I went for my DOT physical the other day, and the doctor magically confirmed that I have SA. I checked out fine on everything, BP, sugar, vision etc... Pretty basic physical, nothing complicated, very very basic, like if you are breathing you will pass, and yes I could touch my toes.
What has changed in the past two years since my last DOT physical... My weight is up due to a thyroid issue that I am under care for, and I told the doctor this. She ignored that fact, stated my neck was 18 inches... My neck has been 18 inches since I was in High School... This is the criteria... My Neck circumference, BMI (Body Mass Index), weight, along with age, over 42...
She looks at me with a straight face and tells me I have sleep apnea, and will be required to have a sleep study and more than likely purchase a CPAP machine if I wish to continue to drive, or in my case, WORK. She was kind enough to give the information on where I can have my study completed and which medical supply outfit to purchase my "approved" CPAP machine from. How kind of her.
Now you folks tell me with a straight face that this SA syndrome or disease, which I am not buying, is not a racket? I sleep like a log, have for years unless I have been drinking. I normally work 18 hours a day and have lived on 5 to 6 hours of sleep for years. I have been driving safely for 30 years, I have a $1000 mattress in the truck, AC, fans, stereo and some very nice Calvin Klein down pillows. My truck is so comfortable, I prefer sleeping in it compared to my own bed at the house.
I am not buying any of this nonsense I was just fed. How can you look at a 55 yo man and diagnose him without doing a test? And then tell him, if he does not take the test from their approved sleep study clinics, only two by the way in the Detroit area, that I will have my Commercial Driver License suspended and will not be allowed to work.
I have medical issues, with my THYROID, not my ability to sleep. And I find it rather striking that the SA issues are darn near identical to my Thyroid symptoms. I wonder if some of you folks have underlying conditions that you are not being tested for? Not saying that there is not real SA cases out there, I am not that ignorant, but when you see what I just went through, one has to seriously consider that this new medical industry is nothing more than snake oil, a multi BILLION DOLLAR a year industry, that even Forbes Magazine described as a "Racket". I believe it is.
On a side note, I have yet to meet a driver that has ever passed a sleep study test, the test itself is designed for the patient to fail. Do some research on the subject before you judge me. And follow the money.
And here is another thing, my blood pressure test... They used one of those $50 units that you can purchase on Amazon, I know the unit because I own one. I just pulled it out of the box to check... That unit is junk, it always reads high, and I told the nurse that and she agreed. I told her to use a real BP cuff and a stethoscope. I magically went from 160 over 90 to 134 over 78. Blood pressure is where they get us truck drivers too, just saying. Tell me again how any of this does not qualify as a racket? The clinic was Concentra, and I have 90 days to shell out untold hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to continue to work and support my family. I am self employed by the way, I cannot afford insurance, just as most truck drivers, even those employed as drivers. Time to get out of this insanely over regulated industry before the stress kills me.
