Comments By EvanstonMark

Hey there... The past couple of days I have across threads on here and on other sites that concerned me regarding the use of certain prescribed medications prior or during the drug tests and hair follicle tests that we will undergo to get the CDL and eventually job offers/employment. There is lots of hearsay out there and it was kinda easy to get paranoid reading all the horror stories. So I decided to do some research for myself, and have come across some excellent information that I think will help everyone out. Luckily, as a nurse transitioning into trucking, I have more of a grasp on the pharmodynamics of the different drugs and how they may effect the outcome of urine and hair follicle tests. (I used to work in a drug rehab center and administered pee tests all the time- 5 and 10 panel).

There is a lot of murky grey area. The DOT physician has a lot of discretion over what he/she may want to approve or not when it comes to medications. Even with a your own primary/prescribing physician writing a letter on a prescription pad explaining the diagnosis and your ability to function on it, it is up to the discretion of the DOT examining physician. This pertains to Adderall (d-amphetamine with emphasis on amphetamine)- which I know many of us are concerned about.

As a sidenote, I am not concerned about illegal drug use for myself as much as i am worried about prescribed medications. I had a colonoscopy (yeah I am at that age) and minor surgery done- which means I had healthy doses of anesthesia and pain killers. Even though I know that this was just for that situation, and I am not worried about listing these things on my application, I just dont want to deal with the drama of a test coming back positive and having it on my DAC record permanently and having to explain it every time I apply for a new job.

I hope that these links help. I will continue to do research for you guys. I also have reached out to my past employers, nurse friends and I have an appointment with my physician this week.... I have asked them all for guidance on these issues. I will share what I find out.

If anyone else has stuff to add to this, by all means please do! I am still new to this and don't claim to know everything DOT or trucking related!!!!

Naturally, the next step for those concerned with this issue, would be to figure out the time frame parameters and best ways to prepare for these tests, particularly the hair follicle drug test.

Til then.. stay safe out there....

DOT Specifics on medications: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/faq/what-medications-disqualify-cmv-driver

FAQ's on DOT Medical Requirements: https://ntl.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/423/~/prohibited-medications-for-commercial-drivers http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/faq/Medical-Requirements#question77 http://www.dot.gov/odapc/faq

Not official DOT list, but very helpful!!!: http://www.truckmed.com/medications.htm

Besides Schneider, are there any other companies with tankers that hire new drivers?

Congrats!

Any one with High Blood Sugar should search/read Dr Bernstein "Diabetic Solutions" hint (LCHF) diet,,,, basically all Carbs turn to sugar,,,, he was the first to recomend the patients self monitoring of BS back in 1969,,,, he himself is a type 1 diabetic,, diagnosed when was 12 years old in 1946 (not a typo) he was an engineer and he was able to stablelize his BS with what he was eating with the use of one of the first blood glucose machines,,, doctors at the time wouldn't listen to him because he wasn't a "Doctor" so he went to medical school and came out a Diabetis Doctor at 50 years old and is still a practicing doctor ,,, great story most people never heard of,,, you can read it online for free,,, half the world is going to be Diabetic because of what we're eating,, type II diabetis is a Disease of Choice,, but you won't hear that from the Food and Drug companies,,, that's the Truth as I believe it.

Turbo Dan... you nailed it. I know that this isnt the venue for it, but you never hear of cures being discovered anymore. But there's tons of medications that control medical conditions. Cures dont make profits. Medications make dependent customers for life. I had a brief stint one year working as a school nurse. Hormones in food, the rise of autism, as well as obesity in our kids... its scary. All I gotta say is its our food and diet. Processed food, empty calories and high fructose corn syrup.. not good..

which is a segway to eating healthy on the road as a trucker.... that is a challenge....

Whoa thats high!!!! Is that FBS? Or random? Are you on anything to control it? The nurse in me is coming out. Have you experienced any side effects from having such a high BS?

This is my new usual and customary. I use Lovaza, seriously refined omega-3, 1000mg each, no mercury or fishy kickbacks, pure omega-3, at 2 ea./2x day, 4000mg a day. There are no other problems with good or bad cholesterol, BP, sitting pulse 67, etc, etc.

Just is what it is. Need a decent diet, stay away from alcohol mostly (turns to sugars too easily obviously). My Heart and artery scans a couple years ago show less than 1% plaque in any artery. So....

Just my new normal.

I definitely understand that. Many times we run into patients with 150/90 BP. But that is their new norm and you wouldn't be able to tell that just by looking. No headaches or other symptoms of a high BP. Like I said i am not sure about the specifics but i would think if you are under the care of a physician and he can vouch for your well being u should be ok. I am trying to find specifics as well for myself. medications in particular and it seems very subjective with the DOT doctor making the calls.

Are there any set resources that cover the parameters of the exam?

Its my understanding and I may be wrong. That diabetes as long as its controlled is fine. My instructors said it's low blood sugar while on the road thats a concern. Along with uncontrolled high blood sugar which can lead to diabetic coma.

My personal records are such that all the major carriers, at first blush, are willing to take me in their sponsored schools. Good driving record over forever years, no convictions of any kind, no drug use, or DUI's, good employment record; I am a model-type, vanilla citizen. Boring, but a safe hire.

So, here is the quandary.

I am a healthy cat, 6'1, 190, early fifties, blood pressure 120/70, healthy, run, physically fit. No prescription meds, etc.

But some six years ago, had a pancreas issue and ultimately had my gallbladder removed (not alcohol related, just genetically predisposed, bad inherited guts). However, due to this one physical anomaly, and cholesterol, good and bad is okay, my triglycerides, blood sugar will always be abnormally high, like 500 high. I use Omega 3's to keep it from getting into the 800's.

Ultimately, will this be the one and only deterrent that will keep me from entering the career?

Whoa thats high!!!! Is that FBS? Or random? Are you on anything to control it? The nurse in me is coming out. Have you experienced any side effects from having such a high BS?

This is gonna be a longer post. So I apologize in advance if I am rambling on and ranting.

I agree with the moderators 110%. I may be new to trucking, but not new to working. And new folks regardless of what field or occupation always have to prove themselves to their peers and superiors. Trust and respect as a professional is earned. Promotions, increased pay and perks are not a right, they are priviledges you receive only when you have proven yourself to be worthy of them.

Before I looked into trucking, I worked in healthcare as a LPN, and still am and always will be a nurse at heart. I moved up the ladder really quick into Supervisory positions within my first year our of school. It took more than just busting my butt day in and day out, caring about my patients, loving what I did, and treating everyone I came into contact with well... I had to "play the game", and understand the unspoken "rules" of the profession. That "nurses eat their young" meaning that the vet nurses with seniority chew up new grads and spit them out, that there is definite hierarchy in healhcare (doctors vs nurses... and within nursing itself- RN vs LPN vs CNA), and that you are at the bottom rung of the totem pole until you gained senriority and have proven yourself to management and your peers- meaning you get the most difficult patients, the worst shifts, you never get the days off you want, and you work every holiday until you move up the ladder. Now you could take that all in and interpret it as if you are being singled out and picked on. Or you could just accept it for what it really is... that you are new and have to prove yourself. I never took the shift work or holiday scheduling personally. Sometimes it sucked, but I looked at the plus side... I was getting overtime pay and holiday pay (which is double or 2.5x pay if you are in overtime) heck yeah ill take the money working a double on Christmas and make it up to my family by buying nicer presents with the extra money... (no one ever complained about me missing christmas when they opened those gifts LOL). i took all the overtime from the senior nurses and in turn won them over. thats how the system works.

I say all that because I never had the preconceived notion when i switched jobs that when I started at the new place I was gonna be immediately treated like royalty. It was a new environment with new people and dynamic. Yeah grant it I wasnt at the bottom rung, but I still had to prove myself again and show folks that I was worthy of that new position.... I know that will be the same thing when I walk into Trucking as a newbie. Its gonna be a long list of folks I am gonna have to prove myself to.. instructors, the licensing board for my CDL, potential employers, new bosses, co-workers, dispatchers, customers. Even the general public if I want to be treated as a professional. It sucks to have start over from square one, but I am willing to put my pride aside in order to learn and to move up that ladder once again.

3 things I have learned in the workplace are:

1- take everything with a grain of salt. my first job as a LPN out of school was with a facility that was supposedly not a good place to work for. I did my due diligence, and although it wasn't the greatest place, it wasn't nearly as bad as people said it was. Taking a chance on that place was the best way to start my career off because I took advantage of the fact that it had some turnover issues, I was able to gain seniority quickly and get promoted. I took a supposed negative and turned it to my advantage. Now I won't lie I ended up leaving that job after 18 months to take a better position elsewhere, but I would have never had the opportunity to jump into another supervision job so soon after school, if I didn't make that calculated move to start off in a place where I knew if I stuck it out I would move up quickly. My classmates I graduated with didn't have the same opportunities I did because they relied to much on hearsay and drama when making their professional choices. I have a feeling that when looking for a trucking company to start off at, we have the choice to listen to all the hearsay, or make the right decisions for ourselves and realize that the potential "negatives" of a company may actually be opportunities if you let them be.

2- i have read it time and time again on here.... you gotta build a relationship with your support team (dispatchers, customers etc) because they are the ones who are gonna hook you up with miles etc. same thing in nursing. my job was way easier cuz I had the support of my assistants answering call lights etc. It is amazing how treating people well can get you far at work and make life easier.

3- proving yourself and building strong professional relationships doesnt happen overnight. and folks have to realize that... you can't just have one great week and expect to have access to the best of everything.. you need be great week every week consistently... thats how you win trust respect and move your career to a better place.

Sorry for the long post but I had to throw my 2 cents in. Folks... no company is perfect, no job is either.. and that is in every industry. Even if they were giving away free money someone somewhere is gonna complain about having to fill out the paperwork to get that free money... Some folks are never satisfied. Outlook and attitude is everything when starting a new job. Thanks! LOL

Yeah! Where are the dine-in, diner and drives stories! I love football, bars and concerts too don't get me wrong, but I know y'all know every good place to eat between here and there! Lol. I know this ain't gonna be glitz and glammer but fun stuff is cool too, right? I just watched one of the last episodes of the "RideWithB" series on YouTube and now I want to cry, JK.

I worked with an old trucker when I first got out of high school delivering office furniture and that guy was crazy as heck, but he knew all the good spots to stop and grab some grub!

Of course, I will also be happy just being able to grab some groceries and do laundry too; just sayin'.

LOL! Man You totally get where I am coming from.

I know that I cant pick where I wanna go. And I know that you are living in your truck for the most part, that TA, Pilot and company terminals are gonna be the places that you are probably spend time in..... babywipes and febreeze are your friend... That you gotta be creative with food, esp if you want to stay healthy and not spend a ton of money. Heck, I know I am gonna have to give up my Starbucks and other comforts that I am used to having being a city dweller not to mention missing shows and games on cable etc... But a lot of that is part of the fun. trading that to be on the road seeing the country from a perspective most people will never see.... its the lifestyle and I am cool with that.

BUT, a decent meal thats not fast food, a beer (just the one.. no dui's here), and if possible checking out a city that you have never been for an hour or 2 cuz you have a couple of hours to kill... and a couple times of year (if you are lucky) restart in a place like Vegas.... i know it can be done... the question is how? i'm sure we are not the first newbies to ask that....

In re: to RideWithB... I feel for the guy. You could see things start to unravel especially towards the end. I am glad that he realized early on that he wanted to keep himself and others safe and that OTR wasn't for him. The experienced drivers all say the same thing about it time and time again, OTR isn't for everyone and its how you approach the challenges that make all the difference. I kinda like watching some of those videos and reading different forums because it gives me a realistic view and understanding about trucking and I feel like I will be ready for those challenges because I will not be surprised when things happen... and things always happen... expect the unexpected....

EvanstonMark, just so you know, in the last two years I've only come across a couple of truck stop showers that I didn't think were really great. They were at smaller independent truck stops. At most of the major name truck stops the showers are really nice. Here's an example:

Personally I think parking is more of an issue for newbies than experience drivers. Of course there are some parts of the country where it is just bad no matter what. The thing about parking is that you have to be thinking about it when you start your day, not just when you finish. Anytime you can make a plan where you can get ready to find your parking in the early afternoon you will be one step ahead of everyone else. There are sacrifices involved in making yourself a successful driver, and one of them is working some unusual hours. The folks that understand how to start their day at about 3 or 4 in the morning, get empty and then grab another load don't have much trouble finding their parking spots because when they are ready to park all the other drivers are out there scrambling around in the traffic wondering why it is taking them so long to get the job done.

Their are guides to truck parking available at any truck stop. There is a pocket sized one that is very easily organized that I like very well. You can also get some phone apps for this - I personally like "My DAT Trucker" - you can find it at the Google Play Store.

I definitely agree with you Old School. In a different thread I started, you posted that there is definitely a learning curve in the beginning for new drivers. Luckily, I am a night owl. I always worked 2nd and Graveyard shifts. and was planning on doing the bulk of my driving between those hours.... one of the main reasons why i loved workin those shifts, outside of not being able to sleep at a normal time, i was to avoid traffic.. i hate rush hour. Hopefully this will work in my favor as a otr driver.

I will def download that guide. and... BTW that bathroom looks much nicer than some of the ones in Motel 6's I have stayed at.... what the heck!