Letter from FAA for Poison Ivy treatment

A

About had it

Guest
Today I received a letter from the FAA saying my medical is in question, because I received prednisone for a bout of poison ivy (which I self-reported on my medical application). The letter states I need a response from my doctor detailing the treatment. This will be difficult, as I was treated at a walk-in clinic while out of town on vacation. I don't even remember the clinic.

I guess I'm wondering how to handle it easily...I say easily, because quite frankly, if this is at all difficult to deal with, I think this is the last straw for me and flying. I've grown very tired of all the BS in this hobby: TFRs, expensive ADs on my plane, etc. Maybe this is just the kick I need to make that "flying mic drop"...sell the plane and take up golf.
 
Do you have the bottle still or remember what pharmacy filled it? They will have the prescriber for you to chase down.
Yes, it is silly. Where is your AME in all this?
 
Hate it when that happens,, been there too. first the diabetic thing, now a stroke..
Too many dominoes have fallen.
 
flyingron said:
Do you have the bottle still or remember what pharmacy filled it? They will have the prescriber for you to chase down.
Yes, it is silly. Where is your AME in all this?
Click to expand...
I looked for the bottle, but only found a second bottle that was prescribed AFTER my flight physical that I had forgotten about (I have bad reactions to poison Ivy, so it usually takes 2 or 3 courses of prednisone to treat it). So I can probably get one of doctors that prescribed me prednisone to write a letter (the doctor who prescribed it a week after my physical), but so far not the one that prescribed it several weeks before my physical. I tried to look at my insurance history but I'm not seeing it there either.
I just got off the phone with my AME...he basically said "good luck finding the doctor".
 
Zeldman said:
That will sure show'em, I tell ya whut....
Click to expand...
I don’t think the OP trying to show anyone or anything but their own sanity.

I have to agree that the cost and bs in this hobby wears on a person. When I was a new pilot, my flying equation looked like this:
Flying fun > flying cost and bs

But now, at best, it probably looks more like this:

Flying fun = flying cost and bs

As soon as it consistently hits:

Flying fun < flying cost and bs, I’m going to quit flying as well. And I don’t care if it sure shows’em or not.
 
Last edited:
Well if there's any good that comes from this, rest assured that it has confirmed my place as a Sport Pilot Certificate holder till the end. I'm very healthy but these kind of stories make me turn away whenever I consider that I might go get a PPL so as to fly more airplane than I can afford ...

Hope it works out for you!
 
Don't feel bad, I have over $120k in expenses over 16 months to "win", I don't feel that I won anything...
 
Prednisone is on the "do not issue" list so maybe the FAA just wants to confirm this was an acute issue and you're healed. Can you get a letter from the doc who treated you last saying you're all better now?
 
Possible a simple letter from your doctor stating what happened why you took and outcome was normal? Your dr knows you best and can easily dictate a quick letter to quash
 
benyflyguy said:
Possible a simple letter from your doctor stating what happened why you took and outcome was normal? Your dr knows you best and can easily dictate a quick letter to quash
Click to expand...
I will try with my current doctor, but even that isn't without problems. I've only been seeing my current doctor about 2 months, and my previous PCP who I saw for over 15 years retired in October. If that doesn't work, I'm done. I just discussed it with my wife, and although she enjoys traveling by private plane, she said she agrees with me that it probably isn't worth the BS anymore.
 
About had it said:
I will try with my current doctor, but even that isn't without problems. I've only been seeing my current doctor about 2 months, and my previous PCP who I saw for over 15 years retired in October. If that doesn't work, I'm done. I just discussed it with my wife, and although she enjoys traveling by private plane, she said she agrees with me that it probably isn't worth the BS anymore.
Click to expand...

You have to fix this now... but why didn't you do BasicMed instead?
 
Good lord...a visit for poison ivy? It wouldn't even have entered my mind to list that on MedXpress.

My MedXpress forms and my discussions with my AME are VERY selective about what's included. Prednisone for poison ivy would be a "don't ask, don't tell" item.
 
Salty said:
So, by definition anybody that applies for a class III is ineligible for one.
Click to expand...

What? All I said is if your eligible to fly with Basic Med, why would you gamble on a stupid hassle over Poison Ivy or any other nitpicking from the FAA and be denied the freedom to fly or have to get an SI for Poison Ivy.

If you want to get a Class III, go for it but don’t get Poison Ivy, Athlete’s Foot, Psoriasis or something else that results in a bunch of BS from Oke City over a standard treatment.

Cheers
 
X3 Skier said:
IMNSHO, Anybody who can fly with and is eligible for Basic Med and doesn’t drop the Class III Crap Shoot is crazy.

Cheers
Click to expand...

I like being able to fly outside the USA so need a class 3. That said, this is a ridiculous chase for something very temporary like Poison Ivy. Don't ask, don't tell starts to look attractive and the system ultimately prevents pilots from seeking treatment in many cases.
 
I come to the conclusion that there are few questions on the FAA medical form an honest person can answer no. Allergies? Who hasn't had a rash from some weed they came in contact with or a least a sneeze from pollen or pet dander?
 
Does your health insurance have a web interface ? Look through the EOBs to find the name of the provider.
 
OP: Do you mind sharing the letter? Also, did you report that you were currently taking Prednisone when you went for your medical?
 
MalibuJim said:
Don't feel bad, I have over $120k in expenses over 16 months to "win", I don't feel that I won anything...
Click to expand...

That kinda money would have bought a very nice flying machine ... o_O

I guess you are blessed to have it to spend. An injury like that would have put me out of the game.
 
MacFly said:
Good lord...a visit for poison ivy? It wouldn't even have entered my mind to list that on MedXpress.

My MedXpress forms and my discussions with my AME are VERY selective about what's included. Prednisone for poison ivy would be a "don't ask, don't tell" item.
Click to expand...
This is easy. Download the page from my_chart, which is incomplete, and supplement it with a 2 year “walk in walk out” rx record from your pharmacy.

your AME didn’t do you any favors. I never have let that by without sending in those two documents + my narrative....
 
X3 Skier said:
What? All I said is if your eligible to fly with Basic Med, why would you gamble on a stupid hassle over Poison Ivy or any other nitpicking from the FAA and be denied the freedom to fly or have to get an SI for Poison Ivy.

If you want to get a Class III, go for it but don’t get Poison Ivy, Athlete’s Foot, Psoriasis or something else that results in a bunch of BS from Oke City over a standard treatment.

Cheers
Click to expand...
I agree. I forgot to add a smiley to my post.
 
Lindberg said:
OP: Do you mind sharing the letter? Also, did you report that you were currently taking Prednisone when you went for your medical?
Click to expand...
The letter is 3 pages, but I can't seem to figure out how to post pictures here. Over those three pages, in addition to saying they could deny my medical, they also say my actions could result in enforcement action. They then ask that I have my doctor do the following,
"A typed detailed report from your treating physician regarding your use of Prednisone, to include date prescribed, history, dosage, frequency of use, diagnoses, and prognosis, and if no longer prescribed, the date of discontinuance."
Its says after they review the above, they may require more information. It says I have 60 days to respond. I contacted my PCP, who has agreed to write a letter for me. Through my American Express history, I was able to find the walk-in clinic that I first was treated at, BUT I contacted them and they are refusing to write the letter.
To answer you second question, yes, on my application for a medical I said I had just finished taking a 10 day course of prednisone for treatment for a poison ivy rash. If my medical had been 6 months later, I probably would have forgotten that I was even treated for poison ivy, but I had finished the script like the day before filling out the application, so it was fresh on my mind.
 
Superman would get a letter if he reported his Kryptonite allergy.

Just do the bureaucracy dance, you’ll be fine.
 
Now it makes more sense. As you had just completed the course they basically treat you as if you are continuously on it. Get the letter from your PCP stating the temporary nature of the treatment and the acute condition it was prescribed for has resolved. And your PCP IS your treating physician now, the docinabox just started the treatment
 
About had it said:
The letter is 3 pages, but I can't seem to figure out how to post pictures here. Over those three pages, in addition to saying they could deny my medical, they also say my actions could result in enforcement action. They then ask that I have my doctor do the following,
"A typed detailed report from your treating physician regarding your use of Prednisone, to include date prescribed, history, dosage, frequency of use, diagnoses, and prognosis, and if no longer prescribed, the date of discontinuance."
Its says after they review the above, they may require more information. It says I have 60 days to respond. I contacted my PCP, who has agreed to write a letter for me. Through my American Express history, I was able to find the walk-in clinic that I first was treated at, BUT I contacted them and they are refusing to write the letter.
To answer you second question, yes, on my application for a medical I said I had just finished taking a 10 day course of prednisone for treatment for a poison ivy rash. If my medical had been 6 months later, I probably would have forgotten that I was even treated for poison ivy, but I had finished the script like the day before filling out the application, so it was fresh on my mind.
Click to expand...
This seems positive. The FAA is concerned because you reported taking a drug on the no-fly list. But you're not on it anymore. That's good and your PCP will confirm it. Maybe your AME didn't explain well enough, or maybe the FAA just wants to hear it from the horse's mouth. Despite speculation here, it also seems to confirm that the FAA doesn't care about poison ivy.

Another thing to note because it seems to cause confusion here often, is that medxpress asks for medications you're currently taking. In present tense. Some applicants seem to treat it like doctor visits and write down every pill they've taken in the past three years. You needn't do that. And that isn't gaming the form either. The FAA cares what you're taking because even drugs on the no-fly list can be legally and safely taken when you're not flying.
 
About had it said:
Through my American Express history, I was able to find the walk-in clinic that I first was treated at, BUT I contacted them and they are refusing to write the letter.
Click to expand...
I also understand the frustration here. I had an ER visit that I knew would raise questions, so I tried to get my records before going for a medical exam. The hospital was unable to retrieve them and uncaring. I was dumbstruck at their incompetence and knew it might require expensive and unnecessary testing to disprove a diagnosis I didn't have. It took calls to executives, complaints to regulatory agencies, and involvement of politicians to finally get me part of my records, which the AME found sufficient to demonstrate that "I wasn't hiding anything." But if that's not enough for the FAA, I'll blame the hospital, not the agency.
 
DesertNomad said:
I like being able to fly outside the USA so need a class 3.
Click to expand...

You can go to Mexico and The Bahamas and back with Basic Med. Not Canada at this time, but maybe someday. And the border is essentially closed to Canada from the US for the foreseeable future.

Unless you anticipate an imminent trip to Canada or some Central American Country, why not do the Basic Med and get a Class III when you actually need it?

Jon
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 365 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.
Back
Top