Trouble with the DVLA form.

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Chris Hobson

Chris Hobson

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
First the Good news. I was diagnosed as a type 1 in May 2013, at the age of 54, and put on insulin. I took all the medical advice very seriously. I modified my diet, which wasn't too bad to begin with but had rather to much beer and chocolate in it. I took up swimming and cycling again and signed up for parkrun. By February 2014 my required insulin doses had reduced to zero. I was then re-diagnosed as probably type 2 and put onto Linagliptin tablets. Since then I have become fitter and fitter and will be doing a Half Ironman in July and the Hull marathon in September. Presumably as a result of my improved fitness level, I was taken off all medication around August 2015 and, since then, have been relying on diet and excercise only.

Now the not so good news, my three years is up and it is time to renew my driving licence. The DVLA have sent me a form to fill in and there isn't a box for me to tick for the current status of my diabetes. Now I accept that the level of improvement that I have managed to acheive is probably unusual but surely not unique. Has anyone else had this problem and if so what did you do about it? My solution was to draw in an extra box, write diet and exercise only and tick it. Being a bit on the cynical side I am expecting it to come back with a note saying that I haven't filled it in correctly.
 
Hi Chris,
put a covering letter in with your application and also a recent repeat prescription form so that they can see your medication, ie. no insulin.
Obviously DVLA with write to your GP for clarification.
Do make sure all driving categories are reinstated on your licence as well.
As you are not on insulin, you do not need to fill in the forms anyway.
 
Thanks for the quick reply Sue. Unfortunately I posted it before it occurred to me to ask here. If it comes back I will try the covering letter idea. I haven't had much luck with covering letters and the DVLA in the past but it is worth a try. Having re-read the OP I noticed that the first paragraph comes across as being really unbelievably smug so I'm sorry if it does.
 
Chris Hobson said:
Thanks for the quick reply Sue. Unfortunately I posted it before it occurred to me to ask here. If it comes back I will try the covering letter idea. I haven't had much luck with covering letters and the DVLA in the past but it is worth a try. Having re-read the OP I noticed that the first paragraph comes across as being really unbelievably smug so I'm sorry if it does.
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Hi Chris,
If you are at all worried then perhaps give them a ring.
None of your post sounded smug I can assure you. The way I read it was you had been misdiagnosed so you put your butt in gear and helped yourself to an outstanding result at the end of the day which proves it can be done, so a very well done on your part. 🙂
 
Hi Chris, I must say I agree wholeheartedly with Pumper Sue.
Well done
 
You've done amazingly well ! Nothing smug in your OP at all !
 
No medication = no form to fill in make sure you get all of your categories added back on. If you take anything other than metformin you have to tell them.
 
chili said:
If you take anything other than metformin you have to tell them.
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No you don't unless taxi, bus or lorry driver I think.
 
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Thank you all for your kindness regarding my perceived smugness. It's just that I realised that not everyone's condition is going to respond as well as mine did, particularly type 1s. As of now I don't have to take any meds and I don't have any symptoms apart from the fact that my widdle sometimes smells funny. I have to add that I can thoroughly recommend triathlons as a way to really good overall fitness. They are really good fun, the downside being that if you move up to the longer distances the training starts to take over your life. Also, at the age of 58 I wonder about how long I can keep it up. The knowledge that the longer I can stay this fit the less diabetes will affect me helps to keep me going. I also now have the physique of a man half my age. Unfortunately I'm still stuck with a bald, wrinkled old head that makes me look like a pink tortoise.
 
If they took categories away when you went on insulin (which they will have done) you should now be on car only (no C or D cats) and you will have to jump through hoops to get the lost categories back, they are not re-instated.
I am now back on standard license (with just car allowed). Couldn't be bothered to try and get any other categories as it means annual medical at the very least and I shall be 70 in 2 years anyway.
 
Aww Chris Never mind the bad wrinkly head you've done brilliantly! 🙂
I love reading how people turn things around so well.
And welcome to the forum.
 
LOL - no, real Type 1s can't get off insulin! We apparently often still produce some but never anywhere near enough to keep us alive. And makes a change for you to have been categorised T1 and really T2, as it's usually the other way around - people are told they are T2 and then when they don't thrive on a million tablets get accused of omitting to keep taking them instead of somebody saying Oooh, perhaps we'd better test you properly?

Very refreshing to hear your tale - well done! - cos you still had to do it !

'Widdle' ponging is usually a sign of an infection or something - have you had it checked out, cos I think you should?
 
Pumper_Sue said:
No you don't unless taxi, bus or lorry driver I think.
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Yes sorry you are correct i am in bus driver mind set 🙂 however they do state
  • Motorists do not need to notify DVLA if they are on any non-insulin medication unless they have suffered from 2 episodes of severe hypoglycaemia within the last 12 months, developed impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia or suffer visual problems.
 
Is that significant in your case, then?

I mean even non-diabetics can have hypos without any outside help from drugs - but 'severe' has certain definitions in terms of driving licences - it is a hypo requiring help from a third party. They do not refer to asking your other half to pass you the Lucozade - but if he finds you unable to function and has to try and sort you out himself without your help - or you are that bad, someone has to dial 999 - then that IS 'severe' in their terminology.
 
Even when I was using insulin I only ever had really mild hypos. I used to carry glucose tablets, they taste a bit icky but they worked really fast and the hypo feelings would go off straight away.

Regarding categories on driving licences. Does anyone else find the restriction on the size of the van you can drive completely bizarre? If I'm going to go into a diabetic coma while I'm driving and wipe out a whole bus queue, It's OK if I'm in a slightly smaller van?
 
LOL - but ALL driving licences, should you have only passed your test recently - are only for 'small' vehicles. If you wish to be a 'large white van man' - then it's another test nowadays to get the 'C1' back if you only passed a 'car' licence in the first place - so we haven't been picked on ! The date you passed your test is recorded anyway, so they'll know that you, like me, could drive up to 7.5 tonne and tow heavy stuff etc - when we passed our tests and only had them removed a few years ago when the 'car' test was altered to exclude such things.

I can still drive (should I want to!) our 7+metre long, almost 3m high, motorhome, anyway. since it's only up to 3.5 tonne including everything in it. So - as we've told men for ever - it's nothing to do with size - only weight (in this case )!! LOL
 
I can see that that makes a bit more sense. I passed my test in about 1976. I used to drive 7.5 tonne trucks quite regularly for my job but nowadays I don't have to. I can foresee lots of fun trying to get my licence returned to how it was.
 
Well good luck - but we all (I mean everybody else not diabetic on insulin) lose it anyway at age 70, and most don't have difficulty getting it reinstated.
 
Well I got the form straight back because I had only signed and dated it once and there was a second box that I hadn't signed and dated. I managed to do this despite going over the forms several times over to make sure that I hadn't missed anything. I rang the phone number on the letter to inquire whether to enclose my driving licence as there was no mention of this on the form, the answer was yes. I also inquired about having my licence returned to its former condition and was told that I needed forms D2 and D4 which I could get from the Post Office. My local Post Office didn't carry the D2 form but it was very simple to order one from the DVLA website.
 
Chris Hobson said:
Well I got the form straight back because I had only signed and dated it once and there was a second box that I hadn't signed and dated. I managed to do this despite going over the forms several times over to make sure that I hadn't missed anything. I rang the phone number on the letter to inquire whether to enclose my driving licence as there was no mention of this on the form, the answer was yes. I also inquired about having my licence returned to its former condition and was told that I needed forms D2 and D4 which I could get from the Post Office. My local Post Office didn't carry the D2 form but it was very simple to order one from the DVLA website.
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Bureaucracy, eh? 😱 Hope that things go smoothly once you have all the appropriate forms sent in - I know what you mean about going over and over them and still making a mistake, I did that with my passport renewal form last year and made two errors!
 
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