SLEEP APNOEA

[cookiemonster66]

I am pretty sure I have sleep apnoea. I have been told by hubby and daughter I often stop breathing then do massive gasps for breath. I wake up with terrible headaches and not rested after interrupted sleep. I am scared about going to Dr about it someone told me they take away your driving license until you have seen specialist or inform DVLA. I have severe mobility issues, and blue disabled parking badge. I live semi rural. If my license is taken I would be housebound. Please confirm if this is true as it is holding me back from seeing Dr. Thanks

[Dr Neil Stanley]

Thank you for your question.

From the reports of your husband and daughter, it would seem be=very probable that you have sleep apnoea, and this should be assessed and if necessary, treated. Your fear of having your licence taken away has an element of truth in it, however, this is only in the case where the apnoea causes excessive daytime sleepiness and your license is only taken away until you are under treatment. So if you have mild to moderate apnoea that doesn't cause you to experience excessive sleepiness during the day you should have nothing to fear. The following link may be helpful

http://www.sleep-apnoea-trust.org/drivi ... ep-apnoea/

[cookiemonster66]

Thanks very much, I will bring it up with my GP as it needs to be sorted out.