CPAPtalk.com

virgo RT wrote: So really i mean no harm, just trying to help!!!!
sincerely,
Yvette

virgo RT, I'm going to make some suggestions.

1.I suggest that you revisit your posts and especially
some of your replies. There are important messages there,
for you.
2.Maybe you are the exception to the rule.
3.I suggest that this could be a two way street.
You could learn from us and we could learn from you,
on an equal ground. Let's have a mutually respectful dialogue.
4.Maybe your desire to be a change agent is not here,
but in your own house.

It's a journey. All things for a reason.
Each of us has been chosen to be in this place,
at this time. Let's work, together, to discover
why and what each of our roles are, here.

Amen, CarbonMan, amen. Youse is wise beyond your many, many years.

What Jeff said.

jules wrote:

virgo RT wrote: I did point out that i was a RRT because in one topic it asked for professional advice.

[/quote]

Virgo, I didn't go back and read this entire thread but you may have noticed on other posts that we refer to our long-time cpap users as our "experts" or "pros". We know they're not trained medical professionals and they'll be the first to tell you that when encountering a complicated situation. But on matters of machine use ,masks ,interpreting data reports, tips and fixes,and everything related to cpap therapy, they are experts. Most of us would have given up if not for them. It would be nice to have you on this forum just to keep our pros on their toes! Hey that rhymes!

Virgo, any medical " professional " who comes here needs to have a thick skin and be prepared to be flamed.

Don't take it personally.

So many here have been victimized by incompetent, uncaring, nincompoop so called doctors, nurses, DME's, and RT's and they are like a bear with a sore paw.

I'm sure you have the best of intentions and hopefully you will be able to find your way here and stick around long enough to be accepted.

New hoseheads are welcomed with open arms ... medical people from the sleep arena ... not so much.

It has nothing to do with you, really.

The problem is that it seems like at least 80% of the people working in the sleep apnea and DME area are either incompetent or scammers or rip off artists.

Like my DME. I call up and order just a mask cushion. I tell them " all I want is a cushion .. the mask frame and hoses and filters are fine .. I've got a collection of hoses ".

Package comes and I get the full mask and a hose and filters. Because Medicare allows them to rip the system off.

The sleep doctor writes a prescription for a cpap machine for a newbie and the DME tries to stick them with the cheapest thing he has and the insurance codes allow him to bill the same as a better machine so he makes a double fortune and doesn't give a damn about helping the patient.

The stories you will see here of incompetent people and people who are just out to make the most they can from the people will keep you reading for hours.

So just relax, understand where they are coming from, and let flames just roll over you and don't get your feelings hurt.

If you can stick around long enough you may well get accepted but it will take a bit longer.

Some of the people here have acquied fairly extensive knowledge through their personal experience.

I have to say, I'm a total newbie to these boards, as well as CPAP usage, but such topics being the first ones I run across, and such seeming hostility towards someone who'd said they just want to help, well, it doesn't exactly make me feel like I should stick around. Doesn't seem like people should have to have a thick skin to add their thoughts and opinions, professional or not, so long as they're not telling people they're stupid or being jerks about it.

brianarn wrote:I have to say, I'm a total newbie to these boards, as well as CPAP usage, but such topics being the first ones I run across, and such seeming hostility towards someone who'd said they just want to help, well, it doesn't exactly make me feel like I should stick around. Doesn't seem like people should have to have a thick skin to add their thoughts and opinions, professional or not, so long as they're not telling people they're stupid or being jerks about it.

I understand that reaction. And I respect it. And I agree with the sentiment. But what Willie is talking about, I think, is the long history of people (usually guest posters) coming to this board and saying something like: "I just stumbled onto this sorry forum. All you people on this board don't have a clue and are spewing a bunch of garbage and misleading people. You should all be banned from the internet. I know this because I am a professional and I know everything about CPAP and you people are saying things that can kill people without having a license that allows you to do that." Or the like.

So the reaction I think Willie is describing is more a reaction here to the hostility shown by a few guest forum trolls who like to come here and claim to be RTs or sleep techs or doctors, but obviously know very little and have nothing to add other than attacking the fact that a board like this one is even allowed to exist. Whenever one of them says something that someone else rightly questions, the guest tends to say: "Look, you can't question me because I am a [whatever]. You people need to shut up and listen while I tell you how things really are."

It puts a bad taste in the mouths of many in forums when someone walks in and thinks they can earn respect by flashing a badge or bragging about credentials. Anyone who does that is likely to get quizzed, in any forum, to see if there is any chance what he or she is claiming to be is remotely possible. Such credential-flashing posters tend to take that as hostility or flaming.

A few, a very few, on this forum tend to take out their own personal frustrations on those claiming to be professionals. This is basically an unmoderated forum, so the fact that it happens, and that Willie has explained one reason why, should not be a reason to judge the helpfulness of many others in this forum.

So, please, do not misread this thread, or any similar one, as widespread disdain for professionals. Some of the longtime posters here ARE professionals in related fields and some even in the sleep medicine field. Others are very experienced users who have helped me a lot as well. So stick around and judge for yourself. You will quickly learn who has helpful advice and who doesn't. And it won't matter to you how they got to be so helpful; you'll just appreciate the help.

jeff

[edit: corrected some of the worst misspells, left the rest]

brianarn wrote:I have to say, I'm a total newbie to these boards, as well as CPAP usage, but such topics being the first ones I run across, and such seeming hostility towards someone who'd said they just want to help, well, it doesn't exactly make me feel like I should stick around. Doesn't seem like people should have to have a thick skin to add their thoughts and opinions, professional or not, so long as they're not telling people they're stupid or being jerks about it.

fwiw- I can say that I lurked here for many months and was a member for quite sometime (maybe 1yr) before I ever saw an angry post. I lurked to see if I wanted to be near some of these people. I don't think I've spent a whole day away since joining. Maybe you need to lurk some more?

For those who make claims here - I am a 44DD on the internet

Time to eat some humble pie.

Keep in mind most of us in all the various apnea support forums ended up here and/or in the other forums BECAUSE we NEEDED to BECAUSE we were NOT getting the help, assistance, advice or even TRUTH from our medical professionals. And keep in mind those of us who have found our way to these various apnea support forums are in the MINORITY.

Jeff, you seem like a pretty awesome guy and like you'd do well as a mediator. That being said, it seems to me that people are having a knee-jerk reaction to said person saying "Hey, I'm an RT" without saying all the other sorts of things as described. There's no justification for being a jerk to a person until they've said something that marks them as such, yes?

Gumby, I've been lurking in a thread or two for info on this new AutoPAP I got (because it's apparently the new hotness from PR), and didn't sign up yet. Telling me to lurk more is like saying "Don't ask questions, just listen for a year like I did", and that's just not me. I have questions about various masks because I've developed a horrendous looking mark on the bridge of my nose, but my rather friendly RT has given me a new mask which may hopefully help. It sounds like I'm lucky to have a generally good RT/DME, although it has only been two weeks, and she does get a bit defensive when I ask things like "Is there a way I can get a copy of EncorePro 2.1 so I can read my own data", as though somehow me having access to daily reports is evil. I'm not trying to self-titrate or anything, I just have questions. Lots of them, which leads to the next reply.

Slinky, I understand what you're saying but it doesn't quite seem related. You had bad experiences with medical professionals, and that absolutely sucks and I'm sorry. You may be here for that reason. Many people may be. I'm not. I'm very much a tech-savvy information-craving geek who wants to know everything he can, and this whole process is immensely daunting and overwhelming. I came over here because I first found another forum where there seemed to be some hostility, and seeing an RT who seemed to get jumped on a bit just for saying she's an RT, well, I can't say it leaves a good taste, as that particular RT hadn't done anything offensive yet, y'know? Seems like everyone deserves a modicum of respect at the outset.

There seems to be a ton of useful info here, so I don't plan on leaving anytime soon. I'm glad to hear that whatever's happened recently isn't the norm. Here's to hoping it's right.

brianarn wrote:Gumby, I've been lurking in a thread or two for info on this new AutoPAP I got (because it's apparently the new hotness from PR)

Oh really? Do you have a copy of a 2.1 report?

Muffy

With that machine you have listed, you may find more of us asking YOU questions than answering yours!

I would assume there is some hostility about something at any forum humans are involved with. Some of it gets aired. Some of it is just below the surface. But if it ain't goin' away on its own, we might as well try to heal what we can and be entertained by the rest, eh?

brianarn wrote:Jeff, you seem like a pretty awesome guy and like you'd do well as a mediator.

Hey, look, man, don't prejudge me! I am not on speaking terms with the braindead RT at my former DME, and I can be just as big a jerk as the next guy when I really put my mind to it!

Hey Jeff, watch who you're calling a jerk! You'll have to prove it to me!

Brian, here comes the first question about the new machine. Can you give us some background and your observations, pros and cons? It looks like a beauty. Thanks.

DoriC wrote:Hey Jeff, watch who you're calling a jerk! You'll have to prove it to me!

Just ask fishhead.

Or my wife.

DoriC wrote: . . . Can you give us some background and your observations, pros and cons? It looks like a beauty. Thanks. . . .

Yes. Please. Details.

DoriC wrote:Brian, here comes the first question about the new machine. Can you give us some background and your observations, pros and cons? It looks like a beauty. Thanks.

Maybe you can start a new thread so it won't be buried in this one. Which, by the way, is the first thread I've seen in about a month and a half since I've been here were folks are getting a little "hot" about the subject matter (I'm echoing Gumby's point about folks being awesome.)