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Q&A
Can a driver with lung disease get a DOT medical card?
Is the use of oxygen therapy a disqualifier?
Can I still drive if I have a blood clot in the lung?
I had lung surgery and a lobectomy a few years ago . Will this fail me on a DOT physical?
What does neck size, weight, and BMI have to do with the DOT physical exam?
What does snoring have to do with the DOT physical exam?
Can a driver with lung disease get a DOT medical card?
The medical examiner will evaluate your condition to determine how the lung disease may affect your ability to safely drive and perform other duties of a commercial driver. If you don’t have a medical opinion letter from a treating physician, you may need to go for a chest x-ray or pulmonary function tests before the medical examiner can consider certification.
Is the use of oxygen therapy a disqualifier?
Most likely, yes, oxygen therapy while driving is a disqualifier. The reasons are twofold: 1. Malfunction of the oxygen equipment. 2. Progression of the disease may be debilitating. You may be considered if you can pass a pulmonary function test.
I was recently diagnosed with COPD from exhaust leak in my semi. Can I lose my CDL because of this diagnosis?
The diagnosis of COPD is not, by itself a disqualifier for your cdl. It will/may have an effect while doing your medical examination and certification. Your best bet is to take any and all notation from your primary lung doctor with you when you re-do your medical exam and certificate. The examiner just needs to make sure your are fit to return to work without being a risk to yourself or the public at large.
Can I still drive if I have a blood clot in the lung?
With the blood clot in the lung, you want to make sure you bring a note from you pulmonary specialist stating you are good to go. The medical examiner will need a copy for your file when he does the exam.
I had lung surgery and a lobectomy a few years ago . Will this fail me on a DOT physical?
In and of itself, the lobectomy should not be an issue. But what was the reasoning behind the surgery? Your examiner will have other questions regarding the surgery and what its long term effects are, as well as, how it affects your ability to operate a commercial motor vehicle.
What does neck size, weight, and BMI have to do with the DOT physical exam?
Neck size, weight, and BMI are all just indicators that the medical examiner looks at to determine if you may have a condition that would impact your ability to safely drive a commercial vehicle now or for the period for which the medical card may be issued. There are currently no set specifics on these measurements in the DOT regulations. However, companies may set their own policies and have their own standards for these indicators, which may disqualify you to drive for that particular company.
What does snoring have to do with the DOT physical exam?
Snoring, in combination with obesity, can be highly predictive of obstructive sleep apnea risk. That said, even the loudest of snorers may not have a breathing obstruction. The sign that is most suggestive of sleep apnea occurs when snoring stops. If both snoring and breathing stop while the person’s chest and body try to breathe, that is literally a description of an event called an ‘apnea’. When breathing starts again, there is typically a deep gasp and then the resumption of snoring.
For the DOT physical exam the medical examiner evaluates your overall physical condition and health history to determine if there are signs of a medical condition that may affect your ability to safely drive a CMV. If the medical examiner has reasonable suspicion that you have sleep apnea you may have to go for an overnight sleep test called a polysomnogram before you can be further considered for certification.
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I had taken a medical exam to drive a truck between states. My history as a smoker lead to a breathing test where the results were inconclusive. The examiner signed my card for 3 months and told me if I go see a pulmonary doctor and they clear me the examiner will extend my card to the 2 year mark.
Saw a pulmonary Dr., said no COPD and test came back great, also said original examiner did the test wrong.
Go back to original examiner and now they are saying it is illegal to extend to the 2 year mark and ill have to pay the 100.00 again and take a new test with the people who got it wrong in the 1st place. Does this sound correct? Is it illegal to extend even though I fulfilled my part?
@ Nick
According to the FMCSA, it would be illegal to extend without a new medical examination.
I have stage 4 pulmonary sarcoidosis will I be able to pass my physical exam
@ Jared
The condition is going to raise questions and will require your most recent test results. Be as prepared as possible with medical release forms, without restrictions, and medical documentation.
A driver friend of mine in NC gets severe headaches. He has to pull over for 15 to 20 minutes to get oxygen which relieves the pressure while driving. Would this be something that will disqualify him from driving with a CDL-A. He thinks it might be allergy related, but has not been checked thoroughly by cat scan or MRI etc. for some other medical condition
@ Robert D
He really needs to determine the cause of his condition. Then he could determine how to treat it, correctly.
Can a driver be certified with a tracheostomy?
@ B. S
It is going to raise questions from the examiner. Be prepared with documentation and medical releases prior to the DOT examination.
I had a dvt and pe from this I did pass in the field i.e. my heart stopped before the defibrillator was used by the paramedic my heart started to beet on it’s owen this happened at work just after I backed into a dock I went down going to talk to the dock Forman ok a brief history about the clots they were developed from a on the job injury in my right ankle that is now a permanent injury I was on eliquest for 1 year clots are clear from my leg and lungs but was told if I am not careful another clot could develop because of the injury because of this I have been told I will be disqualified for life is this true
@ Ctf
You are going to need medical releases and doctors documentation from this point on. Your condition is going to present with plenty of questions from any CME/DOT examiner, so be prepared.
I was treated for PE that the workman’s comp commission determined occurred on the job. I was hospitalized for treatment. DOT regulations state that after having been hospitalized for PE that I was disqualified from work for 12 weeks, although the treating physician had released me and signed a return to work form two weeks after I was admitted to the hospital. As a side note I had a current prescription for Xeralto at the time of both exams.
After sitting on the sidelines for 12 weeks I had to go in for another DOT Fed Med exam, because of the PE I came away with a one year fed med card.
I have COPD I DO 2 INHALERS A PLUS I HAVE MY RESUE INHALER. I DRIVE A SCHOOL BUS IF I FAIL MY DOT PHISICAL BECAUSE I DONT PASS MY BREATHING TEST. CAN I FILE TEMPORY DISABILITY FROM MY WORK BECAUSE I NO THEY WILL LET ME GO. I LIVE IN NY STATE
@ Mark T
You need to check with disability for the best answer. Even with state variances for school bus drivers, you may have difficulty passing the medical certification examination.
Hi, I was shot in a robbery 2 years ago.. I had a collapsed lung and injured diaphragm. I completed a long function test and the result was I have 87% lung capacity on my right lung and 100% on my left lung… Will I be able to get Dr.s permission to drive a cmv?
@ Jeremy
Get a medical release form from your treating physician, with no limitations, and you should be good to go.
I was just told by my pulmonologist, after reviewing my recent sleep study, that he wants me to use oxygen while sleeping in addition to my cpap. Is this disqualifying if using ir only while sleeping?
@ Darrel
It is going to require additional information and documentation from your doctor. The CME will have questions and will need copies of your test results, before he will make any decisions.
My husband was just told the same thing O2 while sleeping with his CPap he is an OTR driver. So the concentrator would have to be in the truck. Will this also be up to the CME ?
@ Tammy
Yes. And he will need further medical documentation from his primary physician to support the need for the O2.