You need to be open with your doctor!

The next time you have an appointment with your doctor due to illness or injury, you should share with him/her the type of work you do and the physical demands of your job and be sure to ask questions about your treatment.

• Share with your doctor what your job responsibilities are.  Be sure to include driving and non-driving responsibilities such as load securement.  Your doctor will be better able to make an assessment of how your health will affect your job performance or how your job responsibilities will affect your health
• Ask about your treatment – what specifically the treatment will be and how it will impact your ability to safely drive a commercial motor vehicle
• If the prescribed treatment could have adverse effects on your ability to safely perform your job, ask your doctor if there are alternative treatments that are just as effective that would not affect your ability to do your job
• If medications are prescribed, always ask about the side effects – will they cause drowsiness, lack of concentration or decreased reaction time, for instance
• Inform your doctor of medications you are already taking including prescribed drugs, dietary supplements, over-the-counter meds and herbal remedies.   Any of these could interact with one another and cause serious reactions or decrease the effectiveness of your treatment
• Ask what you can do to improve your chances of a full recovery.  Simple changes such as losing weight, exercising, not smoking, drinking more water, improving your eating habits or getting more sleep can often make great improvements in your general health