Snoring? It could be sleep apnea

You still say please??? ROFL!!!! I just shove him... and then get loud if he keeps it up. I'm glad he works nights - I get a lot more sleep during the week now!!!!

 

Hey y'all
I just got diagnosed with sleep apnea and have been diosqualified for 30 days to verify cpap use. Anyone know if this will show on my DAC if I wanted to change companies in the future?

 

You will need to put down on ANY DOT medical certification exam form that you were diagnosed with sleep apnea. I strongly suggest you keep a copy of the sleep study so you will have that.

You will need to prove you are "under current and effective treatment" for sleep apnea for the rest of your driving carreer.

What you really do not want to get into is the real can of worms that would be created by not telling a DOT medical examiner you had been diagnosed with sleep apnea in the past.. if you later were in any kind of accident.

The attorneys are very good at getting all of your past medical history. There are even web sites with almost a "cook book" on how to sue trucking companies about drivers with or suspected of having sleep apnea.

Get with a sleep doctor that has dealt with drivers to get your CPAP use verfied and handle the "under current and effective treatment" paperwork you will need for your DOT medical card.

Good Luck.. getting tested for sleep apnea 6 years ago was the best thing I ever did.

 

I wonder if sleep apnea affects industries outside of trucking. Have any studies been done?

 

Sleep apnea affects people of all shape, size, race, gender, creed, color, career, etc.

It may seem more prevalent in trucking perhaps due to the amount of overweight drivers compared to other careers.

However, trucking isn't the only career that creates poor sleep hygiene which can create other sleep disorders.

 

Ditto what has already been posted on UPPP surgery.

The long term studies on surgery for correcting sleep apnea have shown about 50% of the patients getting the surgery when checked 3 years post surgery have sleep apnea.

The soft tissues they remove in the surgery grow back. I have two friends that had the surgery. Both will tell you HORROR stories about gargling with lidocaine for weeks. Both of them still need to use a CPAP even after the surgery.

Like anything in medicine you need to check things out. You might be lucky... get a good surgeon and your soft tissues don't grow back. Or you might be one of the 50% who surgery doesn't work long term for....

In any case if you need to have a DOT medical card if you get surgery you will usually need an annual sleep study or MWT (daytime sleep study) for your DOT medical card.

For drivers surgery is specifically NOT reccomended in the DOT guidance to medical examiners..

 

I would go get the sleep study done, get treated and stop driving over the road... Get a normal,decent hrs. day trucking job,or get out of the field altogether.....Save and lengthen your life.. Take care of your body.

Very few people can keep up a healthy lifestyle that way.. the long,irregular hours over the road 2 weeks or more at a time takes its toll..

Its a shame how stubborn a lot of drivers are out there 5'6,weighing over 300 pounds and still refuse to come off the road..

Get off the road;no excuses..Its not worth it..