THE seriousness of sleep apnoea was driven home to Leeton resident Noel Buchan in the most dramatic way possible and he’s just thankful he survived to tell the tale.

On October 12 last year Noel was doing nothing out of the ordinary, simply driving with two mates to a regular catch up of dinner and music.

However, that night, as their Pajero motored along Corbie Hill Road, Noel, who was behind the wheel, blacked out without warning.

The car drifted off the roadway, alerting the passengers to what was happening, but unable to wake Noel the vehicle flashed past three power poles, and only stopped when it collided with the fourth.

Luckily all three men escaped with their lives (but not without injury).

Noel, who has no memory of the event except driving past the Quadling Road street sign as the car passed it, subsequently found out the blackout was caused by severe sleep apnoea.

“I never knew I had it,” Noel said.

“Every now and then I’d have a sore throat and be a bit doughy, and I thought ‘I must have snored a bit last night’.

“I started chasing things up, went to the doctor, had brain scans went on a heart monitor.

“They ruled out everything except sleep apnoea.”

A visit to the Riverina Respiratory & Sleep Centre and resultant sleep study revealed Noel stopped breathing on average 46.9 times every hour.

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However, what has made dealing with the diagnosis and subsequent treatment easier for Noel and wife Annette was having support in town through Amcal Leeton.

Three of the pharmacy staff members, including retail manager Chloe Hyde, have been trained by Australian Pharmacy Sleep Services (APSS) to be able to analyse results and provide information, services and products to help people with the disorder.

“We can screen people based on the items requested, both prescription and general over the counter medicine, and determine if a person is suitable for further consultation and possible testing,” Chloe said.

“We send them home with a small device that they wear to bed. The device will give us an indication of what is happening during the night while they are sleeping.

“Results are analysed by a GP retained by APSS. If they are alarmingly high, we will refer them back to their GP.”

From there a patient can be referred to a specialist sleep centre for further tests.

“Our suggestion is based on what the (APSS) doctor recommends,” Chloe said. “If it is abnormal, you go back to your GP, otherwise we can provide recommendations.”

That may include the use of a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine, a ventilator that applies mild air pressure to keep the airways continuously open.

Amcal Leeton retails CPAP machines and masks, as well as providing advice services.

“For people with pre-existing or pre-diagnosed sleep apnoea, we can help with part replacements for machines and masks,” Chloe said.

“We can also look at and analyse data from their machines.

“People can just pop in and have a chat, or we can schedule a time to meet with staff.”

Annette said having such advice close at hand has been invaluable.

“It has been amazing, the information, the services,” she said. It is good to do it locally. A lot of times where you live can affect how you approach it.

“When you have no idea what’s going on, Chloe, with the sleep clinic, is giving you vital information.

“They go above and beyond. They can’t do enough to put your mind at ease.”

Noel agreed.

“You can go and talk to her at any time, just stop in and ask a question,” he said. “It’s a great thing for the town.”

Just six weeks after starting on his CPAP machine, Noel said his sleep stops had dropped to 1.5 an hour and he had halved his blood pressure medication.

Now he will tell anyone who listens about sleep apnoea and how important it is to get diagnosed and start treatment.

“I’ve got a big mouth and I talk to a lot of people around town,” Noel said. “People are going to be getting tests just from me talking to them. It’s all eye-opening. I’m a firm believer in talking about it.”