Hello everyone,
This post has a few different purposes. First, I hope my situation can serve as a warning to others who may be in a similar situation. Second, I'm hoping to solicit the feedback of the members here who may have useful advice for myself and others. And third, to vent my frustrations!
Story:
I was issued a first class medical back in May of 2024 by my AME. I answered "yes" to having a history of syncope, which consisted of two episodes that occurred 5 years ago. Both occurred when I stood up too quickly from a lying down position. I went to my doctor to be on the safe side, who referred me to a cardiologist. I had an EKG done and wore a Holter monitor for a few days. No abnormalities found, and the conclusion from both cardiologist and doctor was that it was due to orthostatic hypotension. All of the test results and doctor's statements were provided to my AME (as per his request), and he reviewed and submitted them to the FAA. Note: I did not pass the Ishihara color vision test, so my medical had the night flying restriction.
Great news! With my medical out of the way, I can begin flight lessons in earnest!
Fast forward about a month, and I successfully passed an alternate color vision test, so I submitted the results to my regional flight surgeon. After a few weeks of not hearing back, I emailed them to ask for an update, and they said my case required further review because of the syncopic history. Cue nervous sweats. Lo and behold, a couple weeks after that email I receive a deferral letter from the FAA stating that they do not currently find me fit to hold a medical certificate, and I need to submit a current EKG and statement from cardiologist, blah blah blah. Unfortunately, it seems as though my submitting my new color vision test result triggered this additional review of my file. My AME confirmed that this is likely the case as well. The real kicker is that I was supposed to solo on Monday (I received the letter on Saturday). So I could have at least solo'd once before finding out that my medical is deferred. Instead of soloing at 18 hrs, I will now be soloing at... TBD.
Hindsight:
I should have not been so gung-ho about submitting my new color vision test result. I'm currently 20 hrs into my PPL and have no need to solo at night, so having that restriction would not have hindered my PPL progress at all. However, not having my medical DOES hinder my progress quite a bit.
I did also consult via email with Dr. Bruce Chien and he suggested a much more thorough approach including getting a treadmill stress test done before scheduling my medical, but my local AME sounded knowledgeable enough and I trusted his judgement. I should have taken Dr. Chien's advice instead. Another benefit is that I could have knocked out all of my color vision testing with him.
Seeking advice:
- I already contacted Wingman Med and Mayo Clinic Clear Approach. Decided against using Pilot Medical Services and AOPA due to some unfavorable reviews I read. Any other services I should be aware of?
- How should I continue with my PPL training? I've been taking 3-4 lessons a weeks and progressing at a pace that I am very happy with. Now that I can't solo, I guess I could continue on working on every other aspect up to PPL and leaving the solo bits till the end. But I'm concerned with how long this process with the FAA will take, and am worried that I will basically finish my PPL training (minus solo portions) and then will just be burning money while I stay current and wait for my medical to be issued. I could also slow down my pace significantly to 1 lesson per week or so, hopefully still learning incrementally but not progressing too quickly. I am very hesitant to completely put things on hold, as I don't want to need to spend a bunch of time to gain currency again.
- I'm seeing a lot of horror stories on this forum and /r/flying about how long the turnaround times are with the FAA. However, most, if not all, of the stories I read are with regards to HIMS cases. Is there any chance that my case is a bit simpler and may be processed more quickly?
Venting:
Overall I'm feeling very frustrated with myself, my AME, and the FAA. When initially doing my consults I was attracted to the simpler/cheaper option presented by my local AME, instead of the expensive/time-consuming option from Dr. Chien. However, following Dr. Chien's advice would have saved me a lot of time and trouble in the long run. I'm also frustrated that my AME did not mention to me that submitting the additional color vision test result would likely trigger a further review of my case. His email response back to me was very cavalier and just stated that I should go do my solo while I wait for the response from the FAA. To the best of my knowledge, I CANNOT solo without a medical, so that's yet again some bad advice. I'm also frustrated that I, as a healthy, fit, active person in my 30's, am under review for something like this. I understand that syncope is a serious hazard in the cockpit, but my episodes had a very clear cause, and I have not had any issues since the two episodes 5 years ago. It's also not a scenario that would occur in the cockpit to begin with (standing up from lying down). Not sure how many thousands of dollars it will cost to see a new cardiologist and get the required tests done, but I'm sure it won't be cheap.
Apologies for the wall of text - I realize this is just a minor set back in the grand scheme of things, especially compared to some of the much more serious issues others here are having with the FAA medical process. In any case, I hope this can help at least one other person, and I'm looking forward to any advice that the members on this forum can provide!
This post has a few different purposes. First, I hope my situation can serve as a warning to others who may be in a similar situation. Second, I'm hoping to solicit the feedback of the members here who may have useful advice for myself and others. And third, to vent my frustrations!
Story:
I was issued a first class medical back in May of 2024 by my AME. I answered "yes" to having a history of syncope, which consisted of two episodes that occurred 5 years ago. Both occurred when I stood up too quickly from a lying down position. I went to my doctor to be on the safe side, who referred me to a cardiologist. I had an EKG done and wore a Holter monitor for a few days. No abnormalities found, and the conclusion from both cardiologist and doctor was that it was due to orthostatic hypotension. All of the test results and doctor's statements were provided to my AME (as per his request), and he reviewed and submitted them to the FAA. Note: I did not pass the Ishihara color vision test, so my medical had the night flying restriction.
Great news! With my medical out of the way, I can begin flight lessons in earnest!
Fast forward about a month, and I successfully passed an alternate color vision test, so I submitted the results to my regional flight surgeon. After a few weeks of not hearing back, I emailed them to ask for an update, and they said my case required further review because of the syncopic history. Cue nervous sweats. Lo and behold, a couple weeks after that email I receive a deferral letter from the FAA stating that they do not currently find me fit to hold a medical certificate, and I need to submit a current EKG and statement from cardiologist, blah blah blah. Unfortunately, it seems as though my submitting my new color vision test result triggered this additional review of my file. My AME confirmed that this is likely the case as well. The real kicker is that I was supposed to solo on Monday (I received the letter on Saturday). So I could have at least solo'd once before finding out that my medical is deferred. Instead of soloing at 18 hrs, I will now be soloing at... TBD.
Hindsight:
I should have not been so gung-ho about submitting my new color vision test result. I'm currently 20 hrs into my PPL and have no need to solo at night, so having that restriction would not have hindered my PPL progress at all. However, not having my medical DOES hinder my progress quite a bit.
I did also consult via email with Dr. Bruce Chien and he suggested a much more thorough approach including getting a treadmill stress test done before scheduling my medical, but my local AME sounded knowledgeable enough and I trusted his judgement. I should have taken Dr. Chien's advice instead. Another benefit is that I could have knocked out all of my color vision testing with him.
Seeking advice:
- I already contacted Wingman Med and Mayo Clinic Clear Approach. Decided against using Pilot Medical Services and AOPA due to some unfavorable reviews I read. Any other services I should be aware of?
- How should I continue with my PPL training? I've been taking 3-4 lessons a weeks and progressing at a pace that I am very happy with. Now that I can't solo, I guess I could continue on working on every other aspect up to PPL and leaving the solo bits till the end. But I'm concerned with how long this process with the FAA will take, and am worried that I will basically finish my PPL training (minus solo portions) and then will just be burning money while I stay current and wait for my medical to be issued. I could also slow down my pace significantly to 1 lesson per week or so, hopefully still learning incrementally but not progressing too quickly. I am very hesitant to completely put things on hold, as I don't want to need to spend a bunch of time to gain currency again.
- I'm seeing a lot of horror stories on this forum and /r/flying about how long the turnaround times are with the FAA. However, most, if not all, of the stories I read are with regards to HIMS cases. Is there any chance that my case is a bit simpler and may be processed more quickly?
Venting:
Overall I'm feeling very frustrated with myself, my AME, and the FAA. When initially doing my consults I was attracted to the simpler/cheaper option presented by my local AME, instead of the expensive/time-consuming option from Dr. Chien. However, following Dr. Chien's advice would have saved me a lot of time and trouble in the long run. I'm also frustrated that my AME did not mention to me that submitting the additional color vision test result would likely trigger a further review of my case. His email response back to me was very cavalier and just stated that I should go do my solo while I wait for the response from the FAA. To the best of my knowledge, I CANNOT solo without a medical, so that's yet again some bad advice. I'm also frustrated that I, as a healthy, fit, active person in my 30's, am under review for something like this. I understand that syncope is a serious hazard in the cockpit, but my episodes had a very clear cause, and I have not had any issues since the two episodes 5 years ago. It's also not a scenario that would occur in the cockpit to begin with (standing up from lying down). Not sure how many thousands of dollars it will cost to see a new cardiologist and get the required tests done, but I'm sure it won't be cheap.
Apologies for the wall of text - I realize this is just a minor set back in the grand scheme of things, especially compared to some of the much more serious issues others here are having with the FAA medical process. In any case, I hope this can help at least one other person, and I'm looking forward to any advice that the members on this forum can provide!