First class medical with two DUI’s

bradg33 said:
I have no need for it, but I was just curious about Soberlink. Looks to max out under $300/mo and about $500 for the device. Doesn't seem too bad, in the grand scheme of aviation costs.

Pricing

Compare the monthly prices of our remote alcohol monitoring programs. Find the plan that best fits your needs.
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Very accurate. My device was $500 and I paid for the premium monitoring in case I went overseas. It was $229 a month. To be honest, it was well worth the expense. I would get daily, weekly, and monthly reports. My HIMS AME would get them too. He loved it.
 
GoFlightMed said:
If time and money aren't and issue and you want to be proactive, its completely reasonable to start working with a HIMS AME and initiate monitoring - quarterly meetings with HIMS AME, 14 drug tests in 12 mo, twice weekly AA meetings etc.

Do you have a solid HIMS AME?
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Money is definitely an issue, time is because I don’t really want to spend 2-3 years trying to get my medical. I had a face to face meeting with a HIMS AME and he has gotten me started on the random monitoring. Are you a HIMS AME?
 
Tools said:
It sounds like ALL your cases required monitoring. I’d worry about horror stories… or at least educate myself.

THAT is what I’m trying to do.

False positives in the context of FAA REQUIRED LDTs have cost careers and LIVES. These false positives are EASY to deal with yet the FAA continues to bury their head in the sand.

FDA approval isn’t a standard of perfection, it’s a standard of UNDERSTANDING so that the imperfections can be dealt with.

The faa won’t use CDT because it’s known to have false positives with end stage liver cancer victims… how freaking many end stage liver cancer victims are being actively monitored? But we KNOW it’s limitations.

Do you know Greg Skipper? A pilot and former AME, who developed the ETG test for monitoring. He also set the 100 threshold but now believes 1500 is a more appropriate value since we have come to know more about the test. The faa knows this and keeps burying their head in the sand.

Have you educated yourself in these matters and do you brief your clients on all of this? All I hear AMEs say is “I’m not an expert in lab testing…”. Considering there is no MRO involved, you damn sure should be!! The careers of your professional pilot clients DEPEND on that.
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Your posts suggest that you didn't know that a good HIMS AME can choose at what level to get reported as positive!
CDT? YGMSM. That went out the window in 1995.
 
bbchien said:
Your posts suggest that you didn't know that a good HIMS AME can choose at what level to get reported as positive!
CDT? YGMSM. That went out the window in 1995.
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I honestly didn’t know that. I can tell you that I’m paranoid every time I’m behind some car with smoke billowing out and reeks of pot that I’ll get some false positive and be forced to start over.
 
Tools said:
Yes
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Say. Please. if you're going to try to "educate a HIMS AME" who is also a Medical professor I say 'that's pretty rich". I'm ROTFLMAO because you had no idea we can choose the test contractor with the threshold we think appropriate. And you obviouly didn't "groc" that even with a (?) false pos test, the human consensus can overcome that. In fact the last revision to the AME guide involving stepdown- I might have had soemthing to do with that, too....

You gotta know what you can change /improve and what you have to work around. Ya gotta "be useful".
So, how many folks have you actually helped?
 
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Does anyone (particularly one of the AME’s in here) know what the current wait time is to hear from OKC regarding alcohol/drug cases once they have all the paperwork they need?
 
Mine took 17+ months. I was 10000% compliant. After the final reports were sent to them it was another 9 months.
I finally wrote my Senator. Not sure if that worked, but within 2 weeks, I got my medical for Abuse.
 
Does anyone happen to know what the different ques are in OKC? I was being told for a while that mine was “sitting on the docs desk waiting to be reviewed” every time I called. Today I called and the lady told me mine is “in the que waiting for the reviewers”. Not sure what (if anything) that means.
 
likely you have a secondary issue that you did not recognize from the documentation. For different problems, there can be a different department.
 
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Not sure what the secondary could be. The only medication I’m on is for blood pressure and cholesterol, which both meds aren’t on their list.
 
Does anyone know what the current wait time after your file has gone into review in OKC? I’m currently on month 8 of being initially deferred and still nothing.
 
StudentPilot44 said:
Does anyone know what the current wait time after your file has gone into review in OKC? I’m currently on month 8 of being initially deferred and still nothing.
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It takes as long as it takes.
 
bbchien said:
Yuh. I have half a dozen captains on this, but it is a rare student pilot that can afford this. It's not cheap. And it does allow you to travel worldwide.
You JUST have to keep it charged. And he has to have someone (MD) who as aeromedical knowledge as to what regeimes the FAA considers adequate, and has to have a way to alt-test whe the airman misses (and Airmen DO miss). So he needs a HIMS AME to run the program.

What George suggests doesn't have all of that. This requires "credible substantiated testimony" from the Sponsoring HIMS AME.
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What if after last DUI (2019) had to have an interlock device in vehicle for 4 years for which was completed successfully with successfully already completed outpatient treatment that was required. Would this satisfy anything in regards to needed treatment or monitoring? Or since it is older. (2020-2024) or before the first time application, would it not be of use? Been in AA/NA ever since and have practice a better way of living.
 
All of that CAN be useful if you can find a doc (or lawyer in concert with a doc) to present it right.

It isn’t a matter of good doc vs bad doc, so much as a good administrator vs amazing administrator.

Some docs simply don’t know the system well, not surprising, it ain’t really taught.

Some docs have found success with a particular method, so just use it without regard, also understandable.

What class of medical, and what circumstances got you here? Mostly, if you want a first class and it was two or more “events” or a documented high BAC in your record, it’s tougher. If you want a third class and one event or low BAC it’s close to no big deal. And EVERYTHING in between…

Contact me back channel if you want some names I’d recommend. Can also fill you in on the process quite a bit. It isn’t a matter of whether or not, but just how efficiently can it be done.

You do need to be prepared for a little sticker shock and plain old stupidity… for now it’s just how it is. Keep in mind, you need to satiate an administrative requirement. That’s it.
 
Tools said:
All of that CAN be useful if you can find a doc (or lawyer in concert with a doc) to present it right.

It isn’t a matter of good doc vs bad doc, so much as a good administrator vs amazing administrator.

Some docs simply don’t know the system well, not surprising, it ain’t really taught.

Some docs have found success with a particular method, so just use it without regard, also understandable.

What class of medical, and what circumstances got you here? Mostly, if you want a first class and it was two or more “events” or a documented high BAC in your record, it’s tougher. If you want a third class and one event or low BAC it’s close to no big deal. And EVERYTHING in between…

Contact me back channel if you want some names I’d recommend. Can also fill you in on the process quite a bit. It isn’t a matter of whether or not, but just how efficiently can it be done.

You do need to be prepared for a little sticker shock and plain old stupidity… for now it’s just how it is. Keep in mind, you need to satiate an administrative requirement. That’s it.
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I appreciate your response. Once I figure out how the direct messages work I'll do just that! Haha! I think my account is too new just yet for me to be able to initiate it.
I am realizing that my mistakes may hurt , but willing to pay enough to do whatever I need. I have heard mixed things about hiring a lawyer, but again not nothing I'm against. I am a AOPA member and they offer some discounts and what not/consults. Reading stories like this gives me hope and horror! Mixed reviews everywhere. Plus is seems the system is changing some from some of Dr. B post about the new year. Thanks again!
 
MidwestBob1389 said:
I appreciate your response. Once I figure out how the direct messages work I'll do just that! Haha! I think my account is too new just yet for me to be able to initiate it.
I am realizing that my mistakes may hurt , but willing to pay enough to do whatever I need. I have heard mixed things about hiring a lawyer, but again not nothing I'm against. I am a AOPA member and they offer some discounts and what not/consults. Reading stories like this gives me hope and horror! Mixed reviews everywhere. Plus is seems the system is changing some from some of Dr. B post about the new year. Thanks again!
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I'm going to send you a pm
 
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