Attn: whiners, complainers, quitters

When you come to cpaptalk.com to whine, complain,
can't get started or want to quit your cpap therapy,
what do you want to hear??

carbonman,

I LOVE your poll.

I've tended to hand out "tough love", myself.

Den

I'm guessing that above all else so many posters with problems come here looking for solutions. I suppose that probably fits into the "experiences" category---since experiences shared among us are so often solutions shared as well.

I know I have only been here for a very short while, but am I allowed to vote Carbonman off of the island?

Seriously though, just knowing others have experienced the same issues and have successfully resolved them and understand what you are going through is a great comfort. My doc was next to useless for information and my family acts like the whole cpap thing as 'another one of dad's hobbies' to be tolerated.

You can hand out tough love AND solutions at the same time.

fortomorrow wrote:

You can hand out tough love AND solutions at the same time.

Now that may present a problem with the poll's design if, indeed, solutions are primarily what people want. But not to confuse how people prefer receiving their solutions versus how some members here at times prefer to callously hand out those solutions...

Now shut up and get back on the hose dammit!



J/K

70% so far have said they want to hear others experiences and it's what I picked. I want to know how others dealt with it, what worked for them, and if the therapy worked for them or not. I don't think I whined when I first came here, I was scared and curious to know how others dealt with it. Many said I was in DeNile and some of the tough things they said had an impact on me. So as fortomorrow said, "You can hand out tough love AND solutions at the same time."

I agree that you can hand out tough love and solutions at the same time. And so far we have two voters who actually prefer to get whacked on the head with a two by four.

Sometimes tough love is beneficial, when judiciously administered. Other times impatience on the part of veteran users and advisers is intolerant or even grumpy behavior thinly disguised as tough love. But the poll really isn't about how veteran users prefer to help. It's about what new and disconcerted CPAP users want. Who knows... by the time this poll is over we may have enough two by fours to build a huge CPAP storage barn!

Now everybody who's new and whining... Shut up and get back on the hose!!!


(again just kidding)

Generally it's obvious from the post which kind of answers are being asked for.....A true "whiner" or "quitter" will get "tough love" and suggestions, others will get sympathy and suggestions....Bottom line, it's their life.....You can lead a horse to water, but don't forget what a wet horse smells like!!!!

I'm here because in the beginning I needed information on the experiences of others to help me determine what I needed, I never did need an attitude adjustment -- I couldn't wait for the treatment and other than 1 night (last January with no power - after which, power backup has been installed) I have been 100% compliant.....Can't imagine sleeping without my "little buddy"....
I keep coming back because of the help I received and the experiences I've had -- I feel an obligation to give back to the community.

take care
cheers
goose

Wulfman wrote:carbonman,

I LOVE your poll.

I've tended to hand out "tough love", myself.

Den

Den,

I'm thankful for your "love", however tough it may be!!

Nice poll, Carbonman!

Cathy

tangents wrote:

Wulfman wrote:carbonman,

I LOVE your poll.

I've tended to hand out "tough love", myself.

Den

Den,

I'm thankful for your "love", however tough it may be!!

Nice poll, Carbonman!

Cathy

Den (I try to wrap a little "padding" around my 2 x 4's)

Wulfman wrote:I try to wrap a little "padding" around my 2 x 4's

When you do it... you seem to do it just right IMO. Aunt Weeza's just tickled pink that you insisted she use a power cord with her CPAP machine.

...Of course, that whole experience eroded her confidence in the DME process.

Some that drop in here are "Overwhelmed", for them firm help.

For the ones that are in "Total De-Nile", it's time for a reality check, it's your health and well being you are messing with. Remove head, and get with the program. Most of us made this treatment work, your attitude has a lot to do with it, as with all things in life. You get your rewards by doing it right.

As far as the "Pity Me Whiners", get over it, nothing is impossible, if you apply a positive attitude to it, and a good natured outlook. It helps to look on your problems as life's jokes, all we need to do is look around us, others are in far worse shape, work on your problems, help others, make your life more meaningful. Jim

Which answer I'd select in the over 2 years on here would depend on what my needs were at any given time. Who hasn't complained about something - or maybe just related their bad experience. I'm sure I whined a bit when I was so devastatingly depleted (yes, pitiful) that I crashed and burned both physically and mentally. Shoot, I even quit for a few months - that's how I ended up here as a desperate attempt to find help. And I found it in a combination of all the poll choices. Whether an encouraging word or just-the-facts, all have helped me along the way. One thing I recognize in myself is that I can be the queen of excuses. My sleep doc gives me the straight talk that I need, and I can receive it because I believe my well being is her intention. All that said, yet I consider myself to be a stable well rounded positive person.

Sometimes posts reveal personality tendencies that probably have little to do with having OSA. It can be frustrating to give sound advice and see someone totally dismiss it and persist in a negative path. When it gets like that, I step back with the understanding that a life attitude comes from within, and it would be vain of me to think I am so eloquent or persuasive as to undo that in a few words. Being a nurturer has made me want to fix everything for everybody. Living got me over that. Sometimes none of the poll's approaches will work. So we all try as we feel compelled, and hope we have not wasted our words or "bruised the fruit."

I think MichelleFL hit the spot, at least for the initial posts. I can empathize with them until they start arguing with advisors and really becoming whiny. I get that same feeling I used to get when in the old time movies the woman in a burning house was "too scared" to walk to the door to get out. I always thought "then just leave her there"! Anybody who just "can't do this" should read the story of the rock climber who cut off his own hand to save his life. I have been in tough places and it was the thought that if others can make it then by God so can I.

So for me the poll is Others Experiences (and encouragement) followed by a no-nonsense 2x4 if they get too whiny.