Any Transport Drivers from Ontario Canada?

Hi,

I have sleep apnea and am convinced that my husband does also. I cannot get him to go to the Dr. to be tested as he is worried that the Dr. will report to the DMV if he has apnea and pull his license. Are there any drivers here in Ontario on this forum that have sleep apnea that have experience with this and can give me some tips and information that may help to get him to go be tested I have told him all the reasons he needs to go, but he is worried about his job and being able to work. He has 19 months left till retirement and I want him to be around for a long time beyond that.

Thanks, Marlene

You might want to go to apneasupport.com and post this same inquiry for truckerdad. He can most likely answer your question or put you in touch w/someone who can. Good luck to both hubby and you.

They'll pull his license if he doesn't go for help - especially after he hits something or someone because he can't stay awake on the road. They don't otherwise pull them unless he has seizures, or other conditions that aren't treated. I worked in med. offices and hospitals in T.O. for 20 years, and I know the above to be true because MDs I worked for did report certain patients to be either tested - older people with strokes, etc., or else have their licenses taken away - untreatable seizures, bad eyes, etc. etc.) and never had an OSA patient lose their license due to that.

I live in Ontario. I am not a transport truck driver but when I was diagnosed in 2002, the Sleep Specialist had to write a letter to the DMV stating that I have severe sleep apnea but am using the cpap machine. I had been on cpap for a number of months and the card in my machine showed 100% compliance.

The Specialist told me that, as long as I was receiving therapy and was compliant, then I could continue to drive but that he was required, by law, to report this to the DMV. I have a copy of that letter, since he was also required by law, to tell me and to give me a copy of that letter.

At any license renewal time, I have never been asked if I am still using cpap. The license renewal procedure is the way it has always been.

It may be different for a transport truck driver, but I expect, if he is diagnosed and is compliant with his therapy, he would still be allowed to drive. There may be other stipulations. like sleep studies every so often and continuing proof of compliance but I expect that would be all.

Windmill wrote:Hi,

I have sleep apnea and am convinced that my husband does also. I cannot get him to go to the Dr. to be tested as he is worried that the Dr. will report to the DMV if he has apnea and pull his license. Are there any drivers here in Ontario on this forum that have sleep apnea that have experience with this and can give me some tips and information that may help to get him to go be tested I have told him all the reasons he needs to go, but he is worried about his job and being able to work. He has 19 months left till retirement and I want him to be around for a long time beyond that.

Thanks, Marlene

Former semi driver here.

I imagine you understand the extreme scrutiny commercial vehicle operators are under these days. Given apnea causes drowsiness
there is a good chance the doctor will be compelled to inform the MTO of his findings and there is a chance the license will be suspended
until therapy compliance can be demonstrated. So, with retirement 19 months away your husband has reason to be worried.

On the other hand, 19 months of untreated sleep apnea is not good either. Given you have apnea and presumably a data capable
machine you are in a good position to do some experimentation. Somehow obtain a mask that fits him and next time he is home
set the machine pressure fairly low at say 6 - 8 and have him wear it during an afternoon nap.

Read the results afterwards and you will gain some insight into his situation. If he has apnea it should show up in the data. In that
case you can obtain a machine and quietly get him on therapy without going to a doctor and risking reporting. This is not as good
as a sleep study but better than nothing. Once he is retired then go for the full blown sleep study.

This way you can coast into retirement, avoid the risk of license suspension and still get some measure of treatment started.

BTW, it won't be the DMV he will be reported to but rather the MTO.

I believe you are right Paul. It is the MTO. I didn't look for my letter in my files. I just followed the lead of the OP.

It doesn't matter which department will be concerned, just that there will be a concern that the condition be treated, if discovered.

Thanks for all the replies. Paul, you made a very good suggestion about trying the machine on my husband during a nap. I think I may be able to persuade him to try it that way to show him the results. I know how to change the pressure on my machine so can set it accordingly, and I have a few masks.

Thanks!

(I should have known it was the MTO)

Well, you might not get a lot of good data from a nap - the machines generally need you to be on them for a good few hours (4 is what some say) before you can track anything meaningfully, if at all. Sorry!

I am in Ontario. I was freaked out worried I would lose my license as well.

When I spoke with my doc about it all he said was if I get any notice from the MTO just to bring it into him. As long as you are compliant they won't pull it.

He has used it as a bargaining chip for some patients to get them to use the cpap.

Please consider that your husband might kill others by not treating himself. Ask him to consider his possible victims on the road. Please ask him not to be selfish

Not a transport driver, but in Ontario. When you get your sleep study, and usually at your doctor they ask you the standard questions to assess your level of sleep apnea. One in particular asks if you have ever fell asleep driving, at a set of lights etc. I am positive if you say yes to that, they will take notice and advise whatever dept they have to. Other than that , nothing was said to me, and certainly no doctor wrote a letter to MTO or similar.

Let's face it-there are a lot of sleep deprived people driving around, apnea or non-apnea. Unless you are physically falling unconscious at the wheel, I can't see it as a problem

Julie wrote:Well, you might not get a lot of good data from a nap - the machines generally need you to be on them for a good few hours (4 is what some say) before you can track anything meaningfully, if at all. Sorry!

I've been known to nap for 4 hours... and I'm certain a driver coming in off the road can nap for a good 4 hours.

In any case it would be better than not doing anything. My point with the nap was so the OP would not need to deprive
herself of the use of her machine overnight.

As well, we don't know what his schedule is. Often drivers will come back to the home terminal after driving all night
to get there and will spend the next day sleeping. If that is the case, then this little experiment should have plenty of
time to give some measure of results.

The worst that can happen is that he gets frustrated with the mask and removes it before any meaningful data
accumulates or there is massive leakage that skewers the results.

The best that could happen is he wakes up feeling better than he has in months and proceeds based on that.

I currently suffer from sleep problems. I have been treated in both Canada and Hong Kong. Honestly I don't believe there is much point your husband reporting his problem. It will take several months before he is tested and after that it will take longer still experimental treatment. I have ended up
self medicating. The doctors in Hong Kong have been very helpful in this regards. I take sleeping pills once a week and take sleeping pills for 3-4 days with time off driving off when required. This has worked for me.

I am from Alberta not Ontario. Here they only report you if you are not compliant with your treatment. I would not worry about being reported too much,the laws south of the border are changing to require a sleep study to many drivers so most major truck companies are already aware of the treatment process, and a sleep apnea diagnosis will not affect your job. i was worried about this but found that many of our drivers already use cpap in the truck so all the dispatchers knew what to expect when i started cpap. The health benefits far outweigh any risk of being reported to the MTO. Both of your lives will be much better

Sleep apnea will be disqualifying for a commercial motor vehicle operator both in Canada and here the states only if the driver is not under "current and effective treatment".

Current and effective treatment is a minimum of 4 hours per night on pressure at least 70 % of the nights as shown by a CPAP data download.

Here in the states the Americans with Disabilities Act also comes into play for job protections for companies that will not hire or make reasonable accomodations (like an inverter in the truck to plug in your CPAP).

It gets more complicated.... We have a support group for truck drivers with sleep apnea.
Truckers for a Cause - A. W. A. K. E.