A treatment for people with a severe sleep disorder has been approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
Angie Spendlove can vouch for the effectiveness of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea.
Angie would always be tired.
It did not seem to matter how long she slept at night, when she awoke the next morning she would still be exhausted.
She dropped off to sleep at dinner parties, dozed on days out and stopped at roadsides for a nap, there were even a few occasions when she nodded off momentarily at the wheel.
Her friends were running out of sympathy and she grew increasingly concerned about her job as a chauffeur.
Wanting to sleep
"I used to feel absolutely tired, but everybody used to say, 'Oh, you work too hard'," she said.
"I would wake up fine, but within the hour would not know how to stay awake.
"I would blame it on everything, from the road surface to the heat in the car.
"I could just fall asleep at the table and people used to get irritated.
"There were so many times when I would be biting the inside of my cheek, really putting myself through pain to stay awake.
"I did fall asleep when driving once or twice, but not proper falling asleep. You wake up before you drop off properly and then the adrenalin kicks in."
Sleep clinic treatment
Then on a holiday to the US with a friend, Angie began to worry that she might really be ill.
Her friend, who was sharing her room, told Angie that not only did she snore loudly, but that at intervals she seemed to stop breathing altogether.
Angie went to her GP who referred her to the sleep clinic in her hometown of Oxford.
"Society as a whole is guilty of playing down the importance of sleep disorders, and trivialising excessive sleepiness"
Experts here diagnosed sleep apnoea - a respiratory condition in which the throat repeatedly narrows or closes during sleep.
Air is blocked from getting into the lungs, and low oxygen levels cause the brain to wake the person up.
Angie had to give up driving for a month while doctors got her a special face mask to keep a constant flow of oxygen to her body.
Now the 62-year-old says her life is transformed and she has bags more energy.
Improving lives
NICE has approved the treatment Angie had - CPAP - for adults with moderate or severe problems.
CPAP is a simple treatment delivered via a face mask - based on those used by the RAF - which is attached to a small pump which generates a flow of air. By blowing this into the nose and/or mouth during sleep the airway in the throat is kept fully open - improving sleep.
The British Thoracic Society (BTS) said the decision will improve the lives of thousands of sufferers and could, over five years, save 400 lives and £400m by reducing road accidents due to people falling asleep at the wheel.
Research has shown that people with sleep apnoea are seven to 12 times more likely to have a road accident than those without the disorder.
Simulated tests show that people driving with sleepiness due to sleep apnoea perform worse than drivers with blood alcohol levels over the legal drink drive limit.
They are also at greater risk of stroke, blood pressure and cardiac problems if their condition is not treated.
More than half a million people suffer from sleep apnoea in the UK - up to one in 25 middle-aged men and one in 50 middle-aged women- but so far less than one in four of these have been diagnosed.
Undiagnosed cases
John Gibson, professor of respiratory medicine at the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle and chair of the Sleep Apnoea Group of the British Thoracic Society said the NICE decision was 'excellent news'.
"Previously only half of those diagnosed with the condition in the UK have been able to access clinically proven treatment for the condition," he said.
"This decision will not only improve the quality of life of people with sleep apnoea but also should reduce road traffic accidents caused by excessive sleepiness.
"Anyone with snoring and sleepiness should see go see their doctor to see if they have sleep apnoea."
A simple questionnaire to help people establish whether they have abnormal daytime sleepiness and therefore might be suffering from sleep apnoea is available on the BTS website.
Frank Govan, of the Sleep Apnoea Trust Association (SATA) agreed that diagnosis was vital.
"Sleep disorders remain among the most under-diagnosed and under-treated of medical conditions. In one study sufferers had waited on average eight years before seeking help from their GP," he said.
"Society as a whole is guilty of playing down the importance of sleep disorders, and trivialising excessive sleepiness."
^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~31~RS~)