lying to Schneider/DOT about sleep apnea

Worst case scenario they will make him get a new machine. They require one that you can retrieve usage info from. When I worked there, most guys that already had machines were required to get a new one. They gave questionaires about your health, always said it was just a survey, but mandatory. If you stated that you snored or had a large neck size, you would be taking the sleep test. Boy did that anger alot of drivers.

 

I'm sorry that's not his worse case scenario. Lying to the company can be bad, real bad. There's no company that I've ever seen that didn't fire a driver caught lying on any paperwork for hire. Luckily this driver can say he didn't know if he had sleep apnea since it can change and go away. He's got some great advice here and should follow it to fix the problem.

 

Tell them you read about sleep apnea on the internet and you are concerned that you are experiencing some of the symptoms and you heard it may be sleep apnea.

 

Hell no!!!! don't drop a dime on yourself! Keep your mouth shut about this to anyone at Schneider.

As for your cpap machine, just bring it with you and USE it. A small 400 watt inverter can be plugged into the cigarette lighter/power port in the bunk.

In a few months after the insurance kicks in request a referral through your primary care physician and follow the advice already given.

 

Crown n coke is my fav.

 

Ain't the dot does some heath watches, or history

 

are you using a dot approved cpap? because if dot ticketed you for it, then schneider would turn around and fire you for lying.

 

I have a good contact at Schneider who works with drivers with sleep apnea. I copied your post to them in an e-mail.

I'll let you know what they say.

Just like the other posts said SNI has one of the best sleep apnea testing and treatment programs in the trucking industry.

USE YOUR CPAP!!!! Until this gets sorted out it is important you use your CPAP and keep yourself well and not sleepy.

YES... you messed up big time not telling Schneider and the DOT doctor. If you had asked more you would had found out how to get on with Schneider with sleep apnea. There are LOTS of drivers for Schneider with a CPAP.

One more thing to consider if you are thinking about staying "in the closet" and not telling Schneider.

If for any reason you are in a major accident it will come out that you are on a CPAP. The NTSB and the lawyers will subpeona all your medical records. When it is discovered you lied on your DOT physical you are now in ALL kinds of trouble.

There is a driver in Kansas serving 7 years ( 1 year for each person that died in the accidient) basically for hiding the fact that he had been diagnosed with sleep apnea and was not current on his treatment. It was possibly an unpreventable accident, but when it came out about his sleep apnea and how he lied on the DOT physical the criminal court found him guilty of vehicular manslaughter.

Sorry... I know you are scared about loosing your job. I want to make you even more scared about what could happen if you try to stay "in the closet".

If you need to talk to someone about this there is a support group for truck drivers with sleep apnea.

awake.truckersforacause.com

There is an information line there. Leave a message and a fellow driver will call you back. We're not doctors so we can't answer major medical questions. We're also drivers ... so we keep our mouth shut about what we talk to other drivers about.