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The Doctor is in! Ask a Flight Surgeon!
- Thread starter FlightMD
- Start date
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
Just be glad you are already commissioned, I have had several people over the past few years that marked GERD and only one was given a waiver, the others were PDQ since they were taking meds given by a doc.
RadicalDude
Social Justice Warlord
I've read that Sleep Apnea (obstructive) is waiverable. How common is this for deployable folks, and what is the process like?
Thanks for the info. Yes, GERD. I have another follow-up on Tuesday, so we'll see how it goes after getting off the medd.
Cowboah
New Member
Question for FEDDOC...
Sir, I wanted to ask your opinion on what a typical series of events would be for winged aviators who present cases of sciatica to the flight docs? I've been dealing with sciatic nerve pain running down my leg for about two months now. It's not constant, and really only occurs when I stand up after sitting for a long period and then goes away shortly after but the pain is sharp when it does occur. Is this something that could potentially sideline me indefinitely?
Thank you very much.
Sir, I wanted to ask your opinion on what a typical series of events would be for winged aviators who present cases of sciatica to the flight docs? I've been dealing with sciatic nerve pain running down my leg for about two months now. It's not constant, and really only occurs when I stand up after sitting for a long period and then goes away shortly after but the pain is sharp when it does occur. Is this something that could potentially sideline me indefinitely?
Thank you very much.
Has an ENT doc made the diagnosis?
The first step would be to determine the cause of sciatica, then determine the likely fix. Has a doc given you a diagnosis...or a cause?
Cowboah
New Member
I saw the Doc two months ago and he thought it was piriformis syndrome (didn't take x-rays or anything) and told me to take ibuprofen, stretch, walk, avoid running, etc and said it should get better on it's own. He put me on 20 days LLD and said I was safe to fly, etc... It's only when I go to stand up after sitting for a long time that I experience pain (butt to foot) and after I take about 3-4 steps the pain goes away. I haven't been able to run and also can't sit and touch my toes because that aggravates it but upper body workouts, squats, etc are all fine. No problems laying on my back and raising my leg up to a 90 degree position (which I read was an indicator of a slipped disk, etc?) I'm going to track the Doc down next week and see what he thinks. Ideally I don't want to get put med down or have to get a waiver if it's something that will get better with time. Where it's been two months without any change I'm wondering if it's maybe something else? Curious what you think. Thank you very much for your time / help.
Just had my follow up appointment regarding my eyes at Naval Health Clinic New England and the waiver needed for LASIK. The opthamologist said he thinks I should get the waiver but doesn't know what NAMI is going to say. He sent all of their reports and a picture of the scar. Originally he said to stand by in the waiting room and he would hear back one way or the other, but after an hour and a half told me to take off and wait to hear back.
My post op reports from my surgeon say my eyes are perfect (go figure), but during the Navy evaluations they saw "a little" haze and one scar on my left eye. So I'm a little surprised by this, and nervous to say the least. The reason he thinks I should get the waiver is because I passed all of the follow up tests (there were like 2-3 new ones) and am within the limits. Corrected I was 20/20 or better on the GoodLite.
As I said, a bit nervous here they might come back and DQ me from flight. I don't know enough about the other designators and if this might happen, I better start taking a look. That said, have you seen cases with minor amounts of haze and a scar coming back DQ'd despite passing all of the follow up tests? Should I start bracing myself for some bad news?
Thanks for any and all help.
My post op reports from my surgeon say my eyes are perfect (go figure), but during the Navy evaluations they saw "a little" haze and one scar on my left eye. So I'm a little surprised by this, and nervous to say the least. The reason he thinks I should get the waiver is because I passed all of the follow up tests (there were like 2-3 new ones) and am within the limits. Corrected I was 20/20 or better on the GoodLite.
As I said, a bit nervous here they might come back and DQ me from flight. I don't know enough about the other designators and if this might happen, I better start taking a look. That said, have you seen cases with minor amounts of haze and a scar coming back DQ'd despite passing all of the follow up tests? Should I start bracing myself for some bad news?
Thanks for any and all help.
I think you should brace yourself knowing that you have done all you can do. Worrying over this will accomplish nothing. IF you want to get a warm fuzzy, call the Physical Qualifications folks at NAMI. You can find their info at the bottom of the waiver guide web page.
I just had PRK surgery done. My pre-op vision was -3.50 in both eyes spherical equivalent refractive error. No astigmatism, 20/100 uncorrected vision, everything else was totally fine. I was told I'd be fine for the waiver to go SNA, but now 3 weeks post-op my OSO office just called me to tell me that the flight surgeon is telling them I'm outside of the pre-op limits. According to them the maximum pre-op refractive error is 3.0...their words not mine. I'm seriously confused here because everything on NAMI's website indicates that I qualify for SNA however they're telling me I need to switch to NFO after I just spent 4,000 dollars on a surgery so I wouldn't have to make that switch. Any idea what could be causing this confusion? Or who to call about this? I'm hitting a brick wall here because no one seems to want to look at the Aeromedical waiver information I have.
Question for a Doc:
I am an SNA-select heading to OCS in July. I have been told by a civilian doc that I have Mitral Valve Prolapse based on a "click" he could hear, but I had no murmur. He also told me he couldn't detect any regurgitation or any other issues when he listened to my heart, and said it is a non-issue. I have not had an echocardiogram.
I reviewed the NAMI waiver guidelines and found that the Navy requires click, murmur, and Echo indication of prolapse for a diagnosis of MVP. I'm concerned about the part that says that some "Echo only" indications may be sufficient to disqualify from flight duties.
My question is (unless I've misinterpreted the NAMI guide), since I don't have the murmur and thus can't be diagnosed with MVP, what other considerations will be taken into account to determine if I'm go/ no-go to be a pilot? Is my issue one that would likely be waiverable/ a non-issue?
My lifelong dream is to be a Naval Aviator, so I greatly appreciate any help/ insight on the issue. Thank you!
I am an SNA-select heading to OCS in July. I have been told by a civilian doc that I have Mitral Valve Prolapse based on a "click" he could hear, but I had no murmur. He also told me he couldn't detect any regurgitation or any other issues when he listened to my heart, and said it is a non-issue. I have not had an echocardiogram.
I reviewed the NAMI waiver guidelines and found that the Navy requires click, murmur, and Echo indication of prolapse for a diagnosis of MVP. I'm concerned about the part that says that some "Echo only" indications may be sufficient to disqualify from flight duties.
My question is (unless I've misinterpreted the NAMI guide), since I don't have the murmur and thus can't be diagnosed with MVP, what other considerations will be taken into account to determine if I'm go/ no-go to be a pilot? Is my issue one that would likely be waiverable/ a non-issue?
My lifelong dream is to be a Naval Aviator, so I greatly appreciate any help/ insight on the issue. Thank you!
FEDDOC: Kind of a serious question. Now that I'm in my "dotage", I have a desire to pursue my FAA Private quals. But I'm torn between going the "Light Sport" route or the conventional private route. What disturbs me is that if I stand for a Class 3 medical, and get turned down, I'm "ipso facto" screwed from going the LSA route, having been "turned down" for an FAA medical. How does one "quietly discern" if the aches and conditions of aging, and their requisite meds, would "preclude" a Class 3? Seems if you ask the question of an AME...you gotta take the answer, which you may not like. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this question...