Sleep apnea and CPAP monitoring...legal???????

Did you actually get diagnosed with sleep apnea with the sleep test you described, and told you need cpap, and use it, to be compliant?

 

It is a dot regulation that you must use a cpap at least 4 hrs per sleep period if you are diagnosed with sleep apnea... this is to be recorded by your device and a report is to be submitted when you take your annual dot physical.

however,when you are first diagnosed with sleep apnea you will be monitored for the first 90 days to insure compliance.

 

Actually... i had a neurologist examine the results of my study

 

if i own a company and tell you stand on your head
stand on your head or get out
you dont pay the bills i make the rules

 

No, it is not a violation of your privacy. There is no subversive conspiracy here; the company can and will set health standards for its employees, especially those who are regulated.

 

And what controls breathing? Brain function. Come on, guy, get it right. 😉

 

There's an entire Neurology specialty known as "Sleep Medicine." Sleep Apnea is one of the conditions that they deal with. Guess who diagnosed me with Sleep Apnea? A Neurologist. But hey...I'll try to "get it right" next time, lol.

https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/neurology/subspecialties/sleep_medicine.html

 

ditto..... a neurologist diagnosed me as well..

but you gotta love it when uninformed people throw away their 2 cents...

 

still , the accuracy of that take home study has to be looked at long and hard. I was diagnosed prior to getting my CDL. So I dont have the same concerns as some guys. But it seems to me , having a proper study done is the way to go, then if found to have it , a second one to set the machine correctly.

there should be some transparency in the process with set rules in how companies go about directing drivers to take one , one that relies more on the whole ranges of symptoms possible, not just an arbitrary "quiz" and if based on a proper history and an examination of the physical indicators ( thinking more of the elongated uvula) refer for study. Cost borne by the employers as its a required part of the hiring process.


After , if found to have it, the program SNI has in place as far as it being treated is an excellent model for how a company works WITH their drivers to meet compliance.

 

This is a great point. However I also think arguing for use and monitoring is equally valid. My dad was a driver his whole life, minus some years he dispatched. He was diagnosed with sleep apnea and had to quit his job because he did not want to use his cpap. He died at 56 from severe emphysema and copd. Passed in his sleep at home on hospice. Like I said, I see the argument on both sides, and personally have researched with my wife ways to address sleep apnea without a cpap. regardless though, if a pulmonologist says you need to use one, you should use one. sure, its not comfortable, but it could save your life. My father-in-law (not a driver) also uses one and remarks all the time how grateful he is for it despite the uncomfortableness of it.