For goodness sake, no one here is telling you not to drive because you have sleep apnea. We don't want you to drive because you are telling us you are logging 3 and a half hours of sleep.  This is not enough for anyone fit , or not, to remain safe on the road for very long.  You think you've managed well so far, and maybe you have, but we are trying to get it into your head that it won't last for very much longer.  You are going to hit the wall someday soon, we are just trying to warn you .  If you are offended by the way we come across, then I am sorry, but I will not appologize for caring enough for a stranger to tell him to take care of himself, and the rest of those on the road . Please get some more sleep.  Virginia


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

[quote="edamas"] Also the last time I was told that if I didn't make it through that night with the CPAP mask on, that they have the right to take away my drivers license. Now they tell me the same thing. How can this be?

Check with the Department of Motor Vehicles for your state.  They can quickly tell you what the law is in your state regarding drivers' licenses for persons diagnosed with apnea.  Sorry that so many of these people have gotten off on their own axe(s) to grind.  And as for Accx4 . . . I really resent your  prejudicial references (i.e., an inclination for or against that inhibits impartial judgment) to older people.  Age discrimination does not become you.  Are you bitter or what?

Back in the day there was no problem with drinking WHILE driving... Was it wrong back then?  Of course not.  It IS however wrong NOW.  Same as the days when smoking was allowed everywhere and there were ashtrays in the checkout lines at Wolworths and the grocery store and the bank etc.  There was nothing wrong with drinking and driving.  There was nothing wrong with smoking in your car with the windows rolled up with your 3 kids jumping around in the back seat with no seat belts on because they didn't exist.  If a diagnosis of OSA could place a restriction on ones drivers license, I would never let the DMV know that I had one.  As I have never let them know I cannot pass a simple eye test.  Years ago I learned how to pass the eye test without actually being able to read it.  I cannot pass the eye doc's test but I can pass the DMV's.  I have glasses but I do not have restrictions on my Drivers license.  Nor do I want any restrictions.  Because I have done nothing wrong.  If I kill someone while driving, I certainly would care however, I haven't.  Nor do I expect to.  It could happen sure but I could get hit in the head with a meteorite while walking backward through an ice cream parlor  with a  rain coat and cowboy boots on too.  I mean who in their right mind worries about things they have no control over anyway?  That is what makes people sick.  I have to say, I do believe in accidents.  I do believe that accidents can for the most part be avoided but to say DON"T DRIVE because you ya you the one with OSA you might fall asleep and crash.  Yes I know I only get minimal sleep but life doesn't wait for my schedule.  I have 6 kids and a full time job.  Fortunately I am VERY used to it and It is what it is.  I didn't ask them to start my shift at 4AM.  But I have to accomodate it.  I have averaged 3 to 5 hours of sleep per night for 3 and a half years.  Because life doesn't sleep.  I do what I have to do because there is no one who is going to let me sit at home on my butt dented couch clutching my salt encrusted fingers around a can of pringles.  So quit worrying... I am insured.  

I would hope it never comes to blanket rules.  I think that each person should be rated on their own merit.  Just because someone is epileptic shouldn't mean that they have to turn in their Drivers license.  Sure they may have a seizure but what IF they never do?  What if I fall asleep while driving but then what if my daughter dioes (who has no sleep disorders btw).  There is no difference.  So please don't include me in what you perceive is something that maybe you cannot handle doing.  I still possess all my faculties... Thanks... Keep the world safe... stay home on the couch doesn't cut it.  It's my world too!

Just be careful Accx4, that's all we are saying. Anybody who works knows what minimal sleep is. These days, that's what America in general is doing...I mean, we have so many obligations, that we are a sleep deprived nation. I remember my working days....getting up at 8 am, just so I can be at work at 10 am, then working til 2 am because some poor kid didn't make it in, and having to do it all over again. It was fun while it lasted, but soon it turned into an draining experience.

Today in Las Vegas, there are still people moving here, despite the bad market, so the streets and highways are jam packed with urgent drivers trying to do their best to get to their destination in as short a time as possible. Add to that the people that don't know how to drive, the heat, and the disgruntled drivers, and you got a bad mix, throw in street repair work, and its a boiling pot ready to blow. The police department here are the best in the country, and when they pull you over, they mean business. Not one person who does get pulled over escapes without a ticket.

Anyways, I agree, let's put this topic to rest, as it's gotten way off the subject.