Schneider National, Fishing for sleep disorders.

Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness.....as long as your wearing your CPAP machine

 

bwahahahahahahah!!!!

 

cant speak for anyone else, BUT for me, CPAP gives life, allows for happiness due to restful sleep. Liberty is .....................

 

That doesn't apply to privately owned companies. Sorry, life isn't all unicorn farts and butterflies.

 

I fart unicorns, and burp butterflies

 

Big misconception that apnea is somehow tied to obesity. In many cases it is, but I've met several people in relatively good shape who had apnea. And there's plenty of big guys who pass the sleep test with flying colors. I, myself have had it since jr. high, when I was in very good shape. Even though I've gained a good deal of weight the past 20 years, apnea seems to be hereditary. Both my father and grandfather were afflicted with it, as well as myself and all my brothers.
Let's try and keep an open mind about this, rather than making foolish claims tying this directly to obesity. That is, unless you are proficient at barking up the wrong tree...

 

You will have a greater sleep disorder when you wear a C.P.A.P apparatus on your face, hoses constricting your movement at night, this is just a big government cash grab, if anyone is so bad that you need one of these machines then you probably shouldn't be behind the wheel until you drop 100 lbs and don't require it any longer.

 

So some who is 175# and uses cpap needs to drop a 100#? Wow feel sorry that bloat.

 

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[TD="class: titleimage"]Guidance/Advisory Criteria — Conditions[/TD]
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[TD]

Chronic Sleep Disorders

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Approximately 70% of the cases of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) are caused by narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Treatments for OSA include surgery and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). The successfully treated driver may be considered for certification following the recommended waiting period. You should not certify the driver with suspected or untreated sleep apnea until etiology is confirmed and treatment has been shown to be stable, safe, and adequate/effective.
EDS may also be a symptom of another underlying condition, such as:

• Neurological disease.
• Depression.
• Alcohol or other drug use.
• Prescription and/or over-the-counter medication use.

Certification/Recertification — Chronic Sleep Disorders
Waiting period
Minimum — 1 month after starting CPAP
Minimum — 3 months symptom free after surgical treatment
NOTE: If more than one waiting period applies (because of multiple conditions or other comorbid diseases), examine the driver for certification after the completion of the longest waiting period.
Decision
Maximum certification — 1 year
Recommend to certify if:
The driver has:

• Successful nonsurgical therapy with:
  • Multiple sleep latency testing values within the normal range.
  • Resolution of apneas confirmed by repeated sleep study during treatment.
• Continuous successful nonsurgical therapy for 1 month.
• Compliance with continuing nonsurgical therapy.
• Resolution of symptoms following completion of post-surgical waiting period.

Recommend not to certify if:
The driver has:

• Hypoxemia at rest.
• Diagnosis of:
  • Untreated symptomatic OSA.
  • Narcolepsy.
  • Primary (idiopathic) alveolar hypoventilation syndrome.
  • Idiopathic central nervous system hypersomnolence.
  • Restless leg syndrome associated with EDS.

Monitoring/Testing
The driver who is being treated for sleep apnea should remain symptom free and agree to:

• Continue uninterrupted therapy.
• Undergo yearly objective testing (e.g., multiple sleep latency test or maintenance of wakefulness test). See Sleep Disorder Tests.

Follow-up
The driver should have follow-up dependent upon the clinical course of the condition and recommendation of the treating healthcare provider, not to exceed 1 year.

The complete text of the medical conference reports can be accessed from FMCSA Medical Reports.

 

Read it and weep?

I don't know how this is going to affect the trucking industry, but from what I have read, the DOT is now going after the certification process to head off potentially suspicious behavior..exactly what that is, the presumsumtption that if you're obese, the medical certification will include screening and if needed more testing of the individual. Drivers flagged by BMI, or other parameters have only two options, comply to more testing and /or treatment or stop driving professionally. Although personal medical records are confidential, I have the feeling that the DOT Medical form, ( Long Form) including findings concerning sleep disorders will be assessable, a driver release signature opens Pandora's Box.