Aviation Medicine

Aside fomr my vision, which is still in the limits, I have had a weight problem my whole life. I tried atkins lost a great amount of weight but found after I decided to get off of it about half of it came back. I have begun a low calorie diet, and to help out I have been taking Calcium Pyruvate to help out, it is a natural drug (I know that doesnt speak for much so was ephedra) but it is meant to increase your bodies expenditure of calories in rest mode and thoruhgout the day. I have not felt any side effects, I took hydroxycut a few times back when ephedra was still legal and I was full of energy, I feel no different on this. I have noticed in just 2 weeks doing it (h…

Hey guys got a question, My eyes are well within limits of the Airforce post op limits for PRK and LASIK but the only thing is I have Hashimotos disease which means that untreated I have hypothroyidism. But I have been taking medicine for a long time and my levels area ll steady and normal. However I havr hashimotos and this seems to DQ me for the eye surgery according to the airforce. But i know for a fact that if your hashimotos is controlled the civ doctors let u get PRK and LASIK. Heres the USAF page that says hashimotos disqualifies me https://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu6MaoRtKTk4B...-080306-023.doc So if I am gonna try to do this do i need to 1) get the surge…

Doc, I have never had a cavity in my life, but because I grind my teeth in my sleep I have had to get 3 gold grounds on my mollars. In addition I bashed in another tooth and had to get that fixed with a porcelan crown. Now I have four crowns and no cavities. Kinda weird! Will this be a problem when I get to Brooks? Is there a limit on the number of crowns and even what types that you can have? Any help would be appreciated!

I had an MRI done yesterday on my right wrist. The report says I may have a ligament tear. I'm going to be meeting with my doc on Monday who is probably going to want me to get an arthrogram on the wrist. (I hear they're painful?) I am presently scheduled to attend BOT 08-01 at Maxwell sometime in late August and then on to UPT. I was told by my recruiter that breaking a bone may affect my position as a pilot select. So the question is, will having some reconstructive surgery on my wrist keep me from getting into UPT? I would think not assuming a full recovery, but thought I'd check with the flight docs here at Baseops. EDIT: I just got off the phone with my doctor's s…

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The recent Germanwings crash has stirred a lot of discussion on several topics: 1. Importance of having more than one person in cockpit at all times 2. Reporting mechanisms for mental and medical health from all sources of medical care 3. How to address depression and mental health disorders in pilots I have read quite a few blogs and editorials suggesting there is no room for depression or mental health issues in anyone allowed in a cockpit. My personal opinion is that this is the wrong direction to go. There needs to be a way for pilots who are depressed to get back in the cockpit, a pragmatic rational approach is preferred to a 'zero tolerance' on…

Hello, I was wondering what the requirement was for AF RPA Pilots and the depth perception test. Is it the same standards as any other pilot position? Reason I asked is I had a hard time on the circle depth perception test at prescreening and wanted to know if it's waiverable or if a different test is adminstered at Wright. I have done other depth perception tests online and have done just fine on all of them. Thanks!

So, I have been absent for quite a while, I might be needing jaw surgery, its not required but its a good idea to fix my overbite, the official name of the surgery is Bi-Sagital Split Osteotomy Is this gonna cause trouble later when attempting to get a pilot or Nav slot? Thanks

I recently did my initial flight physical. I was initially told my vision would disqualify my from pilot, which I knew, but I would be good for CSO. My recruiter call me back yesterday and said I had been disqualified from both due to vision. When I was at the clinic that day, the med tech and I checked a vision standards chart and my refractive error fell into the CSO acceptable category, my refractive error is -4.00 in both eyes. I'm corrected to 20/15 in both eyes. Does anyone know if the standards have been changed recently, or if there is some other mix up that could have caused this? Thanks

I've been scheduled to do my FC1 at Wright-Patterson this coming Monday. I hadn't been to a dentist in awhile so I figured I needed to get into one. I wasn't expecting to be scheduled so soon so I only went today.... needless to say I have some work that needs to be done. This dentist can only get me in next Thursday after I come back. Is it better to find a dentist that can do the work ASAP or will I be alright going to WP with the paperwork showing them I'm getting the work done? Any help appreciated. Thanks

This is mostly aimed at the other medics, but I'd like to hear from some retrainees on the forum. The other week, a patient came to my office for a special duty clearance with a very short turnaround. The member had previously applied for an unrelated job and was medically cleared by the person I replaced. He obviously wasn't selected, so he applied for a different position. As he had been approved relatively recently for the first job, he thought it would be a pretty quick review process and relative formality for me to review his record and generate his 422. He's not wrong in that assumption; if another 4E reviewed and cleared him, I hoped the clearance process woul…

I'm an AFROTC cadet with a slot for pilot training and recently encountered some issues with my flight physical. Wright Pat had my medical records with a history of asthma (before my 13th birthday which is the waiverable date for childhood asthma). With that in my record, they sent me in to take a PFT and MCT. I learned that I had failed the PFT and was bad enough the pulmonologist didn't let me take the MCT. (The specific issues was a low FEV1/FVC w/o the bronchodialator and a >200cc increase in FEV1 post-bronchodialator.) I was then told that this is disqualifying for pilot but that I could appeal and probably still have a shot at commissioning. Since then, I t…

I'm looking for some advice on what to do in this situation. I'm a civilian pilot with a first class medical who will be applying to the guard/reserve in about a year. Starting back as far as I can remember I would get sick an average of once a month or so (sometimes more, sometimes less) with stomach aches/intestinal pain lasting 1-3 hours. I chalked it up to a weak system and didn't make any changes. Doc said I might have "IBS". I had some tests done early on in life and they came back negative (including Celiac). Around last March it began to get much worse. I was getting stomach achs an average of twice/week. My Dad has these exact same symptoms and once he stoppe…

When I was active duty, I had an etoh waiver. Foolishly, I embellished the dsm-iv test hoping that would get me out of trouble--wrong!!! I was seperated more than 4 years ago and thought I was completely out of the service, until I received a letter of promotion just recently. I found out I am in the inactive reserves now. I want to fly but have had some drinks socially since I thought I was never going to fly again. My old waiver expired 2 yrs ago, but since then I've been reevaluated and only had 1 out of the 7 for dsm-iv. What are my options for flying now? Should I show the reeval or just say nothing?

So two parter, is having a deviated septum a DQ condition and would i have more hoops to jump through if i had it fixed before FC1 vs waiting, getting cleared, and fixing it afterward? i only ask because my FC1 date keeps moving further and further and would like to get it fixed if able.

I am not in the military yet. However, I plan on applying for a flight slot. Basically, I was wondering if I had this mole removed would it pose any problems later. In other words, would I be disqualified? Would I need a waiver? Does it matter how I have it removed? I was thinking about laser removal, however, does it matter that the technology is fairly new? Any help on this would be very helpful. Thanks.

Along with two other chronic medical conditions, I was just diagnosed with sleep apnea. It's the central nervous system version, as opposed to the obstructive type that gets most people. Everyone I've spoken with that has started using a CPAP machine says that it helped them immediately. I've used it for three weeks now, and if anything, I feel worse when I get up in the morning. The mask is also knawing a sore on the bridge of my nose. Is there anyone out there that has had the same trouble?

I had a benign osteochondroma (bone tumor) removed from my lower femur. By definition, an osteochondroma is a benign tumor. It's more or less a small branch that shoots off during bone growth and development, and is capped by cartilage. Tumor was removed, they double checked in the lab, no cancer. No kind of therapy needed and never a problem since. I have a 3-inch scar on my leg from where they took it out, and I've stayed very active and healthy since then; no broken bones, etc. Today I got a call from Brooks saying they needed further documentation about treatment, doctor's visits, etc. Nothing major, but the gentlemen started mentioning "waiver" and "disqualificat…

I'm a rated airlift pilot in the Air National Guard (8 years) and after 32 years of perfect health, I suddenly started having achy joints in my hands and feet several months ago. It was never bad enough to affect my flying but I decided to mention it to my family docter as I could tell something was not right. He refered me to a rheumatologist who diagnosed me with psoriatic arthritis. He put me on an anti-inflamatory called sulfasalizine which seems to have taken care of the problem. I feel fine but after investigating the air force regs, I'm wondering if I have a prayer of getting a waiver for this condition. Has anyone had any experience with this or have any s…

I have a different kind of question that the ones I've already seen posted. I'm not currently in the military and was on a med school route. I had planned to join and be a doctor in the air force until a recent visit to the base caused to me to reconsider a childhood fantasy of mine to fly a jet. I haven't taken any tests but am confident I can do well in anything written placed before me. My problem is that I have a small fear of heights (or more specifically falling from high places). I can sit on high building with now problem but the thought of jumping out of a plane to skydive scares me. But I also haven't had much exposure to those kinds of things. I've never even b…

My recent vision diagnosis was 20/40+1 and 20/30 in each eye. I am farsighted (Hyperopia). My near vision is perfect. With correction in the eye exam, I was only able to get 20/20-1 in one eye and 20/25 in another. My correction was +2.00 in one eye and +1.50 in another. I have never worn contacts or glasses since I was a kid. If I were to wear contacts, do you think my vision would improve to 20/20 in 6 months? (thats when the next board is due). I am considering just shooting for lasik this month ASAP. But I worry that I might be biting off more than I need.

Hi all, I wanted to get some opinions on the FC1 Medical History review. I am thinking about applying for ANG UPT, but I don't want to go through years upon years of trying only to be stopped at the FC1. I have seen a lot of back and forth on just what to include on the DD 2807. I think it is fair to argue that the majority of folks, to say the least, leave out some information on the DD 2807. For many folks on the civilian side this won't present much of a problem because there are no medical records directy accessible by the flight doc. However, for the prior enlisted/commissioned guys there are electronic records and hard copy records readily available. My question…

I realize this is a huge shot in the dark, but I wanted to at least talk with some folks. I am 23, currently an Engineer (Mechanical Engineering degree) for a large Aerospace/Defense contractor. I love flying and currently have my PPL, working on my Instrument Rating as we speak. I am really considering making flying a career at this point. I have already confirmed I can get a first class medical (for civilian flying of course) I flew with a fella who flew F-100s in Vietnam and F-105s in ANG. He really recommended I look into ANG. The catch is I have asthma. I do take a preventative inhaler every day. I haven't had an "asthma attack" since I was 3 years old. I r…

Hey everyone. I am a newbie to this forum. Based off of what i've read so far you guys seem like an informative bunch. So, perhaps one of you may have some insight to contribute to my question. Here's my situation. I have had a life long ambition to fly for the Air Force. In one year I will graduate college with a BS in physics. I have a good GPA, no felonies, in great shape, etc. In a recruiters eyes I check all the right boxes for a Pilot hopeful. However, back in 2009 doctors found a small tumor in my shoulder. Long story short, the tumor was removed via minimally invasive surgery. Once out of me, the tumor tested positive for cancer. Good news is, since t…

I searched quite a bit and didn't come up with anything. I just was diagnosed with mono, and wanted to know if in the next few years it will be any problem with my flight physical to be a AF pilot. Thanks.