Woman Wages War against Truckers' Sleep Apnea

A New Braunfels, Texas woman, Wanda Lindsay, has begun a crusade against sleep apnea in truckers. She lost her husband John when a semi truck slammed into the back of their stopped car in a construction zone. The truck was traveling over 65 miles an hour and had its cruise control on. It did not apply its brakes prior to the accident. The truck driver claims he had glanced away from the road and looked back to see the stopped car, but without enough time to stop. The widow thinks the truth is different from his official story.

The truck driver had been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea weeks before the accident, but had not received any treatment. Sleep apnea puts drivers at an increased risk of falling asleep behind the wheel and being involved in just the type of accident that killed John Lindsay.

The trucking company, Celadon, claims it had never seen those test results, or else the driver would not have been on the road that day. The question is, why hadn't it seen those results?

Nearly a third of truckers and other commercial drivers suffer from sleep apnea, and when these vehicles are involved in a deadly accident, it is someone other than the trucker that dies, nearly nine times out of ten. Truck drivers need to be tested for sleep apnea and those results need to be made known to their companies. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has urged mandatory testing of truck drivers and other commercial drivers and pilots since 2009, but the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has spent years considering the issue but has not yet issued any rules.

If you want to help get truckers with sleep apnea off the road, you can visit the website of the John Lindsay Foundation to contribute to the cause.

If you fear you may be suffering from sleep apnea, if you have the symptoms of sleep apnea, you should be tested. And if you are looking to learn more about all your sleep apnea treatment options, please contact a local sleep dentist today.

Trucking Industry Takes Initiative in Sleep Apnea Diagnosis and Treatment

On a number of occasions, we have discussed the dangers obstructive sleep apnea poses for truck drivers and those who share the highways with them. We have discussed the decision some trucking companies have made to begin screening drivers, the FMCSA's potential rules on sleep apnea, and the challenge these rules present for dental appliance users.

Sleep apnea testing is not yet required for commercial truck drivers. However, a number of trucking companies have established their own sleep apnea testing and treatment plans. These trucking companies have been working with private contractors to identify drivers who are at risk for sleep apnea and get them tested. Once sleep apnea sufferers are identified, they are matched up with appropriate sleep apnea treatment to reduce their risk of daytime sleepiness.

There are a number of motivators behind the trucking companies' actions. Truck accidents are expensive for trucking companies. And, as lawyers have pointed out, once truck companies are aware of a risk, they have a responsibility to prevent it, something that may become the basis for truck accident lawsuits in the future. Even if an apneic trucker is not involved in an accident, the trucking company may face serious expense due to the numerous health conditions that are associated with sleep apnea and will be covered under company health insurance.

As trucking companies move ahead of FMCSA regulations, it is hoped that they move to embrace all sleep apnea treatment options.

To learn more about all the successful sleep apnea treatment options available, please contact a local sleep dentist today.

E-mail about sleep apnea from a reader

I received this e-mail and decided to add to this blog specifically because of the Stanford study quoted about truckers. I think it is important to let everyone in the transportation industry know about this important conference from the American Sleep Apnea Association "Sleep Apnea & Trucking Conference"

The following is from the ASAA site
"The impact of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on the health and safety of commercial truck drivers, as well as all transportation operators, has been a hot topic of discussion for years. While some progress is being made, much misinformation, policy confusion, and a lack of industry-specific research have prevented further progress on this important health and safety issue.

The Sleep Apnea & Trucking Conference 2010 is organized by the American Sleep Apnea Association and brings together trucking, regulatory, medical, insurance, legal and policy experts to provide accurate and reliable information about OSA diagnosis, treatment and compliance. This landmark event offers a forum for addressing key issues and guidance to improve driver health and safety, which can have a positive impact for the company.


Gain up-to-date, accurate and reliable information about sleep apnea and its bearing on trucking industry health and safety
Learn new cost-effective approaches to sleep apnea diagnosis, treatment and compliance
Receive a take-home resource toolkit with presentations, DVDs, reports, articles and materials to help company management address sleep apnea in their workplace
Interact with experts, colleagues and government officials to get your questions answered

Body mass index (BMI) guidelines
Interstate medical exams and enforcement
Affordability of diagnosis and treatment
Future research needs on prevalence and impact"

The following is the e-mail I received.


Although vastly underdiagnosed and virtually untreated, sleep apnea
can contribute to high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems and
strokes. It also can be deadly.

In one study, Stanford University researchers looked at 159 truck
drivers. They found that 79 percent had sleep apnea, and many were
unable to control when they fell asleep driving. In another study
looking at accidents in which drivers fell asleep at the wheel, 87
percent of the drivers died, taking with them one or two other
people.

Men suffer from the condition almost three times more often than
women, , in part because of anatomical differences in the upper
airways. But because many women who suffer from it are
post-menopausal, there is some speculation it also may be
hormone-related, he said.

The most common and severe form of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep
apnea. In many cases, it's caused by sagging muscles at the base of
the throat, enlarged tonsils, a small airway opening or a large
tongue, according to the American Medical Association Encyclopedia
of Medicine. In about 20 percent of cases, being overweight is a
major cause of the problem.

Obstructing the airway makes breathing labored and causes loud
snoring. If there is complete blockage, the breathing stops
altogether and the sleeper is briefly silent. This makes the
diaphragm and chest muscles work harder; the sleeper gasps and
briefly awakes as breathing is started again.

In central sleep apnea, the airway is opened but the diaphragm and
chest muscles don't work, perhaps because of a disturbance in the
brain's regulation of breathing during sleep, according to the AMA
encyclopedia.

If you suspect you're suffering from sleep apnea, talk to your
doctor, who may refer you to a lab where your sleep can be
monitored. Losing weight and avoiding alcohol before bedtime may
help. Wearing a mask attached to an air compressor that forces
oxygen into the airway is an effective treatment for severe cases.
And surgery that removes excess tissue from the throat is another
possibility.

Obviously the writer of this e-mail has not read the I HATE CPAP website. There are excellent alternatives to CPAP besides surgery

Dr Ira L Shapira