Sleep Apnoea- driving license experiences

[LokeyCokey]

My DH has recently been diagnosed with severe sleep apnoea and advised the DVLA who have revoked his licence. No real surprise, but will cause us a few logistical issues with work, childcare etc…

He is being fitted for CPAP next week so fingers crossed it’s under control soon and he can re-apply for his licence.

Does anyone have experience of this situation, how long is it likely to be until he can drive? Are we talking weeks or months, as having some idea of typical timeframe will help me plan ahead!

You only have to surrender your license if you have excessive day time soreness and are more likely than the average person to fall asleep in the daytime. Then this is caused sleep apnea syndrome, not just sleep apnea. My trust is very very clear on this but I know from friends that other trusts offer very little guidance. I have several sleep apnea at 68 AHI but want at risk of falling sleep as I find it impossible to nap in the daytime no matter how exhausted I was, I didn’t have to surrender my licence at all nor inform the dvla. I started in cpap and I was 100% compliant from day one and have been every single day for 18 months now. My cpap has revolutionised my life and I can’t sleep without it. However not everybody takes to cpap treatment. It can feel very invasive and I can’t count the amount of panic attacks I’ve had when trying to get established with it. My sister started cpap therapy 8 weeks ago and she’s had some very low days because of it and trying to get it “right”. Is an amazing thing but it’s still very rudimentary and far from a C perfect solution. Moving causes leaks and if it’s dry your end up with throat and subs issues but if you use a humidifier then you feel like you are drying in warm weather. Is very contrary tbh.

as for dvla waiting times, for medical grounds it can be a VERY long time. My DH waited for 10 months to get his licence back after being diagnosed with a heart problem. Huge delays to the medical side, long waits for specialists to fill in forms, lost paper work and useless staff etc.

if your DP is part of a union then it may be with contacting them. My DHs union pays out £15k if you lose your licence due to medical reasons. But he didn’t know that at the time so didn’t claim.

He does have excessive sleepiness which is why they’ve taken away his licence.
Useful to know that the CPAP can be tricky as it helps manage expectations a bit!

I think it all depends on when his next check up/ tests with the consultant are after he's had his Cpap and then how long the DVLA backlog is once the consultant has given the all clear.

Changing the subject a bit, and I know this could vary by the hospital, but how long did it take you to get results from the sleep study?

I did my overnight study in early Feb and am still waiting! I have emailed (again) to ask, but no response so far. Emailed back in early April and told there was a backlog

@ohtowinthelottery I think that’s the thing… we’ve been told a minimum of 4 weeks data from the CPAP and then it’s waiting on DVLA so a few months I reckon…

@familyissues12345oh dear, his were about 2 weeks later which is probably not what you wanted to hear 🤦‍♀️. Hope you get yours soon!