Dimwit, I am quite horrified at what you posted.
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OK ceejayblue but far too many liberties, freedoms and privilages are being taken away based on dodgy research, spurious information and mis-diagnosis. You could easily make a case banning every vehicle driver on this earth unless they have a regular "airline pilot type" medical.
Well you can play the PC card or whinge about the taking away of your civil liberties or human rights as loudly as you wish, but as an OSA sufferer, diagnosed and treated or not, you have a responsibility to yourself and those around you to behave in a sensible and decent manner. I do not think that putting yourself and others at increased risk of injury or death is a responsible and mature approach to living.
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How often is OSA proven to be the primary factor in road accidents, as opposed to a row with the boss, mobile phones, kids in the car, mother-in-law, the list goes on so lets ban them all. My complaint is that this OSA test is a handy "catch-all" with no further evidence required that the driver is a danger to road users. Assumptions as we all know are impossible to argue with.
Many drivers admit to falling asleep at the wheel - or forensic pathologists diagnose this from their state at the time of death at an autopsy. Gruesome but true. Now whether this sleepiness was caused by OSA, too much alcohol in the bloodstream, a heavy meal, prescription or recreative medications doesn't matter. The sleepy state of the driver caused an accident, injuries and/or deaths. If you KNOW you have uncontrolled OSA, you know that you run a greater risk of falling asleep at inopportune moments than most of us, because you have a medication condition that is not being managed. If you are managing it - usually by compliance with your CPAP - your risk is reduced, but you can't count on other drivers to take responsibility for their lives and way of managing them.
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On the personal benefit side I am really struggling. The CPAP kit is a classic case of the cure being worse than the disease. Anyone who claims to get a good nights sleep with that thing on their face is telling porkies or they must have been awake forever. Look, it might help some people but lets stop pretending that it's the finest thing since sliced bread.
Now I think that this is the nub of the problem. I have been using a CPAP for the past 10 years, and admit that it was because of unacceptable daytime sleepiness which made me an unsafe driver (amongst other things) that led me to investigate my snoring and sleepiness. Luckily I didn't cause any injuries, but I gave a hired minibus (empty) a very rough time curled round a petrol pump, with a lot of damage to the metalwork and paint.
I have a permanent crater inbetween my eyes from my first mask. I wear this as a mark of my ignorance - I didn't know how to adjust the angle of the mask, I didn't know that there were other, more comfortable masks to be had, nor that I could have safely used a moisturising cream to combat the dryness of my skin caused by the mask.
I know exactly how horrible it feels, and how devastated one feels when one looks in a mirror or imagines it on one's face.
But with support, encouragement and perseverance, things DO get better. It takes time to adjust both physically and psychologically to wearing the mask, and to have a non-human bedside companion every night for the rest of your life. But there are so many more of us than you might think, because you can't see inside our bedrooms at night. Yes, it really is difficult to accept, because it feels so odd. But what becomes odd becomes normal as you persevere. Did you like your first glass of coca cola? I didn't but as a 60s child, I persisted because it was accepted! And the VERY first time you drove a car, I bet the back of your seat was wet with sweat when you got out! Yet we have a coca cola or pop down to the shops without a qualm now! And I'm sure you can think of many personal examples!
But it needs working at. You have to have a positive approach ....
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Finally, the claim (assumption, because you can't prove the opposite) that it helps avoid strokes and heart attacks is questionable.
........... but it has been medically proven that the lack of oxygen in your brain - which drops when you have an apnoea - can cause a heart attack or a stroke, because both the heart and the brain need a constant supply of oxygen which they get through the blood, and the oxygen gets into your bloodstream by your breathing.
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We've all got to die of something but at least the choice is ours
...... do you really want to contribute to your death? Think of the sadness that premature death or suicide brings to those closest to the person who dies. And surely life is good enough to want to live it for as long as you possibly can?
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Obviously the time is not far off when every vehicle will fitted with an alarm complete with smart card, that wakes you when you nod off, three bells and your out. That'll keep them busy at Swansea.
When I am deeply asleep I can't even respond to the door bell or the telephone, so chimes in my car, or even a dentist's drill whine wouldn't do anything for me!! But yes, I am sure technology will eventually produce an alarm ........ but there's no guarantee that the driver will respond to it ........ after all every car has a speedometer fitted, but that doesn't cause drivers to slow down automatically once it reaches 70 mph!
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In the meantime I think I will invest in CPAP shares.
Now that would be a good idea - but unless more people have the courage to face up to the fact that they have OSA, and are prepared to actively manage their condition, they won't necessarily have to increase production and sell more, so you may have to wait for a windfall dividend!
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