Fell Asleep at Wheel.....one lucky young woman

[Emilia]

Saw this on our local news today: http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafe ... 026#tpcccf

Even though we don't know this was OSA related.... it is a good reminder of what can potentially happen to those who are sleep deprived for whatever reason!

[kteague]

Thanks for posting this warning to take sleepy driving seriously. I have fallen asleep at the wheel and narrowly avoided hitting a parked truck. Stayed off the road for a while after that until I was safe. Even now,I will ask for a ride if I have to be somewhere and there's any doubt about my abilities. When I first joined here there was a forum member who had lost his wife due to her falling asleep not far from making it home. His plea for me to stop driving touched me and made me grasp how very dangerous this was, and that even a short distance is still not safe.

[harry33]

in australia, sleep apnea docs got money from governments to publicise sleep disorders, as so few apnea sufferers were being diagnosed by docs as they knew almost nothing about apnea. yes many australian undiagnosed apnea sufferers were falling asleep at the wheel due to fatigue
I was an exception, when driving and tired, I panicked, and always parked safely and had a sleep

[torontoCPAPguy]

In Ontario you can lose your driver's license until and unless you get treatment if the MD believes you are a danger to yourself or others. THAT is the way it should be everywhere.

[who]

When you're "falling apart, barely breathing," sleepy, unfocused, distracted, it's no time to drive.

This video always brings tears to my eyes toward the end. . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6cdPeY ... ature=av2e

(Perhaps not so much a video for you, Kathy.)

[kennethryan]

I used to commute via back roads, particularly one narrow, winding two-lane with a 50mph speed limit and fairly heavily traveled. It takes a high degree of alertness in the best of times. Oh, and did I mention that road is also used for farm equipment moving between fields? Always a surprise to be driving at that speed and suddenly be facing a combine taking up both sides of the road!

I had been sleepy for years, to some extent, I tended to blame my babies, long work hours, all sorts of stuff. But my wife had been noticing some of the symptoms of apnea, not only snoring but hearing me stop breathing periodically. Of course I had been shrugging it off.

One morning maybe 4 years ago I woke up traveling some 10-15mph above the limit with two wheels in the ditch and heading for more. I managed to keep control of my SUV and get back on the road without things getting worse, but it scared the bejeezus out of me.

Right after the above incident I made a doc appointment and got a sleep study. I've been a hosehead ever since. I've also been a lot more willing to be late for work if I'm feeling that sleepy!

[torontoCPAPguy]

I think the message has got through. You don't need to feel alone about this either. I think it is something that we have all experienced and that we all worry about. I used to doze off at stoplights and be awakened by cars honking behind me. Fortunately, the activity of driving kept me awake but, as they say, "there but for the Grace of God go I". I have a friend who lost his license due to sleep apnea untreated; got squared away and got his license back on the doctor's okay. I shudder to think further. Joe used to literally fall asleep in his dinner while we were out or visiting. A ticking time bomb. Joe was the first of our 'group' to come out of the closet so to speak and all of a sudden 75% of our 'group' has OSA and were using CPAP machines or, lately, trying dental appliances.

I cannot begin to to express my feelings of relief now that I am under treatment; now if I could only get my blood oxygen saturations to stabilize at 95% at night while sleeping I would be really happy. At rehab yesterday the MD facilitator suggested infusion of 2-3L of O2 to see if that would bring it up and stabilize it and I am ordering the plumbing to do this asap.

[pdean44]

I work shift work. Before I was diagnosed and after with the equipment I have had occasions when I felt i was in danger of falling asleep. More so before the gear. I often have trouble staying asleep when i have to go to work the next day. Stress related. When I drive home after working a 12 hour night shift that can be no picnic if you did not sleep well before you went to work. I work 2 each 12 hour days then 2 each 12 hour nights. On my 4 days off I try to catch up. Basically a very bad sleeping routine. But you have to earn a living. the last time that happened it scared me enough to make it home. I almost went off the road. I turned the air conditioning up until i was freezing and almost shivering. Definitely a dangerous situation if you are not on top of your rest. This story is a good warning on what could happen.

[torontoCPAPguy]

The fact that OSA and its derivatives are so commonplace today makes one wonder about 50 years ago,no? The question that comes to mind is (a) was it even on the radar screen at that time? (b) When it finally came onto the radar screen how was it treated (we have all heard the stories of shop vac's and leaf blowers of course). (c) IS IT BECOMING MORE PREVALENT AT THIS TIME? Or is it just better diagnosed? Or is it just a pet condition like having tonsils or adenoids out at age 5 was a generation or two ago? (d) How proficient are we as a people in diagnosing and more importantly at treating OSA and its derivatives? (e) What importance is placed on the condition(s) today? Is it simply another 'money maker' to keep medics busy? Or is it viewed as a serious health hazard? (f) Why is there not more emphasis placed on its diagnosis and treatment?

I am thinking back to my great grandparents time and my grandparents early years where it was not unusual to visit the town barber to have leaches affixed to your neck 'for what ailed you'. And to my parents' time when "he/she died peacefully in their sleep" was commonplace and quite possibly the result of OSA dropping bloody oxygenation and shooting up blood pressure to the point that arteries were popping off or splitting or massive strokes were taking place.... "he died peacefully in his sleep". And here we are today. I have a 'sleep clinic' complete with a 'sleep doctor' and 'sleep technicians'. I have a DME (new term?) that tells me what machine is in my best interest and what mask is best for me without knowing their rear ends from a hole in the ground (with all due respect to the proficient ones that DO know what they are doing). My first DME MediGas did their best to sell me an upgraded mask, extended warranty and other crap that I had no need for and despite the government kicking in $800 for the equipment I walked away with a $1500 VISA bill cause I was scared poopless of the consequences otherwise. They reefed down a hard plastic nose mask on me to the point that after ten minutes I was developing a blister and my nose was turning purple and then let me try a simple and useless nasal pillow... $350 extra for the upgrade. I also have respirologists, cardiologists, endocrinologists, GP's, rehab physicians and technicians and nurses and on and on. My goodness. This is a business all on its own and it supports a lot of people!

So, where do we stand? I think we are still emerging from the dark ages as far as OSA is concerned and it is forums such as this that have experienced patients, experienced MD's and above all experienced technicians that are busting us all out of the dark ages of OSA and its ancillary conditions! And I am hoping that in a matter of a few years, perhaps a generation, that genetics will provide the magic bullet for the early detection of OSA, etc.

In the meantime, it is only WE OURSELVES acting in the role of our own advocates for superior health care, that will achieve the best treatment and the best knowledge for the vast majority of us. And that means work on our part to investigate, learn and take action, sometimes outside of our circle of comfort. Thus far in regards to adding a 2L infusino of oxygen into my air tube I have received from my MD's (a) a shrug and "no idea" why don's you give it a try if you know what you are doing; (b) "I have seen it done many times but have not participated but I can tell you that it appeared to me to be effective (I want nothing to do with something that was not taught to me at medical school - it is voodoo); (c) You need another workup complete with sleep studies under various conditions in order to make that kind of decision (the most sensible answer to date); and so on. Not meaning this in any malicious way - but I have been plunged into the black depths of ignorance in the medical community in terms of anything more than "CPAP machine and 9.8 cmH2O" and that was goodbye. No recheck. No monitoring. No NOTHING! The big bucks were made and "NEXT!".

I believe that now is the time for OSA diagnosis and treatment to come out of the closet and be made a very mainstream part of medical education at the base level. It is an epidemic to be sure. And it brings with it the scourge of having unknowing folks with OSA/etc., doing things like lopping off their hands and fingers in industrial equipment or worse yet, taking the lives of others who are innocents.

I find it very strange that in a country like Canada they have a gun registry including long guns that costs in the billions, yet the money wasted on that having been spendt on the study and treatment of OSA/etc. would, in no uncertain terms, improve the GNP, improve lives, reduce deaths both from unsuspected traffic accidents and strokes and heart attacks, etc.

Same thing stateside with all due respect to my fellow Americans; if we were only to spend the money being wasted on trying to disarm the honest citizenry on resolving the OSA conundrum imagine the vastly superior bang for the buck we could get.

Despite the recent decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States in giving "We the People" the right to armed self defense we still have zealots like Sen. Feinstein, Mayor Bloomberg, et. al. trying to disarm the public at large (altough I do agree that whackos and felons need to be sent away forever if caught with ANY firearm) - but just imagine if all of that energy were aimed at OSA education and treatment. What a wonderful thing. It just wouldn't buy any votes or campaign contributions from those that are deathly afraid of firearms.

So, down off my soapbox now. Let's make sure that if we are tending to nod off while driving we pull over and get some sleep or assistance. OSA kills in more ways than one. In fact, I would hazard a guess that OSA kills more of "We the People" than firearms, knives and explosives combined. It just doesn't garner votes. I am off to have a nap.

[Patrick A]

There were several times when I was driving down U.S. 395 north of Bishop Ca. that I remember get so tired and sitting at a signal light that I dosed off.Then one other time I started to drift off to the side of the road @ 65mph. Not pretty, shortly after the last time that happened, I was diagnosed with severe OSA.

Now when I drive anywhere in the RV or the truck if I start to feel tired I pull over and sleep until I wake up. I always leave early when ever I am going anywhere and if I get there late I get there late. Better late than dead.

[kelingdun]

Years ago, before I got treated, I was driving on freeway 15 from last vegas to LA at about 11:00pm at night. There were no cars in front or behind me. I got tired
and fall asleep while I was driving. In my dream, I saw a 18 wheeler have a sudden stop in front of my car. I slamed on my break and woke up. There were still no car
in front, or behind me! My leg was shaking so bad at the time! About 10 miles from where this happened, there are the San Bernadino mountains. If this happend 10
min later, I would be gone!

Bring back memories...