My DOT physical certification is up in the air.
I'm a trucker and all CDL holders have to pass a Department of Transportation physical given by a certified doctor. My physical certification expires in a few days so I went to the doctor to get re-certified.
A new thing starting last year with the DOT physicals was that they have to check for signs of sleep apnea. These include body mass index and the size of your neck relative to the size of your throat. I am a fat guy and I have an 18.5 inch neck so they said I have to get tested. I can do everything at home, but it's going to put me out of work for a little bit.
Back when I smoked cigarettes, my wife told me that I snored a lot and sometimes gasped for air in my sleep. Around the time I quit smoking I tried to get tested for sleep apnea, but my insurance wouldn't cover it. Evidently, I had to be dying from it before my insurance kicked in. They wouldn't just allow me to get tested. The test at the local hospital costs $4800 and I can't afford that so I went without the test. As time went by without me smoking, my wife said my snoring greatly improved and I stopped gasping for air in my sleep so I figured I was okay anyway.
I don't have any of the symptoms of sleep apnea now, but the doctor said that since I have the physical traits that can cause it I have to get tested regardless. If it does turn out that I do have it, I'll have to get CPAP machine to sleep with, and do another test with it before I can be certified to drive again. This time the insurance has to cover it.
Commercial drivers are held to a much higher standard when it comes to certification and their licenses. You can't just decide you want to drive a truck for a living one day and just hop in one and go. To haul hazardous materials now you have to be certified by the TSA. You know how dealing with them goes. I was born in Germany to American parents. They ask for your place of birth on the hazmat security clearance application. I have to put Germany down and I can't offer any explanation at the time I'm filling out the application that shows that I'm a U.S. citizen. So I turn in the application and my clearance gets denied because they don't think I'm a U.S. citizen and that I'm in the country illegally. That's happened to me both times I've applied. The second time despite actually having obtained clearance the first time I applied. Then I have to go through a month of bullshit proving I'm a U.S. citizen that involves sending copies of my most sensitive personal documents in the mail.
Fuck that. I let my hazmat endorsement expire when I started driving for a company that didn't require it.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I hope it goes smoothly.
Hey, I can dream, can't I?
Good luck!
This gives me a few days during the week to scout for jobs. I have an interview that I just scheduled a few minutes ago that I would not have been able to go to if I wasn't going to be off work. I got the call that they were interested while I was in the exam room at the doctor's office waiting for the doctor. 
Best of luck!
I'm sure they'll love you.
apnea would get insufficient recuperation during the sleep period?
I know it's a serious issue so forgive my bemusement, but it's strikes me as funny that the DOT would want truckers to be good sleepers - staying awake seems like more of a job qualification!
Good luck with the bureaucracy...
You know, I bet a lot of people don't think to question people like doctors. I'm guessing that's a part of where you get your user name.
