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If I recall it correct you should be able to get a waiver from your Dr stating that it is not a phsycological (yea I cant spell) issue and would not effect your ability to perform the tasks required. I think the rule of thumb was the DOT would disqualify it unless a waiver were present.

 

I'm in the same boat as you. I'm 47 and take xanax. Not for anything serious. I just have a nervous stomach and xanax calms it down. I've read that if I get a note from my Doc, everything should be okay. When I really get serious about trucking (in a year or two) then I'll look more seriously into this. But, please, keep us updated! Thanks!

 

Vulcan,

I am a newbie, just out of school (just finished 1st day of orientation as a matter of fact) so what I know is from research and talking with classmates about their experiences. One fellow student was on anti-depressants and she got the release, though she has not had much luck with the companies. A company can impose its own restrictions. She was turned down because of some medication that was disclosed on her DOT physical even though the doctor wrote something like "patient fine, medication effective, no side effects." And of course, always disclose because it will show up on the drug screen and if it doesn't and they find out (like when you use the company Rx plan or such) you will be terminated for falsifying info and that goes on your DAK, and then the falsification becomes the issue.

You will have to decide whether you can go off the meds and have more (or any) employment options or whether it is better for your health to stay on the meds. Try searching on this board for "employment", "pre-employment", "hiring", as this subject has probably been addressed by the experienced truckers.

Best of luck to you.

 

Do you have a good health store in your area? Stop by and talk to them.

 

Melatonin works great as a sleep aid, at least for me it worked well. My wife tried it for a while and it didn't do squat for her, so I guess you just have to talk to your Dr.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-melatonin.html

 

It takes a couple Melatonin for me during the week, and because they will lose effectiveness taken every night, I use a couple of valerian root herb capsules on the weekend (noisey subwoofer neighborhood). Valerian root herb is a component of valiums, so stronger and don't drive anything.

Watch your caffiene and sugar intake as well. Other than Q10 to help your metabolism, there's a herbal product called Diet Pep with no caffiene. But I still break a tablet in half if feel I need one from lack of rest.

Doctor drugs is what gets people into a mess in the first place, lol, so I don't pay to talk to them. They can only give you drugs or cut you open. I don't like either of those options