You Should Avoid Concentra At All Costs & the Dreaded CPAP Diagnosis

My ordeal getting a DOT certification was insane. Here's hoping other drivers can learn from it.

I was offered a job hauling crude in the Permian. The last step was getting a DOT physical even though I already had a two year card that was one month old. This company hired WorkSTEPS, a company that manages workers comp to also manage driver DOT onboarding.

They set an appointment at a local Concentra. I didn't know I should ask for a different provider. I'm six foot three inches tall and 300 pounds - I'm certainly not as skinny as when I was as a kid. 12-16 hour days driving a six on / one off schedule doesn't leave much time to exercise and I'm guilty of using food to relax after a long day. 6-8 pounds per year adds up in your fifties. Guilty as charged but I have no medical history and have no problems with sleep. I've worked at nights the last eight years, if there was a problem sleeping it would have seen it by now.

The examiner tells me that Concentra requires a sleep test for everyone who
1) is male
2) over 50 years old
3) has a neck over 17 inches and
4) has a BMI over 33

Concentra bought Nova Medical in March of 2025. The girl doing the exam said this facility used to be a Nova Medical and before the purchase, sleep studies weren't required. Now they are. This isn't a state or federal regulation, just an arbitrary rule by Concentra.

Instead of making the test results 'awaiting further information' on the sleep study, the examiner FAILS my medical DOT which makes me immediately unhireable by anyone and effectively ends my CDL unless it's dealt with immediately.

I go to the sleep doctor the Concentra recommends (mistake) for a $400 sleep study with a device you wear on your forehead. The results come back:
AHI (Apnea-Hypopnea Index) of 23
Blood Oxygen of 94.7% (normal is 95%)
Pulse stays between 50-80 bpm

I'm told by WorkSTEPS that a "normal" AHI range is between 0 - 5. When I consult Artificial Intelligence, I find that only 26% of the population at large has an AHI between 0 - 5 and the average AHI is 9 so I don't know how 0 - 5 could be considered "normal". No one cares so I buy a CPAP machine online and have it FedExed to me ASAP ($800) so I can deal with this and get working again. Before I can buy it I need a prescription from an online doctor ($200).

I'm told different things by everyone I talk to about how to get a one year Med Card now. Some say 30 days of CPAP use, some say 90 days. Everyone is very certain they are correct but the info is different from everyone I speak to.

I pay $150 for another medical exam out of my pocket to the same location explaining to the examiner how the last examiner failed me unjustly without any adverse medical history and with my career on the line it would be a case for litigation. If she planned of failing me again, she should be prepared to defend herself, personally, in court. Not a bluff. I get a 90 day card.

I schedule a consultation with a different sleep doctor, one that *I* choose. He requires a referral ($150) from another doctor. I meet with him ($450) and he tells me frankly that he'll do a sleep study but he won't override the first sleep study unless my AHI is in the 0 - 5 range because he doesn't need the liability. The test would cost another $500 and I doubt he'd pass me even if I was "normal" so I pass.

I start getting very focused on the regulations. To get a one year card now, I need 70% CPAP usage over 30 days. Since I've been using it since it was FedExed to me, I need 21 days use. 21/30 = 70%.

After 21 days, I go back to the same Concentra for another exam ($150) bringing my Compliance Report with three weeks worth of use. I get the one year card and finally, FINALLY, get hired on.

I got prescribed Zepbound, a non diabetes weight loss drug. ($350) Well see how it goes but it seems to work. It just seems like $2,250 flushed down the toilet for such an arbitrary diagnosis. It's such a scam.

TLDR:

• DO NOT GO TO A CONCENTRA UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE
• IF YOU GET ROPED INTO THIS DIAGNOSIS, BUY THE MACHINE ASAP & GET 21 DAYS USE
• RETEST IMMEDIATELY ANG GET YOUR ONE YEAR CARD

 

Absolutely true. As I told them repeatedly, correlation is not causation. They don’t care.

I asked the second sleep doctor what percentage of people would be incorrectly diagnosed as having sleep apnea based on the male, over 50 years old, has a neck over 17 inches and, has a BMI over 33 characteristics. He guessed about 30% would actually have sleep apnea, the rest would probably be borderline. I said if doctors were forced to take a test with a 30% success rate to determine if they could continue to earn an income he would feel very different about the matter. He didn’t care. No one cares.

Good news is the Zepbound seems to work. It kills hunger dead. You feel like you could go without eating for a week with no problem. Not a commercial. I was super reluctant to take it as there always seems to be some side effect down the road no one planned on.