Sleep Apnea

You are correct that it is not yet a separate regulation. There is a questionnaire that goes with a DOT physical. One of the questions is whether or not you have ever been diagnosed with sleep apnea. Yes, you could lie but there are many reasons that is not a good idea.

If you have not been diagnosed the Doctor, at his/her discretion based on any of several indicators could require a sleep study before certifying you.

I have been diagnosed, and use a CPAP. When I went for my physical, the end of last month, the Doc started asking questions. He was surprised when I handed him a folder with my usage download from the last two years. Clear two year card no problem. But he did say that if I had not had that he would have given me a three month card and had me bring the info at the end of the three months.

 

I do not know Swift's policy. But I always find the inverter question entertaining. I have even read post on another thread where a trainer got a waiver from his company to allow "excessive" idling because his trainee used a CPAP.

Unless you have one of the antique machines that is the size of a toateroven, it runs on 12 volt. Yes you plug it into 110 at home but somewhere the current is converted to 12 Volt. ResMed has an adapter about the size of two cigarette packs in the power cord. Respironics has there's built in, but on the back of the CPAP you can unplug the standard cord and the is a separate port to plug in 12 ?olt. If you doubt me turn your CPAP over somewhere usually on the bottom there will be a list of the specifications. I bet it will say 12 Volt.

The manufacturer offers a 12 Volt power cord. It is a special filtered contraption. It has to do with clean power vs dirty power, or something like that (which is not something I will pretend to know anything about).

So if the company will install an inverter, take it. You want one anyway. If the do not, buy one yourself, you will want it anyway. If there is any issue with having an inverter, contact the manufacturer or distributor of your CPAP, or look on line. Get a 12 Volt adapter.

 

I have been diagnosed with sleep apnea for 5 years.I was told by doctor to not tell on medical card to avoid drama.Hasnt been a problem although my last employer knew I had sleep issues.I did my job well

 

Read your post. If you have a CPAP that has a downloadable card, take it to the company where you bought it. They will download it for you, usually free of charge. If you haven't got a CPAP that is downloadable, you are gonna have a hard time convincing Swift or the DOT physical testing center that you are compliant in the usage of your CPAP. You would not need a new sleep study - you have already been diagnosed with sleep apnea. You would need a new CPAP that has the download capabilities. There is a company in Amarillo that offers CPAPs to people who do not have insurance. I think you can find them online under "mobile sleep lab" or "mobile sleep testing". It is the least expensive unit I have seen that has all the bells & whistles. Plus, their unit self-adjusts the pressure to your body's needs, so you wouldn't need to replace it down the road or have the pressure adjusted. It does it automatically.

Hope that helps you out some. They're nice people. I understand that they will ship their unit to you if you're not going to be in that area.

 

Hi, okay i know i snore and stuff, so i know i need a sleep study, and i allready know i'll get the machine, but do they test you for sleepwalking too :smt024

 

It's not just because you snore. And I don't believe swift makes you do a sleep study yet.

I drove for swift when I went to get my sleep study done. And they never knew or asked.

I just started with prime. They however are requiring anyone within a certian "risk group" to get a study done during orientation and if you have it they get you all set up with the cpap and such.

I came in knowing I had it, told the doc during the dot, and all they did was download my memory card to make sure i was using it. Once every 3 months I have to have it downloaded again.

What I am getting at is, as you can see earlier on this post I was nervous to. But it really isn't anything to worry about. These companies have alot of smart people paid to take care of this stuff because after all, they Need you in that truck to make money.

 

If you need to have a new sleep study and aren't rich, there's a mobile sleep lab in Amarillo that's a lot less expensive than the traditional hospital ones. You can probably google it and find them. I understand they have all the equipment and supplies a lot cheaper too.

 

Info: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sleepapnea/

Clinical Trials are under way for Sleep Apnea. For more information about these studies, visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.

 

What ever happened when you told them you had sleep apnea. I was curious.