My issue is that I am falling asleep while driving now, which scares the heck out of me. When I get that feeling of extreme fatigue, I try pulling over, napping on the side of the road or walking around the car to get blood flowing. It seems to help sometime, however other times its a 5 minute fix and then I return to my previous state. The sad part is that I live in a small rural town and commute an hour+ in to work and an hour+ home each day. My days are long, as my alarm goes at 5:30am, I leave for work at 6:15am and usually get home between 5:30pm-6:00pm.
I have osteoporosis (thanks to 20 years of prednisone use) and take morphine to deal with constant discomfort in my spine. I find lately that things are getting worse as I have nights with net sleep of 2.5 - 3.5 hours now. I even took Friday off this week for fear of dying (worried I would fall asleep and run off the road or in to someone).
I'm now in somewhat what of a dilemma. If I talk to my doctor about my sleep issues and how its affecting me, I run the risk of losing my license, which in turn prevents me from working. If I don't tell her, I may end up losing both my life and someone else's if I get in an accident.
I'm in Ontario, Canada. I'm trying to decide what I should do, bearing also in mind I have a mortgage and car loan that needs to be paid. One option is to take sick leave and collect Employment Insurance, then I would have up to 15 weeks of paid leave to get my sleep issues sorted out. This is assuming my doctor provides the necessary note.
Am I alone in my fatigue issues or are their others that just don't sleep enough and that, combined with Crohn's nutritional issues is tough to deal with?
Thanks!