Sleep Apnea Testing & Treatment:Confusing Guidelines Create More Frustration
The “combination of confusing guidelines” on sleep apnea testing and treatment is a big puzzle in itself and is also a major cause of frustration among truckers and all other sleep apnea sufferes.
Dr. Rochelle Goldberg, president of the board of the American Sleep Apnea Association, the patient support organization with which the Truckers for a Cause chapter of A.W.A.K.E. is affiliated, wanted to set the record straight that currently there are only guidelines, not law, governing sleep apnea testing and treatment for truckers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is still collecting data and is likely to come up with new guidelines by the end of this year but no new measures are in place.
The FMCSA recognizes there are no specifics on testing and treating sleep apnea and that the agency is planning a national registry for medical examiners with new language and they’re asking for new information, how to use sleep apnea evaluations and how to get more people tested and treated for the disorder.
Absense of “good solid research” linking untreated sleep apnea and crash risks is one of the several concerns regarding sappropriate sleep apnea treatment.
Attempts are under progress to put new regulations in place with partial information and this is more dangerous.
Sleep apnea sufferers who are in compliance by using their CPAP machines but who have been denied employment or fired by a carrier, contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and file a complaint.
Truckers with grievances of that nature should get a letter-writing campaign started and get a sleep doctor to provide information that the driver is in fact getting treatment for sleep apnea and being “in compliance” by using a CPAP machine. Compliance “reduces health risks” for the driver and the industry needs to be made aware of that. Problems with employment and sleep apnea are not unique to truckers but to other workers as well.
Tagged with: American Sleep Apnea Association • AWAKE • CPAP Machines • Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration • FMCS • Motor Safety • Sleep Apnea • Sleep Apnea Evaluation • Sleep Apnea Testing • Sleep Apnea Treatment • Testing and Treating Sleep Apnea • Testing of Sleep Apnea • Truckers
Filed under: CPAP • CPAP Device • Sleep Apnea • Sleep Apnea Diagnosis • Sleep Apnea News • Sleep Apnea Test • Sleep Apnea Treatment
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