Reporting medication

[Unregistered]

How do you report new medications you are taking? If they are on the approved list do you have to report them as soon as you add them to your others, or just wait for your Medical? Do you have to provide a Dr.s note that there are no side effects etc? If yes, then are you supposed to stop flying until you submit the letter or until you hear back from OKC.. which could take months?????

 

[bbchien]

Wait for your medical. You're self-certifying in between medicals.....

 

[Unregistered]

I forgot to say that I am on a 6 year Approval for stents and sugar. They do say to notify if my meds change. Title 14 Secti0on 61.53....."op of aircraft prohibited ...side effects from / or a change in medications. Does that include approved meds, like if my MD wants to ad, say, Glucotrol to my daily med pak to see if it reduces sugar a little more? Does that change anything??

 

[poadeleted20]

I forgot to say that I am on a 6 year Approval for stents and sugar.

Ahhh...the rest of the story -- this isn't a "plain vanilla" situation.l

They do say to notify if my meds change.

That seems pretty clear to me, so if your meds change, do what they say and make the report.

Title 14 Secti0on 61.53....."op of aircraft prohibited ...side effects from / or a change in medications. Does that include approved meds, like if my MD wants to ad, say, Glucotrol to my daily med pak to see if it reduces sugar a little more? Does that change anything??

If the meds aren't the same, they've changed, and your quote of your approval suggests that changes in meds must be reported.

 

[Unregistered]

Is there any special form? They did not say anything about how to report a change in meds. Do I just give them a phone call? If I have to write to them, does that mean I would have to stop flying until I hear back from them?
Thanks.

 

[poadeleted20]

Is there any special form? They did not say anything about how to report a change in meds. Do I just give them a phone call? If I have to write to them, does that mean I would have to stop flying until I hear back from them?

Unless Dr. Bruce says otherwise, ask your AME for advice.

 

[Unregistered]

Thanks Ron, I hope to hear back again from Dr. B.

 

[bbchien]

Thanks Ron, I hope to hear back again from Dr. B.

Dang Typed out a long response and it just vanished. sigh.

What you need to do is to do everything you did the FIRST time you go the SI.

Namely:
HbA1c
Doc letter- "no neuro, Renal, Kidney disease. No hypoglycemic events."
Serum Creatinine
...simultaneously with the notification of the change. The Cardiac SI is unchanged.

Since they want 90 days' stability, you are necessarily self grounded for 90 days. Send your notice of the change near the end of the 90 days, with the info, to Box 26200, OK City OK. What you are doing is actually equipping FAA to get a NEW SI for NIDDM, which will occur at the same pass as the notification.

You don't have anything else you're holding back? I HATE it when airmen don't give me the full deck.

Continue to remember, beta blockers (the "olols") for the heart are prohibited in combination with Diabetes.

Dr. Bruce

 

[Unregistered]

Sorry about the extra info. In my original medical approval, I was approved for Toprol XL. Isn't that a beta blocker? They seem to give it to you automatically after Stents, but I wanted to get off it after a number of months.
I have since gone off it under my MD's weaning.
How come it was approved?

 

[bbchien]

If they were simultaneous, it was missed. Plain & simple. But maybe you got the stent SI first, and were only diet controlled at the time?

 

[Unregistered]

Dang Typed out a long response and it just vanished. sigh.

What you need to do is to do everything you did the FIRST time you go the SI.

Namely:
HbA1c
Doc letter- "no neuro, Renal, Kidney disease. No hypoglycemic events."
Serum Creatinine
...simultaneously with the notification of the change. The Cardiac SI is unchanged.

Since they want 90 days' stability, you are necessarily self grounded for 90 days. Send your notice of the change near the end of the 90 days, with the info, to Box 26200, OK City OK. What you are doing is actually equipping FAA to get a NEW SI for NIDDM, which will occur at the same pass as the notification.

You don't have anything else you're holding back? I HATE it when airmen don't give me the full deck.

Continue to remember, beta blockers (the "olols") for the heart are prohibited in combination with Diabetes.

Dr. Bruce

So that would mean.... if I change any medications, I stop flying for 3 months, and just prior, I send in the letter. Do I have to wait for a response to resume flying? Would it be a bad move to call them to smooth this procedure? ( What does SI and NIDDM mean??)

 

[Unregistered]

When I say " call them", I mean if I am just adding or changing a sugar prescription to increase effectiveness, or making the dose a little higher, and the prescriptions are already on the approved list..... maybe they would say it is fine right there and then??
Sometimes you would like to experiment with something else ( that is already approved), but 3 months all the time could be a real drag ( combined with the blessing of being able to continue flying).

 

[bbchien]

So that would mean.... if I change any medications, I stop flying for 3 months, and just prior, I send in the letter. Do I have to wait for a response to resume flying? Would it be a bad move to call them to smooth this procedure? ( What does SI and NIDDM mean??)

(1) Change the med. (2) Stop flying for 90 days. (3) At about 90 days, get the letter from the doc, stating both the changed Rx, and giving the newly recent HbA1c.again stating all the items he stated in your initial SI which I will not enumerate yet again. (4) Send letter to address in post June 29, 8:44 p.m. CERTIFIED return receipt.

Now that having been said, there is an interesting note in the 2007 guide for aviation medical examiners (on page 177 of the 2007 version V) saying:

"The applicant should aso be advised that should their medication be changed or the dosage modified, the applicant should not perform airman duties until the applicant and the treating physcian has concluded that the condition is: under control, stable, presents no risk to aviation safety, and consults with the examiner who issued the certificate, AMCD (Aeromedical Certification Division) or the RFS (Regional flight surgeon)." So you may not need 90 days if this contact can be made. However, it does take 90 days for the next Hemoglobin A1c to fully reflect the medication change.

Any such statement however, is superceeded by whatever's on your SI letter. And there is no way around a grounding period (which I can see it as short at 45 days with a good result and a sharp doc's letter)....unless you don't need legality. You can always go that route....people do 'cause they don't like what the regs require. Sigh.

 

[Unregistered]

Thank you so much. My SI did not say anything about the waiting period, only to notify them if the meds change. So, if I still have to have the waiting period ( ?? ) one more thing....
after I send the letter do I have to wait for a reply? How long could that take??

 

[bbchien]

Thank you so much. My SI did not say anything about the waiting period, only to notify them if the meds change. So, if I still have to have the waiting period ( ?? ) one more thing....
after I send the letter do I have to wait for a reply? How long could that take??

If you have an AME with a pipeline to OKC, about 40 minutes. If you certify return receipt them in there, and then call three x after you get the cert. receipt, about three weeks unless something's radically changed recently (they always say 90).

 

[Unregistered]

I have been using an AME who seems to have been understanding and cooperative. I do not know if he has an inside track though. I guess I could ask him??