CPAPtalk.com

ozij wrote:Would anyone mind saving me some google time, and explaining what "Cheers" is?
Thanks
O.

Sure. That was the name of a popular TV comedy series in the U.S. about the regular patrons of a neighborhood bar. The bar was named "Cheers."

The theme song had a line in it... "where everybody knows your name..."

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=ch ... &oq=cheers+

Thanks!
O.

Well mine is interesting. I am a sleep tech and I was diagnosed in Jan 2006. I had no one really to ask for guidance, so I found this site and have perused it almost every working night since then. I was the first tech to work full time in this lab and was without a clue about wearing cpap (until I had to really wear cpap). I now send every titrated patient home with a cpaptalk brochure....I have much better insight on the ins and outs, trials and tribulations, good masks, bad mask, etc,etc Thanks to all of you!!! I hope to see some of my patients answer this poll.
lmmo

ozij wrote:I found cpaptalk a short while after I found talkaboutsleep. I was very happy to see Rested Gal and -SWS here - had gotten to know their posts on TAS. Eventually I found myself spending more and more time here - and less (by now its none...) there. But talkaboutsleep was really very good for me as a newbie - and I was a newbie here too.

That was 4 years ago

Would anyone mind saving me some google time, and explaining what "Cheers" is?
Thanks
O.

Here's another link that will give you some more information about it and the people who were in the show.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083399/


I actually spent a little time on the other forums.....mostly reading and a few guest postings.....but this is the FIRST one I had exposure to and the only one (apnea forum) I've ever been a registered member of. And, yes, I did see alot of the same people sharing their knowledge on the others.

Den

My story is identical to Den's except for the time frame. After my sleep study but before choosing a mask and machine I started doing some research. Didn't take long to find this site and see its merit.

What bothers me about referring people here is how they still sometimes won't listen. There is someone at the other site that had their sleep study. I told them to come over here and read and insist on getting a prescription written for what THEY want. Did they do that? No. So now they are stuck with a basic CPAP. They didn't even get a properly titrated pressure (they had a hard time sleeping so the titration didn't find the right pressure before the study was over). The doctor recognized that and got them an APAP but it was only borrowed for a couple of weeks. Now they are back on the plain CPAP with no way to monitor their progress.

Babette wrote:I've been a member of numerous online groups since 1998. I knew there had to be something out there for cpap patients, and just went surfing for it. On my first hit I landed here and haven't felt the need to visit those "other" sites other than for curiousity. Found them far inferior to this one, so I just stayed here.

Cheers,
B.

Pretty much the same here, I started researching while waiting for my appointment with the sleep doc after my regular doctor told me she was pretty sure I had apnea.

In all fairness to my sleep doc, he did strongly suggest buying all my equipment online [at least here in NM, the OOP price at cpap.com is lower than the 30-40% copay w/ insurance) and finding an online community, though not these sites specifically.

I choose reserch, but technically I suppose I should thank my sleep tech. As I left my first sleep study she said, "I would start reserching CPAP". I found this site, but I didn't spend much time, kept it as possible reference. My first week on CPAP was hell, and my DME wasn't much help, didn't know what to do about rainout. This was the first place I thought of, so back I came and I've stayed.

After I finally got my CPAP full meal deal I was having problems for a week or so with bad leaks, sore nose, sore upper lip, and thought maybe someone on the internet might know something useful about cpap. So I typed in https://www.cpap.com, got the website, saw the link for the forum, and found out how to solve my problems and figured out how to make the therapy work. Many thanks to those who have gone before me for your help!

My first post at any forum anywhere was made here after I had had my machine about a week. I posted as a guest. Slinky thanked me for my post. That made a big impression on me and made me feel free to join, to post again, and to tell my story. I was frightened by the whole forum experience, though, and that came through in my post. Slinky replied with the perfect words: "You're doing just fine. Don't be bashful."

She may regret having said that now!

Anyone offended by any of my past or future posts can blame Slinky for my being here.

I share that story, though, to make the point that what we say to guests and newbies here, how we treat them, can make a big difference in people's lives. I know because it has in mine.

jeff

( viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31896&p=276820#p276820 )

My answer was reasearch on my own but it was more like dumb luck.

Like others, I found this site in desperation. My sleep apnea equipment was "dumped" in my lap in the middle of January. The R.T. gave me brief run down of the equipment, told me to put the mask on and tighten it 'til it didn't leak. I protested that the mask
mashed my nose down and I couldn't breathe. His reply, "You're one of those who is doomed to failure"

I came home tried to assemble the equipment, but everything leaked, I thought, the R.T. was right, "I am doomed to failure"

I ranted to myself, "This isn't fair, to H--- with sticking a hot hair dryer up my nose." The DME and the Dr were impersonal objects doing the necessary amount, but not a drop more. Then in desperation I turned on the computer, typed in the words sleep apnea, hoping I would find some instructions for my equipment. The first site to appear was Cpaptalk.com. There I found knowledgeable people, funny people, friendly people and creative problem solvers. I also found people who, surprisingly wanted to help a stranger trying to understand the introcities of that mysterious condition--sleep apnea--. My heart is filled with awe and appreciation for the strangers who have become friends.

I know I would not have made it without the help that was so freely given to me.
Jan

I joined 11 days after starting therapy.

I had a looooong 11 days, the mask wouldnt fit right, leaks, couldnt sleep more than about 4 hours with it.

I knew I HAD TO BE SUCCESFUL at this. I was falling asleep everywhere, driving, at work, in meetings, etc. I was missing spending time with my son.
After throwing my mask across the room one night and declaring i was done with this, the next day I figured there had to be help out there somewhere.
Luckily this was the first result that popped up in google. I have gotten the help here my doc and DME were unable to provide.
THANK YOU EVERYONE

I found this place at another forum -- I think it's called ApneaSupport - it's the one that provides very little information, tells you to go see your doctor and is pretty heavily censored (IMHO). There was some post I was reading that mentioned this forum and I've been here ever since.

I was very fortunate to have found any of the forums quite a bit before I actually got my machine. Once I got my diagnosis, being the geek that I am, I started searching for information. Thankfully I got here 3 months before I actually got my machine, so I knew what I wanted, wouldn't settle for anything less and thanks to members was well prepared to start my treatment (which I couldn't wait for -- I was sooooooo tired of being tired). I even had the software and reader before I had my machine - like I said, I wasn't going to settle for anything less than what I wanted, so I knew which software and reader to acquire.
My sleep doc was GREAT!!!! She was extremely supportive and when I made the case for an Auto machine, she wrote the script, faxed it and I had it the next day or two....
Thanks to this forum!!!!!!
cheers
goose

PS...this forum is still great for everyone, but I sure miss snoredog!!!!!!RIP