Falling asleep whilst driving, dilemma!

[phudgey]

Hi all, so as i mentioned in my previous post, i suspect myself as helping OSA i've been to see my GP and he agrees it's likely OSA and now i'm just waiting on the hospital refeeral but this seems to be taking an age!

i Rely on driving to and from work everyday which is about a 40 mile round trip but i find that i'm nodding off whilst driving and it really scares me when i realised that ive done it, the problem is, if i dont drive i dont work and if i dont work i lose my house, now it's simple to say stop driving until it gets sorted but my doctor has given me no indication as to when i can expect to recieve treatment, ive read on this forum that 12+ months isnt unnormal! i really don't know what to do, i can't be off work for that long but i dread anything happening whilst driving!

[Fredxx]

First question has to be, can you afford to do it privately - if you can, then you could get sorted within weeks if not days.

It will cost a few hundred pounds to do though. you can do an online, home respiritary sleep study for about £250, or go to a private sleep clinic where the costs vary

If your study is positive for OSA with a private sleep study you would still need to buy you machine; these cost from about £250 upwards, plus about £100 for a mask, so if your concern and need to get sorted quickly is worth £600 plus to you, the private option is not a bad one. Do bear in mind though that it can take a little while for CPAP therapy to start to help you, and in some cases it won't.

[Tigers Fan]

Be pro-active!

Hi phudgey

You are a self-confessed danger to yourself and others while yo continue to drive to the work that is essential to you.

Call James at Intus. Arrange a home sleep study. Get your OSA diagnosis from Intus, buy a rig from Intus. Be on CPAP within three or four working days.

I did a costing a few/several months ago and found the cheapest machine, mask, etc would cost you £300-ish (add inflation and VAT increase, no, should be zero rated).

Beg, borrow, put it on a credit card. No brainer.

TF

[Richard]

Falling asleep while driving

Hi Phudgey,

At the moment you're putting your own livelihood at risk as well as that of other road-users. If you fall asleep whilst driving, you would be 'asleep' for about 10-15 seconds, that's all, but in that short space of time, doing 60mph, you could travel a quarter of a mile!

The consequences don't bear thinking about, do they? A home sleep study would cost £100.00 with Intus, a CPAP machine and mask £500.00. You could have your home sleep-study results and be on CPAP therapy within a week.

Don't put yourself through it, beg, borrow or steal (?) but get yourself on treatment. Go to www.sleep-study.co.uk

Then, when you're diagnosed, contact the DVLA using the form SL1V to inform them of your OSA. By the time they have received that, you will be on treatment and, fingers crossed, feeling very much better.

Just a word of warning, though: keep your NHS referral appointment, when you get it. Intus will only be treating you for OSA, which is what you want; but there could be other factors causing your sleep apnoea that an overnight sleep-study wouldn't show but a more comprehensive medical at a hospital clinic would.

Best of luck

Richard

[symmit]

Good advice being give here. I had a friend drive for me for a few weeks while I was getting sorted, driving while tired is a bad thing.

Getting your diagnosis and a machine privately isn't a bad thing as you'll have control of your own therapy and an auto-cpap machine that is likely to be a superior unit to the fixed machines the NHS supply, also then you'll have a spare machine for travel and faults!

If you've got the funds, don't hesitate.