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My Little Secret
by Brian Botham
The Greek word "apnea" literally means "without breath." There are three types of apnea: obstructive, central, and mixed. Of the three, obstructive is the most common. Despite the difference in the root cause of each type, in all three cases, people with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly while sleeping, some times hundreds of times during the night - often for a minute or longer.  Sleep apnea is very common, as common as adult diabetes, and affects more than 12 million Americans, according to the National Institute of Health. Risk factors include being male, overweight, and over the age of forty, but sleep apnea can strike anyone at any age, even children. Untreated, sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease, memory problems, weight gain, impotency, and headaches. Moreover, untreated sleep apnea may be responsible for job impairment and motor vehicle crashes.So, here's the good news: sleep apnea is a very treatable disease. While the treatment and length of treatment will vary by individual, it is something that you should most definitely talk to your physician about. To answer the second part of your question, "will the doctor suspend your license?" The answer is yes. While that may sound severe, doctors are bound by law to do this. The National Safety Code medical standards section, revised in July 2006, requires doctors to notify respective ministries regarding at-risk drivers. Section 6.4.2: Sleep Disorders and Other Medical Conditions causing Excessive Drowsiness, says, "Patients with severe sleep apnea or other syndromes that chronically interfere with sleep are at increased risk of an accident or injury while driving because of daytime sleepiness. Patients with a history of pathologic daytime sleepiness should be referred to a consultant for further assessment. If their condition is severe enough to impair driving ability, they should not be allowed to drive any class of motor vehicle until the condition has been adequately treated and controlled." (CMA 6.3) The standard goes on to say that patients, "may operate any class of vehicle after the condition has been adequately treated and controlled, subject to continued medical surveillance." What that all means is if your doctor diagnoses sleep apnea severe enough to affect your ability to operate a motor vehicle, he or she is obliged to suspend your license on medical grounds. The good news is that once you have been treated and/or the condition is controlled, i.e., you're taking treatment like using a CPAP machine while you're on the truck, your license can be re-instated. The best advice I can offer is this: sleep apnea is usually treatable. The licence suspension may only be temporary. You can get better and return to driving. That being said, the most important advice I can give you is to get this treated right away. What would happen if you fell asleep at the wheel of your truck? You would not want to live with that knowing that you could have been treated and returned to work healthy. Driving privileges can be suspended for a number of medical conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, peripheral vascular diseases, diseases of the nervous system, and others. Kidney, heart, and lung problems can leave you without a license, as can psychiatric disorders, the effects of drugs and/or alcohol, and even ageing. While you might be tempted to ignore the onset of certain physical and mental ailments for fear of losing your livelihood - and who can blame you - I'd offer a guess that your family would rather have you unemployed or on light-duty than shipped home in a pine box from Moose Fart Idaho after a crash. Get what's ailing you looked after early. Early detection is always the best course of action in the end.
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