Current medical holder. No official diagnosis, but doctor is considering an Ankylosing Spondylitis diagnosis. I do know that AS is now included in the Arthritis CACI profile. Question 1: If officially diagnosed, do I wait until my next medical to report it? Question 2: The use of Humira is listed on the arthritis CACI as acceptable with a 4 hour no-fly period. If doctor prescribes Humira and no other medication, do I need to get an FAA approval first, or do I wait until my next medical renewal to submit all the CACI required information? Question 3: Am I able to continue flying until my current medical expires without notifying FAA of new diagnosis and/or taking Humira? Do I need to notify FAA or stop flying.
Sounds like you may have it. I would, if/when he makes the diagnosis, have your AME review the documents and make a decision as to the certifiablity of the documents B4 reapplying. Bear in mind, documents for evalaltuion are only "current" if dated within 90 days prior to reapplication. If you have uvieits, time an 8500-8 "Report of ophthalmology eval." with a pair of Humphrey 24-2 Visual field maps.
The big issue here is if you meet the CACI criteria. If you do, then by all means, keep flying and report on the next medical. If you don't, then you should stop. If you want to know for sure then find an AME who knows what they are doing or use one of the aviation medicine consulting services to confirm. The safe answer is to sit for a new exam and provide all of the documentation. But that isn't always necessary and, with the wrong AME, can cost you time.
Yeah I'm starting my commercial training in the fall and I don't want to set me back any further than I need to. I'm probably just going to wait to report in 3 years when my medical expires, if you think that is a good idea. I'll need a class 1 when I go to reapply though, per ATP regulations.
