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Facet joint syndrome as a current Navy Pilot (chances for an aviation waiver,/ long term recovery/ quality of life)

8427to1390

8427to1390

New Member
32 y/o M winged pilot in the Navy, and I was recently diagnosed with an L5-S1 herniated disk, collapsed disk, and now facet joint syndrome after a successful Medial Branch Block procedure, making me a prime candidate for RFA/ facet nerve ablations. 10 years in special operations rucking, static-line/free-fall parachuting, and diving didn't help. 4 years commissioned, 1 year in the fleet.

***TLDR- Who has had experience dealing with this, and what was your process, outcome, and long-term path?***

  1. In short, what are my chances for a waiver if I'm currently designated in the P-8 platform?
  2. What are my chances if I take the ablations, have success/ no success, and then submit for a waiver?
  3. What are my chances if I opt to just cease treatment and rough it out? (I've been highly advised against this, and I agree it's not a smart path).
  4. Long term, how has the quality of life been with or without the ablations/ with or without surgery? (I'm also considering alternate jobs within the Navy as an Officer that would take the stress off my back and body and allow me to go beyond retirement, currently at 14 years, if able to).
(I have read over the US Navy Aeromedical waiver guide more times than I can count, as well as consulted Navy flight Docs at official appointments. Just wanting to see what everyone else's experiences were.)

I was told the following from the Flight Doc recently:

  1. Get the RFA/ ablations (within the next 2-3 months)
  2. At 4 weeks after RFA (if still pain free/ ROM good) run a PRT (I could swim or cycle one now, but they wanted a running one to show the best case that I'm fully fit).
  3. At 6 weeks (per waiver guide), if I can check off all the "admin boxes' submit a waiver
  4. Hope for the best! (not exaggerating when I say I was told this)
Other things discussed:
Obviously, I can't submit a waiver if I don't meet the waiver guide (pain-free with mild use of NSAIDS, full ROM, and no further procedures), so a failed or partially successful RFA is a no-go for me to keep flying. At that point, I need to make decision to salvage the rest of my Navy career (redesignate) and try to get into a less physical line of work (AMDO, AEDO, INTEL, HSC, etc.) that I can continue into a civilian career.


Thanks!
 
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