Blood Pressure

Terry

Terry

Line Up and Wait
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Terry
I am currently on Lisinopril 10-12.5 and taking 1 tablet every morning. I checked my blood pressure last night and it was 106/66 with a 68 pulse.

I want obtain my Commercial Certificate and then go on to a CFI.

Will I need a 2nd class medical for my commercial? CFI?

Can I obtain a commercial or CFI and be on this medication?

I was told if I would lose another 15 pounds, I could probably quit taking Lisinopril. I have a 3rd class medical coming up in July.

I need some suggestions.

Thanks,
Terry
 
You need only a third to take the commercial and CFI rides. You also need only a third to act as a CFI. You'll need the second class to "fly for hire".

If you've already been issued a third class with no problems (FAA knows of the meds; you've submitted all the data they want, etc.) then you should be able to upgrade with no additional information required, AFAIK. If you've started the meds since your last physical, you'll need to submit some stuff. I'll let a physician chime in now ... :)
 
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Terry said:
I am currently on Lisinopril 10-12.5 and taking 1 tablet every morning. I checked my blood pressure last night and it was 106/66 with a 68 pulse.

I want obtain my Commercial Certificate and then go on to a CFI.

Will I need a 2nd class medical for my commercial? CFI?

Can I obtain a commercial or CFI and be on this medication?

I was told if I would lose another 15 pounds, I could probably quit taking Lisinopril. I have a 3rd class medical coming up in July.

I need some suggestions.

Thanks,
Terry
Click to expand...

You only need the 2nd class to exercise the privileges of Commercial. You can be a CFI with only a 3rd class medical.

As for the Lisinopril, I believe as long as the BP is under control and your Doc will sign a letter as such, you're OK.

Edit: Mikey beat me to it while I was typing.
 
upstateny said:
You only need the 2nd class to exercise the privileges of Commercial. You can be a CFI with only a 3rd class medical.

As for the Lisinopril, I believe as long as the BP is under control and your Doc will sign a letter as such, you're OK.

Edit: Mikey beat me to it while I was typing.
Click to expand...

The FAA knows about the meds. I have passed my last class III with no problems.

What do you think about losing the weight and getting off the meds? I am very active, work a tough job, and could probably lose the weight if I really needed to.

I am 5' 10" and 180 pounds. 65 years old. White male, cholesterol was 140.

( I am a tough ole bird. :D)
 
Terry said:
The FAA knows about the meds. I have passed my last class III with no problems.

What do you think about losing the weight and getting off the meds? I am very active, work a tough job, and could probably lose the weight if I really needed to.

I am 5' 10" and 180 pounds. 65 years old. White male, cholesterol was 140.

( I am a tough ole bird. :D)
Click to expand...

As a fellow "tough ole bird" (64yr old CFI) do what ever you can to keep yourself healthy.
 
I think you need to get your BMI down to 25 and stop worrying about the pills. The pills are preventing you from accumulating "time under the elevated pressure" curve related damage just now.

Lose the weight. Mother nature is slowing pushing you out the back door.

Third is all you need, but Momma Nature has sent you a warning shot.
 
Terry, I'm not a doctor, but I'm with Bruce on this one. I hope this doesn't come across as blunt, but it's weighing heavily on my mind.

A friend who carried around a few too many extra pounds recently dropped dead of a heart attack in his machine shop. He was only 60, and had apparently been flying as a Sport Pilot. At some point, we need to focus on staying alive and healthy, rather than trying to figure out how to manage FAA medicals while we decline.

I had a business partner a few years ago who visited a retirement community with an eye toward possibly moving there. He came back with a sobering observation: "Paul, there are no old fat people."

If we can avoid participation in the American Obesity Epidemic through the right mix of diet and physical activity, the most common issues in passing our medicals won't be such a big deal. If we can't, losing our medicals will eventually be the least of our concerns.
 
Americans spent $251 million watching a movie about food shortages and the supposedly resulting teenage gladiators last weekend, while chewing down on popcorn.
 
Terry said:
...I was told if I would lose another 15 pounds, I could probably quit taking Lisinopril...
Click to expand...

Terry, for me personally, there is a threshold somewhere around 182-185 pounds that produces a knee in the curve. Above it, my BP seems to rise quickly. I'm at 178 right now, and my BP averages 123/78 in daily checks.

I was curious to see how that related to Dr. Bruce's comment about a body mass index of 25 being an important threshold, so I looked up one of the online calculators. Sure enough...182 at 6'0" is a BMI of 24.7.

I have a personal goal of becoming an "FAA standard person" by summer.
 
PW_Plack said:
Terry, I'm not a doctor, but I'm with Bruce on this one. I hope this doesn't come across as blunt, but it's weighing heavily on my mind.

A friend who carried around a few too many extra pounds recently dropped dead of a heart attack in his machine shop. He was only 60, and had apparently been flying as a Sport Pilot. At some point, we need to focus on staying alive and healthy, rather than trying to figure out how to manage FAA medicals while we decline.

I had a business partner a few years ago who visited a retirement community with an eye toward possibly moving there. He came back with a sobering observation: "Paul, there are no old fat people."

If we can avoid participation in the American Obesity Epidemic through the right mix of diet and physical activity, the most common issues in passing our medicals won't be such a big deal. If we can't, losing our medicals will eventually be the least of our concerns.
Click to expand...

I hear you. I started today to re-figure my diet and take off the extra pounds.

However, in a different tone, and I don't mean to make excuses, but the Lisinopril is $2.50 a month. I figured, hey, if it works for $2.50 a month I can ignore my weight, to some degree, and enjoy the foods I like.

Dr. Bruce's comment made me realize I was living on borrowed time.

Like I said, I will take the wait off starting today.

Thanks,
Terry
 
Terry said:
...I don't mean to make excuses, but the Lisinopril is $2.50 a month. I figured, hey, if it works for $2.50 a month I can ignore my weight, to some degree, and enjoy the foods I like...
Click to expand...

Not only is it cheap, it's on the FAA's "OK" list. I think that makes a lot of people dismiss it as no big deal. I'm not convinced it's OK to stay on it (or any other med) long-term. I'm also concerned about avoiding Diabetes Type II, for which I'm at risk due to some American Indian ancestry. My older relatives have been able to reverse diabetic symptoms completely with weight control. I hope to avoid it in the first place.

For me, Lisinopril's side effect of a constant dry cough was annoying. When I first went on it, I was producing audio podcasts every day, and it really interfered. I'm glad it's out of the cupboard and my life!
 
PW_Plack said:
Not only is it cheap, it's on the FAA's "OK" list. I think that makes a lot of people dismiss it as no big deal. I'm not convinced it's OK to stay on it (or any other med) long-term. I'm also concerned about avoiding Diabetes Type II, for which I'm at risk due to some American Indian ancestry. My older relatives have been able to reverse diabetic symptoms completely with weight control. I hope to avoid it in the first place.

For me, Lisinopril's side effect of a constant dry cough was annoying. When I first went on it, I was producing audio podcasts every day, and it really interfered. I'm glad it's out of the cupboard and my life!
Click to expand...
I had the cough as a side effect. Leslie, on the other hand, had totally unnecessary abdominal surgery:hairraise: and numerous invasive exploratory procedures:eek::eek: because of a rare side effect of Lisinopril, severe GI pain.
Lose the weight, don't wait. (And this is do as I say, not as I do, though I'm trying!)
 
I've been eating so many salads that my ears are starting to lengthen and my nose twitches. Haven't started hopping around yet. Oh well, gotta stay the course.
 
Just get you a jump rope and try that for 15 minutes a day.

Terry
 
Although I don't suffer any blood pressure irregularities, I invested in the P90x workout program to combat muscle weakness, low energy levels, etc.. I must tell you that it is incredible of the results.

This program is designed more for people who want to loose weight rather than bulk up, but obviously one can do both by following the workout program along with proper nutrition .

I recommend the program to anyone who can spare about an hour/day.
 
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