sleep apnea?

I'm a mechanic, 6' 2" with 18" neck. I was told I didn't need a sleep study. However, driver that tested before me at 6' 4" with 18" neck was told he needed one. Apparently what you do for the money also decides if you have to do the study or not.

 

Have a quick question regarding sleep apnea. I have had a CDL for over 12 years, but I have been off the road for a little over 5 years and kept my CDL. Am in the process of getting back on the road and have found out that there are some new regs. about sleep apnea. I was diagnosed with it just about the time I got off the road and have used a cpap on and off over the past few years. Now when I went in to get a new medical card I was honest about the condition but was only given a 1 month card but what is the exact Reg on being DOT compliant. Thanx for any info anyone might have.

 

There is NO Federal regulation. The physical form is the same as it has been for years.
You say you have used a CPAP off and on. If you had been currently using it and showed documented successful treatment you should have gotten a 1 year card.

 

I haven't used it probably in about 5-6 months. I was put on the swing shift at work and just haven't been using it since. Didn't plan on getting back into driving but a great opportunity has come up and now the new "criteria" for lack of a better word on sleep apnea might be holding me up from employment. Wondering if requesting a new sleep study would prolong the short term medical card so that I could be on it religiously and get back into compliance.

 

I don't think a sleep study is necessary. You already found effective treatment. You might need a letter from a doctor certifying that or records showing you are using it as required.

 

A Sleep Study is not required based on the information you have given a sleep study is not required. The above quote reply is correct. You need to use your machine for at least 7 days and it would be better if it was for 21 days. Take the data card to your Sleep Doc. They need to write a compliance letter stating that you are on current and effective treatment. Current and effective treatment means that you have an acceptable AHI and that you are using your machine at least 70% of the nights for at least 4 hrs. It is suggested that you do not give raw compliance data to a DOT doc. If you need more information please see http://truckershealthalliance.com/truckers-health-alliance/ Hope this helps. You may also find some helpful information at www.truckersforacause.com

 

What ever you guys do, DON'T use NOVASOM for their sleep study. It doesn't have a"Titration" test which is what is needed to set up a CPAP or Bipap machine toy'll need once they find you have Apnea. It sounds all great cause they send the unit to you in the mail and all you do is strap it to one of your arms, put the one wire to your index finger, another wraps around your chest and the other comes over your ears and is put in your nostrils. The company based in Maryland gets their info the the next morning when you plug it in to charge it. Cost was $650 which was waisted because it doesn't have the Titration test which, as I said is required to set up the machine. For a real apnea test, you need to go to a apnea Dr.and spend the night. They will have you wired up like a freakin computer, but believe me, it is incredible the info they get. I was literally fighting mad when DOT doc said I probably had Apnea, but after I thought long and hard about it, I realized I really had only been getting about 3-4 hrs a night. I was mean and nasty and thought it was everyone else that was the problem. I've been on on the Bipap machine now about three weeks. Its been tough to get used to but already a night and day difference. I'm still a ####### but I am sleeping better and able to realize all my issues. Bottom line is: Getting the test done is a good thing but DON'T USE NOVASOM, THEY SUCK.

 

There is some information in the above post that is incorret.
You have described the most common home sleep study on the market. This study makes one determination. Do you have sleep apnea and is it obstructive or is it central sleep apnea. That is all you need to know if they are going to send you a APAP machine. This machine is a CPAP machine that automatically sets you pressure each night as you sleep. So with this type machine you do not need a Titration study. And as your needs change you do not have to to in for a new Titration study. However, the $650.00 for this type of study is very high unless they add some services that you have not mentioned. Also you noted that you were on a Bipap machine which means that you have central sleep apnea and that always requires a lab test. Please note that you were one of about 5% of the population that the home does not work for.

 

Very interesting Gary. I was in the dark the whole time through this. Apparently, my Dr. didn't know much more that I did. Anyway, I do appreciate the added information. I guess what bothers me the most is the money I paid them for nothing. Being unemployed at the moment, I could have used the $$ I ended up finding my own Dr. who specializes in Sleep Apnea to get me sorted out. On my way now. Spoke to Roehl this morning, doing background check now, will know something the 7/29/13 from them the have the Apnea Dr. appointment the next day. Hopefully, I will have been in compliance so I can get a freakin job. Keeping my finger crossed...

 

First off, let me say I am sorry for getting into this thread so late.

The entire Sleep Apnea thing is a huge scam. Sure, maybe a certain number of people who have a problem, would benefit from a C-Scam machine, but for every driver who really needs one, they are forcing hundreds of drivers who don't need one, to use it.

What is the reasoning for this whole scam to begin with? As they say it, they want to keep drivers from suddenly falling asleep behind the wheel. If that is the real reason for this whole mandate being put on us, then they should just focus on drivers who actually have a problem

I am 6'1", and weigh 300 pounds. People say I carry it well, but I am not anything close to my ideal weight. I asked the Con Artist Doctor "I get up at 4 Am, and drive and work till 6 PM or even later every night, 6 nights a week. I never feel drowsy, and never fall asleep while waiting for a customer or anything like that. If I have this horrible problem, how could I manage to work 14 hours a day, with no problems?" The Con Artist Doc says "Even though you feel OK, you might not be". This is a complete line of B.S., brought about to just take money from drivers.

Now here is where the story gets interesting....

I went to a doc, and he says I need a sleep study. I get it done. WOW, am I caught by surprise, that the company that sells a machine, tells me I am in need of their machine. I get the machine. Funny how my Insurance paid for the sleep study 100%, but did not cover a single penny of the cost of the machine. I start using the machine. After using the machine, I feel like crap. I wake up exhausted. After a few days, I get accustomed to it, and feel a little better when I wake up in the mornings. But before I had to use the stinking machine, I always woke up feeling great. Now I am waking up tired, all in the name of safety.

So......

About 3 months into the whole nightmare, I get a better job offer from another company. I got to get another D.O.T. Physical. On that Physical, I lie, and check the box stating that I am not being treated for Sleep Apnea. The Real Doc checks my blood pressure, and looks down my throat. I ask him if I will need any of this Sleep Apnea garbage, and he says "No, I see no indications of any problems, and with your answers to the survey, I can safely say you do not have Sleep Apnea". Now I am not using the machine, and my life is back to normal.

When getting a physical, find one who is not affiliated with any big coast-to-coast medical services chain, like "Worknet" or "Urgent Care". These docs are all in bed with the sleep study ######, who run their scam, taking your money. Find a real doctor, not some con artist who is getting kick-backs from the sleep study labs.

Some might call what I do now "Doctor shopping", but I call it avoiding scam artists. About 2 months before I am due for a physical, I go to a doctor on my own, and get one. I tell him right up front I have no symptoms of sleep apnea, and if he tries to run that scam on me, I will never be back. I even had the last doc I went to tell me right to my face, looking me dead in the eye...."I give physicals, Not sales pitches for CPAP machines". There are still plenty of real doctors out there who will be honest with you. You just have to find one.

This whole Sleep Apnea thing is a scam from start to finish. What do they think.....the human race is becoming so weak, we can't even breath while we sleep, without mechanical intervention? BULL !!!! It's all part of the mass brainwashing of America, that you can't live without all this garbage. Don't fall for the scam.