sleep apnea?

I am not a driver yet an am just checking the forums for possibilities if my job of 17 years goes away. While doing that I also ran across the threads about sleep apnea. My brother and mother have it and I am 6 foot 350 and I have never had any symptoms and don't snore. But because of my current job with good insurance, I decided to go get my own done just in case. Turns out that I have a pretty severe case of sleep apnea and now have been using a cpap since last August.

I would not let the fact that you have no symptoms be the reason to fret the test. It may be negative and no issues or it may be positive and give you a chance to improve you health.

Take care.

 

You may not even realize you have it.

I didn't want to admit I was having sleep problems, but I did realize I was often sleepy a few hours after waking up, even after spending 8 hours in bed, sleeping. ( I thought) If I get a decent nights sleep using the cpap machine, I''m not sleepy at all during the day.

I sleep better with the #### cpap machine, which is a minor pain in the butt to deal with on the road.

I think a lot of the forced testing and sales of cpap machinese set up by companies are abusive, and unfair. Some drivers end up spending thousands of dollars, and you may have to spend that much or more at the next company if you change jobs.

They need some standardized method of dealing with this. Truckers change jobs. We shouldn't have to keep paying for tests or different equipment.

While it's more common for fat people to have sleep apnea, you do have a wide variety of body types that have it.

 

If you are oveweight, you will have to go through the bs and get a sleep study and so on.

I have been using a cpap machine since 2001, it really isn't a big deal but the DOT physical doctors make me go through h*ll every time I go for my DOT physical. I deal with a sleep study every two years, my doc and my past docs (they do move around) all said an annual is not needed no matter what a dot doc says, they are "not equipped to determine what is needed because they are not treating you" as my doc said.

I would suggest finding someone who you will stick with, even if you have to travel a bit to find them. Don't just go to a sleep clinic, but find one that will give you the needed help, it makes a difference.

The real problem is that the FMCSA based a lot of their decisions on sleep apnea on a study done that assumed, not proven, that a lack of sleep leads to accidents. They put together an advisor board and I think if you dig, there is a conflict of interest within that board because of their connection to clinics and med equipment providers. So we are stuck with draconian regulations and an HOS rules that add to the stress of driving.

By the way, there was something else mentioned by my doc that he didn't like, he does surgeries that correct sleep apnea. He said that even if you have the surgery, does not mean that the DOT doc would accept it. This is one of the issues with the FMCSA pushing registering docs who do not see patients but just do the fitness physicals.

 

There are several outfits that are offering testing kits online that you can take the sleep test at home, in your truck sleeper, etc far and away much cheaper than doing a regular sleep study in a clinic. There are a few that are DOT recognized. When this thing ever becomes a reality for regulatory purposes, I may just do it this way instead of shelling out mega bucks to pay for some idiot to sit in a room and monitor my sleep.

 

It's often opposite. The ones who don't snore and so on usually have sleep app

People like me... I've been told I sound like a chainsaw when I sleep and my ex wife also said sometimes I didn't breathe.

I took my sleep test and was told I showed no signs by the examiner. A few hours later the specialist reviewed the test and said my sleep efficiency was 97%, therefore no further review was required. Got my 2 year cert. A few hours later.

Basically, you won't know until tested. Symptom mean nothing.

 

Ok
You can get a sleep study done much cheaper then $850. Write me at the address below for more information. The only thing is you need to find out if your DOT doc will accept a home study. Now if you think that you are being given a bill of goods on needing a CPAP machine, then get a copy of the study and we can get board certified sleep docs that have no money in the game to look at it and agree or disagree. Now also being fat is not the issue here. The issue is weather you have sleep apnea or not. And when you look at the averages, people who are fat are much more likely to have apnea then those that do not. You size is simply a screening tool. Having said that, we also know that many people who are smaller also have sleep apnea. That is why a good DOT doc will use questionaire and physical exam to make a better determination. The problem with the questionaire is that DOT know that drivers will not honestly answer the questions, so they but very little value on them.

Also I will say again just because you think you are sleeping well, does not mean you do not have sleep apnea. There is some more information at www.truckersforacause.com. and you can contact me at gbhull1@gmail.com. Please put [Sleep Apnea] in the subject so I will see it ....

 

Ok
There is nothing in the regs that say you need a sleep study every 2 years. If you are using your machine, the downloads show that, and your AHI is good, there is no reason for a study,

There is also no reason for you to have problems with you DOT doc. before your Physical you should go to your sleep Doc, He is to do a download, and then give you a letter stating that you are under current and effective treatment. He may include in that your compliance rate which must be over 70%. That is all that is necessary. I have been told my one dot doc that he wishes that all drivers who have apnea would do what I do. He would be a happy camper.

Hope this helps. If you need any more information please look at www.truckersforacause.com. That is a trucker support group for sleep apnea

 

Can some show me in black in white where we required to do a sleep study? I can't find any regs on it and when I asked my doc he couldn't find any thing concrete on the subject. Seen where they are trying to pass it among with if your bmi is to high your unfit to drive.

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