Question Re: DOT Physical & Sleep Apnea

Hey guys,

I currently have a unique situation. I got my class A in 2020 but have pretty much been driving box trucks locally due to family issues.

I had a two year medical card that was only a few months old when I was offered a new job and the new company wanted me to take a new DOT physical. The new company sent me to a Concentra. Generally, I’d always use a mom and pop type place or a Chiropractor, but anyway, I go to Concentra, blood pressure is perfect, vision is 20/20, pass the hearing test, etc.

The doctor comes into the room, looks at me and sighs (I’m overweight) and tells me that he’s going to give me a pending result for 45 days and demands that I take a sleep apnea test.

It took almost 3 weeks to get a sleep test scheduled. They demanded that I sleep on my back (I NEVER sleep on my back) and they determined that I had minor to moderate sleep apnea.

I sent the report to Concentra, the doctor issued a 3 month card.

So, I was then told that I needed a second test, this one took almost a month to schedule and complete.

The doctor told me that I needed a CPAP machine but that my insurance was only accepted by one provider and that they’re currently backordered and it would be 6-8 weeks.

They told me this last week. My medical card expires on Friday.

Every single doctors office that does DOT physicals that I’ve contacted has told me that they can’t do anything for me unless I have a 30 day report from my CPAP, something I won’t have for probably two months.

What are my options?

If I go to a backwoods chiropractor and bend the truth about having a sleep test, will I get in trouble?

I don’t plan on driving within the next 4 or so months due to an upcoming surgery, I just don’t want to lose my commercial license, especially after going through school and having paid for it.

I assume everyone’s going to say not to lie, but I’m in a really weird position.

Thanks for reading (sorry about the novel.)

 

I’m not a veteran, but thank you for responding.

 

I’ve been searching this forum for hours, couldn’t find a single post that covered the issue of someone that had an expiring medical card and couldn’t renew it without 30 days of CPAP use, while not being able to get the machine for almost two months.

Virtually everything I found involved people lying to the company they worked for or wanted to work for.

 

Yeah, wish I’d have known better.