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Dvla/dvsa lisences

martincp

martincp

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I have been diagnosed type 2 for about three years now and my readings have been up and down sometimes and good on others.

The thing I’m trying to find out about is this:

The dvsa/dvla say that as I have 2 vocational lisences (hgv & psv)

I need to be testing every 2 hours. This proves very difficult and time consuming when you have to keep stopping and testing and recording results. A cgm monitor would be a brilliant leap forward but I have been told that this is not possible, as they can only be prescribed by a diabetes doctor at the hospital. I have thought about purchasing one myself but they are extremely costly and well above my budget, both for the machine and the sensors. Any views?
 
Possibly not accepted by the dvla as a blood glucose test, I can't find anything in their regulations.
 
Seacrow said:
Possibly not accepted by the dvla as a blood glucose test, I can't find anything in their regulations.
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Dvsa do not stipulate what test method is used, I just think they should be available to people in that situation.
 
CGM devices do not actually measure blood glucose - they infer it from mesurements on interstitial fluid.

If a blood glucose measurement is required - they do not provide it.

Why do you need a blood test ? Are you on insulin or a medication like glicazide which would make you prone to instances of hypoglyemia ?
 
I bought an Abbot Freestyle Libre wireless glucose meter 12 months ago. It costs me £26 every 2 weeks but it is worth it. You can take your readings while you are driving and it shows you the trend, up or down. An absolutely invaluable device to fight the diabetes and live a normal life.
 
@martincp You should be aware that the DVLA does not consider CGMs, or flash glucose monitors such as the libre, to be sufficient testing.

As for getting a CGM prescribed, that is extremely unlikely to happen - not impossible, but it only tends to happen in very extreme circumstances, normally where there are aggravating conditions.
 
I think it is more about knowing if your going low, I use a daxcom but I am type 1. Normally when the daxcom alarms I am going low not had a miss reading yet. In the case of type 2 do you really need to test that often it is not like your injecting to much insulin to cause a low.
 
You must be on insulin as if treated by pills or diet there is no requirement to tell the dvla or to test the blood every 2 hours. But stopping for 2 minutes, at most, every 2 hours when driving, does no seem that much of an inconvenience to me. I have to do this myself.
 
You are only required to test four times a day, this could be done when you are waiting at a delivery or when you are taking a legal break. This comprises of a test when you get up and two during the day and one at night this is because if you are stopped in a DVLA check they can ask to see your readings as you are on their database as being a diabetic vocational licence holder.
 
@martincp do you manage tour diabetes with medication which will directly lower your BG to the level you may suffer from hypos such as insulin? If so, the rules from the DVLA (I do not know about DVSA) are very clear for a standard car driving license: I would expect a HGV license to be at least as strict. You need to test your BG at least every 2 hours. If you do not do so, you are driving illegally and are not insured should you have an accident.
As others have mentioned, this does not include CGM ( such as Dexcom) or Flash monitors (such as Libre) as the readings are delayed and not considered as accurate as finger pricks.
If you have informed the DVLA of your condition, this is explained by the covering letter for your license reallocation (which most people with diabetes treated by insulin must do every 3 years)
 
@Peteroneill @Derbysocks OP is on gliclazide, a medication which can cause hypos. Therefore, they are required to test at least as rigorously as if they were on insulin. So yes, it is necessary to test every two hours whilst driving, and if you are not doing so, not only are you driving illegally, as @helensaramay has already pointed out, but you are also potentially putting other people at risk.
 
lasseliten1949 said:
I bought an Abbot Freestyle Libre wireless glucose meter 12 months ago. It costs me £26 every 2 weeks but it is worth it. You can take your readings while you are driving and it shows you the trend, up or down. An absolutely invaluable device to fight the diabetes and live a normal life.
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still to do finger prick test if readings required before driving so always double check if reading on the sensor looks low
 
lasseliten1949 said:
I bought an Abbot Freestyle Libre wireless glucose meter 12 months ago. It costs me £26 every 2 weeks but it is worth it. You can take your readings while you are driving and it shows you the trend, up or down. An absolutely invaluable device to fight the diabetes and live a normal life.
Click to expand...
How do you do this for £26 per fortnight? I have got a Libre and with tax relief it’s just under £50 for a sensor which lasts 14 days. Love to hear if you’ve found a cheaper supplier
 
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This can prove difficulty to comply with, as some gp's do not feel that type 2s need to test ,or at least not frequently. If you travel a lot, you may need to ask your gp for more test strips, also ,even planning a journey , holdups can occur and some roads don't have convient stopping places.eg. between motorway junctions. It is quite difficult, and whilst we all want to be safe we don't want to " run high" just to ensure we don't go below 5 . high readings affect judgement too, and a large meal before travelling isn't always wise.Good luck, carry lots of snacks ( where you can reach them) and I hope this doesn't take the joy out of driving for people.
 
Suppose you drive for 8 hours in a day. You'll have to test 3 times during those 8 hours if you test every 2 hours. You will have to have at least one stop for a break anyway, which leaves you with 2 extra stops due to diabetes. Testing takes half a minute, no need for recording anything, the machine does that for you. Add another 3 minutes for parking and going again and you'll lose 7 minutes of work due to diabetes on an 8 hour drive.
Although I agree that having to stop to test is very annoying.
 
I also hold and drive HGV or LGV as know now, I informed DVLA when first diagnosed type 2 and that was all that was required, you only need to test when on insulin or the other meds mentioned.
 
Derbysocks said:
You must be on insulin as if treated by pills or diet there is no requirement to tell the dvla or to test the blood every 2 hours. But stopping for 2 minutes, at most, every 2 hours when driving, does no seem that much of an inconvenience to me. I have to do this myself.
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Unfortunately you are incorrect. Some medication such as Gliclazide can (allegedly) cause rapid drops in BG levels which can affect your ability to drive. I have no medical qualifications but the DVLA website is quite clear on the need for regular testing in some cases, especially for the holders of Commercial licences. I test every two hours - nobody wants drivers with Diabetes to be considered a risk.
 
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