FAA Medical
mbea...@vnet.ibm.com
things and need to renew my medical. I'm concerned, though, about problems
coming from an incident two or three years ago where I had several bouts of
dizziness. They were very short in duration and occurred occasionally, only when
I would sit up in bed first thing in the morning.
I wound up seeing an ENT specialist who did every test in the book and couldn't
find anything wrong - he wound up diagnosing "benign positional vertigo", which
is more of a description than it is a diagnosis. Ultimately, I saw an allergist who
determined the problem was a by-product of an allergic reaction producing
inflammation of the sinuses resulting in occasional dizziness. Now, if/when I get
sneezy/sniffly in the spring and fall, I keep the Seldane handy and haven't had
even the slightest problem.
The question is how much of a problem is this going to cause with the FAA 3rd
class medical. As I recall, if you've EVER been treated for dizziness/vertigo, it's
an automatic rejection, subject to some sort of follow-on clearance by some
medical authority acceptable to the FAA.
Anyone know more about this kind of situation? What's the best way to proceed?
(I'm assuming honesty in answering the questions is a prerequisite - all I need is
to go out an kill myself in some totally unrelated way and have my life insurance
void because of some prior "white lie" in getting my medical).
Mark Bearden
(standard disclaimers apply)
Brian Tanner
|> I've been inactive in flying since the mid-eighties and am looking to get back into
|> things and need to renew my medical. I'm concerned, though, about problems
|> coming from an incident two or three years ago where I had several bouts of
|> dizziness.
|> The question is how much of a problem is this going to cause with the FAA 3rd
|> class medical. As I recall, if you've EVER been treated for dizziness/vertigo, it's
|> an automatic rejection, subject to some sort of follow-on clearance by some
|> medical authority acceptable to the FAA.
|>
|> Anyone know more about this kind of situation? What's the best way to proceed?
|> Mark Bearden
In the same vein:
While in high school (<1983) I had 2 or 3 really bad 'migraines' (the diagnosis
of a neurologist) that included vertigo and disorientation (inner ear infection
was also proposed as a possibility).
Will having this in my medical history keep me from getting a pilots license?
Brian Tanner
--
Brian Tanner
hb...@chevorn.com
Dr. Daniel R. Masys
> I'm concerned, though, about problems
>coming from an incident two or three years ago where I had several bouts of
>dizziness. They were very short in duration and occurred occasionally, only when
>I would sit up in bed first thing in the morning.
>
>I wound up seeing an ENT specialist who did every test in the book and couldn't
>find anything wrong - he wound up diagnosing "benign positional vertigo", which
>is more of a description than it is a diagnosis.
Most benign positional vertigo is due to viral infections of the middle
ear. It generally goes away without any aftereffects or recurrence. The
FAA medical folks know this just like every other physician knows it.
>The question is how much of a problem is this going to cause with the FAA 3rd
>class medical.
You will probably have to have your doctor send a statement to the FAA
medical people documenting that this problem is gone and was not due to
any underlying serious medical condition. Then you'll get your ticket.
A moderate hassle, but not disqualifying. The process starts by going
to an AME to get your 3d Class exam done...
Dan Masys, MD
ma...@nlm.nih.gov
Kerry Kurasaki
>In article <CDCv5...@sernews.raleigh.ibm.com>, mbea...@vnet.ibm.com writes:
>
>In the same vein:
>While in high school (<1983) I had 2 or 3 really bad 'migraines' (the diagnosis
>of a neurologist) that included vertigo and disorientation (inner ear infection
>was also proposed as a possibility).
>
>Will having this in my medical history keep me from getting a pilots license?
>
About the only truly disqualifying condition is diabetes that must
be controlled by insulin, and untreatable diseases, psychoses, etc.
If you have been treated for the condition and have it reasonably under
control, no one on the net can say if you will or will not be denied
a medical. You have to ask! That is, go to a aviation medical examiner
and try and get the medical.
I would like to make it very clear, that after having been denied a medical,
there are an abundance of methods for getting waivers. Medicals have been
issued to pilots with prostheses, have lost the sight in one eye and other
initially disqualifying conditions.
If flying is what you want to do, don't let anyone discourage you. Don't
self disqualify yourself due to hearsay, but get the facts straight from
the AME and FAA. Just go for it!
Kerry
Geoff Peck
(Mark Bearden) asks about getting a medical after having several mild
bouts of dizziness.
My suggestion is to go in for a medical, and when you get to that question
on the form, simply do not check an answer at all. When the Aviation
Medical Examiner (AME) looks at the form, he'll no doubt ask you why you
left it blank. Explain what happened. He may or may not ask you to check
"yes" and to write an explanation on the form.
I remember going in for a medical exam several years ago and checking
"yes" to the "fainting and diziness" box. The AME, who had been seeing me
for several years, asked why I'd checked the box. I explained that I had
fainted once in the last year. He asked a number of questions about the
incident, and said that it was most likely a combination of (a) moderate
stress (b) low blood pressure (which I have) and (c) MSG poisoning! He
also had me "un-check" the box. Apparently, the FAA wants that box
checked when there is a "clinical history" of fainting and/or dizziness.
Now, it's possible that Mark's case might qualify for "clinical history"
-- although since the doctor could not find anything wrong, it might well
be dismissed by the AME who's doing the medical.
If the AME does ask you to check the box in the affirmative, it's very
likely that the medical can be granted without further action. If it does
require review by the FAA, this can happen in one of two ways -- either
the AME will be unable to issue you the medical, or he can issue the
medical and then the FAA might _revoke_ that medical after they receive
the paperwork (likely only if the AME violated the FAA's rules). If the
medical isn't granted, in a case like this what is most likely is that the
FAA will require you to obtain additional tests in order to get your
medical.
You can always contact AOPA (1-800-USA-AOPA) and ask to speak to a medical
specialist for further information.
Geoff
p.s. -- Mark, and others, please, please limit your line lengths to 79
characters! (Resize that window before posting!)
Bill Coleman
> In article <1993Sep1...@usno06.nor.chevron.com> hb...@usno06.nor.chevron.com (Brian Tanner) writes:
>>Will having this in my medical history keep me from getting a pilots license?
>>
> About the only truly disqualifying condition is diabetes that must
> be controlled by insulin, and untreatable diseases, psychoses, etc.
Not true. There are HISTORICAL medical conditions that can disqualify you.
ANYTHING NEUROLOGICAL can be damning. I know. I've been trying to get my
medical for four years.
The think about diabetes and untreatable diseases or mental illness is that
they typically get worse, not better. With neurological problems such as
epilepsy, the course of the disease is less certain.
> If you have been treated for the condition and have it reasonably under
> control, no one on the net can say if you will or will not be denied
> a medical. You have to ask! That is, go to a aviation medical examiner
> and try and get the medical.
Good advise. Try to find a senior AME in your area. They can help the most.
> I would like to make it very clear, that after having been denied a medical,
> there are an abundance of methods for getting waivers. Medicals have been
> issued to pilots with prostheses, have lost the sight in one eye and other
> initially disqualifying conditions.
Hopefully, I'll be able to add my name to that list someday.
--
Bill Coleman, AA4LR ! CIS: 76067,2327 AppleLink: D1958
Principal Software Engineer ! Packet Radio: AA4LR @ W4QO
Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. ! UUCP: uunet!hayes!bcoleman
POB 105203 Atlanta, GA 30348 USA ! Internet: bcoleman%ha...@uunet.uu.net
Disclaimer: "My employer doesn't pay me to have opinions."
Quote: "The same light shines on vineyards that makes deserts." -Steve Hackett.
Dale Rogerson
|In the same vein:
|While in high school (<1983) I had 2 or 3 really bad 'migraines' (the diagnosis
|of a neurologist) that included vertigo and disorientation (inner ear infection
|was also proposed as a possibility).
|Will having this in my medical history keep me from getting a pilots license?
|Brian Tanner
I have a history of migraines and I am currently in the process of trying
to get a medical certificate. I have been getting about a migraine a month for
the last couple of years. I get classic migraines with a visual symptom and a
numbness symptom before the actual headache. The headache is treated when I get
these symptoms with cafergot.
On 18 Aug I went in to get a class III certificate. After informing the doctor
of my migraine history, he looked up cafergot and migraines in the regs. The
regs specifically require him to defer the case to the FAA medical certification
HQ in OK.
Repeadedly I called OK to find out what my status was and if I was going to get
a certificate or not. I have yet to get an answer from them. On one occasion, I
was told that there was nothing I could do. That I just needed to wait. On another
occasion I was told that I had been certified.
On 13 Sep, I received a poorly written letter asking me for more information about
my condition. I had to call the FAA to figure out that this letter meant that the
FAA wanted me to send them the information I had volunteer to them on 19 Aug, but
which was "not needed."
I plan on calling the FAA tomorrow to find out what my status is. The bad side of
all of this is that I am 5hrs short of soloing which I can't do without a certificate.
After reading all of this you can see that I still don't know.
I have been told that I will not be denied a pilot license because of a history of
migraines, unless it is treated with medication. No one yet seems to know if my taking
cafergot when I get the symptoms count as taking medication or if I have to be on
medication.
My recommendations are to take the medical BEFORE you start your training in case
something stupid like this happends.
Your other choice is not to tell them you get magraines, because you don't GET migraines.
You GOT migraines. It is very possible that you have out grown them. I got migraines from
3rd - 8th grade. I didn't get any in high school or college. In college I had more than
10 physicals for AFROTC, none of which I marked YES on the migraine headache box because
I didn't get them anymore.
Remember, your medical lasts only for two years, if you find
flying so stressful that you start to get a bunch of migraines, then you would check YES
on the headache box when you when back to renew.
So, I don't think that you need to be concerned. It is history. Just go get your medical
as soon as possible and then start your lessons....
dale
Rob Warnock
+---------------
| On 18 Aug I went in to get a class III certificate. ...regs specifically
| require him to defer the case to the FAA medical certification HQ in OK.
| about my condition. I had to call the FAA to figure out that this letter
| meant that the FAA wanted me to send them the information I had volunteer
| to them on 19 Aug, but which was "not needed."
| I plan on calling the FAA tomorrow to find out what my status is.
Such delays are quite typical. When getting my waiver for blood-pressure
medicine, it was four weeks from the exam to the letter saying "unable to
grant to a certificate at this time; send <laundry list of info>". You got
your letter slightly sooner.
It was another two weeks from the time I replied to the "more info" letter
until I got my 3rd Class from Okla City. Calling tomorrow (11 days) *may*
get you some good news, but don't count on it yet. The waiver process just
takes time.
+---------------
| The bad side of all of this is that I am 5hrs short of soloing which I
| can't do without a certificate.
+---------------
Well, so it goes. Others of us have experienced the same situation. Including
the week it took to put together the package of info they wanted, for me it
was about seven weeks from exam to certificate. And I was ready to solo in
the first week of that.
But the time need not be wasted. You can go ahead and start on your required
cross-country dual flights, and then when the medical comes you'll find that
you just zip through your solo & solo XC.
+---------------
| My recommendations are to take the medical BEFORE you start your training
| in case something stupid like this happends.
+---------------
I agree, and not only because you might get denied. Even getting a waiver
*granted* is likely to takes months (as I & others can testify).
The worst part is that the process -- and the *time* element -- of getting
a waiver is not widely understood by CFIs and AMEs, or at least is not
communicated well to students. Everybody in your situation seems to
individually go through this purgatory of "not knowing" alone. And the
standard "gimme more info" letter that comes out from Okla City just
scares people worse, since it starts out with "Based on the information
you have submitted, we are unable to grant to an Airmen's Medical
Certificate at this time." 99% of the time, it mean literally what it
says: "unable...at this time." If not now, when? Why, when you send in
the information requested in the letter, usually.
Hint: Let your regular family doctor write that response letter. The FAA
wants exact "doctor-speak" in the reply letter, and your doctor knows how
to write that stuff. And don't worry if some parts of it sound really bad.
My doctor listed a whole bunch of "risk factors for coronary heart disease",
including the fact that I was male. Well, guess what? Being male *is* a
"risk factor for coronary heart disease", and the FAA knows that. It's no
biggy.
It's too bad somebody doesn't publish a little handout that could be
included in every new student pilot's study materials, called something
like "The FAA Medical Waiver: Navigating the Process"...
-Rob
-----
Rob Warnock, MS-9U/510 rp...@sgi.com
Silicon Graphics, Inc. (415)390-1673
2011 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, CA 94043
Angelo Campanella
I went through the Blood pressure doneybrook a few years ago.
All the things that Rob Warnock says are true.
There is no way to short-circuit the process.
All you can do is to prepare for it.
Be aware of a few facts:
1/ ALL initial waivers come from OK city.
2/ All your Aeromed Dr. (AME) does is feed it information on their forms.
And he is always 'on YOUR side' to the best of his abilities.
3/ You can get an early reading on the required data and tests
(If you have a good understanding of your own particular condition)
from the AOPA in DC. Use their usual contact phone numbers.
They maintain a good library of do's and dont's, and will mail or maybe
FAX you some useful gulde sheets.
4/ There is a way to short-circuit the US mail by using Federal Express
(or the like). Once you and your AME have assembled the passel of data
(EKG, blood tests, your family physician's statement that you are alive
and well, that you responded nicely to prescription medication without
interfereing side effects and the usual AME exam results,
THEN ask that you be allowed to Send the passel via Federal Express or the
like directly to the OK City address that AOPA can furnish you.
5/ AOPA can also furnish a number you can call in OK City where the young lady
can answer whether they have received it, logged it in and maybe where it
is in the process. But don't bug them. A call once a week is not
unreasonable. But don't expect to accelerate them. The problem is the
backlog and the fact that they need to read every sheet of paper sent and
become content that all was done according to plan.
There is usually no doubt that you will get it (the waiver) at that point,
(your AME would have discouraged you if he knew it would not go) bui just that
the 'process' is like that. There are too many negative factors floating
around that make all the bureaucrats wary, what with bad publicity (midairs and
the like), malpractice, crowded skies, and general reluctance of any bureau to
take any risks by being hasty. So, take some simulator training while you
wait.
Get a flight simulator for you PC and practice some landings or IFR approaches
while you wait.
Take your wife out to dinner while you wait.
This is Clinton's "great society", you know!
Ciao
Ang.
Reece R. Pollack
A friend of mine just got his medical back after losing it for a while
due to disqualifying medical treatments. When he went to his AME to start
the requalification process, his AME wrote "not qualified" on the forms
and then forwarded them to Oklahoma for review. This is bad.
My friend spoke to the Powers-that-Be in the medical review section, and
they said that they'd much rather get a form with no medical determination
than one with a "not qualified" determination. Seems they'd prefer to make
a decision that you *are* qualified than overturn the AME's decision that
you're not.
--
Reece R. Pollack
PP-ASEL-IA -- Octopus Flying Club (based GAI)
Bill Coleman
[ History of Certification difficulty omitted ]
> I have been told that I will not be denied a pilot license because of a history of
> migraines, unless it is treated with medication.
My wife gets migraine headaches occasionally. She has (in the past) taken
Cafergot for them. Today, she just takes a standard pain reliever.
Her medical has a restriction that she can't fly while she has a migraine. No
problem.
So, looks like things should go quite well for your certification.
> My recommendations are to take the medical BEFORE you start your training
> in case something stupid like this happends.
Amen.
I found out I might have problems getting a medical the day I bought my Cessna
150. That was 4 years ago. I'm still trying.