Taking Blood Pressure Medicine, Will It Be Counted Against Me When Taking DOT Physical

Going to Prime orientation in July and I want to know will it affect if I get a 3 year, 1 year, or 3 months check if I already take blood pressure medicine. Is this something I need to disclose to the doctor?

Going to Prime orientation in July and I want to know will it affect if I get a 3 year, 1 year, or 3 months check if I already take blood pressure medicine. Is this something I need to disclose to the doctor?

Yes you will need to disclose it, and yes it will limit you to a 1 year cert. I'm in the same boat.

Going to Prime orientation in July and I want to know will it affect if I get a 3 year, 1 year, or 3 months check if I already take blood pressure medicine. Is this something I need to disclose to the doctor?

Yes you will need to disclose it, and yes it will limit you to a 1 year cert. I'm in the same boat.

Thanks for the quick response. Thank you.

Make sure the medication will be approved for commercial driving. You can call a hospital or any certified DOT examiner to find out. If the one you're taking won't be approved you'll simply have your doctor switch you to one that is.

Any medications you've taken recently will show up on a drug test so make sure you let them know about any you've taken. Also make sure you have proof of the prescription, even if it is expired now.

I'm not a doc or medical authority - however I do have high blood pressure and manage it with ortec. Have had no issues with DoT physical. 1 year restriction vice 2 year. No big deal. I track my BP - very consistent with ortec - my cat helps too. Zero side effects (except having to **** a lot). It works for me - other stuff did not. Weight management helps a huge amount - and when I say management it really means weight loss.

Most definitely tell the doc that you are taking them, you will get a one year card max, but better than being disqualified for not disclosing the information either. I can say though that my BP was extremely high (240/140) but now I am down to a more normal range (120's-130's/80ish) and I still qualified for a one year card, however if it is high when they take the first reading ask them to let you relax a bit and get it down (white coat syndrome sometimes makes for false readings). I did make some dietary changes though too to help lower my numbers a lot as well such as; not using salt on food, drink 1-2 sodas max a day (though I hardly touch the stuff now), drink lots of water (8-12 16oz a day), I don't drink coffee so that was easy to not worry about, yoga breathing (it is very relaxing and easy to do), limit candy and other junk food, and the big one not letting my temper get out of control. I would also suggest making one change at a time rather than doing many all at once, because doing too much will actually stress you out causing your blood pressure to become elevated until it has fully adjusted. Oh for the water I use flavor packets from walmart, some have caffeine in them, and they have no sodium or sugar, this is a great thing if you also have diabetes but cannot stand the taste of plain water (my blood sugar is always on the low end of normal so I am good there thankfully LOL).

You can call a hospital or any certified DOT examiner to find out. If the one you're taking won't be approved you'll simply have your doctor switch you to one that is.

I need to figure this out for a number of medications. Is there a place to go to see a list? I have arthritis and am on some pain medication for it, but it's prescription and I function completely fine. I need to see which of my meds I can't take, have to get off, and how long I need to be off them before I could pass a test. I assume that this is a blood test. Is this something I can get done on my own to check? If so, how do I check the results without going through the DOT and having a failed test on my record?

TIA - DH

Anthony, here's how this works: You are going to have a drug test - the D.O.T. requires a urine test for this. Some, many in fact, employers also do a hair follicle test - they have that prerogative. You will not have a failed drug test as long as you have not been taking illegal drugs, and as long as you reveal any and all medications you are taking on the form they will give you to fill out before you give them a urine sample. When you go for a D.O.T. physical you should bring all your medications with you in their original bottles with the prescription label on it. You will need to know the Physicians name, phone number, and fax number. As long as you provide all the information needed you are not going to have a failed drug test - the test will show that you are taking prescribed medications that you made know up front - that is not a failure.

If you are on pain medications, have your physician write you a letter that you take to your physical stating that the medications will not affect your ability to operate a commercial motor vehicle , and that should suffice. If your meds are narcotics you may want to go ahead and see if your doctor could change them to something else for you, but list those narcotics on the form so that if their is a residual effect of them still in your system you won't get dinged on the test.

I think you can google "non D.O.T. approved medications" and probably find a list somewhere in that search.

I need to figure this out for a number of medications. Is there a place to go to see a list? I have arthritis and am on some pain medication for it, but it's prescription and I function completely fine. I need to see which of my meds I can't take, have to get off, and how long I need to be off them before I could pass a test. I assume that this is a blood test. Is this something I can get done on my own to check? If so, how do I check the results without going through the DOT and having a failed test on my record?

TIA - DH

I just found this resource, for those seeking answers in the future. Acceptable Medications / Treatments

Prime only gives you the standard DOT drug screen, which is a 5 panel for marijuana (THC), Cocaine, Opiates (opium and codeine derivatives), Amphetamines/methamphetamines and PCP. Anything that is not specifically tested for will not show up because they are not looking for it. However, anything that is prescribed by a doctor should be brought to their attention by you. There is a national database of all scripts that could be used to discover something you failed to report. Prime will not tell you which ones will disqualify you until here, not sure why they don't just post a list or tell you beforehand but I believe it's a legality. If disqualified for a particular prescription they send you home but do give you opportunity to return after either switching to an approved medication or can sustain without. I would assume most pain meds would be a no go, due to possible drowsiness which is written on bottle along with a warning against driving or operating heavy machinery. Best of luck