Hello, med examiner here

For future reference where are you located.

 

I was going to say.

I have a good examiner here where I am. He knows my history well enough. There is another who does FAA medicals and those are impossible for me to pass currently. (Bad mitral. Once thats replaced at that level then off I go.)

Imagine if we squeezed big truckers into FAA standards? We would have to buy Robots to replace them all.

 

I leave you with one last question, but before that. I must think that it is unusual for a Doctor to seek out truckers for a briefing or story telling from some at what we think of the DOT process for Medical cards.

I grew up around doctors, the less the better. I don't hate or dislike them with one particular exception. This one is a absolute personality split. Because he has to be. When spouse worked the floor at the hosptial she got bit on by him over small details related to patient records ongoing every day. She has no time for that. I personally ran into him several years ago when I fled a bad pain mill and essentially saved my life out of necessity with a few days stay. He came in on the last day and barked three options. Pick one. Rubbed me totally bad. At that point it's very easy to understand how fast and vertical it went downhill from there needless to say. He was rid of me and me of him. Life is not meant to be wearing hobnailed boots and bashing people to silence with his way.

Also medical cards were needed to be trucking. If you were home dealing with a cancer ridden spouse fighting for our future and very life, we have no time to run off to doctor to get a Med card to be valid CDL. Come on now. In those days it was simply you needed a valid medical to drive a big truck ready to show DOT at any time. Thats all. If you had no card, you never touched a semi.

Easy enough no need for Government overregulating pushing every single soul to retain a Medical all the time and down grade those who expire.

The more these things come along, the more I lean to robot trucks. It would serve all of us right not to have bread to buy for a week... now and then. You follow me? 100 wana drive. I say 70 cannot. And the Govt wants to cut out those who do not keep going to DOT doctors constantly? They are already a picture of health as it were.

 

Hello, Doctor, let me say that I am glad you are here! I spent 30 years in occupational medicine and workers' compensation (yes, guys, proper term is "workers' compensation, not work-man's). I ended up as a fleet owner from starting a business with/for my brother, which didn't make money fast enough, so he went on to get a different job then a different business. This has been quite the experience for me, as a woman with no trucking experience. Thank the Lord for the great advice I get from the people on this board and others. I would not have survived the last year and a half without them.

I think it's just awesome when physicians take an actual interest in the workers they evaluate and treat, no matter what profession, and learn from their patient's experiences and attitudes. You will see some truck drivers take the safety of other drivers more seriously than others. Lots of drivers are be just trying to earn a living even as they start experiencing health problems that might be age and/or lifestyle-related. Some may not have other means of providing for themselves and family, which can be terribly frightening. A lot of baby boomers and even younger generations face this. What if you have little to no retirement savings and won't qualify for Medicare for 5-15 years or more? Dealing with employee's emotions and real-life issues can be a real challenge for occ med physicians. Anyway, I am running on here and wanted to share this informative site with some helpful links:

DOT Physical - Driver Exemptions

Good luck!!

 

The blood pressure thing needs to be scrapped on the physical.

 

Well,That is kinda important- High blood pressure can put you in a stroke-

But..For people that dont have High BP but get "White coat syndrome" It offers a False Reading, Especially people who Panic heavily going to a doctor-

Readings as high as 240 over 110...Yet they get Home and its 118 over 72, So I think a lot of those readings can be inaccurate.

 

Well... had my physical today.

I passed and walked out with a 2 year medical certificate!!

The only reason I passed is because this Doc showed me mercy on the blood pressure test. When the nurse took it the first time, exactly what I was afraid it was going to be, 163/100. She says "oh no!" I say "oh hell!". Then she tells me maybe we need to wait a bit and take it again so she leaves the room.

I sat there for 20 minutes before the doc came in. He started asking me basic questions about my health, looked in my ears and mouth, listened to my heart and breathing, scribbled down some stuff on the papers, then gets to my blood pressure.

Looks like we have a problem he says. My stomach sunk. He then says lets try a few things, I have a trick or two. Puts the cuff on me holds my arm in a odd position then tells me take 10 breaths as deep as you can. I do what he says. Boom! right under the wire 138/88. Pass!!!!

He didn't even bother with a hernia check which I was glad about.

Anyhow, I'm good to go for a couple of years, nice to have that stress gone for now.

 

What kinda chaps me is that your BP can go from one thing to the next in the same setting. I have a BP machine at home and I fool with it trying to figure out how to lower my BP. I can go from 158/100 to 128/88 within 5 minutes.
My point is, that it doesn't seem like a very accurate way to determine if someone is medically qualified to drive. And I loose my livelihood if I fail a demonstrably inaccurate test.