Do DOT/Companies have access to medical records?

I’ve posted this here before but a simple way to find out if you have sleep apnea or not did you just turn the recording on on your smart phone when you fall asleep. The next day you can scan through it. Put a headset on and just listen to it. Fast forward it so it doesn’t take several hours. Usually you’ll know within the first 10 minutes. If you hear yourself choking and gasping, all that good stuff, then you’ve definitely got sleep apnea. I had it after my first year in the trucking. I gained about 40 pounds my first year. I’ve lost all that weight this past year. Eating healthy and working out on the road. I no longer have any type of sleep apnea. It’s not always about your weight though. Even skinny people can have sleep apnea. But it’s much more common if you’re overweight.

 

I meant to add of course that the provider needs to know if you have any disqualifying conditions or need accommodations. All questions that are asked in their evaluation. I'm pretty sure that's your obligation under the law and common sense?

The thing my examiner seemed to really focus on was diabetes. Narcolepsy and how you feel rested after a nights sleep were touched upon otherwise basic physical, neurological and urine test.

 

Excellent point and to expand. When i worked at my 1st hospital i was pretty chummy with the sleep doctor. I repaired some audio/visual equipment they use to monitor patients with when sleeping. Then i repaired a door closer that was slamming the door to the hallway that contained their 5 sleep labs. He was pretty happy as it had been neglected for quite some time. I asked him about an android app i tried when my wife complained about my snoring and he knew of the app and stated that it was pretty darn accurate at diagnosing snoring but not necessarily apnea. When hooked up in the sleep lab they can tell when you're in REM sleep, if you quit breathing and not just the very soft breaths some people take after snoring.

Seemed to be a pretty complex diagnosis that i wouldn't trust to an app unless it was monitoring o2 saturation and heart function. If i can find the app i'll try to post it. It was pretty slick as it did exactly what you are saying but like a Ring Doorbell it let you jump to events with no need to listen to 8 hours of audio.

 

Well I knew something was going on with my sleep when I gained all that weight. But what I heard on that recording? Freaked me the hell out. Lol it sounded like someone was strangling me half the night. Pretty bad and pretty obvious. Now I’ve lost all that weight and it went away for me.

My point is that people are paying thousands of dollars for the sleep studies. I just think it’s a rip off but that’s my opinion. I think most people can figure out if they have sleep apnea without paying for that.

 

Oh i agree. The medical machine is a joke. So many stories of waste and neglect i could share.
If some of these peoples livelihoods depend on proper diagnosis and treatment... i'm just sharing what little knowledge i have.

Glad you lost the weight, i'm sure that helped alot and you feel much better!

For curiosity sake. When you sounded like you were being strangled at night how was your sleep? Did you wake up exhausted? If i get 6 hours of solid sleep i feel golden, maybe a lil' snooze button on Saturday.......

 

Weight is very harmful to every part of our bodies.

Fat people can so easily get healthier in many ways, just by losing weight. They will save a lot of money on food at the same time.