Help With Medical Problem Identified During Medical Exam

I do not agree with most of the posters here. The FAA develops rules
based upon the pertinent facts and circumstances which are then
subjected to extensive review; they do not act capriciously. If one is
taking some med that is prohibited there may be some side effect which
may impair judgement or other function and that is why it is
prohibited. Someone mentioned Prossac as being dispensed like candy.
This is true. Prossac, is now a generic (read cheap) and is being
dispensed as a palliative for every possible situation (applicable or
not), freely. Prossac has side effects (suicidal tendencies for one)
that were "under reported" for a long time while it was still under
patent. Other meds may be the same.

Some over the counter meds are also hazardous and I believe prohibited.
Benadryl is a good example of this. If one is taking this med for
allegies on a regular basis one should not be flying because in
sustained doses it is a depressant and will certainly impair judgement
(I speak from personal expierience here).

Finally, I think the sport pilot rules eliminating the need for a
medical exam are not wise and will prove to be a taint on GA. People
who should not be flying solo for medical should not be flying solo.
In my opinion those folks should join a club and buddy up with an
unrestricted pilot or find a CFI(paid) to fly with.

Those are my 2cents.

Paul


pjbphd wrote:
I'm taking flight lessons and was hoping to get my private pilot
certificate
not too far down the line. Today I went in for my medical and was
told by
the examiner I have a couple problems. Although I've been
asymptomatic for
some time I'm on a medication that is not allowed by the FAA. When I
went
to the physician who prescribed the medication (a non-pilot) he was
shocked
that the FAA does not allow pilots to take it. Unfortunately he does
not
recommend I discontinue its use. Nor is there an alternative
medication
acceptable to the FAA.



Do I have any recourse other than discontinuing the medication even
though
my physician recommends I stay on it or accepting that I won't be
able to
fly. In other words is there any kind of appeal process provided I
can get
the prescribing physician to state the medication does not impair my
abilities? This is particularly frustrating in that had I known the
med was
not allowed, starting YESTERDAY I could have gone for a recreational
pilots
certificate without a medical review, but now it's too late.



Any help will be appreciated.




--
Too many spams have forced me to alter my email. If you wish to
email me
directly please send messages to pjbphd @ cox dot net

Well, in some over 40 years of flying, I might point out a few areas of
evolution in the medical area. Remember when color blindness was
a big deal? Then they relaxed the rules a bit. Remember when glasses
were a big deal? Then they relaxed the rules a bit. Remember jumping
up and down on one foot? Done that lately? How about the doc whispering
behind your back? In other words, when statistics are obvious, the
FAA has done some things. The non-medical may be one of those cases.

Statistics are available for non-medical pilots. Glider pilots do not have
to have medicals. They self-certify in that they agree not to fly they
shouldn't
be flying. As I understand it, the rate of accidents due to medical
conditions in glider pilots is not statistically different than in the
general
pilot population.

It seems quite obvious to me that medicals have been used as a weed-out
device more than a safety device.

There is an argument to be made that NO FAA medical may be healthier than a
medical. I have heard of pilots NOT going to their doctors because if they
did go to a doctor, it would need to be reported, and explained, on the
flight
physical.




wrote in message ...
I do not agree with most of the posters here. The FAA develops rules
based upon the pertinent facts and circumstances which are then
subjected to extensive review; they do not act capriciously. If one is
taking some med that is prohibited there may be some side effect which
may impair judgement or other function and that is why it is
prohibited. Someone mentioned Prossac as being dispensed like candy.
This is true. Prossac, is now a generic (read cheap) and is being
dispensed as a palliative for every possible situation (applicable or
not), freely. Prossac has side effects (suicidal tendencies for one)
that were "under reported" for a long time while it was still under
patent. Other meds may be the same.

Some over the counter meds are also hazardous and I believe prohibited.
Benadryl is a good example of this. If one is taking this med for
allegies on a regular basis one should not be flying because in
sustained doses it is a depressant and will certainly impair judgement
(I speak from personal expierience here).

Finally, I think the sport pilot rules eliminating the need for a
medical exam are not wise and will prove to be a taint on GA. People
who should not be flying solo for medical should not be flying solo.
In my opinion those folks should join a club and buddy up with an
unrestricted pilot or find a CFI(paid) to fly with.

Those are my 2cents.

Paul


pjbphd wrote:
I'm taking flight lessons and was hoping to get my private pilot
certificate
not too far down the line. Today I went in for my medical and was
told by
the examiner I have a couple problems. Although I've been
asymptomatic for
some time I'm on a medication that is not allowed by the FAA. When I
went
to the physician who prescribed the medication (a non-pilot) he was
shocked
that the FAA does not allow pilots to take it. Unfortunately he does
not
recommend I discontinue its use. Nor is there an alternative
medication
acceptable to the FAA.



Do I have any recourse other than discontinuing the medication even
though
my physician recommends I stay on it or accepting that I won't be
able to
fly. In other words is there any kind of appeal process provided I
can get
the prescribing physician to state the medication does not impair my
abilities? This is particularly frustrating in that had I known the
med was
not allowed, starting YESTERDAY I could have gone for a recreational
pilots
certificate without a medical review, but now it's too late.



Any help will be appreciated.




--
Too many spams have forced me to alter my email. If you wish to
email me
directly please send messages to pjbphd @ cox dot net

On Mon, 6 Sep 2004 21:16:47 -0500, "dennis brown"
wrote:

Remember jumping
up and down on one foot? Done that lately? How about the doc whispering
behind your back?

Actually, I did the foot thing in my first two physicals, and the
whispering thing in the third, this past January.


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Expedition sailboat charters www.expeditionsail.com

dennis brown wrote:

I have heard of pilots NOT going to their doctors because if they
did go to a doctor, it would need to be reported, and explained, on the
flight physical.

I've done that in a way. I postponed seeing my regular physician about a complaint
until after my flight physical (which had to be taken within a month, as it turned
out). I knew that I basically was self-certifying for two years after I took that
physical and suspected that I might be grounded for at least a year if I saw my
doctor before taking it. So it only made sense to get the physical first.

The eventual diagnosis was benign positional vertigo, and I didn't fly much for a
while.

George Patterson
If you want to know God's opinion of money, just look at the people
he gives it to.

On 6 Sep 2004 06:46:08 -0700, "
wrote:

The FAA develops rules
based upon the pertinent facts and circumstances which are then
subjected to extensive review; they do not act capriciously.

Certainly not! What we know about the FAA, and what we fear most, is
that it does not act at all. No bureaucrat ever gets into trouble
because he declines an application. Nor does he get into trouble
because he adds a medication to the prohbited list. And the chances of
him taking it off the list, therefore, are exactly zero.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Expedition sailboat charters www.expeditionsail.com

wrote in message
...
Finally, I think the sport pilot rules eliminating the need for a
medical exam are not wise and will prove to be a taint on GA. People
who should not be flying solo for medical should not be flying solo.

Well, the CAA here in the UK disagree with you. For a while now
they've had the NPPL which is a National PPL. This doesn't require
a medical, just a note from your doctor that you're fit to drive a
lorry (truck for you US people!).

http://www.caa.co.uk/srg/med/default.asp?page=873

"The reason for this change is because the CAA Medical Division
believes that an accurate knowledge of a pilot's medical history is
often more likely than a physical examination to predict the risk of
a future in-flight medical incapacitation. "

Under ICAO rules, for a full PPL which allows you to fly anywhere
in the world, you have to have a medical, that's why they keep the
requirement.

Paul