Hi Cpaptalk.com

[jnk]

My wife has the looks and brains and manners. I have only the mischief and mustache. The direct sunlight in that avatar shot obscured my reddish hairline, I guess. This shot at the following website is fairly recent too . . .

http://jeffkelley.weebly.com/

My wife's favorite things about me are my glasses and mustache--anything to help cover up this face!

PST, you remind me of several members of my family. Was anyone in your family ever a mailman in Kentucky?

[PST]

My wife has the looks and brains and manners. I have only the mischief and mustache. The direct sunlight in that avatar shot obscured my reddish hairline, I guess. This shot at the following website is fairly recent too . . .

http://jeffkelley.weebly.com/

My wife's favorite things about me are my glasses and mustache--anything to help cover up this face!

PST, you remind me of several members of my family. Was anyone in your family ever a mailman in Kentucky?

Yes, it does obscure a fine head of hair. I withdraw my comment. I will have to search for my doppelganger elsewhere. I actually look quite a bit like Karl Rove these days.

[DoriC]

. . . your new avatar . . .

Thanks for noticing the avatar, Dori.

I thought that if I posted my ugly mug, maybe the other kids here in the playground would feel sorry for me and treat me better.

I noticed it immediately. It made me think you and I could be in one of those "separated at birth" spreads. (My scalp and face both have less hair than they did in the photo I use as my avatar.) Presumably Dori would find me cute as well.

I do like the outdoor type!! And you and jnk do look somewhat alike so that should tell you something!

[Mr Concerned]

Has it truly become the consensus on this side of the internet that anyone can practice medicine?

Would it be practicing medicine to suggest that you take a couple of Tylenol for that pounding headache you have right about now?

If you have to ask yourself 'Is it practicing medicine when......' ask yourself this question instead. "Would a school nurse be allowed to...."

[Mr Concerned]

Obviously, "Mr. Concerned" has gone home.
I shudder to think he/she might be a tech in a sleep lab--probably not!
It obviously knows NOTHING about OSA or the treatment details and difficulties so many here have had to deal with.
Somebody should be concerned about unemployment, should the boss walk in and discover somebody goofing off on the Internet.

????????

[kaiasgram]

My wife has the looks and brains and manners. I have only the mischief and mustache. The direct sunlight in that avatar shot obscured my reddish hairline, I guess. This shot at the following website is fairly recent too . . .

http://jeffkelley.weebly.com/

My wife's favorite things about me are my glasses and mustache--anything to help cover up this face!

PST, you remind me of several members of my family. Was anyone in your family ever a mailman in Kentucky?

I'm listening to "Never Really Over" as I'm writing this, Jeff. Wow! If Dori listens to you she might just start swooning.

Your music, John's art, what a talented group. Thanks for sharing.

[Mr Concerned]

3 pages and no one even approaches my question.

[jnk]

Actually, there were two questions.

The answers are:

(1) it isn't,

and

(2) no.

[Lazer1234]

Actually, there were two questions.

The answers are:

(1) it isn't,

and

(2) no.

Correct answer.

[Madbear]

I thought this troll infestation had been dealt with. Are there no troll exterminators on this forum?

Wow 33 posts in two days plus at least 3 others while registered as Danny A. Hole. Its a shame you were not able to register your full user name of Mr Concerned about my Sleep Apnea Goldmine drying up because the Suckers went and got Edumicated on the Internet.

Anyway back to your question - I like to practice medicine on the internet because it is fun, because it gives me a chance to short circuit the vermin who seek to financially exploit people's health issues and because the world is over-populated anyway (as you have clearly evidenced). Further to this might I suggest you take a very large mug of STFU - no prescription required.

[chunkyfrog]

+1

[ChicagoGranny]

I thought this troll infestation had been dealt with.

They die in 24 hours if they are not fed. But this OP has been fed for 3+ pages.

[Mr Concerned]

I thought this troll infestation had been dealt with.

They die in 24 hours if they are not fed. But this OP has been fed for 3+ pages.

[Mr Concerned]

... we'll develop what ever workarounds we can for poor service.

Why does one necessarily need "workarounds"? While admittedly this whole thing will take a while to settle out, there will be plenty of opportunities for motivated individuals to create needed, high quality services.

For instance, with competitive bidding and reduced reimbursement, live-person DMEs are becoming a rarity.

In order to fulfill this need, why not create a Sleep Disordered Breathing Specialist, versed in xPAP adherence? Put together a 40 hour course based on CPAP Basics and off you go.

(Yes it can be done. A 40-hour course is what PSG Techs get.)

Actually we could completely forgo even that. Most DME techs are trained in Xpap adherence and they are usually ex-respiratory techs.

[Mr Concerned]

I think the avatar you have is quite telling ... you appear to be hiding behind a costume. Would this be a drive-by attack? I will admit I am guilty of doing that to another forum. It didn't help so I stopped. Is this retaliation?

I won't put words in everyone's mouth, but I believe the vast majority here believe we are NOT practicing medicine. We are sharing our knowledge freely. I can't believe how many people are given a simple brick of a CPAP machine and sent on their way with little regard to anything but whether they are compliant. They're trying! They can't get to sleep, or they can and still feel awful so why bother? Well we try very hard to help those people find a cause so they can continue with therapy. I believe we expect that person to ALSO be working with their extended medical team, of which they need to be a part. Anyone, doctor, patient, whatever, deserves the ability to be able to learn as much as possible about any of their medical conditions, therapy, and treatment. How can that be wrong?

Heya Khauser, how you doing. I can appreciate how you feel about this. But let me direct you to a quote from another forum user....

We need a moderator. Bottom line: we didn't ask for "professional" help, we don't want "professional" help, if we wanted "professional" help we would have gone out and found some as there are lots for hire. This is a peer support board. Whether it is Calist, reincarnations of Calist, friends of Calist, or other roaming sleep techs with nothing better to do - we don't want them here, we don't want to hear them babble, we want them to shut up and go away.

Do you really want to spend your time dodging preachers and intrusive posts - or can we just get rid of these people and go back to the place we were before all this hit the fan? Ignoring them has not worked. There are lots of good and interesting people here. Lets give them the peer support environment they deserve. We are attracting to many flies. Time to get an exterminator.

Now- please understand that things have indeed changed since then. I am not sure if there is a time stamp on this quote however I can assure you it was from 2010. There has always been an anti-establishment attitude on this forum. The pre-calist environment was one of alternative medicine and rampant misrepresentation. Calist himself found this forum via a youtube video where a man was trying to peddle alternate treatments to cpap. He used cpaptalk.com as 'proof' as a reference.

People like to share their stories and situation on forums and when this happens there are a host of others who will try to step in and help that individual. That is a very noble thing to do. The download is that a small percentage of those helping have a tendency to feel that medicine is a scam and that they themselves have the power (with the use of google) to be just as effective as the entire medical community. Even more so. Because unlike the medical community they feel that they are immune to corruption.

This forum has come a long way since that time. But I would hate to see it slide back to the way that it once was.