Comments By Appalachained

So I left my job that had health insurance for another that didn’t. I worked that job for a week and then swallowed my pride and went back to my old job after realizing (with help) I would need to do another sleep study. The first one my insurance paid for, but they wouldn’t pay for another. So I did another sleep study and apparently I still have sleep apnea. I was moderate to severe before. Now I am considered mild to moderate. I couldn’t believe it. Like I said before I sleep much better and fell better since losing weight and quitting smoking. I have an appointment to get a CPAP machine later this week. My deductible for that is $487 and I’ll have to pay $50 a month for the machine until it’s payed for. BTW the second sleep study cost almost $4000 not including my $90 deductible for the two office visits. Then after paying the deductible for the CPAP my sister offered to give me her’s which she got a year ago (Dreamstation). She lost weight too. Too late I guess.

Will I have to get another sleep study later to see if the CPAP is working? Or will I just have to prove that I’m using it?

Thanks for the advice guys.

App, the changes you have made are great and you must have great willpower to do what you have accomplished.

As far as I know, you can't get away from the fact that you have had a sleep study. When you take your DOT physical, complete a detailed questionnaire. One question will be: "Have you ever had a sleep study or been diagnosed with sleep apnea?" Tell the truth!! (Very important) Then when you go into company training, they will ask you the same question, although they will already know the answer. Then they will ask you to take another sleep study to see where you are at now. They will pay for the cost of the study. If you keep up your healthy lifestyle, it may clear you of the sleep apnea issue. If not, I believe most companies will buy your CPAP machine and take the cost out of your paycheck a little at a time.

This should in no way discourage you from pursuing your goal of driving. The trucking companies deal with this all the time and will get you in the driver's seat, especially with your great attitude and work ethic. Good luck!

That sounds almost too good to be true that a trucking company would pay for a CPAP machine and a sleep study. I guess I should ask the recruiter(s) I’ll talk to about it. I didn’t think about being asked about it if I don’t look like someone who would have it. I remember reading that Swift didn’t ask about it unless you were of a certain weight or had over a 16” neck in which case you would have to pay for the sleep study. Thanks for the reply.

So in Febuary 2019 I was considering leaving my current job ( high volume, full service car wash GM ) for another until I go to trucking school in April 2020 ( I have been planning on this for Five years now and can pass practice CDL permit practice tests at 98%-100% and am pretty sure I can do a pre trip inspection almost flawlessly) and I knew I would lose my health insurance. I have a strong family history of colon cancer on both sides and I hadn’t seen a doctor in 21 years. So I go to the doctor and found I was obese, had high blood pressure and prediabetes. I did a sleep study and was determined to have moderate sleep apnea. I didn’t get a CPAP because of the cost.

I decided to make a change. I worked a physical job, but put a lot of garbage in me. I was a two pack a day smoker. I drank 8-10 Coca-Colas everyday. I ate fast food three times a day and ate a lot of sweets just before bed.

Anyway I smoked my last cigarette on Valentine’s Day. I haven’t drank a Coca-Cola since March 1. I haven’t eaten fast food or any processed food or anything with added sugar since March 1. I had a checkup jut recently before I finally quit my job and my blood pressure is ideal. My blood sugar is normal and My BMI is in the normal range (23.95). I’ve lost 40 pounds to date. I made these changes of course for myself, but in anticipation of becoming a truck driver.

My issue is that I can’t afford to buy a CPAP machine now or do another sleep study to determine if the condition has changed now that I don’t have insurance. I however am sure that I sleep better now. Before the health changes i would sleep 5 hours a night max. If left alone for a few minutes I would fall asleep during the day. I used to wake up with headaches and would be groggy for the first couple hours of the day. Now I can easily sleep 8 hours or more. I have dreams every night (I never dreamed before) I no longer am sleepy during the day etc..

I would never drive a big truck with the conditions I used to have. I wouldn’t endanger the public or myself.

My question is: If I go to get a CDL physical is it going to show up on my medical records that I had this condition? Will the doctor performing the physical have access to the record? I don’t want to go to Joplin or North Little Rock and be turned away after all the preparations I have been making.

I have been planning on trucking for a decade now. I am 42 years old and I think that trucking would perfectly fit my aptitude. I have a good paying job now. It’s just not something that I can retire doing. I also think I would like the trucking lifestyle. If I quit my current job and fail at trucking I’m screwed as I’ll never find another good paying job with my amount of education.

Hey all,

I am sorry for not updating yesterday. I have been kind of down these past two days. There's been a lot of sitting around and staring at my phone throughout the day. I've studied as much as I can and have the stuff I need to know memorized and you can only stand outside, in the freezing wind or 50mph wind for so long so... sitting in the classroom on the phone has been the thing the past two days.

Yesterday we did our MapTrip, Logging, and Math tests. We covered how to use the Trucker Atlas, how to properly log, and how to use recaps and the math associated. Our scores were posted, for the entire class. Lots of people failed tests and, if you failed a test, you cannot graduate. I have an overall of well above 90%. They handed out many packets of paperwork, one of which is an 8-page packet that is due on Monday. It just covers the pre-trip and other things in the binder that they gave you.

Today we were released to start our parallel backing and offset backing. We did that from 0700 to 0900. We were supposed to have a BMV examiner in the class, at 0900, to talk to us about the test and what to expect, but he did not show. From 0900 to 1000 we sat in the class while people re-did their tests. At 1030, we were ushered into another classroom and told that is our new home. We took lunch at 1100.

At 1200, they started taking more people for their backing maneuvers and road demonstrations. During that time, I worked on pre-trip and played on my phone until about 1530. I was taken for a road demonstration from 1530 until 1600. The instructor covered shifting, operating the vehicle, and several other things (including specifics on the road test and 4-point brake test).

I hope you guys have a great weekend!

Thanks for keeping us up to date. Wow. It amazes me how many people can’t be punctual when their future is riding on it. I wonder what that guy was doing that required a two hour lunch?

I will be watching this thread closely as this is where I plan on going when I get my ducks in a row. Good luck.