Just got my license back today after a five month long battle following my license being revoked on medical grounds. ie. I did not get banned for drink driving. What made it all the worse is that the GP who filled out the questionnaire from the DVLA made a mistake and 'ticked the wrong box' indicating that I was a psychotic depressive!!! Anyway, what's done is done, and I had to go through the process of convincing them I was not psychotic. In the course of this they asked about my drinking history and because I said that I drank a bottle of wine over a weekend, this took me over the 4 units a day maximum. ie. I was drinking five units a day - and therefore warranted further investigation. Amazing but true.
To satisfy the never ending questions on this forum about the medical...... here's what happened with me.
When I got the invite for the medical, I booked it for four weeks hence. I abstained for the four weeks. I took Milk Thistle for the four weeks. I think my liver was as clean as a whistle because I take Warfarin (blood thinner) which gets metabolised by the liver, and all the tests I have to check blood thickness indicated that I wasn't taking warfarin. ie. It was out of my system before it could even work. So, be warned, taking milk thistle may affect other meds you might be taking. I hadn't been drinking much up to that point, but I was determined to land on the right side of everything.
The medical. Usual listen to heart, lungs, feel the liver and stomach - tap tap on your chest, weight and height, go Ahhhhhhhh and that's it......... apart from the form filling........... And this is what is tripping a lot of people up.
First, I have to say that the forms being filled out require you to tell the truth. Lying is not allowed. And if the DVLA can identify that you've lied you're in deep do do.
What it boils down to is what your doctor knows - and what they don't. If you've told your doctor that you drink a bottle of scotch a day - that fact will come out. The questions on the form can be a bit hard to answer, so answer to the best of your knowledge. Eg. Have you consulted your doctor over the past three years in relation to alcohol. If you say No and it transpires that you did - 2 years and 10 months ago - that would not go against you because it's too close to call. But if you saw your doctor 6 months ago about your alcohol intake then the answer would have to be Yes. Most of the questions relate to whether you've been in rehab, do you take drugs, have you ever been dependent on alcohol. Once again, think about your visits to your GP and what is on your records.
Then there is a part of the form that your GP would most probably not be able to answer. For instance, When did you last have a drink? How many units were consumed on that occasion? How many times in the past year have you consumed more than four units on one occasion? How you answer these is a bit tricky. If you've been preparing for the medical, the last time you had a drink might be four weeks ago. How much did you drink on that occasion? More or less than four units? The reason they want to know is because they will be comparing what you say with what the CDT results are. If you say you haven't drunk for a month and the CDT is high - it's a pretty sure indicator you're lying. Likewise, do you say that you haven't had a drink for a month, but you normally have a drink every weekend? That would indicate you've been prepping for the medical - and they might investigate further if they think you're trying to fool the system. The one I think is the most tricky is 'On how many occasions in the past year have you drunk more than four units?'. What's a reasonable number of occasions? 365 too high for sure. Once is too little. Twelve suggests that you get pissed at least every month. For what it's worth, I said (Because I gave an oral answer to the doctor) 'Phew...... I dunno...... I reckon I could count the number of times on one hand'. ie. If you chirp up straight away with 'THREE!!!!!' it sounds like you've rehearsed. My answer was, believe it or not - truthful - once I learnt about the four unit rule. ie. I was on 5 and now I'm on 4.
Anyway, I've got my license back for one year. So I'll have to go through the whole process again.........
Fret not. Be good. Tell the truth and be wise.