Forum is kinda like a 12-Step Anonymous group

[n0hardmask]

Observation of a 3-month newby - we had some posters recently that were, shall we say, not entirely accepting of their disease condition and the necessity of xPAP therapy to help in recovery. I say recovery because, like addiction, abstaining from the aggravating condition (sleeping with collapsing airway) is the only current near-100% 'fix' for OSA. Some new folks jump right in and volunteer their equipment data, and answer questions about their therapy. Others have pulled back and refused to share this personal, indeed, information. This is what inspired me to think about what we do here - and I am a newby, so I don't claim to know all the workings, nor speak for the forum at large.
As a recovering patient of other conditions, I have experienced the benefits of the unique group therapy available at 12-step meetings. It seems to me that what we do here is quite similar: we're here to share experiences, strength, and hope... So others can tread the same path to recovery that we have been blessed to travel. BLESSED to endure you may exclaim? Yes, while recovery is a bumpy road, it's undeniably always a far better path than the path (of destruction leading to death that our so-far-incurable disease) Apnea will take us on. So we offer our advice FREE, as it helps us deal with the challenges of recovery by helping others not have to endure quite ALL the miseries along the way. At least that's how it strikes me today, and I thought I'd throw it out to the Forum public.

[moresleep]

Is the Cpap machine, then, the "higher power" without which we cannot succeed and to which we have to submit?

I don't entirely disagree about the denial, although I think it cuts both ways. That is, while there is a natural tendency to deny that something is wrong that requires us to use a machine each night in order to sleep safely, there is also a certain comfort in knowing that the various problems that plagued most of us for years were caused by a medical condition and not any moral failing on our part, and also in knowing that the medical condition has an effective treatment.

[ameriken]

AA= Apneolics Anonymous.

[Perrybucsdad]

I'd say there are some similarities, but we didn't choose to have apnea, so I think there are some major differences.

I too have been in 12 step groups for my alcoholism, and I have been free of it for some time now, but I chuckle when I try and insert the apnea and cpap into the 12 step list... not quite sure how we would apply step 4, 5, 6, & 7... but I do see that this list facilitates step 12 quite nicely.

I think your point is well made though and I believe I understand what you were thinking. No, we can't make a 12 step list that is similar to AA or CA, but we do have some steps that we share in common.

[mars]

Hi All

This is a post I wrote in June 2010, but never posted. So for what it's worth - here it is -

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Hi All

Wanting a bit of relaxation after my recent trip to the dentist I thought I would write the Twelve Steps of Cpaptalk.com.
These steps are written by me for the fun of it, and the mental exercise. Many of them could easily have been worded differently. So if you do not like something, write your own alternative for all to see.

1. We admitted we were powerless over obstructive sleep apnea - that our sleep had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a machine greater than ourselves could restore us to healthy sleeping.

3. Made a decision to turn our therapy over to the care of the Cpap machine as we understood it.

4. Made a searching and fearless sleep hygiene inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to Cpaptalk.com, and to those close to us, the exact nature of our illness.

6. Were entirely ready to have Cpaptalk.com advise us on how to remove all these barriers to healthy sleep.

7. Humbly asked for help to remove our sleep problems.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed due to Obstructive Sleep Apnea, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal therapeutic inventory, and when we were in trouble, promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through sharing at Cpaptalk.com to improve our knowledge of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, desiring only to improve our therapy and the therapy of others.

12. Having had a good nights sleep as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other sleep apnea sufferers, and to practice these principles every day.

cheers

Mars

PS

In case you are not familiar with the 12 Steps, here are the original Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous written in 1939, and adapted from the Eight Points of The Oxford Group Movement.

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

In some cases, where other twelve-step groups have adapted the AA steps as guiding principles, they have been altered to emphasize principles important to those particular fellowships, to remove gender-biased or specific religious language.

excerpted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-step_program

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keep it simple guys

Mars

[sandman19]

"Hi, I'm Sandman" Thanks Mars. Bill W. would be proud.

[So Well]

Wanting a bit of relaxation after my recent trip to the dentist

Marsie,

Don't forget about the cervical collar. That was a great tip. I have been wearing mine every night and carry it on every trip I take. Even wear it on long flights. Doesn't prevent apneas, but does help.

Good work! Thanks!

Gotta go catch my flight home now!

[ThirdOutOfFive]

Some of us either have too much time on their hands, or are much more clever than I am. OK, I admit it; you are much more clever than I am. Keep it up.