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I've got at least three medical issues that would get in the way of a third class medical:
1) Type II diabetes. My A1C has been below 8 the entire time since I was diagnosed. My control still isn't fantastic (fasting morning sugar of 130-150). I've never had any loss of consciousness or mental impairment due to high or low blood sugar. I do, however, have some loss of feeling in a few toes. As I understand it, that last means that it's not a routine special issuance (whatever that might mean). I've also been told I need a neurological evaluation and status letter.
2) Asthma. I'm asymptomatic normally, but whenever I get a cold, I cough pretty much continuously afterward. A month of Advair Diskus fixes the problem until the next cold.
3) Sleep apnea. Mine is low-grade, but I do use a CPAP (at 6 cm of water pressure). I was referred to a sleep study not because of any wakefulness issues, but because an ENT who was looking at me to try to figure out why I was coughing said "You snore like a banshee. You need a sleep study."
So, I'm told I need four doctors' status reports: diabetes, diabetes neurological, asthma, OSA. Maybe a wakefulness test, too. That all goes off to OKC and they do whatever it is they do and either say yea or nay. How likely am I to be told no? Should I give up on the idea entirely and just fly light sport? If I'm going to get turned down, or even run a significant risk of getting turned down, I won't bother, just so I can fly light sport.
If I do decide to try it, how do I go about picking an AME that will get me through the rigamarole successfully?
1) Type II diabetes. My A1C has been below 8 the entire time since I was diagnosed. My control still isn't fantastic (fasting morning sugar of 130-150). I've never had any loss of consciousness or mental impairment due to high or low blood sugar. I do, however, have some loss of feeling in a few toes. As I understand it, that last means that it's not a routine special issuance (whatever that might mean). I've also been told I need a neurological evaluation and status letter.
2) Asthma. I'm asymptomatic normally, but whenever I get a cold, I cough pretty much continuously afterward. A month of Advair Diskus fixes the problem until the next cold.
3) Sleep apnea. Mine is low-grade, but I do use a CPAP (at 6 cm of water pressure). I was referred to a sleep study not because of any wakefulness issues, but because an ENT who was looking at me to try to figure out why I was coughing said "You snore like a banshee. You need a sleep study."
So, I'm told I need four doctors' status reports: diabetes, diabetes neurological, asthma, OSA. Maybe a wakefulness test, too. That all goes off to OKC and they do whatever it is they do and either say yea or nay. How likely am I to be told no? Should I give up on the idea entirely and just fly light sport? If I'm going to get turned down, or even run a significant risk of getting turned down, I won't bother, just so I can fly light sport.
If I do decide to try it, how do I go about picking an AME that will get me through the rigamarole successfully?
