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The Apnea Patient's News, Education & Awareness Network |
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The Apnea Patient's News, Education & Awareness Network |
This page last updated on 05/27/06
We recently were able to interview author and sleep apnea patient Jerry Halberstadt about his book, Phantom of the Night. We hope you'll find this interview of interest.
APNEANET: Jerry, your book has gained recognition as one of the two best books available for sleep apnea patients and family members. Can you tell us what your book is about?
HALBERSTADT: We provide the person who has--or suspects--snoring and sleep apnea syndrome the information to understand what these problems can do to their health and well being. To understand how to recognize the problems and how and where to get help. To understand their treatment options. And especially for people who use CPAP, to understand the treatment, what can cause problems in treatment, and how to work with their health care provider. Our purpose is to help people to take charge of their treatment. It's the book that I wish I had been able to read many years ago.
APNEANET: Why did you choose the title?
HALBERSTADT: Sleep apnea tends to slip up on people gradually, so that they rarely realize just how tired they have become. Apnea does its damage while we sleep, another reason it is invisible. And people don't recognize the symptoms of sleep apnea--in fact, most doctors don't pick up on the connection. Although sleep professionals have long understood the terrible dangers in untreated sleep disorders, even today most physicians do not receive adequate training in sleep medicine. As a result, most people never get diagnosed or treated.
So we chose the title, "Phantom of the Night" to dramatize the idea of something invisible and dangerous which is doing damage during the night. The subtitle is intended to put in a sentence the purpose of the book: "Overcome sleep apnea syndrome and snoring -- win your hidden struggle to breathe, sleep, and live." In a sentence we hint at the mechanisms of sleep apnea--you struggle to breathe, it keeps you from sleeping, and thus keeps you from living well--and can even kill you. And most of the work is up to the patient-- this is a chronic condition controlled by using CPAP every time you sleep--so you, the reader, can overcome it through your efforts.
APNEANET: Can you tell us about yourself as an author? What's your background? How did you come to write this book?
HALBERSTADT: My life had pretty well come apart at the seams because of severe but undiagnosed sleep apnea. When I began treatment I searched for information and was lucky enough to meet and work with T. Scott Johnson, M.D., a pulmonologist with expertise in sleep medicine. At first the plan was for him to write the book, however he insisted that I join as co-author because my experiences were very different from what doctors assumed patients would think and feel. Together we hammered out the book and a new approach to patient education which has become the basis for New Technology Publishing.
APNEANET: Are you still current in the field?
HALBERSTADT: I try to keep abreast of developments in sleep medicine, especially disorders of breathing during sleep. For example, it was a pleasure to meet with you, Dave, during the recent meeting of the ASDA in New Orleans. (Editor's note: The ASDA is the American Sleep Disorders Association, which fosters the annual APSS scientific meetings, in conjunction with the Sleep Research Society.) These meetings are an ideal way to see what are the current therapies, available devices, issues, controversies, and the hints of where we are going in the next few years.
APNEANET: What do you think of some of the newer developments in the apnea world?
HALBERSTADT: I'd like to reserve comment--still developing research and positions. Overall, however, I think our book still holds up well as a guide to treatment options and to the field of sleep apnea overall.
APNEANET: Why should an apnea patient read your book?
HALBERSTADT: The comments and feedback from readers are very gratifying. What they report is that reading the book (or our web site) helps to save their lives because they can identify sleep apnea as the likely cause of their many health problems. They also find that they can overcome their fears, concerns, and confusion about diagnostic and treatment methods, they communicate more effectively with their doctors and other care givers, and succeed in getting their treatment to work. I think the book also gives them some support to get through difficulties and move on to reconstruct their lives. In some cases they have been able to educate their doctors and caregivers about the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disorders.
APNEANET: Do you have any plans for newer editions?
HALBERSTADT: New Technology Publishing, Inc. has announced a new, revised edition which will update advances in understanding, diagnosing, and treating sleep apnea and include contributions by Dr. William Broughton, the medical director of the ASDA-accredited University of Alabama Knollwood Sleep Disorders Center. It will be available sometime in 1999. We are also planning to expand our online information and to provide subscription services.
EMAIL THE AUTHOR
If our readers have any questions of Jerry Halberstadt about his
book, you can forward them to him by clicking on the link below.
jerry@newtechpub.com
READ A REVIEW OF THE BOOK
For a review of Phantom of the Night, click here to read the reviews
and reader comments posted at the Phantom website:
http://www.newtechpub.com/phantom/phantom/book/reviews.html
BUY THE BOOK!
Click here to jump to the Barnes and Noble web site to purchase Phantom of the Night: Overcome Sleep Apnea Syndrome--Win Your Hidden Struggle to Breathe, Sleep & Live
At this writing (11/29/98) barnesandnoble.com still lists the 1996 edition of Phantom and but states that it is no longer available for ordering. Temporarily, I suggest that you visit Jerry Halberstadt's Phantom website and order the book directly from Jerry. When they list the 1998 edition, you will be able to order direct from barnesandnoble.com, which will likely say it will order from the publisher, citing 3-5 weeks for delivery. I asked Jerry about this and he responded that "We are actually shipping the 1998 revision. Until I can convince them to stock it, that 3-5 weeks is standard in the publishing industry... Once we receive the order. we ship within 3-7 days. People who don't have the book in hand after 2 weeks should contact us to confirm their order status (email or 800-67-APNEA)."
To buy the book from Jerry's website, click here for the full web site: The Phantom Web Site or click here to go directly to the information about ordering the book: Phantom of the Night book orders
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