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.

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

Matt Whiting wrote:

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...

Put a TV in your workout room (or put your bike in your TV room) and
watch the news while you bike. They also make stands for standard
bicycles so you can turn your street bike into a stationary bike for the
winter.


-m
--
## Mark T. Dame
## VP, Product Development
## MFM Software, Inc. (http://www.mfm.com/)
"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of
people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
-- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams

That's a great idea and one I've used. Usually you won't exercise as long
as the movie is, so it gives you incentive to get back in there the next day
to continue watching the movie. Put the TV in a location where it can't be
seen from anywhere BUT the bike or treadmill.
Jim

"Mark T. Dame" wrote in message
...
Matt Whiting wrote:

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...

Put a TV in your workout room (or put your bike in your TV room) and
watch the news while you bike. They also make stands for standard
bicycles so you can turn your street bike into a stationary bike for the
winter.


-m
--
## Mark T. Dame
## VP, Product Development
## MFM Software, Inc. (http://www.mfm.com/)
"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of
people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
-- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams

Mark T. Dame wrote:
Matt Whiting wrote:


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...


Put a TV in your workout room (or put your bike in your TV room) and
watch the news while you bike. They also make stands for standard
bicycles so you can turn your street bike into a stationary bike for the
winter.

Watching TV is almost as much fun as staring at the wallpaper pattern. :-)

I have an "air turbine" stand that I bought 20 years ago, but the
resistance of it is just too low for me. It doesn't give me enough
resistance to even hold a steady gait. It is almost like pedaling while
freewheeling. I found it very unacceptable. One of the more expensive
adjustable stands with magnetic resistance might be better, but I'd
almost as soon get a good dedicatd stationary bike and not wear out my
good bike in the winter.

Matt

Mark T. Dame wrote:
Matt Whiting wrote:


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...


Put a TV in your workout room (or put your bike in your TV room) and
watch the news while you bike. They also make stands for standard
bicycles so you can turn your street bike into a stationary bike for the
winter.

My air resistance bike stand makes too much "whoosh" noise. And it
takes a fair amount of space, and thus resistance from GF! And, it
seems to cause problems with my knee joints. (Let me know if you want
mine!).

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.
FWIW, I've had knee and back problems practically my whole life. Weight
training definitely helped solve the back problems and they've
essentially gone away. The knees are bad forever but lot's of
experimentation has shown that while I can't run (at all) outside or on
a treadmill, I can use a Stairmaster brand Stairmaster (not others) and
just about any of the cc ski type machines.

The point being that it may pay to experiment around with different
machines, brands, and configurations to see what you can work with...

....but of course, the real issue getting the motivation to get on and
stay on a few times a week. Movies, great. I'm a reader - did my IFR
study almost entirely on a Stairmaster!

Good luck.