Buying CPAP without a prescription

[don logan]

Hi, someone i know suspects they have sleep apnea. All usual symptons, quite accute.

She would like to try a CPAP machine to see if it improves her life, but cannot afford to get diagnosed with sleep apnea and lose her driving licence, even for a short while. I'm sure this is a problem commonly discussed on here.

Is it possible to buy a machine without having a prescription?

Thanks.

[Sleep2Snore]

Doubt it, though I don't know the answer.
I know how she feels, but is it not better safe than sorry?

If she can afford it go to a private clinic where she can get a machine the same day. Still some way to go to get sorted, but at least she will be safer on the road.

[Fredxx]

Ultimately, reporting the Sleep Apnoea to DVLA is a matter of conscience (and law of course). It isn't the clinic that talks to the DVLA, it is the person with sleep apnoea.

This could of course be a problem if there is an accident that discloses Sleep Apnoea that was unreported.

If she can afford to go private, this makes it more difficult again for the condition to be discovered by the DVLA.

Having said it is possible, like I said in the first line it is a matter of law that she discloses if diagnosed.

Of course, the other option is not to go and be diagnosed, in which case she of course doesn't have to report it, but risks the OSA causing an accident...

My advice would be to seek diagnosis and treatment sooner rather than later, then report to the DVLA when she is about to go on holiday so there is less impact.

[James @ Intus]

No reputable company will sell her a CPAP because:

1. She might not have OSA and in rare cases, a CPAP may be detrimental to her health. It can be risky.

2. She might not have OSA, and the investment would be a waste.

Also 3, because it's against all the rules and regulations, simply unethical.

To obtain a CPAP, you need to demonstrate that either:

- You have OSA AND CPAP is deemed safe for you (no contra-indications)
- You don't have OSA AND CPAP is deemed safe for you (some snorers for example want CPAP)

Only a sleep study and careful, expert interpretation can establish either outcome.

Regardless of a diagnosis, she already has an obligation to stop driving if she is unfit. Some clinics may tell the DVLA, but it's rare. She can do a private, in-home sleep apnoea study with us; it's discrete and we have no obligation to tell the DVLA (but she has). In most cases, that tends to satisfy the above points. Starting at £100, it falls within most people's budgets too.

[don logan]

Thanks.

Well, she doesn't feel tired at all whilst driving and only has short journeys to work and back. She just snores very loudly and says she feels awful when she wakes up, even after a long sleep. I've heard her snoring and she does that thing where she snores very loudly for a bit, and then will go completley quiet for a while, not breathing and then a massive loud snore comes along. It just sounds like laboured, disturbed sleep.

She simply can't afford to give up her driving licence and will just put up with poor sleep for the rest of her life if it means keeping her job.

With a private sleep apnea study, would a prescription be given if she was found to have OSA?

My thinking is that it would be better for her to have a CPAP and be able to treat her condition and not tell the DVLA, rather than just carry on as she is now and not tell the DVLA. then at least she's being treated.

Could i have some more info on the private sleep study?

Thanks.

[symmit]

Hi Don.

The private sleep study is a good way forward, and the £100 it costs is relatively insignificant in the scheme of things, expect the journey to successful private CPAP to be a 500-1000 quid journey depending on how many masks she ends up buying, and if she needs to take time off work to get used to it.

If snoring is the only issue head here for good advice.

If she has no daytime sleepiness then there's no need to tell DVLA anything I believe until a confirmed diagnosis of a reportable illness is received.

[Tigers Fan]

There is no need to lose your license if you go the private route, it's just a matter of timing. I have posted at length on the topic.

I wonder how many dead people there are because some selfish idiot who knew they had sleep problems but couldn't afford to lose their driving license for a while - and, of course, never suffers daytime sleepiness - kept on driving until the inevitable happens, usually taking other folk with them.

That said, as far as I am aware, there is no legal requirement to inform the DVLA that you have OSA until you have a confirmed dignosis. Daytime sleepiness is a reportable condition, no diagnosis required.

TF

[James @ Intus]

She simply can't afford to give up her driving licence and will just put up with poor sleep for the rest of her life if it means keeping her job.

If she really doesn't have excessive daytime sleepiness, and tests like the ESS show that, competent sleep clinics should see no need to get the DVLA involved even if OSA was confirmed.

OSA = you (almost) stop breathing, not excessively tired in the day
OSAHS (the syndrome) = you (almost) stop breathing AND are excessively tired in the day.

Only OSAHS is a danger on the roads. OSA isn't and the DVLA know the difference.

With a private sleep apnea study, would a prescription be given if she was found to have OSA?

Not as such, but it clears the "will she be safe to use CPAP" part of the equation and the "is it likely she benefits from CPAP" part which is technically enough to go on to Auto-CPAP.

My thinking is that it would be better for her to have a CPAP and be able to treat her condition and not tell the DVLA, rather than just carry on as she is now and not tell the DVLA. then at least she's being treated.

That is the logical idea, but in certain cases illegal. The problem is the delay (in the NHS) between diagnosis and treatment. If there wasn't a delay, there wasn't an issue. Privately, that delay is 48 hours.

Could i have some more info on the private sleep study?

See here: http://www.sleep-study.co.uk/

[James @ Intus]

That said, as far as I am aware, there is no legal requirement to inform the DVLA that you have OSA until you have a confirmed dignosis.

True, but remember the "fitness to drive" obligation.

The moment you step in a car with the intention to drive, you need to know you are safe to drive. Whether it's OSA, OSAHS, sleep deprivation from a short night, diagnosed or not, you have a duty to be fit to drive.

So if there's any history of microsleeps = not allowed to drive even if you have a valid license.

[don logan]

So with a private sleep study, if you were found to require a CPAP, then you'd still have to go to your GP and get a prescription for one? A private prescription couldn't be issued after the sleep study described in the earlier post?

So is that to say that all the sleep study does is tell you that you need treatment for sleeping probllems?

[James @ Intus]

No.

When you do a private sleep study and it is found that you have OSA/OSAHS and nothing is found that would make CPAP risky, then you can buy equipment straight after that.

You don't get a prescription, but you don't need one either. The sleep study results and the sleep technicians' interpretation is all that is required.