My Sleep Test Adventure

Sleep Apnea has always been a disqualifying condition to hold a DOT medical card. It's just that more recently more and more DOT medical examiners are screening for sleep apnea and requiring testing before issuing a DOT medical card.

Due to the real (I have sleep apnea) issues caused by driving truck with untreated sleep apnea more and more companies are screening for and requiring treatment for sleep apnea.

You've been sent a pretty complete sleep history and sleep apnea screening form. It would be in your own best interests to fill it out accurately and completely. Find out if you really are at risk for sleep apnea. If needed get tested and find out for sure.

Remember all your answers on this medical questionaire being given to your by a local hospital are confidential personal health information and protected under HIPPA (Health Information Privacy and Portability Act) and can not be released without your written permission.

If you are asked to send them back to your company ask about HIPPA.

 

Once testing is required of all drivers, I believe that there will be a severe driver shortage at that point.

I snore loudly at times, but when I got tested (not for DOT purposes), I came back negative for sleep apnea.

 

Nope. No driver shortage there. All a driver has to do is get on the CPAP, keep up his use of it, (as shown by the card in the machine,) and all is well. No point in fearing what this will bring. It will actually make ALL of the motoring public, truckers and others safer.

Yeah, I know. It is just something else that reeks of "Big Brother-ism." But sleep apnea is very real, and CPAPs really do help. I hope that eventually all the fraud and wackos that are currently running this field, will be out of business, and replaced buy medical personnel that actually know what they are doing, and maintain ethical standards.

Right now, the only thing to fear about all the hullabaloo over CPAPs is the number of rip off artists that are currently in the field.

The only thing that will DQ a person suffering from sleep apnea, is if it is UNTREATED.

 

If you are getting tested or treated for sleep apnea ask the folks treating you things like..

1) Is there a difference in the CPAP you would suggest if I was going to team?

YES - you do NOT want to use an old ResMed S-8 the flow sensors are sensitive to water sloshing while your partner is driving.

2) I work in slip seating arrangement. How will I plug it in?

You want a ResMed S-9 or Phillips System One CPAP that both have direct 12-V power supplies.

3) My AHI was only 4 do I still need a CPAP?

They better do a LOT of explaining about AHI and if you blood oxygen levels show some REAL desaturation to justify a CPAP.

This is complicated medical stuff. Often a "regular" sleep doc will have no idea about the additional stuff about dealing with a CPAP in a truck. The speciality firms under contract with the large trucking companies often care more about their contract with the trucking company than giving you good medical treatment.

Don't be afraid to reach out. There are support groups for us drivers with CPAP to try and help each other.

 

That's making a little light of the issue. For one, there's not a lot of sleep centers, and those that are out there tend to be very high priced. But, once we get past that, the problem here, is that it's a $3000 minimum roadblock to hiring - and the "only happens to fat guys" presumption is very wrong. Being obese can contribute to it, but age and genetics are right up there as well. Many of those who use them ARE NOT OBESE. This means that if they're doing anything other than just making noise, it will eventually mean all truck drivers will have to have one to get a medical card.

For the guy going to renew his medical card, it becomes an insurmountable roadblock that can easily consume 2 months of your life or more -especially since getting a sleep study often can't be scheduled for days or weeks, depending on how full the sleep center's facilities are. Not everyone immediately acclimates to it. And, once you do, you can't be certified as treated until you have a compliance history - and you won't get compliance history until you can acclimate to it AND you have some time pass AFTER you acclimate.

And, as you can see, from reading those whose companies have started requiring them, that the washout rate, even for people who are either marginal or questionable can be large, as people just give up before the bill gets too high and the time lost too long.

Sorry, the other guy sounds alarmist, but it's not as minimal as you're trying to make it sound.

 

Sorry you thought I was "making light of the issue," there PW. Nor was I trying to make it sound minimal. But it IS a fact of life, and it is heading right toward the trucker. BUT it is NOT "insurmountable."

Just like everything else that is thrown our way, you have the alarmists that say something like "this will be an end to most driver's careers," or similar alarmist statements. THAT was the point I was trying to make.

Of course, if a man (or woman) has many "years in the saddle," and this is thrown at them, it will be upsetting. And as I clearly posted, there are way to many rip off artists that have jumped on the OSA band wagon. Steering around them, I'm sure is going to be tough for some folks to do.

Personally I started on the CPAP back in 2002, (I believe it was,) long before it was the latest fad to hit everywhere. I swear by mine, and literally am in trouble if I don't have it available to me.

Again, if anyone took my post to be making light of the situation, I apologize. That was NOT what was intended. I was just bringing a bit of a reality check to the situation.

 

Sorry if I misunderstood you.

I do see a this business of sleep testing thinning down driver opportunities a LOT.

As I said, the price is high, I find it very unlikely that the price is going to come down at all - if demand goes up, the price is going to skyrocket, like every other medical service is.

Now, imagine you're 30 years old, and want to to get your DOT physical. If it requires a sleep study, that's a $2-3K investment. And, if they decide you're quesitonable, or the criteria for the study aren't met (you must sleep X number of hours that night, must sleep a minimum amount of time in REM sleep, etc, etc.) you have to do it again until it has been met. What percentage of new drivers can do that?

It'll thin the herd stampeding to the recruiters offices, for sure.

Will it create a shortage? I am quite sure it will for some, like the new driver mills. It's a lot of money to lay out, and it will introduce huge delays into the process to get people on the road.

 

I don't even need the computer card, machine I got has a wireless transmitter, and data collected at the company. When I go for physical, they fax over info.