Steve E
Filing Flight Plan
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
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