Health and Medicine Question

[DooWop]

What sorts of prescription medicine might keep someone from driving for an expedite company and/or common carrier? I understand that insulin/diabetes type medicine keeps you off the road...how about heart/blood pressure/anti-depressants/alergy/gastric-digestive system/blood thinners etc. How do find out this information? I heard that certain over the counter cold remedies will cause you to fail a company or DOT drug test. Thanks in advance.
(As a driver for a long forgotten LTL company I worked at many years ago once told me... "My doctor says I'm in perfect health except for a slight touch of cirhossis." True story)


Regards

DooWop

 

[dog]

Hello DooWop, will try to provide some information in regards to your question. The Indiana Commerical Vehicle section put out a flyer with answers to most of your questions, do not know what state your from but you may contact that Commerical Vehicle section and see if they have flyers with that information. In brief if you have no medical history or clinical diagnosis of diabetes mellitus currently requiring insulin for control, your qualified to drive commerically.
If a person has no current diagnosis of high blood pressure likely to interfere with ability to operate a commerical motor vehicle safely, your qualified. Coronary artery bypass surgery and pacemaker implantations are remedial procedures and thus not unqualifying. Now sleep apnea will require testing and a yearly followup testing to make sure your using your machine and that the problem is being controlled. I am not an expert, but have had heart bypass, have a pace maker now,and on a c pac machine for sleep apnea, and so far still qualifing for CDL. So have been thru the system in those areas, hope you do not have any of those problems, wish you the best.
dog

 

[RichM]

I believe having extremely low blood pressure will keep you from passing a DOT physical.I know of a guy whose BP is less then 100 and he must get checked every 3 months. One important thing is to make sure any prescription medicine you take with you stays in the original pharmacy container with the labels in good shape.Going into Canada could possibly create a problem if your medicine was not properly packaged and stored.