Driving Licence Revoked

[kitches]

Hello fellow diabetics,
I've had notification this morning that the dvla will not be re-newing my driving license.
I'm 43 and have had type 1 for 27 years and driving for 26 years without incident and have a full no claims discount.
My control is ok but with the added bonus on having an underactive thyroid, high cholestrol, high blood pressure, and now early menopause, i have suffered from depression for a number of years.
The last 'serious hypo' I had was 17 years ago, just after giving birth to my beautiful daughter.
I was especially stressed and anxious about 6 months ago and had difficulty with concentration, anxiety and confusion - i filled in the driving licence medical forms out honestly and told them of all this - huge mistake I feel now- i must state that I did not drive at all when the symptoms were at their worst. I saw a neurologist who told me at the time that I was suffering from stress.
The DVLA has not given me any explanation as to why? and will not accept any form of communication from me, I have been to see my GP today who is also bemused and will look into it?
TOTALLY GUTTED - I really need the independence that my car had given me for so many years.
Has anyone any experience of a similar situation or advice... thanks Sarah x

 

[Osidge]

Hi Kitches

Welcome to the forum. I am sorry to hear that your license has not been renewed and it looks likely that your honesty on the renewal form has caused this. Have you discussed the revocation with your Healthcare Professional? They may be able to provide evidence that will get the DVLA to change its decision.

Regards

Doug

 

[robphpps]

sorry to hear you lost your license.it is taking away your independance.i couldnt believe the dvla are doing this to us diabetics. i constantly check my levels before driving and stop off every hour to keep eye on them, which i think many of us do.the dvla are picking on us to a degree.why should we lose the right to drive.do the dvla think that we all incompetent and dont know how to deal with our illness!

 

[W.olly]

Hi Sarha, sorry to hear this, puts a real downer on things dont it, try and look on the good side, if there is one :roll: , I am in the process also with the DVLA, i have just had laser in both eyes for Proliferative Retinopathy, there are sending me medical papers to fill in and i am waiting for a test date from them, If i loose mine i am a bit stuffed as i have been a driver for work for near 17 years and still am, i am off work for the near futre on sick as i can see to drive safely.

From what i have heard a lot of Diabetics will loose there licence in the near future, dont know why they are doingit yet but still....what a bunch of

Hope they see sence, i wonder if bosses at DVLA give theres up with there big posh cars if they are diabetic, i heard that if you have a hypo then you loose your licence, what a load of crock, i dont know a diabetic that hasnt had one in the last 6 months. i always know when i am going to get one, i can tell you when my sugars are between 3 and 4 and that for me is nowhere near loosing it.

All that will happen is nobody will tell the doc/nurse on the check ups that thye have had a hypo.

 

[marti]

i am so sorry to hear hun

 

[Otenba]

How frustrating for you. All this news recently of them being weird about driving licences had me very worry that I wasn't going to get mine back. I have only been driving for 3 years with no problems too. I got the okay and my licence literately arrived yesterday.

Maybe it's because I've only been driving for 3 years and not had an incident in that time? Who knows?
I hope you get some answers soon.

 

[zibi1]

I understand that rules for people with diabetes are only tougher for what concerns hypos. If you had 2 hypos which required paramedic assistance then your licence will be revoked. As far as other conditions are concerned (i.e. visual impairment), I don't think nothing has changed after the EU directive. Am I wrong?

 

[IrishJoe]

This sort of rubbish is why I won't waste time or money applying for one. Even if I get one higher insurance and having to reknew every 3 years is silly!

 

[jopar]

You haven't actually lost your driving licence due to your diabetes..

You actually lost it due to this

I was especially stressed and anxious about 6 months ago and had difficulty with concentration, anxiety and confusion - i filled in the driving licence medical forms out honestly and told them of all this I saw a neurologist

To be more specific, you admitted to suffering from Concentration and Confusion to a degree that you had a referral to a neurologist...

I don't mean to sound harsh, but no medical board is going to issue a driving licence!

As to the new diabetic driving regulations, the only harshness in them is the nightime hypo's which the department of Transport is looking into this side of things with the EC so this is likely to change..

But the rest no they aren't harsh at all... Sorry but if you need medical internvention of 2 hypo's when you are awake over the specified period of time, then it's likely due to lack of hypo awareness and/or very badly controlled diabetes.. So you shouldn't be driving anyway..

I know that I sound harsh, but I have had 'The phone' call to inform me that there has been an accident! thankfully my daughter was very shaken but not hurt, her then boyfriend suffered minor injuries and rather shaken.. He managed to shove my daughter out the way, and when the car hit him he it shunted him in the direction he was already going so limited the actual impact...

The female driver, lived about a mile or so away from where the accident occured... When she set out she decided that she couldn't be bothered to test her BG as she was only driving about 2 miles to her friends house! If she had bothered to test she would have found herself hypo and unfit to drive..

And she was done in court for driving without due care and attention..

 

[zibi1]

Fully agree with Jopar

 

[lauren_gee_x]

Its rubbish that youve lodt your license. Not wanting to hijack your thread hut does snyine think.it would be pointless for me to apply for my license noe ?xx

 

[AMBrennan]

To be more specific, you admitted to suffering from Concentration and Confusion to a degree that you had a referral to a neurologist...

That is not correct; she said that she suffered from concentration and confusion, AND saw a neurologist. You simply fabricated a causal link; this fallacy could, of course, have contributed to the rejection.

 

[W.olly]

On the taking a BG reading before you drive, WHY, i have drove 17 years and never done this, i have driven all things from a bicycle to a excavator and LGV vehicles and still drive delivering LPG gas, i dont know if its just me, very unlikley, but i ALWAYS carry either choclaye/biscuits/glucose tablets with me when driving. I always know when i am going low on the BG, in plenty of time to do something before i get out of control. Dont have many hypo`s but i have had them at night and awoke every time, and since when do you go driving in your sleep for them to take away your licence.

It was said on the on a medical discusson about diabetes that the longer you have diabetes the less likely you are to notice going to have a hypo, what a load of nonsence.

 

[AMBrennan]

On the taking a BG reading before you drive,[...]I always know when i am going low on the BG

And how do you know this without testing? By definition, you can't know if you don't know when you're going low [i.e. to show that you have hypo unawareness a single unnoticed hypo is sufficient; to show that you don't have hypo unawareness you'd need weeks of continuous BG measurements]

 

[phoenix]

Dont have many hypo`s but i have had them at night and awoke every time, and since when do you go driving in your sleep for them to take away your licence.

If you wake up and can treat yourself ie you don't need assistance then it's not a 'serious hypo' so shouldn't lead to the loss of a licence. If you don't notice them ie don't wake up and your liver helps you out to raise your levels, then pragmatically, nobody including you , will normally know. (unless you check with a continuous monitor)

I think that most of the evidence shows a decrease in awareness can happen over time but it's relative, If you normally have very high levels, this may not be a problem.
Personally, I try to keep very tight control with an HbA1c in the 5s so this is a definite risk for me . If I've had a few days with a lot of hypos, it's noticeable that I don't recognise them until very much lower .When that happens I have to test a lot more frequently, take a bit less insulin and run my levels a bit higher for a while. For me, this helps reset the 'hypostat' .

.

 

[W.olly]

On the taking a BG reading before you drive,[...]I always know when i am going low on the BG

And how do you know this without testing? By definition, you can't know if you don't know when you're going low [i.e. to show that you have hypo unawareness a single unnoticed hypo is sufficient; to show that you don't have hypo unawareness you'd need weeks of continuous BG measurements]

I know when my BG gets to around 3.5 by the feeling i get, not light headed as such or anything that holds me back from anything, when in this situation i have a biscuit or what ever i am carrying and 10 mins and all is good. I know my levels as i check them when this happens on occasions and its always the same, the worst are at night but thats few and far between. My Hab1c is 8, a bit high yes.


Still dont understand why if a night time hypo and you loose your licence :?

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Still dont understand why if a night time hypo and you loose your licence :?

I thought it was two hypos requiring 3rd party help whether day or night is not the point it is if you have hypos that you dont see coming that you need someone else to get you out of.

As far as I have read it if you are well controlled and have good hypo awareness you need not be concerned, if you dont have good hypo awareness then you need to worry and rightly so IMO

 

[copepod]

W.olly - why test your blood sugar before driving? Because that's what the DVLA tells you in the information they send out to people treated with insulin with time limited licences.

 

[W.olly]

W.olly - why test your blood sugar before driving? Because that's what the DVLA tells you in the information they send out to people treated with insulin with time limited licences.

Oh i didnt know that, i never read anyhting i am sent anyway realy.

But how many actualy do though ? , as said i have been driving for 17 years as leisure and work, so i have done a fair bit of driving and never made a point of checking before i set off. maybe i should start.

 

[copepod]

Yes, you should start immediately. And check every 2 hours on a long journey.

I can't speak for everyone, bu I always check before driving my own car or any of works tractors, although never on public roads, or workds Land Rover on roads or tracks.