On Jan 5th I started truck driving school. I had passed all of my endorsements and was eager to learn. The first day was alot of paperwork but we were told by wednesday we would be on the trucks. On Jan 6th we took our physicals I had a dilema should I disclose all of my medical conditions since I know they really can't check the way they claim to? Being a basically honest person I did. The problem is sleep apnea which I was dianogesed with several years and over 50 pounds ago. DOT requires that a driver with sleep apnea have a new sleep study every 12 months - annoying but reasonable. My last one was Feb 2008 so I was within the requirements. However I was informed that I would have to have another one done. That in itself was not an issue but the cost was since I have no insurance at this time and am unemployed. What I don't understand is that a company will front the money to put people up in a hotel, bus people in from out of state, pay for meals but would not front the money to have the sleep study done even though I was more than willing to pay it back along with the tuition for the school. Lesson for other newbies: Sleep apnea will NOT prevent you from driving but if you know you have it get a sleep study done BEFORE you go to the school and have the CPAP compliance report with you or have the funds to be able to take a new sleep study. Other wise you are wasting your time.
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Welcome to the forum! Glad you wandered in! There are a couple of threads regarding this issue. I think if you do a search for CPAP in the search feature at the top, you may come up with some answers.
Hey and Howdy djc! Welcome to the forum, and this crazy world we call truckin'. Looking forward to hearing from you in the future and keep us posted on what is going on with you. Good Luck.
hey there djc...welcome to the forum and thanks for the info on the sleep apnea stuff....best of luck out here
FIRST.. Dot requirements do not state you need a sleep study every 12 months. You do need to document you are "under current and effective treatment". The issue is when you switch companies the new company can and does have the right to require documentation as to your treatment. Do you have a CPAP machine that has data compilation capabilities? The new requirements do require you use a CPAP with Data capabilities. Part of what your sleep medicine doctor is supposed to review is the data from your CPAP that you are using to confirm you're compliant on treatment. NEXT - you said 50 pounds ago.. Do you think you lost enough weight to not have sleep apnea now? If yes think about contacting PD-MD (Professional Drivers Medical Depots) or another sleep medicine clinic that specializes in sleep apnea treatment for truck drivers. There are several. PD-MD may be able to run a 4-channell (at home version) of a sleep study. Last time I checked they were only charging $ 50.00 for the in-truck/at home sleep apnea test. If it shows no apnea.. take that to the DOT doctor with a letter from your sleep medicine doctor. ANOTHER OPTION - Look at a carrier that has an active sleep apnea testing and treatment program. Schneider, Swift and Gordon have been reported in other threads as having active sleep apnea testing and treatment programs. I don't know how it works for new hires but in the Schneider program all sleep apnea testing / treatment is covered as preventative medicine in the health insurance... Good Luck.. PM me if you have other questions.. but getting hired with sleep apnea by some companies is a nightmare...
Good info there truckerdad57!!! And to the new guy djc35 welcome to the looney bin and good luck with your dilemma!!!!
