Will one time alcohol treatment, no prior history of dependency or abuse, prevent me from 1st class?

A

Anon

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Hello!

So, I am currently a flight attendant, seriously considering getting a PPL (and eventually an ATP), have been working for an airline for about 4 years now. I was on a leave from work for the last 6 months, in that time I focused on finishing a coding bootcamp intensive program (online) and just came back to flying this month, all good. On graduation day (about a month ago, early February) instructors and classmates celebrated through videochat while playing silly online party games, drinking and having fun.

It must be noted that I rarely drink (one or two Bud Lights a month is about as much as I do, socially). However, this day of celebration I drank about 3/4 of a bottle of rum mixed with coke (cola soda), which lead to alcohol poisoning and me being admitted into ER (lame, I know, but please don't judge).
Treatment was simple IV serum to hydrate and I was discharged in a few hours that same evening with no other incidents. No legal issues or anything else happened. The hospital did not get my insurance information. Will this forbid me from getting a First Class Medical?
 
Short answer: Get the medical records from the ER. You need the diagnosis codes and there's a good chance they ran a BAC on you. If they did, you're going to want to know the BAC. Take that to a HIMS AME on a consultative basis and have them review and give you advice. Do not complete a MedXPress before you've received professional advice.

You mention that the hospital didn't get your insurance information. You're not outright saying you're considering not reporting the event, but that statement hints at the possibility. Do not even consider lying/omitting on your medical application.

If you want to hold an FAA medical you should stop drinking. Not because you necessarily have a problem (you need to be the judge of that), but because a 2nd documented alcohol related event will cause you to be substance dependent in the eyes of the FAA. (14 CFR 67.307(a)(4)(ii)(D)). That is a lifelong diagnosis with consequences for as long as you hold a medical. Additionally, you're in a safety sensitive position in the aviation industry already. Even though you're not required to hold a medical right now, you should move through this with careful consideration as it could impact your current career.

My layman's opinion.... You could be labelled with substance abuse. If you have another documented event where alcohol was "physically hazardous" (See 14 CFR 67.307(b)(1)) or your BAC on the test was greater than .04 (14 CFR 67.307(b)(2)). The fact that you had alcohol poisoning is presumptive evidence that you were well above .04. The last item is "Misuse of a substance that the Federal Air Surgeon..." (14 CFR 67.307(b)(3).

If you have a BAC test over .15 (quite possible due to your alcohol poisoning) you could be labelled with dependence (14 CFR 67.307(a)(f)(ii)(A)). The FAA is using .15 as de facto evidence of "Increased tolerance", although I believe there's some consideration to how functional you were at that BAC.

When you apply, you're most likely going to be deferred and then receive a letter asking to submit a personal statement about your past, current, and future alcohol use. Be very careful in your response to this request. You should be honest, but the "wrong" answer can make your life more difficult.
 
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As far as I know the medical only asks about dependency, abuse, or DWI. One time of drinking too much would fall into any of those categories. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
 
You need to talk to an AME, not SPOTI. Make sure it is a consult and if it isn’t, find a different one.

A .15 BAC alone is not proof of dependency, especially if you were clearly showing the effects.
 
Ugh. Getting admitted to a hospital is drinking to physical harm. The FAA diagnosis Is either abuse or dependency. And you hide the insurance footprint of an admission.

HIMS psychiatrist for sure....
 
TommyG said:
As far as I know the medical only asks about dependency, abuse, or DWI. One time of drinking too much would fall into any of those categories. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
Click to expand...

Clinically speaking, 1 time of drinking to the point of being admitted to the ER is absolutely abuse. You can abuse a substance without being dependent and you can also be dependent on a substance without abusing it.

I'm sure that conversation is going to go well when he discloses the visit to a healthcare provider (ER) and the AME asks for further information. One way or another the alcohol abuse is going to be discovered if he's honest and the AME is doing their job. If he doesn't disclose and the AME has to discover it by probing for more information it's not going to look good and will be used as clinical evidence of a substance abuse problem (denial).

OP: Consult a HIMS AME, provide the documentation, be completely transparent and honest, then follow their advice.
 
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