What AHI number do most trucking companies want to see, if you have sleep apnea? (Not trolling.)

Here is the AHI numbers plus Blood Oxygen Stats for Humans at sea level required for normal being alive and feeling good.

When I was in the I-70 at 12500 feet passing eisenhower my blood oxygen had dropped to the mid to high 80's based off the small detector easily purchased at any pharmacy or walmart. I also know how to take blood pressure being trained etc. And half of my body was essentially dead with the numbness moving towards my heart from below as the blood oxygen failed up that high my last time crossing above 12000 feet in trucking. I made the decision that if I reached Vail and I felt worse prior to Denver at 6000 feet I will take that semi truck to the ER at Vail and get help.

When you do not have enough air you do NOT do well. Even I did not that night strong as a horse and healthy with one exception smoking. That was ultimately had to stop and quit before I managed to recover and avoid sleep apnea issues in those days. But it was no longer the one thing that kicked me medically off the road. I went blind around 2009, surgery fixed that but revealed still further damage to the body, primarily bone loss in entire T1 through T12. So that's that for me.

What I had in Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado was Hypopnea. When I did some flying and got above 13500 in a Piper Archer, I experienced the same thing with my instructor so it's part of knowledge gained over the years. I don't fly anymore because everything is out of date and I live too close to controlled air space both civilian and military. Not to mention the groupings in the TSA. Pervs.

Source link

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/sleep-apnea/diagnosing-osa/understanding-results

Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI)
The AHI is the number of apneas or hypopneas recorded during the study per hour of sleep. It is generally expressed as the number of events per hour. Based on the AHI, the severity of OSA is classified as follows:

• None/Minimal: AHI < 5 per hour
• Mild: AHI ≥ 5, but < 15 per hour
• Moderate: AHI ≥ 15, but < 30 per hour
• Severe: AHI ≥ 30 per hour

Sometimes the Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI) is used. This can be confusing because the RDI includes not only apneas and hypopneas, but may also include other, more subtle, breathing irregularities. This means a person's RDI can be higher than his or her AHI.

Oxygen Desaturation
Reductions in blood oxygen levels (desaturation) are recorded during polysomnography or limited channel monitoring. At sea level, a normal blood oxygen level (saturation) is usually 96 - 97%. Although there are no generally accepted classifications for severity of oxygen desaturation, reductions to not less than 90% usually are considered mild. Dips into the 80 - 89% range can be considered moderate, and those below 80% are severe.

 

Oh yea. Hop out of bed in the morning. Bounce on your slugabed childrens beds until they get out for school. lol.

 

I think you were answered in your other thread. The companies don't care. The FMCSA, did not make it a rule, they have just suggested that it is "best practice" for medical evaluators to screen drivers who have a neck size of 17" or greater, or who have a BMI over a certain amount for OSA. The medical evaluator is not required to, but will in order to not be subject to a lawsuit if somebody causes an accident.

If you use a CPAP device, you will then be required to show that evaluator that you are using it. The company will then be satisfied that the evaluator cleared you to drive a truck. More than this, it is information that is not useful to your company.

 

The severity of obstructive sleep apnea is measured by the Apnea-Hypopnia Index (AHI).
Your AHI level is obtained during your PSG sleep test.
Your AHI level coordinates with your apnea as follows:

• Mild: 5-15 apnea events per hour of sleep
• Moderate: 15-30 events per hour of sleep
• Severe: Over 30 events per hour of sleep

 

http://dotphysicaldoctor.com/commercial-drivers-manage-sleep-apnea-maintain-cdl/

 

If someone has AHI of 20 they would get on a CPAP machine. The CPAP machine will bring the AHI back down normal range of 1-4 AHI. They person will be sleeping with CPAP every night. Maybe if they lose weight they could get off CPAP but everyone is different.

I don't think a D.O.T physical doc would sign off unless the AHI is correctly back in the normal rang but we guess they can if they want to be on the hook for a lawsuit maybe.