CDL Medical Card

Wondering if anyone here has renewed their CDL medical card since they stopped allowing your family physician to give you the exam. There must be some stories out there.

I went in yesterday and got my physical. Had to go to a genuine authorized medical place because my family doctor is not authorized any longer.

The lady said that since I had not ever been there before and she did not know me, and I am on blood pressure medicine, that I am now on a one year test schedule too.

She did say that next year, since I will then have a "track record" in her office, if my pressure is still good, she will give me a two year certificate.

She told me the big deal now is sleep apnea. She said that if there is any indication of it, she has to deny the medical card until testing and treatment is completed. I asked her what would indicate sleep apnea during the exam, one of the things she said was a neck circumference of 17 inches or more.

I thought I was being BS'd but, I came home and got on the internet and looked it up, it appears to be fact.

She even asked me if I snore in my sleep. She said she had to ask, and if the answer was affirmative, she would have to request the sleep study.

She told me that the "rules" are changing all the time, and we "haven't seen anything yet".

She said the most inexpensive test for sleep apnea is more than a thousand dollars.

Yup, it'll be a one year renewal until you get off your BP meds. I'm young and healthy as a horse but have to take BP meds and have to renew mine yearly.

re the sleep apnea: are you a Veteran, getting served by the VA? They can do the SA study and issue you a machine. "Treatment is completed?" If you have it, I don"t think it"ll go away. Yes, neck circumference is a good indicator. I don"t understand how SA affects your awake driving ability. As fat as this Country is getting, there"ll really be a trucker shortage between BP and SA! 40% of HS Seniors can"t pass an enlistment exam.

They keep changing the rules. My blood pressure is still the same as it was when I first got my CDL back in 1991. Back then, when the nurse checked my BP, and I asked her what it was, her reply was "disgustingly healthy."
Last time I had my physical, I was told that it was too high. So, what was "healthy" in 1991 was no longer OK in 2011. They wanted to put me on BP medication, and I said NO WAY. Tried a bit later, and passed well enough for a 2-year certificate.
In my not-so-humble opinion, we take entirely too many pills and medications. Doctor wants to give you another pill for every little thing. I think we would be just as healthy (or healthier) with HALF the medications we take today - or less!

At work we get a good amount of the truck drivers stop in lost can't find our receiving driveway. And yep you guessed it they speaky no English ! How the heck do they get approved !

Don't even get me going on doctor's ! I went in for one of those EXPENSIVE sleep studies. Waste of time and money. Stayed awake all night ! Found out later some places can give you sleep aids and even hook you up to a CPAP first time if your bad. And of coarse the place I went could not do any of that and even had adjoin rooms with a shared bathroom that the flush sounded like a jet engine. Sure couldn't sleep in those conditions. Any other business operating like that would have to refund your money but not Doctor's !
Like the body shop manager I knew once told a Doc. I have to fix my mistakes you get to bury yours.
That neck size stuff is all part of some scam to put you in a category so as to deny you coverage's or something. Guy at work is what I call tall and thin. Those darn BMI charts have him as overweight !!!!

Last time I went they asked about snoring... told the doc, if snoring wakes me up, I elbow the wife, she quites down and I can go back to sleep!


I wonder if any of the experts have ever tried to sleep 5 feet from a running refer?

I remember seeing the newer chart hung on the wall of the doctor office with the newer lower recommended pressures. Read the fine print at the bottom. Yep study paid for by the company that makes linsopril I think it was.

A neighbor of mine was driving his 5th wheel and fell asleep, and his wife woke him up , when she noticed how he was driving. He had SA. You do not sleep well at nite , having SA . So your body is always tired. Indeed very dangerous for everyone. Be careful out there.

I went for my exam on 1-22-15, to a NYS (D.O.T.) licensed physician. I assume that is the situation, given the doctors six digit license number is listed on the bottom of the form titled:

"Medical Examination Report FOR COMMERCIAL DRIVER FITNESS DETERMINATION" 649-F (6045)

There are (7) sections on this form. Section #2 "Health History" lists 25 check the box Yes or No questions for self certification and #20, ( if you count the boxes skipping one that is blank ) asks if you have and I quote; "sleep disorders, pauses in breathing while asleep, daytime sleepiness, loud snoring".

As I see it in black and white and assume this to be the most current criteria for this physical examination, during my exam, there was NO mention of Sleep Apnea, or having a 17" Neck Circumference disqualification etc. The doctor and the nurse never mentioned it. They did take a urine sample, which was mentioned in a recent previous post on this forum as a means of detecting sleep apnea as well as specific gravity(meaning its real urine?) + protein, blood and sugar.

Given your post about it, I just took a tape measure to my neck, and came up with exactly 17" but its hard to get something more accurate doing this yourself, I also measured 16 3/4" both times taken below the "Adams Apple". Now I never did snore, given what my significant other told me, many years ago, she was an RN. I'd have no idea if that was true today, as there is no one to elbow me at night if I did LOL !!!! My dad was the worst kind of Snore 'er but a few years back he had some sinus surgery and or though the medical problems he was dealing with, seemed to cure the problem, to the delight of his wife I am sure LOL! I've got small sinus passages per an MRI I had done years ago for another problem in the same area, plumbing let loose and it was cauterized to stop the profuse bleeding, that was lower at the "divider" in your nose.

In any case, I'm no medical professional or knowledgeable about sleep apnea, so maybe someone can explain or doing some research on the net will provide the insight for the neck measurement and how it correlates to sleep apnea.

It seems with so many different kinds of physiques, and I don't know what the heck you are supposed to call it; neck fat, turkey gizzard, jowels, what...ever... LOL ! (really I'm not ignorant LOL!) I can't see the continuity of this measurement and this condition given how different we all are or can be.

I see the current medical examiners certificate issued to the driver; Original-Driver 388720 26521(Rev. 5/14) is now published by JJ Keller Neenah,WI and has a copyright year of 2014, All Rights Reserved. Its in black print. The front is now laminated so you can't alter it or it protects the card stock from water I suppose. The one I received in '13 seems to be about the same, but its in blue print and blank on the opposite side, the current one is larger, you have to fold it and it states on the reverse side;

Medical Examiners Certificate

Disclaimer; It is the sole responsibility of the person(s) completing this certificate to comply with all requirements contained in the department of transportation federal motor carriers safety administration regulations 49 CFR part 391 qualifications of drivers.

yep--after i fell asleep at a red light and my wife waking me--i got the sleep study and have been on a bipap for over 10 years now---really made a difference on a good nights sleep and alert during the day---my cdl exam is only good for one year though

No shortage of , well not going to say drivers, lest just say undocmented humans from the southern part of the americas holding the steering wheel.

(quoted from post at 11:16:28 01/29/15) They keep changing the rules. My blood pressure is still the same as it was when I first got my CDL back in 1991. Back then, when the nurse checked my BP, and I asked her what it was, her reply was "disgustingly healthy."
Last time I had my physical, I was told that it was too high. So, what was "healthy" in 1991 was no longer OK in 2011. They wanted to put me on BP medication, and I said NO WAY. Tried a bit later, and passed well enough for a 2-year certificate.
In my not-so-humble opinion, we take entirely too many pills and medications. Doctor wants to give you another pill for every little thing. I think we would be just as healthy (or healthier) with HALF the medications we take today - or less!

Click to expand...

Sounds like you should get an office set up to give CDL exams, LOL.

here the family dr can give the medical exam, provided, he or she is certified by the state to give it, i renewed mine last august for 1 year at my age thats all i can get, but as it turns out thats ok, the dot around here is a bunch of poorly trained fresh out of school types making life miserable, im on a massive sediment haul trying to save one of the towns chief water supply lakes from being contaminated by runoff from a massive fire, after that im going to throw the keys in the floor of the truck and walk away, it just isnt worth it anymore, im from an age when we made money enjoyed the lifestyle and as long as we kept out rig in good repair we had no problems, not anymore

(quoted from post at 20:17:37 01/29/15) here the family dr can give the medical exam, provided, he or she is certified by the state to give it, i renewed mine last august for 1 year at my age thats all i can get, but as it turns out thats ok, the dot around here is a bunch of poorly trained fresh out of school types making life miserable, im on a massive sediment haul trying to save one of the towns chief water supply lakes from being contaminated by runoff from a massive fire, after that im going to throw the keys in the floor of the truck and walk away, it just isnt worth it anymore, im from an age when we made money enjoyed the lifestyle and as long as we kept out rig in good repair we had no problems, not anymore

Click to expand...

Eric, are you an owner operator or drive for someone else?