Sleep aponea and DVLA

wazza

Relative has been diagnosed with a mild case of sleep aponea. She has never fallen asleep at the steering wheel. She was referred to the clinic because due to her weight she wants an operation for gastic band. Doc suggested that she need to be checked for sleep aponea before they consider operation.

After some tests she went to see the consultant. Consultant told her that she needs to inform DVLA that she has a mild case of sleep aponea and she is responding well to the treatment.

She was wondering what DVLA will do. Will they take her licence away?

Has someone else been in this situation?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

SailorSam

I have a friend that has bipolar and he lost his licence , i think it may have been 'cos he had had fits, but he got it back after his Gp wrote to say with medication he'd been Ok for a year. Still every few years he needs to fill in a form to confirm he's Ok.
I imagine with sleep aponea it may be similar, if her Gp gives her the Ok.

System

Have a look at http://www.sleep-study.co.uk/osa-and-the-dvla-group-2.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

You need to be very careful with sleep apnoea because essentially it means that you can fall asleep without realising it, so statements like "she has never fallen asleep at the wheel" might actually be wrong.

I don't think that "responding well to treatment" will give the DVLA enough information to allow your friend to drive. Responding well is not cured.

There is a reason why this has to be reported, it is dangerous to drive with it. I am arguing with someone at the moment that they should not be driving as they regularly set off the "sleep alert" alarm on their car. The chances are that they have some form of apnoea as they are convinced they are perfectly fine and never go to sleep, yet they can drop off half way through a conversation (that they are interested in!).

Bonniepurple

She will lose her license - my father in law did. What annoyed him more than anything else was he lost it once he was diagnosed and being treated (with oxygen) when he was less likely to fall asleep. He got it back eventually.

teffers

I have Obstructive sleep apnea. I've had it for 6 years .

I was diagnosed and on CPAP treatment pretty much immediately.

After a delay (I didn't drive at the time - had no car) I informed the DVLA in accordance with my consultant's advice.

They never took my licence, they just wrote back and advised me that I had to tell my insurance company I have a DVLA notifiable condition and the DVLA are aware of this. This may have been because the sleep clinic already had evidence that my treatment was effective.

I've read stories the other way around so it does seem to be a bit hit and miss how the DVLA react unfortunately.

The DVLA medical unit will contact the sleep clinic responsible for treatment and confirm if the treament is effective or not. This information is obtained by looking at how many hours a night the CPAP machine is being used for and a very short questionaire the patient fills in.

The DVLA category for drivers with OSA and being effectively treated is:

DVLA Aware - No restrictions (so no restrictions on the licence at all)

If I can help in any way let me know via PM.

alleycat`

Sleep apnoea is when you stop breathing "whilst" asleep.

It disturbs sleeping patterns.

It's not Narcolepsy, which is where you randomly fall asleep whilst doing other things.

I can't see why the DVLA would give a monkeys about mild sleep apnoea, which a large % of the population probably has.

teffers

alleycat` wrote: »

Sleep apnoea is when you stop breathing "whilst" asleep.

It disturbs sleeping patterns.

It's not Narcolepsy, which is where you randomly fall asleep whilst doing other things.

I can't see why the DVLA would give a monkeys about mild sleep apnoea, which a large % of the population probably has.

Because untreated sleep apnea hugely increases tiredness, reduces cognitive ability, slows reaction times and generally makes you a danger to yourself and others on the road.

Sleep apnea is akin to being woken up 5-30 times every hour your asleep, although you never really fully wake up, it just brings you out of your deep sleep cycle.

I had it undiagnosed for a while and it made me feel like a member of the undead.

Quentin

alleycat` wrote: »

I can't see why the DVLA would give a monkeys about mild sleep apnoea, which a large % of the population probably has.

Nevertheless it is notifiable once your doctor has advised you to contact the dvla

(Highly unlikely to result in losing your licence)

Bantex_2

alleycat` wrote: »

Sleep apnoea is when you stop breathing "whilst" asleep.

It disturbs sleeping patterns.

It's not Narcolepsy, which is where you randomly fall asleep whilst doing other things.

I can't see why the DVLA would give a monkeys about mild sleep apnoea, which a large % of the population probably has.

You have obviously never spent time with someone with moderate SA. They will fall asleep mid sentence at times if the condition is not treated.

alleycat`

If that's the case in my view it isn't moderate?

Moderate surely means it affects the quality of sleep not that you are about to fall over from drop dead tiredness at the drop of the hat.

Sleep deprivation isn't fun and i'm not suggesting it should be taken lightly but if approx. 0.5% of the population is a sufferer to some degree or other (based on American numbers) then it suggests there are a lot of people who shouldn't have a driving license that currently do?

I'm not making light of the situation but it seems somewhat over egged or the term "moderate" has a new meaning of which i'm not aware.