Drink Driving Medical

[hungrybear]

losing samples is quite rare - the nurse takes two samples at the medical and I believe only one is sent for analysis.

 

Losing the paperwork is more common

 

I dont think DVLA would trust any samples that didnt come from one of their per doctors

[lucy l]

thanks Hungrybear, that is good they take 2 samples. My mind is a bit more at ease now.

[milo9o]

Hi all...

 

I have been following this forum for a few weeks now, since I too had to attend a drink drive medical after failing to supply a breath sample last year.

 

Up til August of this year, I had been drinking a few cans of lager every night, and had probably been doing that for approximately a year or so. I changed shifts at work and pretty much stopped drinking apart from once or twice a week, where I would have the same few cans of lager. So for nearly four months my alcohol intake dropped dramatically compared to how I was before. This made me worry about the medical as I had no idea the tests could highlight alcohol abuse within the past 12 months.

 

Anyway, I had my medical yesterday (the 8th Dec). I had to fill in a questionaire before seeing the doctor. The questionaire asks about existing medical conditions, what prescription drugs (if any) that you take, your drinking habits and whether or not that you use recreational drugs. I then had to give a urine sample to take in with me to the doctor. The doctor looked through the questionaire and then asked a few questions himself. He asked if I smoke, which I do, and asked how many a day. He also asked if I smoke cannabis. I told him I had smoked it about 10 years ago, which he duely noted. He then took my blood pressure, normal. Then listened to my chest, normal. He took note of my height and weight. Then felt my lower abdomen. He then took some blood, and told me that the blood sample was the main part of the medical. He sealed up the samples to send to the hospital, which incidentally was just over the road. He then took my urine sample and dipped a sort of paper strip into it. He said it was for diabetes checks, but I assumed it was to see if I had drank alcohol within the last 12 hours. This too was normal, and he binned my sample and the paper strip. And that was it. I was told I would hear from the DVLA but he said it could take 4 to 6 weeks. I was with the doctor for about 5 to 10 minutes and paid £96, and there were 5 of us there that morning for the same medical. Seems its a popular procedure for some surgeries!

 

I drank a good few whiskies one evening a week before the medical, and as I mentioned earlier have drank 1 or 2 evenings a week since August. I didnt really do anything in terms of stopping completely or changing my drinking habits because of the medical. Im just hoping that my liver is pretty much 'normal' for a guy of my age and stats. I now have the worrying wait til I a) get my licence back from the DVLA or b) get a letter saying otherwise, and possibly not being able to drive until I satisfy the powers that be that I dont have a drink problem. Some of the experiences on here have been pretty awful, so I cross my fingers and wait.

 

My disqualification ends on the 17th January 2010, in 5 weeks or so. Im hoping to get the all clear and get back on the road after what has been a very painful lesson learnt. I have paid around £1100 in total as a direct result of my mistake, and no doubt will be hit with a rise in my insurance premium too, but I can definitely say I will never be getting behind the wheel again if under the influence!!

 

I will come back with my outcome soon... best of luck to all :grin:

[lucy l]

Good luck, hope you pass.

 

Did you know you can get an interim license if they are still processng your medical? My medical is the 21st Dec and my ban is up the 26th Dec so I have mine through so that I will be able to drive then. Just hope this medical goes fine and I don't have to go through the process of stopping driving again!

 

I didn't realise they could trace drinking habits back 12 months?! I thought by not drinking for 4-6 weeks should see you fine?

 

Let us know how you get on:-)

[hungrybear]

Hi Milo,

 

provided your few cans a couple of times a week is a few cans then you should be OK. Mains things tested are MCV (red blood cell size) and gamma GT enzyme levels, both of which are only significantly affected abuse, esp. binge drinking.

 

The 12 month 'thing' is a common myth and it's not done. It is technically possible though using some enzyme level ratios. In fact, from a hair sample you can plot the drinking habits of the person since the hair started to grow.

 

Less then 1% of people that take the medical fail it - which is remarkable given that if you took a random sample of people 10% would fail!

[jaser33]

Hi Fellow Convicted drivers,

Where to start!Having been banned for 24 months reduced to 18 if i completed the required DVLA course at the cost of £100.I`ve since taken the medical what i can only describe as a money making scheme for the appointed doctor and the DVLA,answer me this what sort of ligitimate medical last between 10-15 mins(i have had medicals in the past,not drink related and it lasted double the time of the sham i`ve paid another £100).

I`d love to be a doctor on £400 an hour!.

Anyway i have wained from the point.What i`d like to know is what business is it of the DVLA`s what alcohol i drink in my own home at night?

When i lost my liberty to drive,through my own stupidity i`ll admit,not only wasd it my licence i lost,i lost my job which in turn forced me to sell me brand new house,i then moved 300 miles to move in with my now fiance,finding work in a strange town where i knew no one was a nightmare and i found myself out of work for over 12 months only was ot for an old friend who gave me the opportunaty to move into a position of management on the understanding i`d have my licence back at the start of December ut guess what im waiting on DVLA still to get back with my results(3 weeks now).So i find myself out of work again ust in time for the festive season!

Realy what i`m trying to say is that one mistake is leading to such a major heart ache for myself finacially and emotionally for me and my fiance.

Any comments or thoughs welcomed

[hungrybear]

Hi Fellow Convicted drivers,

Where to start!Having been banned for 24 months reduced to 18 if i completed the required DVLA course at the cost of £100.I`ve since taken the medical what i can only describe as a money making scheme for the appointed doctor and the DVLA,answer me this what sort of ligitimate medical last between 10-15 mins(i have had medicals in the past,not drink related and it lasted double the time of the sham i`ve paid another £100).

I`d love to be a doctor on £400 an hour!.

Anyway i have wained from the point.What i`d like to know is what business is it of the DVLA`s what alcohol i drink in my own home at night?

When i lost my liberty to drive,through my own stupidity i`ll admit,not only wasd it my licence i lost,i lost my job which in turn forced me to sell me brand new house,i then moved 300 miles to move in with my now fiance,finding work in a strange town where i knew no one was a nightmare and i found myself out of work for over 12 months only was ot for an old friend who gave me the opportunaty to move into a position of management on the understanding i`d have my licence back at the start of December ut guess what im waiting on DVLA still to get back with my results(3 weeks now).So i find myself out of work again ust in time for the festive season!

Realy what i`m trying to say is that one mistake is leading to such a major heart ache for myself finacially and emotionally for me and my fiance.

Any comments or thoughs welcomed

 

 

OK, first and formost, once you apply for the medical, IF your ban is up you can drive until the DVLA say you failed - hopefully they wont! I know this for a fact having being stopped by a 'nice traffic kop'. Your are allowed under section 120 of the Road Traffic Act.

 

second. your drinking habits are their business because you are classed as a high risk offender, hence the medical. They have a duty of care to the general public to protect them from a high risk offender who is likely to re-offend. - Their words not mine.

 

third, speaking as a scientist - phd med chemsitry and former university lecturer - then I agree the medical is a money making [problem]. Why is it that 10% of the general public would fail the blood test BUT less than 1% of these so-called high risk offenders -of which I was one -do?

 

fourth - see item one and talk to your boss, provided you passed the medical and your ban is over you can drive. And even if you failed the medical you can drive until the letter arrives.

 

fifth - the traffic 'kop' (loose term) was gutted when dvla quoted statute at him in the police car as to why I was entitled to drive:lol:.

 

sixith - YES I am 100% sure you can drive provided your ban is up and you've applied for it back and got the 'you need a medical' letter. One of the few true innocent until proven guilty things!

[lucy l]

Hi Jasser,

 

I aggree and sympathise with you. I too lost my job, had to move home, move children schools etc. It affected ABSOLUTELY EVERY PART OF MY LIFE. I can't go to my kids parent interviews or take them to any after school clubs, take them to their dads.....the list goes on(we live in a place with no bus service or train service.

 

I can see and understand the purpose of the medical, but, like you say, drinking in ones own home is not a crime but what else can we do?? I want my license back end off. If i need to abstain from alcohol to get through this 'money making' [problem] then I will. The DVLA will know how much we all want to be behind the wheel again, and know we will pay to do this medical. Regardless of how 'right/wrong' it is.

 

My medical is a week today and I have not had a drop of alcohol for over 3 weeks now so am hoping I will be fine. And, to take the good from the situation, I have learned that I don't need to have a drink on a weekend to enjoy myself. I have had birthdays and meals out in the last 3 weeks that I would normally have had a drink at and tbh it has been really easy just to have a soft drink. This is definately a good lesson I have learned for the future, that I can go to a social occasion and to a pub and not have to have alcohol.

[jaser33]

hi Lucy,

Good luck with your medical next week,hope it all goes well but be ready for a ruthless money hungry Doctor not interested in your life or what has happened since you were disqualified.I sypathise with your situation as it`s similar to mine but another thing that got me was that untill i took my drivers course i had no idea i had to sit a medical and i can swear on my kids life i was never told anything about it.iI only took my driver course 3 months ago and was a heavy drinker till i was told of any medical.I`m not convinced ive cut out the drink in time to pass the medical.

[jaser33]

just been on the phone to the DVLA and the woman told me they have my results and have sent a letter to my doctorwhen i asked her if she could tell me the results of the test she told me she wasn`t a medical person,i asked if anyone cou;ld help me and she said no.All she offered was that i could phone my doctor and hurry things along.

Can anyone tel me if the DVLA contacting my doctor means i have failed? cause it feels that way.

[Vicky76]

Hi, I went for my medical on 30th Nov and found out today that I'm getting my licence back .. passed the medical .... YES. From what I understand from the DVLA Doc is that it depends a lot on how you answer the questions on the medical questionnaire as well as the blood test results. One of the questions was 'have you ever taken cannabis'. Well... im sure quite a few peeps could answer 'yes' to that. I ticked the 'no' box but said to the Doc I had smoked cannabis in my teens. He chuckled and said to me 'whatever you do - don't tick yes or they'll have you back up here for more tests. So I'm guessing if there are any queries on the medical questionaire they get writing to your GP. I was kept waiting for about 35 mins to see the doctor so I took the time to copy out all the questions on the med questionaire so if anyone's interested I will post them on here. Wish you all good luck

[lucy l]

Hi Vicky,

 

Congratulations on passing your medical!

 

I have mine on Monday will be glad to get it over with. That's interesting about the questions. Thing is, who hasn't ever tried cannibas? It would look strange if everyone said no surely? I don't smoke it at all, but I would be lying if I said I had never smoked through my teenage years! But you think I should still say no?!

 

The questions would be interesting to see, I think someone on hear said they are more bothered about blood tests?! I think the whole thing is a money making [problem]!

[lucy l]

Oh and one more thing, I recieved my interim license thru and it says my disqualification ends on the 26th of dec. Does this mean I can drive on the 26th or do I have to wait till the 27th?!

 

Thanks in advance anyone

[Vicky76]

Hi Lucy, ooo you havn't got long then, bet you can't wait. I've still gotta wait til Feb. grrrr! I'm assuming that what the DVLA do is check your medical questionaire and if there is any indication of illegal drug use or alcohol misuse then they will contact your GP even if your blood tests are OK - so obviously it is important to think carefully before answering the questions! Also I'd check with the DVLA about your disqualifcation end date. They wrote to me and so I called them to check the date and they told me it is on the same day of the month as you were sentanced for the offence.

I will post the questions tomoro. Good luck with your medical.

[lucy l]

I'm sure it will fly in for you. At least you know you have passed the medical and will definately be behind the wheel again in feb!

 

I am unsure about the date of the end of my ban. When I spoke to the DVLA she definately said that I can't drive till the 27th. But the interim license just says 'your disqualification ends on the 26th of December' So I don't no if it finishes midnight on 26th or midnight 25th!! I looked back to when I was sentenced on the calender and if it was going by me being allowed to drive on the 26th, it would mean I was sentenced on a Sunday!! I suppose if it is the 27th one more day isn't going to make much difference!

[Vicky76]

Here are the questions

- GP Details, Clinic/hospital specialist details

- have you been dependant on or misused alcohol in the last 3 years?

- have you ever had an accident/injury including road accident as result of alcohol intake?

- Has your alcohol intake caused a problem to home/family/work?

- Have you detox?

- Have you had seizure/fit?

- Have you had liver damage?

- Have you required hospital treatment for alcohol related illness?

- Has any Dr advised you to reduce alcohol intake?

- Have you had memory loss after drinking alcohol?

- Does patient use or has ever used cannabis if so how many days per wk

- approx date when cannabis used in passed 6 mths

- please give dates of any other drugs used

- Have you taken any illegal or street drugs y/n (list if yes)

- Are you on a drug treatment programme

- How many days per week ( 7 days) do you drink alcohol?

- How much alcohol in a typical day?

- What type of alcoholic drink do you normally drink?

- when did you last drink alcohol and how much?

 

Thats all the questions apart from som questions about your general health.

Hope that helps and good luck for Monday:)

[lucy l]

Thanks Vicky! Phoned the DVLA today and akthough they state my ban ends on 26th it means I can't drive till 27th! Is it just me or should they actually state that on the letter?! Never mind at least I know now!

 

I'll let you know how I get on:)

[chewie77]

Thanks for posting the questions Vicky.

 

I have my medical coming up in January & think I can safely answer no to all these questions except the one about having an accident due to alcohol (I crashed my car whilst over the limit, hence the ban).

 

Does anyone know how seriously DVLA take the answers to these questions? Is it safer just to say that I've had no accidents (are they likely to check?) or just be honest and say yes.

 

I've got no real concerns about the medical itself as I'm not a big drinker at all these days but I want to make sure I don't mess things up with my answers to the questionnaire.

 

Thanks

Edited December 17, 2009 by chewie77

[hungrybear]

Thanks for posting the questions Vicky.

 

I have my medical coming up in January & think I can safely answer no to all these questions except the one about having an accident due to alcohol (I crashed my car whilst over the limit, hence the ban).

 

Does anyone know how seriously DVLA take the answers to these questions? Is it safer just to say that I've had no accidents (are they likely to check?) or just be honest and say yes.

 

I've got no real concerns about the medical itself as I'm not a big drinker at all these days but I want to make sure I don't mess things up with my answers to the questionnaire.

 

Thanks

 

I'll I say is that I answered no - nuff said:D.

 

- my attitude was to give the dvla medical monkey no 'cause for pause'.

[lucy l]

Thanks for posting the questions Vicky.

 

I have my medical coming up in January & think I can safely answer no to all these questions except the one about having an accident due to alcohol (I crashed my car whilst over the limit, hence the ban).

 

Does anyone know how seriously DVLA take the answers to these questions? Is it safer just to say that I've had no accidents (are they likely to check?) or just be honest and say yes.

 

I've got no real concerns about the medical itself as I'm not a big drinker at all these days but I want to make sure I don't mess things up with my answers to the questionnaire.

 

Thanks

 

Yeah I was going to ask the same. Only crash I ever had was what I was banned for so obv drinking was invloved and the DVLA know this. So do they mean,'not including' or 'including' the incident?! The DVLA really do have a lot of grey areas.

[Vicky76]

Hi Lucy and Chewie

That's a tricky one? If it were me I would probly answer 'yes' to that question but write next to it that it was only the once when I was stop by the police and subsequently banned.

 

When I went for the medical the receptionist asked me to fill in the questionaire in the waiting room then the Doctor went thru the questions with me. The other thing to do is don't answer the question and then ask the Doc what you should put when he goes thru your answers with you. If you answer 'No' the DVLA might start digging deeper into the other questions you've answered as they will know that you have had an accident. I rekkon the main thing they want to know from the questionaire is that your not an alchy or druggy so don't worry too much!

[chewie77]

Thanks for the replies. It is pretty handy having these questions posted beforehand as it's quite hard finding out any information about this. Thanks again Vicky.

 

I guess they won't refuse to give the license back based on the answer to one question anyway but I assume they must score them somehow.

 

Also I'm wondering whether they actually know I've had an accident. I mean, does the court give full details of each incident to the DVLA or do they just provide them with the length of the ban and whether or not you're a high risk offender?

[lucy l]

Well had my medical today. Very quick 10 mins with nurse who took my bp height weight 2 bloods and a urine sample. She was very nice, said that they are not penalising you for drinking in your own home, if that is sensible drinking. Results would only come up bad if you were an excessive drinker. Also said she has had people in who were out the night before and passed the test! But she said I should be fine as long as I have not had a big binge in the last 2 weeks which I haven't.

 

Then went to the doctors office where you are lucky if I was in 5 mins. He felt my liver and spleen, listened to my chest and back and had to do a series of strange tests like stand with my eyes closed and arms stretched out in front of me while he tapped my hands so they 'bounced' if that is the right word. Then he held his finger in front of me and asked me to touch it, then my nose and then again and again faster and faster! He also checked my eyes, tongue and made me walk forwards heel to toe and that was me! So that is the worst part over just waiting on the results, although I will be driving Sunday as that is when my ban is up and I have a temp license for then.

 

Oh and the doctor also said that these things were routine and that they are more interested in the bloods.

 

Hope this helps and I shall post again when I get my results:)

[londonladd]

hi ladies & gents,

Edited January 10, 2010 by londonladd

[milo9o]

Hey everyone!

 

Thought I'd come back with an update.

 

My ban is up on the 17th January, just a week away, hoorah!

 

I passed my medical, and have received my licence back through the post!!

 

The worrying thing is, DVLA wrote to me to tell me I had passed but advised me to contact my doctor as one of my blood tests were abnormally high. I thought nothing of it as all I was worried about was not getting my licence back. Anyway, 3 days after I had that letter, I got another letter from my doctor advising me to contact them and arrange urgent blood tests as they had been contacted by DVLA too. Now I am worried!!

 

So it seems I will be back on the road in a weeks time, but I have something new to worry about! Does anyone know what they test for in the blood tests and what else is likely to be highlighted? I thought it was basic liver function tests only?

 

Any comments gratefully received...