Sleep apnea and driver license | GTAMotorcycle.com

Sleep apnea and driver license

daught

daught

Well-known member
I have a sleep study coming up and I an getting a lot of conflicting information.

I am told if I am found to have severe apnea I HAVE to get a CPAP machine and use it every night. The machine logs usage to ensure I use it. Understandable, but what about if I am on vacation and I can't take the machine? I go for weeks at a time on very remote trips with no electricity.
 
Bull. You go for a sleep study, two weeks later you review it with a doctor. If the study shows sleep issues, they discuss the health risks untreated sleep apnea. They also discuss the impact of sleep disorder on your daily life. For example they will ask whether you fall asleep spontaneously during the day, while driving, during meetings etc.

If that presents certain risk to you or those around you, they can make treatment a condition for driving. A doctor can do that for a lot of things - you need to be really bad for that to happen, they might use that veiled threat as a sales tactic, I have never heard of a clinic taking a licence.

Speed apnea doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t get sleep, it means your sleep is frequently interrupted and you probably snore like a grizzly.

There is no logging or reporting to sleep clinics - wives tale. Know these are money grubbing operations who milk OHIP and your benefit plans for all they can. Tell the clinic you want results to be sent to your family Doc, review treatment options with them before the clinic, that way you are somewhat prepared.
 
My doctor sent me to a clinic many years ago. I ripped all the wires off at about midnight and left. Got myself a new doctor right away. It's mostly ******** imho.
 
Sleep apnea is a long way from being narcoleptic, I think you are safe to drive with that condition.
... although I did have a friend who regularly fell asleep on the pillion seat of my motorcycle and that seemed pretty dangerous at the time.

As for travelling to third world countries where you might not have hydro through the entire night :| seen that happen in Madagascar, some people were all worried they were going to pass away in the night because they forgot to breath. Didn't happen, they lived (y) I suspect their concerns were highly over-rated, humans have been surviving a very long time without a CPAP.
 
I know a number of people with diagnosed sleep apnea and CPAPs. The machine goes in for a yearly check/calibration, but nobody is checking logs (if they actually exist) to try to take your drivers license. FWIW, in every case I know of, drivers license implications were never raised.
 
Trials said:
Sleep apnea is a long way from being narcoleptic, I think you are safe to drive with that condition.
... although I did have a friend who regularly fell asleep on the pillion seat of my motorcycle and that seemed pretty dangerous at the time.

As for travelling to third world countries where you might not have hydro through the entire night :| seen that happen in Madagascar, some people were all worried they were going to pass away in the night because they forgot to breath. Didn't happen, they lived (y) I suspect their concerns were highly over-rated, humans have been surviving a very long time without a CPAP.
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My wife would nod off on the back of the Goldwing. I was thinking of getting one of those helmet stickers "If you can read this my wife fell off".

I did one of the tests and it was BS. Sleeping on a sofa bed in a strange location with people walking around outside the door while wired up like a telephone exchange doesn't give typical results. And yeah I almost died a hundred times. How did mankind survive all these years?

There is an outfit that does the test in your own home but still with the wires I assume.

Death from sleep apnea does happen. I think I saw it happen but was never party to the final results.

I went to ER feeling dizzy from lack of sleep after working 20 hours straight in a sweat shop, long story. As usual I was sent to an exam room, given the open back gown and given a cot to lie down on. There was another patient on the other side of the divider and he was lying on his back, no pillow, and snoring like a bear.

After a while the snoring stopped and I was thinking I could get a few winks. I don't know how long it was before I realized it was too quiet, looked around the curtain and saw the guy wasn't breathing. I called for a nurse and soon there was a crash cart and they wheeled the guy away. An orderly rolled his eyes and said "He ain't going to make it". That was the last I heard.

I have no idea how long the guy was not breathing. When I first looked his feet were twitching.

That said a lot of people do benefit from CPAP machines so if it makes you happier go for it. I don't know if one can become so dependent on the things that you automatically die if you go where there isn't electricity.

How much of this problem is obesity related? I'm no saint in that department.
 
nobbie48 said:
That said a lot of people do benefit from CPAP machines so if it makes you happier go for it. I don't know if one can become so dependent on the things that you automatically die if you go where there isn't electricity.

How much of this problem is obesity related? I'm no saint in that department.
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Obesity is definitely a driver, but not required.

As for dependency, I know people that have been on CPAP for more than a decade. They use it most of the time as they find they sleep better and are more rested the next day. Occasionally they don't use it (up to maybe a week at a time). Sleep is worse, but whether it is worse because the CPAP isn't helping or whether it is worse because their body has become accustomed to CPAP I have no idea. The short answer is, even after using it for a long time, you are able to sleep without it. (In my experience, others may vary, consult a medical professional, yada yada yada)
 
Thanks for the input. I am looking in to it because of daytime fatigue. I am pretty sure I know it's cause but doctors are reluctant to provide the reconnected treatment. Very fustrating. If I have apnea it's definately not obesity related. I rarely snore. The only time I snore it's when I sleep without a pillow. I'm not concerned it will kill me, I just don't want it to become an issue if I am required to have one.
 
Same friend could also fall asleep standing up leaning against a door jamb with a drink in his hand
then wake up every once in a while to take a drink :| Military training.
 
My daughter is a nursing student, she suggested I go for an assessment. Turns out I could benefit from using a CPAP, but largely as a means to mitigate a 7.1 Richter scale snore.

After doing a ton of research and having a few good discussions with the family and sleep MDs, I concluded sleeping with an octopus on my face wasn't for me. I don't suffer from being tired or sleepy during the day.

The whole sleep business is a bit of a racket -- the sleep clinics milk OHIP, they usually refer you to 'preferred' CPAP suppliers who do a thorough job of figuring out the best solution for the amount you and your private insurance can afford. Then there are the followup sleep studies, calibration study, and maintenance of the machine hoses and mask.

I also found out that weight loss is a highly successful treatment. That's my plan now -- lose a few lbs, should also help me exit corners a bit quicker!
 
I have a theory:
do you breathe using your chest (intercostal muscles)
or do you belly breathe?
 
Sleep apnea can lead to all kinds of health issues and in advanced cases can be fatal. No, that doesn't mean that you just die in your sleep.
www.sleepapnea.org

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea disrupts breathing during sleep and is one of the most common sleep disorders. Learn about the types, causes, and treatment of sleep apnea.
www.sleepapnea.org www.sleepapnea.org

Sent from my SM-A530W using Tapatalk
 
I have been using a CPAP machine for almost 10 years. I would always almost doze off while driving any longer than 20mins and I would regularly joke that I could fall asleep anytime, anywhere. I was honest with my doctor and told him all that. So after the sleep test it was found that I definitely needed a CPAP machine, he told the government as much. They sent me a letter asking for the doctor's report that I was using said machine, or else they would suspend my license. I went to the doctor, he sent his report that I was using it (based on me telling him I was), and my license was never suspended.

For what it's worth, after I got used to using the machine, I can almost not sleep without it. I'm not tired during the day anymore and whenever I start to feel the sniffles coming on, I turn up the humidity on the machine and it keeps everything clear so I can sleep without using cold drugs.

The government basically pays for everything now, so don't worry about that.
 
I have apnea and a cpap, but also a phobia of things touching my face so I can't fall asleep with it on. Although I would benefit from it. Odd phobia from someone who wears a helmet I know.

I agree no one is tracking it.
I also agree it helps a lot of peeps w sleep issues.
 
daught said:
Thanks for the input. I am looking in to it because of daytime fatigue. I am pretty sure I know it's cause but doctors are reluctant to provide the reconnected treatment. Very fustrating. If I have apnea it's definately not obesity related. I rarely snore. The only time I snore it's when I sleep without a pillow. I'm not concerned it will kill me, I just don't want it to become an issue if I am required to have one.
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WARNING: Be very careful about what you say to a doctor regarding drowsiness and driving. In the middle of August, my daughter went to the Waterloo University campus clinic complaining about falling asleep in classes. This was during exams, and she figured she was just stressed. I don;'t know if he asked, or if she volunteered, but she told him she also felt tired while driving for a long time on the highway (NOT falling asleep, not nodding off, just feeling tired during the two hours it takes to get home when she comes to visit). Well, two weeks later she gets a letter from the MTO suspending her license. We've been struggling to get the suspension lifted ever since. She's had to go to multiple sleep studies, all of which were inconclusive. Problem is, the doctor won't write back to the ministry until she is conclusively cleared. What a f'n pain in the ass. Just this week the latest test came back clearing her, and her doctor is updating the MTO, but it will still take about a month for the paperwork to clear...
 
Smart doctor, the only way he can turn a buck on it is if she needs more medical testing.
 
Trials said:
Smart doctor, the only way he can turn a buck on it is if she needs more medical testing.
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Not really. The testing center is independent and OHIP pays a flat rate on her 15-minute visit. They also don’t get paid for any paperwork, which is why some charge a fee for a “doctor’s note” or referral for physiotherapy, etc. This guy was probably fresh out of med school and going by the book to cover his ass.
 
Experienced doctors know how to work the system way better, multiple examination lanes, automated test equipment and multiple concurrent patient appointments.

I used to enjoy getting a conversation going in a waiting room and then casually ask a patient what time their appointment was for, typically three or four patients would all chime in with 'Hey, that's the same time I have an appointment with him!'
 
Trials said:
Experienced doctors know how to work the system way better, multiple examination lanes, automated test equipment and multiple concurrent patient appointments.

I used to enjoy getting a conversation going in a waiting room and then casually ask a patient what time their appointment was for, typically three or four patients would all chime in with 'Hey, that's the same time I have an appointment with him!'
Click to expand...

My old doctor (Retired) would have his secretary call and tell me my test results were OK. I don't think he got paid for that. Now, typically one has to go in to review results and it's a chargeable call even if all is well. Of course one has to take a day off work to find out.

Someone pays for that day off. The patient gets docked the day or the employer pays the day getting nothing in return.
 
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