Just curious....does anyone feel drowsy while driving in traffic or on a long boring road? Before being diagnosed and using the right med's I'd have about 12-15 minutes of alert driving in these situations, followed by intense drowsiness to the point that I didn't remember how I got home. Most people I tell this to can't understand it. I've read that some ADDer's take more risks behind the wheel because they need the stimulation, but I haven't found a whole lot on drowsy driving due to inattention or boredom. Anyone w/ this experience?

I can partially relate to the boredom piece and I am usually tired after driving but I get anger and road rage.

when I have work in London, I'm totally nackerd by the time I get there, slow traffic stop/starting arrghh. I've been to the same sites over 20 times and still cant find them without others in the van telling me where to go. I get very confused in London aswell with loads of lanes and which one to go in etc. I'm more used to my local country roads where I can put my foot down and stay alert.

Stuck in a queue of traffic doing 45-50 has that effect on me.....deadly

kilt

Get checked for Sleep Apnea.

Talk to your Doctor.

Driving while falling asleep can be as deadly as drunk driving. A person could kill themselves, and others.

The sleep attacks with Sleep Apnea usually come in the Afternoons.

Headsameness, you reminded me of my other question related to driving...do other's forget where their going or how to get somewhere they've been X amount of times? Sounds crazy, but it happens to me a lot too. I'll just keep driving until something or someone snaps me out of la-la land. I've missed my exit on the freeway so many times, then I'll turn around and get back on the freeway and miss it again! Aaaargh!

Is this part of ADHD/ADD? Is this something that med's can help w/?

I drive a lot for my job and I find myself wanting to fall asleep all the time. There is a stretch of highway I travel to get to the interstate what is about 15 miles but feels more like 500. Nothing to see or do. Just four lanes of nothing. One of these days I am going to fall asleep and wreck the county car! That would be my luck.

I've missed my exit on the freeway so many times, then I'll turn around and get back on the freeway and miss it again! Aaaargh!
I've missed exits even with my sat nav, it told me to "keep left" and then there were two exits approaching, it told me to "turn on to bla bla road", but I kept left and went somewhere else, it took me back on the motorway miles to the next junction by which time I was peed off and went home instead. Never made it to my office xmas party.

I had a doctor once tell me people who are unmedicated with ADHD are 40 to 60 percent more likely to be involved in an automobile accident. Whether this is a true statistical fact or not I do not know... but I can say without a doubt if you're getting drowsy behind the wheel it might definately be a good thing to be on meds :D

I LOVE music so I put subs / custom speakers and a CD player in my car and I blast music the entire time I Drive places. I definatly don't fall asleep, in fact one of my favorite parts of the day is getting IN the car to go to and from work/school.

My major flaw comes from understanding directions to places i've never been and god I'm bad about it lol.

I'm shocking while driving over distances. It drives my wife nuts as I'll insist I can drive then an hour later I'm pulling over for her to take over 'cause I'm drowsy. I've had this problem for a long long time. Driving bores me to tears.

I don't get drowsy, but I do get distracted or anxious.

In fact, i had my first anxiety attack on monday, or what i think was an anxiety attack, if anyone knows i'd love some confirmation. It was really set off when i had to drive my girlfriend and her friend home.

I had had a pretty exceptional day, workshop, dinner and reading with Kimiko Hahn, the acclaimed poet. then i went with my girlfriend, two people i barely knew from class and two strangers to one of their houses to hang out.

I got really anxious there, especially since gf was kinda drunk and handsy. My heart was pounding, i felt kinda detached and confused, and i was sweating quite a bit.

It got a little later and i had to get up in the morning so GF, her friend and i got in my car and i drove them home.
I drove well, overly cautious but safe and legal, but my heart was jackhammering, and had been for probably about half an hour.

I dropped them off and took myself home. As soon as i got out of the car my vision got dim and i felt kinda out of breath, my heart was still going and i was still sweating. As i climbed the stairs i felt dizzy, detached and confused, i couldn't organize my thoughts.

My roommates said i looked really messed up, and i felt horrible. I went back to my room and calmed down for a while. I felt much better after that but still kind of off.

So was this an anxiety attack? Whatever it was, it was the driving demanding that i focus on something important that really set it off.

Sounds like a borderline Panic attack

yeah, i looked into it and the symptoms i experienced all point to a panic attack, and reading other symptoms i didn't list makes me think that i experienced several of them to a degree, like the tingling sensation and the shaking hands i forgot to mention.

The only thing is, it says that they typically last about ten minutes or even shorter, except in extreme cases. I was still functional until i got home so it wasn't an extreme case, but it definitely lasted at least half an hour.

I'm thinking that it was just really bad anxiety that i'm unfamiliar with (i've never had anxiety issues before) with maybe a borderline attack when i got home.

Whatever it was, it sucked, and i'll know to go outside for a cigarette or something next time i start to feel that way.