Helping Newcomers

Near the end of a Jan 11 post on "New Afib..." by Jim (sorry, Jim we took your post away from your topic, but for a good cause), Bill Driscoll, Peggy, Jackie and I have been yapping briefly about how nice it would be to have something like "The List" to which we could all immediately refer newcomers - those who, like all of us, have SO many difficult questions in the early weeks of AF. It sounds from our brief interchanges as though the easiest way to address this would be to adopt a common standard title for replies to newcomers, perhaps something like "Reply to a Newcomer." Then whenever a new person joins, that person could be told - by anyone of us - how to search for the title "Reply to a Newcomer," where s/he would find a series of general replies - with a little specific information in each, presumably - written just for the new members of the forum. These replies woudl thus be personalized, so the new newcomer who goes to them would see that we hear and respond to the individual AND that we are in agreement on general principles that apply to all. Anyone who wanted to reply mostly specifically to a newcomer's specific issues, rather than with an emphasis on general issues, would simply use a different title in their reply.

I got involved because I have often taken it on myself to give a generial reply to newcomers, sometimes on-forum, sometimes off, because I still remember so vividly the anxiety and uncertainty of those early weeks and months, though it's almost four years now for me. I try to emphasize the need for patience; the terrible complexity of AF and hence the absence of clear-cut answers; the fact that it is not instantly life-threatening and therefore there is time to deliberate; the need to avoid rash rushes to ablation or maze or amiodarone; the effort to identify individual triggers (with emphasis on self-observation, and careful scrutiny of one's own behavior); the success that many people have with diet, supplements and behavior change; the need to find an understanding and AF-knowledgeable EP, etc. And of course the suggestion to read at least Hans' first book as a start.

We would appreciate feedback on this idea, and suggestions for the common standard title to such replies to newcomers. I volunteer to write an initial general reply to a newcomer once we agree that this is a good approach.

Input, please. kagey

I,personally, think it is a marvelous idea, and I think you would be an excellent one to do a general statement. Jackie, would be great to do a general intro to supplements, and some of the others, could do a general one in their area of expertise. This way their would be kind of a mini intro to the joys of A Fib without totally overwhelming them. I personally think the BB has been a Godsend to many of us.

Cynthia

Kagy,

I think it is a great idea. When I first found this wonderful web-site,
I remember spending hours sifting thru the responses to secure the informatin I could understand.

I not only think it would be helpful in trying to jumpstart new Afibbers, but helping to shorten the startup time everyone has had to go thru. Even to the point perhaps of a 1-2-3 type of what do you learn first, and so on. Unless you have a science background, even the vocabulary is daunting.

Even what do you ask your doctor.

You guys are onto something----good thinking !

MacKey
Hershey

Kagey---excuse me please !

I'll be glad to contribute but Hans has a good deal of information already in place through the links and the web vitamin link as well. I think we need to refer to his data first and then add to that if there are questions or refinements are needed and encouraging newcomers to buy the books and read that way for speedy, accurate and consistent information which has has always been the best advice for newcomers.

I think some stock responses can be appropriate sometimes, but because many people write with very specific issues, they deserve something in the way of a individualized response. I'm used to doing patient assessment based on the history and this would be no different.

The books offer the generalized approach and I doubt that we can improve upon those much in a short version and too long a response would just duplicate the effort already done.

I understand the effort here and will help as needed, of course.

I think this needs a bit of planning and refinement and Hans approval as well.

Jackie

Kagey. Thank you for bringing this up to the top. As I stated on the earlier post I am in on this project. I have thought about this for some time and I will briefly give you some background on what I thought of doing, for whatever that may be worth. At one point I was dumb enough to think that the logical progression for everyone new to lone AFIB would be to employ a gradual approach as I am doing, which is to try the less extreme solutions first. Stay hydrated, take supplements, try a new diet, then possibly take a medication, and as a last resort try surgical methods. I am still convinced this is the correct approach for me. But I don't know if this is the correct approach for everyone. I doubt we can all agree on one course of action for everyone to follow, or, if we each present our own view based on what we have learned during our AFIB adventures.

One thing we need to remember is that Hans runs this site at least partly on revenue derived from book sales and subscriptions to the Afib Report. It is a great service on his part to operate this site at all, and we sure do need to help him wherever we can. He put a lot of effort and research into those books, and they are the one most useful reference work on afib that i have ever found anywhere.
PeggyM

I think one of the best things we can do as an initial response to newcomers is recommend they get hold of Hans' first book ! It gave me me my first useful information on AF and what I could do to help myself, which in turn gave me the confidence to ask the many and varied questions of people on this board who have so many valuable answers to give. Without that book I would have had no idea that there were supplements which could do such a brilliant job of keeping AF at bay! I hope I can now give a bit of that acquired knowledge back to others who may need it.

"the easiest way to address this would be to adopt a common standard title for replies to newcomers"

FAQ


Every well-written piece of software has an FAQ, for exactly the same reasons you mention, to wit to avoid repeated instances of the same questions to the list and knowledgable members.

It should refer to Hans' books, and contain links referring to common subjects, such as the paleodiet webpage, side-effects of prescribed drugs etc.

Hope this helps,

William

Thank you, William. That is helpful.
PeggyM

Great responses! Of course we all owe an incredible debt to Hans, and any plan to get newcomers off on their journey more effectively must certainly await his input and authorization after he comes back from vacation. Below is a possible strategy we might use to incorporate all the good ideas you have put forth:

There is of course an FAQ entitled "Questions about Afib" right at the entrance to the Forum. I have no idea how many newcomers to the board actually read that section before beginning to post their queries - but they should! I wonder if many do. One possible course of action that comes to mind is, (a) have everyone who cares to take a look at the "Question..." section and suggest any updates or amendments to Hans, (b) change the prominence and 'instant visibility' of that section so that it is apparent to anyone looking at the Forum that that is where they should go first, and (c) introduce the "Questions..." with a brief, warm "personalized" paragraph that recognizes upfront the patience that is going to be required to deal with all the uncertainties, and the understanding of those on the Forum of the anxieties and frustrations of the new visitor.

Unless anyone else prefers to do so, I'll volunteer to summarize these "newcomer" discussions for Hans after his return, and refer him to this dialogue.

On behalf of all who will benefit, many many thanks as always for your caring and concern, all you folks here who want only to keep life positive and fulfilling for as many as possible. You are truly an amazing group. Meanwhile, this sometimes contributor is engaged in one of her periodic shifts from, this time, east coast to west, over the next couple of weeks, so I'll be less visible. Take care all. Kagey

I've noticed that newcomers often have not looked at Hans vitamin shop. Most newcomers do not realize that supplements can help AF and therefore do not look at the vitamin shop. Unless someone directs them to the vitamin shop, I think they often do not realize they can order directly from the site.

If there were something prominently displayed in the message at the entrance to the website showing the "Starter Pak" along with an explanation of the need for the "starter pak" supplements, newcomers might find the vitamin store more easily. The prices are also very good. Maybe a testimonial in this regard might help.

Also, Hans is giving his recommendations for brands in the vitamin shop, another invaluable part of the site that may be overlooked by newcomers.

Maybe the opening paragraph could at least refer people to the vitamin shop for information. I remember how happy I was when I did finally locate Hans' vitamin shop.

Kay

I think that is a great idea. I know that this site has been a really valuable resource and kind of like finding an oasis of information for a newcomer. Your suggestion would provide a lot of information and would anticipate a lot of the information that a newcomer would likely need to have a strong foundation of knowledge on AF. Dave