Expired Medical Marijuana Rec & Brief Fainting Mention

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aspiringpilot19324

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Hey all,

I had a medical marijuana recommendation from NuggMD (not through PCP or insurance) in 2017 that expired in 2018 and was not renewed. It also has been 2 years since I last had marijuana. Is this something I MUST report in 8500-8?

I also recently mentioned to my PCP during a routine checkup that I had 2 fainting incidents due to extreme exercise 5 years ago, but was never admitted, diagnosed, or prescribed anything. What should I do here in regards to 18-b?
 
The form only asks if you've used it the past two years. So if you've laid off it that long, there's nothing to report (and you've never been "addicted" or arrested or the like).

The LOC is a bigger problem, but if you have an explanation it would help.
 
Only LOC without an explanation is required to be reported, but if your PCP put something in their notes or diagnosis code, there could be an issue. You need to request the doc's notes and any insurance codes used.

That being said, if you had two fainting spells in a relatively short period of time, regardless of whether you think you know what triggered it, I'd look to have a more detailed workup to be sure there wasn't an underlying issue.
 
The doc ending up writing exactly what I told him: "2 episodes of passing out, both while exercising, was in hot environment, riding stationary bike at gym, early in am, did not get full sleep hrs."

There's no other indication or record of anything happening. I got a referral for cardiology which I plan on doing.
 
I reported passing out on my Class I medical with explanation it was during a blood draw. The Doc asked about it and I said I now lie down for blood draws. Doc had no follow up questions.
 
Jeff Oslick said:
Only LOC without an explanation is required to be reported, but if your PCP put something in their notes or diagnosis code, there could be an issue. You need to request the doc's notes and any insurance codes used.

That being said, if you had two fainting spells in a relatively short period of time, regardless of whether you think you know what triggered it, I'd look to have a more detailed workup to be sure there wasn't an underlying issue.
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Any loss of consciousness needs to be reported. If it's explained, it may not be a big deal.
 
aspiringpilot19324 said:
The doc ending up writing exactly what I told him: "2 episodes of passing out, both while exercising, was in hot environment, riding stationary bike at gym, early in am, did not get full sleep hrs."

There's no other indication or record of anything happening. I got a referral for cardiology which I plan on doing.
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You got a cardiology referral 5 years ago and are planning on doing now? Your AME ( and the FAA) will likely want confirmation that there's no cardiac issue, especially with passing out during exercise. So get that done and get an explanation for the LOC. That explanation will be key to whether you're certificate. Get the full workup and then have a consult with your AME.
 
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the fainting occurred 5 years ago - I mentioned it to my doc during a routine check up last month (why I did that I'm not sure but the damage is done). The cardiology referral was from that check up. Since there's no concrete evidence, wouldn't what the doc said be my explanation verbatim?
 
Lindberg said:
You got a cardiology referral 5 years ago and are planning on doing now? Your AME ( and the FAA) will likely want confirmation that there's no cardiac issue, especially with passing out during exercise. So get that done and get an explanation for the LOC. That explanation will be key to whether you're certificate. Get the full workup and then have a consult with your AME.
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The faint incident occurred 5 years ago, but was brought up to my PCP when I visited him for a routine check up last month (I didn't do my research on becoming a pilot yet). The cardiology referral is from that checkup. Since there's no other evidence of this occurring, what might my explanation be if not exactly what I told the doc?
 
There is an insurance code in your record for that cardio referral. That is open-ended.
 
flyingron said:
The form only asks if you've used it the past two years. So if you've laid off it that long, there's nothing to report (and you've never been "addicted" or arrested or the like).

The LOC is a bigger problem, but if you have an explanation it would help.
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Are you certain that I don't need to disclose the marijuana recommendation? If I don't, will it come back to bite me in the ass
 
aspiringpilot19324 said:
The faint incident occurred 5 years ago, but was brought up to my PCP when I visited him for a routine check up last month (I didn't do my research on becoming a pilot yet). The cardiology referral is from that checkup. Since there's no other evidence of this occurring, what might my explanation be if not exactly what I told the doc?
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The FAA is concerned with the medical explanation of what caused the fainting, not just your explanation of the event. Your AME will need to know the underlying cause in order to determine whether to issue you a medical certificate.
 
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Lindberg said:
The FAA is concerned with the medical explanation of what caused the fainting, not just your explanation of the event. Your AME will need to know the underlying cause in order to determine whether to issue you a medical certificate.
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How would I know the underlying cause if it happened 5 years ago and was not diagnosed? Is a successful cardiology exam enough?
 
You may want to peruse some of the other medical posts in the Medical Topics to get an idea of the FAA mentality as it relates to medical conditions. I don't want to put words in their mouth, but their approach seems to be something along the lines of "Every medical applicant omits details. If they admit to X, we must assume Y and Z are also present but hidden. Until we have proof to the contrary, we cannot issue a medical."

aspiringpilot19324 said:
Is a successful cardiology exam enough?
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I'm sure stars align sometimes, but if you'll peruse other posts you'll see that the FAA rarely agrees with our ideas of what should suffice.

Here's hoping the stars align in your case.
 
aspiringpilot19324 said:
How would I know the underlying cause if it happened 5 years ago and was not diagnosed? Is a successful cardiology exam enough?
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It may be a diagnosis of exclusion. But right now, it's "unexplained," which won't make the FAA happy. Regardless, your doc referred you to cardiology, and you should get that figured out for your health. Once you have a medical explanation, you should consult with an experienced AME. Under the right circumstances, it won't be an issue.
 
aspiringpilot19324 said:
I also recently mentioned to my PCP during a routine checkup that I had 2 fainting incidents due to extreme exercise 5 years ago, but was never admitted, diagnosed, or prescribed anything. What should I do here in regards to 18-b?
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FWIW, I had something similar (a fainting incident or two, explainable) and it required some major testing and lots of documentation. For awhile I wasn't sure if I'd be able to fly again. But I got it done through Dr. Bruce and made sure to take better care of myself to prevent it. This was about 10 years ago.
 
I'll talk to the cardiologist during my appointment and see if they can provide a reasonable explanation for what happened. Pending the results of course

aspiringpilot19324 said:
Hey all,

I had a medical marijuana recommendation from NuggMD (not through PCP or insurance) in 2017 that expired in 2018 and was not renewed. It also has been 2 years since I last had marijuana. Is this something I MUST report in 8500-8?
Click to expand...

Is anyone able to clarify here whether or not this information HAS to be included? Should I even bring this up to my AME during a consult?
 
"Should I even bring this up to my AME during a consult?"
YES
 
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