Fed Med Expiration Looming
Topic 25828 | Page 2
Depends on your height, age, and weight. I would think under 17” should be okay.
5' 9"+ 1971ish with clothes on but pockets empty!
Drop 15 or 20 lbs and you should be safe as far as size goes. Another big detractor is age. Once you hit the big five O, the examiner may consider that as a contributing factor for sleep apnea. There should be a questionnaire with the physical paperwork you fill out in the waiting room. Questions such as Do you snore? Have ever been told that you stop breathing while asleep? Age? I mark no on all except the age. If they ever get into a conversation that’s headed for the CPAP topic, I inform the examiner I don’t snore, not sleepy all day, and two sleep tests were negative for apnea. All true BTW.
Sleep Apnea:
A physical disorder in which you have pauses in your breathing, or take shallow breaths, during sleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Normal breathing will usually resume, sometimes with a loud choking sound or snort.
In obstructive sleep apnea, your airways become blocked or collapse during sleep, causing the pauses and shallow breathing.
It is a chronic condition that will require ongoing management. It affects about 18 million people in the U.S.
CPAP:
Constant Positive Airway Pressure
CPAP is a breathing assist device which is worn over the mouth or nose. It provides nighttime relief for individuals who suffer from Sleep Apnea.
Drop 15 or 20 lbs and you should be safe as far as size goes. Another big detractor is age. Once you hit the big five O, the examiner may consider that as a contributing factor for sleep apnea. There should be a questionnaire with the physical paperwork you fill out in the waiting room. Questions such as Do you snore? Have ever been told that you stop breathing while asleep? Age? I mark no on all except the age. If they ever get into a conversation that’s headed for the CPAP topic, I inform the examiner I don’t snore, not sleepy all day, and two sleep tests were negative for apnea. All true BTW.
Thanks. This is my lowest in about 20 years! -15 would be a close to high school weight. -20 is a pipe dream!
MOSTLY TRUE for me but still pretty much what I plan to say!
Sleep Apnea:
A physical disorder in which you have pauses in your breathing, or take shallow breaths, during sleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Normal breathing will usually resume, sometimes with a loud choking sound or snort.
In obstructive sleep apnea, your airways become blocked or collapse during sleep, causing the pauses and shallow breathing.
It is a chronic condition that will require ongoing management. It affects about 18 million people in the U.S.
CPAP:
Constant Positive Airway Pressure
CPAP is a breathing assist device which is worn over the mouth or nose. It provides nighttime relief for individuals who suffer from Sleep Apnea.
Now Go To Bed!
Marc, you sound good to go. Neck size under 17" is good. I was at a BMI of 35, but I think anything over 31 is a red flag.
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
- Underestimate body fat for older adults or other people with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
I was 260 lbs and I'm down to 182 and I still have sleep apnea. So there's no guarantee that losing weight will rid you of sleep apnea.
Sleep Apnea:
A physical disorder in which you have pauses in your breathing, or take shallow breaths, during sleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Normal breathing will usually resume, sometimes with a loud choking sound or snort.
In obstructive sleep apnea, your airways become blocked or collapse during sleep, causing the pauses and shallow breathing.
It is a chronic condition that will require ongoing management. It affects about 18 million people in the U.S.
I had a sleep study done on Thursday night. My neck is about 17.5 weight about 195. The gentlemen that hooked me up to the test and such said while yes normal indicator's are BMI , Neck Size and weight etc, as pointed out above, that is not always the case. The issue is a narrow breathing channel, and the ability of the muscles to open it when sleeping. He has seen skinny people, round people and all in between have sleep apnea issues. What he told me ad's to the level of OSA the mass of the neck weighing down. Good news, he didn't wake me up in the middle of the night for a CPAP machine, but I get a meeting with the doctor on the 20th.
Sleep Apnea:
A physical disorder in which you have pauses in your breathing, or take shallow breaths, during sleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Normal breathing will usually resume, sometimes with a loud choking sound or snort.
In obstructive sleep apnea, your airways become blocked or collapse during sleep, causing the pauses and shallow breathing.
It is a chronic condition that will require ongoing management. It affects about 18 million people in the U.S.
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
- Underestimate body fat for older adults or other people with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
CPAP:
Constant Positive Airway Pressure
CPAP is a breathing assist device which is worn over the mouth or nose. It provides nighttime relief for individuals who suffer from Sleep Apnea.
Great 1 more thing to dread, deal with soon enough, for a company physical lol
6 foot/265 (could lose 30-40) neck is 18", with bmi of 37 215-220 is my ideal weight, @ 185 I look anorexic
Read the bmi is 35, neck 17, but I have ALWAYS had to buy 17" collared dress shirts even when i was 185-210 just how I am built...Only wake up to take a leak or, when am having dream talking out loud in it cussin' someone out hahahah Never have problem falling to sleep soon as head hits pillow... Side sleeper, so I wake for a second, when switching sides
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
- Underestimate body fat for older adults or other people with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
Keep in mind - not all starter companies do this - just MOST of the big ones.
The "sentiment" has been - that they make $$ off the sleep study (the Doc THEY send you to) and the CPAP machines (that they sell you and allow you to pay off). Also - the BMI/Neck thing has NEVER BEEN MADE A RULE by FMCSA , because it's VOODOO SCIENCE. Plenty of folks that DO NOT trip those indicators, also have OSA.
My oldest friend went into the ER for what he thought was pneumonia - they admitted him for observation, and he was stopping breathing SO BAD, that his HEART WAS STOPPING. Needless to say, he now has a pacemaker and CPAP. And he didn't trip the BMI/neck guidelines. He also snores loud enough to make the ****roaches complain.
OTOH - if you DO have OSA, you are NOT GETTING RESTFUL SLEEP. While you may "think" you are getting in that 8 hours - your REM Sleep is being interrupted by the breathing stoppages - so you aren't getting the rest your brain/body needs. As a result, you are at MUCH GREATER RISK for accidents due to distraction, exhaustion, etc. And at MUCH GREATER RISK for other associated health issues (like, say, your heart stopping so long, that you need a pacemaker to KEEP FROM DYING). And the effects of sleep deprivation are cumulative.
Bruce came home from the road, because he wasn't able to get into compliance (for whatever reason), and still isn't. If your med card states OSA/CPAP, and you cannot demonstrate compliance, you lose your approval to drive, and when the med card expires (because the first one after diagnosis is usually a 90 day or 6 month, in order to demonstrate compliance), you will not be issued a new one (it's a matter of record on FMCSA's Med Database), and you will lose your CDL.
One "workaround", is to go "Intrastate Exempt" - to keep your CDL. But even with a "local job", unless it is one of the "exempt categories", getting caught driving is "operating a CMV without a CDL".
I'm 5'6"/195 now - lost 75 lbs recently ("optimum weight" - 155-165, which I'll never see without cocaine or meth). At 250 and above - I KNOW I have OSA, because I wake up choking and gasping for breath in the middle of the night, multiple times (an extreme case).
OSA is a SERIOUS HEALTH ISSUE. If you have it, you need to deal with it - and you need to be in compliance in order to maintain a CDL (and a JOB). And it is in your BEST INTEREST, both health and employment-wise, if you use the CPAP.
As elaborated by others - some folks don't trigger the BMI/Neck guidelines, and STILL HAVE OSA. Some people DO trigger the guidelines AND DO NOT, some people DO NOT trigger and ARE diagnose with OSA (which is why they were never adopted as a RULE).
And to re-iterate - as far as the OP goes - you can let the Med Card expire and go downgrade. AND DO GO GET A REPLACEMENT LICENSE - IT IS ILLEGAL FOR YOU TO POSESS A CDL AND BE DISQUALIFIED DUE TO NO VALID MED CARD. You may even get pulled over in a CAR, by a cop that's having a BAD DAY and END UP IN HANDCUFFS over carrying an invalid CDL.
Rick
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
CSA:
Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)
The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle
FMCSA:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
The FMCSA was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000. Their primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.
What Does The FMCSA Do?
- Commercial Drivers' Licenses
- Data and Analysis
- Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement
- Research and Technology
- Safety Assistance
- Support and Information Sharing
CMV:
Commercial Motor Vehicle
A CMV is a vehicle that is used as part of a business, is involved in interstate commerce, and may fit any of these descriptions:
- Weighs 10,001 pounds or more
- Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more
- Is designed or used to transport 16 or more passengers (including the driver) not for compensation
- Is designed or used to transport 9 or more passengers (including the driver) for compensation
- Is transporting hazardous materials in a quantity requiring placards
Intrastate:
The act of purchasers and sellers transacting business while keeping all transactions in a single state, without crossing state lines to do so.
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
- Underestimate body fat for older adults or other people with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
CPAP:
Constant Positive Airway Pressure
CPAP is a breathing assist device which is worn over the mouth or nose. It provides nighttime relief for individuals who suffer from Sleep Apnea.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.Fm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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This topic has the following tags:
CDL Qualifications DOT Physical Health Concerns Medical Certification Sleep Apnea Understanding The Laws
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Depends on your height, age, and weight. I would think under 17” should be okay.