Well, I flunked my medical, now what ?

Great, I flunked my medical.

Actually, this came close to happening 4 years ago. I tested bad on
blood sugar (I don't know if that means too high or too low). Last time,
I passed it after taking a new blood test after fasting. This time,
the (12 hour) fast didn't help. Last time, I got advised to loose 20lbs
to clear it up, I did, it did, and I have maintained that weight since,
although clearly it didn't help.

So now, official notice is headed for Oklahoma, and now I get to have
extra hassle passing my medical forever. I'm losing another 20lbs, which
I suspect will fix the "issue" again.

How do I get my license back quickly (as possible) ? I have an airplane
that is now a brick. Tell you what, I don't really give a damm if I have
type 2 diabetes. I'm old, something is bound to get me sooner or later.
I care about not being able to fly, that is a definite drop in life
quality.

Anyone been through this ?

Scott Moore wrote:

Great, I flunked my medical.

Actually, this came close to happening 4 years ago. I tested bad on
blood sugar (I don't know if that means too high or too low). Last time,
I passed it after taking a new blood test after fasting. This time,
the (12 hour) fast didn't help. Last time, I got advised to loose 20lbs
to clear it up, I did, it did, and I have maintained that weight since,
although clearly it didn't help.

So now, official notice is headed for Oklahoma, and now I get to have
extra hassle passing my medical forever. I'm losing another 20lbs, which
I suspect will fix the "issue" again.

How do I get my license back quickly (as possible) ? I have an airplane
that is now a brick. Tell you what, I don't really give a damm if I have
type 2 diabetes. I'm old, something is bound to get me sooner or later.
I care about not being able to fly, that is a definite drop in life
quality.

Anyone been through this ?

You will not get your medical until a doctor can attest that your Type II is
controlled by either diet, medication, or a combination of the two. Your
A1C reading also needs to be within the range allowed by the FAA (quite
loose, actually).

Had you planned this right, you could have avoided a denial. Now, it will
take some time to pick up the pieces, which usually can be done.

I highly recommend you seek the advice of AOPA's aeromedical folks before
you go any further with the FAA or a medical examiner. In the meantime, you
might want to get started with an endocrinologist (specialist who treats
diabetes).

You may not care about having Type II but the FAA does because, left
uncontrolled, you can pass out while flying.

In a previous article, said:
How do I get my license back quickly (as possible) ? I have an airplane
that is now a brick. Tell you what, I don't really give a damm if I have
type 2 diabetes. I'm old, something is bound to get me sooner or later.
I care about not being able to fly, that is a definite drop in life
quality.

Anyone been through this ?

Yup. Cured it by going to a low carb diet. Haven't lost any weight, but
it's got my blood sugar steady as a rock. Get a blood sugar tester, and
watch. I used to go between 45 and 300 in a day, now I go between 70 and
110.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
The superior pilot uses his superior judgement to avoid situations in which he
has to demonstrate his superior skill.

Scott Moore wrote:

Great, I flunked my medical.

Actually, this came close to happening 4 years ago. I tested bad on
blood sugar (I don't know if that means too high or too low). Last time,
I passed it after taking a new blood test after fasting. This time,
the (12 hour) fast didn't help. Last time, I got advised to loose 20lbs
to clear it up, I did, it did, and I have maintained that weight since,
although clearly it didn't help.

So now, official notice is headed for Oklahoma, and now I get to have
extra hassle passing my medical forever. I'm losing another 20lbs, which
I suspect will fix the "issue" again.

How do I get my license back quickly (as possible) ? I have an airplane
that is now a brick. Tell you what, I don't really give a damm if I have
type 2 diabetes. I'm old, something is bound to get me sooner or later.
I care about not being able to fly, that is a definite drop in life
quality.

I don't know the answer to your question, but if I was an AOPA member
I'd be on the phone to them pronto. And if I wasn't, I'd be wishing I was!


Anyone been through this ?

No, but I had my BP go above the maximums many years ago, but I caught
it before my flight physical. For many years now I've had a physical
with my regular doctor a month or so before my official physical to
catch anything that might be disqualifying. Once we found the high BP,
my doctor in consultation with my AME recommended a BP med that was FAA
acceptable and which easily controls my BP. I don't know what would
have happened had my AME found this during my medical exam, but I was
rather glad not to have had to find out!


Matt

In article ,
Scott Moore wrote:

Great, I flunked my medical.

Actually, this came close to happening 4 years ago. I tested bad on
blood sugar (I don't know if that means too high or too low). Last time,
I passed it after taking a new blood test

Hm, that's odd. I've never had to take a blood test on any of my
medicals. Is there an age where this kicks in, or were my doctors
cutting corners?

(Identity concealed for obvious reasons)

Paul Tomblin wrote:
In a previous article, said:

How do I get my license back quickly (as possible) ? I have an airplane
that is now a brick. Tell you what, I don't really give a damm if I have
type 2 diabetes. I'm old, something is bound to get me sooner or later.
I care about not being able to fly, that is a definite drop in life
quality.

Anyone been through this ?


Yup. Cured it by going to a low carb diet. Haven't lost any weight, but
it's got my blood sugar steady as a rock. Get a blood sugar tester, and
watch. I used to go between 45 and 300 in a day, now I go between 70 and
110.


Ditto. No starch, no sugars. Use Splenda. Don't eat anything white --
potatos, rice, cake, bread. Get your carbs from salad, beans, sweet
potatos, lentils. Fats and oils control hunger but skip the sat fat. I
have a spread sheet that helps me target 40% of calories from carbs, 30%
from protein and 30% from fats. I lost 42 lb in a year, exercising 5
times a week for 30 minutes. I kept the weight off for another year and
discovered that the treadmill cased back, hip and knee problems. The
pain was becoming so bad that I have to use a cane. So, I stopped and
the weight has started coming back. I don't know what the doc will say
but I hope I can change the exercise routine to keep the weight off.

Stubby wrote:

Ditto. No starch, no sugars. Use Splenda. Don't eat anything white --
potatos, rice, cake, bread. Get your carbs from salad, beans, sweet
potatos, lentils. Fats and oils control hunger but skip the sat fat. I
have a spread sheet that helps me target 40% of calories from carbs, 30%
from protein and 30% from fats. I lost 42 lb in a year, exercising 5
times a week for 30 minutes. I kept the weight off for another year and
discovered that the treadmill cased back, hip and knee problems. The
pain was becoming so bad that I have to use a cane. So, I stopped and
the weight has started coming back. I don't know what the doc will say
but I hope I can change the exercise routine to keep the weight off.

Have you tried bicycling? I have back problems and a bad ankle, but
find biking to be fairly kind to both. The only problem is that winter
is fast approaching here in PA and it isn't kind to biking! I may have
to invest in a good stationary bike, but I'm not sure I can stand to
bike in place...

Matt

Never had to wizz in the cup? they put a strip in there that detects a
few common drugs as well as high protien and high sugar content. High
sugar in the urine is not a good thing.

Anonymous coward #673 wrote:
In article ,
Scott Moore wrote:


Great, I flunked my medical.

Actually, this came close to happening 4 years ago. I tested bad on
blood sugar (I don't know if that means too high or too low). Last time,
I passed it after taking a new blood test


Hm, that's odd. I've never had to take a blood test on any of my
medicals. Is there an age where this kicks in, or were my doctors
cutting corners?

(Identity concealed for obvious reasons)

Anonymous coward #673 wrote in
:

Hm, that's odd. I've never had to take a blood test on any of my
medicals. Is there an age where this kicks in, or were my doctors
cutting corners?

Strange .. every FAA Medical I've taken in over 30 years, I've had to
pee in a cup.

--

"Robert Chambers" wrote in message
...
Never had to wizz in the cup? they put a strip in there that detects a
few common drugs as well as high protien and high sugar content. High
sugar in the urine is not a good thing.

Ph, sugar, protein on the dipstick as far as I know. Think it is unlikely
the strip would screen for drugs.

Detecting adult onset diabetes and getting control of it is a good thing.

Howard