I finally heard back from N3M about my reconsideration and I am no longer DQ from 1390!!! They saw no reason why my traumatic pneumothorax should be disqualifying and sent a new letter without the restriction.
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The Doctor is in! Ask a Flight Surgeon!
- Thread starter FlightMD
- Start date
The way it should be. Good for you.
jcj
Registered User
congrats!
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
Excellent, it sounds as if the further info and documentation worked.
alaurin
All day, every day!
As a female, I am totally aiming for that unrealistic weight limit of 158 lbs at my small pint-sized height of 5'4". I think I might actually have to get pants with pockets big enough to hold several bricks to get there. I agree, it's completely unrealistic. At my heaviest and working in the food service industry, I was never more than 138. Now I have a hard time staying at 133..
USAF_WX2USN
Active Member
Cool. Thanks for the sarcasm. People's bodies are built different. I can run a low 12min 1.5mi at 6200ft altitude and max out the push-ups in a minute instead if two, but I've also had two kids with the youngest being 1yr old so I'm getting there. Max for you at 5'4 is 156 anyways. I know what I have to do before OCS to meet their standards regardless of my fitness standards. I wasn't complaining just stating the differences between AF and Navy, but thanks for your input/insult for some reason.
BzB
alaurin
All day, every day!
Mad props to you for having to kids and managing to balance everything, especially maxing out PT with all that on your plate.
I workout with a friend who is an airman (now a reservist) and he also finds some of the standards to be ridiculous also. He claims that its the guys at the top wanting to keep everybody looking cute in uniform. This guy also goes running late at night wearing a trashbag... maybe that's how he kept such a trim waistline.
sharpeye,
The possibility of a waiver recommendation depends a lot on why your platelet count is low. Your platelet count may be falsely low, caused by an error in how the platelets are counted by the automated lab equipment. If this is the first time you've had a low value, a repeat test in another type of collection tube may solve the "problem". A low platelet count can also be caused by viral infections, excessive alcohol consumption (as alcohol is toxic to the cells that form platelets), certain medications and supplements. If the finding is real and persistent however, thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) is disqualifying for initial entry into the Navy (see MANMED chapter 15), so you'll need a waiver of physical standards just for commissioning or enlistment. Once you clear that hurdle, you'll need to apply for a waiver for aviation. Again, the cause of the low platelet count will probably determine whether medical will recommend a waiver. A visit with a hematologist is probably in your future.
R/
The possibility of a waiver recommendation depends a lot on why your platelet count is low. Your platelet count may be falsely low, caused by an error in how the platelets are counted by the automated lab equipment. If this is the first time you've had a low value, a repeat test in another type of collection tube may solve the "problem". A low platelet count can also be caused by viral infections, excessive alcohol consumption (as alcohol is toxic to the cells that form platelets), certain medications and supplements. If the finding is real and persistent however, thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) is disqualifying for initial entry into the Navy (see MANMED chapter 15), so you'll need a waiver of physical standards just for commissioning or enlistment. Once you clear that hurdle, you'll need to apply for a waiver for aviation. Again, the cause of the low platelet count will probably determine whether medical will recommend a waiver. A visit with a hematologist is probably in your future.
R/
Thanks Time Bomb. Your response is much appreciated. I guess I should have mentioned that I have already made it through OCS and made it to Pensacola so my main concern is getting disqualified from aviation. As you can imagine, my platelet counts are not that low or low enough to the point where I have been diagnosed with anything. I'm hoping that its some kind of diet issue. Therefore, something that can be changed with an improved diet. So my next question is, what expectations should I have in regards to increasing my platelet count by changing my diet and not consuming alcohol anymore? Do you have any advice for ways to increase my platelet count?
V/r
I'm sure TimeBomb has some good advice but google is a great resource as well.
Good luck to you getting this corrected!!
sharpeye,
If you've already had an evaluation for this, and you don't have any problems with excessive bleeding, I wouldn't be that concerned about trying to increase your platelet count. Minimizing any potential negatives, like a poor diet or excessive alcohol consumption is probably as far as I would recommend going. That may be enough to slide you into the "normal" range. The "normal" values that are expressed on lab results are typically based on encompassing 95% of the tested disease-free population, so by definition, 5% of people who have nothing wrong with them will fall outside the "normal" range. You may be in that fraction.
I would have any documentation from previous evaluations available for the NAMI internist to review. He or she may recommend some testing or a hematology consultation if you haven't had anything done already.
R/
If you've already had an evaluation for this, and you don't have any problems with excessive bleeding, I wouldn't be that concerned about trying to increase your platelet count. Minimizing any potential negatives, like a poor diet or excessive alcohol consumption is probably as far as I would recommend going. That may be enough to slide you into the "normal" range. The "normal" values that are expressed on lab results are typically based on encompassing 95% of the tested disease-free population, so by definition, 5% of people who have nothing wrong with them will fall outside the "normal" range. You may be in that fraction.
I would have any documentation from previous evaluations available for the NAMI internist to review. He or she may recommend some testing or a hematology consultation if you haven't had anything done already.
R/
jcj
Registered User
To put some numbers to the excellent answers that TimeBomb has already given you, the lower end of the normal platelet count range in most labs is about 150,000 and the upper end of the normal range is about 400,000. The actual "reference normal" range may vary somewhat depending on the lab. In patient care (as opposed to occupational health such as military accessions or aeromedical qualification) we usually aren't worried about clinical effects of low platelet counts unless it's noticeably less than 100,000 and we aren't seriously worried unless it's below 50,000 - although we will notice and wonder what's up if it's much lower than the reference normal.
So I guess I'd ask - how do you know you know you have a low platelet count and do you know what the exact number is and the "reference normal" range of the lab where the test was done? If it's within the "reference normal" range, it's normal and you have no worries - even if it's at the very low end of the normal range. If it's slightly below the lower end of the normal reference range, you probably just need to do what TimeBomb says & (maybe) get it rechecked - or do nothing if NAMI gives you a pass on it. If it's significantly low, you (and NAMI) will probably want to know why - and in fact it would probably have already been looked into as a part of your OCS physical.
Good luck & and if you want to PM me your platelet count I might be able to tell you more (probably TimeBomb could too - you might ask him).
That may be true but since timebomb is a retired Navy Captain Flight Surgeon formerly assigned to NAMI, I'd tend to think his answers are probably better.
Of course that's just my two cents.....