CDT Test (Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin)

Convicted Driver Insurance
Could someone explain to me. what's likely to be my CDT reading after 2 months alcohol free. I know cdt has a long half life. Dont understand what that means
 
A half life is the time taken for CDT to lose half of its value.
The time for this varies according to which research you look at, but it is between 14 - 21 days.
So it depends what your reading was at the start of your abstaining, but after 2 months you should get a result that is fine unless you are a borderline alcoholic!
 
A half life is the time taken for CDT to lose half of its value.
The time for this varies according to which research you look at, but it is between 14 - 21 days.
So it depends what your reading was at the start of your abstaining, but after 2 months you should get a result that is fine unless you are a borderline alcoholic!
Thanks for the reply.. I have no idea what my reading was at the start of abstaining..I rarely drank b4 hand. But doctor said I was dependent on alcohol.. went for a CDT test in 2019 that's when they sent a DD2 letter to my doc..probably drank once a month or so some times less than that
 
From that, you should be OK. You need a score under 1%, if you get that then it shows you are not currently drinking hardly anything, or nothing at all. Some other things can have a slight impact on the CDT score and it is (virtually) impossible to get a score of 0%
 
From that, you should be OK. You need a score under 1%, if you get that then it shows you are not currently drinking hardly anything, or nothing at all. Some other things can have a slight impact on the CDT score and it is (virtually) impossible to get a score of 0%
A member posted on here not long ago that they had a reading of 1.0 after 16 months abstinence, and another thread was posted that even a tee totalers can show 1.6,so I'm confused
 
You may be confusing what people say, and what has actually happened about abstaining......
I think the only way a teetotaller (and by than I mean a real one, not a 2 week teetotaller) produced a reading of 1.6% is if they had a severe liver problem.
 
You may be confusing what people say, and what has actually happened about abstaining......
I think the only way a teetotaller (and by than I mean a real one, not a 2 week teetotaller) produced a reading of 1.6% is if they had a severe liver problem.
Thanks for the very prompt reply,though I dont know which member put on that a teetotaller
can produce a reading of up to 1.6,and also the person who achieved a 1.0 after 16 months,so looking at 0.9 now as the set figure to achieve is contradicted by these figures...
 
Afternoon

On the topic of CDT readings - other than alcohol, is there any other types of food & drink which should be avoided before a HRO medical.

I've abstained from alcohol for over a year but I've had a LFT test done last week and my CDT reading has crept up slightly from 0.4% to 0.5%.

Is it perfectly normal for it to vary from time to time?

CJ
 
Thanks for the very prompt reply,though I dont know which member put on that a teetotaller
can produce a reading of up to 1.6,and also the person who achieved a 1.0 after 16 months,so looking at 0.9 now as the set figure to achieve is contradicted by these figures...
Hi, I think you may be referring to my result of 1% after 16 months abstinence. I haven't had one sip of alcohol since March 25th 2019. Apparently sugary fruit and even a lot of bread may affect the results according to the DVLA lady who phoned me. I was classed as misuse and they gave me my license back with that reading backed up my GPs report and DD2 form confirming my abstinence.
 
Ben

Thanks for the reply. I don't really understand the whys & wherefores of the medical science behind CDT readings - its better to just stick with good old common sense and simply not drink alcohol.

My doctor has stated that it is impossible to get a reading of 0.0% because of the natural functions of the human body. Like you've mentioned, too much yeast can increase the CDT level. Bread contains yeast which is a key ingredient in beer - therefore I'm going to ration my intake of toast & lunchtime sandwiches in the run up to my HRO medical.

CJ
 
Anyone understand why you are asked if you have any tattoos?
I got asked also it’s coz apparently in the 60s tattooist used same needles on other ppl And can cause hepatitis and can affect ur liver function,am covered in tattoos thts y he asked me but has no concern as this generation is completely different with things like tht so dnt worry about it,if u hv tattoos tht is lol
 
Hi, I think you may be referring to my result of 1% after 16 months abstinence. I haven't had one sip of alcohol since March 25th 2019. Apparently sugary fruit and even a lot of bread may affect the results according to the DVLA lady who phoned me. I was classed as misuse and they gave me my license back with that reading backed up my GPs report and DD2 form confirming my abstinence.
After re reading this,then it seems dvla are happy with 1% as you have stated 16 months,This is a long time without a drink,and must be your baseline I'm guessing?
 
Hello honestman, i thought you said the DVLA always goes for the medical records now in other posts no matter what the % of the CDT test? Can you confirm this? what if you say no to all questions and it's below 0.9% as you say they want?

Yes hi, more and more we are seeing the DVLA contacting GPs with regards to alcohol issues and I think the real issue here is DVLA are finding alcohol problems behind most drink drivers and if that was not enough they are discovering anxiety&depression issues, it wasn't so long ago that once classed dependant then you would be with the DVLA medical team for 3 years now it's shifted to six years, the DVLA system is constantly changing or moving the goal posts to make it harder for drink drivers or alcohol related drivers to be signed back on the road, nevertheless the DVLA CDT medical is there for persistent drinkers, problem drinkers and alcoholics who simply cannot go a day without a drink, and therefore a refusal will follow but just to add as a nation drink plays a huge part of normal life for many and us Brits drink far to much anyway and it's common sense that DVLA are well aware of this prompting investigation if you are unfortunate enough to be in the DVLA medical process......and if you answer no to all questions and your CDT is low mine was 0.8 (as I did) they are more inclined to investigate because the people who answer no are most likely to have alcohol issues like I did .....
 
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Ok House, I have been on DVLA line almost everyday since 2 weeks now and I am glad to say they called me back today and confirmed that they have issued me a license, my GP wasn’t contacted as it wasn’t needed and I should be able to drive after midnight. Thank you guys but thank God more 🙏🏼
 
Hi again, so if you are classed as alcohol dependant then, once DVLA are notified through your GP by the way of medical report DD2 then a refusal will follow stating: as a result of your alcohol dependence we will only accept an application from you when you can provide 12 months of medical evidence, all this means then will be regular LFT checks, a last alcoholic drink dated with your GP( this is when your new medical licence will start from) another completed DD2 showing your drinking is under control( in your case no alcohol ever again) and possibly a no of DVLA medicals, I attended 4, so fundamentally then you cannot drive until all the medical evidence is gathered along with your GPs support over the course of a year and submitted to them for investIgation. DVLA have dependency levels that they catergorize alcohol dependence in, so for example severe to mild dependance and depending on your circumstances the longest DVLA can keep you on a medical restricted licence is six years, as they feel if there has been no relapse during this six year period then the offender is not likely too, however according to your dependency level a 3 year licence could be issued, once a period review licence (temp licence) has been issued then it's up to the licence holder to protect that licence by submitting 2 LFT over the course of the year again coupled with your GPs support to secure your next licence,along with another DVLA CDT medical, and the process starts again, for me personally my licence was revoked for telling a GP I drank 30 units of alcohol per week, on investigation DVLA found alcohol dependence relating back to 2006 which I knew nothing about, ( no treatment) I spent the next 14 months fighting DVLA to do what I had to do to get my licence back, submitted 12 months of medical evidence ( without this they won't touch you) attended 4 DVLA medicals with three CDT readings of 0.9/0.8/0.7 the first medical was obsolete and a load of trips to my GP to support my licence application, was also investigated for anxiety and medication I am currently taking, for this they usually send out an medical report M1 for your GP to complete, just for you to be aware when the DVLA write out to your GPs they usually send form DD2/M2 and either of these forms usually carry a refusal if you have NOT been to see your GP .......these forms then carry all alcohol questions relating to the licence holder, for your own interesting read you can google DVLA alcohol&drug minutes where you can pick up lots of information and changes to the DVLA system that are trying to be put forward, and of course any changes then DVLA do not notify any driver, during my time on this forum I have helped quite a few people needless to say and enjoy helping where i can because the simply fact is DVLA will not help you or give you this information and keep,you guessing along the way, I have seen many temp licence holder been revoked further down the line for admitting to a small drink and thus say they have to prove 12 months sobriety all over again sooo heartbreaking, so do follow the advice on the forum and answer honestly on your questionarre and I know this is hard but do take it from someone who's been there and by lying they just keep refusing until you tell the truth, that's why I was 14 months I tried every trick in the book to no avail until I went to see my GP and went through the truth of my medical history , and on a lighter note for those who have no alcohol medical history then you need not worry.... simply because there's nothing there to report.....
 
Yes on confirmation of your alcohol dependence by form of letter from DVLA then you can start gathering your medical evidence, your last alcoholic drink date is important to be registered with your GP, as potentialy this is when your period review licence will start from, do check with your GP for LFT although covid is present because I had to supply one in May and successfully did, told my GP its support and medical evidence for my next licence and will be submitting another LFT in October, so if you are a HRO DVLA will automatically write out to your GP regardless of a low CDT and what they are finding is that there is some underlying alcohol issues that caused them to drink drive in the beginning, usually for all alcohol dependence drivers (and according to your age the older you are the worse it is) then a 1 year period review licence is issued until your next medical takes place, and then another 1 year licence is granted upto a total of six years, if you are lucky enough to have a 3/5 year licence issued then LFTs are neccessary to show your medical evidence and that you are conforming to the licence conditions and I like to think of it as a guaranteed next licence because you have solid medical evidence and your GPs support to,support your total abstination, the date you choose is up to you as long as it's documented with your GP because when DVLA write out to your GP with form DD2 then your GP can correctly fill this form in and stating drinking under control/ abstinate where as now when the DD2 goes out to your GP the last known history he has is alcohol dependence resulting in a refusal, not all HROs will have this problem the problem will only become complicated if the driver has a known medical history documented with the GP, it doesn't nessacery have to be drink related it could be mental health issues or physical disabilities, so generally I wouldn't advise drinking behind Dvlas back for instance you could end up,in A&E through drink and this then would be reported to DVLA next time round prompting another refusal, yes on my last medical I admitted to I have to cut my drinking down, my liver function was raised to 170 normal is 50/70 it took 3 months for my liver to repair and was issued a licence on a score of 60 I had my last alcoholic drink date recorded and many more questions which tallied up to my GPs report and then my period review licence was issued only car/motorcycle I also have HGV but cannot reapply for 3 years as you have to be abstinate for 3 years, and finally when my licence was issued you can request a freedom of information for which DVLA sent me a 125 page report regarding all information between them and my doctors reports which you usually don't get access to
 
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