Do i have a problem

[TeddyBfan]

When someone posts that they know they have a problem and ducked a sleep test that would be one thing. The reactions are usually pretty calm. When they add that they have been knowingly driving impaired because of it, putting other people in danger, the initial reaction is a bit different. Pulling over before you actually go to sleep only marginally helps. Well before that point your reflexes and concentration decline significantly. Obviously the soft sell didn't work or they would have done the sleep study.

I would also add that I doubt if I am the only person on this forum that has lost friends and relatives to traffic accidents. The last was a close friend that was tired going into work last Winter. He went off the shoulder on the freeway and rolled the car into a bridge abutment. He died instantly. So yeah some people react to different things.

I get that. However, this happens in many threads. There is one poster in particular who ridicules and baits new members who are not as knowledgeable as more experienced CPAP users. In one thread, a person asked about a cleaning product that he considered trying. Almost everyone who replied to him attacked him. The response did not seem warranted.

If someone is new to CPAP therapy, this may not seem like a welcoming place.

[LSAT]

When someone posts that they know they have a problem and ducked a sleep test that would be one thing. The reactions are usually pretty calm. When they add that they have been knowingly driving impaired because of it, putting other people in danger, the initial reaction is a bit different. Pulling over before you actually go to sleep only marginally helps. Well before that point your reflexes and concentration decline significantly. Obviously the soft sell didn't work or they would have done the sleep study.

I would also add that I doubt if I am the only person on this forum that has lost friends and relatives to traffic accidents. The last was a close friend that was tired going into work last Winter. He went off the shoulder on the freeway and rolled the car into a bridge abutment. He died instantly. So yeah some people react to different things.

I get that. However, this happens in many threads. There is one poster in particular who ridicules and baits new members who are not as knowledgeable as more experienced CPAP users. In one thread, a person asked about a cleaning product that he considered trying. Almost everyone who replied to him attacked him. The response did not seem warranted.

If someone is new to CPAP therapy, this may not seem like a welcoming place.

I guess your 10 days experience on this board has been enough time to analyze members with many years of helping others. If you don't feel welcome there is nothing keeping you here.

[knothead]

Some members do not pussy foot around, they go straight to the answer, its called "TOUGH LOVE"
I'm sure everyone of us have had that before. Some people need that kind of answers to wake them into reality. These folks here that are deemed as crude & rude really are sending the message to the OP without sugar coating. JMHO....

[Pugsy]

If someone is new to CPAP therapy, this may not seem like a welcoming place.

You don't have to be new to cpap therapy to think that this forum is sometimes not a welcoming place.
I have had my own problems with how some people talk to people here. There are ways of disagreeing with someone that don't involve being nasty...but some people just prefer to be very direct and not soften what they say.
Don't let the personalities that bother you drive you away...just best to ignore them if you can and trust me...I know it's easier said than done.

It has been this way ever since I came here 7 years ago. Some people "help" by swinging 2 X 4s and other "help" by offering gentle support. Sometimes both are appropriate methods depending on the circumstances. I prefer gentle until it is proven I need to bring out the 2 X 4...
Others start swinging right out the gate. It's just their personality and I have learned that if we are to co-exist here that I have to not let what someone else says get to me. It's very hard sometimes to do that.
It's not so much what they say but how they say it and we can't do anything about it...it is what it is and I sometimes have to bite my fingers bloody to not respond in kind.

To the OP in this thread...your subject line was "do I have a problem".
I read it and my first thought was "really dude, you are wondering if you have a problem...duh, you have a big problem".
The answer was pretty obvious and people responded....some with a 2 X 4 and some more gently.

I've not been diagnosed. But went to Dr. He told me to get a sleep test done. I never did. Things are getting bad. Sleeping at the wheel. During sexual performance. Etc... But it's causing problems now. What to do?

You didn't tell us that you already had started the process to get a sleep study and get the ball rolling.
If you had then we would maybe have responded with the usual try to avoid sleeping on your back or even to try sleeping upright (like in a recliner) in an effort to lessen any apnea events you might be having.
In today's climate the "sleeping at the wheel" thing is like waving a huge red flag in front of a bull.
If someone readily admits to falling asleep while driving...we automatically assume a significant problem and it involves someones safety other than the person who is sleepy. The 2 X 4s will come out for sure because we think that if someone has to ask "do I have a problem" when they admit to sleeping while driving that extreme measures are needed.

So...I will try to be gentle while swinging the 2 X 4....if you know that your driving is seriously impaired...don't drive until you get this problem taken care of.
Follow up with your doctor ASAP...and since sleeping on one's back will often make OSA worse...try sleeping on your side or upright in an effort to maybe lessen the impact of the OSA (assuming that is what you have going on).

Get appropriate medical care as soon as possible...don't delay. It may be OSA...it may be something else but take the necessary steps to find out.

[Julie]

I doubt if the legal system will be gentle about giving someone jail time for manslaughter when they have killed someone else's child when they knew they had a problem and continued to drive.

[49er]

I doubt if the legal system will be gentle about giving someone jail time for manslaughter when they have killed someone else's child when they knew they had a problem and continued to drive.

Julie,

I am in complete agreement with everything you have written in this thread.

But again, Pugsy and TeddyB are 100% right about this forum not being a very welcoming place for newcomers in the past. Just saying.

49er

[TeddyBfan]

If you don't feel welcome there is nothing keeping you here.

Haha. I knew that was coming. I did not say I don't feel welcomed here. Thanks to Pugsy, Julie, Zoner and many others who have been very helpful and have offered serious, useful suggestions, I have had a good experience here. However, It has not been the same for others. When I posted my thread, I was careful what I asked and how I asked it because I saw some of the dismissive responses that some newbies received when they asked what people like yourself would consider "stupid questions".

So, no, I won't leave at all. There is much to be learned and I won't let a few ruin it for me.

[Okie bipap]

I've not been diagnosed. But went to Dr. He told me to get a sleep test done. I never did. Things are getting bad. Sleeping at the wheel. During sexual performance. Etc... But it's causing problems now. What to do?

Obviously, you have a problem. The most likely problem is some sort of sleep disorder, the most common of which is sleep apnea. If you are falling asleep while driving, you pose a risk not only to yourself, but anyone else in the car with you and other people on the roads. You really do need to have a sleep study scheduled as soon as you can, for your safety and the safety of others.

[Michelle-OH]

If someone is new to CPAP therapy, this may not seem like a welcoming place.

You don't have to be new to cpap therapy to think that this forum is sometimes not a welcoming place.
I have had my own problems with how some people talk to people here. There are ways of disagreeing with someone that don't involve being nasty...but some people just prefer to be very direct and not soften what they say.
Don't let the personalities that bother you drive you away...just best to ignore them if you can and trust me...I know it's easier said than done.

It has been this way ever since I came here 7 years ago. Some people "help" by swinging 2 X 4s and other "help" by offering gentle support. Sometimes both are appropriate methods depending on the circumstances. I prefer gentle until it is proven I need to bring out the 2 X 4...
Others start swinging right out the gate. It's just their personality and I have learned that if we are to co-exist here that I have to not let what someone else says get to me. It's very hard sometimes to do that.
It's not so much what they say but how they say it and we can't do anything about it...it is what it is and I sometimes have to bite my fingers bloody to not respond in kind.

To the OP in this thread...your subject line was "do I have a problem".

I read it and my first thought was "really dude, you are wondering if you have a problem...duh, you have a big problem".
The answer was pretty obvious and people responded....some with a 2 X 4 and some more gently.

I've not been diagnosed. But went to Dr. He told me to get a sleep test done. I never did. Things are getting bad. Sleeping at the wheel. During sexual performance. Etc... But it's causing problems now. What to do?

You didn't tell us that you already had started the process to get a sleep study and get the ball rolling.
If you had then we would maybe have responded with the usual try to avoid sleeping on your back or even to try sleeping upright (like in a recliner) in an effort to lessen any apnea events you might be having.
In today's climate the "sleeping at the wheel" thing is like waving a huge red flag in front of a bull.
If someone readily admits to falling asleep while driving...we automatically assume a significant problem and it involves someones safety other than the person who is sleepy. The 2 X 4s will come out for sure because we think that if someone has to ask "do I have a problem" when they admit to sleeping while driving that extreme measures are needed.

So...I will try to be gentle while swinging the 2 X 4....if you know that your driving is seriously impaired...don't drive until you get this problem taken care of.
Follow up with your doctor ASAP...and since sleeping on one's back will often make OSA worse...try sleeping on your side or upright in an effort to maybe lessen the impact of the OSA (assuming that is what you have going on).

Get appropriate medical care as soon as possible...don't delay. It may be OSA...it may be something else but take the necessary steps to find out.

+Infinity--Proof you can be helpful/informative without being rude, as always.

[palerider]

There are many ways to give advice. The poster did not ask to be coddled -- you just read it that way.

no, I read your whimpering that way.

[Bill44133]

Thanks everyone. I was looking to talk to someone about it. Maybe someone else been there too. But thanks for making me feel like a peice of s_ _ _ instead. I did contact For a study and I'll schedule as soon as I hear back. And I don't drive that way. I pull over as soon as the feeling comes on. So thanks for the nice encouraging words.

Its not just driving my friend.. Its damage you are doing to your health so many of us here waited too long to seek treatment. No one likes reading some one ignoring the signs.

Please take a 15 minutes to review this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gie2dhqP2c It will put everything into prospective for you, and will help you understand.

If you end up on this therapy work all your issues out here.


I wish you well....