Hypoglycemia?

"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.

On Apr 7, 9:25 am, "Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" The Sea Hawk at wow way
d0t com
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!

Listen to Capt Geoff on this one. I understand that the medical forms
(Forgot the number) are tightly controlled, so once you fill it out,
the process will begin. Best to find out what you are up against
before you start. Most AME's will be glad to help.

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

Take anything AOPA says with a grain of salt. If I had a buck for
every piece of bad advise they have given people I know, I could go
out and buy an airplane.

--
Geoff
KB

"EFIS2" wrote in message

I am a person with reactive hypoglycemia (gets weak/confused if does
not eat healthy snacks/meals regularly)

Has it been diagnosed by an MD? Do you monitor your BGLs? If not, you
should get this done before getting your medical. mxmaniac is an idiot, but
his response, in this case, is substantially correct. Your alleged
condition isn't even tested for on a standard medical unless you admit that
you may be incapacitated or seriously adversely affected by it. That
admission would be made in the written questionaire applicants fill out as
part of the certification process. But there are a near-infinite number of
conditions that will beg for further scrutiny and / or disqualification.
First, establish that you really have reactive hypoglycemia. If you do,
you'll come under further scrutiny. If not, maybe you should disqualify
yourself on the grounds that you have a legitimate concern that you may not
be fit to act as PIC for uncertain reasons. mxmaniac, for instance, could
use his posting history here as an admission of a potentially dangerous
fantasy life.

moo

On Apr 7, 2:43 pm, "EFIS2" wrote:
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.

You already know the answer, it sounds like you do not think you are
fit to fly (at least as PPL) presently. It doesn't matter what the
doctor says, if you are unconvinced of your ability to keep control
then you should not be flying.

If your condition is *well* controlled and you know that for the
duration of any given flight that your condition will not create any
undue danger, then there should be little reason that the *FAA* would
prevent you from obtaining a medical with restrictions. Other
countries are not so lenient when it comes to hypoglycaemic tendancies
and you may find that it is not possible if you are not in the US.
There is not much chance of CPL let alone ATPL, but never say never.

I am a Type 1 Diabetic, similar to your malady, I'm not in the US, I
have no chance of a PPL where I live (for the forseeable future), but
I am satisfied in myself that my control is such that for any flight I
would conceivably undertake I am at no more danger than a regular
person, and so I, and my doctors, have no qualms about flying under
this country's microlight (similar to sport pilot) regulations. Of
course, testing, and carrying glucose snacks (Jelly Beans will do) is
mandatory.

In the US, even individuals with type I diabetes are able to get a third
class medical with a waiver. There are a lot of misperceptions and anecdotes
regarding the difficulty of getting a medical.

In the pubs, the AME's who are also pilots are listed, suggesting that AME
pilots may be more sympathetic to helping an individual get a medical. On
the other hand, there are certain conditions that absolutely disqualify
people from flying- and in these cases, it is not the fault of the AME.

It is reasonable to ask an AME (or better yet, look up the medical
requirements on the FAA website) about the medical requirements as well as
any concerns you have regarding your ability to fly. On the other hand, if
you willfully hide a known medical condition that might affect your flying
capabilities, you may also open yourself up to a lot of liability issues
that might affect both your and your family in the case of a claim.

Again, MX is not a pilot, physician, or AME. Make your own judgments about
all of this, but if you want to fly it is always worth making the effort,
which is more than can be said for him.

In article . com,
EFIS2 wrote:
I am a person with reactive hypoglycemia (gets weak/confused if 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.


erm.... I have the same and I just need to avoid simple carbs (sugar,
white bread and pasta) to be ok. Reactive hypoglycemia is just your
body overreacting to sugar and pumping too much insulin.

I dont need to keep by blood sugar up. I need to keep it low. if it goes
high, my body get its too low and I feel bad. if I dont eat, it normalizes
in an hour or so. If I do eat sugar, the cycle repeats and I feel worse.



--
Eduardo K. |
http://www.carfun.cl | Freedom's just another word
http://ev.nn.cl | for nothing left to lose.
|

Viperdoc wrote:
\

Regardless- you should seek the opinion of a real AME or contact AOPA for
advice. And, even though I am an AME and senior flight surgeon in the Air
Force, I would not presume to make a diagnosis or offer medical
recommendations without a proper history or examination.

The REAL AME's are over on the forums.aopa.org site under MEDICAL
MATTERS. You need to be an AOPA member, but you should be one
anyhow.

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.

I'm not sure I understand the point of your post- I am a real AME and a
member of AOPA. Most of my aerospace medicine activity is focused on Air
Force and military flying, which is around ten times more onerous than the
FAA, and a lot more stringent. For what it's worth I also fly real
airplanes.