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Steven B. Ronsen updated their profile
Mar 5
Dan Lyons updated their profile
Mar 7, 2022
99 replied to Mike's discussion SPO 7500 Users?
"please keep me updated about oximeters "
Dec 4, 2021
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Sep 16, 2019
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Aug 21, 2019
Mike
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  • New York, NY
  • United States
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Mike's Discussions

New Respironics Machine
2 Replies

Started this discussion. Last reply by RockRpsgt May 16, 2012.

Mysterious Emerging Health Trend: Cold Therapy/ Leptin Reset
7 Replies

Started this discussion. Last reply by ZolliStar May 18, 2012.

Those Who Attended my talk at FOCUS
7 Replies

Started this discussion. Last reply by Mike C (STILL at the Beach!) Jun 19, 2012.

 

CPAP Gave Me My Life Back

Why I'm a "Sleep Apnea Evangelist"

For as long as I can remember, I struggled with feeling tired all the time, without any energy to do much of anything. I chalked it up to a diagnosis of depression and having a stressful workday that left me beat. But in 2007, I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. A couple of days after having a CPAP drop-shipped to my house by a durable medical equipment provider, I got frustrated with the therapy and gave up.

Months later, a friend of mine who i learned also has OSA told me about a new machine on the market that might be more comfortable to use --- an auto-adjusting CPAP device. After using it one night, the difference was like night and day. For the first time in years, I woke up feeling refreshed and energized... ready to take on the day. It was a life changing experience. If it weren't for reaching out to another person who happened to have OSA, I would still be in the rut I was in.

In no other pursuit in my life have I been able to help myself and help others to turn around their lives, often literally overnight. It is for this reason I have made it my mission to learn as much as I can about this disorder and my therapy and share it with others. I am a corporate lawyer and journalist by training. My news articles have appeared in The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune. I run the New York City A.W.A.K.E. Sleep Apnea Support Group, and am founder of this site, SleepGuide.com, as well as the online CPAP supplies store ApneaLife.com. I live in New York with my wife, Melinda and chihuahua-border collie-terrier puppy dog, Maggie.

Profile Information

My Interest in Sleep Apnea
I have Sleep Apnea, Someone I care about has Sleep Apnea
Treatment Being Used, if any
Auto-Adjusting CPAP
If Machine Being Used, What Type? (e.g., Respironics M Series with A-Flex Auto-Adjusting CPAP)
Philips Respironics System One APAP
If Mask Being Used, What Type? (e.g., ResMed Activa Nasal Mask)
ResMed Activa Nasal Mask

Comment Wall (121 comments)

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At 12:44pm on May 12, 2013, Jackie Chan said…

Mike when is the next Manhattan Awake meeting? I would like to attend

At 10:41am on May 31, 2012, Jackie S. said…

Hey Mike! Any news on what topic the upcoming AWAKE meeting will be on? How much in advance are the meetings posted on the website? Just trying to figure out which one to go to. Thanks!

At 8:45pm on May 4, 2012, Jackie S. said…

Hey Mike, I sent you a message the other day. Not sure if you received it. I'm missing the sleep side of life and hoping to get involved again. Can't wait for my company to open a sleeplab in NY. Think the closest one is in NJ. :(  Hope all is well!

At 5:49pm on May 2, 2012, Brett Husebye said…
Please unblock my access to the forums so I can post once again. I have some info to help several readers but cannot do so at this time. I posted an external link for a charity and called the admin a nazi. I am sorry but it WAS for charity! I was more concered with the charity drive succeeding since it was free than acting out or trying to cause trouble. Now the drive for the charity failed thanks in no part to people who would not even spend thirty seconds to vote for a children's grant which would have been given out to the winning idea for the money. Thanks Brett Husebye
At 1:06pm on March 23, 2012, Dr. Ruben Cohen said…

ok.. I am new at this so not sure where to write my posts and what to talk about!! Will spend a bit more figuring out how to do all this over the weekend!

At 9:27am on October 6, 2011, Mary Z said…

I've ben greeting every new member for a while now, so I guess I'll just keep that up, maybe change the wording to reflect a welcome from all members. Should we let iBiomed Services keep their ad for masks on the forum?

Mary Z.

At 8:47am on October 6, 2011, Mary Z said…

Mike, I'm not having any trouble with my PM's.

Should I greet new members as a member of the SleepGuide Crew and do you have a script?  I can look back and find one of the old mesages if there's not a set format.

Yeah, I noticed you haven't been around much, hope all is ok.

Mary Z.

At 3:56pm on August 3, 2011, Judy said…

MIKE - TONIGHT'S AWAKE MEETING!!! PLEASE!!!!

Please ask Ms Garrison about PR's "Auto IQ" machine. Specifically this... "After it's been used in auto mode for 30 days, and it switches to CPAP mode using the 90% pressure number, can it ever be reset (through the clinical menu) to do another 30 days of autotitration?" (And then another, and another, and another? [] )

And...a follow up question for her (yeah, wish I could be there! lol )
When it's set for the 30 days of autotitration, can the minimum/maximum pressure range be set (for example 8 - 15 ) if the doctor doesn't want it to be using 4 - 20 during those 30 days.

Maybe she'll let you look at the Provider manual while you're there?

"With the AutoIQ, after the initial autotitration, is it possible for a clinician manually to start another 30-day autotitration in a narrower range of pressures by specifying a minimum and maximum pressure?"

At 3:55pm on August 3, 2011, Judy said…
MIKE - TONIGHT'S AWAKE MEETING!!! PLEASE!
At 11:36am on May 22, 2011, Doranne said…
Thanks, Mike. New to the site - anyone out there with a Bi-PAP? If so, how's it going? Which machine do you have? Mask? The DME is calling tomorrow, and I 'm planning to succeed with my treatment. Knowledge is power.

Latest Activity

99 replied to Mike's discussion SPO 7500 Users?
"please keep me updated about oximeters "
Dec 4, 2021

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Mike's Articles

State Sleep Societies List

State Sleep Societies (Randy Townsend, a Sleep Tech, compiled this list):



Alabama Association of Sleep Professionals http://www.aasp.us/



Arizona…
Continue

Posted on May 17, 2010 at 7:25am

Tracheostomy for Severe Sleep Apnea

A doctor I spoke to last night argued that severe sleep apnea should be treated more often with a tracheostomy. A tracheostomy is a surgical procedure to create an opening through the neck into the trachea (windpipe). A tube is usually placed through this opening to provide an airway into the upper trachea. This tube is called a tracheostomy tube or trach tube.… Continue

Posted on March 18, 2009 at 2:30pm — 9 Comments

The Silent Majority of People with Sleep Apnea

If you're reading this, you can pat yourself on the back. You're part of the elite, the "Top Gun" of those with Sleep Apnea. How? Largely just by virtue of knowing that you have Sleep Apnea -- ninety percent of those with Sleep Apnea remain undiagnosed. Moreover, not only are you in the top 90th percentile of the "Sleep Apnea Class," but because you're educating yourself about the disorder and trying to improve your life by actively seeking treatment, you, the members of this forum, are more… Continue

Posted on March 9, 2009 at 11:30pm — 13 Comments

Is Changing CPAP Settings on One's Own Machine Illegal?

I don't know. And that's the point. While never likely to be enforced, this article is to highlight that there is confusion over whether it's legal to change the settings on one's own CPAP machine. The CPAP community seems divided on the question of whether changing the settings should be legal, with most doctors, respiratory therapists and Durable Medical Equipment providers feeling we patients… Continue

Posted on March 8, 2009 at 9:30pm — 10 Comments

Sleep Apnea Disability

Is Sleep Apnea a disability? The question of whether Sleep Apnea is a disability is a legal one concerning state and federal anti-discrimination laws. The short answer to whether Sleep Apnea is a disability: maybe. The Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") and related state laws don't define what constitutes a disability in black and white terms. Rather, the question as to whether Sleep Apnea is a disability, or whether any other disorder is a disability for that matter, rests on an… Continue

Posted on March 4, 2009 at 8:30pm — 19 Comments

 
 
 

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