Is it normal to dread your medical every year?

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sirrubeyk@reddit

Yep because it costs me thousands every year

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JasonThree@reddit

Only thing I worry about as a 29 year old is my vision. I don't wear any glasses or contacts and pass 20/20 but I know it's only a matter of when.

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RyzOnReddit@reddit

Eh I’m super blind without corrective lenses, once I realized I could schedule my annual eye doctor visit to be 2 weeks before my medical it got way less stressful!

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DogeLikestheStock@reddit

Helpful tip from a 40 year old… Memorize the line of the eye chart you’ll be reading.

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RyzOnReddit@reddit

And don’t go to the non pilot AME with the crazy circle segment machine 😂

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Copterdude@reddit

Backwards as well. Not that I’ve ever done that.

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Texpress22@reddit

Yup. Very much so!

I had a guy in line before me who ended up having an issue with his EKG and all of a sudden his flying career was at risk. Not an unreasonable thing to have some anxiety when getting a new medical.

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BagOfMoneyNoChange@reddit

If I lose my medical tomorrow, my disability will pay $200k until I retire. I'm not worried about it.

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More_Than_I_Can_Chew@reddit

Hey, at least you're not doing it every six months 🙃

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Yeah this definitely sucks. Seems like every time I turn around it’s time to go back. Worse than that, though, is once you hit 45 you have to do a yearly prostate check. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be, but it still sucks having to stick a finger up my doctor’s ass every 12 months.

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Luminolum@reddit

What do you mean? That’s the best part

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UnfortunateSnort12@reddit

Just turned 40 myself! Luckily my shop only requires a first class when you’re left seat…. Also luckily, I’m likely to upgrade this year, so, back to the 6 month grind!

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mitch_kramer@reddit

I wouldn't say I dread it but it does give me a small amount of anxiety every year. My entire livelihood depends on it. There is always the fear that they will discover something during my appointment that leads to me losing my medical. This is mostly an irrational fear as most things they would find during a simple medical would probably just require some paperwork. Definitely more fear when you have something pop up that you need to go to an actual doctor for though.

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Biker1124@reddit

Stressing over my 1st class medical for my recent accutane usage and the AME literally could’ve cared less

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PilotsNPause@reddit

I think you're looking for "couldn't have cared less."

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AGEdude@reddit

Might want to read that again

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Biker1124@reddit

Thanks I can’t type

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JustAnotherDude1990@reddit

Better get that loss of medical certificate insurance.

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DearKick@reddit

This is basically it, I know its an irrational fear because I am healthy and “normal” so to speak, but its your entire life, hopes, and dreams on the line. Sort of like a checkride that you are 100% prepared for.

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Grouchy_Box7801@reddit (OP)

Ah that’s reassuring

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TxAggieMike@reddit

Slightly out of normal if your medical history is free of items the FAA gets jumpy about.

But understandable if you possess a Special Issuance medical and you haven’t been good about health and lifestyle to make the renewal more difficult than it should be.

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Grouchy_Box7801@reddit (OP)

Initial was fine, just found out I needed glasses for minor astigmatism in one eye. So it just made me worried about things like eyesight and hearing worsening over time. I know I used to listen to music/game audio loud in my teens.

Then my ethnicity/family is prone to high blood pressure and diabetes. I try avoid junk food, sugar and high salt but it’s just that worry it might inescapable

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kristephe@reddit

Those are understandable concerns. Maybe it'd help if you research the allowances for some of those conditions. There's a CACI for blood pressure medicine. It's quite common. I'm not sure about diabetes, but I had a student with hearing aids, so I think there's a lot of things that allow for approval.

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indianmcflyer@reddit

Yeah you can get a first class with diabetes

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indianmcflyer@reddit

Same here, genetic history of HBP and diabetes. I get terrible anxiety for my medical, hate it every year lol.

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Grouchy_Box7801@reddit (OP)

South Asian gang yes yes 😆

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The_Big_Obe@reddit

Say you are young without saying you are young

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Mr-Plop@reddit

I got my first EKG this year:

wtf you putting on me doc?

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crimedog58@reddit

“Doc you made me look like a man-o-lantern!”

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Jimmyoun@reddit

I have never ever been sick in my life before. As a matter of fact, I have never coughed or sneezed since I was born. /s

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guccimacaroni92@reddit

Since you were born!? That means you were coughing and sneezing before you are born. Sir, we are going to need a shitload of paperwork and and you have to go to HIMS now!!!

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Av8torryan@reddit

It’s gives me pause because white coat syndrome is real. Blood pressure goes up, and any hidden unknown issues or a documentation error could cost you your paycheck .

Know someone found out he became diabetic when he went for his and took a year to get it back under SI.
Know another pilot that a vitiligo (skin pigment ) was incorrectly documented as vertigo and the pulled his medical until error was corrected . autocorrect?

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N1BugUp@reddit

I prefer going to my medical over going to CQ 😂

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MrPlake@reddit

Just curious on why your renewing already since it’s every 5 years unless you got your medical before training

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iamtherussianspy@reddit

I wonder if it's easier to renew class 1 medical while you still have class 1 privileges active, even if you only need class 3 for now.

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Prof_Slappopotamus@reddit

As long as your medical was never revoked, renewing it as a first class, third class, or completely expired (explained by life events - non depressional) there's no extra scrutiny.

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iamtherussianspy@reddit

Thanks, that's good to hear.

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MrPlake@reddit

I have a class 1 but currently on 3rd class privilegies I don’t think it really makes a difference

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Grouchy_Box7801@reddit (OP)

UK based, I’m sure it’s yearly here

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MrPlake@reddit

Ah thanks was wondering if you were foreign lol

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exbex@reddit

No reason to be stressed. The FAA is very reasonable and if the doc finds anything, the FAA is super quick to push it through committees that meet weekly and get your issue resolved in a timely matter. You probably won’t even miss a paycheck.

And if you don’t get that sarcasm, you’ve never dealt with the FAA.

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Lanky-Rabbit8694@reddit

I dread mine every 6 months

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Go_Loud762@reddit

*knock on wood*

In the 38 years I've been flying, I've never been nervous about a medical. Never had an issue either.

I think if you are generally healthy, you have nothing to worry about.

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Necessary_Topic_1656@reddit

I never dreaded a medical until I turned 35.

That’s when you have to do a baseline ecg before you start to have to do an annual ecg.

I just gotten into 121 flying

After doing the ecg the AME comes into the exam room and says I can’t give you a first class medical because of your ecg.

Get scheduled with a cardiologist and did a stress echo. Got a copy of a ecg from when I was 18 when I got a military physical. The ecg from when I was 18 and the one I did at 35 were the same.

Went back to the FAA AME and he glibly says oh you have a normal abnormality and since you had it at 18 and you haven’t died yet you’re good to go here’s your first class medical.

He said the ecg from when I was 18 was the point of fact that really helped my case in getting my medical at 35.

Yeah the AME gave me a real heart attack telling me he couldn’t issue me a first class medical

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oh_snap1013@reddit

Private loss of license/medical insurance heavily took the weight off my shoulders

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regionalscumdriver@reddit

I used to. I was always worried about not passing the vision portion even though mine is corrected to 20/20 with glasses (due to having myopia). Had a variety of other things due to not being healthy but they weren’t show stoppers.

And then 3 years ago an AME busted my balls pretty good. Didn’t get deferred luckily. But I did need to go to an optometrist to get an FAA form filled out. Little did I know that would start a slew of other issues and I’d be on a special issuance medical for life after.

But I now have a really good AME I use who’s pilot friendly. And my other health things that weren’t show stoppers are reversed. Pre-hypertension, being overweight…I took advantage of a couple CACIs for GLPs and TRT and it was life changing. Life’s good.

I now no longer dread going to my AME. It is a bit of a hassle submitting CACI paperwork but he makes it manageable.

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Saltyspaceballs@reddit

It's part and parcel of the job. I get why you'd worry when you're not qualified, but if I lost my medical temporarily tomorrow it would very much be an "oh well, days off!" moment. I know some do worry, but if you keep yourself in a healthy shape, don't do dumb things to your body then there is nothing you can do to effect the outcome.

There are folks out there who go on a health kick for a week before their medical, it doesn't work like that sadly.

With all that said, I've lost my medical 3 times, it's not a big deal so long as it's not career ending, that's another story...

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Grouchy_Box7801@reddit (OP)

If you don’t mind me asking how did you lose it and I’m assuming you got it back? Is it just like like a check and they say you failed and to go get it sorted, then idk maybe you see a doctor and then it’s all checked out after and you’re good to go?

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Apprehensive_Cost937@reddit

Not really, I have a loss of licence insurance in place, and a decent plan B. Even if I lose my medical, it wouldn't make a drastical impact to my finances.

Since you are in the UK, you have to understand that the medical renewal is much, much, much more relaxed compared to the initial exam. It usually only takes 20-30 minutes, depending on the AME and your overall health.

Don't worry too much about hearing - even if you at some point you can't meet the audiometry requirements anymore, you can still do a functional check to demonstrate that your hearing is good enough. Same for a lot of eyesight related issues.

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Grouchy_Box7801@reddit (OP)

What is a functional check like?

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Apprehensive_Cost937@reddit

You go in a real aircraft or a simulator, and an instructor or examiner checks that you can do all the stuff that you can normally do. The specific exercises will depend on your condition, and what AME or the CAA require you to demonstrate.

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andrewrbat@reddit

Having a relationship with a good Ame makes a big difference. I know that my Ame is not here to bust my balls and I don’t have any extreme medical conditions so I don’t have much reasons to doubt my ability to pass a medical. I had a few Ame who made the whole process very painful in the past.

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Grouchy_Box7801@reddit (OP)

Ah that’s good to know, thanks

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fallingfaster345@reddit

Eh, dread is a strong word. The idea that something I’m unaware of might pop and my career could be over in an instant is unsettling but, overall, I know (at least at this stage in my life) that’s unlikely.

Checkride dread is a different story.

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Feisty-Art8265@reddit

Fwiw I have to do mine this year, last did it 5 years ago. I'm in the best of health to my knowledge but the what if worry will always be there.

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F1shermanIvan@reddit

No. It’s not normal to dread anything, really.

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Shooting-stxr@reddit

You don’t like dread the dentist or a big exam? A long shift?

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Accomplished_Beat418@reddit

Clean teeth? The ability to assess myself and/or receive a higher level of certification? Earning money to support my family and myself?

Why would I dread any of that?

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Shooting-stxr@reddit

It’s good too look at things positively like how you are. But people always get nervous about different things. Only seeing positives isn’t human.

A dentist is good, doesn’t mean people won’t dread the experience. Doing well on an exam is great but many people dread them if they expect to do poorly. After working long hours and being exhausted people dread having to come in again or dread the consequences of calling out.

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F1shermanIvan@reddit

There's a difference between being nervous about something and "dreading" it, like it's causing you anxiety beyond what most people feel. Nobody LIKES going to the dentist, but getting worked up about it to the point where it looms over you in a bad way is strange.

I'm also not a doctor, and pretty easygoing about basically everything so...

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Shooting-stxr@reddit

Sure! It definitely is not controllable for some people though. And definitely depends on what you’ve been dealing with and what you’ve been seeing others deal with.

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F1shermanIvan@reddit

Not really no. I'm not excited about them, but dread?

Especially a medical. It's not like they're in-depth. Hell I did mine on the phone this year and it took five minutes. My doctor is a photographer and outdoor guy, we just chat about that for 10 minutes, I get my stamp, and on my way.

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