Sleep Apnea And Your CDL

If he is found to have sleep apnea then he can purchase the CPAP device and go on with his life and driving. I feel that once again the CDL holders are being profiled whilst drivers of other vehicles get a pass. What is the latest % of wrecks caused by 4 wheelers? 97%? But lets bully the 3%.

 

Life isn't fair.Studies were shown and proven 4 wheelers cause way more accidents then trk drivers but lets go where the money is.Besides I drive a 4 wheeler,they're not going to enforce these laws on me.These law makers brake their own laws because they have power.But yet we get the stiffest penalty possible.Welcome to America that was once land of the free and land of opportunity.Not so much of that anymore.

 

Put aside money, can the driver just go to a different Dr.?

 

Sleep Apnea is a touchy subject. The FMCSA medical board recognizes a problem within the industry but are scared to lay down some hard rules in fear of a major dent in the industry. All they can do is make recommendations to the doctors. That's why one doctor might do as you said and you go to the next doctor and he doesn't say a word.

The only hard rules is if the driver tells the doctor he suffers daytime sleepiness or has been diagnosed with sleep apnea and a AHI >20. Then a sleep study is mandatory or if treated has to prove compliant which the Cpap machine records your use on a card similar to a credit card.

They do however recommend (not mandatory) drivers with a BMI of 33 or greater to be tested. It's getting more attention today and I'm under impression they are trying to move slowly to disqualify drivers that aren't compliant so they can be replaced instead of making a mandatory rule and disqualify 1,000,000 drivers all at once.

That driver should have an idea by how he feels. If one snores and/or wakes up with headaches, feel the need for naps, etc there is a good chance they have it. Not just the driving it's in the driver's best interest to get treated. There are many other problems associated with sleep apnea like hypothyroidism, type II diabetes, heart problems if left untreated. I can vouch for that first hand as I'm a severe case and my BMI is only 35. Looking back I know I had sleep apnea with a BMI of 26 so that's not solid evidence. Jaw placement, sinus passages, tonsils can all play a role.

Until you are diagnosed one doesn't have to report on the medical form. Currently it's that's driver's choice to try another doctor in 90 days and hope for the best. Or the better choice is to go ahead and get a sleep study done.

It's a crooked industry so a driver has to be real careful and not just go by your doctor's referral. The $700 Cpap can cost you as much as $2000 depending on where you go. Sleep studies the same thing. Some might charge twice what the next guy charges. I was forced to rent to own a Cpap for 13 months. Why 13 months? Why not pay for it outright. I have to have it for life. Because their way it made me pay for it with two yearly deductibles. The insurance company blamed it on the Cpap supplier and the supplier blamed it on the insurance company. One of them was lying. It's just a game to get you to pay for it. Maybe he has better insurance but BCBS sucks.
If he can get away with it Cpap.com is the cheapest way to buy one if you have to pay cash.

Here's the FMCSA medical board's recommendation regarding sleep apnea.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/TOPICS/mep/report/Sleep-MEP-Panel-Recommendations-508.pdf

 

I think the $leep apnea diagnosis is a bunch of bs. The doctor that does out physicals has a family member that has the sleep center. So you can guess what the outcome will be. I have just a "mild case" according to the doctor. I told the doctor that it was just a way to pick on truck drivers and that delivery drivers that do not have to have a cdl get by without having to go thru this bs and I don't think they like my speech.

Is it even a DOT mandated requirement yet?

 

Sure you can, some are more forgiving with BMIs and Sleep studies than others. At my last DOT physical they let me off but my height to weight ratio pointed to a sleep study but every other test was perfect and I've always been a big guy, not fat - not beer gut kinda fat and they allowed for that in not sending me for the sleep study..

 

I have never been questioned about my sleep, I am over weight by about, in my opinion, 35lbs. My wife is a heavy woman and she didn't have anything said to her either, and she had hers done at a company sponsored mandatory DOT Physical.. I would definitely go to another Dr. I am saying this assuming that nothing is revealed that a sleep study is warranted. I have no idea what the OP's friends was asked or what he said in return.

 

MY best advice , being one with Apnea, is to go to your Primary Care Doctor. Have a chat with them,. it should be someone you trust right? If the two of you determine you need the study, do it. If not, screw the DOT guy, go to another.

But you may want to research all the symptoms , to see if anything rings true for you. As Condo mentioned, its not something to play around with IF you do in fact have it. That little machine is a life saver for sure.

No its not disqualifiable either, as long as its treated and you meet the compliance criteria set by FMCSA which is minimum 4 hours use a night or 70% total compliance.

 

Thats pretty common.....any BMI in the "obese" category required a sleep study. Sometimes they will measure your neck to. In any case, if diagnosed, ya need a cpap machine and you can keep driving.