sleep apnea

That's a bummer man, sorry to hear that. No other company will sign you on now? What is sleep apnea? Narcoleptic? Insomnia?

 

I have apnea myself as well. Its like insomnia. Unisom is my best friend at night and coffee is my partner in the morn.

 

I was asking my wife's doctor (sleep apnea specialist) yesterday about truck drivers and sleep apnea, and he has alot of drivers who use the machines on the road. One thing I didnt know that he said was, the DOT requires truck drivers who have sleep apnea are REQUIRED to use there machines a minimum of 4 hours a day (or night, whenever you sleep). I'm thinking why only 4 hours? FYI the doctors plug in the machines to there computers and it show's them when you use them, how long, how you were breathing and all kinds of info, but I dont think the DOT can do this, I believe they would have to get this info from the doctor... Honostly, the only time this topic would ever come up is probably if you were in an accident, then the lawyers would want all of that info. If JB HUNT wants you to have another or current sleep study, then they should pay for it.

 

I thought I had this disorder....but actually I was sleeping with 2 pillows.....so I pulled out the TV pillow and now I sleep like Shemp.

 

There's a device out there someplace that you can get that will help you with this problem. You slip into the ol' mouth at bed time and it keeps your tonuge from blocking your airway when it relaxes during sleep.

If I were you, I'd get the test done, too, no matter what you do in the future. It's good to know if you have that problem for sure.

 

Is it also a weight issue?....I hear if you loose weight it easier to breathe....yes?

 

Sleep Apnea can cause one to fall asleep in the day and not to sleep well at night. There's a flap in the back of the throat and if that muscle isn't strong enough, it falls back during sleep and causes snoring. This is also sleep apnea related. Weight plays a role, but even really skinny people get/have S.A.

I have it and use a breathing machine. That works very well for me, but it is a pain to pull to and from the truck. My machine must be a tad older than todays because, while they can easily see how many hours I've used it(more than 70000), it can't decipher the time of day or anything.

Telling Werner was a mistake for me. They told me to get a doctors note, which I did. Then, I was told to get another physical. Did that... Go get another physical and have the doctor who did that tell us that sleep apnea is treatable... WTF? All told, I got 4 physicals and was out of work for 18 days while Werner folks tried to figure out how to handle what hasn't been an actual problem for me in years. I almost quit before I ever started!

 

Ya, thats a tough one, should you tell your company or not.? I know there are alot of truckers out there that use the machines, but does there employer know about it?? I dont think the companies really have any idea what sleep apnea is. There probably thinking of it as a major insurance obstacle also... Its been so long since Ive filled out an application, do they ask you if you have sleep apnea? Another big issue is diabetes. Good Luck

 

Sleep apnea is an obstruction in the throat that causes the windpipe to close off and you gasp for air to breathe again. I have apnea. It prevents you from actually getting good sleep as you never reach REM stage.

Weight has never been proven to be a factor.

Apnea machines are cheap if bought on the internet. You must have a prescription. I bought one a few months ago, had it overnighted to a TA in Ohio. It made it to the truckstop before I did!

DOT can NOT download the data from your machine. They would need the software to read the data (several different brands), and a degree in medicine to decypher it. Mine is a new one, but only shows total hour count. It doesn't show daily usage, REM patterns, or other specific data.

The reason for the 4 HR per night requirement is that is usually what the doc writes the prescription for. But trust me, if ya have it on for 4 hours, ya sleep like a baby for 8!