Pancreatitis and Piloting

[BTown23]

Hey all, I have a fun one for you guys. I am trying to gain some information on potential medical problems that I could face with trying to pass a medical. Long story short in 2022 I lost my father suddenly and tragically. The depression and nightmares were so bad I turned to drinking to make the pain go away. I was in this deep depression for almost 2 years and drank extremely heavily. In Feb 2023, I was admitted to the hospital with Acute Pancreatitis. I spent 4 days getting IVs and bloodwork done, on the 4th day they gave me a clean bill of health and sent me on my way. In Decemember 2023, I was admitted again with Acute Pancreatitis and was in the hospital for 3 days. They said I was the youngest person they’ve ever seen have Pancreatitis twice, I’m 25 years old (24 when I had was in the hospital. That December was a wake up call for me to get my **** together. I’ve since completely turned my life around, returned to my faith, completely stopped drinking and I’m never looking back at the bottle again. I’ve been 100% sober and my Pancreas has been perfect since my last incident at the hospital.

I know a lot of people will read that and be quick to judge my drinking but please understand that the depression and heartbreak I faced from losing my father was so bad that drinking was the only thing that kept me from taking my own life. It was a horrible dependence and I know that, but those days are over for good.

Like all of you, I grew up looking to the skies and dreaming of flying one day. That dream has come back into my heart and now I’m in the position where I can get my license. Medical is the only thing that could potentially doom my dreams. I have a feeling my dream of flying for the Navy is never gonna happen but I’d still love to be able to fly for myself.

If anyone has any advice, suggestions, or any similar story please don’t hesitate to share! Thanks all

 

[BillTIZ]

I'm not an AME. Did the Docs ever tell you the alcohol could be the problem for the recurring pancreatitis issues? The recurring pancreatitis will need to be reported along with treatment and outcome. Has the alcohol caused other problems in your life? Ever been diagnosed with depression and prescribed medications for it? Other than self medicating with alcohol. I'm not an AME.

Congratulations for the return to sobriety. If there were other issues in your life caused by alcohol that are recorded, accidents, DUI etc. Then it will take more than your say-so that you are "recovered".

As for military flying, 4yr degree required and there is an age limit to enter flight training. You are about there. They too will complete an extensive flight physical as part of the selection process. Good luck to you.

 

[TCABM]

If you just want to fly, sport pilot does not require a medical.

If you want to eventually get paid to fly, you need a consult with a Senior AME who has deep experience with the HIMS program.

Alcohol and depression issues are challenging on their own. Combined, they require expert guidance before submitting a MedXpress app. This can be costly to very costly and time consuming.

 

[robin ardoin]

You will definitely be given a diagnosis of alcohol dependence by the FAA Aeromed division. You will be subject to the HIMS program. You will be required to be active (documented) in a recognized recovery program for probably 2 years and have at least 6mos of clean urine or SoberLink. Definitely doable but a long haul and will cost between $8-15K and take about 2 years. If you are serious, consult with a HIMS AME and come up with a plan.

 

[BTown23]

I'm not an AME. Did the Docs ever tell you the alcohol could be the problem for the recurring pancreatitis issues? The recurring pancreatitis will need to be reported along with treatment and outcome. Has the alcohol caused other problems in your life? Ever been diagnosed with depression and prescribed medications for it? Other than self medicating with alcohol. I'm not an AME.

Congratulations for the return to sobriety. If there were other issues in your life caused by alcohol that are recorded, accidents, DUI etc. Then it will take more than your say-so that you are "recovered".

As for military flying, 4yr degree required and there is an age limit to enter flight training. You are about there. They too will complete an extensive flight physical as part of the selection process. Good luck to you.

Hey Bill! Thanks for your message and the info. Yes the alcohol was the cause for the Pancreatitis. It as shown to not be gallstones or other GI problems. Drinking has caused me no other life or health problems besides pancreatitis. No DUIs, no charges or issues of any kind. There was a 6 month period where I was on Lexapro for mental health but I’ve since been off it it.

I have 2 degrees so that is covered but you are right I’m coming up on that age pretty soon. Hopefully the recruiter won’t laugh at my face and tell me to leave.

 

[BTown23]

If you just want to fly, sport pilot does not require a medical.

If you want to eventually get paid to fly, you need a consult with a Senior AME who has deep experience with the HIMS program.

Alcohol and depression issues are challenging on their own. Combined, they require expert guidance before submitting a MedXpress app. This can be costly to very costly and time consuming.

Hey TCAMB, I didn’t know sport pilot didn’t require medical, that’s so good to know thank you!! Do you have any suggestions for a Senior AME I can talk to? Thank you so much for your help!!

 

[BTown23]

You will definitely be given a diagnosis of alcohol dependence by the FAA Aeromed division. You will be subject to the HIMS program. You will be required to be active (documented) in a recognized recovery program for probably 2 years and have at least 6mos of clean urine or SoberLink. Definitely doable but a long haul and will cost between $8-15K and take about 2 years. If you are serious, consult with a HIMS AME and come up with a plan.

Hey Robin, this sounds like it’s gonna be a mess but thank you for the info. I am not opposed to starting program or something similar. I dont ever want to drink again to sobriety and clean urine are not a problem.

 

[TCABM]

Hey TCAMB, I didn’t know sport pilot didn’t require medical, that’s so good to know thank you!! Do you have any suggestions for a Senior AME I can talk to? Thank you so much for your help!!

The list of AMEs you can choose from is fairly short.

https://www.faa.gov/pilots/medical_certification/media/hims-ames.pdf

ETA: you’ll want to interview several to understand whether they’re a ‘submit and see’ or more proactive, what they’re seeing for timelines, and whether they plan to continue in the program. The FAA processes are becoming cumbersome to some of them.

 

[MountainDude]

If you truly turned your life and health around, and are committed to become a pilot, it will happen. It may take longer and cost more than you would like, but those are just speed bumps on the road.

 

[Lindberg]

The list of AMEs you can choose from is fairly short.

https://www.faa.gov/pilots/medical_certification/media/hims-ames.pdf

ETA: you’ll want to interview several to understand whether they’re a ‘submit and see’ or more proactive, what they’re seeing for timelines, and whether they plan to continue in the program. The FAA processes are becoming cumbersome to some of them.

The key is that you want a consult. You can fill out the Medxpress form, but do not give the AME the confirmation number. If he's not willing to schedule a consult before the real exam, find a different AME.

You may find that Sport Pilot is a much easier route, but once an AME enters that confirmation number into the computer, you're committed to the process.

 

[BTown23]

The key is that you want a consult. You can fill out the Medxpress form, but do not give the AME the confirmation number. If he's not willing to schedule a consult before the real exam, find a different AME.

You may find that Sport Pilot is a much easier route, but once an AME enters that confirmation number into the computer, you're committed to the process.

Thank you som much, I have read some stuff about people accidently committing to the med express form and kinda screwing themselves so thank you for reiterating that. I don’t want to “Scarlett letter” myself.

 

[BTown23]

If you truly turned your life and health around, and are committed to become a pilot, it will happen. It may take longer and cost more than you would like, but those are just speed bumps on the road.

I’m committed my man, I spent months feeling like absolute garbage and now that I’m sober again I wake up everyday feeling amazing and doing everything I can to keep feeling that way. I’m stronger and healthier than ever and I love every second of everyday to the best of my ability. I appreciate your support and kind words more than you’ll ever know Mountain Man.

 

[Kenny Phillips]

The key is that you want a consult. You can fill out the Medxpress form, but do not give the AME the confirmation number. If he's not willing to schedule a consult before the real exam, find a different AME.

You may find that Sport Pilot is a much easier route, but once an AME enters that confirmation number into the computer, you're committed to the process.

Yep, and if you don't pass the medical, you will lose the opportunity for sport pilot as well.

 

[AvNavCom]

Hopefully the recruiter won’t laugh at my face and tell me to leave.

The recruiter will tell you whatever you need to hear to get you to sign on the line. Worse, some of them will convince you to minimize or leave stuff out of your application, especially mental health issues. That works for them, since their job is done as soon as you ship to training, where you would subsequently run in a hard wall of reality. That reality is that two hospital admissions for alcohol related acute pancreatitis, in the context of multiple years of sustained alcohol abuse secondary to a mental health condition with suicidal ideation, is disqualifying for Naval aviation. Given the history you provided, I wouldn't be surprised if your hospital notes also included some form of Alcohol Use Disorder diagnosis.

If you enter on an aviation contract and fail the aviation medical prior to commissioning, you can often walk away. However, there has recently been a push to go ahead and commission folks while they're still pending their medical. This is increasingly an issue as general medical standards have been substantially lowered in pursuit of increasing manning. However, aviation standards have not been lowered. Understand that if you are commissioned and you are not waivered (and you would require several waivers), you would become "needs of the Navy", which probably translates to you getting put on a boat somewhere as a surface warfare officer (SWO).

Current policy might potentially allow for the necessary waivers, although I caution you that it would be an extremely long shot. I won't get into specifics as this isn't the forum, but I mostly want to caution you to not let the recruiter hand-wave everything away and say it will be fine. If possible, have your recruiter contact a local flight surgeon, who can discuss with NAMI and obtain specific guidance as to what they would need to see to consider a waiver recommendation.

Do. Not. Trust. The. Recruiter.

 

[robin ardoin]

Thank you som much, I have read some stuff about people accidently committing to the med express form and kinda screwing themselves so thank you for reiterating that. I don’t want to “Scarlett letter” myself.

Yup…like me The end result would have been the same, in my case, but I probably could have shaved a few months off the process. My triggering occurrence happened in 1993 and have been in recovery since. Fortunately, I have been in recovery since, nearing the end of a successful professional career, and had many letters attesting to my sobriety. Once I received the denial letter, three months after the deferral, it was 15 months to special issuance for a class III. I jumped to BasicMed at 6 months. There goes the possibility of getting a 501SP. That is, unless @kaiser wants to pilot me.

 

[TCABM]

… I have a feeling my dream of flying for the Navy is never gonna happen…

Missed this the first time around. A couple of questions:

1. Would you join the Navy no matter the career field?

2. Are interested solely in flying as a fixed wing jet pilot? Put differently, would “flying for the Navy” include driving an MQ-25 or sitting in the back of a P-8? What about helos?

3. Do you already have your degree? What’s it in, what’s your GPA?

 

[Ed Haywood]

First, let me say I know your pain. I lost my son 6 months ago. He was your age. He took his own life. It destroyed me and devastated my family.

Turning to the bottle is very common in such situations. I started down that path, then sought professional help. I am very happy that you have turned the corner. Stay the course! Do it for yourself, those who love you, and the memory of your father.

It would be nice if the FAA were compassionate and understanding, but they are not. Like most federal agencies, they view everything through the narrow lense of bureaucratic risk. There is zero incentive for them to adopt policies which have the potential to blow back on them when something bad happens.

IMO the best thing you can do right now is be patient. Live your life and focus on health and happiness. Once you have several years of sobriety under your belt, it will be much easier to make the case that your depression and substance abuse was situational and is behind you for good.

You can absolutely achieve your goal of becoming a pilot. It may take you longer and cost more than usual, but many people have walked that path successfully. There are professionals like Dr Bruce Chien who specialize in helping folks through the process.

TBH I think you are right about your dream of flying for the Navy. I spent a career in Army Special Forces. The military screens very closely for physical and mental suitability before they invest the resources required to put people through highly selective training pipelines.