Medical just wondering

Convicted Driver Insurance

Drummuie

New Member
hi
2 years ago I applied for my licence back and was refused by my doctor who said I needed to have a clean bill of health for at least a year I didn't re apply last year as working abroad and didn't require a licence as I've passed my driving test not only in the uk but in Germany too so held both but only banned from uk I have to admit though I've never been banned like drinking then jumping in the car just next day had a 3 month ban first time and 2nd a 6 month ban but required to do a medical few years ago I was in a mess loss of house job family etc and drinking to oblivion now sorted my life out got house job family etc back got medical off doc in January who said yep go for your licence he's quite happy for me to go for it as its needed to take kids to school outings etc plus shopping as my nearest shop is 5 miles away I have a normal lifestyle of eat work rest and play I enjoy s a beer on a Friday or Saturday night do I have to change this for this medical blood test just wondering
Regard Davy
 
Drummie - I've done lots of research as my medical will hopefully be in the next month so hopefully this will provide you with some insight. They will do a CDT test to test effectively binge drinking (anything more than 5 drinks a day for the past 2-4 weeks) and a questionnaire. Abstaining or staying within the 5 drink limit should enable you to pass but some people do this for longer, mine has been about 7 weeks in total. The questionnaire will be a little different they asked a number of questions related to drink, previous drinking history and current drinking trends. I've been asking this on the forum how much the questionnaire affects the outcome - if you pass the CDT test but provide poor answers does this affect the outcome. As yet I havent had a reply about this so if you happen to have your medical before me please post as this would be a massive help, the DVLA medical questionnaire is available in one the forums in a thread.

best of luck
 
Hi
I too have to go for a medical, not for a while yet but I am worried about something. About three years ago I went to my doctor because I gained some weight and I told him I drunk quite a lot I remember him typing my responses into the computer obviously on my notes, would this affect my medical? I am so scared.

I am going to live as normal as I can this year and cut out drinking altogether after Christmas just hope my liver isn't in a bad way. Honestly though everything I enjoy is cursed!!
 
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.
 
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