Jason was clearly trying to avoid insulin because he was a truck driver. After going on an intensive diet and exercise regimen, he was able to get his A1C down to a 9. Still, he is looking at his diabetes worsening due to having had Type 2 for 12 years. As his beta cells die out over time, and there is a worsening of his condition, he will likely not be able to stay on the interstate roads for much longer. Are many truck drivers afraid to take insulin for the fear of being unable to drive in interstate commerce?
This may be the only life and career a person knows, and switching careers late in life, as we all know, can be very difficult. Is it possible to drive a truck for interstate commerce if I have Type 2 diabetes that does not require insulin? Yes, if you meet all the requirements for a CDL in your home state, you do not have to do anything else. Can I work in the interstate trucking industry if I have Type 2 diabetes and I use insulin? You may be able to work in the interstate trucking industry if you meet certain requirements, but you will need to apply for the Federal Diabetes Exemption through the FMCSA.
If I am a truck driver with diabetes, what can I do to better manage my diabetes on the road? You can opt for healthier options like lean meats, vegetables and salads instead of fried food at truck stops, keep a cooler of healthy snacks on hand, and get your exercise by stopping for a minute walk every few hours.
Alternatively, you can keep up with your exercises by keeping exercise equipment in the back of the truck. Get out of the cab frequently to stretch to increase circulation. Keep needed supplies and testing strips at all times to help you manage on the road. They offer the DOT physical examinations. We invite our readers to let us know what they think about this article. Do you have anything that you would like for us to add to this article? Do we stand corrected on any of the information that we presented in this article?
We also welcome any comments or stories from our readers. Please let us know how diabetes has affected your life as a trucker. We would like to hear from you about your difficult experiences as a trucker with diabetes. We are particularly interested in stories related to how you overcame any difficulties presented by your diabetes while you are on the road.
Are there any innovative methods or tricks that you do to keep self-managed while on the road that be could of help to others? Let us hear from you in the comments section below. A 46 year old man with Type 2 diabetes came to diabetes education classes with an A1C of He stated that he needed help to get his diabetes under control so that he could continue to drive a commercial vehicle. Dan had an insulin waiver, but he was taken off the road because his A1C had increased to over He had to get needed diabetes education, and get his A1C down below 10 quickly or he would lose his job as an interstate trucker.
Dan is very motivated, due to the situation threatening his income and livelihood. We wanted to get at the root of why his blood sugars were increasing. We needed to look at what we could do about his worsening diabetes to get him back behind the wheel. After doing a comprehensive diet recall, it was determined that he spent a large majority of his time on the road eating greasy, truck stop food. While driving down the interstate, he would often grab some of the fast food, fried fare variety, and take it in the cab with him to eat.
He skipped meals and snacks in order to get to where he was going faster and sooner. Dan often ran out of strips for his glucometer, and would not check his blood sugar for days at a time. He agreed to begin regular checks, and keep plenty of supplies in his cab. Dan generally got no exercise, and he would drive a long distance without getting out and stretching or moving around.
He did get one 30 minute walk in per week with his wife, and a few healthier meals at home when he was not travelling. In order to determine his nutritional intake, we took an inventory of the restaurants that he would make stops at while on route. We looked at truck stop and fast food menus of all kinds, and helped him learn to pick healthier options wherever he made a stop.
We suggested that he pack a cooler of healthy snacks to take with him on the road, and also prepared a list of his favorite snacks for him to pick up to plan for the day when he would hit the road again with an A1C of less than He also learned to count his carbohydrates.
Additionally, since he would be home for 3 months until his A1C went down, we looked at his meal options at home to help him get back out on the road. At home, he agreed to take minute walks, 5 days per week along with his wife following their evening meal. We looked up cab exercise equipment for him, and he picked out some equipment that he would order for his 18 wheeler. He also agreed that he would park his truck farther away from where he is supposed to go in order to get a few more steps in.
He was given a few minutes of strengthening and stretching training to do every 2 hours, and was encouraged to make stops in order to perform these exercises which would help increase his circulation and boost activity. In , the three-year rule was abandoned, but the lengthiness of the process to obtain the exemption remained. The FMCSA has highlighted several strong reasons for the regulation repealing the exemption program. Why is being diabetic an issue for trucking in the first place?
Those questions were as follows:. Read the full report here about diabetics in trucking from The American Diabetes Association celebrates the legislation as a major victory in a decades-long fight to change the rules that govern commercial drivers with diabetes. They viewed blanket restrictions on individuals with diabetes as discriminatory, and cite data that show that these individuals do not pose an unacceptable risk to public safety on the grounds of their condition. While diabetes as a disqualifier to enter commercial driving has gone through its lengthy, contentious regulatory history, the kicker is that existing truck drivers are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes as a direct result of their occupational lifestyle than the rest of the population due to the necessity of sitting for extremely long periods of time and often being limited to unhealthy food at truck stops.
The effort and ingenuity needed to skirt these tendencies does not always come naturally to drivers. According to research by the Transportation Research Board, long haul truck drivers in the U. Other health conditions besides diabetes often force drivers out of the profession due to their inability to meet the physical requirements. Read the NIH study on the health of truck drivers. Read the TRB health and injury survey of long haul drivers.
There are many resources online for drivers to learn how to stay healthy on the road in order to avoid developing health conditions that might be preventable, of which Type 2 diabetes is only one. Seizure 2. Loss of Consciousness 3. Need for Assistance from another person 4. Driving Training. Some History First Prior to , people with diabetes taking insulin were not able to become truck drivers. If a diabetic trucker has a severe hypoglycemic episode, he or she is not allowed to drive a truck and must report the episode and be evaluated by their treating clinician as soon as possible.
The driving prohibition lasts until the clinician determines that the episode has been addressed and the driver again has a stable insulin regimen and properly controlled ITDM. Drivers diagnosed with severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy or proliferative diabetic retinopathy are permanently disqualified from driving a commercial vehicle.
FMCSA is removing the requirement for drivers with insulin-treated diabetes to obtain a waiver to drive interstate. Medical examiners will now be able to grant these drivers a one-year medical certification. Related Stories.
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