I was trying to find out if the nodders were primarily Sleep Apnea suffers.  I found nothing specific to nodding exclusively by SA inflicted drivers and there was nothing indicating a skewing of the data towards any specific group.  However, this article, partially quoted, from the Traffic Injury Research Foundation will interest you regarding nodders and quality of sleep.

 

Quote:

In fact, only a quarter of those admitting to having fallen asleep at the wheel had been driving for 2 to 3 hours and only 30% had been driving for 4 or more hours.  The Road Safety Monitor found that fewer hours of sleep at night and poor quality of sleep are the more important factors in determining the likelihood of falling asleep at the wheel.

Click Here For The Full Article

I have always been scared of falling asleep while driving.  I’m looking forward to my first long drive since using CPAP.


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Success Nourishes Hope

i would go to work at 430 am till about 9 then when driving home i would nod off. scary then a nap sometimes running to 2-4 hours , still tired after all this. i had absolutely no idea why and kaiser didnt seem at all interested. my wife said you are always sleeping. finally i went almost incoherent with her in the car, muttering she got scared.  i am overweight and decided to go the surgery route when they diagnosed the apnea. 100 episodes 40%oxygen wow.  since `cpap i feel great. no more naps energy way up.

I voted "sometimes."  I'm assuming you mean during untreated sleep apnea.  I'm treated now and don't have problems driving.

And it was a little  hard to choose.  I guess nod off is correct.

I would feel my eyelids getting heavy, but I also would feel my muscles going limp and suddenly I would be jerked, presumably jerked awake, finding I had swerved a little.  It seemed like a split second, but who knows.  That feeling of my muscles going limp scared me soooo much, because I knew I was then out of control with the sleepiness.  God, I hated what was happening to me!  Scared me so much.  Earlier on I felt like I was being good, always pulling over when I got too tired and use the time to close my eyes and snooze a little.  But the worse the apnea got, the harder it got to control myself.  And it was impossible for me to pull over on my commutes home from work, and I had begun to nod off even then.  That's when I decided to go to the doctor.  Glad I did!

I have been on CPAP almost a month.  Before CPAP, driving home from work was getting to be a scary experience.  There were times it was all I could do to hold my eyes open.  But, THANK GOODNESS, since CPAP came along I feel like a new person.  I had forgotten just how good I could feel.  This week, I have started sleeping through the night and actually needing an alarm clock.  I LOVE MY CPAP!!!!!!!!!!!!

My vote was also "sometimes," and ONLY applies before I began CPAP.  In fact, it was because I found that I had changed lanes traveling at 65+ mph, and had absolutely no memory of doing it, that literally sent me running to the doctor.  I asked my wife to do all the driving until I felt safe doing it again...which occurred very shortly after beginning CPAP.  Now I NEVER feel sleepy behind the wheel....thank goodness!

The nature of these replies are exactly what I was hoping for!  I hope the "word" gets out around the board about this poll because I think it would interest all of us.

Daniel's sign-off message kind of puts this issue in perspective:

Daniel wrote:

The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep....... Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

As of this posting the thread has been hit 70 times with only six voting.  C'mon back and vote!


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Success Nourishes Hope

i voted 'sometimes'

nodding off at the wheel on the way home from work is what promted me to visit my doc and ultimately finding out i had OSA.

funny this is a never dozed while riding the motorcycle...must have been all the fresh air or silly cagers wanting to pull out in front of me  


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It's different when you've got a Harley-Davidson...

Hi All..... I am a truck driver I drive 420 miles 5 nights a week to and from the same place I have been doing this for 12 years now it started out I never got sleepy at all I used to laugh at my friends runing with me when they said they were sleepy then I got sleep apnia I would wake up on the shoulder or in the meadion not nod off but fall asleep I was so afraid I was going to hert someone then it happend I hit a guy in the rear thank God he didnt get hert but that finaly got me to the Dr. he put me on cpap I was a lot better for a few years then it got bad again so I went back he uped the presure on my cpap tp 21 it was like hanging my head out the window at 65mph but I got used to it and was ok again but now its geting bad again and my cpap is doing all it can do I have to work my mother is disabled and lives with me and is worryed all the time that Ill run the truck into a tree or something and Im worryed Ill hert someone but I am to fat to do any ither kind of work I have let my self get this way I no and I have tryed everything I no of to lose wait i RIDE DOWN THE ROAD AT NIGHT CRYING A LOT OF NIGHTS AND FOR NO REASON..... sorry for the caps there and please forgive my spelling ans wrighting I just got off work and am real tired pluss I cant speeel anyway hehe and Im allso sorry for rambling like this on someone elses subject thing here but I dont no how to make a new post thing Im new on pooters too anyway thanks if ya read this and any help on what I should dp would help me a lot but please dont be too mean THANKS

Prior to CPAP,  I would sometimes nod off and jerk back awake while driving.   This was mostly while on a three to four hour drive on the interstate hwy with little traffic.   This would never have been true on a two lane road with on-coming traffic. On the interstate,  I'd get bored from the journey,  lids get heavy,  start fighting it,  then realize I had nodded off,  jerked back awake,  and then would pull off the road for a nap of 30min.   I'd fall asleep nearly instantly sitting up.

Now,  after two months on CPAP,  I never seem to nod off,  but do get bored and lose my attention to the road on the interstate.   CPAP has been a blessing.   Thanks for your question.[b][/b]

Denho wrote:

Hi All..... I am a truck driver I drive 420 miles 5 nights a week to and from the same place I have been doing this for 12 years now it started out I never got sleepy at all I used to laugh at my friends runing with me when they said they were sleepy then I got sleep apnia I would wake up on the shoulder or in the meadion not nod off but fall asleep I was so afraid I was going to hert someone then it happend I hit a guy in the rear thank God he didnt get hert but that finaly got me to the Dr. he put me on cpap I was a lot better for a few years then it got bad again so I went back he uped the presure on my cpap tp 21 it was like hanging my head out the window at 65mph but I got used to it and was ok again but now its geting bad again and my cpap is doing all it can do I have to work my mother is disabled and lives with me and is worryed all the time that Ill run the truck into a tree or something and Im worryed Ill hert someone but I am to fat to do any ither kind of work I have let my self get this way I no and I have tryed everything I no of to lose wait i RIDE DOWN THE ROAD AT NIGHT CRYING A LOT OF NIGHTS AND FOR NO REASON..... sorry for the caps there and please forgive my spelling ans wrighting I just got off work and am real tired pluss I cant speeel anyway hehe and Im allso sorry for rambling like this on someone elses subject thing here but I dont no how to make a new post thing Im new on pooters too anyway thanks if ya read this and any help on what I should dp would help me a lot but please dont be too mean THANKS

Dear Denho,

I haven't nodded off, however, I've been extremely close with heavy lids and closing my eyes.  I am happy to say I finally did something about it and have been using a CPAP machine with a pressure of 14 for three weeks now.  Don't apologize for the misspellings...I think it's great you are learning computers and have found this wonderful site.  There are amazing people here and the advice I have read has helped to FINALLY not only get me on CPAP, but to also find a mask that works for me.  Now to get to the root of your problem.  Are you able to keep the mask on the whole night?  Do you use a full face mask, a nasal mask, or pillows? Have you gained weight since the doctor upped your pressure? There may be a couple of different factors on why the machine isn't working for you.  Now if you don't have a full face mask and breath through your mouth, then that negates the CPAP therapy.  I know after I gained a little more weight, I began to open my mouth when I slept...just a thought.  Also, I tried a full face mask that seemed to fit well and no leaks, however, I started to feel more tired again and found out I was snoring again.  In this case, the mask while fitting just didn't work for me.  Of course, losing weight might help your symptoms, however, I also know when you are bonetired it is impossible.  I'm a heavy gal and when I started feeling tired when I woke up and could barely stay awake, it was all I could do to make it through the day.  Sooo I compensated and drank more sugar caffeinated beverages, etc. and you can guess the rest.  I would also suggest after looking at these issues that you ask your doctor for not only a physical but also another sleep study.  There could be other factors to this problem other than the sleep apnea. Denho your crying is understandable.  Many of us have been in a similar position...not feeling well, so tired you just can't drive for fear of hurting someone, and feeling a tad hopeless.  After finally using CPAP therapy and giving it time to work, I am feeling so much better and realised that I had been a touch depressed.  I never even thought I was, but now that my quirky personality is coming back I can see how bad I was for almost a whole year.  I wish you lots of luck Denho...don't give up there's an answer and solution for this.

Melinda

Denho,

Melinda's questions are very good.

It does bother me that you are still having problems with your cpap.  A pressure of 21 is extremely high.  Mine is 18 and it took me over six months to get used to that atrocious wind tunnel.  I simply can't imagine 21.  But as Melinda suggested, maybe it's not the pressure or the machine, could it be the mask.  If you are not breathing correctly, you aren't getting benefits from the treatment.  If you have a nose mask and are often breathing through  your mouth, then you are definitely not getting relief.  Have you considered going to another doctor and a second opinion?  And what did they base their choice of increasing your pressure?   Did you have a sleep study?  If so, what was the recommended pressure from the report?  Are you on a cpap or a bipap?  I've heard a bipap is often prescribed for those requiring high pressures.  I have a bipap.  

I understand your need to support your family, but it's very important that you get this working for you, for your health and your safety and that of others.  It's awful feeling miserably exhausted, isn't it?  And it's so very hard when you need to be supporting yourself and your family members.  Gosh, I sure hope you find a way to get the cpap treatment working for you again, or a different type of machine and/or mask.  

Let us know how things go, ok?


Linda

Hi all again..... First thanks to Melinda and Linda for your kind words and info you are right there are some very good people here 2 I no of for sure Melinda I use a full face mask My mom sneeks in sometimes and looks to see if im OK and she says I do still snore I have gained wait too when I started on my cpap I was 350 and now I am over 400 I think around 420 like you said Im just so tired all the time I dont feel like exercising and I no im not lazy befor I got this I was allways bussy doing something but now I dont feel like doing anything at all its ALL I can do to make myself get up and go to work every night.... Linda the reason they raised my cpap presure I had another sleep study and the girl that did it told the people I got my cpap from what to set it at then I had another study and they said it was set right and thats when the Dr. told me the next step would be surgery but that it didnt work most of the time so I havent been back to hem my regular Dr. wants me to have that surgery to make me lose waight but I dont realy think it would help me but I am thinking about it and I think I am going to try another sleep Dr. too just to see what will happenO and I dont no the differance between cpap and bipap I have had the same thing for over 6 years I have a water container on it to moison the aie I get and my mask dose leak aometimes but not allways I kick my legs all the time though when I wake up my bed is a mess hehe
well thanks again you guys for being there like this nobody who dose not have sleep troubles like this has any idea what its like I have lost all my friends except for one they want me to fo places or visit or ride motorcycles with them I havent even started my bike in months but befor I start rambling too much again ill stop again thanks guys

I would fall asleep at business meetings and I never did anything. Then while driving home with my children in the back seat. I fell asleep and drifted into head on traffic. I awoke with seconds to spare, pulled over, to collect my thoughts and recover from almost killing myself and my kids. I immediately got help and no longer have problems. My pulmonologist told me that many people who have sleep apnea get into accidents and are killed. I believe him, and I don't need a study to convince me!

Never so far.  Problem with the poll is that many who did fall asleep aren't around to vote.

Starting with the CPAP tonight and it's got me a little spooked.  I'm a thrashy kind of sleeper, like a cold room and a warm (water) bed, and wear as little as possible.  The whole idea of the mask and the tube and the machine and the noise has kept me from seeking diagnosis and treatment for years.

But if I'd ever fallen asleep while driving, I'd hope I'd have had the sense to do something more than the nothing I did.

Falling asleep while driving is what drove me (ha ha) to the doctor to begin with.  It happened 3 times.  I damaged the car seriously twice.  Luckily my wife and kids weren't with me, and I'm still alive.
The Dr.  first thought I might have narcolepsy, but ordered an immediate sleep study.  Within a week I was being wired for the study.  Less than halfway through the night, they attached the CPAP.  I've had it for about a month now.  It's kind of a pain in the butt for me (I like freedom), but the nose pillows aren't all that bad.  Haven't driven off the road since..though I still get easily tired.  It'll take some time for me to get used to all this I suppose.