DOT Physical question ???

Every DOT physical I've done (and that's quite a few over the last 20 years) was a urine dip for sugar.

As I'm sure you know, insulin use is prohibited while driving a CMV. Get your sugar under control with diet, pills, and exercise, and you'll be fine.

 

You pee in a cup, they check the specific gravity.

 

Urine only covers the last several hours. It's not very specific; it can't tell the difference between 110 and 130.

The urine dip is only a diagnostic tool to detect very high sugar levels, such as those you have when diabetes is not controlled. If the dip flags high sugar, most places will do a blood test.

My average glucose is around 130; a bit high for "normal", but I easily pass the urine dip.

 

FMCSA Medical Examiner's guide

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/downloads/fmcsa-medical-examiner-2014.pdf

 

Glucose in the urine by it self will not cause you to fail the DOT physical. Many prescription drugs and vitamins taken in the hours prior to you giving urine to the doctor for testing can show glucose in the urine. This happened to me once and was surprised to see glucose in my urine. I bought the test strips and tested at home for several days. It was narrowed down to urinating for the first time following me taking a few cholesterol medications, but showed negative all other times of the day. Now, I make sure to take these medications many hours prior to a physical so my urine does not shows traces of glucose.

Also, there are 2 newer diabetes medications on the market, Farxiga and Invokana. They both are aimed at lowering a person's A1C blood sugar. They both work to lower glucose by removing it through the urine. If you are taking either of these medications, it will show high levels of glucose in the urine.

OP, if you can get by with taking a pill and/or adjusting your diet, that is preferred. If you take insulin injections, you will have a hard time being cleared to drive. The doctor who performs your DOT physical will not draw any blood to check your current blood sugar.

 

Not sure what your diet is over their Dennis, but the father in law is diabetic and once we got him off of gluten his blood sugar numbers drastically improved. So if possible get off of wheat, white rice and any other processed foods you can eliminate. Veggies need to be your friend forever and ever amen!