With respect I say this to you.  If you feel you are a danger than by all means Don't drive.  I do not feel any more at risk than the next guy.  My history shows me to be a responsible driver with no tickets and one ONE 1 and ONLY 1 crash and that is because an illegal alien hit ME.  In 26 years of driving EVERYDAY!  And I have had OSA for a long Long LONG time.  WIth no problems.  I got diagnosed now because I am retirement eligible from the Military and they can't kick me out before I can retire now.  As well, It is now covered by the Military and the VA.  I drive without glasses.  I have never worn glasses.  Though I have them prescribed.  I cannot read street signs but I can see cars.  I can see tail lights and people and colors of red and green.  

I don't know what the problem is with most of the people on this forum.  It is OSA.  It is a sleeping disorder.  It doesn't affect my wake time.  As far as a little sleepiness goes, I'll take a nap if need be.  But that and my blood pressure are the only things I am being treated for.  No diabetes, no fibromyalgia, no depression, none of the multitude of things I read in other posts where everyone seems to be 700lbs and housebound to a life of CPAP and tv remotes.

Like I said, I am not being disrespectful but at 41 I am still able to run 6 miles a day and I am not ready to be handicapped by my ailments as you seem to be.  If I am wrong about you then I apologize.  But you don't know me.  So don't be so quick to include me in your group of mismatched illnesses and maladies.  I am not selfish.  Nor am I ignorant.  And I do have regard for others and that is why I have car insurance should I have a driving error and need to file a claim.  I can be sure that 99.9 % of all accidents are not caused by sleep apnea and 100% are not caused by me.

Accx4, look I am not bashing you at all, but you are coming off this all wrong...you are basically saying that "When I have a problem driving I will deal with it then". It's like you are saying "I'll deal with the fact that I just killed a person when I do it." Let me ask you this...have you ever killed a person? THen how do you know you will deal with it?

You know, I really don't care how you live your life...I don't care if you work long hours and stop after work and drink a round of beers. I don't really care if you decided to get behind the wheel when your blood alcohol is .02% or higher. But when I do care is when you don't care about the people that you put in danger every time you do drink and drive, or when you do fall asleep behind the wheel. I do care when you run over a man who's just worked a 24-72 hour shift, who's on his way home to his young wife and newborn baby. I do care when you slam your car into the side of car that is/was being driven by a young mother carrying her baby to see her Army dad, who just got home from a 9 month tour in Iran.

You're nothing but a self-centered, self-righteous individual who needs a good wake up call, or a good kick in the arse....maybe both.

MAy GOD have mercy on you.

Accx4 wrote:

I was untreated up until the 27th of April.  I drive every day.  Somedays I am sleepy some days I am not.  How is that any different than anyone else?  People come to work tired for all kinds of reasons.  And carry guns for goodness sake.  Patrol the streets, drive, chase people, get out of work, grab some beers, party until the wee hours and go to work again.  That is life.  I average 4 and a half hours of sleep on nights I work.  That in itself would make someone tired.  That is life.  If I have an accident, then at that point I can evaluate my driving habits with relation to my sleeping habits.  But until then, get off my back.  You may be narcoleptic and fall asleep in your spaghetti but I have never done that.  I have dozed while driving in the middle of the night on the highway but Hmmm... last time I checked the crashed cars weren't me.  You can think I am being ridiculous but PLEASE... When I have a problem driving I will deal with it then.  To arbitrarily take someone's drivers license because of a blanket diagnosis is absolutely wrong.  Just because I have OSA doesn't mean I have driving problems.  Thats ridiculous!  And completely WRONG.  Every day someone kills someone else on the road.  They don't all have sleep apnea.  So why do they have their driver's license still?  Get real!

No more preaching people, you can quote chapter and verse, give testomony, but this is a guy who needs a damascus road experience to get converted.  Virginia


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Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

Accx4 wrote:

... I am not selfish.  Nor am I ignorant.  And I do have regard for others and that is why I have car insurance should I have a driving error and need to file a claim. ...

Like your insurance will make diddley-squat of a difference to the child of the mother you kill. You are freaking disgusting!

You are oh so correct, Virginia, there's no hope for this "person". We are absolutely wasting our time on the likes of him.


_________________
Some people are like Slinkies... Not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.
Resmed VPAP Auto. Humidaire 3i, Simplicity & Micro masks, ResScan 3.4, S8 ResLink, Embla oximeter.

Accx4 I have seen many people in the military with the  type of attitude you have shown us in your posts, but most were new recruits, not seasoned vets. I guess things have changed alot since I retired from the military in the very early 90's! But  anyway you are aware that your military retirement is not something that is absolute, under certain conditions it can be taken away. Hopefully you will never have that happen, but why take chances? Treat your sleep apnea, wear your glasses when you drive, Cover Your A**, When I was in the Service all the Branches of the Military  was really big on  safety and accident prevention, and I am sure that hasn't changed! And it applies to the civilian world as well!

Drunk drivers also rationalize their actions.

Accx4 wrote:

It is OSA.  It is a sleeping disorder.  It doesn't affect my wake time.

Wow...I mean...wow.

I guess denial isn't just a river in Egypt.  

OKAY - - - ALL OF YOU - - - ENOUGH ALREADY.      HOW FAR OFF THE SUBJECT HAS THIS GOTTEN?  AND IS THE CRITICISM AND JUDGMENT HELPING ANYONE OR ANYTHING?  AS A RETIRED PARALEGAL WHO WORKED PREPPING MANY WITNESSES FOR DEPOSITION OR TRIAL, IT WAS ESSENTIAL TO TRY TO GET THEM TO FOLLOW THESE 3 CRITICAL AND ESSENTIAL RULES:
(1) LISTEN TO THE QUESTION.  (2) THINK ABOUT THE QUESTION.  (3) ANSWER THE QUESTION.  THAT MEANS WHAT IT SAYS:  ANSWER THE QUESTION, JUST THE QUESTION AND NOTHING BUT THE QUESTION.  IF YOU CAN LEARN TO DO THIS, YOU WILL BE AHEAD OF THE GAME IN WHAT YOU SAY AND/OR WRITE.  PLEASE, STOP ALL THIS NONSENSE AND  GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL QUESTION . . . THEN FOLLOW THE 3 RULES.      

JSM wrote:

OKAY - - - ALL OF YOU - - - ENOUGH ALREADY.      HOW FAR OFF THE SUBJECT HAS THIS GOTTEN?  AND IS THE CRITICISM AND JUDGMENT HELPING ANYONE OR ANYTHING?  AS A RETIRED PARALEGAL WHO WORKED PREPPING MANY WITNESSES FOR DEPOSITION OR TRIAL, IT WAS ESSENTIAL TO TRY TO GET THEM TO FOLLOW THESE 3 CRITICAL AND ESSENTIAL RULES:
(1) LISTEN TO THE QUESTION.  (2) THINK ABOUT THE QUESTION.  (3) ANSWER THE QUESTION.  THAT MEANS WHAT IT SAYS:  ANSWER THE QUESTION, JUST THE QUESTION AND NOTHING BUT THE QUESTION.  IF YOU CAN LEARN TO DO THIS, YOU WILL BE AHEAD OF THE GAME IN WHAT YOU SAY AND/OR WRITE.  PLEASE, STOP ALL THIS NONSENSE AND  GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL QUESTION . . . THEN FOLLOW THE 3 RULES.      

Don't forget Rule #4 - DON'T TYPE IN ALL CAPS!

Driving with untreated sleep apnea is on-topic for the original question.

Also, there is no need to SHOUT.

Have you all gotten so comfortable in your slippers reclining on your sofas at just the right angle that the molded cushion cradles your behind so perfectly?  Do you never leave the house without your tuffy wheel chair... Do you wait to be picked up by the medical transport van becauase you are too chicken to drive?  What is wrong with you.  Almost everyone of you who have posted a comment on here has been like some condescending grandma pointing her crusty crooked finger at me like you somehow know me.  Well you have all missed the mark.  Just because I have been diagnosed I should not drive?  Are you nuts?  Thats ridiculous!  I am still the same driver that I always was.  I have never been in an accident that I caused.  I haven't even gotten a ticket.  If you fell asleep while driving and killed a family on their way to a vacation at grandmas then I apologize for pointing you out but who are you to pass judgement on me?  You don't know me.  I used the round of beers as an example of how people in general are.  I do not drink more than maybe 6 beers a year.  If I am drinking it is at home when I am not going anywhere becuase AZ has the highest fines for DUI in the Nation.  Now... (like that was the topic or something) I am not going to stop driving just because I was diagnosed.  that would be stupid.  I didn't go to the doctor and say "hey doc... I keep falling asleep when I drive...'.  That is not what brought me to this point and who are you to think that my driving is even in question.  I drove 700 miles yesterday.  Pulled into my driveway at 11:45 PM.  Got up for work this morning after 3 1/2 hours of sleep as I usually do.  I am used to it.  If that makes YOU dangerous, then PLEASE don't drive while you are dangerous.  I have been doing it for a LONG LONG time.  I am used to my schedule.  I do not operate heavy machinery when I take a new med that says do not operate heavy machinery until I know what the effects are going to be.  

Have you all given up on yourselves?  Do you feel handicapped?  I am not.  I have sleep apnea.  It affects my oxygen levels while sleeping and decreases the quality of my sleep.  It doesn't make me fat... It doesn't make me limp, it doesn't make me think that at any moment I could wipe out the Jones' while they are driving to grandmas (or int the case here the Gonzales').  This isn't like AA (for those of you who are familiar with that too) where admitting I have a problem is the first step in recovery.  I know I have a problem.  That problem is the only way to effectively treat sleep apnea is with CPAP.  OR merely the fact that I have sleep apnea to begin with.  I am not handicapped by sleep apnea or any other ailment for that matter.  I am a relatively fit 41 year old that refuses to lay down and die as so many of you already seem to have done by your posts.  I

Being diagnosed with OSA should not be a factor in determining whether someone should be able to drive or not.  Their behavior behind the wheel should determine that.  If just the fact that there is potentially an inherant risk involved between driving and OSA the same could be said for red light running.  Based on the sheer numbers of red lights there is an inherant risk that someone will run one  and there for EVERYONE who enters an intersection should be penalized for the fact that they MIGHT someday run one.  That is ridiculous thinking.  I am sorry but I am not you.  As I said, please don't drive if you fal asleep behind the wheel.  I don't so I will continue to drive.  WHen I get too sleepy, I will pull over and take a nap.  Why is that hard for you?  It isn't for me.  So cool it with the calling me selfish etc.  I am not.  I am not any different than anyone else except I am not handicapped by my ailments or using it as an excuse for a miserable life...

Let the stereotypes begin!

My apologies Accx4
  I came down on you, and I don't even know you.  I was just concerned when you said that if you should kill someone while driving, that you wouldn't care. Of course, you are right when you said that "Just because I have been diagnosed I should not drive?" I mean, we all know our limits, some of us who have been diagnosed shouldn't drive, and we know it.

Accx4 wrote:

I have sleep apnea but my day time sleepiness is no different than anyone elses.

If you believe this you are one huge fool.  Please let us know where you drive so we can stay off the road.

Quote:

If I am drinking it is at home when I am not going anywhere because AZ has the highest fines for DUI in the Nation.

Does this mean that you would drive while under the influence if the fines weren't as high as they are?  Would you stop driving with untreated OSA if there were fines?