Hypoglycemia?

"Maxwell" wrote in message
...

"EFIS2" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am a person with reactive hypoglycemia (getsif does
not eat healthy snacks/meals regularly) - I'm sure there is not much
chance of being certified to get a PPL or go onto being an airline
pilot - I just thought I'd ask if anybody knows what the deal is, or
if anybody knows about this problem. I also have bad eye floaters,
I'm sure that would be a problem too. I'm not really optimistic given
that the condition often causes weakness and lack of awareness if I do
not keep my blood sugar up.


I haven't seen your name here before, so just incase you aren't aware.

All the advice given here seems to be very good to this point and time,
except that of MXMANIC.

Hey!! You forgot to warn him about me!!! :-)

Don't assume anything for sure, until you sit down
and talk it over with an AME. He's the man, not only to acess your
situation relative to aviation, but also to suggest solutions.

You can talk to an AME, but DO NOT make an appointment for an FAA physical!
If you attempt and fail then you are also locked out of the Sport Pilot
option. If (and only if) you can fly OK, but can't pass the physical you can
still be a sport pilot as long as you didn't fail a physical first. But, you
really don't want to find yourself with "weakness and lack of awareness "
at the end of a long demanding flight - you have to take care of yourself,
eh? Ask the AME if "sport pilot" is a bad idea.

Another option is the AOPA - they have a medical department and can give you
some information on how likey you are to have problems.

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

"Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" The Sea Hawk at wow way d0t com wrote in message
news:Ecedncx7tONiWIrbnZ2dnUVZ_vGinZ2d@wideopenwest .com...
"Maxwell" wrote in message
...

"EFIS2" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am a person with reactive hypoglycemia (getsif does
not eat healthy snacks/meals regularly) - I'm sure there is not much
chance of being certified to get a PPL or go onto being an airline
pilot - I just thought I'd ask if anybody knows what the deal is, or
if anybody knows about this problem. I also have bad eye floaters,
I'm sure that would be a problem too. I'm not really optimistic given
that the condition often causes weakness and lack of awareness if I do
not keep my blood sugar up.


I haven't seen your name here before, so just incase you aren't aware.

All the advice given here seems to be very good to this point and time,
except that of MXMANIC.

Hey!! You forgot to warn him about me!!! :-)

Don't assume anything for sure, until you sit down
and talk it over with an AME. He's the man, not only to acess your
situation relative to aviation, but also to suggest solutions.

You can talk to an AME, but DO NOT make an appointment for an FAA
physical! If you attempt and fail then you are also locked out of the
Sport Pilot option. If (and only if) you can fly OK, but can't pass the
physical you can still be a sport pilot as long as you didn't fail a
physical first. But, you really don't want to find yourself with
"weakness and lack of awareness " at the end of a long demanding flight -
you have to take care of yourself, eh? Ask the AME if "sport pilot" is a
bad idea.

Another option is the AOPA - they have a medical department and can give
you some information on how likey you are to have problems.


You're right, I guess I'm assuming most AMEs are as helpful as the ones I
have used, and perhaps many are not. When I had a problem with my medical 10
years or so ago, my AME seemed as helpful as good lawyer in helping me
navigate the system. But I guess they are certainly not obligate to do so.

"Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" The Sea Hawk at wow way d0t com writes:

You can talk to an AME, but DO NOT make an appointment for an FAA physical!
If you attempt and fail then you are also locked out of the Sport Pilot
option. If (and only if) you can fly OK, but can't pass the physical you can
still be a sport pilot as long as you didn't fail a physical first. But, you
really don't want to find yourself with "weakness and lack of awareness "
at the end of a long demanding flight - you have to take care of yourself,
eh? Ask the AME if "sport pilot" is a bad idea.

You may be getting ahead of things a little. It has not yet been established
that he could not pass the physical or otherwise obtain a medical, and you're
talking as though he has already failed it. Neither hypoglycemia nor floaters
are unconditionally disqualifying. It would be best to make discreet
inquiries, have his state of health assessed by a physician familiar with FAA
requirements, or ...

Another option is the AOPA - they have a medical department and can give you
some information on how likey you are to have problems.

.... and then decide.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Mxsmanic wrote:

You may be getting ahead of things a little. It has not yet been established
that he could not pass the physical or otherwise obtain a medical, and you're
talking as though he has already failed it.

You have no ****ing clue again. Do you know that if you go into an AME
office with the intention of taking the physical (i.e., you start
filling out the application) you have started down in irrevocable path?

You can't just punt out of the medical. If for some reason you can't
pass, you can't get a sport pilot. If there is any chance you aren't
going to be able to qualify, you do WANT to act like you might fail it
and cover your bases.

Neither hypoglycemia nor floaters
are unconditionally disqualifying. It would be best to make discreet
inquiries, have his state of health assessed by a physician familiar with FAA
requirements, or ...

You don't want to bother with a physician or flight simulator wannabe
who thinks the know what is an FAA requirement. You need to talk to
people who know.

There are a handful of AME's (who know and who specialize in tricky
issuances) on the AOPA forums and the AOPA office itself. You
don't want some random doc playing with this. Just because he writes
you a letter saying that he sees no reason for your condition to
interfere with piloting MEANS SQUAT TO THE FAA.

Ron Natalie writes:

You have no ****ing clue again.

I get my clues from the FAA, so you may wish to direct your criticisms to
them.

Do you know that if you go into an AME
office with the intention of taking the physical (i.e., you start
filling out the application) you have started down in irrevocable path?

I didn't say anything about that. I simply said that it has not been
established that he cannot obtain a medical. Neither of the conditions he
mentions are unconditionally disqualifying. They are only a problem if they
interfere with his ability to fly. It has not been established that they do
so.

Thus, the possibility of getting a medical still exists, and prematurely
writing it off at this point is unwarranted.

You can't just punt out of the medical. If for some reason you can't
pass, you can't get a sport pilot. If there is any chance you aren't
going to be able to qualify, you do WANT to act like you might fail it
and cover your bases.

That prevents you from getting a PPL. Not everyone wants to be a sport pilot.
And see above--it hasn't been established that he'd fail a medical.

You don't want to bother with a physician or flight simulator wannabe
who thinks the know what is an FAA requirement. You need to talk to
people who know.

That's what I said.

There are a handful of AME's (who know and who specialize in tricky
issuances) on the AOPA forums and the AOPA office itself. You
don't want some random doc playing with this. Just because he writes
you a letter saying that he sees no reason for your condition to
interfere with piloting MEANS SQUAT TO THE FAA.

Actually, I've understood otherwise, but again, this is premature.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

There is an element of truth to Ron's statement. If an individual fills out
the FAA form but then bolts before the exam, the forms still need to be sent
to OKC. This presumably would help the FAA to identify individuals who might
have a disqualifying condition from doctor shopping.

Again, most docs, and especially those that are also pilots, would go out of
their way to help an individual submit a waiver application.

Also, since a medical application form includes a Student
Pilot certificate and a medical certificate, this is a
method of identity theft, impersonation and fraud. As a
result, doctors are required to get identification from
applicants and they must account for all forms.


"Viperdoc" wrote in message
...
| There is an element of truth to Ron's statement. If an
individual fills out
| the FAA form but then bolts before the exam, the forms
still need to be sent
| to OKC. This presumably would help the FAA to identify
individuals who might
| have a disqualifying condition from doctor shopping.
|
| Again, most docs, and especially those that are also
pilots, would go out of
| their way to help an individual submit a waiver
application.
|
|

"Viperdoc" wrote in message
...
There is an element of truth to Ron's statement. If an individual fills
out the FAA form but then bolts before the exam, the forms still need to
be sent to OKC. This presumably would help the FAA to identify individuals
who might have a disqualifying condition from doctor shopping.

Again, most docs, and especially those that are also pilots, would go out
of their way to help an individual submit a waiver application.


As I said above, my AME was as helpful to me as a lawyer, in navigating the
system. But like others mentioned, he did have to submit my inital form,
which simply started documenting the rejection process. But at the same time
he told me he was forced to file it, he also fully expained our game plan
for fixing the problem, and geting me back to flight status in record time.
And he did just that.

All of the AMEs I have used maintain a routine medical practice as well. Is
there any reason a pilot can't make an appointment with a public AME for a
routine physical, and discuss his condition relative to a flight physical as
well. Thus, accessing the physican's expertese prior to initiating the FAA
process for a flight physical?

It's a reasonable approach- find an AME that also has a private practice. I
would also advise someone to ask around to see who is willing to go the
extra mile to help a pilot, and the FAA lists AME's who are also pilots.

Once you start getting into waiver submissions, extra tests and
documentation start piling up, so some docs may not be enthusiastic about
doing all of this for the $80.00 or so that they charge.

Others may not primarily be a family physician- one of our busiest AME's is
also a pathologist. It would be hard to rationalize a routine visit to see
him under some other pretense!

The physical exam for a class II or III medical is pretty superficial- the
medical history is more important in identifying potentially disqualifying
defects. (also true for general exams). Failing to list known problems has a
lot of implications in case of an accident or incident.

Still, a pilot AME may be more sympathetic and helpful. Most docs are
interested in helping people keep flying, not the converse.

"Ron Natalie" wrote in message
m...
Mxsmanic wrote:

You may be getting ahead of things a little. It has not yet been
established
that he could not pass the physical or otherwise obtain a medical, and
you're
talking as though he has already failed it.

You have no ****ing clue again. Do you know that if you go into an AME
office with the intention of taking the physical (i.e., you start
filling out the application) you have started down in irrevocable path?

You can't just punt out of the medical. If for some reason you can't
pass, you can't get a sport pilot. If there is any chance you aren't
going to be able to qualify, you do WANT to act like you might fail it
and cover your bases.

Neither hypoglycemia nor floaters
are unconditionally disqualifying. It would be best to make discreet
inquiries, have his state of health assessed by a physician familiar with
FAA
requirements, or ...
You don't want to bother with a physician or flight simulator wannabe who
thinks the know what is an FAA requirement. You need to talk to
people who know.

There are a handful of AME's (who know and who specialize in tricky
issuances) on the AOPA forums and the AOPA office itself. You
don't want some random doc playing with this. Just because he writes
you a letter saying that he sees no reason for your condition to
interfere with piloting MEANS SQUAT TO THE FAA.

In my case I called the FAA in OK City and asked them directly about a
medical condition I had been diagnosed with. Based on this, I bought a 1941
Taylorcraft and am happily flying sport aviation.

Danny Deger