Sleep Apnea requirements?

Not to mention how much better you'll feel after a good nights sleep that you never thought you were missing.

 

You mentioned that you need to have an AHI below 20. Hell mine was 11 before using a cpap, DOT doctor said no cpap need. MY company said yes you have to use a cpap, even though the dot doc wrote no cpap needed. I know the machine works for some folks , but for others its a scam,,,,,,,

 

So, I have been diagnosed with OSA. The CPAP didn't work for me, as I am unable to sleep on my back or sides, and the testing required me to sleep on my back. My doctor admitted that as long as I slept on my stomach, the OSA is not near as bad. I sleep well, except for a few body aches due to past injuries. I am overweight according to the BMI. Do I have a chance to return to trucking with over 250k safe miles?

 

If you still have the CPAP, I'd recommend trying to use it and change your sleeping habits. That's what I had to do. Try using it once or twice a week and sleeping on your back. Otherwise, I didn't see any exemptions allowed in the rules. Unless they allow medical exemptions from your dr, you're likely SOL.

 

You have to give it some time to get used to it. I was the same way, took me about a month before I was able to get used to it. Now, I actually look forward to going to bed. And, you may think you're sleeping well, but I would bet dollars to donuts that the sleep study report would say otherwise. I, too, thought I slept well but my sleep study results showed that I NEVER reached REM. Ever. So, my body wasn't getting real rest, and that's the danger with OSA.

 

Six months. It worked ok for a month. Then I could never stop the mask from leaking and making all kinds of noise to keep me and my wife up. Sleep techs told me to use a different mask. I didn't have the money to spend $50 to $200 a mask. Insurance would only pay for masks once a year. Now I don't have insurance thanks to a hand injury at work that left me unable to do the assembly work I was doing.

Sigh...I guess I'll just have to scratch this profession off the list, too.

Thanks, everyone.

 

The right mask is everything. I found the Quattro FX to be perfect.

 

I just tested positive as well while 1000 miles away from home working for Crete. I chose to resign and come home so I can attempt to deal with this adjustment at home. I'll get the test results sent to my VA PCP and hopefully they can set me up on a machine without having to wait to retest.

 

The internet is your friend. Do a search for the software you can use to monitor your own data on your machine. IF you don't know what they know you basically believe anything they tell you. YOU control your cpap therapy. If you are having a noticeable benefit from the therapy good for you. For those like me that get no benefit and have "normal" events while sleeping, welcome to the world of CONTROL. This machine can document the time you started the machine and the time you stopped it, basically how long you slept. Depending on the machine you get you will have an SD card and/or a cellular device that communicates with a compliance monitoring company. Under the compliance rules used by insurance companied the time of useage to be compliant (IT IS NOT A LAW) is 4 hrs/night for 70% of the days in a rolling 30 day period. Btw, since not all people "diagnosed" with sleep apnea can use a cpap, they are considering dental devices that collect data as well. It is only your company that can terminate you for failing to comply, IT IS NOT THE LAW.

 

I am not familiar with what all goes on nowadays with the medical exam. Are they really asking about sleep disorders, measuring BMI and neck size?

I found this statement on FMCSA's CSA page:

"Despite rumors to the contrary, no. While research was recently released stating that a driver's BMI is a risk factor for identifying sleep apnea, neither the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) nor the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program currently has any rules that restrict who can be a commercial motor vehicle driver based on BMI or weight, or neck size."

Are they really denying you a medical card for apnea?