Post Refractive Surgery and Hashimotos Thyroiditis

[Guest Helix]

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

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu6MaoRtKTk4B...-080306-023.doc

So if I am gonna try to do this do i need to 1) get the surgery 2)get the waiver for the vision and hashimotos or am i screwed?

Thanks guys

[Guest goducks]

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

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu6MaoRtKTk4B...-080306-023.doc

So if I am gonna try to do this do i need to 1) get the surgery 2)get the waiver for the vision and hashimotos or am i screwed?

Thanks guys

Helix,

It's not clear to me whether you are applying for UPT or whether you are currently flying. I'm also a bit confused by your statement that your eyes are within the limits for post op PRK and LASIK. I'm assuming you mean pre op, otherwise why would you want surgery in the first place.

Anyhow, if you are an applicant to a flying position, the USAF refractive surgery guidelines don't apply COMPLETELY to you. Some of them certainly do; the most common being the refractive limits (Although for the sake of completeness I would like to point out that the guidelines you linked to are not totally consistent with the USAF refractive surgery policy and waiver guide for flyers. The guidelines indicate that treatments of up to +4.00 D hyperopia and up to 4.00 D of astigmatism are approved for AASD. In truth, AASD waiver guide does not allow for any hyperopic treatments and treatments up to 3.00 D of astigmatism.) Other aspects of the guidelines, however, wouldn't necessarily apply to an applicant, per se. Pupils larger than 8.0 mm or small scars within the visual axis are two that would be reasonable examples. In those cases the AF may not treat you if you were an active flyer, but if a civilian doc decides to treat you and you have a good outcome then you are potentially waiverable. It's hard to say where Hashimoto's fits into the spectrum, but I would venture to guess that if you had refractive surgery and applied for a flying position, your waiverability for the surgery would be based on your surgical outcome and any waivers for Hashimoto's would be evaluated as a separate issue. I don't have any personal experience on whether Hashimoto's would be waiverable or not, regardless of refractive surgery, although I would be surprised if it would be waivered. But it's only my best guess.

If you are an active flyer, then the guidelines apply to you 100%. Certainly, there are cases that civilian doctors would treat and the AF would not. It comes down to risk tolerance. The AF has decided that they don't feel comfortable treating people with auto-immune disorders.

Let me know if this answers your question(s), or not.

GD

[Guest Helix]

Hey man thanks for your answer,

I meant pre op and yea my eyes are like -5.00 so i think im okay. And Im not a flyer, im a civillian. Yea i think that civillian doctors will do prk and lasik with hashimotos and if the outcome is okay i think the waiver for that might work. I also read somewhere in the airforce waiver guide that if u are euthyroid then most people get a waiver for FCI but Im not completely sure how accurate or specific to my situation this is. If any body else could clear this up itd be great.

Question is whether or not the airforce gives out waivers for hashimotos i.e. auto immune disorder. My levels have been steady for a long time on synthroid

[Guest goducks]

Hey man thanks for your answer,

I meant pre op and yea my eyes are like -5.00 so i think im okay. And Im not a flyer, im a civillian. Yea i think that civillian doctors will do prk and lasik with hashimotos and if the outcome is okay i think the waiver for that might work. I also read somewhere in the airforce waiver guide that if u are euthyroid then most people get a waiver for FCI but Im not completely sure how accurate or specific to my situation this is. If any body else could clear this up itd be great.

Question is whether or not the airforce gives out waivers for hashimotos i.e. auto immune disorder. My levels have been steady for a long time on synthroid

Helix,

My apologies. I should be reprimanded for responding without searching. After a little digging, here's what I found on hypothyroid and waivers.

"Of the eight FC I waiver requests for hypothyroidism (5 presumptive autoimmune, one thyroidectomy, two radioactive ablative (one for goiter and one for hyperthyroid)), only two were disqualified (both due to other disqualifying diagnoses)"

So, it sounds like euthyroid secondary to Hashimoto's is potentially waiverable for FCI.

GD

[Guest Helix]

Hey man thanks alot for your response, so it seems that some people have been waivered for hashimotos. According to the qoute you posted it seems most of them got it except those with other problems

Thanks again man