The DVLA Medical test, CDT and an individual case study

Convicted Driver Insurance
Hi there

I have my ban due to end on 1st of august this year & have to attend the medical ... all my answers will be no as I don't want dvla to dig into my medical records with my gp as will be some hiccups in last 12 months. Anyways I have quit drinking , started gym & supplements to help liver etc ... one question on the form I've seen is date last seen by doctor for this condition??? What ??? Is that for anything or just connected with alcohol . So if I put down on there seen within last 12 months will it trigger to look further ... I plan on passing green on blood Test & have a private ready to send off
Many thanks

If you state that you have seen your GP regarding alcohol use/misuse/dependence in the last 12 months then it is likely to trigger further enquiries.
 
I think your lack of response may be down to you saying: 'I am going to not tell the truth on my form, now can someone help me.'
I, for one, always advocate telling the truth on the application form because it may come back to haunt you if they enquire with your doctor anyway... but also for the sake of other road users who are entitled to know that all drivers are fit to hold a licence.
 
Hi All,

So some more updates.

I filled in and returned the medical questionnaire.

As I said - you fill in the one that you actually get at the medical - at no stage does anyone suggest you have to have a second medical.

So, as suspected, DVLA wrote to me saying they would be approaching my GP to check that my 'medical issue' wouldn't have any adverse issue with driving. This confused me a bit(as I'm diabetic and I wondered if they meant that.) So I rang them and they confirmed it was checking about any alcohol issues.

(The reason I suspected they'd contact my GP is that you have to note down any issues or detoxes with alcohol in the last three years - well I was banned in 2014 with a detox in June earlier that year - despite the fact I've never been back and a good boy ever since). So basically, they're covering their own asses to make sure nothing else has changed.

My GP rang me to say they'd received a letter and asked if there had been any issues further, that they could see I'd not been back and what I was presently drinking. So, although I do drink quite a lot on Saturday evenings(ONLY!) - I don't want to raise any alarms, so I stated that I had a few glasses of wine on Saturday nights and that was it. She asked if there were any other issues or withdrawal issues - of which there are none.

So that letter is presumably on it's way back to DVLA.

Now, there is no reason to assume there should be any further issue, but what I will find interesting is if I get another year license, or the full 10 years? If it is another 1 year, this process will presumably happen again, but by 2018, my medical forms will all be perfectly clear of all issues that occurred in 2014 and I should get the full 10 years. What I'm rather hoping is that at this stage, DVLA will note that no further issues have occurred since the issuing of my 1 year license, so should give me back the 10.

Stay tuned.....
 
So the new licence arrived yesterday - and it's for a year again!

So it's clear that you need to have three years of no issues before they'll give you a 10 year licence. Despite the fact nothing has changed in the last year.

So next year, when it comes around to applying AGAIN, they'll get 'No' across the board.
 
White 43
Did your new licence arrive before your old one year expired?
The reason for the question is my one year licence expires in Nov but knowing the DVLA it will take them months to process the new licence and I will be without one whilst they bugger about. I know they say you can drive whilst hey are making their enquires but not overseas on holiday and I wish to go to the USA around the time my licence expires.
 
White 43
Did your new licence arrive before your old one year expired?
The reason for the question is my one year licence expires in Nov but knowing the DVLA it will take them months to process the new licence and I will be without one whilst they bugger about. I know they say you can drive whilst hey are making their enquires but not overseas on holiday and I wish to go to the USA around the time my licence expires.
Hi - yes, it arrived a couple months before the old one expired, but was valid from the date it arrived, so I destroyed the old one. Im my experience, they are quite quick to get new licences out and turnaround quite quickly.
 
Medical in two weeks

I have a medical in two weeks and did send off a sample to medicare to give me a baseline for CDT. I have had an e-mail today saying the sample was faulty and I need to do a new one so another week to wait. I have been drinking about a bottle of wine a night since by ban but have cut down over the last month. I have 15 days to my medical and am worried about the CDT. Any advice welcome. I really do not want another 6 months.
 
Re: Medical in two weeks

I have a medical in two weeks and did send off a sample to medicare to give me a baseline for CDT. I have had an e-mail today saying the sample was faulty and I need to do a new one so another week to wait. I have been drinking about a bottle of wine a night since by ban but have cut down over the last month. I have 15 days to my medical and am worried about the CDT. Any advice welcome. I really do not want another 6 months.

My advice?

STOP DRINKING NOW.


You have two weeks to the medical. Do you want to blow it?

Anyone who cares about getting their driving licence back should give it a good month of abstinence.

I'm sure you can abstain for a few weeks for a lifetime of getting your licence back. At this stage though, you'll be 50/50 of getting it back. Perhaps you should cancel and book a later appointment?

If you really are drinking less than a bottle of wine a day, you should be able to stop without major withdrawal symptoms.
 
Re: Medical in two weeks

My advice?

STOP DRINKING NOW.


You have two weeks to the medical. Do you want to blow it?

Anyone who cares about getting their driving licence back should give it a good month of abstinence.

I'm sure you can abstain for a few weeks for a lifetime of getting your licence back. At this stage though, you'll be 50/50 of getting it back. Perhaps you should cancel and book a later appointment?

If you really are drinking less than a bottle of wine a day, you should be able to stop without major withdrawal symptoms.

I have now thank you just wondered if there was any truth in the milk thistle iron tablets ect.
 
Re: Medical in two weeks

I have now thank you just wondered if there was any truth in the milk thistle iron tablets ect.

None for milk thistle. This may help your liver, but has no bearing on the CDT biomarker. As for iron, there's some evidence that being deficient in iron may cause false positives. Iron overload may make the CDT biomarker less sensitive.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10051465

"We investigated whether body ironinfluenced CDT serum levels by studying alcohol abusers
with or without iron overload and nonabusers with iron
deficiency or iron overload caused by genetic hemochroma-
tosis (GH). In alcohol abusers, CDT was significantly lower
in the presence of iron overload than in the absence(24.6 ⴞ
16.5 U/L vs. 33.3 ⴞ 11.7 U/L; P F .01), with false-negative
results almost exclusively in patients with iron overload.


Research paper: Carbohydrate‐deficient transferrin, a sensitive marker of chronic alcohol abuse, is highly influenced by body iron. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/public...cohol_abuse_is_highly_influenced_by_body_iron [accessed Apr 3, 2017]."
 
Re: Medical in two weeks

None for milk thistle. This may help your liver, but has no bearing on the CDT biomarker. As for iron, there's some evidence that being deficient in iron may cause false positives. Iron overload may make the CDT biomarker less sensitive.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10051465

"We investigated whether body ironinfluenced CDT serum levels by studying alcohol abusers
with or without iron overload and nonabusers with iron
deficiency or iron overload caused by genetic hemochroma-
tosis (GH). In alcohol abusers, CDT was significantly lower
in the presence of iron overload than in the absence(24.6 ⴞ
16.5 U/L vs. 33.3 ⴞ 11.7 U/L; P F .01), with false-negative
results almost exclusively in patients with iron overload.


Research paper: Carbohydrate‐deficient transferrin, a sensitive marker of chronic alcohol abuse, is highly influenced by body iron. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/public...cohol_abuse_is_highly_influenced_by_body_iron [accessed Apr 3, 2017]."

Many thanks I am on high dosage vitamin B tablets due to deficiency, and was also told to take Iron tablets. Reading other posts I am not trying to cheat and have stopped drinking, just off on holiday next week - never mind will save some money not drinking.
 
Hi All.

Another update - and another year on. I think I had the forms in March.

So after 2 x 1 year licenses - because each time I had had a medical detox in the previous three years - (Medical detox in 2014, so in 2016 and 2017, I had to answer yes)

Here in 2018, February, I am MORE than three years on from that medical detox.

The same medical forms came through and now, I could say NO to everything.

Despite me saying NO to everything - DVLA insisted they had to contact my GP again and after what seemed a very long time, they have issued me with a new license....:D

...For five years.:mad: (actually on checking, it's for 4 years, 9 months???)

I'm pretty disappointed as I assumed I'd be issued a ten year license, or at least an 8 year license which would be the remainder of a ten year license, having had two already.

Perhaps this is because I was a HRO? Perhaps this is because I've had a detox in the past? Who knows what the internal workings of DVLA are and what criteria they have. Perhaps when I get to 2023 and reapply once again, I'll get my ten year license. I will be very annoyed if they're still asking for medical information at that stage - some nine years later.

Anyway, hope this is useful to someone.
 
You may well find that what t,hey issued you with is a licence until your photo runs out. Remember you can drive until you are 70 after passing your test (and after that, subject to medical scrutiny) but your photo licence only runs for 10 years at a time because of the need to update your photo.
If you had submitted a new photo with your application then I think you would have received the full 10 year licence.
 
Good point.

As I recall now, I think I may have received a new license in 2014 or somewhere there around. Ten years from then could equate to 2023.

Thanks for the info mate.
 
I had a medichecks test done this week. At.the moment I drink between 13.8 and 20.7 units a day and have done for a number of years. The test was using a veinous sample and Medichecks sent a nurse to my home to take the sample. I was dreading the result but was very surprised to get a reading of 1.1%. I don't take any other medication and am pretty healthy but really surprised at the negative result. Over the next week I plan to stop drinking completely and will get another test in three months to see what the difference is. (Including £39 for the Nurse visit the test was just over £100.)
 
I had a medichecks test done this week. At.the moment I drink between 13.8 and 20.7 units a day and have done for a number of years. The test was using a veinous sample and Medichecks sent a nurse to my home to take the sample. I was dreading the result but was very surprised to get a reading of 1.1%.


Just to throw some stuff in the mix, I had a medichecks CDT test come back as 1.3%, which I thought was a bit low as it was 3 weeks after Christmas, and I had been keeping a diary which suggested it should be higher. Anyhow, I had done this in preparation for going to the docs for a CDT through him, just to make sure it was ok. I reduced units all the same, just in case, and it came back as 1.7%!!!
This was still fine for DVLA, but it does mean that I am a bit suspicious of medichecks results.
Just for information that may help some people, I arranged all my CDT tests through the docs a few months before the expected enquiry from DVLA, making sure the doc asked me how many units a week etc, so that all the information was ready and waiting, and no need to then go for a dvla organised medical. This meant I could prepare myself in my own time, instead of suddenly getting a letter for an appointment and getting stressed out. Of course one problem with this is that it is now permanently on the record, so if it’s too high, you’re stuffed.
I’m sure I read that some others have sent a medichecks result to dvla and it’s been accepted, so maybe I could have just given that result to the doc? Anyhow, I’ve got the full licence back now so it’s not an issue for me anymore.
 
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I have my medical in 3 days time. I have been abstinent for 4 weeks but after reading some of the posts here I'm a bit worried. I have mild liver cirrhosis so my liver processes toxins like alcohol slower. Does anyone know if you can delay the test? When I booked mine the earliest free date was 2 days after the 6 week deadline they give you in the letter and someone had to check if this was ok.

Also I will obviously have to disclose my cirrhosis on the questionnaire and 15 months ago I was in a rehab facility for 4 weeks. I was alcohol dependent then but not now. I'm worried these 2 factors will count against me. Does anyone have any experience of my situation?
 
So the new licence arrived yesterday - and it's for a year again!

So it's clear that you need to have three years of no issues before they'll give you a 10 year licence. Despite the fact nothing has changed in the last year.

So next year, when it comes around to applying AGAIN, they'll get 'No' across the board.
The medical questionnaire they send the GP in relation to alcohol & drugs is the M2 form, so maybe you need to look at it to see what the GP is asked, I agree with previous posts, not telling the truth can come back and bite you in the ass, the DVLA will be extremely thorough in the checks they do as they have a duty not just to you but the public as a whole
 
Hi - yes, it arrived a couple months before the old one expired, but was valid from the date it arrived, so I destroyed the old one. Im my experience, they are quite quick to get new licences out and turnaround quite quickly.
Can you tell me did you need to have a medical every year?
 
The forum has been great as an information source.

One question is the AUDIT test based upon the last years use of alcohol?

I'm sure I read something about the last 3 years use......?

Can anyone confirm.

Thanks
 
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