Profile For dylan

You seem to know your stuff - thanks again for helping me figure everything out.

I'm not too worried about the meds, since I will have been off everything for at least 6 months before getting tested. Then again, if I find a company that only does urine tests it could allow me to get rolling sooner.

Hopefully by getting all my paperwork lined up beforehand, I would have a decent shot at making it through the exam unscathed. I found out that my doc is actually a registered examiner, so I'll be bouncing some of these questions off him before I fly off to some academy.

One other thing. I noticed that the form you linked to in your first reply is different than the one mentioned in the DOT Physical wiki article (https://www.truckingtruth.com/wiki/topic-1/dot-physical). Your form seems a little more invasive, at least in terms of the mental health part.

Is this just the newer version of the same form, or do these serve slightly different purposes?

Thanks for the info Rick! This form makes it clear that I'll have no choice but to disclose. I was hoping nobody would actually bother to ask about my history, but apparently that was just wishful thinking. So I guess that means I'll be at the mercy of whoever ends up evaluating the form.

Can anybody speak from experience as to how the DOT actually handles these forms? Does reporting that you experienced problems in the past result in an automatic red stamp, or are they more lenient than that?

Hey guys, I want to get into trucking but I'm trying to figure out if my medical history is likely to complicate things much.

Over recent years I have occasionally asked my doctor to put me on various medications such as Adderall (hoping it would help me to stay motivated as a freelance programmer), antidepressants (for moderate depression; only took them for a few months), and lorazepam (for occasional social anxiety). I basically self-diagnosed myself with these conditions, and my doctor had no problem writing the scripts. I wanted to see if the meds would make life any easier, but over time I've gotten to the point where I prefer handling things on my own. Some people truly need these medications, but for me, I think the problems were mostly in my head.

For the last few months I've been medication free, but I'm wondering if that alone will be enough to get me through the DOT physical. I have thumbed through some of the FMCSR's and found mention of these issues, but the language is pretty dense and I'm wondering how seriously the examiners actually scrutinize things in the field. I love driving and have a clean record, and I'm confident that none of these past issues would prevent me from becoming a skilled OTR hauler.

I've also searched around on the forums, but my understanding of the physicals is still somewhat murky. Some people make it sound as if the only real problem would be if I was still actively taking the medications. One guy mentioned running into trouble when his employer forced him (perhaps illegally) to hand over his medical records and discovered the driver's past diagnosis, but it sounds like this situation isn't too common with the reputable companies.

What are your thoughts? Have any of you guys had a close scrape (or failed to make it through) because of your history with any of these issues? Thanks.