Another OSA forum??

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:50 am

tomjax wrote:Looks like AWAKE has entered the ring with another forum that looks a lot like this one.
http://www.awakeinamerica.org/Forum/
How many do we need?

Just to clarify... the awake in america forum is NOT the forum that is sponsored by the American Sleep Apnea Association (ASA) which sponsors AWAKE. Their forum can be found at apneasupport.org.

That being said... I have stated previously that IMHO it would be better if these groups would capitalize on existing successful forums rather than start their own and dilute the focus.

sleepy gal · Post by **sleepy gal** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:57 am

OOPS! Sorry about that! Should have been TomJax, not JPZ!!! Shows you that I still need to be working on my CPAP issues, I still have Brain Fog!

Apologies to you JPZ. You were indeed defending the idea that there are no stupid questions!

Jetmech · Post by **Jetmech** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 9:08 am

Hi everyone! Sorry if I offended anyone with my last post,(takes off boot,removes sock,inserts foot in mouth) was going to have steak for lunch today but will have to settle for fillet of sole!! I jumped to a conclusion: with out completely reading all the posts on this thread,and no Iam a middle aged fart.(

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 11:05 am

Thanks, Lori.

O.

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 11:11 am

O:

I mean every word of it.

L

SnoreNoMore2005 · Post by **SnoreNoMore2005** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 7:10 pm

I have been a CPAP user for about six or seven weeks so I guess that makes me a newbie. This forum has been a godsend to me and I honestly don't know what I would have done without it.

When I first asked some questions, I felt like they were probably already asked and I wasn't sure if I would be 'flamed' for asking questions that were already asked and answered somewhere in the bowels of these threads. What I found instead were many people more than willing to provide me with help and support even though I don't think I invented any new questions. I don't think I will ever be able to thank them enough.

Having said that, I think it makes a lot of sense to have separate sections in this busy forum that would help us navigate to the area we want to read about. A section for newbies, a CPAP equipment specific section, a section on sleep techniques, a mask section, etc., just makes a lot of sense.

Having forum sections would by no means serve to discourage new people from asking questions. It would simply help everyone find the type of information they are looking for more quickly.

IMHO a forum with as much activity as this one is rapidly outgrowing the "one section fits all" approach of smaller less active forums.

Best to All
SnoreNoMore2005

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 8:55 pm

[quote="tomjax"]Looks like AWAKE has entered the ring with another forum that looks a lot like this one.
http://www.awakeinamerica.org/Forum/
How many do we need?
I am aware of sleepnet.com, TAS, several at yahoogroups.com.
Any thoughts on these others and any I have missed?
Biggest problem I have with this one is that every few days a newbie comes in and reinvents the wheel by asking the same old questions that have been covered about a billion times.
Oh well.
thought for the day:
"Don't criticize your wife. If she were perfect, she would have married much better than you."

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 10:36 pm

Well, I've been reading this whole thread & it probably doesn't need another opinion, but I'll weigh in with mine anyway. Never let it be said that common sense could shut me up!

First, I agree with the many posters on this thread and a lot of other threads that feel this forum is an absolute Godsend. For whatever reason, for me at least, this forum just seems to feel right. Something I probably couldn't define, but I'm sure thankful for.

Secondly, I don't much care how many other forums there are. I can barely keep up with this one. As long as it's fulfilling my needs, I don't feel the need to go anywhere else. If it's not fulfilling someone elses needs, I don't see any reason why there shouldn't be other forums they might find more to their liking. The fact is, whether we agree or not, other forums may crop up on the internet & there's nothing we could do about it even if we wanted to. That's just the unregulated, free-wheeling nature of the internet & I think one of its greatest values & one of the reasons for its phenomenal growth.

Thirdly, I'm not sure I'd want to see too much compartmentalization of topics, trying to fit each posting into one pigeonhole or another. Some of the most valuable information & hints I've seen on this forum were posted on a thread with a title I might not have otherwise visited. So if you really want to mine for great tidbits & information of value to you, sometimes it's best to surf the forum like you might on your TV til something catches your eye. WillSucceed included an excellent analysis of several different xPAP machines on a topic titled "APAP vs. BiPAP for aerophagia". I don't even know why I was in that topic, as thankfully I've never suffered from Aerophagia. But I'm glad I did stumble in, otherwise I'd have missed WillSucceed's excellent post.

And last but not least, I've been on (& off & on & off & on...) CPAP therapy since 2000. You sure can't consider me a newbie to OSA, but until I stumbled onto this site, my compliance was spotty at best. On this site, I definitely was a newbie earlier this year.

And oh, by the way, I sure like the term "newcomer" instead of "newbie". Thanks to whomever came up with that.

If gaining useful information, inspiration & support from this site has helped me be much more compliant with my CPAP therapy, what more can be said? I mentioned WillSucceed's excellent comparison of different xPAP machines - if you've read it, I'm sure you'll agree it's definitely not the work of a "newcomer". But witness what WillSucceed posted later in the same thread:

WillSucceed wrote:... adjusting to treatment is, as you have said, highly individual. The beauty of this forum is that we all get to learn from one another.

Quite frankly, I think that this forum has saved my life. I have learned so much over the months that I have been reading/posting -I never would have obtained a quarter of this info if I was left solely in the hands of the Sleep Quack and his minions.

What more can I add?

rpalmer · Post by **rpalmer** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 10:45 pm

Can't believe I got "guested" - guess it happens to everyone once in awhile. Or my brain fog is winning!

That last long, long post was me. Sorry 'bout that.

Rol

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:46 am

I probably shouldn't be posting here, for I'm the enemy since I've volunteered on one of the "other" forums. But there was something about rpalmer's posts that kinda got to me.

I don't visit here much anymore, but I do visit. I can't help it. I'm not scoping out the place. I'm "coming home" for a visit. That's just how I feel about it. Since finding cpaptalk last November, nothing has been quite the same. There are times I get downright weepy thinking about all the wonderful people I've "met" here, people who have made me feel less like a freak and more like a human being again. ... Pretty gooey, huh? ....

This place does have a nice feel to it. Most of it good. And, be honest, some not always perfect. Like most "homes," things can get a little dysfunctional at times. Some people stay put here, as I had done. Others liked to visit all the different forums or maybe a couple. Some prefered discussion boards, others preferred the chatrooms. My point is, I don't know if I could have kept up with my treatment if it weren't for this discussion board and more importantly, all the people I've met here. Home is where the people are, and the more homes, the merrier.

As to newbies. Well, anyone that knows me, I love to greet the newbies. We all have our favorite thing, and that is mine. I don't know how many times I've heard new people apologize and embarrassingly say they have nothing to contribute. .... Hogwash... The WHOLE POINT OF THESE FORUMS is for the newbies. If we were content with how things were going or had sufficient opportunities to talk about our condition to our real world, we wouldn't be here any longer. The whole point of this forum is for us to get and give our support, and hopefully go off and have happy, healthy lives. It's the newbies from whom I draw my strength. They remind me time and time again of what it's like to have sleep apnea and how overwhelming starting treatment was. They remind me of why I shouldn't give up. So if you're new, or new again, like rpalmer, you all are so incredibly important to this forum. Don't let a single person make you feel otherwise.

End of soap box speech. ........ Sorry.

Linda

sir_cumference · Post by **sir_cumference** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:53 am

LDuyer - you preach it sister !!!
sir_cumference

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:55 am

sir_cumference wrote:LDuyer - you preach it sister !!!
sir_cumference

.... Was it too much? ...

Thanks.

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 8:00 am

LDuyer,

I couldn't have said it better myself. Support is what this place is all about and we are one big family of people who share not only an afflication, but our love, concern and knowledge with each other. I think I'll be here long after I need to be just to give back a little piece of what I've gotten and to stay connected to the wonderful people I've come to know.

Well said, LD...

rpalmer · Post by **rpalmer** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:56 pm

LDuyer wrote:I probably shouldn't be posting here, for I'm the enemy since I've volunteered on one of the "other" forums. But there was something about rpalmer's posts that kinda got to me.

Linda - I sure hope I didn't leave the wrong impression. I think we're all (you, me, Sleepless on Li, Sir_Cumference, et al) saying pretty much the same thing, you're just saying it a lot more eloquently than I did.

I certainly don't feel like you're the enemy, nor have I ever seen anything here that would make me think anyone else does, either. Frankly, if you're spending time on other forums, that's just their gain & this forum's loss. I don't think you have anything but friends here & I think everyone values your input whenever you can jump in.

Rol

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 9:50 pm

rpalmer wrote: I sure hope I didn't leave the wrong impression. I think we're all (you, me, Sleepless on Li, Sir_Cumference, et al) saying pretty much the same thing, you're just saying it a lot more eloquently than I did.

I certainly don't feel like you're the enemy, nor have I ever seen anything here that would make me think anyone else does, either. Frankly, if you're spending time on other forums, that's just their gain & this forum's loss. I don't think you have anything but friends here & I think everyone values your input whenever you can jump in.

Rol

Aww, those were such nice words!
You did not leave the wrong impression.
Such nice words. Is it my birthday, or what??
Thanks, fellow Marylander.

Linda

Another OSA forum??

Re: Another OSA forum??

Another Forum?

Newbie post

Re: Another OSA forum??

Another Forum?

Oops. Sorry!

Mask