CPAPtalk.com

Husky Lover wrote:Whew, I just read through ALL the posts and here is my summary. ResMed and Respironic auto paps both get you to your destination. But just as GPS navigators do, they may not take the same roads.

-SWS wrote: I will say that the newcomer threads I usually get involved in are the ones where problems don't seem to be getting resolved after pages and pages of the usual support. I usually limit myself to those newcomer threads because I am not as adept at describing things in simple terms to newcomers as so many of our wonderful experts are. Quite often I will intentionally use terms that I think those newcomers should research.

Thanks to -SWS, I've done quite a bit of research It's been fun though and I've learned and I think it has kept my mind from rotting away

By contrast, the words we place on these pages can be referred to later. They can be reconsidered and even researched. I personally did not like the apnea message boards many years ago, when there were far fewer advanced concepts discussed, far fewer advanced papers linked, far less understanding in the patient population, and far fewer difficult problems resolved via highly technical message board discussions. By contrast, these days we have some wonderfully advanced posters who regularly share advanced topics with each other, toward that common goal of always learning to help others more efficiently.

Some of the big words make my eyes cross and when I go to some of the links posted it's like walking into a very advanced medical book and then my eyes cross more but I like the option of getting to look at everything. I also appreciate it when folks speak 'normal' talk here too...either way is good with me...but I don't want information to be held back from me just because it might be unpleasant (even if I cry once in a while).

We clearly need to have both beginners' discussions and advanced-topic information sharing. Not that we ever should... but if we were to leave all discussions to common-denominator language and common-denominator concept levels, then we would be back to the old days when patients on the message boards knew comparatively little about all the nuances and complexities of their apnea and treatment. Now days our intermediate-level posters seem to know far more than most of our advanced posters seemed to know seven or eight years ago.

I never want to be a part of dumbing things down to the lowest common denominator...but we don't have to do that here. What is nice is that if I don't understand something, despite my trying to figure it out on my own, there are plenty of folks who can take the hard to understand talk and translate it into more user friendly talk. Rested gal is really nice about putting mumbo jumbo into easily digested words. I think this forum is fantastic and the range of knowledge is something that I treasure.

My gratitude to the many contributors on this message board who are better than I am at conveying wonderfully basic explanations to newcomers!

I really appreciate how much help you have given me -SWS...I think you are doing a great job of making my mind work...I actually go around looking things up because of a lot of you here and that is something that keeps me coming back (along with feeling like I have real friends here). I just can't hang around long if an entire forum is going to talk down to me. At the same time...I do cherish some of the easy to understand posts when I am feeling esp frazzled...what I know though is that when something is too hard to concentrate on, I can come back to it after I have had a long nap and have a much better chance of the info getting through to me.

BTW, rarely will you guys ever hear me give complicated explanations...I'm afraid I will get things wrong...that is why I am more likely to do some cutting and pasting and linking so I can let others can say things better than I think I can say them.

We are very lucky to have this place and each us are a part of what makes this place so good. Oh, this place sometimes reminds me of a big family reunion...and you will walk up to a group where (for example) all the old uncles are in a corner debating the merits of the Resmed vs Respironics algorithm and I just quietly back away and let them talk .
mar

-SWS wrote:

DoriC wrote:Although it's a little OT, I just had a thought about technical phrasing when I read Mars' comment about the word "frank" and how a mere mortal like myself might not understand what that meant as it relates to OA. (I only learned it by Searching here). I was a medical office manager and worked for this one Dr who always forgot to give instructions in layman's terms to our patients and as an example would tell them to take this or that medicine "bid"(2x daily). Because they were feeling too ill or just intimidated by the "white coat", they never questioned him but would always have to come into my office and timidly ask what bid meant. It's over-simplified I know, but I'm sure there's a message in there somewhere relating to this very interesting thread.

riverdreamer wrote:Doric,


---unlike the doctor's fleeting "bid" comment, that may have sent a few puzzled patients in search of their medications on eBay.

I usually limit myself to those newcomer threads because I am not as adept at describing things in simple terms to newcomers as so many of our wonderful experts are

SWS, Ebay,bid?? Very funny! I'm so glad that you readily acknowledge your "shortcomings" in describing things in simple terms to newbies. I confess that at first I was less intimidated by RG, wulfman, Hawthorne and others who did put things in simpler terms and answered many questions I didn't articulate very well(and sometimes had to repeat again and again), so when I started to actually look for and read your posts, and then have some lightbulb moments, I felt like I graduated from grammar school straight into college(well, maybe high school). Thanks for all that you do.

DoriC wrote:I confess that at first I was less intimidated by RG, wulfman, Hawthorne and others who did put things in simpler terms and answered many questions I didn't articulate very well(and sometimes had to repeat again and again)

jnk wrote:It's nice when all the Chevy uncles and all the Ford uncles can feel free to get together and talk pickups. Oh, yeah, and the GM uncles (sorry, Slinky! ).
(Just trying, after my mention of Honda and Toyota, to give equal time to the non-Japanese vehicle manufacturers, while they still exist.)

-SWS wrote:

DoriC wrote:Although it's a little OT, I just had a thought about technical phrasing when I read Mars' comment about the word "frank" and how a mere mortal like myself might not understand what that meant as it relates to OA. (I only learned it by Searching here). I was a medical office manager and worked for this one Dr who always forgot to give instructions in layman's terms to our patients and as an example would tell them to take this or that medicine "bid"(2x daily). Because they were feeling too ill or just intimidated by the "white coat", they never questioned him but would always have to come into my office and timidly ask what bid meant. It's over-simplified I know, but I'm sure there's a message in there somewhere relating to this very interesting thread.

riverdreamer wrote:Doric,

I think what you are saying is very important. Doing medical support work, I was always told to use language that an eigth grade student could understand. Sometimes when we are so caught up in the logic and jargon associated with a particular illness, we forget new people don't have that knowledge. SWS has fully acknowledged this as an issue. Plus, there are people who will NEVER be interested in the details of how it all works, they just want the bottom line. Sometimes the newbies get blown out of the water with all the technical info.

I would say, consider that you are explaining this to a child. Make it as easy to understand as possible. Then there can be second and third line info, for those who want more technical data.

I think these are very good points by DoriC and riverdreamer.

I will say that the newcomer threads I usually get involved in are the ones where problems don't seem to be getting resolved after pages and pages of the usual support. I usually limit myself to those newcomer threads because I am not as adept at describing things in simple terms to newcomers as so many of our wonderful experts are. Quite often I will intentionally use terms that I think those newcomers should research. One distinct advantage of our message-board venue is that our words stay static on the page---unlike the doctor's fleeting "bid" comment, that may have sent a few puzzled patients in search of their medications on eBay.

By contrast, the words we place on these pages can be referred to later. They can be reconsidered and even researched. I personally did not like the apnea message boards many years ago, when there were far fewer advanced concepts discussed, far fewer advanced papers linked, far less understanding in the patient population, and far fewer difficult problems resolved via highly technical message board discussions. By contrast, these days we have some wonderfully advanced posters who regularly share advanced topics with each other, toward that common goal of always learning to help others more efficiently.

We clearly need to have both beginners' discussions and advanced-topic information sharing. Not that we ever should... but if we were to leave all discussions to common-denominator language and common-denominator concept levels, then we would be back to the old days when patients on the message boards knew comparatively little about all the nuances and complexities of their apnea and treatment. Now days our intermediate-level posters seem to know far more than most of our advanced posters seemed to know seven or eight years ago.

My gratitude to the many contributors on this message board who are better than I am at conveying wonderfully basic explanations to newcomers!

For the GoodKnight® 420 CPAP System and GoodKnight® 425 Bi-Level® device, an 'ER 7' (error 7) message indicates the blower will not turn on.

The corrective action is to unplug the device for a few moments then re-apply power. If the 'ER 7' message persists, contact your home care provider from whom the device was purchased. Your home care provider can assist in the replacement of the unit.