Question:
Hi Everyone! Happy Thursday. My husband and I are working for Swift. He is in the process of training me. There is no doubt that my husband has sleep apnea (which we are working on getting a c-pap machine) and I don't know what else to do to help him from being consumed by sleepiness. It's sad to say, but he can take a nap for 3 hours, get behind the wheel, drive down the road about 50 miles, then get sleepy again and has to pull over for another nap. Since I am not fully trained yet I cannot drive without him in the passenger seat (I just started training). Does anyone have any advice as to how to get him more energy to drive until we get his c-pap? I don't feel comfortable enough to go into the sleeper when he drives for fear he will fall asleep at the wheel. His doctor appt. isn't until 10-24 and that is just a consultation. Most likely, he won't be able to get the actual test done until sometime in November. Hubby has been having these problems for over a year and is diabetic. His blood sugar is under control though. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thx

Answer:
A poster here by the name of Taxibobnomore had the same problem. Do a search on his name. He explained what he went through and the outcome.
Now to be completely honest. You need a new trainer and fast. He needs to take some personal time off immediatly. Continueing to drive in that state is very irresponsible. You both are risking your lives and the lives of many innocent paople. You may find him sleeping at a moment when you need him most. You may also find your selves aimed at disaster before you can awake him. His problem is noithing to take chances with and truck driving is not a game.
With both of you knowing he has this problem you will be very sorry if something happens. The sad part is no one will understand your need to earn a living. It is my opinion sorry to say. If something does happen and your find yourselves locked up I would think you deserve it. Hopefully your both responsible enough to stop before it does happen. If not you are 100% to blame and will desrve 100% of the fault. I really dont understand why you would continue. Are you above doing the right thing?
"There is just something about fresh winter snow and a river. The day is bright even if it is cloudy, the water is friendly even if it is cold and the fish are there even if they are not biting."

Answer:
His doctor appt. isn't until 10-24 and that is just a consultation. Most likely, he won't be able to get the actual test done until sometime in November. Hubby has been having these problems for over a year and is diabetic. His blood sugar is under control though. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thx
First thing get off the road before you harm yourselfs or somebody else,this is not a minor matter.
Are you positively sure he's under control?
Constant fatique is one of the signs he may not be.
Mike
Let's all Chant...
"It's a Lifestyle and is what you make it"
Feel better?
Answer:
1. Get off the road. Get this taken care of immediately.
2. Try posting this question of in the medical forum.
3. Get off the road until this is treated.
I will always be a mutter trucker at heart.
Answer:
Just to add to what other posters have posted,I myself have sleep apnea and have had for some time now going on 5+ yrs.
I wear the C-Pap at night can't stand the thing and also wake up fighting the mask but then i go back and think what my Dr.told me which he is very blount in the way he tells you,If you don't wear it you would not be here so i wear the damm thing just part of life now.
And when i can not handle the mask at times during the night and take it off i know the results the next day bout 3 to 5 hrs. is all i can muster,when i keep it on and wear it i'm good to go for 14 to 16 hrs maybe even more.
I just talked to the man that heads the sleep study at the local Hospital this past week he told me they expanded the lab to 6 beds and they still have a waiting list of up to 3 months to get in because so many ppl. are being diagnosed with this prob.
They had 2 different type of machines 1 type they have to preset to whatever level a person test out at the other is like a varible which if drop below your set level it adjust to that and if it goes higher than the set level it again adjust ,mine is set at 11 should have opted for the varible the Hospital told after the fact bout the varible type now i will have to go back in for another study i said no thanks.
I ask alot of ??? bout the sleep apnea with my Dr.it can cause unstable Blood Pressure something about the C-Pap helps dialate the blood vessels in return lowers the pressure also can make a person very irritable cranky.
Check with your Dr.and see if things can be moved up sooner so the man can get it checked out,the hardest part is gettin used to the mask.
Hope this info.helps you 2 out some lets us know what happens.
you call we haul we can't trailer truck it well then mutter fugg it

Answer:
As a fellow sufferer, I second the advice of the others. Get off the road until the condition is treated. I was diagnosed about five years ago at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. I slept better during the the test than I had in my own bed in ages. I left the next morning, CPAP in hand and was able to drive the 4+ hours home with no problem. Previously, I couldn't even drive the 45 minutes to work without falling asleep. I tried everything legal I could think of, NoDoz, Mountain Dew by the gallon (literally). But the CPAP made a world of difference from day one. I will be glad to correspond privately. Drop me a note at trucknet@glenn.mailshell.com and I will send you my real address. I don't ever post it publicly.

Answer:
I used to have sleep apnea. my doctor just went ahead and gave me a prescription for a c-pap and I went down and picked it up at a local distributor. You may not need to have the sleep study. Just play with the volume until it feels right. He'll know this when he Has to breath in and can exhale without forcing it. The distributor can help him set it up. I lost weight and my sleep apnea disappeared. Now for the bad news. If a person has untreated sleep apnea, he/she is disqualified medically from driving a commercial vehicle, until such time it is verified he/she is under treatment and has the apnea under control. Or if you're lucky like me, you lose the needed weight and don't require the machine any more. I told the Dr. at my DOT physical about my sleep apnea and he darned near disqualified me. Seems as though the FMCSA is getting real touchy about this. Use your own judgement when relaying this info to the Dr in your DOT physical. The Dr on my physical basically said it would probably be better if I didn't mention the sleep apnea, again.

Answer:
Bodies would it take before you reported your husband?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99926,00.htm
Just put the truck in the rear of this news story?
Get out of that truck right now and call dispatch, there is no excuse for this, no life is worth money problems.
Deacon, now Re-Tired after 40+ years.