Chattanooga’s first support group for people with apnea and other sleep disorders is holding its initial meeting on Tuesday. The meeting will be at 6 p.m., at the Advanced Center for Sleep Disorders located at 6073 East Brainerd Road.

The Chattanooga chapter of the A.W.A.K.E. Network has been organized by sleep apnea patient Joe Bowman, with the support of his sleep specialist Dr. Anuj Chandra.

The first meeting is being held at Dr. Chandra’s office, and Dr. Chandra will be a speaker, but both men emphasize that the support group is independent of any physician’s practice and is open to anyone who is dealing with sleep disorders or who simply wants more information.

Until now, there has not been an A.W.A.K.E. chapter in southeast Tennessee or northwest Georgia. The A.W.A.K.E. Network has chapters in almost all 50 states and is part of the American Sleep Apnea Association. A.W.A.K.E. stands for Alert, Well, And Keeping Energetic.

Mr. Bowman’s initial sleep study two years ago found that he was stopping breathing 118 times per hour and the oxygen saturation in his blood was dropping to 53 percent, which is dangerously low. “My organs were literally starved of oxygen. They actually put me on emergency oxygen that night during the study, it was that severe. I’m only 46 years old, but if I had not gone on treatment two years ago, I probably wouldn’t be here now,” he said.

After being diagnosed, he started trying to understand sleep apnea. He found plenty of information on the internet, but no way to learn from other people with apnea. For example, “Most people don’t know that if their CPAP mask does not fit well, they can return it and get another,” he said. “Often when people are uncomfortable with the mask, they put the machine in closet and don’t use it. My goal is to make people much more aware of sleep apnea and help them be compliant with the treatment.”

“You’re not going to improve if you are not compliant with the treatment. This is to help people do what they need to do to get better,” said Dr. Chandra. “The group’s main objective is to help patients suffering form apnea and using CPAP machines, but it will also deal with other sleep disorders, like narcolepsy, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, children with night terrors. We’re also reaching out to non-patients: to people who may have been told to get a sleep study but may be apprehensive and to the general public that wants to know more.”

The ASAA A.W.A.K.E. Network is composed of hundreds of mutual-help support groups in nearly all 50 states for people affected by sleep apnea. The Network, founded in 1988, is an integral part of the American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA) and since 1990, the two have been partners in assisting patients, their families, and the healthcare community concerned with sleep apnea.

For more information on the A.W.A.K.E. Network, visit www.sleepapnea.org/awake/index.html.