Forced out of trucking

I'm in my 20's. Not in awful shape, could afford to loose a pound or 50, but I have a narrow back pallet. Remember even as a teenage waking up gasping. Then as I got older it got worse. Woke up choking and gasping several times a night. Step dad brought it up and listed the exact symptoms I was dealing with- "Really bad headache? like someone opened your head and put glass shards in, then shook it up? Pale skin? Pale fingernails? Exhausted and generally in a crappy mood? yeah, that's what happens when you get literally no sleep."

Sleep test was covered by my insurance, but I decided not to get it. Why waste all this money to find out if something is wrong, when I already know something is wrong? Spoke with my doctor who gave me a referral to sleep doctor, doctor gave me some suggestions on setting the Cpap and that was that.

 

If the bold text is a part of the system then I would think we all would need the machines, I am exhausted and annoyed every day.

i am exhausted from doing this crap and exhausted of all the rules and regulations that keep getting placed on the industry by those who never have driven a truck let alone have a cdl, and most don't even know what a truck looks like on the inside.

I am annoyed daily because of the different idiots I have to deal with on a daily basis and peeved that I am never home.

 

I think 99% of drivers would side with you on this one.

Time to get organized, again.

 

The whole story is not being told here.

This was not posted by the OP. I thought it was when I first read through the thread.

Something happened for the test to be ordered.

 

Good to know, mine usually sounds like she has 7 inch straight pipes

 

but the op KNOWS he doesnt have sleep apnea
and is sure the earth is flat
and drives for a company with no insurance

 

I thought I was reading about myself for a minute there. That was my life for years and got progressively worse with age and I finally got over my denial and did something about it.

A few months ago I caught out overnight unexpectedly for two nights. (Actually my fault for not bringing my machine and anticipating a load change.) After sleeping wonderfully for the last four years I was in pure hell those two days with what felt like an oxygen deprived hangover. I don't know if my condition worsened over the last few years or if I had just forgotten how bad it was. There are those that believe sleep apnea doesn't exist, but let them believe as they wish. I gave up on trying to convince them.

My company has a nice deal regarding testing and the machine: A flat fee of $500 covers testing and deductible for machine. And get this: If test is negative, there is no charge whatsoever.

My BiPAP machine started malfunctioning after warranty expired. It cost me $1200 for a new one. Had it been a CPAP it would have been $800. She told me full price on those machines is $5000 and $3800 respectively.

Before I retire I'm am going to ask if I can buy an extra machine or two at deductible price.

 

The main keyword is SNORE, seriously. And admitting to being unusually sleepy during the day and having unexplained headaches.

 

To an extend I can see a companies worries over a driver having sleep apnea. Driver gets into an accident with an injury of fatality? There's so many bases to cover on the defense, would suck to have an ambulance chaser bring up the fact that the driver had undiagnosed sleep apnea. Ruining a career and costing a company millions when it all could've been stopped by intervening with a simple medical device.

And then all these old timers screaming about cpap isn't helping because it makes other guys like OP think he's done for.

I sleep great, every night, with my cpap. When I started using it, I even lost weight. Better state of mind, more clarity and waking up isn't like trying to drag myself out of a hole anymore.
Even on 5 hours of sleep I still wake up refreshed and energized.

 

Oh god... to the OP.

first off this is not a big deal, play the game by getting a doc who will write the script. Insurance should cover most of the costs, the rest get your accountant to write it off as a business expense.

Second you don't test positive for it, the test is to see if you first have it and then what degree it is at. If it is mild, then you won't have a bad time with it but if you have it bad, then it will take a bit to get used to it.

third I have bought machines outright from suppliers for a hundred or so (they work and keep working), I just bought one "referb" unit this month for less than $200 but it has a lot of features and now I have it setup to my liking, it makes a big difference. This again is a tax write off due to the fact that it is for the truck and a requirement for my license.

Fourth there is a game, get a doc, see if you can get onto a 2 year sleep study cycle and then have them setup a plan for you. I have gone through this since 2005, every year it is something, this year it is the readings from the machine are not acceptable to the DOT 'registered doc" and he and my doc have had an argument (literally she was yelling at him) about the readings. So for me, I take it as I have the worst luck - thanks FMCSA.