Life Predicament and Lost

so here are the guidelines:

Regulations — You must review and discuss with the driver any "yes" answers
Does the driver:
• Have a nervous or psychiatric disorder (e.g., severe depression)?
• Have loss of or altered consciousness?
• Use medication for a nervous or psychiatric disorder?
• Use alcohol regularly and/or frequently?
• Use narcotic or habit-forming drugs?

Recommendations — You should observe driver presentation and interaction
Does the driver display any of the following:
• Inappropriate dress?
• Suspiciousness?
• Evasiveness?
• Threatening behavior?
• Hostility?
• Distractibility?
• Flat affect or no emotional expression?
• Unusual or bizarre ideas?
• Auditory or visual hallucinations?
• Dishonesty?
• Omission of important information?

Recommendations — Ask the driver
• Have you ever thought of hurting yourself?
• Have you ever thought of suicide?
• Have you ever attempted suicide, including using a vehicle like a car or truck?
• Do you ever get into fights?
• Have you ever thought of hurting or killing other people?
• Do you ever have problems with your concentration or memory?
• Have you ever heard voices that other people don't seem to hear or that weren't really there?
• Have you ever seen things that weren't really there?
• Have you ever been hospitalized for psychiatric problems?
• Are you taking any medication for nerves?
• Have you ever used medicines for a purpose other than what was prescribed?

Recommendations — In addition to health history, you may inquire about
• Work history.
• Driving history.
• Drug and alcohol history.
• Military history, including type of discharge.
• Legal history.

Regulations — You must evaluate
On examination, does the driver have:
• Tremor?
• Enlarged liver and/or spleen?
• Signs of alcoholism or problem drinking?
• Drug abuse?

Regulations — You must document discussion with the driver about
• Any affirmative history, including if available:
o Onset date, diagnosis.
o Medication(s), dose, and frequency.
o Any current limitation(s).
• Potential negative effects of medication use, including over-the-counter medications, while
driving.
• Any abnormal finding(s), noting:
o Effect on driver ability to operate a commercial vehicle safely.
o Necessary steps to correct the condition as soon as possible, particularly if the untreated
condition could result in more serious illness that might affect driving.
• Any additional psychological tests and evaluation.

REMEMBER: Medical fitness for duty includes the ability to perform strenuous labor and to have good
judgment, impulse control, and problem-solving skills. Overall requirements for commercial drivers as well
as the specific requirements in the job description of the driver should be deciding factors in the
certification process.

Advisory Criteria/Guidance
There are three categories of risk associated with psychological disorders.
• The mental disorder, including symptoms and/or disturbances in performance that are an
integral part of the disorder and may pose hazards for driving.
• Residual symptoms occurring after time-limited reversible episodes or initial presentation of the
full syndrome that can interfere with safe CMV driving.
• Psychopharmacology, as many psychotropic medications can compromise performance to the
degree that CMV driving would be hazardous.
The recommendations do not support automatic exclusion from CMV driving based solely

Regulations — You must review and discuss with the driver any "yes" answers
Does the driver:
• Have a nervous or psychiatric disorder (e.g., severe depression)?
• Have loss of or altered consciousness?
• Use medication for a nervous or psychiatric disorder?
• Use alcohol regularly and/or frequently?
• Use narcotic or habit-forming drugs?
Recommendations — You should observe driver presentation and interaction

Does the driver display any of the following:
• Inappropriate dress?
• Suspiciousness?
• Evasiveness?
• Threatening behavior?
• Hostility?
• Distractibility?
• Flat affect or no emotional expression?
• Unusual or bizarre ideas?
• Auditory or visual hallucinations?
• Dishonesty?
• Omission of important information?

Recommendations — Ask the driver
• Have you ever thought of hurting yourself?
• Have you ever thought of suicide?
• Have you ever attempted suicide, including using a vehicle like a car or truck?
• Do you ever get into fights?
• Have you ever thought of hurting or killing other people?
• Do you ever have problems with your concentration or memory?
• Have you ever heard voices that other people don't seem to hear or that weren't really there?
• Have you ever seen things that weren't really there?
• Have you ever been hospitalized for psychiatric problems?
• Are you taking any medication for nerves?
• Have you ever used medicines for a purpose other than what was prescribed?
Recommendations — In addition to health history, you may inquire about
• Work history.
• Driving history.
• Drug and alcohol history.
• Military history, including type of discharge.
• Legal history.

Regulations — You must evaluate
On examination, does the driver have:
• Tremor?
• Enlarged liver and/or spleen?
• Signs of alcoholism or problem drinking?
• Drug abuse?

Regulations — You must document discussion with the driver about
• Any affirmative history, including if available:
o Onset date, diagnosis.
o Medication(s), dose, and frequency.
o Any current limitation(s).
• Potential negative effects of medication use, including over-the-counter medications, while
driving.
• Any abnormal finding(s), noting:
o Effect on driver ability to operate a commercial vehicle safely.
o Necessary steps to correct the condition as soon as possible, particularly if the untreated
condition could result in more serious illness that might affect driving.
• Any additional psychological tests and evaluation.

REMEMBER: Medical fitness for duty includes the ability to perform strenuous labor and to have good
judgment, impulse control, and problem-solving skills. Overall requirements for commercial drivers as well
as the specific requirements in the job description of the driver should be deciding factors in the
certification process.

Advisory Criteria/Guidance

There are three categories of risk associated with psychological disorders.
• The mental disorder, including symptoms and/or disturbances in performance that are an
integral part of the disorder and may pose hazards for driving.
• Residual symptoms occurring after time-limited reversible episodes or initial presentation of the
full syndrome that can interfere with safe CMV driving.
• Psychopharmacology, as many psychotropic medications can compromise performance to the
degree that CMV driving would be hazardous.

 

what is tl,dr?

 

He’s medically disqualified. Schizophrenia is the most severe form of mental disorder and with a diagnosis of it it makes him disqualified.

Would never be able to obtain a medical
certificate. Never mind getting a carrier to even take such a high risk.

Page 200 - 201 of the medical examiner handbook.

Not what the OP is wanting to hear but that’s the reality of it.

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmc.../mrb/83401/fmcsamedicalexaminerhandbook_0.pdf

I can give a local story of a woman truck driver that had schizophrenia who went head on into traffic causing a fatality. She, to this day could care less about what her episode did..this was many years ago but I still remember it like it was yesterday.

 

Too Long Didn't Read.

 

so he didn't read his own post??

 

Too long; didn't read.

 

What's the age? Are you a US citizen? What's your location? Maybe someone knows some warehousing/ truck terminal jobs to get you a start into the logistics industry.

 

I'm not sure you have a few months. Not being negative at all, but you have yourself backed into a small corner and time isn't your friend and that corner is just going to get smaller. Just saying.

 

So much fear mongering BS here. First off, Schizophrenia is not a disqualifying disorder. I've been diagnosed with several mental conditions including Schizophrenia and even worse Schizoaffective. I've even gotten the label of "history of non-compliance" and "treatment resistant." I still have a 2 yr medical card.

Companies get the short form, the long form to my knowledge is HIPPA protected and I've never been asked to provide the long form. I have had companies threaten to fire me if I didn't go to their stupid concentra bribe/kickback scam docs. I quit before they could send me at those jobs.

Schizophrenia would only be a disqualifying disorder if a doc refused to sign off (and we all know there are plenty of rubber stamp medical examiners) or if you were on meds that were for treating seizures.

That said, I was in a similar boat as OP.

No friends, no family, no support network, no gov't disability monies, barely any savings, recently homeless, no car, no job history, untreated but moderate schizophrenia and a severe mood disorder.

I went to one of the crappy megas. I have seen a lot of cool stuff and made decent money at times but I don't have a lot to show for my trucking career but that has a lot more to do with the modern economic situation for young broke people in the US. It's beat being homeless but I've not enjoyed it by any means. In fact I'm close to calling it quits.

Also, being antisocial in trucking is a mixed bag. Almost everyone you meet will be angry, mad at the world and miserable people-hating types. And you'll have to deal with them constantly. You'll be lonely but never alone. And that is a pretty sour existence. Plus starter wages are still where they were largely pre-covid so you'll make peanuts and be stuck in that truck for weeks or possibly months on end.

I don't know you however I've had a similar past but if I had to go and do it all over again, I'd build a time machine and make it so my parents never met each other.

Mental illness is a ####ing #####. You can never escape it or fix it. Just numb yourself with some pills and struggle through each crappy day until it ends. Hoping sooner rather than later most of the time. Good luck, you're gonna need it.