DVLA Medical Team

Convicted Driver Insurance

gippa182

New Member
ok folks heres my story.

i got banned from driving 3 years ago, for yup you guessed it drink driving. got a 2 year ban reduced down to 18 months with the rehab course (VERY interesting, i think it should be made compulsory for anyone taking their test to do it!!), i then applied for my license bang on time, and got informed i had to have a medical, which i decided not to drink for, for 4 months, then failed it :S i then did exactly what the DVLA asked of me and went to my GP who asked me to go see a liver specialist, who said my liver is fine and healthy, and that the higher ALT and Gamma results are due to being overweight, and put this in writting for me to hand to DVLA (as advised by a DVLA Medical Team Advisor).

So I then re-reapplied for my license, and gave them this letter, as requested, they then asked me to go for yet another medical, which they would pay for, got to the medical and they knew nothing about DVLA paying for it, so i then rang DVLA who denied ever saying this. So I reluctantly paid for this as I had travelled over 20 miles for this medical at half 8 on New Years Eve Morning.

Anyhow, it's now March, and DVLA still haven't made a decision on me getting my license back!!! They have wrote to my GP for more notes, and twisted about how long they took to reply, now they're taking forever to reply!!!

Originally they said "we received the paper work from your GP on 20.2.10 and this will take us two weeks to work through" i then rang again this morning and got told "we received the paper work from your GP on 22.2.10 and this will take us six weeks to work through"

I feel like im just getting fobbed off here like, I have served my ban, and some more, and now i'm slightly annoyed!!!! Especially when they're saying I also have to resit my test!!!!!

Anyone else had anything like this?
 
This is ridiculous mate - can't they give you a cover note in the interim?

I have my medical next week and am petrified about it (soooo much to lose) - despite not having had an alcoholic drink since new years eve, and not having been one to drink much even before that.

Everywhere I look on the web it states that ggt, ast and alt are regularly way out and can be acutely elevated for no specific reason. Many over the counter medications and muscle damage can increase liver enzymes. I've not been to the gym this week for fear of failing due to muscle damage!

What a load of old tosh - having to give up exercising to pass a medical :mad:

Did you have to do an eye test as part of your medical?
 
Well I didn't drink for quite some time and still managed to fail. It is now my believe that they already have it set as to whether your going to pass or fail, I did a little test while getting bloods done at my gp, I went ok the lash the night before a blood test, and my bloods came back fine yet when I didn't drink for 2 weeks before, they came back a little bit raised. So my theory of I fail this time is just get total blotto the night before!!!

Yeah you have to do a basic vision exam which I did quite shit on, but I already knew I was short sighted so I expected that
 
Just re-reading over your post I saw this:

"the higher ALT and Gamma results"

If this is correct (do you have the results from your dvla medical?) then your results are inconsistent with alcohol related liver damage.

ALT activity is often lower or unchanged in people with alcohol indiced liver damage. It is AST that is often elevated. In alcohol related liver damage the ratio of AST:ALT will normally be 2:1 or greater. Even if AST:ALT = 2:1(+), other causes of liver damage cannot be ruled out. This is where the GGT comes in.

Alone, GGT is not a reliable marker of liver enzymes, due to it's unspecificity. However, raised GGT in combination with a ratio of AST:ALT of 2:1 or more is considered a very reliable marker in the diagnosis of alcohol related liver damage.

Re-read your results. If indeed it is ALT that is elevated rather than AST, then your results have been misinterpreted. If there are mild (less than 4 times 'normal' - so up to about 160) elevations in ALT and the ratio is of AST:ALT < 1:1 (i.e. ALT is higher than AST) then non alcoholic fatty liver disease should have been diagnosed - particularly if you have a high body mass index (which as you said you are overweight I assume you do have).

Just to confirm I do have an inkling of what I'm talking about here (not making it up as I go along) ... I have a phd in human physiology and am a qualified phlebotomist with a great deal of experience in analysing and interpreting blood profiles. Liver enzyme tests are not something I have studied, but I am somewhat useful at reviewing and interpreting the data data published in published empirical research.
 
i will have them just not to hand, but i can remember it was DEFO the raised ALT and Gamma that stopped them giving me the license, and one theory behind it was the Adious tablets i was taking whilst having my medical, because i stopped taking them immediatly after the medical when the results were coming back down to nearly normal. ALT should be around 45 from what i remember, if i can put my hand on my results later on tonight i will post them up here for you to see, however i know that they were more than slightly raised, ie, 214 or so for the ALT, and then once i came off them tablets, they dropped down to around the 55 to 60 mark. im going to try ringing DVLA again now to see if there is an outcome yet
 
Well according to the literature if ALT is higher than AST, this indicates non alcoholic fatty liver disease, not alcohol related liver injury. This should have been pretty clear to whoever analysed the results - and in fact very obvious if you are overweight.

If I were you I would take the results back to your liver specialist and say exactly this to him, and see if he agrees. If so, it is quite clear that the DVLA have acted dishonourably (and perhaps even illegally)?

I am hugely concerned at the way that these coyboys seem to be using liver enzymes to 'diagnose' alcohol misuse or dependancy. Although the DVLA might not, the medics they are contracting do have a duty of care to you to identify the cause of elevated liver enzymes. Only when/if it is proven that the cause is alcohol related, should they be able to revoke your license on medical grounds. Had you taken these tests for any other reason, the results would have been unequivocally attributed to non alcoholic fatty liver disease.

RE: the slimming tablets I don't think it would have been them because they don't appear to contain any ingredients which would affect ALT. However the change that you describe highlights another important point. Many blood measure is very limited in that it is only a snapshot of what is going on that that particular time. There will be some diurnal variations in ALT and AST, and they can be acutely elevated in otherwise asymptomatic patients - and then quickly return to 'normal' levels without any explanation.

It's all very dubious.
 
Re: DVLA Medical Team LFT results

Can anyone out there help me interpret my LFT results please? I had my ban reduced from 3 years to 2 and have applied for the return of my licence. My medical is due 6 April 2010 and I have abstained from alcohol and been on a low fat diet since 5 March 2010. I will therefore have abstained from any alcohol for 33 days when I take my medical. However, I had a LFT test on 18 March just to see what my levels were. Results as follows:
MCV 97.0
AST 37.0
ALT 43.0
GGT 19.0

The doctor who did the test said "your levels are slightly raised on two of these figures". Which figures, and do they indicate that I will fail the medical? Everything that I have read about Liver Function Tests says that the AST:ALT ratio is important (are my results indicating liver damage?) and that MCV levels don't drop for at least 3-6 months.

It is, as you can imagine, vital that I pass this medical as my new job depends on my being able to drive. If someone, ANYONE, can interpret these tests for me I would be so very grateful.
 
Hello there

right from what I can remember from my medical from 2 years ago them results are fine. However I wouldn't take that for granted. And don't be in a rush to get your results. I am still waiting for mine and I did it on new years eve!!!!
 
gippa182 said:
Hello there

right from what I can remember from my medical from 2 years ago them results are fine. However I wouldn't take that for granted. And don't be in a rush to get your results. I am still waiting for mine and I did it on new years eve!!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks, but do you know exactly WHAT the levels should be for the DVLA? This is driving me nuts trying to find out!
 
can anyone advise me,I was disqualified recently and blew 88 however i have recieved a letter saying that if i commit the same offence in the next ten years i will be subject to a medical-no mention of doing one when i can apply for my licence back.is this normal?should i query it or assume i dont have to do one?strange because i thought it was a definite for that reading.
 
Off the top of my head, no. But I will be finding out next week hopefully so I will post once I do.

I think you'll be getting medical this time round I'm sure anything over 80 is high risk offender.
 
alexandra21 said:
can anyone advise me,I was disqualified recently and blew 88 however i have recieved a letter saying that if i commit the same offence in the next ten years i will be subject to a medical-no mention of doing one when i can apply for my licence back.is this normal?should i query it or assume i dont have to do one?strange because i thought it was a definite for that reading.
Click to expand...

One disqualification for driving, or being in charge of a vehicle, when the level of alcohol in the body equaled or exceeded:

(i) 87.5 microgrammes per 100 milliliters of breath, or

(ii) 200 milligrammes per 100 milliliters of blood, or

(iii) 267.5 milligrammes per 100 milliliters of urine.

Two disqualifications within the space of 10 years for drinking and driving, or being in charge of a vehicle whilst unfit through drink.

One disqualification for refusing/failing to supply a specimen for analysis.

You should contact the DVLA and query it. All drivers who fall into any of the categories above will need to take a medical before a drivers licence will be issued to them.
 
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Hi just in case this can help anyone else,i contacted the DVLA about a medical(see my query above) and they replied saying that my one endorsement does not require me to complete a medical before regaining my licence.
 
Ok, just joined after reading all of your comments.

I was disqualified 3 March 2008 for 3 years. I blew 117 and was told I could do the drink driving course and reduce my ban to 27 months. My ban is due to finish 11th June 2010, but first I have to do a medical which I have booked for 6th May 2010.

After reading everyones posts Ive gotten myself into abit of a flap.

I never really drank very much anyway. But at the time I was banned I was on anti-depressants and had been out for a birthday and had drunk far too much. My GP at time accused me of being an alcoholic (this particular GP has been known for exagerating), but im worried he may have put this in my records. I did tell him at the time that I didnt drink very much.

I havent touched alcohol sent 1st Jan 2010 and havent been on anti-depressants for a year give or take. But Im really worried that they arent going to give me back my licence and that I will be stuck paying for a car I cant even drive.

Sorry, about my rant.

Has anyone that has had a medical recently had a happy ending?:)

And anyone that has a medical coming up, I wish you luck.:rolleyes:
 
Hi Loz

I had a medical recently - which I had been panicking about - but it turns out there was nothing to worry about. My license arrived in the post 2 weeks later.

Even if there was something in your gp's notes it wouldn't matter as they're only interested in the last 12 months.

As long as you are not, or have not not been misusing alcohol in the past 6 months you will be fine.

Good luck
 
Hi Gutted,

Thanks so much for your reply, it has made me feel 10 times better. Im still worried, but I suppose thats to be expected.

Fingers crossed!!!
 
hi, i have just had my blood test results come back from my GP.

MCV - 94.1
GGT - 18
ALT - 14

I never got a result for AST though??? Will i pass with this as i'm not sure if i should contact the DVLA and arrange my medical.
 
hi guys
im currently fighting to getr my husbands licence back to to revoked in 2003 still getting a no it will be 7 years in nov, we are seeing liver specialist at hospital also he has had 2 liver biopsys that have now failed my husband has been told he has a drinking issue this is not the case at all. how much more pain and biopsys must he go through.
Any ideas i have now applied for info dvla hold under freedom on info:mad:
 
Sounds like the important thing to do is find out what is wrong with your husbands liver. Forget the driving license/dvla and go see a GP about the liver. Incidently, when you identify the real root of the problem you will have the evidence to challenge the DVLA medical decision.
 
Ok, I had my medical on 6th May, which wasn't a very nice experience at all.

Ive been waiting 3 weeks and until today I hadnt heard anything. I have been checking the mail every day in the hope my license will be amongst it, but no. However, today I got really brief letter from the DVLA saying "Thank you for filling in our medical form. If you do not fill in and return the consent within 21 days, your driving license may have to be revoked or you application may have to be refused. An envelope is also enclosed for your use." That was it, no explanation, Ive signed the consent form, but I dont know why after 3 weeks they have sent me this letter. My ban is due to finish in 2 weeks time, so Im worried that I wont get my license either in time or at all.

Can anyone tell me if this is just normal procedure? Ive tried phoning them, but I havent been able to talk to anyone because their system was down.

Thanks
 
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