New here

[SleepyKris]

Hi I'm new to the forum and am really enjoying the posts! Lots to read! I am a CPAP user who also happens to be a registered sleep tech, so I really love the perspective this gives me when working with my patients. And I can't wait to find out more "tricks of the trade" so to speak from you all.
I think that, like all other health care descisions, patients are the commanders of their treatment options so I was excited to find this forum!

[Julie]

Hi, how about becoming a registered forum member while you're at it, then go to the User Ctl Panel under the logo, click on it, then Profile, fill in your equipment, etc. (text please) and we'll all be on equal (knowledgable) footing then.... and welcome, of course!

[kaiasgram]

Hi I'm new to the forum and am really enjoying the posts! Lots to read! I am a CPAP user who also happens to be a registered sleep tech, so I really love the perspective this gives me when working with my patients. And I can't wait to find out more "tricks of the trade" so to speak from you all.
I think that, like all other health care descisions, patients are the commanders of their treatment options so I was excited to find this forum!

It's great to have a sleep tech who is also a cpap user on the forum, welcome.

[jweeks]

I am a CPAP user who also happens to be a registered sleep tech, so I really love the perspective this gives me when working with my patients.

Kris,

Welcome to the forum. Being a sleep tech as well as a CPAP user makes you a pretty special person. I get the impression that many of the professionals that I have visited really want to help me, but they don't understand the issues that I have faced. Your patients are really lucky to get to work with someone like you that knows both sides of the story.

Two notes:

1) this forum is a little like the wild west with a lot of folks who have been abandoned by the medical community or who have no financial access to medical help. As a result, you will see some "non-traditional advice" floating past.

2) occasionally sleep techs bear the brunt of it when folks have axes to grind. Please don't be put off if that happens. I already know that your heart is in the right place and you have a lot to offer.

-john-

[Chikorita]

Hello and welcome. Yes, sometimes people have bad experiences with sleep techs. I hope you don't get put off by this. People here are very welcoming and patient. I have learned heaps and am so grateful for the knowledge shared here.

[desmondwl]

I to am a Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (RPSGT) who for quite some time has been following this forum (although rarely make a post). I like to come here to see what CPAP users really go through once they leave the sleep lab. It's amazing what I gleam from here vs. what the patient will tell you about their first CPAP experience in the lab. Even during a re-titration the patient will not always tell you what you need to make sure you can get them where they need to be as far as mask fit, type etc. I will especially take noticed here when a techs actions are on the negative side of the bar. I always tell the patients that the most important thing is to like your mask and don't let some DME person talk you into a mask you don't like. If ya like it you will probably use it.

I to use CPAP (almost 4 years now). Difference between night and day.

[Xney]

My DME has been really good, and their techs very experienced and helpful for the most part. But I've read some stories and experiences here that just make my jaw drop. Hope the research and info here helps you do a better job! It's great when the techs are xPAP users - I think that helps a lot.

#1 thing I think DME techs could do more of besides explaining mask comfort is explaining how masks should fit and seal, rather than tighten to seal. I didn't understand it until my third or fourth mask try - I let them tighten it until it sealed because I thought it was supposed to be like that. (DME prior to my current one) My first sleep titration they just tightened that sucker down! Ouch.

Good luck dealing with us. *grin*

[zoocrewphoto]

I had a really good experience at my sleep study. My sleep tech was awesome, picked the Quattro FX for me (I told her I was a mouth breather). She fitted it perfectly without it being too snug, and I slept great. Mine was a split night sleep study associated with a nearby hospital.

My mom has had at least two sleep studies. Both were the two night style of study at a different sleep lab. One was 2 years ago. One was almost 20 years ago. I don't know if she had any others. She had bad experiences at hers.

It seems to be the luck of the draw. Some techs know how to make it a good experience, and for some, it is probably just a job. Same as any other type of job. There will always be people who are awesome at the job, some good, and some bad. This just happens to be one of those things where it can make a huge difference in somebody's long term health. I know my sleep tech got me off to a great start. I had good useful data with a spot on titration. And I knew which mask would be my ideal mask. And when I struggled with fitting it, I didn't give up because I knew it could fit correctly.

My mom, on the other hand, had hit and miss treatment as she never got the ideal settings, and didn't want to go back. I avoided telling my doctor about my sleep apnea for years because of my mom's experiences. So, her sleep doctors and sleep labs actually discouraged me getting treatment.

And my sleep tech and sleep doctor got my mom going again too. My mom saw my mask, tried it on, and got one for herself too. She hadn't used her machine in over a year. After my 6 week review with my sleep doctor, I let my mom use my machine for half a night twice, before I went to bed. She had an old brick from 2004. My machine provided data that showed her prescription was not successfully treating her. She got an appointment with my sleep doctor, and she has had her new machine (with full data) for a month now.

I have also been trying to help friends when I hear they have sleep apnea but do not use a cpap machine. So, perhaps my sleep tech and sleep doctor are helping even more people indirectly because of the people they treat directly.

[lazer]

.... occasionally sleep techs bear the brunt of it when folks have axes to grind. Please don't be put off if that happens. I already know that your heart is in the right place and you have a lot to offer.

-john-

This! Welcome to all sleep techs here personally, by me! This is an open community here with all types of personalities.

Please do stick around and participate.

We recently had what I feel was a very knowledgeable and helpful "sleep tech" on this board who seems to have been chased off by one negative comment by one user suggesting that their advise given in some posts wasn't appropriate. It was very disheartening to see this tech go back and edit/delete all their very informative posts and opinions and fade off into the sunset..