My medical certificate is good for five months...

[Gilbert Buettner]

I get my annual (due to special issuance) medical exam every August. Last year, I went for the exam having just had cataract surgery for one eye, but before the surgery for the other. As a result, I was not able to pass the Class Two eye exam and had to settle for Class Three. My existing eyeglass prescription wasn't working for the eye that had been fixed.

Time goes by, and I get a notification from the FAA that I need to send them a form from the ophthalmologist answering questions about the surgery, indicate what lenses I had implanted, and by the way, a current diabetes worksheet.

Current being the operative word.

When I sent in what they wanted, I did not have a current worksheet because time had passed before they made the request. And as usual, they said if I didn't respond within 60 days, my medical is suspended and they may take further action.

No surprise, I heard back that the diabetes worksheet was out of date, and I better send a current one within 30 days. Lucky for me, my six-month diabetes checkup was within that time period, including lab work, so I was able to send in what they asked for.

Tick, tick, tick. That was February. Yesterday my medical certificate arrived. It expires August 31st. By then I should be able to get a Class Two again.

 

[Jim_R]

I went back-and-forth with the FAA three times trying to provide them with my Apnea SI renewal data, with each back-and-forth cycle taking about 2 months. I initially sent them the exact same format that I had used for the original issuance and the first annual renewal, printed on the same printer and paper as the earlier submittals. The FAA sent a form letter telling me my submittal was not sufficient, and I had 30 days to submit compliant data...but they didn't tell me specifically what was wrong with my submittal. So I sent it in again, with a cover letter that spelled out where in my submittal I was providing data for all the bullet points in their letter, and asked them to clearly identify where my data submittal was unsatisfactory. Again, I get a form letter reply a few weeks later that my submittal is not acceptable and I have 30 days to comply, but no indication of what the problem is so I have no idea how to fix it. Enough time has now passed that I add new data to the submittal, and format it a little differently so there are more pages with a smaller timespan on each page, but still in the same graphical format that had been acceptable the two years prior. I told them I sincerely wanted to provide the data they needed, but I didn't understand why the data I was providing wasn't sufficient. I practically begged them to tell me what was wrong so I could fix it. Again, I get a letter from the FAA that my submittal was not acceptable. This time, finally, there were a couple of sentences tacked on at the end of the form letter explaining that the labels on the graphs are illegible. So this time I expand the size of the labels, get it printed on a laser printer at Kinko's, and I also include about 30 pages of tabular data in addition to the graphs that had been accepted in past years. That finally satisfied them, and they sent me an updated med cert that was going to expire in about 6 months. Sigh.

 

[Gilbert Buettner]

Yes, sometimes it is very hard to understand exactly what they want. I found out that my status report has to be "typed." I don't own a typewriter and don't know where to find one. They rejected a handwritten report for that reason, and eventually I figured out how to download the form and edit a PDF.

 

[WingmanMed]

People often misunderstand the FAA exam. It isn't a regular check up at the doctor. It is an examination just like if you were going for a check ride. Ideally you would prepare for it in advance. There are ways to do that.

 

[bbchien]

People often misunderstand the FAA exam. It isn't a regular check up at the doctor. It is an examination just like if you were going for a check ride. Ideally you would prepare for it in advance. There are ways to do that.

Amen to the above.
I have received certificates after the expiration date....fortunately, we always plan for what is needed for the re-up which means we're ready to field re-issue forthwith.