Aviation Medicine

So, about a month ago I hurt my left knee at PT. I went to a local urgent care center, they x-rayed it and said no worries its a bad sprain. I just got back from an orhopeodist. Apparently I have what they call an osteochodral defect, which is basically a big (roughly marble sized?) piece of bone has chipped away from the end of my femur at the knee. I'm getting an MRI this Friday which will most likely be followed by surgery (not the orthoscopic variety) to screw said chip back in. I just got picked up for a pilot slot 2 weeks ago... give me good news doc.

Plan to claim ptsd on my va claim when i separate but trying to go guard. I know you can have a disability rating and be in the guard but how do you know which ratings would be disqualifying. None of them impact my ability to do my job. The guard unit is concerned with me being disqualified/needing a waiver planned to claim: ptsd knee lower back edit: mq-9 guy with no plans of flying outside of the air force

Hi all, Longtime lurker, first time poster; just want to take a minute to thank everyone for their contributions over the years as it has been incredibly helpful throughout this process. After extensive searching between these forums, the USAF Medical Standards Directory, and the Air Force Waiver Guide I still have a question regarding visual acuity. On airforce.com/careers under the Pilot FAQ’s in response to “What are the general qualifications to fly, including height?” the answer includes: “Have normal color vision with near visual acuity of 20/30 without correction and distance visual acuity of no worse than 20/70 in each eye, correctable to 20/20.” …

I recently had an echocardiogram done to determine the cause of a heart murmur that I have been told it innocent. The results say I have a thickened mitral valve with no sign of mitral valve prolape. I know MVP is a disqualifier for FC1 ( I want to be a pilot) but is a thickend valve also a DQ'er, I have looked at the waiver guide and so no guidance on this. The murmur was not detected in my DODMERB physical it has been intermitten since I was a teenager.

With MHS Genesis being rolled out about 6 months ago, will those of us that have already gone to MEPS before that be subject to some scrutiny regarding new medical records they can pull? Do they use MHS Genesis for FC1, when you arrive at OTS or UPT? Most information I can find involves people just going through MEPS.

Anyone know where I can find the latest waiver guide or medical standards directory?

So I know this guy, I told him this was normal for the most part and easily explainable. It’s good it’s on his radar, I’m sure there’s a fairly high percentage of dudes that have been through this. It could come up in a security clearance interview. There was a topic on meds, but this kid was never on meds. What do the masses think? I used the f’ing search function, mostly. ———————————————— When I was very young one of my parents passed away in an accident. My other parent wanted me to see a counselor/psychiatrist about it. I ended up having a pretty good relationship with the psychiatrist and met with him regularly from a young age through most …

Would acute Pericarditis symptoms (that have not come back in 7 years) immediately DNIF a person currently on flight status? My Dad was diagnosed and treated for Pericarditis recently and the symptoms sound very similar to something I had happen to me a long time ago. Thanks

Little background on me: I am an AD Capt / Flight/CC with 90 PCSM, 93 Pilot AFOQT, 100 PFA, and #2/5 Strat from WG/CC for UFT application. I feel like all this would give me a good shot if I could just get an ETP. I've been working through the ETP process and wondered if anyone could give me some insight into how it works. I was prepping my package all last year and encountered some medical issues (diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis, 2017). I found out through research that about 95% of AD pilots in the AF that were diagnosed with the same issue were waived. Requested a waiver, but was denied. Typical considering I'm an untrained asset. I began the E…

Hey y'all. Got a situational question that probably doesn't have a right answer. I'm a civilian pilot, been applying/interviewing for fighters for about 2 years now. I've got spondylolysis (previous stress fracture in my back) that I'm pretty sure will hang me up medically. My understanding is that it's waiverable, but on a case by case basis, with the main focus being on the ejection seat. I don't want to give up the dream of fighters, but the Civil Path to Wings (CPW) application came around and I decided to apply. This would skip T-6s and go straight to T-1s, meaning my back may not be a problem becoming a pilot in the USAF. So, if anyone has experience gett…

Anyone have any experience with a hip replacement or hip resurfacing, and getting back on flight status? I know about the Mountain Home guy in 1998 that was the first in an ejection seat. And I've talked to the Tyndall F-22 guy that had his about 5 years ago. I'm looking for new info. Thanks.

In regards to being selected as a military pilot and starting IFS, is it a required to have a FAA Medical certificate to fly there? Or is the military flying class 1 med certificate they issue you sufficient? The reason I ask is I am very confident I can pass the Air Force's requirements to fly, however I've had some issues with a DWI a few years ago and the FAA is wanting me to jump through tons of hoops and drop a ton of cash. I have my private pilot license, however the FAA wants me to do there stuff to get the 3rd class medical back. Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you.

I have not seen any information about Scleral Lacerations anywhere. My case: I was 3 years old when a piece of glass broke in front of me and a small piece chipped off and cut the white part of of my left my eye. It was a very small, 3mm cut, occurred about a half centimeter from the limbus. I had surgery to repair the cut and never had any issues since (now 22 years later). I was cleared through MEPS and had no issues with depth perception, color vision, or anything other than being about 20/40 (correctable to 20/20) in that eye (right eye is 20/20 uncorrected). It was not easy getting documentation from this incident but forunately I was able to retrieve a post op…

Has anyone on here had any experience dealing with PVCs or PACs (heart rhythm ectopy) either from the flyer or flight medicine side of things?

I have kind of low gum lines in my mouth. When I had braces my orthodontist said I should get gingival augmentation to build my gums up. I never got it done. My gums don't seem to be receeding beyond their current level. They are kind of freakishly low though. Should I get the augmentation just to be safe?

Any of you military pilots have any experience with having a hip replacement? Did you get back on status? Please drop me a line if you did.

My flight doctor told me I am the only flyer in the AF with my type of autoimmune disorder. Actually, my autoimmune disorder has become so widespread that Congress was lobbied by an organization in California to fund research for a cure. Congress granted the request for funding. There is a medical center in San Francisco who can help. I was scheduled to go there but I had a TDY, training, and a subsequent PCS out of California prevent me from going. I am going to retire in 3 years and I wanted to know if I could request a PCS back to that area for treatment once I've been on station for 2 years minimum? I will not die without treatment. On a scale of 1 to 10 my …

About a year ago I had a dull pain in the left side of my chest. I passed it off for a couple of months then one day I decided to go to the hospital to have it looked at. The doc had blood work, ekg, chest xrays and found nothing other then saying it could have been attributed to some medication I was taking at the time. I since have stopped taking the medication and have not had the chest pains again. My question is do you think that I will have any trouble with the Brooks physical? How should I go about telling the docs there? Any advice would be appriciated. Thanks

Has anyone had to do a High/low contrast test for their PRK waiver? I had a waiver through the Navy, but the Air Force wants this test for the AF waiver. I called MCAS Miramar and they dont know what this test is. Has anyone been through this process in southern CA? I am fighting a clock to get back to UPT to avoid going through t-6's again.

Hi everyone, can't find any other threads about kidney stones. Do they screen for kidney stones at flight physicals? I had a kidney stone during the summer of 2019 and reported it to DoDMERB and they let it slide without the need for a waiver. According to this MSD, "History of recurrent renal colic or single episode of renal colic with retained stone(s)" is disqualifying but a single stone is not disqualifying. I'm currenty an AS200 in AFROTC about to be an AS300 and I want to go for the pilot board. I'm afraid that if I get a pilot slot, I'd get DQed at the flight physical if they find I have retained stones. Getting DQed from rated is fine with me, but I want to s…

What happens to a military pilot who becomes pregnant? Is she immediately off flight status? How long is she at home after the baby is born?

Hello, I am looking for information on spinal cysts or tumors. I have had a small bump just under the skin on my spine since I was a child. I have read the Air Force waiver guide on this subject but still have questions. Does anyone know the likelihood of receiving a waiver for this. Also, can one candidate receive multiple waivers? I recently had PRK, so I would need two. Thanks!

Active Duty question here. I was referred to an allergist over 2 hours away due to the town the base is in having none. Is there something about getting milage reimbursed for my weekly shot appointments? Thanks Bros.

Is there any precedent for flyers taking Naltrexone? AFI 148-123 gets no hits.

Both of my siblings were diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I'm getting tested for it next week. I was wondering in the case if I show positive for having it is it waiverable and what is the DNIF period for the synthetic thyroid medication I'll have to take? I'm a Career Enlisted Aviator i.e. Class-III. Thanks!