Old F--T medical??

pmanton

pmanton

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N1431A
Hi All:

I"ll be 73 and will have my 3rd class coming up next Spring. My problem is that I just don't go to doctors unless I'm bleeding and need stitches. So I'm going into my AME not knowing if I might have a problem that could trip me up. I don't even have a regular doctor.

What worries me, are 1 blood pressure and 2 the possibility of diabetes. I know I have white coat hypertension and MY AME has dealt with it in the past .

But I am overweight and getting on in years. I have no family history of diabetes but have heard too many horror stories of someone finding out when their medical is denied. This did happen to a friend of mine who is many years younger than me.

My AME uses a urine test strip. I am considering buying this test strip and self testing. Should it show positive I would seek treatment before seeing my AME.

As for anything else--I can see---I can hear--if he finds out my ticker is making funny sounds then I won't be looking for a medical.:wink2:

Does anyone have any suggestions. I don't want to bomb a medical with Sport Pilot available.

Cheers:

Paul
N1431A
2AZ1
 
Paul, best way is to get a family doc. He'll do the testing, and it'll be legit. Heck, with the right management you might even have 10 more years. Go to a family doc who is NOT the AME, for heaven's sake.

Trouble is, you might survive, crippled by a stroke or MI or on dialysis for many years beyond what you might like.

Make the remaining years good ones, and if you have any doubts, do LSAs.
 
And best of luck to you, buddy! We may be in different cars, but we're all on the same F-----G train.
- Russ
 
pmanton said:
Does anyone have any suggestions.
Paul
N1431A
2AZ1
Click to expand...
Paul, think of it this way. You're 87 years old. You wake up and it takes you 40 minutes to get out of the bathroom. You have pressure sores. Your retinas are so bad you can't see worth a darn. You get short of breath climibing the stairs.

For heaven's sake get a primary care doc. Fuggedaboud the FAA.
 
pmanton said:
Hi All:

I"ll be 73 and will have my 3rd class coming up next Spring. My problem is that I just don't go to doctors unless I'm bleeding and need stitches. So I'm going into my AME not knowing if I might have a problem that could trip me up. I don't even have a regular doctor.

What worries me, are 1 blood pressure and 2 the possibility of diabetes. I know I have white coat hypertension and MY AME has dealt with it in the past .

But I am overweight and getting on in years. I have no family history of diabetes but have heard too many horror stories of someone finding out when their medical is denied. This did happen to a friend of mine who is many years younger than me.

My AME uses a urine test strip. I am considering buying this test strip and self testing. Should it show positive I would seek treatment before seeing my AME.

As for anything else--I can see---I can hear--if he finds out my ticker is making funny sounds then I won't be looking for a medical.:wink2:

Does anyone have any suggestions. I don't want to bomb a medical with Sport Pilot available.

Cheers:

Paul
N1431A
2AZ1
Click to expand...

Diet, exercise, and get a non-aviation physical. Then decide.

Most of us will eventually be in the same quandry.
 
Remember that you are required to disclose any medical findings from your non-aviation doctor to the AME when you do get a medical. And I'm not 100% sure, but I think that if you are aware that you have a disqualifying condition, you are not legally allowed to skip your medical and start flying LSA using your driver's license as your credential.
 
write-stuff said:
Remember that you are required to disclose any medical findings from your non-aviation doctor to the AME when you do get a medical.
Click to expand...

You are going to have to expand on that a bit. It sounds like a blanket statement and I don't like blanket statements.

And I'm not 100% sure, but I think that if you are aware that you have a disqualifying condition, you are not legally allowed to skip your medical and start flying LSA using your driver's license as your credential.
Click to expand...

That is how I have understood it in the past too. But that sort of negates the whole point of the Sport Pilot thing, doesn't it?
 
No. What SP does is it degrades the level of expertise of the "fit to fly" evaluation to the level of your family doctor, who has no idea what 9,000 feet will do to you.

It's betwen you and he (or she). If on best local advice (NOT an AME) you are fit to fly, then you are. (provided no final interaction with FAA that was a denial).
 
kyleb said:
Diet, exercise, and get a non-aviation physical. Then decide.

Most of us will eventually be in the same quandry.
Click to expand...

Too true, I dread the day I get too old to do what I want. Still, I hope I'll have the presence of mind to do what my grandmother did a couple years ago: know when it's not safe to do something. She stopped driving a couple of years back because she felt her reaction times were too slow. She didn't want to hurt anyone so she stopped driving herself, and now we help get her around.

She still walks alone, and has a vibrant life, sans driving.

I'm trying to stay healthy so I can stretch activities as long as I can safely.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
You are going to have to expand on that a bit. It sounds like a blanket statement and I don't like blanket statements.
Click to expand...

Sorry you don't like blanket statements, Greg. Every flight physical I've ever had required that I disclose every physician visit I'd had since my last flight physical. Broken toe, bronchitis, or just a refill visit for statins, doesn't matter. That form we fill out requires us to document everything medical that's happened to us since the last visit. It's an opportunity for the AME to identify disqualifying conditions. Certainly Bruce can clarify my layman's understanding of this, but I'm pretty sure that's generally how it works. If your family physician diagnoses you as being diabetic I believe you are obligated to disclose that to the AME.
 
write-stuff said:
If your family physician diagnoses you as being diabetic I believe you are obligated to disclose that to the AME.
Click to expand...
I thought we were talking about SP where you don't even need to see an AME. As long as your regular doctor thinks you are safe to fly an airplane there is no issue. That's how I understand it anyway.
 
Yeah, indigo. Guess we kind of convoluted the discussion. I was talking about when you do get a medical. Which we all agree isn't required for a sport pilot.
 
write-stuff said:
Sorry you don't like blanket statements, Greg. Every flight physical I've ever had required that I disclose every physician visit I'd had since my last flight physical. Broken toe, bronchitis, or just a refill visit for statins, doesn't matter. That form we fill out requires us to document everything medical that's happened to us since the last visit. It's an opportunity for the AME to identify disqualifying conditions. Certainly Bruce can clarify my layman's understanding of this, but I'm pretty sure that's generally how it works. If your family physician diagnoses you as being diabetic I believe you are obligated to disclose that to the AME.
Click to expand...

Ok, got it. I knew all that. But the "Reason" for the visit can be rather cryptic.
 
For heaven's sake get a primary care doc. Fuggedaboud the FAA.
Click to expand...

Dr. Bruce:

When I said I don't see a doctor unless I'm bleeding, I didn't mean to imply that I avoid medical help. I simply don't have a reason to see the medicos. I probably catch a cold every 18 months or so.

I'm retired military and have access to the VA through a service connected disability with Purple Heart. I checked in with them before my last medical and they ran a blood panel. At my followup I was told "All the numbers are fine"

So is your advice to make an appointment and tell them that I have no specific complaint but just want ongoing monitoring?

My mindset has always been to seek medical help when I'm sick or bleeding. I had never considered "preventative maintenance" from the medics. I'll call around and see if any of the local Docs will take me on. (I don't think the VA is the answer.)

It would be a bummer to loose my medical now that we're finally living on an airpark. Light Sport would only be a last resort since I haven't found anything that my wife and I could fit in and stay legal. She gets upset if I even go around the pattern a couple of times without taking her.

Thanks

Paul
N1431A
2AZ1
www.indianhillsairpark.com
 
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You're at the age where you need an annual Prostate exam +/-PSA, an EKG, probably a five yearly treadmill run, a blood count, and a serum creatinine.

The human self diagnostic panel really really sucks as to early warning. We were designed to wear out in 50 years. There's a whole lotta avoidable stuff that won't show up on the "I don't feel so good" diagnostic meter.....and when it gets to where the amber light comes on, it's usually too late.

The VAH is DEFINITELY not the answer.
 
bbchien said:
Trouble is, you might survive, crippled by a stroke or MI or on dialysis for many years beyond what you might like.
Click to expand...

To clarify.. Doc Bruce is saying an UNTREATED, UNDISCOVERED condition could result in the above.

Focus on your health first and foremost.

I see older adults come into the ICU who say they are in perfect health and are suddenly in deep doo doo.. The truth is that "never going to the doctor" does NOT equal "perfect health".

High blood pressure, diabetes and other disorders are silent in their early stages.. you dont know theres a problem til the damage is done.

Annual physical with a primary care doc, baseline lab work (check for anemia, cholesterol, kidney function, sugar). EKG. Chest X ray (look for enlarged heart or lung probs). Check your blood pressure yourself (get a cheap automated machine) and check it in the morning BEFORE you get out of bed, while you are still relaxed, and log it. That can counter the findings of "white coat hypertension"
 
bbchien said:
Paul, best way is to get a family doc. He'll do the testing, and it'll be legit. Heck, with the right management you might even have 10 more years. Go to a family doc who is NOT the AME, for heaven's sake.

Trouble is, you might survive, crippled by a stroke or MI or on dialysis for many years beyond what you might like.

Make the remaining years good ones, and if you have any doubts, do LSAs.
Click to expand...
True, but be careful to choose a physician who will be willing to take into account how diagnosis and treatment can affect your ability to keep a medical certificate. This is often an issue in terms of prescribing medication. Many pilots have learned at the time of applying or renewing their medical that they are taking a forbidden drug. Something as innocuous as a sleeping pill can immediately disqualify an applicant. Some physicians have a tendency to make an initial diagnosis based on inadequate information which can lead to problems. Even if subsequent testing proves you do not have the disqualifying condition you might end up in the special issuance system. It is hard to un-ring a bell. A physician who is a pilot but not an AME might be a better choice than someone who has no interest in aviation medical issues.
 
Gary, much of what I do for pilots that I have issued (complex) is I answer questions as to what is permissible and what is not. The family doc isn't going to know that. You have to ask someone who does.

None of that will matter however after the premature stroke.
 
bbchien said:
Gary, much of what I do for pilots that I have issued (complex) is I answer questions as to what is permissible and what is not. The family doc isn't going to know that. You have to ask someone who does.

None of that will matter however after the premature stroke.
Click to expand...
I work closely with the local AME when I have a pilot for a patient for guidance on medications and other aviation medical issues. Pilots can get into trouble when their physician is oblivious to aviation medical issues.
I did not mean to imply that an AME would not be a good primary physician, only that if your primary care doc is not an AME, then find one who is willing to consider aviation medical issues. My AME is (at least for now) my primary care provider since my previous physician left his practice. Unfortunately, concerns about getting diagnosed with certain conditions can discourage a pilot from a needed medical evaluation. This can lead to problems much worse than losing a medical certificate.
 
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