Awake meetings

I am curious as to how many people attend awake meetings.

Gerry

Gerryk wrote:I am curious as to how many people attend awake meetings.

Gerry

I haven't been able to locate any near me.

howkim wrote:

Gerryk wrote:I am curious as to how many people attend awake meetings.

Gerry

I haven't been able to locate any near me.

Same here.

What are awake meetings?

I don't know what they are as well??

evbirch wrote:What are awake meetings?

A.W.A.K.E. is the American Sleep Apnea Association's local support groups. You can see if there's a meeting near you here: http://www.sleepapnea.org/awake/index.html.

There are two in my area that meet about once a month, but I haven't attended any meetings yet.

~ DreamOn

I've attended 3 AWAKE meetings.
Two were vendor fairs. They were interesting but nothing to write home about.
I won a door prize, though. It was a HUGH coffee cup.
I use it for my am oatmeal.

One was billed as a cpap users education seminar.
It was nothing more than marketing propaganda and miss information seminar.
I think AWAKE is a joke.
How can you support cpap patients w/BS meetings once a month.

I've been to exactly one.

So far as I know, it's the only one that has been held in the year plus that I've been on xPAP.

Mike over at sleepguide.com got A.W.A.K.E. meetings going again in Manhattan last year, and I've been to a few of the monthly meetings. ( http://www.sleepguide.com/group/manhattanawake )

I have found them to be highly educational and enjoyable, but that may be mostly because Mike is the coordinator and he is a real patient advocate, and Dr. Park is usually there to make sure all the pros behave.

At the last one I made it to, Dr. Anita Bhola gave a slide presentation on PSGs that was absolutely amazing. There was stuff in her presentation to help patients and professionals alike. ( http://www.sleepguide.com/group/manhatt ... terpreting ) At an earlier meeting, Dr. Park gave a lecture that helped me to understand UARS a little bit better.

The DME people are there to make contacts with the sleep docs, and the manufacturers sometimes have reps to field questions on their products. Mike makes sure that the value of the Internet forums gets mentioned and stresses the importance of patients' having efficacy-data machines. (The DMEs cringe a little, but play along to be a part of the gig.) Patients ask questions and get real help. I have found it a good place to talk to some of the more timid patients after the meeting and to point them to cpaptalk.com. The ASAA philosophy for these groups states, "The structure of self-help groups should be that they are run by and for the people affected by sleep apnea, with the professional in an ancillary role." ( http://www.sleepapnea.org/awake/faqs.html#Q5 ) Mike does a great job of sticking to that purpose.

I can't say I'm fully on board with the ASAA on everything (maybe this is why: http://www.sleepapnea.org/donors/index.html), but I think the idea behind A.W.A.K.E. is a good thing. However, I also think the nature of the meetings may vary quite a bit depending on location. I have a feeling that maybe the high quality of the Manhattan A.W.A.K.E. meetings may be above and beyond the usual, from what I've read about other meetings elsewhere.

jeff

I am surprised no groups have formed as a result of the interaction on this board. Has anyone ever tried to organize any kind of meeting? Either at a destination or if a group happen to live close, at a nearby city.
Don

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I think many of the posters here at cpaptalk.com consider this forum to be the most effective support group for apnea patients on the planet and so tend to focus much of their efforts here.

The ASAA has its own forum with info on A.W.A.K.E. meetings: http://apneasupport.org/forum-8.html

Oh, wait, not much action over there.

Prior to this, I found my problems to be so unique, I did not gain much from A.W.A.K.E. meetings. I attended a few in the past, but found my belief that I needed to manage my own symptoms out of step with the rest of the world. But that's been many, many years ago. It appears more people now see this as what it is ... a chronic condidition that requires us as the patient to be actively involved in the monitoring of the therapy.

And at least my DME and doctor are now not alarmed by that approach. So, I'll check into the A.W.A.K.E. meetings once again. It's rather along the lines of "Pay It Forward". There are numerous folks who've helped me along the way. I might as well help the next person along this journey.

The awake meeting here that I have attended at not often enough, they are only every other month. They are however informative with their information and speakers. I have listened to speakers about proper eating, sleep hygiene and compliance.

I was going to suggest that they have a couple breaks during the meeting to allow attendees to interact with each other more and not just listen to the experts. I as also going to suggest setting up some kind of mentoring program for newbies.

I think these meetings can be a great thing if they are run properly. I am also fortunate to have a group that meets right here in town. Their are also a few others within a 20 mile area and I was thinking of attending them to see what they are like.

Gerry

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