Returning/Rusty Pilot

Steve E

Filing Flight Plan
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Oct 17, 2016
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West Central Illinois
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Steve E
My last logged hours were in 2002. I flew for recreation and when life got too busy for me to fly often enough to feel safe, I decided it was best to step back. Since then I have retried (35+ years as a school administrator) and would like to get back into flying. During the almost 15-year hiatus I was diagnosed with hypertension and went through a variety of different meds. I am currently on amlodipine and clonidine (plus pravastatin for cholesterol). At the time I was prescribed clonidine I did not think to check the FAA list of prohibited meds. My mistake. The good news is that since retiring I am now exercising 1+ hours/day, at least 5 days/wk and have lost 10 lbs so for. (Currently 6’, 210 lbs.). BP reading have been good. I intend to contact my Dr.to discuss dropping the clonidine or, worst case, looking for a replacement.

Given that I have been out for so long I anticipate that it will be a few months of ground school and dual before I take my biennial review, so I have a while to address any questions prior to seeing an AME.

My questions are:

1. How long after dropping the clonidine would I need wait before not needing to list it on my medications? I know that there would need to be two weeks of monitoring when adding a new med, but I cannot find anything that addresses timeframe for not listing a med.

2. Finding my old file of previous forms from the prior medicals could be challenging at best. Even if I do locate them, is “previously reported” acceptable when it is referring to something over 15 years ago. (I had an incident of vertigo about 20 years ago that was attributed to a possible ear infection.) If I cannot locate the forms how far back do I go in listing my medical history? I had surgery (outpatient) in 2008 for a broken hand. In November of 2009 I had a benign polyp removed during a colonoscopy and had a follow up in 2014 to confirm no new polyps. Do these get reported? (I assume ‘Yes” for the 2014 since it falls in the last 3 years for Dr visits.)

I have read some discussion about not wanting to submit because if there is a denial it would close the door on recreational privileges. I have also read that an AME is bound to report any information to the FAA so I am a bit hesitant to schedule a consult prior to the medical.


Hindsight- Since I always thought that I would return to flying when I retired I should have been aware of the list of meds that would cause a denial. I would still have been left with the questions of how to report what happened during the lapse.

Thanks
 
Get with your AME and discuss all of this before the exam. Tell him/her that you want to make sure everything is correct(ed) before submitting the paperwork.

If that person does not want to do that find another AME, but I am pretty sure any AME will do a pre-exam exam.
 
And just to expand on that, if you do a consultation instead of an FAA exam, the AME doesn't have to inform the FAA about anything. You shouldn't be concerned about his reporting anything, especially since your last medical certificate expired so long ago. It should be entirely between you and the AME -- until you do an exam and he takes it "live" by entering the confirmation code from MedXPress.
 
Rather than take a chance with an AME you don't know, you might consider talking to Dr. Bruce Chien out of Peoria. He is an advocate for pilots and can give you the guidance to make the right choices/take the right steps. Many of us here have used him for special issuance matters, prior medical issues, overlooked or unreported meds use, etc.

He's certainly not the only one capable of helping you, but he is well known by many of us here for his services to pilots.
 
All you need is a letter from your physician saying, "I am satisfied with Steve's BP control and have no immediate pans to make changes" and your brew cannot contain

clonidine
aldomet
reserpine
guanethidine

Bruce
 
Thanks for the input. I have (under Dr's guidance) stopped the clonidine now for over a week and my BP has been holding in the "normal to high-normal range. Typically testing around 125/74, one day at 134/78. My Dr. wants to evaluate the readings over 2-3 weeks before deciding if I need a replacement for the clonidine. I actually feel much better without the clonidine. No more mid-afternoon "I can't keep my eyes open." Hopefully I will soon be able to go see my AME with letter in hand.

As I start to gather information on appointments, etc. for the medical, any thoughts on #2 from the original post?

2. Finding my old file of previous forms from the prior medicals could be challenging at best. Even if I do locate them, is “previously reported” acceptable when it is referring to something over 15 years ago. (I had an incident of vertigo about 20 years ago that was attributed to a possible ear infection.) If I cannot locate the forms how far back do I go in listing my medical history? I had surgery (outpatient) in 2008 for a broken hand. In November of 2009 I had a benign polyp removed during a colonoscopy and had a follow up in 2014 to confirm no new polyps. Do these get reported? (I assume ‘Yes” for the 2014 since it falls in the last 3 years for Dr visits.)

Again thanks- I have found reading various threads on this site to be very beneficial.

Steve E
 
Thanks for the input. I have (under Dr's guidance) stopped the clonidine now for over a week and my BP has been holding in the "normal to high-normal range. Typically testing around 125/74, one day at 134/78. My Dr. wants to evaluate the readings over 2-3 weeks before deciding if I need a replacement for the clonidine. I actually feel much better without the clonidine. No more mid-afternoon "I can't keep my eyes open." Hopefully I will soon be able to go see my AME with letter in hand.

As I start to gather information on appointments, etc. for the medical, any thoughts on #2 from the original post?

2. Finding my old file of previous forms from the prior medicals could be challenging at best. Even if I do locate them, is “previously reported” acceptable when it is referring to something over 15 years ago. (I had an incident of vertigo about 20 years ago that was attributed to a possible ear infection.) If I cannot locate the forms how far back do I go in listing my medical history? I had surgery (outpatient) in 2008 for a broken hand. In November of 2009 I had a benign polyp removed during a colonoscopy and had a follow up in 2014 to confirm no new polyps. Do these get reported? (I assume ‘Yes” for the 2014 since it falls in the last 3 years for Dr visits.)

Again thanks- I have found reading various threads on this site to be very beneficial.

Steve E

Read the text of the question on the 8500. I'm pretty sure it says "Have you EVER?" [emphasis mine]. You can report and then note PRNC (assuming there really is no change.)

I'm not an AME or any other kind of medical professional.

John
 
As I start to gather information on appointments, etc. for the medical, any thoughts on #2 from the original post?

2. Finding my old file of previous forms from the prior medicals could be challenging at best. Even if I do locate them, is “previously reported” acceptable when it is referring to something over 15 years ago. (I had an incident of vertigo about 20 years ago that was attributed to a possible ear infection.) If I cannot locate the forms how far back do I go in listing my medical history? I had surgery (outpatient) in 2008 for a broken hand. In November of 2009 I had a benign polyp removed during a colonoscopy and had a follow up in 2014 to confirm no new polyps. Do these get reported? (I assume ‘Yes” for the 2014 since it falls in the last 3 years for Dr visits.)

Again thanks- I have found reading various threads on this site to be very beneficial.

Steve E

Before I applied for the airlines I ordered copies of my FAA pilot record, and if I recall they sent everything but I don't think the package included previous medical forms. But you might check with the medical branch and perhaps they can make copies for you. Might be charged for the copies, but I don't know for sure.
 
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