just asking
New Member
anyone ever have a problem renewing their DOT medical card because of blood pressure?
DOT card
- Thread starter just asking
- Start date
Make sure the week before you go for your dot, you lay off coffee, sodium, and alcohol. And drink straight water before you go. If you have a real problem, you need to know. If you have white coat fever, those things on top of that will shoot you through the roof.
cachsux
Wah
Some drivers have taken to keeping a BP diary to document an average BP for an extended period of time. Many people feel anxiety during a Dr visit and this can alter their BP inaccurately. If you know you average and it shows high when the Dr first takes it request they take it again after you've had a moment to yourself,perhaps in the waiting room resting, and you'll get it to go closer to normal usually.
Cementups
Box Monkey
I went in 4 years ago and was told I was borderline high blood pressure. They left me alone in the room with the lights off for about 10 minutes and came back and took it again and I was fine. BUt I was also overweight at the time. I lost 40 pounds then before my next physical and am told I have perfect numbers. We'll see in a few weeks when I have to get renewed again.
Babagounj
Strength through joy
My pressure was so high the one time that even after resting first in a chair and then laying on the floor for the third attempt they still could barely pass me and I'm been on meds for years.
They finally told me that I would never pass a DOT exam because of vertigo.
They finally told me that I would never pass a DOT exam because of vertigo.
Covemastah
Hoopah drives the boat Chief !!
Go to your own Dr. first and have him check it !!
If there is a problem,he will put you on meds .
then go take your DOT . Don't mess around with BP, very important to regulate,not just to fool DOT Dr. !!
Good Luck !
If there is a problem,he will put you on meds .
then go take your DOT . Don't mess around with BP, very important to regulate,not just to fool DOT Dr. !!
Good Luck !
iruhnman630
Well-Known Member
It happened to one of the other young drivers in our center last year. He was off the road for about three months until he got it down within dot limits.
nystripe96
Well-Known Member
I have a dot card from when I passed the road test for a class B cdl last May. This was before I started with ups. I haven't driven a truck since the road test. My medical certificate expires march 7th. Do I have to renew it even though I'm not a driver yet for ups? I don't want to shell out the $100 if if I'm not a ups driver just yet
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
I had a close call during my last DOT physical. I made the mistake of drinking coffee just before the exam and my BP was just over the limit. They finished the exam and took the BP again 30 minutes later and it was much lower.
I have high blood pressure and take medication for it, so I have no problem. Lay off the coffee before you go. If you have high blood pressure, you need to take care of it. I have a brother that refuses to go to the doctor for his, he has already passed out a few times and carried to the ER over it. Its crazy to mess around and risk having a stroke over this.
I had my DOT exam a few weeks ago. A new thing they are doing here is measuring your neck size. They are looking for symptoms of sleep apnea.
I had my DOT exam a few weeks ago. A new thing they are doing here is measuring your neck size. They are looking for symptoms of sleep apnea.
tourists24
Well-Known Member
Yep... mine was high my last physical.... one year ok.... have to get it under control..... Crap... this means doing away with all the good stuff
tourists24
Well-Known Member
screw that... I'll just blow a gasket....lol Im not gonna be miserable along the way
cachsux
Wah
Harry Manback
Robot Extraordinaire
No kiddin, I think there's some sort of conspiracy on the whole sleep apnea thing.
beentheredonethat
Well-Known Member
Scratch, I agree with you about it being crazy to mess around and risk having a stroke. Going to the Dr's and getting your physical is real important. However, I believe taking high blood pressure medication s/b a last option and only taken for as long as you need it. I think of it as if you had an oil leak in your favorite car. You could just put more oil in the crankcase occasionally, but if you really want to do right by the car, you fix the problem that is causing the oil loss. I did have borderline readings and decided to do something about it. I lost some weight, did some cardio exercises, started to eat a lot better, also I started taking vitamins and supplements. My last BP reading was 116/68. (I tend to also have white coat syndrome) and this was the best I've had at a Dr's office. If you look at the side effects of many medications, they are kind of scary in themselves.
Two other tips that I did learn from different doctors: 1 There are different size blood pressure cuffs, if you have large muscular arms then it's possible they are using the wrong size cuff on you, this will cause an incorrect reading. 2. When you sit down, DO NOT cross your legs. Crossing your legs can constrict the femoral artery and therefore increase the body's BP.
Hope everyone takes their health seriously. PS. If you are looking for an interesting book on supplements, the one I like the best was written by Dr Atkins (of the Atkins Diet), It's called Dr. Atkins Vitanutrients. Very interesting book and at the back there's a section of if you have certain conditions (High blood pressure being one of them) it lists the supplements that can help you.
beentheredonethat
Well-Known Member
Tooner, as I said in a previous post I've had white coat syndrome etc. If it's simply white coat syndrome and you test well at the machines at the pharmacy OK. But if those machines register similar borderline results. Skipping coffee and sodium etc should be done all the time to permanently reduce Hi blood pressure. It's not a game of lowering the BP for the day of the Dr's exam. We all need to take care of our body and work on keeping ourselves in the best shape we can so we can have a long healthy life.
