Will I lose my license?

I've been on the fence for months whether to call my doctor or not. I wake up every morning feeling absolutely terrible. I have a pounding headache, dry mouth, sore throat, and an angry wife who insists that I snore/stop breathing throughout the night. I'm only 29, but my family has a loud history of sleep issues (they're all snorers on my mother's side).

My biggest concern is, in going to the doctor, that I'll have my drivers license revoked.. or have strange conditions put on it. Since I live in a rural community (in Ontario), losing the freedom to drive is simply not an option whatsoever. If I have my license taken away, it will make the experience beyond embarrassing and is an absolute deal breaker. I'd really be trading one quality of life issue for another.

Here in Ontario, I'm not sure if my doctor is obligated to report to the MTO if I go in for a consultation.. which makes this difficult. On one hand, I know it's best to go in and get tested.. and on the other, I wonder if I could lose a few pounds and see a significant improvement. I'm not sure when this became so pronounced.. I guess I've noticed it over the last year. Previous to that, I worked shift work and always chalked up being tired to simply working odd night shifts.

So yeah. It's just a weird situation, coming onto this forum and reading about all the people who have had their 'lives changed' by a CPAP machine.. and being scared to talk to my doctor about it at all.

If you can get diagnosed and start treatment at the age of 29, consider yourself lucky. I wish I had been diagnosed decades ago before my health was ruined. Good luck on the driver's license issue.

I don't live in Canada, but my friend's husband totaled his car while asleep at the wheel due to undiagnosed sleep apnea. His doctor had been urging him to be tested but he resisted until the accident. He never lost his license, but he may have just been lucky.

Your quality of life will increase in every aspect if you have a good night's sleep. You'll wonder why you ever waited to talk to your doctor. I didn't think I had sleep apnea and my doctor wanted me to be tested. Begrudgingly, I agreed. What a difference! I'll never sleep without it.

Other people on this forum may have so much more to say to you. At least you've taken the step to look here. You'll be glad you did.

From what I understand, they can take your license away if you are diagnosed AND are not compliant with your treatment. You need to get checked out. IF you are diagnosed all you have to do is use your treatment. It saves your life, makes your wife happy (you will snore less and your sex life will improve) and keeps the other people on the road safe from YOU.

Please get tested and come back here for any help or encouragement you may need with your treatment.

Bev

ChrisC1 wrote:....

If I have my license taken away, it will make the experience beyond embarrassing and is an absolute deal breaker. I'd really be trading one quality of life issue for another.

....

Not forget that waking up to an apnea induced heart attack/stroke may be an experience beyond embarrassing and an absolute deal breaker.

Hey look everybody! I'm driving while dead .... quality of life huh?

It's really that serious? I had no idea it impacted beyond just making you have a crappy night's sleep.

I had an apnea that lasted more than 2.5 minutes. Can you imagine the damage that can do to the heart and brain? I think I've had apneas all my life, but did not get diagnosed until Sept. 2007. Do your family a favor. Get tested.

Bev

ChrisC1 wrote:It's really that serious? I had no idea it impacted beyond just making you have a crappy night's sleep.

Untreated sleep apnea can and most likely will cause the following:

cardiovascular disease
heart attack
congestive heart failure
high blood pressure
stroke
brain damage
depression
diabetes
seizures
weight gain

My dad had sleep apnea. One night he went to sleep without his CPAP machine and he didn't wake up the next morning.

Look at what Bev just said - she stopped breathing for TWO AND A HALF MINUTES in her sleep. Can you even begin to imagine what happens to your organs after they're repeatedly deprvived of oxygen every night?

In my sleep study I had an AHI of 23. That means that my body was having an event *23* times an *hour*. And that's not even a severe case of sleep apnea.

Weight loss might not help you, and it's unlikely that you'd successfully lose weight anyway, sleep apnea prevents it.

Go to the doctor. It's not just a quality of life issue, it's a LIFE OR DEATH ISSUE.

And you can't drive your car if you're dead.

ChrisC1 wrote:It's really that serious? I had no idea it impacted beyond just making you have a crappy night's sleep.

Yes! It's really that serious! Get thee to a sleep doctor...

First, if you feel your fatigue is hampering your driving, your odds aren't any better remaining undiagnosed. You could kill yourself (or someone else) either way.

Second, there's much more to the story than "crappy night's sleep". Apneas put strain on your heart and circulatory system. Low blood-oxygen puts strain on darn near everything else. Your body recovers from an apnea event by sending out a jolt of adreneline. You know how your heart pounds when you have a good scare? Imagine that happening 20-30 times a night while you are asleep! If you are lucky and your heart doesn't give out, you also risk a stroke from the intermittant high blood pressure.

Third, I dunno about the law in Canada, but in the US, SA will not affect your driver's license UNLESS you leave it untreated. (Truckers with CDLs may be different. I really don't know.)

Get diagnosed and get on treatment (if necessary). You have much more to lose than your driving privileges!

Wow! Looks like we were all typing to Chris at the same time!

Chris, don't feel like we're lecturing you...but it IS "that serious".

LinkC wrote:Wow! Looks like we were all typing to Chris at the same time!

Chris, don't feel like we're lecturing you...but it IS "that serious".

Speak for yourself, I am TOTALLY lecturing him! I'm wagging my finger and everything!

ChrisC1 wrote:It's really that serious? I had no idea it impacted beyond just making you have a crappy night's sleep.

It is hypoxemic hypoxia that is the deal breaker ... have you ever been water boarded? If you have OSA you have ... only without the water.

My diagnosis showed that I stopped breathing 102 times per hour and my blood oxygen levels dipped down to 60% (in a hospital setting they administer supplemental oxygen when O2 dips down below 90%, 96% is about normal). It is the drops in O2 that lead to many of the other serious conditions.

Sleep apnea is almost always misunderstood as only being an issue of snoring and daytime sleepiness. Even most of the sleepcare industry views it that way. Research and educate yourself and you will develop a whole new perspective and respect for your condition.

Best wishes!

Yes, you could, you could also, lose your life, the life of people in the car you hit, your family, your home, your job, your health in other words everything you have or wanted.

I think this is a New First, being in DeNile, before treatment. Talk about a Bummer for success! Jim

Goofproof wrote: I think this is a New First, being in DeNile, before treatment. Talk about a Bummer for success!

Jim,

Not necessarily. He's here. He's asking for help. He's scared. That counts for a lot.

I mean, geeze, I was recovering from cancer surgery, for ghu's sake! Then I get handed an apnea diagnosis after a miserable PSG in which I sneezed and coughed and shivered all night because I was allergic to the sheets on their bed, and the temperature in the room was beyond frigid!

I'm claustrophobic to the point it's taken me almost 9 years to get used to light reading glasses. Sleep with a mask? You have got to be kidding!

I was crying when I came out of the doc's office, clutching the titration prescription.

Then I came here, and started asking questions. Just like Chris is. I'll have been on my machine a month as of Friday -- have not missed a night, and have not had less than 6-7 hours any night -- and in some cases 8-10 hours. So don't assume someone's in De Nile just 'cause they're scared witless!

ChrisC1 wrote:Here in Ontario, I'm not sure if my doctor is obligated to report to the MTO if I go in for a consultation.. which makes this difficult.

I was diagnosed with OSA a few months ago (my sleep study showed that I was having 52 apneas an hour) and I live in Ontario. My doctor did ask me not to take any long road trips until I got my CPAP but she did not take away my license, so I doubt that would happen.