Hello everyone, another 1st Class Medical Question. Currently 17 years old and wanting to become a commercial pilot. I am friends with a commercial pilot Right now and he has been tons of help with ame, medicals, and FAA Questions. He recommended I call an AME to ask questions about where to go from here, or Wingman Med, however, I'm considering just paying the $1800 Wingman Med Fee and having them help me. I had a past with anxiety/depression and took medicine but have not in a year or so and have been super stable, and had/have..??? supraventricular tachycardia. I had 2 ablations because the first one was not successful. I passed out a while ago once but I swear that it was from getting up too fast. Besides that, I have never had any symptoms the only reason I even found out I had it was from my Apple Wach. I know the FAA doesn't care what I think it was from I'm just mentioning it. I am a very active and happy person is this something I could show/prove? Or do I have no chance of getting a 1st class? I know people recommend talking to @bbchien so there's the @ if you can help if anyone needs any more information to help decide I would be happy to provide it. Thank you, everyone!
1st Class, Should I Go to Wingman Med?
- Thread starter kylerb
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BillTIZ
Final Approach
Some others on PoA ****ed bbchien off, so he may not respond for a while.
Google Dr Bruce Chien, Aeromedical
You need to be straight, up front, don't ever hide any medications you have taken or any health or mental/depression related events.
You have some issues that need to be resolved, it will not be a cheap and easy task.
Good luck to you
Google Dr Bruce Chien, Aeromedical
You need to be straight, up front, don't ever hide any medications you have taken or any health or mental/depression related events.
You have some issues that need to be resolved, it will not be a cheap and easy task.
Good luck to you
MVM19
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There's some missing information (if you're comfortable sharing) that could be helpful for others here:
(1) What was your actual diagnosis re: anxiety + depression? If you don't have it handy, you can usually find it in the prescribing physician's report / your medical records, which you can request. That will help us understand how complex this piece is (i.e., Major Depressive Disorder is a harder problem to solve than Generalized Anxiety Disorder.)
(2) Do you see a psychiatrist, therapist, or other medical professional who can attest to your mood/stability? That will be important to try and obtain, as they will value that much, much more than self-reporting.
(3) What was the medication prescribed? Was your stoppage documented with the prescribing physician?
Re: Advocacy groups: Personally, I am a fan of some of the aviation medical consulting groups, but in some cases, they can be overkill for some people where a Senior AME on a consultation-only basis would be significantly cheaper and more helpful. That said, I do think you have a complex (but potentially workable) case — one that may benefit from keeping one of the advocacy groups on retainer.
My preference (on advocacy groups specifically) is AMAS in Colorado Springs because I used them before, but I also looked at Left Seat in Oklahoma City and they seemed good too. I would talk to both and see if they have experience in similar cases. I think LeftSeat offers a free consult (don't quote me on that), and I know AMAS offers an email/phone consult for $50. Both could be good entry points.
A consult-only with a really good Senior AME could be good too. Dr. Chien is very knowledgable, but folks like @lbfjrmd could be helpful as well.
All this being said, you should prepare for a long road ahead. This process will likely be lengthy and involve significant documentation, testing, and potentially additional evaluations (e.g., HIMS AME review, FAA cardiology panel review.) Nonetheless, I would work towards your medical before you work towards your license (my two cents... just so you don't invest in flight training before you're certain you can get a medical issued.)
(1) What was your actual diagnosis re: anxiety + depression? If you don't have it handy, you can usually find it in the prescribing physician's report / your medical records, which you can request. That will help us understand how complex this piece is (i.e., Major Depressive Disorder is a harder problem to solve than Generalized Anxiety Disorder.)
(2) Do you see a psychiatrist, therapist, or other medical professional who can attest to your mood/stability? That will be important to try and obtain, as they will value that much, much more than self-reporting.
(3) What was the medication prescribed? Was your stoppage documented with the prescribing physician?
Re: Advocacy groups: Personally, I am a fan of some of the aviation medical consulting groups, but in some cases, they can be overkill for some people where a Senior AME on a consultation-only basis would be significantly cheaper and more helpful. That said, I do think you have a complex (but potentially workable) case — one that may benefit from keeping one of the advocacy groups on retainer.
My preference (on advocacy groups specifically) is AMAS in Colorado Springs because I used them before, but I also looked at Left Seat in Oklahoma City and they seemed good too. I would talk to both and see if they have experience in similar cases. I think LeftSeat offers a free consult (don't quote me on that), and I know AMAS offers an email/phone consult for $50. Both could be good entry points.
A consult-only with a really good Senior AME could be good too. Dr. Chien is very knowledgable, but folks like @lbfjrmd could be helpful as well.
All this being said, you should prepare for a long road ahead. This process will likely be lengthy and involve significant documentation, testing, and potentially additional evaluations (e.g., HIMS AME review, FAA cardiology panel review.) Nonetheless, I would work towards your medical before you work towards your license (my two cents... just so you don't invest in flight training before you're certain you can get a medical issued.)
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AchillesLastStand
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Can’t speak for the other ones, but AMAS is awesome. Most of the airlines use them via their unions.
MVM19
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+1! That's a big reason why I picked them. AMAS was a first-class operation.
start cheaper.....contact and AME and schedule a CONSULTATION. That will give you the details you need to determine the next step before you start spending lots of money. If the AME will not do a consult, find another AME.
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From the cheap seats:
Anxiety and/or Depression w/medicated treatement
Complex cardiology (tachycardia, syncope)
Before I engaged an advocate, I’d interview several Senior AMEs to see what experience they have navigating someone with this kind of history thru the process. Then I’d follow up with a consult from one or two of them to see what they would recommend you do before you submit a MedXpress application (or even submit one at all).
The cardiology will likely need a CVE; requirements here
The FAA’s decision matrix for syncope is here:
Your PCM can help you better understand what diagnoses exist in your record, but a cardiologist is going to have to do the CVE and possibly other tests to the FAA’s satisfaction.
Depending on the health insurance you have, these tests may or may not be covered.
Anxiety and/or Depression w/medicated treatement
Complex cardiology (tachycardia, syncope)
Before I engaged an advocate, I’d interview several Senior AMEs to see what experience they have navigating someone with this kind of history thru the process. Then I’d follow up with a consult from one or two of them to see what they would recommend you do before you submit a MedXpress application (or even submit one at all).
The cardiology will likely need a CVE; requirements here
The FAA’s decision matrix for syncope is here:
Your PCM can help you better understand what diagnoses exist in your record, but a cardiologist is going to have to do the CVE and possibly other tests to the FAA’s satisfaction.
Depending on the health insurance you have, these tests may or may not be covered.