situation I find myself in because I was too brain cell dead to make better decisions for myself, so I've got a perfectly functional dumb CPAP that is completely useless in helping me optimize my therapy. Now into my 3rd yr of 100% compliant CPAP therapy, who knows how far along in recovery might I be if I'd had a fully-data capable machine? I sure as hell wouldn't have had a 5-6 month backslid in my apnea therapy because I'd have seen the leak increase right away. I wouldn't have mistaken it for those toxic CNS side effects of that 1 drug I was on and I wouldn't have guessed it might possibly be a cardiac problem and worn an Event Monitor for a month at $1400. I would have know what it was...simple leak requiring a mask change. How recovered might I be at this stage with a good machine is a question that will haunt me. I sure as hell wouldn't be wondering how to optimize therapy in my current state of unemployment with a partly-healed brain with ongoing short-term memory, cognition, mood issues as well as other health issues that are slow to resolve....this just plain sucks. I am so grateful I discovered this forum and that more experienced users made suggestions and helped me self-educate 'cause I sure as heck was mostly clueless; my experience has me deeply involved with artifical intelligence systems, I should have understood what I really needed back at diagnosis, but slap on mask, hit "on," and sleep was all I understood -- poor body, poor brain starved for oxygen for so long 'cause my former doctor never recognized my severe apnea. I remain terrified that on a new job, my brain wouldn't be up to the tasks I ask of it. The healthcare system is broken; it's failed us. And, we with apnea are angry...we're tired of those who don't live the challenges nightly tell us what they think our therapy should be then often discover it is useless or contraindicated info. Too often, it seems to most of us, the info we need to save ourselves from the ravages of SDB in all its myriad of forms is kept hidden from us: sometime deliberately, sometimes thru sheer incompetence. It's my life at stake here, this condition leads to death and I am not prepared to die because of deliberate hiding of facts I need to know about my condition, healthcare provider incompetence, or insurance company practice of medicine without a license.

[jules]

the half life of the RRT at cpaptalk.com

about 6 posts as a registered member

now the nasty ones post many times as a "guest"

[twokatmew]

Of the RRTs I've seen come and go during my three months here, it seems most arrive in order to gather information to use in their own businesses and/or jobs. This is fine, as we all come here for something, and in their information-gathering, some RRTs actually do provide some help. But ... this is a user, or patient, forum, and when RTs get uppity and defensive when they're not welcomed with open arms or looked up to by us, I have no sympathy. At their brick and mortar jobs, they have the upper hand. Here, it is our turf.

Now certainly we all, RTs included, are deserving of respect. But I don't see that this particular RT (or any others for that matter) have been disrespected. When a patient "infiltrates" (for lack of a better word) a professional forum, they're not welcomed with open arms. At worst, they're bounced out. At best they must prove their knowledge at least approaches that of the professionals. I think this RT (and others) need to think about where they are and what they're here for. They're not among colleagues, and their situation is very different from ours. We've dealt with enough RTs who aren't so good at their jobs, and we've educated ourselves so we can get along without them.

RTs who come here expecting to do research or extract information from us -- and expect us to look up to them -- are going to be very disappointed. We know they're not gods, and they're not used to that! The RTs who stick around seem to be the ones who realize they're not gods and actually don't mind rubbing shoulders with us difficult and educated patients.

[DoriC]

Carbonman, Your kind sent us a mask and wouldn't ask for any money, your kind gave me the nerve to slice and dice my first foam pillow, your kind shares with us photos of the beauty of our country on your bike rides, and your kind posted 3 words to me on my first anniversary thread that I'll always treasure. Dori

[Sleepy Taz]

It is unfortunate that “our” kind” has to wander around in darkness surviving on what morsels the medical world sees fit to allow us. Let’s see, give them a machine that blows air in their face, a mask that leaks, and then admonish them when they seek ways to improve their therapy. Oh and lets charge oodles of cash for the diagnostic study, not once but twice, and then even more for the equipment they will need. To top this all off let’s only supply bare bones equipment with no data capability, not teach them the proper use, and not include the patient in their own therapy. RT’s do not last long here because they cannot handle the truth that mere mortals have the ability to figure out how to maximize therapy without them, and instead of learning how we do it, try to change the matrix of this forum. I personally would love to hear ideas from a caring professional, but not at the expense of losing what we have here. Many thanks to carbonman and others like him who so eloquently phrase the wants and desires of the people of this forum to “those people”!!!!!!!

[ScrappinMom]

Carbonman, thank you for so eloquently saying what many of us are thinking.

[jnk]

I like RTs. At least one highly-esteemed and valuable poster in this forum is an RT among other things. I have heard docs brag about the knowledge of RTs in the hospital setting and even defer to their knowledge. I respect the education and the value of what the good ones do.

I try not to generalize too much, though. It's like asking are truck drivers good drivers. Some are. Some aren't. The ones that tend to brag about what good drivers they are may be the ones who are worst at it, though, from what I would guess. So, my guess is that the jerks who come here, or anywhere, to brag and to garner adoring fans are jerks IN SPITE of their being educated as an RT, not because of it, if they are actually RTs. Often the RTs that come here to brag may be the ones kicked out of the forums the professionals generally hang around in, so they may have some wounded pride and some self-worth issues from the get-go when they start posting here. That's just a guess, too.

Do I think the best RTs always end up working at a DME and that an RT is generally an expert on sleep, without education beyond that of RT? Hmmm. I don't know. But sometimes I wonder, based on the claims of fly-by posters here. I'm sure some very good ones end up at DMEs. I just haven't met one personally. And don't plan to go out looking. But some posters in this forum have bragged about the helpfulness of the RT at their DME, so I guess they must be out there.

Anyway, if RTs come here to be helpful, I would welcome that, as I would welcome anyone. If anyone comes here to tell us all we're all a bunch of morons who should bow down to him or her, I do not welcome that, myself, whether that person is a patient, an RT, a doc, a tech, or the latest walking gift to modern medicine. One proves one's worth in a forum by how helpful one is, not by how much one brags about oneself, condemns patients, or accuses others. The "us" and "them," to me, is about helpful versus nonhelpful, not about the letters that follow the name.

Just my opinion, that.

jeff

[5aces]

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

It's a simple reflex most people take for granted until a crisis -- cardiac arrest, an asthma attack, an accident, pulmonary disease or sleep apnea - stops it.

"When You Can't Breathe, Nothing Else Matters."

Respiratory therapists would certainly agree.
It's their job to ensure that anyone whose breathing is substandard or has been interrupted gets oxygen, and the other gases humans breathe, back into the patient's lungs in a timely and physiologically appropriate way.

Frequently, that's no easy task.
Nor is, unsurprisingly, the training respiratory therapists have to take.

RT's-must have good science skills.
RT's-must be able to empathize with patients, have good observation skills, initiative and good judgment.
RT's-must be able to deal with stress and very emotional situations, have the capacity to analyse and synthesize information, and be able to react properly in emergency situations.
RT's-ability to work on a team, communicate and explain things in simple terms are also desired qualities.

Remember the old schoolyard taunt "I know you are but what am I ?"

A healthy sense of skepticism has never led me astray,whereas a complete sense of trust has...

[ozij]

I like RTs. At least one highly-esteemed and valuable poster in this forum is an RT among other things. I have heard docs brag about the knowledge of RTs in the hospital setting and even defer to their knowledge. I respect the education and the value of what the good ones do.

I try not to generalize too much, though. It's like asking are truck drivers good drivers. Some are. Some aren't. The ones that tend to brag about what good drivers they are may be the ones who are worst at it, though, from what I would guess. So, my guess is that the jerks who come here, or anywhere, to brag and to garner adoring fans are jerks IN SPITE of their being educated as an RT, not because of it, if they are actually RTs. Often the RTs that come here to brag may be the ones kicked out of the forums the professionals generally hang around in, so they may have some wounded pride and some self-worth issues from the get-go when they start posting here. That's just a guess, too.

Do I think the best RTs always end up working at a DME and that an RT is generally an expert on sleep, without education beyond that of RT? Hmmm. I don't know. But sometimes I wonder, based on the claims of fly-by posters here. I'm sure some very good ones end up at DMEs. I just haven't met one personally. And don't plan to go out looking. But some posters in this forum have bragged about the helpfulness of the RT at their DME, so I guess they must be out there.

Anyway, if RTs come here to be helpful, I would welcome that, as I would welcome anyone. If anyone comes here to tell us all we're all a bunch of morons who should bow down to him or her, I do not welcome that, myself, whether that person is a patient, an RT, a doc, a tech, or the latest walking gift to modern medicine. One proves one's worth in a forum by how helpful one is, not by how much one brags about oneself, condemns patients, or accuses others. The "us" and "them," to me, is about helpful versus nonhelpful, not about the letters that follow the name.

Just my opinion, that.

jeff

May I join you opinion, jeff?

[jnk]

May I join you opinion, jeff?

That is ALWAYS welcome!

[virgo RT]

Fine i get it, i don't get the open arms around here but there has been some pretty unwelcoming remarks made to me. I have only commented on three topics and in my original responses i never talked down to anyone, i merely offered my advice. I did point out that i was a RRT because in one topic it asked for professional advice. It has been very difficult in only the past 24 hrs that i have been on this site to offer any other advice, because i have to continue defend my grammar skills, being pseudo-concerned, and high and mighty. I have done nothing wrong, but by the end of the day yesterday i was so beat up emotionally, it has been made very difficult to continue to offer any assistance to anyone. Maybe i am the odd ball in the minority for a therapist that does sincerely care about my patients and all patients who suffer from OSA. It is sad that so many of you have had bad experiences with therapist, but where i'm from it is the norm for us(therapists) to go above and beyond to help, manage, and truly care about our patients. Believe me most RT's do not get in to the business for money. Its just not there!!! when i earned a baccalaureate degree in science and applied for my first job in a hospital. I was offered no more than i was making working at a grocery store for 5 years. 12.50 hr, is just a shame for such vital practitioners in the hospital. So really i mean no harm, just trying to help!!!!

sincerely,
Yvette

[Slinky]

Eh, I do think that at times there are some of us who come down too hard on ANY sleep professional who enters "our" forum and attempts to offer any advice.

And now, I shall don my kevlar vest and hide behind a brick wall.

('Cause on accounta "my" personal opinion of far too many RRTs who "try" to enter sleep medicine is they haven't made much attempt to REALLY learn sleep medicine - like actually open the xPAP's Clinicians Manuel instead of a half ass glance at the Quick SetUp Guide). So it sounds like I'm talking outta both sides of my mouth. (Actually, that's lip flutters shifting from side to side as I move around in my sleep).

[jules]

I did point out that i was a RRT because in one topic it asked for professional advice.

A request for "help from the experts" is not looking necessarily for professional advice on this forum. If that is the thread you are referring to you will see many suggestions by forum members for the OP to seek medical advice in person where he lives. IMO that is still the best way for the OP to get the help he needs. No one here can possibly be aware of all the medical issues that daddycoop might have as well as a physician he would visit.

There is of course always the statement at the bottom of the page on this forum

The information provided on this site is not intended nor recommended
as a substitute for professional medical advice.