BMI and Sleep apnea?

You need to see a physician and do a sleep study to rule sleep apnea out.

 

I found a driver willing to train me, so I went on Friday to get physical so I could take my written test next week. The doctor said I needed to get sleep apnea test signed off first before he would pass me. I weigh 250, have an 18 inch neck, and admitted when asked if I snored (which my kids haves said I do on occassion). I have search and read FMSCSA stuff and dont see any requirements concerning sleep apnea...what I read in qualifications, I clearly passed....so I am wondering if anyone can direct me to whether I "NEED" to get sleep apnea test done, or can I try and clarify with doctor and get him to pass dot physical?

 

snoring is not sleep apnea >.>

high BMI is not sleep apnea.

I snore loud and all the time. I don't have sleep apnea.

I have a friend who weighs 110 and she's 5'2" which is normal weight. She has sleep apnea. And she's perfectly healthy. So no, being fat does not mean you will have it. You can be a rail and have it too. It's just one of those conditions that just happens.

 

You're more likely to have sleep apnea with extra weight. It also has to do with your particular anatomy.

If you looked to see if there are any regulations and ailed to find anything I can't see why I would have to do anything else unless it's required by a particular company. I know Schneider will actually send you for a sleep study if needed.

However, given the hours and the irregularities of the schedule with driving would recommend having a study done if you think you do have it. There's no way I could do this without my cpap machine.

 

There are no regulations from FMCSA regarding sleep apnea. Many insurance companies have requirement for it though.

It is a natural occurance in everyones sleep. Acute can be life threatening but with todays society of the nanny state and blame/sue everyone in sight, the insurance companies have bought into the sleep study money making scam. And therefor the trucking companies follow.

Sleep apnea is real and acute in very few people. It has more to do with anatomy than weight, size of neck.

 

Apnea is NOT a natural occurrence in the sleep cycle.

Weight and anatomy play big parts in it.

 

Many doctors will disagree with you including mine. It has more to do with the structure of your wind pipe and esophogus than with weight.

It is a scam being pushed by doctors with sleep labs.

Even babies have sleep apnea.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea - Very little to do with being overweight. There's many factors involved in sleep apnea and anyone could have it. It's just one of those things...

In pure central sleep apnea or Cheyne-Stokes respiration, the brain's respiratory control centers are imbalanced during sleep. Blood levels of carbon dioxide, and the neurological feedback mechanism that monitors them, do not react quickly enough to maintain an even respiratory rate, with the entire system cycling between apnea and hyperpnea, even during wakefulness. The sleeper stops breathing and then starts again. There is no effort made to breathe during the pause in breathing: there are no chest movements and no struggling. After the episode of apnea, breathing may be faster (hyperpnea) for a period of time, a compensatory mechanism to blow off retained waste gases and absorb more oxygen.

Just as the phrases of this person that drinks, smokes, and does everything wrong with their diet and yet he's perfectly healthy.

Where this athlete who eats right, doesn't drink or smoke, dies of a sudden massive heart attack. Or that there's a theory about breast cancer running in families, where in others there's never been an instance except in one case. It just happens. It has nothing to do with anything. Sure it doesn't help much if you're in a certain category, but the case is that genetics may play the one role you'll never be able to overcome.

I've known people that eats a healthy diet and has high cholesterol and others that consume crap and has normal cholesterol.. It's just the way things are. Genetics plays the largest role, nothing else.

 

Me: 51 years old, 5'6", 250 pounds. I have severe sleep apnea. Knowing what I know now, I've probably suffered from it for some 25 years or more. That would have put me about a hundred pounds lighter than at present. Even back then, I would wake up gagging from lack of air.

My father: Mid 70s, 5'5", 150 pounds. Doesn't smoke. Hasn't fluctuated in weight more than a dozen pounds in his adult life. Been on CPAP for a dozen years. (He is a doctor, BTW.)

My grandfather, born 1906: Never tested, but my father is convinced he probably suffered from it as well based upon his personal knowledge and observations. He was 5'4" and stocky, though not nearly as bad as me. He lived to be 81.

And, yes...there are absolutely those in the profession that will take advantage of the so-called "medical flavor of the month" to make a buck. For instance, several years ago I was vacationing in CA, visiting family, when a piece of my mask broke. I headed to a lab to get a replacement, and while I was there, one of the technicians was on the phone with a provider. The provider was trying to get a machine lined up for a patient....a NINETY year-old man! Even the technician felt this was over the top...medical overkill, if you will.

So, yes...you can bet some of it falls into the scam category. But for those of us who have benefitted (or, such as myself, benefitted GREATLY) from CPAP treatment, it is indeed a Godsend, nothing less.