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DOT Requirements and Sleep Apnea
#1
DOT Requirements and Sleep Apnea
If you have sleep apnea and are being successfully treated what do the mega carriers want you to bring to orientation to show that you are in DOT compliance and that you use the CPAP machine and it is working?

I have been using a CPAP for 5 years. Swift and Werner were both ok with it last year. Now I here that companies require people that have necks larger than 17" and BMI of over 33 to get a sleep test. I already had a sleep test 5 years ago and CPAP works great for me. In fact, I am so use to the mask, I cannot sleep without it.

Like I said, I just told the people at Swift and Werner, they gave me a 1 year card. After quitting Werner, I went in and got a DOT Physical at a health clinic and they gave me a 2 year card (got that in March).

So my question is what proof do the companies need to show your are in compliance?
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#2
RE: DOT Requirements and Sleep Apnea
Hi tashworth19191,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
It's good to hear that you have gotten used to your mask and machine.
I don't know the answer to your question but hang in there and someone will be able to help you soon.
Best of luck to you.
trish6hundred
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#3
RE: DOT Requirements and Sleep Apnea
Hours used. They may want to see the AHI results but from what others have said, they want to make sure you are using the machine.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#4
RE: DOT Requirements and Sleep Apnea
(08-01-2013, 07:05 AM)tashworth19191 Wrote: So my question is what proof do the companies need to show your are in compliance?

They will want the info from the memory card in the back of the Cpap unit . I took the memory card back to my supplier and they printed a hard copy out for me . Your clinic may have a way to " read " the card , Mine did not .

My machine is a brick . That is it only shows hours used . Yours may give you more information BUT like anything D.O.T. related , Give them what they ask for and No More . Just hand them the hours of use page . Too much info is dangerous if these guys are looking hard for something to flunk you with .

Heavy Equipment Relocation Specialist
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#5
RE: DOT Requirements and Sleep Apnea
again, showing my newbie ignorance here, but is the issue that if you have sleep apnea then you can't operate equipment because you might fall asleep? If so, they have pretty bad reasoning skills. Here (as I see it)is their false logic (as a logician, this is fallacious reasoning. they flunk)

"if some people who have sleep apnea have a tendency to fall asleep at the wheel, then ALL people who have sleep apnea are likely to fall asleep at the wheel . . . ." (If some A are C, then all A are C -FALSE)

Or the converse faulty reasoning: "some people with sleep apnea fall asleep at the wheel. He does not have sleep apnea, therefore he will not fall asleep at the wheel." (if some A fall asleep; then not-A will not fall asleep - FALSE)

Or is the issue something else and I am missing the point altogether?
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#6
RE: DOT Requirements and Sleep Apnea
DOT has rules saying that if you have apnea you can not drive if it is untreated or if you can not show proof of treatment . The only recognized treatment for apnea is Cpap because of the ability of the cpap machine to log usage .

Also when you deal with the DOT , Leave logic at the door or you will end up Nuts . Anytime politics is involved in a governing body it will never be logical .
Heavy Equipment Relocation Specialist
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#7
RE: DOT Requirements and Sleep Apnea
People with untreated sleep apnea not only have an elevated risk of falling asleep, but they also suffer from impaired cognition.

It's not an issue of all people with sleep apnea causing an accident, it's an issue of one person with sleep apnea causing an accident.

The same logic applies to drunk drivers. Some drunk drivers cause accidents. It doesn't mean that all drunk drivers cause accidents.

There's always a risk of an accident. People who have untreated sleep apnea or who have had too much to drink have an elevated risk of having an accident. The logic is based on the statistics of the behavior of large numbers of people, not on the behavior of any one individual.
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#8
RE: DOT Requirements and Sleep Apnea
My only prob is they are only concerned with what the memory card shows them .

Weather or not the cpap is doing you any good is of no interest to them . You can tell them anything you want but that read out is the only thing the docs I went to care about .

Yes I am One way about DOT docs , Only because I have had to deal with with the system .

One evening you have some time pull this post up ;
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...5#pid31865 post 162 This may give you some insight to dealing with DOT docs .
Heavy Equipment Relocation Specialist
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#9
RE: DOT Requirements and Sleep Apnea
A significant percentage of the apneacs are more dangerous than non-apneacs if not treated.

Most of them will be much less dangerous if they use CPAP 4 hours a night.

Yes, it would be better if there was a better way to track which apneacs are dangerous on which days. It would be better if there was better evaluation of how a particular apneac's treatment is working and how it improves his ability to drive safely.

There is a tradeoff between bureaucracy, technology, individual right, and safety. I think the "4 hours per night" is a reasonable compromise for the legal requirement at the current time.

Doctors, trucking companies, and patients could do a lot better job in what they do "above and beyond" the legal requirements.
Get the free OSCAR CPAP software here.
Useful links.
Click here for information on the main alternative to CPAP.
If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go and check it yourself.
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