Finding Experts Posts

Just had a thought, is there some way we can find the first posts of all those who've now become our experts? Would we just click on Members and try to find their original posts? I can't imagine RG, wulfman, Hawthorne, SAG, dsm, Goofproof, SWS, gumbyCT, and all the others ever going through the newbie stage. It would be interesting to me to read some of their first questions and replys.

DoriC wrote:Just had a thought, is there some way we can find the first posts of all those who've now become our experts? Would we just click on Members and try to find their original posts? I can't imagine RG, wulfman, Hawthorne, SAG, dsm, Goofproof, SWS, gumbyCT, and all the others ever going through the newbie stage. It would be interesting to me to read some of their first questions and replys.

DoriC

You betcha we were newbies & at times naive
If you did such a search I think you would find a lot of amusing posts & amusing arguments

What has tended to happen is that we have all contributed to each others growing comprehension & understanding
of the technical terminology and have added to that our increasing years of use. A lot of what I have learned came
from early members like RestedGal plus actually trying different types of machines. I went a bit further myself by
buying early model machines (as well as current ones) & taking them apart and have been able to see how the motors
blowers and sensors were changed as technology advanced.

Some of us have put a lot of time into reading patents then debating them here. SWS has been a shining light in
triggering debate on the more intricate topics. Other regulars like Ozij have also built reputations for understanding
the complexities of the therapy. Wulfman is along with the many other regulars, a source of common wisdom. Then
we had people like Snoredog who provide a spicy involvement intermixed with his insights that added a high level of
entertainment. SAG has provided lots of significant OSA data complete with charts & diags, even if few of us were
always able to understand the complex pictures being shown, but, little by little some of it seems to have sunk in.

We have had some wonderful people here over the years and one that always comes to mind is ChristineQuilts. She
is really missed.

DSM

DSM, you've really nailed the personalities of some of our "stars". SWS, SAG(and you!) are our Professors, RestedGal, well she just KNOWS, Ozij always understands what I'm asking even if I don't, and wulfman who also knows everything but just breaks every question down into simple common sense answers that gives newbies the confidence to make adjustments when needed. I had the pleasure of Snoredog's company when we first started here and yes, he was "spicy" but always answered my questions in a straightforward but gentle manner. I miss him. And don't forget Hawthorne, patience must be her middle name. I know I must have tried her patience many times in the beginning. Thanks DSM, I enjoyed our little chat and I will start searching and see what I can find out about you guys. Dori

Click on "Members" at the top of the page. Click on the letter the poster's Username starts with and check through the list until you find the one you are looking for. Click on their Username again and all their posts will be listed. They start with the most recent ones.

You can find out how we got going and see that we were "Newbies" once too!!

If you click on an individual post, you will get the entire thread.

DoriC wrote:Just had a thought, is there some way we can find the first posts of all those who've now become our experts? Would we just click on Members and try to find their original posts? I can't imagine RG, wulfman, Hawthorne, SAG, dsm, Goofproof, SWS, gumbyCT, and all the others ever going through the newbie stage. It would be interesting to me to read some of their first questions and replys.

I'm definitely not an "expert" at anything except training/showing dogs and, in my younger days, training/showing horses.

Here, I'm just a "cpap user" who remembers well how it felt to be trying to learn about this cpap treatment stuff. I'm still learning new stuff every day!

Well, let's see... I joined cpaptalk.com on September 9, 2004.

I did a search for my first post, which was apparently this one on the day I joined:

viewtopic/t40680/viewtopic.php?p=154#p154

Found that one by hitting the "advanced search" button to the right of the Search box up above, then typed in just my nickname as the author, left the "keyword" box blank, scrolled down to put a tickmark in front of Ascending "posts" (instead of leaving the tick for the default of Descending) which made the list display my oldest posts first.

I had already been using a 420E autopap since Feb 2004, and had started myself on a borrowed cpap machine back in the fall of 2003, and had already asked my first newbie questions back on the talkaboutsleep message board, before cpaptalk.com got started. -SWS was on that board too, and he was the person I chose to ask for some specific help with my 420E. He understood these machines so well even "way back when"!

Gosh, time flies!

Seeing RestedGal's 1st post sent me looking for what mine would have been

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3351&p=25736#p25736

Yup, tripping down memory lane (sure needs jogging now & then )

DSM

Me, I lurked and read and read for ages before my first post - and that was on TalkAboutSleep - and I thought I was logged in - and wasn't:
http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/message-b ... 4137#64137

And my first post here was a bit later on, as a guest, calling myself "Fascinated" - which I truly was. I was as lacking of knowledge as anyone during those first months.

I'm not a expert either -- I'm just a person who has done a lot of reading and learned to appreciate all the wonderful people who contribute their knowledge, experience, links, photographs, compassion and humor.
O.

Thanks for all the replies. We had a busy day and I haven't been able to research your original posts yet but I will tomorrow. I hope I'm not offending any of you by calling you "experts" which to me you all are. I usually refer to you as the "pros" when I steer newbies your way. Is that OK? I certainly would not refer to you as the "old timers" as I've seen here sometimes, that would surely offend!(LOL). Now you've got me going, how about "gurus", "mentors", "heroes"? You can see that I'm tired and getting silly, Goodnight to all. Dori

DoriC wrote:Just had a thought, is there some way we can find the first posts of all those who've now become our experts? Would we just click on Members and try to find their original posts? I can't imagine RG, wulfman, Hawthorne, SAG, dsm, Goofproof, SWS, gumbyCT, and all the others ever going through the newbie stage. It would be interesting to me to read some of their first questions and replys.

I'm pretty sure that RG and these other notables set their auto machines on the nightstands the first night they got them, strapped on their masks after a 10 minute inspection at which time they added their own personal mods, and laid down for a quick 8 hour rest of 0.0 leaks and 0.1 AHI's...

AND I WON'T LISTEN TO ANYONE THAT CLAIMS OTHERWISE!!!!

*plugs ears*
*makes annoying "NYAH!" noise over and over*

Thanks for bringing this up, DorieC. Just for the fun of it I looked at a few of my early posts in early 2006, and some of the aforementioned personalities were among those coaching and coaxing me to persevere as a newly reformed cpap dropout. Can't believe I'd used (well, tried to use) a cpap (no data, no humidifier, no exhalation relief) for several months but had no understanding of what AHI was about. For all my willingness, I still wasn't a poster child for compliance or quick success. I hope it does all the trailblazers' hearts good to know...

#1 Not only do I understand AHI, mine went from my first night of data at 11.7 down to between 0.0 and 3.0, usually <1 most nights of the last 2+ years. That includes apap and cpap, Respironics and ResMed.

#2 Found my dream mask about a year in after maybe a half dozen failures and tolerables, and it serves me well though barely recognizable all deconstructed and decoratively strapped.

#3 Haven't taken my mask off in my sleep for years, nor every time I wake during the night. For the most part, wearing it is a non event (pun not intended but it works, so hey).

#4 It's been years since I either intentionally or unintentionally went to bed without gearing up.
What do I dread more than a night using cpap? A night without it. Yep. I said that.

Now if my limb movements would just act right I'd be the queen of the night. But even with my continued issues, I'm so grateful for the experience of sleep that cpap has given me. I get emotional just thinking about it. The first time it happened, I felt I'd been drugged, but it was just real sleep. I honestly didn't remember sleep feeling that GOOD - ever! I'd gladly go thru all my early cpap struggles again since I know where they led me. Thanks to those who blazed the trail.

Kathy

SharkBait wrote:I'm pretty sure that RG and these other notables set their auto machines on the nightstands the first night they got them ... < snipped the blah, blah, blah>

Well, I'm ABSOLUTELY SURE that's not how it went for RG. In fact, had it not been for -SWS's help, after her first weeks on autopap RG was beginning to think (seriously) that it was gonna take a bilevel machine set for IPAP 25 / EPAP 20 to treat her. (11 or 12 does just fine, thank goodness. )

DorisC wrote:I can't imagine RG, wulfman, Hawthorne, SAG, dsm, Goofproof, SWS, gumbyCT, and all the others ever going through the newbie stage.

Former "newbie -SWS" reporting in for reminiscing duty!

My newbie stage was several years and a couple message boards ago. I struggled with the Breeze nasal pillows. They were the only nasal pillows on the market since the patent hadn't expired yet. And those nasal pillows hurt like the dickens no matter what I tried. So I decided to simply wait until my nostrils "toughened up". Those were not great sleep nights, but they were far better than not being treated. And long before my nostrils even had a chance to develop the slight calluses I had hoped for, I quickly developed the mouth leaks from hell, so to speak. They were mouth leaks that meteorologists and amateur tornado trackers would have paid good money to watch with night-vision goggles. That was when I abandoned the Breeze and switched to the full-face mask model that I use to this day. I lost count of how many identical full-face masks I have gone through over the years.

It's consoling to hear Rested Gal and Ozij say that they are not experts---when, in fact, they really are two of our best experts. It's consoling because I happen to feel that way as well. And I think the reason our resident experts feel that way may be because sleep apnea and its therapies are chocked full of many, MANY more questions than answers.

The good news is that short list doesn't reflect the majority of expertise on this message board. Case in point: Kathy walked in, and I personally consider her one of our keen experts. Hypothetically take away those wonderful posters, and the majority of expertise remains on this message board in my opinion. And that says something about the depth and breadth of knowledge this absolutely amazing message board has managed to accrue over the years.

I started studying sleep in earnest in February 1996, posted as deltadave on TAS and here, was a moderator on ASAA as sleepydave before a falling out because of philosophical differences, starting posting as a guest here because I really didn't have a "cool" forum name and all the good names were already taken (like -SWS and Rested Gal)(OK, maybe not Rested Gal) and then just morphed into SAG. Maybe one of these days I'll get a "cool" name. Like "Ice". That would be pretty cool.

SharkBait wrote:I'm pretty sure that RG and these other notables set their auto machines on the nightstands the first night they got them, strapped on their masks after a 10 minute inspection at which time they added their own personal mods, and laid down for a quick 8 hour rest of 0.0 leaks and 0.1 AHI's...

AND I WON'T LISTEN TO ANYONE THAT CLAIMS OTHERWISE!!!!

*plugs ears*
*makes annoying "NYAH!" noise over and over*

Actually, the longest I've used ANY device relating to PAP therapy in a single sitting (and never supine) is about 10 minutes, have never slept with any of it, used overnight oximetry once to get a file for data processing for a software program, and that's pretty much it.

SAG

Sharkbait, that's why I started this thread, because I just couldn't get that same picture out of my head that these experts just plugged it in, slapped it on, lights out for 8hrs, good stretch in the morning! Somehow these responses have me a little teary-eyed, don't know why, I'm just emotional about you guys, I guess. Did you know that RG's first posts were asking about new designs for cpap like "autos",etc, and she was looking at "comparison charts"? And Kathy had many sleepless nights and asked many questions? Guess what I'll be doing for the next few days? It's OK, I'm retired and have nothing else to do! Thanks again.

I have found that the easiest way to get to any user's earliest posts on this board is to click on the user's name or avatar next to a post by that user, then, under "user statistics," click on "search user's posts," and go to the earliest post that way. I have found that to be easier than going to the alphabetical listing.