The handbook for patients written
by a sleep disorders expert and a patient.Johnson, T. Scott and Jerry Halberstadt, Foreword by William C. Dement, M.D., Chairman of the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research, Introduction by Colin E. Sullivan, M.D. Phantom of the Night: Overcome sleep apnea syndrome and snoring—win your hidden struggle to breathe, sleep, and live, Cambridge & Onset MA: New Technology Publishing, Inc., 1996. ISBN: 1-882431-02-2 $29.95
I just wanted to share some aspects of my CPAP experience...One of the best decisions I made regarding my CPAP experience was to purchase a copy of Phantom of the Night ...with medical authority and great detail, I learned from the book what to expect in terms of the substantial time and effort required in adjustment for CPAP usage. Further, I read about the safety and minimal risks involved with CPAP usage, giving me a sense of security which neither my doctor or the respiratory therapist could give me. Obviously, I highly recommend the book.---Mason WongFrom the online support and discussion group, alt.support.sleep-disorder, 30 Apr 1996; quoted with permission.
The disease has had extraordinary impact upon my life, affecting my personality, relationships, family, and career. I am thankful treatment became effective in time to save most of these. I think you bring a profound message of hope. You communicate how the disease can be controlled and bring about the resurrection of the individual's life.—Lawrence Larsen, Software Engineer treated for SAS
I convinced my husband to seek diagnosis and treatment for his apnea and lethargy. I didn't know the cause, but something was damaging his life and therefore mine. We both needed to understand the nature of the disease, its treatments, and its long-term effects. We use this knowledge to manage the problem and improve our lives. Now, whenever we have questions we refer to your book, sometimes we read it together. Thank you for giving us such a powerful tool! —Mrs. Larsen
The book gets the message across in clear, intelligible English and will meet the needs of apnea sufferers, both undiagnosed and diagnosed. This is a sleep apnea self-help-manual that even professionals could find useful.—Suzan E. Jaffe, Ph.D., A.R.N.P., Diplomat, American Board of Sleep Medicine, Clinical Director, Hollywood Medical Center, Sleep Disorders Program, Hollywood, Florida.
A dramatic read, frightening even, comforting, eminently informative, superb book; bringing understanding of sleep apnea and return to normal life... an authoritative and wonderfully impressive publication and compulsive reading.---I Claire Mitchell
I woke up gray in color, got exhausted taking a shower, and fell asleep during breakfast. I didn't think anything was wrong with me. "This must be middle age," I thought. No wonder my father had been so grouchy. My father's snoring and lapses in breathing caused everyone in the house to sleep with their pillows pressed to their ears. Had a burglar come into our house, he would have left under the impression that another burglar had gotten in before him, and was strangling the family. Either that or there was a nest of bulldogs somewhere, gnawing through a wall. My father snored and gasped. I snore and gasp. What could that have to do with feeling lousy all the time? Turns out there was a connection. Read this book and find out what it is.---Daniel Pinkwater, Author and National Public Radio Commentator
Phantom of the Night is written by a pulmonologist with expertise in sleep disorders and a patient suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. This combination of authors provides a unique opportunity for the reader to understand both the medical aspects of sleep apnea and the difficulties a patient can have during the diagnosis and management of this disorder. Each chapter has an introduction written by Jerry Halberstadt, the patient with sleep apnea, followed by an in-depth discussion by T. Scott Johnson, MD. This book is an excellent resource for all patients with sleep apnea and is a good review for health care workers who have an interest in sleep medicine.
There is an excellent Foreword by William Dement, MD, Ph.D., the chairman of the National Commission of Sleep Disorders Research and a recognized expert in the field of sleep medicine. The Introduction by Dr. Colin E. Sullivan, the pioneer in the development of the use of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) in treatment and a leader in the field of sleep disorders is well written and informative.
The book is well organized and is broken into 11 chapters discussing various aspects of sleep apnea. The initial chapters in the book focus on the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea. The latter chapters examine different treatment strategies for sleep apnea.
The first chapter, "Learning to Breathe, Sleep, and Live," introduces the clinical manifestations of sleep apnea and describes the magnitude of the problem. The second chapter, "Good Sleep," describes normal sleep; and Chapter 3, "Life Without Sleep," describes the consequences of sleep deprivation and highlights the dangers of driving while sleepy.
Chapter 4, "Sleep Breathing--A Struggle for Life," focuses on the pathophysiology of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. This detailed chapter may present a challenge for the reader. However, there is a nice review of sleep apnea through history. In Chapter 5, "Testing How You Sleep," there is an excellent review of polysomnography and the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), two test procedures used in the diagnosis and evaluation of sleep disorders. This chapter explains in detail what a patient should expect during a sleep study (polysomnography) or nap study (MSLT). Diagrams show where the electrodes and other equipment will be applied during the sleep study. The terms and definitions of the polysomnograph are discussed in Chapter 6, "Understanding Your Sleep Report." This chapter is very helpful for all health care workers since it provides a framework to understand polysomnography reports.
The latter five chapters of the book focus on CPAP and other treatment options for obstructive sleep apnea. Chapters 7 and 8 are especially good reviews for the patient who is starting CPAP therapy. The biomechanics of CPAP and the equipment necessary to utilize CPAP are described in Chapter 7, "The Miracle of Relief." CPAP advances are also discussed, including 1) BiPAP (Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure), a technique in which inspiratory and expiratory airway pressures can be set; and 2) the ramp function of CPAP units which allows the pressure to be increased slowly over an extended period of time.
The application and even complications of CPAP are covered in Chapter 8, "Making CPAP Work for You." This excellent chapter discusses a variety of relevant CPAP issues: 1) the variety of CPAP masks and nasal pillows; 2) travel with CPAP machines, including a detailed discussion about air travel; 3) maintenance of CPAP units; 4) CPAP and insurance companies; and 5) the medical complications associated with CPAP use.
Other treatment options including good sleep hygiene, weight loss, sleep positioning, dental appliances, and surgical approaches (tracheostomy, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, and others) are reviewed in Chapter 9, "What Else Can You Do?" There is a helpful table comparing the variety of therapeutic modalities for sleep apnea.
Chapter 10, "Breathe, Sleep, and Live," and Chapter 11, "The Process of Recovery," emphasize that the individual with sleep apnea needs to intimately participate in therapy. The authors emphasize that sleep apnea is an ongoing disorder that requires extensive medical follow-up and support groups.
At the end of the book there are four appendices, a glossary, bibliography, index, and a questionnaire designed to help make the diagnosis of sleep apnea. The appendices are very helpful for patients with sleep apnea. Appendix A lists various organizations that provide information about sleep disorders and lists the manufacturers of sleep apnea equipment. Appendix B and C provide templates for information cards about sleep apnea and for sleep logs, respectively. Finally, Appendix D compares the various features of different CPAP devices in a table. Pictures of the different types and brands of CPAP masks and machines are included.
Phantom of the Night is a well written book about sleep apnea. The book is easy to read and moves quickly. The illustrations, while helpful, could be improved if they were in color. It is clearly a valuable resource for patients with sleep apnea and should be helpful for health care workers with an interest in sleep apnea.
Dr. Richard J. Schwab, MD is Clinical Director of the Penn. Center for Sleep Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Another version of this review of the 1993 edition was published in June, 1993 in a journal for health care professionals.
Copyright © 1993 Richard J. Schwab, assigned to New Technology Publishing ©1995. Note: "BiPAP" is a trademark of Respironics, Inc.
[It is]...unique [because] coauthored by a pulmonologist experienced in sleep disorders, and an individual who suffers from the condition. [Provides] ...helpful strategies to manage common questions and complaints...
[With] input from various noted experts in the field of sleep disorders research, [they] have produced a useful publication for those who suffer from OSA [obstructive sleep apnea] and who wish to enlighten their understanding of the condition [as well as for the education of ] general practitioners, primary care physicians, medical students, interns, and ...allied health personnel.
The most practical portions of the book are those that deal with treatment strategies...Issues such as mask types, battery power requirements, custom masks, machine noise, air humidity, travelling, and camping with nasal continuous positive airway pressure, as well as maintenance of the unit, are all covered. There are useful pictures of the various nasal continuous positive airway pressure devices and the head gears...
Book review by Alejandro Chediak, MD, ASDA News Associate Editor; in the Newsletter of the American Sleep Disorders Association: ASDA News, Vol 3, No2, July 1996, p. 25
Review of Phantom of the Night by Pamela Minkley, CPFT, RRT, RPSGT; Technical and Education Coordinator, Michigan Capital Healthcare, Sleep/Wake Center, Lansing Michigan; In: Books, Films, Tapes, & Software:Respiratory Care, May 1996, Vol 41 No5. Respiratory Care is the Official Journal of the American Association for Respiratory Care.
Phantom of the Nightaccomplishes its mission [of helping the reader work with health care professionals to be diagnosed and treated]. It covers the primary aspects of diagnosis and treatment of OSAS (obstructive sleep apnea syndrome) and the risks associated with remaining untreated.
Chapter 8, "Making CPAP Work for You," is probably one of the most important chapters in the book from a patient's point of view. It discusses most of the practical issues and prblems associated with nasal CPAP use. It does a good job of explaining the many issues and solutions to OSAS involved in everyday life [including travel and camping.]
Appendix B includes an information sheet and emergency card to copy, fill out, and carry. The card documents positive airway pressure treatment type and prescribed pressure, which patients rarely remember when admitted for surgery or emergency care. The information sheet describes special considerations of airway management in treating a patient with OSAS [to alert and guide the surgeon, anesthesiologist, or other treating personnel as well as the patient].
There is more scientific, clinical, and practical information for the health-care professional in Phantom of the Night than is provided in all but a small percentage of medical, respiratory, and nursing schools.
I suggest Phantom of the Night as required reading for all respiratory care practitioners (RCPs) and primary care and pulmonary physicians who do not already possess extensive training in sleep medicine. RCPs cross-training in sleep centers and home care, graduate RCPs, and RCP and nursing students will find this inexpensive text equally helpful and likely recommend it to patients. The book would be a good addition to physician and sleep center libraries and waiting rooms
Never judge a book by it's cover! Well, in this case the saying is spot on. At first glance I certainly would not have picked it up. The cover - half purple and turquoise with a black ink roller sketch depicting a wailing face and flaying arms - very dramatic. The small print says 'overcome steep apnea syndrome and snoring - win your hidden struggle to breathe, sleep and live.'
The authors names and spelling of apnoea are an obvious give away that it is an American publication. The authors - T. Scott Johnson MD, eminent specialist and expert on sleep disorders; Jerry Halberstadt, an anthropologist, publisher and sufferer who had, with difficulty, to seek out appropriate treatment in Israel and America. The foreword by William C. Dement MD, an [American] and Chairman of the [United States] National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research. [The introduction is by] Colin E. Sullivan MD, Professor of Medicine, University of Sydney and the inventor of the CPAP machine. With acknowledgments from many others, puts the book in a very specialist category, which of course, it is.
A dramatic read, frightening even, comforting, eminently informative, superb book; bringing understanding of sleep apnoea and return to normal life. Through its 170 pages [not counting the appendices] one learns the importance of sleep and dangers without it. It will allay any fears about all the tests the sufferer goes through, explaining them in depth. It will help you understand your sleep report brilliantly. A very personal book, interspaced with sympathetic, readable, descriptive and enlightening detail. Absolutely necessary for you to come to terms with and probably, for the first time, understand fully the story of sleep apnoea, its effect on you psychologically and physically. It will unravel the complexities of sleep apnoea, put into perspective the reasons why and how it happens. Being interspaced with personal problems and feelings that everyone can relate to and others that will surprise and even amaze you.
Simply, but in great detail, you will learn about your CPAP machine---exactly how it operates. It is an authoritative and wonderfully impressive publication and compulsive reading. Peppered with well drawn pencil illustrations, some of which are a little disconcerting. The medical sketches and graphs together with photographs showing the use of CPAP masks and machines are very informative.
Whoever reads this book will find it fascinating and unputdownable. For those who think they have a sleep problem - those who know they have one - for diagnosed sufferers - 'old' sufferers, every GP, hospital, doctor, nurse, wife, husband, family, friend. It will help you get back to 'normal' sensibly and smoothly; because although you may think you know all about sleep apnoea, you will realise you do not until you have read this highly recommended book.
The cover, by the way, is in retrospect descriptive of the initial trauma of sleep apnoea and quite appropriate.
This book review appeared in the Spring 1995 edition of Sleep Matters, The Newsletter of the Sleep Apnoea Trust. Republished with permission. Transmitted & Scanned by John Jenkins
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