I had a non-cancerous tumor that required surgery, radiation and medication. Once the process was done, I applied for a medical - I had had one for many years before this. The FAA requested an MRI along with many other tests. We submitted everything along with letter from my doctor stating that I was healed and my issue was no longer a program. This process took over a year. I was then issued a provisional medical and the FAA wanted everything resubmitted in six months. Of course my health insurance was convinced I was healed so they were not interested in redoing all the tests for the FAA. At that point I changed to Basic-Med.
Same. I had to have a liver transplant due to an autoimmune disease and bile duct cancer. It took a long time, but I was able to get my third class medical.
Wow, it sounds like a very draining, both physically and mentally!! Not to mention very expensive process required if youre on any kind of medications. Congratulations on sticking with it and following your dreams of flying!!! Thats something to be very proud of!
i know a guy that's been fighting the FAA for over 2 years because he was prescribed a medicine for 3 months and it caused sleep apnea which apparently was a side effect of this medication but he wasnt told and the faa pulled his medical.
It is 2024 now and we have learned from research that all big pharma medicine is poison. I've been discovering this over the last couple weeks since my 82 year old dad's VA doctor almost killed him by prescribing him Flomax (a muscle relaxer) while he already is on a statin and a calcium channel blocker for high blood pressure. The Flomax muscle relaxer also causes your blood vessels to stop their automatic dilating and contracting to adjust pressure to make sure you get enough blood to your brain. His blood pressure was bouncing between 205/109 and then 4 hours later 95/55. He was experincing hot and cold flashes and anxiety and claustrophobia. Now get this, he only got put on the Flomax poison because his doctor asked him during his yearly physical, "Do you have frequent urination during the night?" to which he said, "Yes", so she put him on it. Now get this, I have been researching all his medications and found out that statins CAUSE enlarged prostate and frequent urination. They also cause muscle pain and muscle wasting. Because cholesterol is the transportation device that delivers needed nutrients to the brain, statins cause brain fog, short and long term memory loss, and ultimately dementia (which commenters under UA-cam statin videos all confirm about themselves and their parents experiences). My dad has been experiencing all this while on a statin. He has also been dealing with fluid retention in his feet and ankle for years.... my recent research caused me to discover that a known side-effect of his calcium blocker is FLUID RETENTION in feet and ankles. It is ALL poison made to squash one symptom and then create other problems and ultimately liver, brain, brain or body death, whichever comes first. Regarding your friend's sleep apnea, it is known that alcohol consumption before bed causes sleep apnea due to the fact that it relaxes the muscles in the neck. Therefore, I wonder if your friend's medication relaxed his muscles (like Flomax does) and is being off of it has ended his sleep apnea. If so, he could go in for a sleep study where they watch him sleep overnight and maybe be cleared of the sleep apnea diagnosis?
I failed my medical in 1992 after a heart attack even though after recovery i was not on any medication. Now i have to take bp meds but i am 67 now and don't think i will ever be able to fly again. Makes me mad because when i first started lessons while stationed in Korea in the mid 70s, it took me until 1985 to get my private, bought a 1956 cessna 171 vfr bird and flew it alot out of Ramp 66 in North Myrtle Beach with the intent to go for my commercial rating and make a living as a pilot. Dreams dashed because of medical. Spilt milk and i am not crying about it but just saying it must be very stringent now so i do get the frustration by these younger folks
Mike, I have been on antidepressants for 30 years, only for it to get progressively worse. Had really bad panic attacks. I finally cut out ALL caffeine, not just reduced it. No more anxiety! NONE! I've read a lot about this. Apparently, there is such a thing as caffeine intolerance, with anxiety being one of the symptoms. From what I understand, it is possible to reset the body to eliminate this intolerance, but it requires several months of abstaining from caffeine. Of course, I don't believe this is a cure all for everyone, but I wonder how many people are suffering from this disabling ailment, needlessly, due to something so simple. It cost nothing to try and could make a world of difference for so many people.
I get both sides. Being on anti-depressants and anxiety meds she’s a liability to the FAA if they approve her for flight so the year long medical process I get… but taking a full year to review it and then saying it’s out of date, that seems like a built-in deterrent like mojo said for ppl to just give up the process
I had a liver transplant in 2010 for an autoimmune disease and cancer. It took several months and lots of medical records but eventually got my 3rd class medical to finish my private pilot license. I just have to follow up every 24 months now.
The medical requirements to fly are insane. Millions of fat, tobacco and alcohol and SSRI, users cart children around in SUV’s every day. Pilots are by nature more responsible than 99% of the population.
SSRIs are not to be taken lightly. I know they are dished out like candy in the USA and most people think they are no big deal but they are. The FFA isn’t dumb.
Going through some of the same hoops you did, but for cancer. Wanted me to get a full body PET/CT scan, which for my situation, no oncologist would normally and was not covered by my insurance. Fortunately I found a program that still helped to cover the cost, but still needed to shell out 2 thousand dollars, and like you it was only good for a couple of months before I needed to do the scans again.
Also if your medical gets denied you can also get a medical and flight instruction in a foreign country, turn around and get a validation of foreign certificate and be able to fly in the USA and get FAA certificate even with the denied medical on file. The amount of hoops you have to jump through in the USA for having depression or any psych diagnosis in the past is absurd
A pilot certificate and a medical certificate are different things. I had my pilot certificate, which was perfectly valid, but when I was deferred for my medical it took over 5 years of effort to get the medical back. Over that period my pilot certificate was perfectly valid, I just couldn't use it (at least not in the USA).
If you have any medical issues or are on any kind of meds.......you should probably start with a light sport pilot license. No need for a medical......then you can continue to pursue your regular license. If, God forbid, you can't pass the medical, they can't take your LSA license and you can still fly.
You need to fast. Do not eat until 3. You need to not eat carbs, you need to consider carnivore for a day and if it isn’t bad do 2 days…..I’m being nice in the end, I promise.
I know the feeling, I have all my ratings and they are short on pilots but can’t fly because of medical. I’m like I’m perfectly functional and healthy.
It violates the citizen’s Inherent and Unalienable Rights to the pursuit of happiness as well as the citizen’s Fundamental Right to learn, to acquire worthwhile knowledge. None of those Rights were ever predicated upon the citizen meeting some arbitrary standard of health established by a government agency.
Now that you have a valid medical, get basic med as soon as you can. The FAA will screw up your paperwork again, and if you don't have basic med, you'll wait another year. And you can have a medical certificate and basic med at the same time.
Actually that doesn't work. Now that the FAA knows you have issues they will DEMAND you get a Class 3 every year. Basic med is no longer an option. Ask me how I know!!
You're wrong - it does work. I have it. It may not work in certain instances, but it can. Sometimes all you need is the right doctor who can fill out the paperwork in the manner that the FAA will approve. He gives them the facts in the terminology that they want, and it can work. Your particular issue is specific to you, and no one else. My AME told me exactly how things would work, and he was correct - right down to the smallest details. Not being a smartass here, but maybe a different AME is what you need. Someone who is experienced with pilots that have your issue. Wingman Med does such a thing, and I think your initial call is free. It costs nothing to talk to them. Good luck.@@ggsmith48906
The brain is plastic and it changes in response to our thought patterns. If you no longer have anxiety I'd have to believe that there must be a doctor or psychiatrist somewhere who can diagnose you as not having it. I mean, everyone in science and medicine knows from studies that the brain changes easily. And if your anxiety was from serving in war, and you have been out of war for years, it seems like a logical assumption that the anxiety could have abated after you left the stress-inducing environment. Obviously I have NO IDEA what I'm talking about, but don't let that one AME with one opinion end all your hopes and dreams. Talk to other doctors. That one AME is not the one and only official interpreter of FAA medical knowledge and regs. He could be wrong or misinformed or simply mistaken. Don't let him make you give up hope and stop looking and trying. What if he is wrong? Get a second opinion/AME. Find a psych to say that you no longer have it if you don't have it.
@@StratMatt777 You're missing the point. Nowhere in the regulations is Anxiety (of any kind) listed as a medical condition that can prevent a pilots license. Even if it were, he claimed that I had "Anxiety Disorder" which is not what I was diagnosed with. "Generalized Anxiety" is the VA term for "hey this person is a little more fidgety than most."
Yeah FAA medical process is BS. I have a benign kidney condition. FAA wants a letter from my nephrologist every year and then limits me to 1 year from the date of exam/application. It takes them 6+ months to approve so I have to go back and reapply before I even receive the decision because by the time they approve the 2nd app the original will have expired. It's an endless loop for a condition not on their list and presenting no risk of impacting the ability to operate an aircraft.
This is why most pilots simply don’t self report any meds. The FAA has made it such a nightmare I use a cpap for very mild sleep apnea. I do t even need to use the machine but my insurance paid for it. Why not? The amount of hoops I’ve had to leap thru, scary FAA letters and a local FAA medical examiner that takes months to reply to an email or phone call is crazy.
FAA-Forget Affordable Aviation,cleverly disguised wrapped in the cloaking vail of Safety,security and peace of mind all while diminishing our aviation freedoms through affordability ❤
I've been saying for awhile now is that the FAA absolutely hates and abhors general aviation. FAA hates GA even more than it hates commercial aviation.
Wow. So if I said I'm useless until I get my morning coffee...no license!! That must have been a stressful year for you. Then they wonder why people don't go looking for the help they need.
See this is comment is just so silly. You’re comparing coffee to a serious mind altering medication. SSRIs aren’t just happy pills, it’s a serious medication that shouldn’t be dished out at the rate it is here in the USA.
FAA our motto “ we’re not happy till you’re not happy “
FAA... "we've upped our standards so...up yours" or FAA the h stands for happiness
Both great lines!! 😅😅
I had a non-cancerous tumor that required surgery, radiation and medication. Once the process was done, I applied for a medical - I had had one for many years before this. The FAA requested an MRI along with many other tests. We submitted everything along with letter from my doctor stating that I was healed and my issue was no longer a program. This process took over a year. I was then issued a provisional medical and the FAA wanted everything resubmitted in six months. Of course my health insurance was convinced I was healed so they were not interested in redoing all the tests for the FAA. At that point I changed to Basic-Med.
Same. I had to have a liver transplant due to an autoimmune disease and bile duct cancer. It took a long time, but I was able to get my third class medical.
Wow, it sounds like a very draining, both physically and mentally!!
Not to mention very expensive process required if youre on any kind of medications.
Congratulations on sticking with it and following your dreams of flying!!! Thats something to be very proud of!
i know a guy that's been fighting the FAA for over 2 years because he was prescribed a medicine for 3 months and it caused sleep apnea which apparently was a side effect of this medication but he wasnt told and the faa pulled his medical.
It is 2024 now and we have learned from research that all big pharma medicine is poison. I've been discovering this over the last couple weeks since my 82 year old dad's VA doctor almost killed him by prescribing him Flomax (a muscle relaxer) while he already is on a statin and a calcium channel blocker for high blood pressure.
The Flomax muscle relaxer also causes your blood vessels to stop their automatic dilating and contracting to adjust pressure to make sure you get enough blood to your brain. His blood pressure was bouncing between 205/109 and then 4 hours later 95/55. He was experincing hot and cold flashes and anxiety and claustrophobia.
Now get this, he only got put on the Flomax poison because his doctor asked him during his yearly physical, "Do you have frequent urination during the night?" to which he said, "Yes", so she put him on it.
Now get this, I have been researching all his medications and found out that statins CAUSE enlarged prostate and frequent urination.
They also cause muscle pain and muscle wasting.
Because cholesterol is the transportation device that delivers needed nutrients to the brain, statins cause brain fog, short and long term memory loss, and ultimately dementia (which commenters under UA-cam statin videos all confirm about themselves and their parents experiences).
My dad has been experiencing all this while on a statin.
He has also been dealing with fluid retention in his feet and ankle for years.... my recent research caused me to discover that a known side-effect of his calcium blocker is FLUID RETENTION in feet and ankles.
It is ALL poison made to squash one symptom and then create other problems and ultimately liver, brain, brain or body death, whichever comes first.
Regarding your friend's sleep apnea, it is known that alcohol consumption before bed causes sleep apnea due to the fact that it relaxes the muscles in the neck. Therefore, I wonder if your friend's medication relaxed his muscles (like Flomax does) and is being off of it has ended his sleep apnea. If so, he could go in for a sleep study where they watch him sleep overnight and maybe be cleared of the sleep apnea diagnosis?
I failed my medical in 1992 after a heart attack even though after recovery i was not on any medication. Now i have to take bp meds but i am 67 now and don't think i will ever be able to fly again. Makes me mad because when i first started lessons while stationed in Korea in the mid 70s, it took me until 1985 to get my private, bought a 1956 cessna 171 vfr bird and flew it alot out of Ramp 66 in North Myrtle Beach with the intent to go for my commercial rating and make a living as a pilot. Dreams dashed because of medical. Spilt milk and i am not crying about it but just saying it must be very stringent now so i do get the frustration by these younger folks
Mike, I have been on antidepressants for 30 years, only for it to get progressively worse. Had really bad panic attacks. I finally cut out ALL caffeine, not just reduced it. No more anxiety! NONE! I've read a lot about this. Apparently, there is such a thing as caffeine intolerance, with anxiety being one of the symptoms. From what I understand, it is possible to reset the body to eliminate this intolerance, but it requires several months of abstaining from caffeine.
Of course, I don't believe this is a cure all for everyone, but I wonder how many people are suffering from this disabling ailment, needlessly, due to something so simple. It cost nothing to try and could make a world of difference for so many people.
Good for you Terry. Happy to hear that.
Excellent video on this very important subject!
YOU WANT SOMEONE FLYING WITH MENTAL ISSUES?
I get both sides. Being on anti-depressants and anxiety meds she’s a liability to the FAA if they approve her for flight so the year long medical process I get… but taking a full year to review it and then saying it’s out of date, that seems like a built-in deterrent like mojo said for ppl to just give up the process
I had a liver transplant in 2010 for an autoimmune disease and cancer. It took several months and lots of medical records but eventually got my 3rd class medical to finish my private pilot license. I just have to follow up every 24 months now.
Feds Against Aviation
The medical requirements to fly are insane. Millions of fat, tobacco and alcohol and SSRI,
users cart children around in SUV’s every day. Pilots are by nature more responsible than 99% of the population.
SSRIs are not to be taken lightly. I know they are dished out like candy in the USA and most people think they are no big deal but they are. The FFA isn’t dumb.
They’re incredibly common and generally very safe. Frankly the FAA’s process for this is beyond dumb.
@@stevenjames6604 Safe until you stop them.
Going through some of the same hoops you did, but for cancer. Wanted me to get a full body PET/CT scan, which for my situation, no oncologist would normally and was not covered by my insurance. Fortunately I found a program that still helped to cover the cost, but still needed to shell out 2 thousand dollars, and like you it was only good for a couple of months before I needed to do the scans again.
What you have is different than this woman who has MENTAL ANXIETY ISSUES
THIS WOMAN SHOULD NOT BE FLYING
Also if your medical gets denied you can also get a medical and flight instruction in a foreign country, turn around and get a validation of foreign certificate and be able to fly in the USA and get FAA certificate even with the denied medical on file. The amount of hoops you have to jump through in the USA for having depression or any psych diagnosis in the past is absurd
Really?
This is interesting.
A pilot certificate and a medical certificate are different things. I had my pilot certificate, which was perfectly valid, but when I was deferred for my medical it took over 5 years of effort to get the medical back. Over that period my pilot certificate was perfectly valid, I just couldn't use it (at least not in the USA).
If you have any medical issues or are on any kind of meds.......you should probably start with a light sport pilot license. No need for a medical......then you can continue to pursue your regular license. If, God forbid, you can't pass the medical, they can't take your LSA license and you can still fly.
You need to fast. Do not eat until 3. You need to not eat carbs, you need to consider carnivore for a day and if it isn’t bad do 2 days…..I’m being nice in the end, I promise.
I know the feeling, I have all my ratings and they are short on pilots but can’t fly because of medical. I’m like I’m perfectly functional and healthy.
Them: “We’re from the FAA and we’re here to help you.”
I DO NOT WANT THAT WOMAN FLYING
SHE WILL BE A DANGER TO EVERYONE NEAR HER
The amount of barriers the FAA requires to get a simple Class 3 med is assinine.
It violates the citizen’s Inherent and Unalienable Rights to the pursuit of happiness as well as the citizen’s Fundamental Right to learn, to acquire worthwhile knowledge. None of those Rights were ever predicated upon the citizen meeting some arbitrary standard of health established by a government agency.
Now that you have a valid medical, get basic med as soon as you can. The FAA will screw up your paperwork again, and if you don't have basic med, you'll wait another year. And you can have a medical certificate and basic med at the same time.
Actually that doesn't work. Now that the FAA knows you have issues they will DEMAND you get a Class 3 every year. Basic med is no longer an option. Ask me how I know!!
You're wrong - it does work. I have it. It may not work in certain instances, but it can. Sometimes all you need is the right doctor who can fill out the paperwork in the manner that the FAA will approve. He gives them the facts in the terminology that they want, and it can work. Your particular issue is specific to you, and no one else. My AME told me exactly how things would work, and he was correct - right down to the smallest details. Not being a smartass here, but maybe a different AME is what you need. Someone who is experienced with pilots that have your issue. Wingman Med does such a thing, and I think your initial call is free. It costs nothing to talk to them. Good luck.@@ggsmith48906
I'm 10 months into the process staring down the barrel of $6000 in testing just for the chance to get a 3rd class medical.
Just keep fighting until you hear the printer is printing your medical.
I had an AME tell me that I will never be able to get a first class medical because I have a VA disability rating for "Generalized Anxiety"
The brain is plastic and it changes in response to our thought patterns. If you no longer have anxiety I'd have to believe that there must be a doctor or psychiatrist somewhere who can diagnose you as not having it. I mean, everyone in science and medicine knows from studies that the brain changes easily. And if your anxiety was from serving in war, and you have been out of war for years, it seems like a logical assumption that the anxiety could have abated after you left the stress-inducing environment.
Obviously I have NO IDEA what I'm talking about, but don't let that one AME with one opinion end all your hopes and dreams. Talk to other doctors. That one AME is not the one and only official interpreter of FAA medical knowledge and regs. He could be wrong or misinformed or simply mistaken. Don't let him make you give up hope and stop looking and trying. What if he is wrong? Get a second opinion/AME.
Find a psych to say that you no longer have it if you don't have it.
@@StratMatt777 You're missing the point. Nowhere in the regulations is Anxiety (of any kind) listed as a medical condition that can prevent a pilots license. Even if it were, he claimed that I had "Anxiety Disorder" which is not what I was diagnosed with. "Generalized Anxiety" is the VA term for "hey this person is a little more fidgety than most."
@@recentlydeleted Well, that's great! Go to a different AME and get a medical.
And there are some FAA employees don't like it if you are a disabled Veteran and will do everything to stop you from being able to fly anymore
THIS WOMAN HAS DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY ISSUES AND IS ON MEDS
SHE SHOULD NOT BE FLYING
FAA: if mojogrip gives the tips: we take him out
Yeah FAA medical process is BS. I have a benign kidney condition. FAA wants a letter from my nephrologist every year and then limits me to 1 year from the date of exam/application. It takes them 6+ months to approve so I have to go back and reapply before I even receive the decision because by the time they approve the 2nd app the original will have expired. It's an endless loop for a condition not on their list and presenting no risk of impacting the ability to operate an aircraft.
This is why most pilots simply don’t self report any meds. The FAA has made it such a nightmare I use a cpap for very mild sleep apnea. I do t even need to use the machine but my insurance paid for it. Why not? The amount of hoops I’ve had to leap thru, scary FAA letters and a local FAA medical examiner that takes months to reply to an email or phone call is crazy.
Good thing i don't live in the US
Yea, if you did a doctor probably would have prescribed you an SSRI by now 😂
FAA-Forget Affordable Aviation,cleverly disguised wrapped in the cloaking vail of Safety,security and peace of mind all while diminishing our aviation freedoms through affordability ❤
I've been saying for awhile now is that the FAA absolutely hates and abhors general aviation. FAA hates GA even more than it hates commercial aviation.
Wow. So if I said I'm useless until I get my morning coffee...no license!!
That must have been a stressful year for you. Then they wonder why people don't go looking for the help they need.
See this is comment is just so silly. You’re comparing coffee to a serious mind altering medication. SSRIs aren’t just happy pills, it’s a serious medication that shouldn’t be dished out at the rate it is here in the USA.
FAA POLICY hiring mentally challenged as well as psychologically challenged employees.
What is the medication you’re on? My commercial flight instructor takes lorazepam.