Aviation Medicine

Hey Flight docs, I'm an active duty cross-trainee with a class III medical, currently awaiting ABM training. A few months ago, I started experiencing some pretty intense GI issues to include constant indigestion/ & reflux w/associated chest pain (stress test ruled out cardiac), nausea, stomach pain, and back pain (right shoulder and between the shoulder blades). I was placed on medical hold after I arrived to Tyndall. Of primary concern was the reflux, which has been resistant to every medication in the book (I'm currently on protonix), and which was discovered to have caused some moderate gastritis and esophagitis upon endoscopy (although the esophagitis has cle…

Just started (few months ago actually) my second round of Accutane, also known as Isotrentin, and I was wondering if anyone else here has used the drug before. I went on the med about a year and half ago for my acne. Towards the end of the first treatment I was on 120 mg (almost double what was recommended for my weight) and I started to notice my vision beginning to blur. When I went in to get my vision checked for DODMERB my vision had decreased from 20/15 to 20/25. I'm now in the third month and I'm already beginning to see that my vision is blurry and my eyes are extremely watery (apparently they should be dry). I'm just wondering if I should keep pushing throu…

I read back a way and I see that pilots are not allowed to use Propecia. Is Rogaine allowed? Are hair transplants allowed? P.S. Why is Propecia not permitted?

Flight Doc: When I went through the physical at MEPS prior to enlisting the doc had us all do the valsalva (sp?) while he look in our ears. I was'nt able to do it in one of my ears and he said that it was okay as long as I wasn't going to have a flying position. Now that I'm aiming to get a pilot slot I'm thinking I need to be able to do this. I've heard that it can be mastered with practice but I haven't been too successful. Any help is appreciated.

I would like to become a fighter pilot but I have lattice degeneration. I wander whether I can get a waiver for that problem? Can you direct me to an appropriate reference? Thank You

Anyone had any experience with a pre-separation physical? What does it entail?

I was reading a post about "The Myopia Myth" and was interested in using the reading glasses method to try and calm "ciliary spasm". When i talked to my eye doctor about it she said I dont have myopia, I have astigmatism which cant be fixed or mitigated. she wrote on the perscription -.75,175 and -.75,015 so im wondering since the myopia.org website says people with myopia less than 1 diopter, can possibly get back to 20/20 by using myopter or reading glasses. I wanted to do this but im not sure if since i have astigmatism that method wont help.

Quick discussion for the Air Force guys here. A few years back, shortly before I commissioned in the AF, I was selected for UPT but shortly thereafter medically disqualified at Wright Patterson AFB for all flying duty (Pilot, nav, RPA, ABM) based on a very rare but also extremely minor corneal imperfection, Thygeson's Keratitis (small spots on the surface of my eye). I still met the vision minimums but unfortunately the flight surgeons would not consider me for a waiver, and their justification was that this condition was "debilitating","extremely painful", and "progressive". I remember the day I was disqualified, they were adamant that I would never be able to g…

Big questions here... I did a search but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. I am here at my training base for UPT and have noticed bright red blood in my stool twice. The first time was a week ago and it was a fair amount. Then today I noticed a little again but nothing like last week. When it happened last week I had worked out for two hours and then was outside in the heat for three hours when I started to get some stomach pains and then noticed the blood in my stool a short time later. Now, I have been experiencing certain things like this for a couple years. (No blood or not much to my knowledge in the past though.) I went to the doctor a whi…

MD, I'm an active flyer. I've been suffering from pretty bad heart burn at night, especially lying down. Usually I end up vomitting. The pain seems to go away when I sit up. It seems when I am TDY the heartburn is more common. Is this acid-reflux? Is there anything over the counter I can take which is legal? I usually take tums or rolaids with no luck. Can I expect treatment for this to DNIF me for a while? Regards Magicrat

I recently went on PDT with AFROTC and was disqualified for my Jet Orientation ride because of a "heart murmur" that was heard by the flight doc using a stethoscope. I had never heard anything from any of my other doctors about it both before and after his finding and the ones after looked very hard to find it. They heard nothing, but to be sure they sent to me get an echocardiogram done. I had already taken 2 electrocardiograms too be sure nothing was wrong and they both came back normal, even though they do not diagnos heart murmurs. The echocardiogram results were just given to me and it said the following: Description Of Procedure: Technical quality of study is g…

April 27, 2005 This thread will serve as my personal diary to help me follow my progress in improving my vision with the help of eye exercise introduced by the See Clearly Method program. I thought it would be a good idea because it seems there are many on these forums who wonder a lot if this stuff really does work. I haven't been to an eye doctor in over a year and a half so I can assume my vision is somewhere in between 20/50-20/70 with slight astigmatism. Last time I checked it was 20/40 but it probably got worse by now. Whatever it is, by the end of this year I will correct my vision to 20/20 or better, with no astigmatism (this program claims to be able to correc…

I am a member or AFROTC Det. 159 and have just been selected as a pilot candidate. I am worried that my pectus excavatum surgery will DQ me when I go to Brooks AFB next month for my Flying Class I. I was curious to know if anyone can give me advice on what I could do to be able to pass this. I have made contact with the doctor that did the surgery for a consult, but not sure if there is other documents that I can bring to help myself out. I would appreciate any help that anyone can give me, maybe even someone that has been through this situation before. P.S. I like the board and think that this is a great resource. I will advertise to the other members of my detachment…

Hey guys looking for some info on this peculiar situation. I was fortunate enough to be picked up for a UPT position by an ANG C-130J unit back in February of 2022. Today at MEPS I was deemed disqualified due to my Refraction Error in my left eye being a 3.25 (3.0 Refraction Error limit). This came as a surprise to me because in April of 2022 at my civilian Optometrist, my vision prescription was a 2.75 Refraction Error astigmatism in each eye (please see attached photo). My astigmatism has also never been above a 3.0 Refraction Error for 10 years have worn contacts. I was told by the Optometrist Technician at MEPS that this drastic deviation is because t…

In High School, I was diagnosed with depression, and was put on Lexapro for 4 months. It hasn't recurred since and I've otherwise been perfectly normal. How much of a problem will this be?

What do you want from the Medical Group? You probably only want two things: good healthcare when you need it, and to be left the hell alone when you don't. Both of these things can only exist with good communication, something the Air Force generally lacks in great quantities. There will be many times when you really need to talk to somebody about the results of a test, the documentation from an off-base visit, or the status of a special duty application. There will also be times that the MDG wants to talk to you, so they annoyingly call you 5 times a day. Or they'll call once and leave a message, but their line is constantly busy or they never answer the phone. You…

Hi. A few months back I was originally diagnosed with Crohn's disease (so I figured there was no way I would be flying), but after some tests they decided it was only Ulcerative Colitis. My question is, is this a waiverable condition? My hope is someone on here knows someone with the problem or has had the problem and knows how the AF typically handles it. The waiver guide is kind of vague. Any info would be great. Thanks.

Does that sound like something that could be a potential disqualifier? My teeth are very temperature sensative. I only brush my teeth with warm water, too hot hurts, and too cold hurts. Thanks.

I've been told I need to get the SG to sign off on a knee scope I had almost 10 years ago for mild chondromalacia of the patella before I can go to MEPS. Does anyone know why this is a big deal? The only thing I can think of is my medical file is missing a sheet with post-surgery/therapy evaluation. I have an appointment with my doctor slated for next week to take care of that, but any advice on what is needed to get the SG to sign off on it would really be appreciated.

Good afternoon all, I'm an Air Force OTS Rated applicant with my package currently before the 15OT01 Review Board. We're expecting results within the next 2 weeks, and due to my age, I'm a priority for the next May BOT class. If selected, I would have to go to the May BOT class, or else I would be age disqualified. During my medical screening paperwork I filled out last year, I admitted to having dislocated my left knee in 2005 when I was 19 years old. My recruiter told me this would require a waiver, so this summer I visited an orthopedic surgeon and had a full consult with X-Rays. He filed a report with my recruiter stating that there is no long-term damage from…

while looking over i saw that you must meet the standards for both Refractive Error x.xx and Visual Acuity 20/xx. My plan is to become an officer and a pilot in the Air Force, but for now I am enlisting because i need the direction and motivation. Right now my contact prescription says 3.5 which would put me within limits of the pre-prk refraction error of 5.5.My question is what is the difference between the two test, and why are both needed? Also, Since i will work Mx on the flightline does this give me a better chance at receiving the surgery?

Hello all, I have looked through some threads and have not seen anything pop up in regards to approved contact lenses. The eye doc at WPAFB said I would need to wear either the issued glasses or the air force approved contacts for flight status. He said I would be able to google search it and a list would pop up. However, I have done that and have had no such luck. Does anyone have any info on the list or a contact brand/type they recommend? Thank you in advance for the info.

What's the deal with wisdom teeth at WP for FC1? I have 3 impacted according to my civilian dentist and he suggests removing them. None of them are bothering me at all, but I read on here that wisdom teeth are no go for FC1 at Brooks. I'm guessing it's still the same at WP? I have my FC1 scheduled in two weeks which is not enough time to get them pulled. How long does it take for them to clear your FC1 after you get them removed?

Here's the situation, a have my OTS class date and am all ready to go but the other day I am reading a list of medical disqualifiers and notice that I may have a condition that is on the list. I have had a couple endoscopies done when I was younger where they found "trachealization of the esophagus", and did dialations. I have not had anything done in about nine years, but the reason that I had them done initially was because I would get food stuck in my throat sometimes. It still happens to me sometimes, 3-4 times a month, but it only happens when I am trying to swallow too large of pieces of a fairly non-malleable food (ie. steak, also very large tablets). Generally…

I have had 2 pneumothoraxes 3 years apart. Will this be a problem down the road?