Falling Asleep while driving?

[Billydude]

I started noticing a couple of years ago that I would fall asleep for a second while driving.  It escalated to a point that on a weekly long trip I needed to take that I would start falling asleep at the wheel many times and have had many close calls.    I finally had to give up on driving this trip and had to hire someone to drive me.   I don't believe I have sleep apnea as I sleep well, don't snore and get a full nights sleep.   This falling asleep at the wheel can happen at any time of the day.
Is there a medical reason for this?    I also have severe neck degeneration.  Could sometime be cutting off oxygen to my brain when I'm in this position?    I don't fall asleep at other times.  Just while I am driving.

[SLPinHWood]

Hello,

Thank GOD! I am not alone!I have been reading these comments and am finding alot of similarities as well as differences in what I am experiencing.

I nod off while driving. I play techno, reggae, dancehall, rap, rock...whatever and I'll still get drowsy...I open the windows, crank the A/C, pinch and slap myself, shake my head, yell....nothing works. I have tried talking on the phone and sometimes that works but lately it still hasn't helped me.

I don't fall asleep when I'm sitting still, I can sit and read for hours, watch a movie, work on the computer, etc. But something about the driving process/position triggers this "condition". I have been known to have some insomnia (although I have never been clinically diagnosed)...I am a creative person and I love the late hours of the night/early morning...when no one bothers me and I can work and be creative. However sometimes I can't be like that, and get enough sleep, because of work and other life responsibilities.

I am 28 yrs old, white female, 5'5" and 135 lbs. I do not smoke, I do drink wine daily, but have great health otherwise. I have a very strong heart and lungs and give blood often. My diet is extremely clean (besides the occasional burger or cheat meal) I eat alot of salmon, veggies, bone broth, don't drink soda and rarely have coffee or energy drinks.

I have noticed an onset "aura"...it's like I have this feeling of a dimmer switch (like for the lights) and then my body gets sort of numb/tingly but only for a split second, and then I either nod off or shake myself so I snap out of it. I also feel like my eyes are rolling back in my head.

It doesn't matter if I've had coffee, soda with caffeine or energy drinks. The only thing that seems to snap me out of it is adrenaline, like when I almost crash and it scares the S*#! out of me!!! I would never forgive myself if I hurt someone!!!

Part of my job involves driving brand new cars for a marketing company and I am scared that I will get my license taken away or be restricted to not be able to drive, therefore not be able to support myself in the way I have become accustomed to living.

Somebody please help, I have no family history of heart disease, sleep apnea or narcolepsy.

****I did have a random gran mal seizure 4 yrs ago out of the blue, I had every test under the sun done and the test results were non-conclusive. I do not, and have never done any recreational drugs and do not take any prescription meds beside alprazolam for anxiety (0.5 mg/day) and welbutrin (100mg/day) as well as birth control.
   I have quite a high level of stress, so I don't know if that effects this situation in any way. I have PTSD from domestic violence and assault, but I have seen counselors and do practice regular exercise and meditation.

   I am hoping to find a good lead on how to find out what is going on with me...I am scared I will hurt myself or someone else or lose my job.

If anyone has these localized symptoms (i.e. w/o obesity, high blood pressure, narcolepsy, thyroid issues, etc.) please let me know. I am at my wit's end!!!

[clingan]

Sounds like narcolepsy to me. (I'm narcoleptic, have been all my life, also have hallucinations, and can see and hear what is happening while i'm asleep. Tried driving for a couple of years when I was in early 30's, but crashed every day - as I was living on a farm, luckily it was usually into a log or a fence or a ditch or a gate, never killed anyone...) After writing two cars off (terrible hallucinations, then rolled the car) - told to stop driving. Had tests, told I was a severe narcoleptic. Haven't driven since. Life is severely curtailed - can't go anywhere much, can't hold down a job, can't maintain a relationship etc etc......

[Teenie75]

I am experiencing this now. It is very scary... I drive my children to school 45-55 minutes one way and fight all I have to make my eyes stay open. I end up pulling over for 45 minutes (setting the alarm on my phone) because I am afraid I won't be able to drive back home. I am scheduled for a sleep study next month. Have you found anything out with the issue that we both share?

[sleepygrl]

As others have said, it's refreshing to see I'm not alone.  I've been falling asleep during the day for years, but I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea.  I had bilateral jaw and chin advancement a few years ago and my sleep has vastly improved.  I now wake up rested and awake rather than still sleeping and needing to stay in bed.  I do, however, still fall asleep if I'm sitting still and not engaged (in a meeting, someone talking to me, and of course, driving).  People ask me if its scaring falling asleep when I drive.  I tell them not at all, it's actually peaceful.  The waking up while driving, that's the scary part!  I usually feel my head falling back to the headrest and my foot falls back off the gas and I'm going at a snail's pace on a busy highway.  Not good.  There have been rare occasions where I've accelerated and woke up in time to brake before hitting the car right in front of me.  Worse.  I do have some of the symptoms outlined by MeLeea; the carpal tunnel, depression, weight gain, laziness, poor wound healing, low libido, weird menstrual cycle, etc. Guess it's time to be a guinea pig for the doctors again.  Took a bunch of tests years ago before they found the sleep apnea.  At that time my thyroid was okay, guess we'll see now.  Glad to have found this thread.  Good luck to all.

[Rmarinehilo]

I read your comments , I am a MARINE WITH 33yds in ... I fall asleep here In United States in Houston went driving my Dad an Mam... afternoon!    The one thing I know  is the food! went in Philippines never fall asleep with little sleep same goes for Iraq, Japan, Russia, name it I been there, so I had the VA  , lab check the food I was eating , like the eggs , bread , steak , even the vegetables an fruits .  etc.   it took a lot of arm twisting ,because of my rank E*8..... one common denominator was  the slat an some ingredient    call carboengic lab did not want to help in spelling also   made by MAN;   its found in all the thing s we eat an drink .. the only purpose that I question to the Doc an Lab why,, to keep are food to last as long as possible an kill bacteria which is the good bacteria that keeps us heatedly, so I try to eat what man does not make , no sugars at all eat a lemon before I drive here, I grow my own or no some that does  an my parent live in the middle of Houston with chickens an etc. I don't want the one that are making a profit on ME ,,  

[Hunter49705]

Hello everyone, I am 48 yrs old and have been fighting this problem since I started driving. I now take prescription drugs for ADHD when I drive to keep me alive, I fight sleep after 15 minutes of driving, if I switch with my girlfriend I am wide awake in passenger seat. It really pisses me off. I have been tested for sleep apnea, mild. Neurological tests all normal. I have quit looking for the answer and just take my meds, however, after taking meds for some time they no longer work as well, and now the doctors say the rules have changed and I need to be evaluated before refilling, this is a problem. I drive 3 hours a day commute, if I don't have any meds after reevaluation I am going to wreck my car and possibly hurt someone or die, I have a really good paying job and there is no poss of this closer to my home and I cannot just move, what will happen, don't know.