DOT Diabetes Exemption Program - Questions and Experiences

Greetings,

First post ever. I drove for Swift for 2 years before failing my last DOT physical. I was put on a line haul route which ran from Kingman, KS to Dalhart, TX and back; plus, round trip from South Wichita to and from Kingman. Total drive time was about 12 to 13 hours between truck and my personal vehicle. So, the lack of time to properly take care of myself caused me to fail. Even then, I had moved to Cunningham which is 15 minutes from Kingman; but, I didn't have enough catch up time to bring my numbers back down. So, Swift gave me 3 months of FMLA and I worked like a dog trying to get healthy again; however, lack of income meant no food, house, or car. I lost it all and had to move home with my folks.

It's been about 2.5 years since then, I'm tired of college, the USPS is closing my facility and I feel driving a truck is my only option; so, I decided to try for the exemption program. I'm about 2 to 3 months into it and just waiting for DOT to post my name onto their registry. Gotta do that twice before they grant the exemption.

Anyhoot, I've been working with DOT to get all the paperwork filled out and submitted to get the diabetes exemption. Have 2 more forms to mail Monday and that should be it. I feel confident I'll get it. Since I don't want to bug DOT for q's all the time, I'd like to hear from other drivers who have been on the program for a while. I'd like to know if the diabetes management requirements have made daily life more of a PITA than before the exemption. The most I understand is that DOT has a much broader blood sugar requirement than what most any Endocrinologist would ever think about allowing. This much I have no trouble following. My concern is the amount of blood sugar checking required in a day and any other requirements I need to follow.

I do plan on going back to Swift. I had an excellent relationship with the Edwardsville terminal. I have been in contact with them and they'll give me the green flag once I have my exemption from DOT.

Thanks for the info!

 

I do use insulin, that's why applied for the exemption in the first place.

 

Diagnosed type 2. However, my pancreas isn't producing the amount of insulin it should; so, I have been on insulin + metformin for the past 2.5 years. I was doing fine OTR; but, I was put on a "local" shuttle run which occupied 14 hours each day leaving me little time to properly take care of myself. By the time I moved closer to the shuttle meeting point, my physical was too close and I didn't have enough time to recoup the ground I lost. I'm doing much better now, just have to have the insulin to manage. Not suffering from any other health issues either.

I was just wanting to hear from other drivers who are exempted to find out how much the regulations impact on their ability to operate normally.

 

I do have a couple floaters, but the eye doc I went to 2 months ago wasn't concerned. Said my eyes looked healthy.