Better Sleep Coach; Your Help to Better Health through Better Sleep

_ We all want to change. Whether it is changing your sleep habits, getting used to your CPAP or losing weight or adding a healthy sleep routine to your life. The problem many face is that if you are trying to change those who are closest to you may not be as supportive as you hope or need.

When you change the changes can be threatening to those who you life with. This is especially if you are changing something that they do not want to change themselves. People like what they know and what they are used to but when you change it makes it necessary for them to either change themselves or to keep you from changing.

If this is your issue than sitting down with the person and discussing this issue may help. If it does not than it might be best to look for support outside your immediate family. You should take advantage of the many resources at your disposal.

• Internet- There are some great resources on the internet for support no matter what your goal is. You should not have to pay for it. For information and support on CPAP you can go to cpaptalk.com or sleepguide.com. For weight loss sparkpeople.com is a great resource for support with other people going through the same thing as you.
  
  
• Local Support Groups- A.W.A.K.E. Groups are throughout the country and can be a great place to meet other people who are trying to get used to CPAP therapy and may give you some ideas you never thought of.
  
  
• Your Sleep Lab or Sleep Physician-These are the people who work with CPAPs every day and are there to help you be successful over the long term. Call them and ask your questions. If they do not have the answers they will know who does.
  
  
• Your Medical Equipment Company-Again they work with the equipment every day and they understand when you are having problems and can give you advice on what to do next if you are having problems.
  
  

Support is essential to success in any goal you set. Look for and ask for help. You never know where you will get it if you do not ask. The final goal is for you to make a change with as little stress to you and your loved ones as possible.

If you are just starting out as a new CPAP user you will find that a little support goes a long way.  Family support is important but it is support from other users that will truly allow you to find what will work for you.  The problem is that most physician’s offices and DME companies do not tell you where to find support.  But if you look online and in your community there are some great support groups.

 

Local Support Groups

The American Sleep Association is an excellent resource for finding local support groups.  They are the association that started the A.W.A.K.E. groups.  They have even started on online meeting for truck drivers since they have unique issues such as repeated testing and traveling with their machine.  Their website sleepapnea.org also has up to date research, and an online forum to have questions answered.  If there is not a support group near you then they will help you start one up. 

 

 

Online Support Groups

Talkaboutsleep.com was started by a sleep apnea patient who felt she needed more support.  The site has a chat room, message board and strong basic information about sleep disorders.  The most interesting part of the site is the reviews of equipment and the comparisons of the masks.  Once a quarter they will trial two similar masks from different manufacturers.  They send samples to members to trial and then review.  This gives people the opportunity to hear what actual patients think of new masks when they come out.  They also have an excellent store to buy masks and accessories for your machine.

 

Sleepguide.com is a message board for sleep patients.  There are patients and health care professionals who frequent the site and answer each others questions.  You will find many opinions from different sources. 

 

Physician Sites

DrStevenPark.com is a great resource.  He has monthly webinar that answers pre-submitted questions on CPAP and sleep disorders.  His site has interviews with other healthcare professionals and medical articles.  He also has a book for sale called Sleep Interrupted. 

 

About.com has a page on sleep disorders that is written by Dr. Brandon Peters.  He has a weekly newsletter that covers basic topics such as what is sleep apnea and new treatment options. Everything he has written is archived on the website so you are able to look up specific topics or disorders.  This site covers many sleep disorders including Restless Leg Syndrome, REM Behavior Disorder ad Sleep Talking to name a few.

 

Seeking Help is the Key

If you are starting out with CPAP these sites and groups will help you to understand you are not alone.  It will also help you to overcome problems that might arise while you get used to the new therapy.  The more educated you are about your disorder and the more support you seek the more successful you will be.