I'm 44 and decided that this is a good time to learn how to fly since I've wanted to be a pilot since I was a kid. Done lots of reading, and it seems that getting the medical part out of the way is a good first step. Makes sense.
Where I'm stuck is figuring out the documentation needed for a pituitary tumor (prolactinoma) I was diagnosed with in 2017. Long story short - Testosterone was super low (50's, range 300-1080), had blood tests that showed super high prolactin (1900's, range 2-15), had an MRI, pituitary macroadenoma, went to a neurosurgeon, he said just treat with cabergoline, had a visual field test (normal), and saw an Endocronologist a few times. My testosterone was 50's range, and that seemed to be out of her expertise, so I went to a urologist. The urologist has manged my prolactin, testosterone, and all that since early 2018. MRI in 2021 showed the prolactinoma was continuing to decrease and everything's hunky dory on my blood work.
The FAA's guidance PDF (new account, can't link) on brain tumors has a special callout saying, "If tumor type is Acoustic neuroma or Pituitary Tumor - see the corresponding section." But that corresponding section is nowhere to be found. The acousitc neuroma has its own PDF, but no amount of Googling and searching the FAA's website brings up the pituitary tumor guide. And there's very few anecdotes here and elsewhere of people dealing with these things, but those folks seemed to have had surgery. I reached out to the regional flight surgeon's office and I'm told that "the specific information you are looking for is not yet available online", and no further explanation. What in the world? Is it classified? Some technical glitch? I'd really like to show up to the AME with all the documentation I need, but... Any educated guesses (or anyone that flew over a Holiday Inn Express even) on how this will go?
Where I'm stuck is figuring out the documentation needed for a pituitary tumor (prolactinoma) I was diagnosed with in 2017. Long story short - Testosterone was super low (50's, range 300-1080), had blood tests that showed super high prolactin (1900's, range 2-15), had an MRI, pituitary macroadenoma, went to a neurosurgeon, he said just treat with cabergoline, had a visual field test (normal), and saw an Endocronologist a few times. My testosterone was 50's range, and that seemed to be out of her expertise, so I went to a urologist. The urologist has manged my prolactin, testosterone, and all that since early 2018. MRI in 2021 showed the prolactinoma was continuing to decrease and everything's hunky dory on my blood work.
The FAA's guidance PDF (new account, can't link) on brain tumors has a special callout saying, "If tumor type is Acoustic neuroma or Pituitary Tumor - see the corresponding section." But that corresponding section is nowhere to be found. The acousitc neuroma has its own PDF, but no amount of Googling and searching the FAA's website brings up the pituitary tumor guide. And there's very few anecdotes here and elsewhere of people dealing with these things, but those folks seemed to have had surgery. I reached out to the regional flight surgeon's office and I'm told that "the specific information you are looking for is not yet available online", and no further explanation. What in the world? Is it classified? Some technical glitch? I'd really like to show up to the AME with all the documentation I need, but... Any educated guesses (or anyone that flew over a Holiday Inn Express even) on how this will go?
