Problem with new form pages timing out

I've got a "smart table" (using the class/template/sheet method). My problem arises when a user clicks on the button to add a new "object" (which is a really a new page with an object on it, based on the template, etc.). The page comes up and allows the user to edit, as expected. However, if the user takes "too long" (I haven't pin down an exact amount of time yet -- but 5 minutes seems to suffice) filling out the form, then, when they hit save, the page is created, but the object is nowhere to be found. As you can imagine, the users a bit miffed by this. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that no error is generated. The user thinks things worked, until they go back to the table to find their entry isn't present. Any thoughts on what to do here? Is there a way to increase the timeout or something? At the moment, I've put a note that they should just save the page very quickly and then go back and edit after the fact, which seems to work, but is pretty ugly. Charles Rankin