I did my DOT physical and low and behold they clock me at 158/80 I think. They just give me a DOT card for 3 months. So I said alright, cool. But than I get a call from Watkin Shepard saying that I can't start training til I get my blood pressure down. Is all companies like this?

 

YES see your doc and get it down

 

This has nothing to do with a company. This is a part of the federal regulations and meeting the minimum standards to be able to drive a truck.

The standards are 140/90 or below for a two year card.. If you are on BP meds you still have to meet these standards, and your card is only good for one year..

 

sorry fozzy but as to the one year card for being on bp meds that is not correct if you are on med for high blood pressure as long as it keeps it under 140/90 you get a two year card (by dot reg's) BUT a company can over ride it and only let you have a one year card.

i get a one year card evey year because that is all the COMPANY will let me have but i have checked my doc (who can do DOT physicals) and could give me a two year card and every time i have the company DOT i ask the doc and have been told i could have a two year card but the company will not let me because i'm on the med's.

as long as your bp is 140/90 or less you CAN have a two year card BUT the company can say you can only have a one year

btw when i went to cdl school i had a two years card and at that time i had been on the med's for 4 years

 

so basically I have to find a way to get diagnosed with high blood pressure, how I'm going to do that with no insurance I do not know. Than get on meds. Than do my physical again. All the pot bellies I see and the dietary habits I see of alot of truck drivers many must have high blood pressure. I don't know how I got it, I been watching what I eat which was basically low sodium diet of months living off rice and beans. But I guess in the end the rice and beans along with months of not working I ended up packing on the pounds and getting high pressure.....

 

weight is not the only thing. and low sodium helps coffee doesn't help and as to the pot bellies...... when i found out i had hypertension 138/93 i was working construction 6'1" 195lb. so sorry no pot belly here.

you are going to have to go to the doc to get the meds plain and simple
$50 for the doc and the doc CAN give you free meds.

what is your bp...? and how often do YOU check it..... walmart for free

 

Flood, I'm exactly that physical description. I guess maybe the stress caused me to have high blood pressure. As long as I can get hired and truck driving school wasn't a big waste of time and money I'm happy. Just see a doc and get meds that is what I will do.

 

Your Doctor visit will be under $100. Ask for your meds through WalMart/Sam's Club where a 30 day cost of BP meds will cost $4.00/month.

Start exercising more, and you might bring the BP down to acceptable levels within a month or two, and then be able to get back off the meds. What I like to do is simply walk as much as I can. First thing I do in the morning, is do a brisk walk, before I eat any breakfast. You will increase your metabolism best this way, and you will burn fat...not the calories of the food you just ate.

Some days you are too busy and worn out to want to walk. That's okay. But you need to know when you are simply making excuses to not walk more, or make yourself do some simple isometrics in your sleeper. I even keep a pair of dumbbells in my truck.

:lol: I turn my hat around...its like a switch, and I become a machine. :lol:

 

Get the meds and then do what I do, double up for about three days before you go get the DOT Phys I've had high BP since I was about 19, no matter what shape I was in (family thing my doc says), and get a two year every time.

 

Go to the health food store and get yourself some Hawthorn Berry Extract pills. They are cheap and will likely lower your blood pressure within a few days without the side effects of the prescription meds. Mine shot up for about a year getting as high as 200/150 at one point. I tried one round of the prescription meds and they didn't work on me. My sister told me about the Hawthorn Berry and I tried it. My blood pressure came down in about 4 days by taking 1 pill twice a day. I rarely take it any more. I went to my doctor yesterday and my bp was 120/76. I don't have high blood pressure. I have told several people about Hawthorn Berry and everyone whom I have told who has tried it have gotten their blood pressure down to normal within a few days. I still keep some Hawthorn Berry with me, but haven't taken it in some time. I prefer Vitamin World products, but most any health-food store should carry it. You can get a blood pressure cuff at CVS or most any pharmacy for about $20-30. You can monitor it yourself as often as you wish. Having high blood pressure is serious business. You don't want to ignore it.